Dave Lindorff (2019-09-18). Why on Earth Would the US Go to War with Iran over an Attack on Saudi Oil Refineries? counterpunch.org President Bone Spur, backed by his war-mongering Secretary of State Mike \"Armageddon\" Pompeo, tweeted yesterday that the US military is \"locked and loaded,\" ready to attack (bomb) Iran if it can be proven that Iran was behind a drone bomb attack on Saudi Arabia\'s oil refineries. There are plenty of news media in the US More

RT (2019-09-18). Area 51 has \'secrets that deserve to be protected,\' US Air Force top brass warns \'stormers\'. rt.com Chief of Staff General David Goldfein has ominously insisted that the Air Force is taking the viral \'Storm Area 51, They Can\'t Stop All Of Us\' event \"very seriously\" as the US has \"secrets [that] deserve to be protected.\" | \"All joking aside, we\'re taking it very seriously,\" Goldfein told reporters during the Air Force Association\'s annual Air, Space, and Cyber Conference. \"Our nation has secrets, and those secrets deserve to be protected. The people deserve to have our nation\'s secrets protected.\" | Goldfein\'s comments will likely fan the flames of conspiracy theories already raging online, particularly in th…

John Kendall Hawkins (2019-09-18). Slouching Toward \"Bethlehem\" counterpunch.org but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? — W.B.Yeats, The Second Coming Hive-mindedness seems to be growing — at the same time that bees are heading towards kaputzville. More

The Canary (2019-09-18). Angry parent tells Johnson the NHS is being \'destroyed\' during hospital visit. thecanary.co The parent of a sick child claimed the NHS was being destroyed as he challenged Boris Johnson during a hospital visit.The prime minister was confronted by the angry parent, who claimed there were not enough doctors and nurses.In a conversation lasting around two minutes, the man said the situation was \"not acceptable\".The parent expresses his anger over hospital waiting times to Boris Johnson and Alan Gurney, chief executive of Whipps Cross University Hospital (Yui Mok/PA Wire)Johnson was visiting Whipps Cross University Hospital in north-east London when he was challenged by the parent on a children\'s ward.The p…

Janine Jackson (2019-09-18). \'Trump\'s Deregulatory Agenda Has Been Driven by Corporations\' – CounterSpin interview with Amit Narang about Trump's corporate deregulation. fair.org Janine Jackson interviewed Public Citizen\'s Amit Narang about Trump\'s corporate deregulation for the September 13, 2019, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…

Sue Davis (2019-09-18). Labor and climate activism. workers.org The prevailing myths about U.S. workers and the organized labor movement — that labor and climate action are in conflict, that jobs are more important than the environment — will be in the trash bin of history after the Sept. 20 Global Climate Strike. U.S. labor is coming forward to . . . | Continue reading Labor and climate activism at Workers.org

Ron Jacobs (2019-09-18). Support the Climate Strike, Not a Military Strike. counterpunch.org The propaganda campaign has begun. The New York Times dutifully published photos of an attack on ARAMCO oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia. Accompanying the photos are descriptions provided by the warmongers in Washington, DC. Naturally, the photos don\'t look like much of anything. This gives those describing them the leeway to provide a narrative More

Ron Jacobs (2019-09-18). Support the Climate Strike, Not a Military Strike. counterpunch.org The propaganda campaign has begun. The New York Times dutifully published photos of an attack on ARAMCO oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia. Accompanying the photos are descriptions provided by the warmongers in Washington, DC. Naturally, the photos don\'t look like much of anything. This gives those describing them the leeway to provide a narrative More

Lee Fang (2019-09-18). Saudi Arabia Denies Its Key Role in Climate Change Even as It Prepares for the Worst. theintercept.com Saudi Arabia, the world\'s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, remains a principal funder of climate denialism even as it prepares for climate extremes.

Stephanie Hedgecoke (2019-09-18). Reforestation: Cuba leads the way. workers.org Before 1492, what is today the United States had about 1 billion acres of forests. From 1600 on, at least 286 million acres were destroyed. In a 1763 letter, Benjamin Franklin wrote, \"Cleared land absorbs more heat and melts snow quicker.\" Because of colonialism and the growth of capitalist extractive . . . | Continue reading Reforestation: Cuba leads the way at Workers.org

Ted Rall (2019-09-18). Once Again in Afghanistan, the U.S. Proves It Can\'t Be Trusted. counterpunch.org The first draft of this column came not to bury but to praise Donald Trump. I planned to applaud the president\'s peace initiative with the Taliban, his strategy of ignoring the corrupt and discredited puppet regime Bush installed in Kabul and his desire to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. This was a move I have been More

Catherine Tumber (2019-09-18). Land Without Bread: the Green New Deal Forsakes America\'s Countryside. counterpunch.org Days after the heart-stopping Notre-Dame Cathedral fire in April, Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg trained her eyes on the United Kingdom\'s parliament and chastised its meager response to climate change. \"I want you to panic,\" the baby-faced sixteen-year-old quietly instructed the adults in the room. \"Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation More

W. T. Whitney (2019-09-18). Political Struggle and Fixing Cuba\'s Economy. counterpunch.org Economic problems weigh heavily in Cuba. The Cuban people continue to face shortages and their incomes remain low, despite recent pay raises. The government\'s foreign debt is growing and access to credit is limited. Cuba is overly dependent on food imports despite land tenure reforms. The U.S. economic blockade targets foreign investors through implementation for the first time of Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Law More

Norman Solomon (2019-09-18). The \'Official Secrets\' Movie vs. Joe Biden\'s Lies About the Iraq War. indybay.org Taking and Evading Responsibility…

Norman Solomon (2019-09-18). The \'official secrets\' movie vs. Joe Biden\'s lies about the Iraq war. nationofchange.org Joe Biden\'s recent efforts to deny his record of support for invading Iraq are marvels of evasion, with falsehoods that have been refuted by one well-documented appraisal after another after another. This month, Biden claimed that his vote for war on the Senate floor was somehow not a vote for war. Ironically, while he was spinning anew to deny the undeniable, theaters …

Media Lens (2019-09-18). Stockholm Syndrome — Julian Assange and the Limits of Guardian Dissent. globalresearch.ca Nothing happened on September 2 in central London. Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, did not initiate a protest outside the Home Office. He did not sing and play the Floyd classic \'Wish You Were Here\', or say: | \'Julian …

Liz Vinson (2019-09-18). In victory for motorists and taxpayers, Mississippi sheriff\'s office will stop acting as immigration enforcement. splcenter.org The Martinezes were traveling on I-10 in Mississippi in June 2017 when their pleasant family vacation spiraled into terror.

Sarah Abed (2019-09-18). Latest Astana Peace Process Summit Highlights U.S. and Israel\'s Role in Prolonging Syrian Conflict. globalresearch.ca The fifth Syria-focused Astana process summit took place in Turkey\'s capital, Ankara on Monday. Since the summit\'s inception in 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have engaged in trilateral discussions …

Joseph Gerson (2019-09-18). The Uncertain and Dangerous Interregnum: World Peace and the Post-Cold War Era. commondreams.org U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping on November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Trump is on a 10-day trip to Asia. (Photo: Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_xi_multipolar_world.jpg …

teleSUR (2019-09-18). Venezuela Urges the World to Support Peace Dialogue. telesurenglish.net The National Dialogue Roundtable in Venezuela, constituted by members of the constitutional government and representatives of the opposition, urged Tuesday for the international community to support the peace and understanding initiatives. | RELATED: | Venezuelan Court Frees Opposition Lawmaker | The participants reiterated in a statement that all political factions are working hard to reach a diplomatic solution to all internal problems. They also invited the European Union and the other interna…

Zhivko Illeieff (2019-09-18). Why You Should Care About #ShutDownDC and the Global Climate Strike. counterpunch.org Today\'s news cycle suggests that climate activism is no more than showing up to a protest once in a while. Wave a sign around, believe in science, and you\'re set. Politicians and people of note are given credit simply for acknowledging the fact that global warming is happening. This type of rhetoric is dangerous. It More

Fight Back (2019-09-18). Minnesota: Protesters demand Gov. Walz to divest from Elbit now. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – Over 40 people protested in front of the Governor's Residence Monday, September 16, to demand the divestment of Elbit Systems by the State of Minnesota. The protest, which was organized by the Anti-War Committee, is the latest action in their current campaign to demand the divestment of Elbit Systems from the state\'s public retirement fund. Currently the Minnesota State Board of Investments, which Governor Tim Walz chairs, holds $1.2 million, or approximately 10,000 shares, in Elbit Systems. | Elbit Systems is Israel\'s largest weapons company, which has been contracted by the U.S. Department o…

Staff (2019-09-18). Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin: If We Want a Future, Green New Deal Is Key. truthout.org | | Climate change is by far the most serious crisis facing the world today. At stake is the future of civilization as we know it. Yet, both public awareness and government action lag way behind what\'s needed to avert a climate change catastrophe. In the interview below, Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin discuss the challenges ahead and what needs to be done. | Noam Chomsky is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at MIT and Laureate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona. Robert Polli…

William Astore (2019-09-18). The Ultra-Costly, Underwhelming F-35 Fighter. counterpunch.org How are you with numbers? I can deal with $1.5 million. I think I can even imagine $1.5 billion, a sum a thousand times greater. But how about a million times greater: $1.5 trillion? That happens to be the estimated cost of the Pentagon\'s program to build, deploy, and maintain the no-longer-so-new F-35 jet fighter over its lifetime. How More

Jonathan Cook (2019-09-18). Israelis Have Made their Verdict Clear: Benjamin Netanyahu\'s Time is Up. dissidentvoice.org For most Israelis, the general election on Tuesday was about one thing and one thing only. Not the economy, nor the occupation, nor even corruption scandals. It was about Benjamin Netanyahu. Should he head yet another far-right government, or should his 10-year divisive rule come to an end? Barring a last-minute upset as the final …

Andrew Korybko (2019-09-18). Turkey\'s \"Refugee City\" Proposal for Syria Amounts to Demographic Engineering. globalresearch.ca Turkish President Erdogan\'s recently announced proposal to build a \"refugee city\" in Northern Syria amounts to demographic engineering intended to stop the creation of a \"Kurdish Corridor\" there and also prevent the region from fully reintegrating into Damascus\' fold after …

Miri Wood (2019-09-18). Syria: Terrorist Attacks, More NATO Weapons and War Crimes. globalresearch.ca As NATO media are currently mourning the departure of Neocon, John Bolton, and incited support for US bombing of Iran because Yemeni patriots engaged in a retaliatory bombing of an oil refinery in Saudi occupied Arabia, no attention is …

Robert Freeman (2019-09-18). Conflict With Iran Portends World War III. commondreams.org If the U.S. cannot defeat the likes of second- and third- and fourth-rate military powers like Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria, does it really want to start a war with the strategic ally of the #2 and #3 nuclear powers in the world? (Photo: Pixabay/geralt/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/lisafuller.jpeg …

teleSUR (2019-09-18). Venezuela: Another Opposition Party Joins Dialogue with Gov\'t. telesurenglish.net Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez welcomed Pastor Javier Bertucci, representing the party Hope for Change, who will join the Agreement of National Dialogue, which was signed earlier this week in hope of solving the problems that caused the U.S. blockade against Venezuela. | RELATED: | Venezuelan Court Frees Opposition Lawmaker as Part of Agreements with Opposition | \"The only thing we expect from the United States is to recover the path of dialogue with the government of Nicolas Maduro, th…

teleSUR (2019-09-18). Iran Warns of Immediate Response to Any US Strikes. telesurenglish.net Iran warned on Wednesday that any strikes from the U.S. and its allies will be met with a crushing response from the Islamic Republic. | RELATED: | Iran Not Interested In Talks With US After Trump\'s Accusations | Stressing that they have no interest in war, the Iranian government said they will defend themselves if they are met with any aggression from the United States and its allies. | In a letter sent on Monday to the United States via the Swiss embassy, which represents U.S…

WSWS (2019-09-18). An interview with director Eva Mulvad: \"You can…come a bit closer to having a more rounded understanding of the world\" wsws.org The WSWS spoke in Toronto to Eva Mulvad, Danish filmmaker and director of Love Child, about an Iranian refugee family in Turkey and its problems.

WSWS (2019-09-18). Washington steps up threats against Iran over strikes on Saudi oil facilities. wsws.org The Pentagon has provided the Trump White House with a series of options for military aggression against Iran.

South Front (2019-09-18). Video: US, Saudi Sources Claim Attack on Saudi Oil Was Launched from Iran. globalresearch.ca On September 16, the Houthis (Ansar Allah) warned of more strikes on Saudi Arabia\'s oil infrastructure. Brigadier General Yahya Sare\'e advised foreigners to avoid the areas of Bqaiq and Khurais because they could be attacked again. He also said that …

Staff (2019-09-18). Locked on Iran. truthdig.com …

teleSUR (2019-09-18). Indonesia Arrests 200 as Forest Fire Creates Hazardous Smog. telesurenglish.net Indonesia arrested around 200 people over their suspected involvement in forest fires which the authorities say have scorched 328,000 hectares (810,000 acres) of land since January but it is not clear how much of that has been to make way for palm plantations. | RELATED: | Brazil: Tenharim People, Guardians of Amazon, Battle Wildfires | The country\'s National P…

Benjamin R. Evans (2019-09-18). Brazil\'s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes. globalresearch.ca

| According to an incisive report by Deutsche Welle, \"genetically modified mosquitoes are currently breeding in Brazil\". | Under the researchers\' original plan, \"all released mosquitoes and their offspring should have died.\" But that did not happen. | \" An attempt to …

Middle East Eye (2019-09-18). Israeli Security Guards Kill Palestinian Woman at West Bank Checkpoint. theantimedia.com \"They deliberately killed her.\"

Joshua Coupe (2019-09-18). Shocking Video Simulation Shows the Devastation Nuclear War Would Cause. globalresearch.ca The United States and Russia have quite the bumpy relationship. Talk of war between the two powerful countries isn\'t anything new, and anyone who is paying attention knows that such a war would be devastating for much of the world….

Jeremy Corbyn (2019-09-18). Creating a Society of Hope and Inclusion: Speech to the TUC. counterpunch.org This is the text of Jeremy Corbyn\'s speech to the Trades Union Congress on September 10, 2019. Congress, thank you for that warm welcome. It\'s an honour to be asked to address you again. I\'m proud that trade unions and the Labour Party are working as closely together now as we ever have. Because together More

Edward Snowden (2019-09-18). Exclusive: Edward Snowden\'s First Adventures in Cyberspace. thenation.com Exclusive: \'s First Adventures in Cyberspace…

Nick Robins-Early (2019-09-18). \"Crazies\" in Charge of America\'s \"Nuclear Button\": Trump\'s New (Acting) National Security Adviser Said Nuclear War with USSR Was Winnable. globalresearch.ca \"Plus àßa change, plus c\'est la même chose\", | \"The more things change, the more they stay the same\", Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, (Les Guêpes, July 1848) | *** | President Donald Trump\'s acting national security adviser, former Reagan administration …

Staff (2019-09-18). Oregon State University Employees Vote to Authorize a Strike Amid Heated Moment. truthout.org | | Over 95 percent of 5,000 classified workers at Oregon\'s seven public universities voted to authorize a strike this week. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local 503 announced the strike vote\'s results Tuesday night and warned that if negotiations with university officials don\'t yield \"a fair agreement…

WSWS (2019-09-18). Uruguayan defense minister warns of \"military conflict in Venezuela\" wsws.org In an escalation of the US-led regime-change operation in Venezuela, the Organization of American States has invoked the 1947 Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.

WSWS (2019-09-18). Trump administration intervenes in bid to shut down GM strike. wsws.org Autoworkers must be warned: the intervention by the Trump administration is not in their interests. All of their demands will be swept aside on the basis of lying promises about \"saving\" American jobs.

WSWS (2019-09-18). GM workers in Mexico hold assembly to discuss strike in the United States. wsws.org A worker at the GM plant in Silao appealed to US workers: \"Keep us informed and we\'ll inform people here to decide what we\'ll do. There are people supporting us and we just have to keep fighting. If more people support us, we\'ll move forward.\"

Dan Bacher (2019-09-18). Newsom Says He Will Veto Bill Blocking Trump Rollback of Endangered Fish Protections. indybay.org After Newsom\'s announcement that he plans to veto SB 1, it is no surprise that the total contributions from agriculture in his 2018 campaign for Governor were $637,398. Newsom received $58,400 from Beverly Hills agribusiness tycoon Stewart Resnick, $58,400 from Lynda Resnick and $58,400 from E.J. Gallo. Agribusiness tycoons are strident supporters of the voluntary agreements and the Delta Tunnel — and are among the strongest proponents of attacks on the Endangered Species Act, a landmark federal environmental law that SB 1 would help protect.

Gary Wockner (2019-09-18). The words of water: Why environmentalists are losing the water wars. nationofchange.org In the 1870s the colonizing American government rounded up \"Indians\" and put them in boarding schools and forced them to learn English. The American government knew one thing: If you take away a person\'s language, you take away their culture and their soul. It\'s the first and most important step of colonization and a necessary …

Jeet Heer (2019-09-18). Trump Is Treating Foreign Policy Like a Mafia Protection Racket. thenation.com Trump Is Treating Foreign Policy Like a Mafia Protection Racket…

Andrew Korybko (2019-09-18). Pakistan\'s Prime Minister Imran Khan and The Taliban. Russia\'s \"Balancing Act\" in South Asia and Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca For as close as Russia has once again become to India following its support of the latter\'s \"Israeli\"-like unilateral moves in Kashmir and the restoration of their unofficial alliance after the recent Eastern Economic Forum, its flagship international media outlet …

Staff (2019-09-18). Koch-Backed Republicans Want to Tax Your Electric Car. truthout.org | | This article was produced by Sludge, an independent, ad-free investigative news site covering money in politics. Click here to support Sludge.Libertarian billionaire Charles Koch has spent his entire adult life proclaiming the virtues of individual liberty and personal property rights. But when Americans decide they want to drive emissions-free electric vehicle…