Staff (2019-10-04). Ukraine Reviews Cases on Owner of Firm That Hired Biden Son. truthdig.com ZHYTOMYR, Ukraine — Ukraine\'s Prosecutor General said on Friday that his office is reviewing several cases related to the owner of a gas company where former Vice President Joe Biden\'s son sat on the board, as part of a review of all the criminal cases closed by his predecessors. | U.S. President Donald Trump had pressed for such a review in a phone call with Ukraine\'s new leader, a \"favor\" that now has led the U.S. Congress to begin an impeachment inquiry. Ruslan Ryaboshapka\'s statement shows that Kyiv is under an increasing pressure to react to Trump\'s overtures, analysts say. | Ryaboshapka told reporters…

RT (2019-10-04). As impeachment fever grips Washington, Ukraine reopens Biden probe following Trump\'s demands. rt.com As Democrats clamor to impeach President Donald Trump for allegedly pressuring Ukraine into probing the Biden family, Kiev\'s top prosecutor announced that he will reopen the investigation. | Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka announced on Friday that he will review 15 high-profile corruption cases. Among them is an investigation into the owner of energy firm Burisma, which paid former vice president Joe Biden\'s son Hunter $50,000 per month to sit on its board for five years, despite his lack of qualifications in the field. | President Trump believes that Joe Biden wielded his political influence t…

RT (2019-10-04). Shot down? Testimony by Trump\'s Ukraine envoy seems to skewer Democrats\' impeachment narrative. rt.com Another transcript has poked a hole in the narrative of House Democrats trying to impeach President Donald Trump, as former US special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker testified he never pushed Kiev for \'dirt\' on former VP Joe Biden. | Volker was grilled for nine hours in a closed-doors session of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight committees on Thursday. Democrats on the committees claimed that he was instrumental in pushing the Ukrainian government to reopen a corruption investigation into Joe Biden\'s son Hunter\'s business dealings in Ukraine. | House Intelligence chair Adam Schiff (D-Califor…

Rob Urie (2019-10-04). Impeachment, Brought to You by the CIA. counterpunch.org For the first time in half a century, the political left in the U.S. is ascendant. Bernie Sanders is holding his own in the primaries. A group of well-considered programs to save the environment and provide good jobs and health care for all is gaining political traction. And the need is dire. The climate is warming, the seas are polluted and fished out and industrial agriculture threatens to end life on the planet. So, it\'s time to change the subject? More

Alex Emmons (2019-10-04). Text Messages Show the Trump-Zelensky Call Had Just One Goal — And It Was Anything but Routine. theintercept.com A summary of the infamous conversation could lead to Donald Trump\'s impeachment, but these text messages reveal for the first time how the call came about.

Mohamad Bazzi (2019-10-04). Jamal Khashoggi\'s Murder Shook Everyone—Except Trump. thenation.com For Trump, outrage over the slaying of the journalist was just the cost of doing business with Saudi Arabia.

Joseph OMahoney (2019-10-04). Nuclear powers once shared their technology openly — how Iran\'s program fell on the wrong side of history. nationofchange.org As tensions remain at fever pitch between Tehran and Washington, Iran continues to breach limits agreed in the 2015 Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Since Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in May 2018, its future has become more and more uncertain. Iran has enriched uranium beyond the level agreed …

Nyla Ali Khan (2019-10-04). No Development Without the Politics of Mass Mobilization and Demilitarization in Kashmir. counterpunch.org Amidst that pandemonium of 1947, Jammu and Kashmir was the first state in the newly freed Indian subcontinent to have its own written constitutional plan. The constitution guaranteed enfranchisement of all adult citizens, men and women, and took particular care to protect the dignity and religious freedoms of minorities. The admirable egalitarian and democratic quality More

The Canary (2019-10-04). Cleric warns Iraqi leaders as protest death toll soars. thecanary.co Iraq\'s top Shiite cleric has sharply criticised the government over deadly violence gripping the country, urging political leaders and protesters to pull back \"before it is too late\".The comments by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came as the death toll in this week\'s anti-government demonstrations climbed to 42.His sermon came hours after Iraq\'s prime minister called on protesters to go home, comparing security measures to \"bitter medicine\" that needs to be swallowed.Anti-government protesters burn an armoured vehicle (Hadi Mizban/AP)Since 1 October, security forces have fired live rounds and tear gas every day t…

Michelle Zacarias (2019-10-04). Former Dallas police officer gets 10 years after shooting neighbor in his home. peoplesworld.org A former Dallas police officer, Amber Guyger, was sentenced to serve ten years in prison on Wednesday afternoon. Guyger was arrested in September 2018 after she shot and killed Botham Jean, 26. Jean lived in the unit directly below Guyger\'s apartment, which she alleged led her to believe that an intruder had entered \"her\" home. …

The Canary (2019-10-04). Grenfell Tower probe into how fatal blaze started to be published within weeks. thecanary.co A report investigating how the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people started will be published before the end of the month after the prime minister approved its release.The first stage of the inquiry into the fire has been completed and Boris Johnson has asked the chairman to make it public before October 30 — more than two years after the fatal west London blaze took place.The paper will look at how the fire started, the reason it spread as it did and the reaction from the emergency services.In a letter to inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick, Johnson said: \"I invite you to publish the phase 1 report…

Greg Palast (2019-10-04). The Las Vegas Shooter, Two Years Later. truthdig.com Why Steve Paddock killed dozens of innocent Las Vegas revelers two years ago isn\'t as much of a mystery when you consider his roots.

Staff (2019-10-04). Trump\'s Anti-Immigration Policies Are a Deepening of Previous Admin Policies. therealnews.com Although Trump\'s rhetoric on immigration is shocking, suggesting border patrol should shoot border crossing immigrants in the legs, his policies are an intensification of policies that began under Obama, not a dramatic departure, says Aviva Chomsky.

Minnie Bruce Pratt (2019-10-04). Workers march to end climate crisis. workers.org That climate crisis is a workers\' issue was emphatically affirmed by the IndustriALL Global Union when it called on all affiliates to take part in the September worldwide Climate Strike actions. IndustriALL represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors, giving it the power . . . | Continue reading Workers march to end climate crisis at Workers.org

Saul Foster (2019-10-04). Bolsonaro\'s highway project targets heart of Amazon region. mronline.org Amazon researchers said the repaved road would trigger an explosion of deforestation in Amazonas, currently Brazil\'s best preserved rainforest state precisely because it has few good roads. | Source

T.J. Coles (2019-10-04). Robot Trolls on Amazon: How Fake Reviews Could Undermine Progressive Politics. counterpunch.org Every big personality or corporation uses algorithmic robots (\"bots\") to boost themselves and their products. Until recently, US President Donald Trump had a Twitter following of around 59 million. But nearly half of those \"followers\" were fake, spam, and/or dormant accounts. Twitter\'s purge of \"Trump supporters\" was actually a purge of fake accounts. (The real More

Louis Proyect (2019-10-04). The Politics of Trolling. counterpunch.org Back in the mid-90s, when the Internet was first taking off, spurred by AOL\'s making the web available to the masses, it was easy to become a cyber-utopian. Manuel Castells, a Spanish sociologist, became one of its prophets. In books like the 2001 \"The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society\", Castells recognized More

David Rosen (2019-10-04). How the U.S. Military Undermines the American Economy. counterpunch.org On January 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave his now-famous farewell address, warning the nation: In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let More

Paul Street (2019-10-04). We Meddle Too: Trump, Empire, and \"The National Interest\" counterpunch.org Never underestimate the power of the United States\' American Exeptionalist and imperial doctrine. Look at the recent Washington Post revelation regarding wannabe fascist strongman Donald Trump\'s meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Lavrov in the White House in 2017. Trump told Lavrov and another high-ranking Russian official that he wasn\'t concerned about Russia meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election because the United States does the same thing in other countries. More

Julie Y. Chu (2019-10-04). Cruel Optimism and the Settler-Colonial Roots of White Grievance. counterpunch.org This past summer I was camping in rural Wisconsin with my partner and son when a huge thunderstorm forced us to seek out the closest local pub for dinner one evening. Our four-year old had been going through some kind of cranky asshole phase all summer and our options for feeding him in the middle More

Eric Mann (2019-10-04). Bernie: Keep Fighting On. counterpunch.org Senator Sanders. Sorry to hear about your heart surgery but it will make you stronger. We can\'t let your opponents seize on this and imply that it proves something about your age or your heart. You have more heart than most of the dead-people-walking Democratic pretenders. A stent is a commonly used procedure to open More

Joseph Natoli (2019-10-04). The Battles Now. counterpunch.org \"Now we are engaged….\" — Lincoln, Gettysburg Address One real battle we are in now — human caused global warming — is a battle we realized very belatedly we are in. The other — the political one — is, in a President Trump retweet, heading toward \"a Civil War like fracture in this nation\" and More

Mark Weisbrot (2019-10-04). Trump\'s Trade War With China: Is It About to End? counterpunch.org The latest de-escalation of the trade war with China — with exemptions from some tariffs on both sides — has left markets uncertain as to whether it will end before there is serious escalation. But if I were managing a hedge fund, I would bet on it. To see why, we must start with Trump More

John Kendall Hawkins (2019-10-04). Edward Snowden, You Legend! counterpunch.org \"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster; when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil \"Are you sure that you can skin griz? — line from film Jeremiah Johnson Edward Snowden\'s newly-released memoir, More

Pete Dolack (2019-10-04). Capitalism\'s Triumph: Labor Rights Violated in Every Country on Earth. counterpunch.org In what country are labor rights fully respected? The sad answer is: none. Labor rights are routinely violated around the world, and the trend is only getting worse. The International Trade Union Confederation has again issued its annual Global Rights Index and the result is no better than in past years. It\'s worse. For example, the number of More

Eve Ottenberg (2019-10-04). The Lies of Capitalism. counterpunch.org Neoliberals love to quote the World Bank\'s rosy statistics about capitalism lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty. Unfortunately, those statistics are skewed and manipulated to the point of outright prevarication, as Seth Donnelly demonstrates in his new book, \"The Lie of Global Prosperity.\" He quotes a breathless World Bank press release, \"soon 90 percent More

Namita Waikar (2019-10-04). Counting Sheep as Grasslands Shrink in Gujarat. counterpunch.org \"Is there rain in your village?\" It was Karabhai Aal on the phone from Banaskantha district in North Gujarat. \"There is none here.\" That was in the last week of July this year. \"If it rains, we will go home,\" he had declared with half a hope. That he was speaking to a non-farmer in More

The Canary (2019-10-04). Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who\'s jailed in Iran, to \'send daughter home to UK\'. thecanary.co A British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran is to send her daughter home to the UK to start school, it has been reported.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been visited in prison by five-year-old Gabriella at least once a week for the past three years.The youngster will be back in London before Christmas, according to the Times.Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 and sentenced to five years in jail after being accused of spying, which she vehemently denies.Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, outside the Iranian Embassy (Jonathan Brady/PA)Her fight for freedom has seen her endure hunger strikes…

Staff (2019-10-04). US Supreme Court to Decide Fate Of Baltimore v. Big Oil Suit. therealnews.com The city sued 26 oil and gas companies over their role in the climate crisis, but the companies have appealed to the Supreme Court to stop the case from proceeding at the state level.

RT (2019-10-04). \'Save the planet, eat the babies\': AOC trolled over climate change panic by pro-Trump prankster. rt.com Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a fan of radical climate change solutions, but one \"modest proposal\" caught her off guard. A woman she thought had a \"mental condition\" suggested eating babies for the good of the earth. | Speaking about her proposed \'Green New Deal\' at a town hall event on Thursday, AOC was interrupted by an apparently distressed woman who felt the Green New Deal\'s zero-carbon goal just wouldn\'t cut it. Claiming that \"we only have a few months left\" to fight climate change, the woman went on to suggest that humanity begin eating its own children to save the world from ecological apoca…

Judy Greenspan (2019-10-04). Scapegoating the homeless for climate crisis. workers.org Two weeks ago, when President Donald Trump flew to California for two days to fundraise for his election campaign, his trip was shrouded in secret. No one knew until the last minute where he was going to be. Yet in that short amount of time, Trump was able to attack . . . | Continue reading Scapegoating the homeless for climate crisis at Workers.org

Robert Scheer (2019-10-04). The Refugee Crisis Unlike You\'ve Ever Seen It Before. truthdig.com As conflicts spread and climate change worsens, the refugee crisis worldwide is breaking astounding records. There currently are 70.8 million forcibly displaced people around the globe, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Each of these individuals has a tale to tell about overcoming immense obstacles and dangers as he or she sought safety and stability away from homes they were forced to leave. One such story is told in the documentary \" Midnight Traveler,\" filmed by Afghan director…

David Klein (2019-10-04). Think or Swim. thenation.com Climate change activists demand action from our leaders.

Steve Sweeney (2019-10-04). European Parliament launches anti-communist crusade. peoplesworld.org Communists and left organizations have hit out at a reactionary \"ahistorical\" motion passed by the European Parliament last month which equates communism with \"the monster of fascism.\" The European Communist Initiative condemned the \"outrageous\" resolution tabled by the right-wing European People\'s Party group and warned of the escalating anti-communism of the European Union (EU). The …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-10-04). France\'s Police Protest Movement: The Unspoken Truth is that their Demands are Similar to those of the Yellow Vests. globalresearch.ca Pour la version franàßaise de cet article | In early October, The French Police conducted La March de la colère, (The \"March of Anger\") directed against President Macron\'s deadly economic austerity measures. \"The center of Paris was paralyzed by the largest …

Anya Parampil (2019-10-04). Cómo Venezuela derrotó el intento de golpe de estado de Washington en las Naciones Unidas. thegrayzone.com Un vistazo a cómo los diplomáticos venezolanos obstaculizaron un intento de Estados Unidos de revocar sus credenciales en la ONU…

True Publica (2019-10-04). What Julian Assange Really Represents. globalresearch.ca Julian Assange is facing extradition to the United States after he was forcibly dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy in London by police mid-April this year. On the 1st May, he was imprisoned for breaching bail conditions. His sentence is now …

Amy Goodman (2019-10-04). As man dies in ICE custody, California moves to ban for-profit prisons, including immigrant jails. nationofchange.org A Cameroonian immigrant died this week in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California. The man, identified as 37-year-old Nebane Abienwi, died on Tuesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. This comes as California lawmakers passed a bill last month that would ban private prisons statewide, a major blow to the for-profit prison …

Photos and Text (2019-10-04). San Francisco ICE Deportation Hearings Tear Families Apart. indybay.org Cambodian refugees protest immigration raids…

WSWS (2019-10-04). Trump announces plan to further privatize Medicare. wsws.org The Democrats are basing their impeachment drive not on opposition to Trump\'s fascistic attack on immigrants and pro-corporate social policies, but on claims that he is not pursuing US foreign policy aggressively enough.

DXE (2019-10-04). Day After Mass Arrests, Animal Activists Swarm SF City Hall to Ask for \"Right to Rescue\" indybay.org Activists face multiple felony charges after exposing alleged criminal animal cruelty at Amazon-suppyling factory farms…

DXE (2019-10-04). Whole Foods Files Restraining Order to Ban Animal Rights Activists From All California Locations. indybay.org Following Monday\'s protests in San Francisco, activists say Whole Foods\' parent-company Amazon continually seeks to silence animal cruelty and transparency concerns with heavy-handed legal action…

Josue De Luna Navarro (2019-10-04). How Fossil Fuels Pollute STEM Education. counterpunch.org Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has a message for policy makers: \"Listen to the scientists.\" As an engineer, I was glad to hear that. But I also believe it\'s also vital for scientists to be vigilant about whom they listen to. For years, corporations funded junk science trying to undermine the climate consensus. Now, virtually More

Tracy Keeling (2019-10-04). Vladimir Putin even outdid Trump with this ludicrous comment on Greta Thunberg. thecanary.co Vladimir Putin just achieved the impossible: he outdid Donald Trump in sheer ludicrousness. The Russian president shared his thoughts on Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist who\'s inspired mass protests around the world. They\'re astounding in their hypocrisy and lack of awareness. | Adults have a duty: | Thunberg recently spoke at the UN. In her passionate speech, she said: Entire ecosyst…

Michael T. Hertz (2019-10-04). The official lies told about JFK\'s death prove that the people no longer own the government. nationofchange.org Let us think back to the year 1960 and compare those times to our own. The previous eight years under Eisenhower were, in America, years of relative peace and prosperity. The Korean War ended in 1953. There was the continuing fear of nuclear destruction and war with the Soviet Union, but we were not actually …

South Front (2019-10-04). Video: Russia Tested Elements of Advanced S-500 Air Defense in Syria. globalresearch.ca Syrian, Iranian and Russian forces started a joint military drill, involving heavy military equipment, rocket launchers and warplanes, on October 1, al-Watan newspaper reported on October 2. According to al-Watan, the drills coincided with a series of protests against the …

teleSUR (2019-10-04). Dozens of Iraqi Protesters Killed as Demonstrations Intensify. telesurenglish.net For the past week, wide-scale demonstrations have hit several Iraqi cities as protesters demand economic improvements and the removal of government officials. | RELATED: | 11 Murdered Overnight in Anti-Government Protest in Iraq | In the past 24 hours, dozens of these protesters have been killed across Iraq as the violent protests against government corruption swelled into a mass spontaneous uprising sweeping much of the country, the worst unrest since the defeat of Islamic State.

United Nations (2019-10-04). UN expresses concern following wave of street protests in Iraq and elsewhere. un.org The United Nations is urging authorities in Iraq to allow citizens to exercise their right to freedom of expression after the security forces opened fire on mass anti-government protests which began earlier this week.

Tyler Durden (2019-10-04). Martial Law Unfolding in Iraq: 30 Protesters Dead, Internet Blackout, 24-Hour Curfews. theantimedia.com Now in their third day, mass anti-government protests across Iraq have resulted in 30 dead and over 1000 wounded.

teleSUR (2019-10-04). Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man at Gaza Border. telesurenglish.net The Israeli Defense Forces opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators Friday, killing at least one person and wounding many others, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement. | RELATED: | 20 Year Old Killed in Gaza Protests | According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, nearly 6,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip gathered near the border to protest against Israel\'s discrimatory policies. | During the protest, the Israeli Defense Forces fired live rounds towards the protesters after they alleged…