Special to Workers World (2019-10-30). Protests across the U.S. tell Greyhound: ICE off our buses! workers.org Demonstrations targeting Greyhound for its collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement took place in a national day of action in cities across the U.S. on Oct. 25. The coordinated actions were in response to a call from a coalition of organizations, including Fight for Im/migrants and Refugees Everywhere (FIRE), Laundry . . . | Continue reading Protests across the U.S. tell Greyhound: ICE off our buses! at Workers.org

RT (2019-10-30). Colorado police who blew up family\'s house with CHEMICAL BOMBS just to catch a shoplifter owe them NOTHING, court rules. rt.com A Colorado family whose house was destroyed in a 19-hour standoff between police and an armed shoplifter is not entitled to any compensation from the department that rendered them homeless, an appeals court has ruled. | Police who deployed explosives and armored vehicles to flush out a man —who\'d stolen two belts and a shirt from a Greenwood Village Walmart— from the house of Leo and Alfonsia Lech, are not required to compensate the couple for destroying their home, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on…

John Wojcik (2019-10-30). Trump sinks deeper into the impeachment mud with each passing day. peoplesworld.org …

RT (2019-10-30). \'Rupublicans\' should fight \'infair\' impeachment: Trump tweet typos set Resistance tongues wagging again. rt.com US President Donald Trump has urged his party to push back on the \"impeachment nonsense\" — but his early morning typos are feeding the trolls and the online \'Resistance,\' convinced that they will get him this time. | Tweeting on Wednesday morning, Trump repeated that the transcript of his July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was \"totally appropriate\" and called the Democrat-led impeachment process \"just a continuation of the Witch Hunt Hoax\" — meaning the debunked Russian collusion conspiracy. | He managed to misspell a few things, however. | | In the sea of hostile responses ever…

The Canary (2019-10-30). Brazilian president defends policies amid recent Amazon fires. thecanary.co Brazil\'s president has launched a strong defence of his far-right government while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, blasting any criticism of his policies on recent fires in the Amazon region.Jair Bolsonaro also criticised French president Emmanuel Macron in a speech on Wednesday before the Future Investment Initiative in the kingdom, while praising American leader Donald Trump.Bolsonaro at one point said: \"The Amazon region belongs to us.\"Bolsonaro praised US president Donald Trump (AP)Scientists say the vast rainforest is a bulwark against global warming as its lush vegetation absorbs heat-trapping carbon dioxide fr…

Miko Peled (2019-10-30). At This Year\'s J Street Conference, \"Progressive\" Pols Bow to Israel While Preaching Peace. mintpressnews.com Progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders should be credited for finally offering solutions to decades-old Israeli Human rights violations, but those solutions are often little more than talking points designed to placate their base and appease Israel.

RT (2019-10-30). 1 killed as rocket hits checkpoint \'METERS\' from US embassy in Baghdad. rt.com A rocket has struck a checkpoint inside Baghdad\'s Green Zone, killing one Iraqi soldier and injuring another, Iraq\'s security forces have confirmed. It struck some 50 meters from the gates to the US Embassy, media reports say. | Two rockets were reportedly fired into the heavily fortified Green Zone area of Baghdad on Wednesday night. Iraqi military sources confirmed one soldier was killed and another wounded, but did not elaborate. | Some media reports indicated, however, that the area was targeted by mortar fire. | The Green Zone is a walled-off district in the heart of the Iraqi capital where government bui…

Tim Wheeler (2019-10-30). Rep. John Conyers: 53 years fighting for peace, justice, equality. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—I covered Rep. John Conyers, D., Mich., for the entire 25 years I was the Washington correspondent for the Daily World and People\'s Daily World. He was always in the front lines of whatever struggle was at the top of the people\'s agenda. Yet often, he introduced legislation years before the issue became a burning …

RT (2019-10-30). Climate change denial is the new \'flat Earth\' & causes WILDFIRES, California ex-governor testifies. rt.com Add California\'s wildfires to the list of problems caused by US President Donald Trump. The state\'s former governor has warned Trump and his fellow Republicans that \"the blood is on your soul\"… for denying climate change. | \"California\'s burning while the deniers make a joke out of the standards that protect us all. The blood is on your soul here and I hope you wake up,\" former governor Jerry Brown snarled, during a House Oversight Committee hearing on the Trump administration\'s recent decision to bar California from setting its own auto emissions standards. \"This is not politics, this is life, this is moral…

George Ochenski (2019-10-30). Trump\'s War on the Free Press Reeks of Dictatorship. counterpunch.org Donald Trump seems to think the United States is some kind of banana republic. He has already defied the standards of nepotism and inserted his daughter and son-in-law into the highest levels of our government. As for robbing the Treasury like the dictators he admires, it\'s tough to ignore funneling taxpayer funds to his private More

Victor Grossman (2019-10-30). Election Rollercoaster in Eastern Germany. counterpunch.org Germany is really riding a rollercoaster these days, but this is no amusement park; there\'s lots of suspense but rarely joy — and quite a few politicians are very unwell! Not only politicians! Well then, who\'s climbing, who\'s plunging? Look quick — it\'s moving fast! Heading screechingly downward are the two traditionally main parties: the so-called More

T.P. Wilkinson (2019-10-30). The Temperature Movement: The Reincarnation of a Perennial Anglo-American Obsession. dissidentvoice.org There are two basic fields in which more than a century of critical writing and education has made no impact whatsoever on what for convenience I will call the Anglo-American progressives, some of whom apparently like to think of them as members of the Left. Here is not the place to discuss the meanwhile virtual …

Jaideep Hardikar (2019-10-30). Belated Rains, Beleaguered Farmers: the Climate Crisis in Bhandara. counterpunch.org Inside a tiny hole on the hardened soil lies a dead crab, its legs severed from its body. \"They are dying of the heat,\" says Devendra Bhongade, pointing at holes all over his five-acre paddy farm. If it had rained, you\'d see crabs swarming in the water on the farm, incubating, he adds, standing amid More

RT (2019-10-30). Woker than woke? Obama CANCELS \'call out\' culture, tells Americans \'good people have flaws\'. rt.com Cancel culture and \"woke\" political correctness has found a new and surprising critic in former US president Barack Obama, who warned American liberals about the folly of demanding ideological \"purity\" from everyone around them. | Speaking at his annual Obama Foundation summit on Tuesday, the former president blasted the current liberal trend toward \'calling out\' and \'cancelling\' anyone who says or does something which is not considered \'woke\' enough for the modern age. | This idea of purity… and you\'re never compromised and you\'re always politically woke and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly.

Dave Stalling (2019-10-30). Grizzlies, Helicopters and the North Cascades: Fighting for the Integrity of Wilderness is Not a \"Mental Illness\" counterpunch.org I don\'t know much about Conservation Northwest, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to \"protecting, connecting and restoring wildlands and wildlife\" from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies. I like what I do know. I know it\'s an affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation, a good organization I used to work for and continue to More

Bill Hatch (2019-10-30). When Justice Delayed Means Extinction: the Case of the Delta Smelt. counterpunch.org The signature event of the 2019 California Water Year is the arrival of extinction for the Delta smelt, a two-inch, nearly transparent fish at the bottom of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta food chain. The smelt\'s demise signals critical dangers for two species of Coho salmon, one species of Steelhead and resident killer whales that feed More

Stephen Cooper (2019-10-30). Talking with The Mighty Diamonds: \"Harmony Can Never Go Out of Style\" counterpunch.org On September 25th at the Dub Club in Los Angeles, I interviewed one of the best reggae bands ever, the Mighty Diamonds. What follows is a transcript of that interview; it has been modified only slightly for clarity and space considerations. Q: Tabby, Judge, and Joe, thank you for this interview[, and] great show tonight! It\'s More

Deirdre Griswold (2019-10-30). The real enemies of the planet. workers.org A map of the world, recently circulated online, claims to identify the world\'s worst offenders responsible for the climate crisis. It named energy ministers in scores of countries — rich and poor, imperialist and oppressed — as equally the culprits for the biggest challenge facing humanity. The map was no . . . | Continue reading The real enemies of the planet at Workers.org

Staff (2019-10-30). Chile Scraps Asia-Pacific and Climate Summits Amid Protests. truthdig.com SANTIAGO, Chile — Chilean President Sebastián Piñera said Wednesday that he is canceling two major international summits so he can respond to protracted nationwide protests over economic inequality that have left more than a dozen people dead, hundreds injured and businesses and infrastructure damaged. | The decision to call off the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and U.N. global climate gatherings, planned for November and December, respectively, dealt a major blow to Chile\'s image as a regional oasis of stability and economic development. | Piñera said he was forced to cancel both events due to the chao…

WSWS (2019-10-30). Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal arrested in Washington DC. wsws.org The independent journalist was shackled in a cage for five hours on a false charge stemming from protests at the Venezuelan embassy in April and May of this year.

Dr. Leon Tressell (2019-10-30). British Government Retains Julian Assange in a Maximum Security Prison at the Behest of Trump Regime. globalresearch.ca At his latest extradition hearing Julian Assange was once again denied justice by a British court. | If extradited to the U.S. he faces 175 years imprisonment for revealing American war crimes committed during its regime change wars in Iraq and …

CodePink (2019-10-30). Golden Gate Bridge Walk: Bridges, Not Walls! indybay.org …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-10-30). Michel Chossudovsky: Biographical Summary. globalresearch.ca There are a number of deliberate \"errors\" and omissions in Michel Chossudovsky\'s wikipedia entry. | The same applies to the wikipedia entry for Global Research which has been merged with Chossudovsky\'s entry. | Below is a biographical summary focussing on Chossudovsky\'s …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-10-30). Yemen and The Militarization of Strategic Waterways. globalresearch.ca Among Washington\'s strategic objectives is the militarization of major sea ways. This strategic waterway links the Mediterranean to South Asia and the Far East, through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Keith McHenry (2019-10-30). Desieire Quintero Killed – Help her Son. indybay.org Desieire Quintero was fatally crushed by a falling tree at her campsite in the Pogonip Park in Santa Cruz. She was the lead plaintiff in a historic civil rights lawsuit filed against the city of Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz News (2019-10-30). After Fighting to Keep Ross Camp Open, Homeless Woman Killed When Tree Strikes Campsite. indybay.org Deseire Quintero, whose name became synonymous with the legal effort to keep the Ross Camp in Santa Cruz open to its homeless residents, died Sunday morning when a tree fell and struck her at a survival campsite located in a wooded area in Pogonip, a City park. Quintero was 55 years old.

Maj. Danny Sjursen (2019-10-30). In Defense of Tulsi Gabbard. truthdig.com \"The trouble [with injustice] is that once you see it, you can\'t unsee it. And once you\'ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There is no innocence. Either way, you\'re accountable.\" —Arundhati Roy | Once again, Arundhati Roy—the esteemed Indian author and activist—more eloquently described what I\'m feeling than I could ever hope to. After tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, a lifetime in the Army and burying several brave young men for no goo…

Marlee Kokotovic (2019-10-30). Climate activist Greta Thunberg declines Nordic environmental prize saying \"the climate movement does not need any more awards\" nationofchange.org \"I have received the Nordic Council\'s environmental award 2019. I have decided to decline this prize.\"

Celal Cahit Agar (2019-10-30). There\'s more to Turkey\'s invasion of northern Syria than the media\'s reporting. thecanary.co Dr Celal Cahit Agar is a lecturer at St Andrews University, School of Management. This article was co-authored with Steffen Bà∂hm, professor in organisation studies at the University of Exeter Business School. | Turkey\'s recent invasion of northern Syria — i.e. \" Operation Peace Spring\" — sought to displace largely Kurdish communities and establish what Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoƒüan calls a 2…

Juan Cole (2019-10-30). Bernie Sanders Refuses to Bow to Israel. truthdig.com Bernie Sanders has almost single-handedly changed the discourse on Israel in the Democratic Party and in the United States more generally. But his appearance at the J-Street conference was a further tour de force, and the positions he has staked out clearly have put pressure on the other Democratic candidates to take a position on Israeli land-grabs in the Palestinian West Bank and economic strangulation of the Palestinians in Gaza. | Sanders said in his address that Palestinians also want peace. He said, said, \"let me underline this\" and continuing, \"It is not anti-Semitism to say that the Netanyahu government h…

Scott Ritter (2019-10-30). Russia Isn\'t Getting the Recognition It Deserves on Syria. truthdig.com At a time when the credibility of the United States as either an unbiased actor or reliable ally lies in tatters, Russia has emerged as the one major power whose loyalty to its allies is unquestioned, and whose ability to serve as an honest broker between seemingly intractable opponents is unmatched. | If there is to be peace in Syria, it will be largely due to the patient efforts of Moscow employing deft negotiation, backed up as needed by military force, to shape conditions conducive for a political solution to a violent problem. If ever there was a primer for the art of diplomacy, the experience of Russia in S…

United Nations (2019-10-30). From \'strength to strength\' UN-African Union security partnership growing, Security Council hears. un.org The Security Council highlighted the growing partnership on matters of peace and security between the United Nations and African Union (AU) on Wednesday amidst calls to bolster overall effectiveness.

UUSF Morning Forum (2019-10-30). Impeachment, mass protest & the urgency to end the Trump Pence regime. indybay.org Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco | 1187 Franklin St. at corner of Geary | San Francisco…

WSWS (2019-10-30). Iraqi regime responds to mass protests with brutal crackdown. wsws.org The Iraqi police and security services have killed at least 250 people and injured thousands in a crackdown against the mass protests that erupted earlier this month.

James J. Zogby (2019-10-30). \'Attention Must be Paid\' to the Sufferings of the Palestinian People. globalresearch.ca With mass protests roiling Lebanon and Iraq, unsettling developments in Syria and Yemen, and the latest episode of the continuing soap opera that calls itself Israeli politics, little attention is being given to the plight of the Palestinians. One consequence …

teleSUR (2019-10-30). Iraqi PM Loses Two Main Backers as Resignation is Imminent. telesurenglish.net The Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi suffered a major blow on Wednesday when his two main backers agreed to work to remove him from office. The loss of these two main backers comes as protests against his government gained momentum in Baghdad and much of the Shi\'ite south only to be met with violence. | RELATED: | Iraqi Protests Intensify After PM Refuses Early Elections | According to reports, populist Shi\'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who leads parliament\'s largest bloc, had as…

United Nations (2019-10-30). Iraq protests: UN calls for national talks to break \'vicious cycle\' of violence. un.org The UN\'s most senior official in Iraq, visited protesters in central Baghdad on Wednesday, calling for \"a national dialogue to identify prompt, meaningful responses to break the vicious cycle of violence\" which has roiled the country during the past five days.

Randi Nord (2019-10-30). Secret Document Reveals Plans for Civil War in Lebanon, Israeli False Flags, and Invasion. globalresearch.ca This article was first published on April 8, 2019, several months prior to the ongoing protest movement and civil strife in Lebanon. The analysis presented in this article is not corroborated by secondary sources. | *** | During his visit with US …

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (2019-10-30). Free Speech: Trump Administration Rescinds Planned Anti-Protest Rules. globalresearch.ca In an extraordinary victory for the people, the Trump Administration has announced that it is fully withdrawing its massive anti-democratic plan to block free speech and assembly through proposed regulations that would have crushed protest on federal land in the …

Stephen Lendman (2019-10-30). Trump\'s Phony Pretext to \"Protect\" Syria against ISIS: US Occupation and Plunder of Syrian Oil Prevails. globalresearch.ca US aggression in Syria is all about eliminating its sovereign independence, gaining another imperial trophy, installing puppet rule, plundering its resources, exploiting its people, removing an Israeli rival, and isolating Iran — ahead of stepped up hostile actions against its …

Kathy Kelly (2019-10-30). Camp Bucca, Abu Ghraib and the Rise of Extremism in Iraq. counterpunch.org Sunday morning, President Trump announced the death of Abu Bakr Al- Baghdadi and three of his children. President Trump said Al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS, was fleeing U.S. military forces, in a tunnel, and then killed himself by detonating a suicide vest he wore. In 2004, Al-Baghdadi had been captured by U.S. forces and, for More

Mark Taliano (2019-10-30). Fake Narratives as Cover for High Crimes. The Al Baghdadi ISIS-Daesh \"Fairytale\" globalresearch.ca Western stories about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi are meant to confuse, to distract, and to strengthen fake narratives. | First, the West supports Daesh in Syria (and beyond). It isn\'t a secret. High profile people such as Tulsi Gabbard even admit it….

Staff (2019-10-30). Chomsky: Trump\'s Actions on Syria Reflect the Foreign Policy of a Con Man. truthout.org Donald Trump\'s handling of U.S. foreign policy with Syria has baffled and angered both the diplomatic and military establishments in the United States. Nonetheless, he continues to maintain power as \"an effective con man who has a good sense of what animates his voting base,\" Noam Chomsky argues in the exclusive interview for Truthout that follows. | Trump rose to power with the aid of vitriolic but disingenuous \"anti-establishment\" rhetoric that appealed to millions of disgruntled voters. Essenti…

teleSUR (2019-10-30). US House of Reps Votes to Recognize Armenian Genocide. telesurenglish.net The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to recognize the mass killings of Armenians a century ago as a genocide, a symbolic but historic vote instantly denounced by Turkey. | RELATED: | US House Democrats Ready Impeachment Rules, as 1st Trump Official Testifies | The Democratic-controlled House voted 405-11 in favor of a resolution asserting that it is U.S. policy to commemorate as genocide the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoma…

Jeet Heer (2019-10-30). The Party of War Has No Problem Trashing Veterans. thenation.com The Party of War Has No Problem Trashing Veterans…

WSWS (2019-10-30). Democrats to hold House vote to authorize impeachment inquiry. wsws.org The political character of those within the military and intelligence agencies with whom the Democrats are aligned is reflected in the Trump officials who have defied White House orders and agreed to testify in the impeachment inquiry.

Staff (2019-10-30). GOP Senators Serving as Impeachment Jurors Are Implicated in Trump\'s Misdeeds. truthout.org Nancy Pelosi has announced that the House will finally hold a formal vote dictating the rules for the impeachment inquiry, six weeks after it was launched by a whistleblower\'s complaint mysteriously withheld from Congress. And on Tuesday, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman backed up both the initial whistleblower and U.S. diplomat Bill Taylor by testifying that he too was concerned about the Trump administration\'s push to use congressionally-allocated military aid to Ukraine to coerce an investigatio…

Press TV (2019-10-30). Syria: The Launch of a Constitutional Committee a Sign of Hope for Syrian People. dissidentvoice.org 29 October 2019 Peter Koenig Transcript of a PressTV Interview following a live press Conference by the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey at the UN Geneva, Switzerland Background GENEVA, October 28 (Xinhua) — The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said here on Monday that the Constitutional Committee\'s launch should be a …

UUSF Morning Forum (2019-10-30). Trump, Turkey and the Kurds – signs of a crumbling U.S. empire. indybay.org Unitarian Universalist Society of S.F. | 1187 Franklin St. corner of Geary Ave. | San Francisco…

Juan Cole (2019-10-30). Bernie Sanders Says Give Aid to Gaza and That Calling Out Netanyahu\'s Racist Government Isn\'t Anti-Semitism. commondreams.org Sanders went so far as to say that some of the $3.8 billion that currently goes to Israel every year should be dedicated to humanitarian aid for Gaza. (Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-1178661604.jpg …

pip.hinman (2019-10-30). Bruce Shillingsworth: 'Why are we selling water to make profit?'. greenleft.org.au corporate greed Bruce ShillingsworthIssue 1243 Australia Water for the Rivers climate emergency SydneyOctober 30, 2019Mur…

RT (2019-10-29). Putin always on his mind? Trump refers to Ukraine\'s Zelensky as \'new Russian president\'. rt.com Donald Trump has galvanized Russiagate diehards lurking on social media, after mistakenly referring to Volodymyr Zelensky as the new leader of… Russia. | The US president made the slip-up while defending his relationship with Kiev, which is currently being scrutinized by Democratic lawmakers. The impeachment inquiry is trying to determine if Trump tried to pressure Zelensky to open an investigation into the son of Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden. | Trump told reporters on Monday that the accusations were based on a \"false narrative\" of a phone conversation he had with the Ukrainian president &#1…

RT (2019-10-29). \'Why are so many people listening in on me?\' Trump slams Ukrainegate witness as \'Never Trumper,\' questions call procedure. rt.com US President Donald Trump has questioned the reliability of a White House official set to testify to Congress about his infamous call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, calling the witness a \"Never Trumper.\" | The tweet is part of the Ukrainegate impeachment saga, which the Democrats have been focusing on ever since Russiagate fizzled out. The allegation is that Trump pressured Zelensky into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden over his role in ending a corruption probe into a Ukrainian energy company where his son sat on the board — and that Trump made US aid to Kiev dependent on such an…

Staff (2019-10-29). White House Official to Offer \'Damning\' Impeachment Testimony. truthdig.com A White House National Security Council official who listened to President Donald Trump\'s phone call with Ukraine\'s leader plans to tell House impeachment investigators in a sworn deposition Tuesday that he was so alarmed by the conversation that he reported it to his superiors and the NSC\'s top lawyer. | Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, an active-duty Army officer and the NSC\'s top Ukraine expert, will be the first White House official to testify as part of House Democrats\' impeachment inquiry into Trump. Vindman will also be the first official who heard Trump\'s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to tes…

RT (2019-10-29). House Democrats release resolution to take Trump impeachment proceedings public — and legal. rt.com House Democrats have released a resolution outlining the sequence of impeachment procedures, and hope to silence Republicans\' complaints that the process is unfair, secretive, or straight-up illegal, by subjecting it to a vote. | The resolution, released on Tuesday, authorizes members of both parties to subpoena and question witnesses, requisition evidence, and release transcripts (with appropriate redactions). Released by Rules Committee chair Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts), it is expected to be put to a vote on Thursday. | t.co/KoYAHyU4iv pic.twitter.com/0wm3ncau…

Sara Flounders (2019-10-29). Pentagon\'s plans to stay in Syria and Iraq are in disarray. workers.org The U.S. Department of \"Defense\" plans to keep its troops in Syria. This may come as a surprise to those who assumed that dumping support for the Kurdish militias meant the Pentagon finally intended to withdraw. The sudden convenient execution of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by U.S. forces on Oct. 27 . . . | Continue reading Pentagon\'s plans to stay in Syria and Iraq are in disarray at Workers.org

Thomas Knapp (2019-10-29). Trump\'s Syria \"Withdrawal\": Where Less is Probably More. counterpunch.org When US president Donald Trump announced his plan to relocate a few dozen US soldiers in Syria — getting them out of the way of a pending Turkish invasion — the Washington establishment exploded in rage at what it mis-characterized as a US \"withdrawal\" from Syria. Instead of fighting that mis-characterization, Trump embraced it, pretending More

Alan Macleod (2019-10-29). Media Silent as Nobel Prize Winning OPCW Found \"Fixing\" its Own Findings on Syria. mintpressnews.com Judging by the minimal impact of the news, there will likely be few consequences for those who suppressed information and misled the world, nor for those who called for war on the basis of it, their assertions proving, once again, disastrously wrong.

Staff (2019-10-29). Baghdadi\'s Death Will Not Kill The Islamic State. therealnews.com The U.S. war in Iraq created ISIS. It thrives on destabilized states, so killing the Osamas and Baghdadis of the world will not end the terror, says The Independent\'s Patrick Cockburn.

Staff (2019-10-29). Trump Reveals Plans for Nationwide Crackdown and More Militarized Police. truthdig.com President Donald Trump on Monday said the Justice Department is preparing to launch a sweeping crackdown on crime that he named \"the surge,\" a term commonly associated with the George W. Bush administration\'s decision to send tens of thousands of additional troops into Iraq in 2007. | \"In coming weeks, Attorney General Barr will announce a new crackdown on violent crime—which I think is so important—targeting gangs and drug traffickers in high crime cities and dangerous rural areas,\" Trump said during the International A…

John Wojcik (2019-10-29). German left wins Oct. 27 vote but far right makes big gains. peoplesworld.org Shouts of joy rang out last night at Berlin\'s Karl Liebknecht Haus, headquarters of Germany\'s Left Party (Die Linke), when it was learned that Die Linke won the state elections in Thuringia with 31% of the vote, the highest total ever for the party in any of Germany\'s 16 states. The party\'s predecessor, the Party …

Robert Fisk (2019-10-29). Fear on the Streets: Hezbollah and the Protests in Lebanon. counterpunch.org Those tens of thousands of largely young protesters demanding a non-sectarian Lebanon were joyful, filled with happiness, determined that this time they would change the wretched confessional nature of their state forever. Then the Hezbollah turned up, a truckload of them, dressed in black and shouting through loudspeakers and holding up posters of their all-Shia More

Robert Jensen (2019-10-29). Disagreeing Reasonably in a Complex World. counterpunch.org In my last couple years of university teaching before retiring, I repeated two catch phrases as often as possible—\"reasonable people can disagree\" and \"if two things are both true, then both are relevant.\" The first assertion—which I used so often that at the end of one semester a student gave me a coffee mug with More

Simon McCarthy-Jones (2019-10-29). Freedom of Thought is Under Attack: Here\'s How to Save Your Mind. counterpunch.org Freedom of thought stands at a critical crossroads. Technological and psychological advances could be used to promote free thought. They could shield our inner worlds, reduce our mental biases, and create new spaces for thought. Yet states and corporations are forging these advances into weapons that restrict what we think. To lose freedom of thought More

Jonah Raskin (2019-10-29). More Mural Fever in San Francisco: Arnautoff Controversy Goes Viral. counterpunch.org Students and faculty members gathered in the auditorium at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) recently to hear a panel discussion about \"public art.\" They were joined by citizens concerned about the controversial murals at George Washington High School, which were painted in the 1930s, by WPA artist and Communist Party member Victor Arnautoff who More

Alan Macleod (2019-10-29). Chilean Protests: A Revolt against Neoliberalism the Media Refuses to Acknowledge. mintpressnews.com \"Neoliberalism was born in Chile and will die in Chile\" has become a rallying cry for the movement. Yet few in the West are aware of the country\'s tumultuous history as an experimental laboratory for free market economics imposed on Chile by the United States.

Ramzy Baroud (2019-10-29). The Palestinian Christian Population Is Dwindling at an Alarming Rate. mintpressnews.com The world\'s most ancient Christian community is moving elsewhere, and the reason for this is Israel. Christian leaders from Palestine and South Africa sounded the alarm at a conference in Johannesburg on October 15. Their gathering was titled: \"The Holy Land: A Palestinian Christian Perspective.\" | One major issue that highlighted itself at the meetings is the rapidly declining number of Palestinian Christians in Palestine. | There are varied estimates on how many Palestinian Christians are still living in Palestine today, compared with the period before 1948 when th…

Staff (2019-10-29). No American Should Stand for the Way We Wage War. truthdig.com There\'s a lot about our wars that we don\'t know, but what we do know is enough to make a person cry.

Staff (2019-10-29). The Problem Threatening the Entire American Middle Class. truthdig.com Americans are more aware than ever that America has a race problem — and, more specifically, a racial wealth divide problem. As researchers from the Institute for Policy Studies and I found earlier this year, median white families are 41 times wealthier than median Black families in the United States. | As our country becomes more diverse, this shocking racial wealth divide is no longer a challenge for disenfranchised minorities alone. It\'s a threat to the entire American middle class. | Let me show you how. | Related Articles: …

Staff (2019-10-29). Chicago School Support Staff Win Deal to End Strike. therealnews.com The Chicago teachers strike has entered its ninth day. Support staff won\'t cross picket lines even after reaching a deal to end their strike, says Jeffrey Howard, Executive Vice President at SEIU Local 73.

RT (2019-10-29). A \'woke\' remake of \'Baby It\'s Cold Outside\': What\'s next, a climate-change one? rt.com Super-woke musician John Legend has reportedly \"updated\" a 1940s classic love song for modern liberal sensibilities, in a downright Orwellian twist to the ongoing US culture war that consumes everything it touches. | \"Baby It\'s Cold Outside,\" first recorded in 1944, has been covered by many a celebrity duet since — until it ran into the #MeToo minefield last year, and got canceled because some people complained very loudly on social media that its lyrics were about \"date rape.\" Or as CNN chose to phrase it, \"some ob…

Staff (2019-10-29). Colombia: Amid Increasing Violence, Former FARC Rebels Contest Local Elections. therealnews.com Despite signing a historic peace deal that should have ended a 50-year insurgency, Colombia is still very much a country at war.

Staff (2019-10-29). Amazon Spends Big to Remake Seattle\'s City Council. truthdig.com SEATTLE—Brian Sweeney has a long list of complaints about Amazon, from the way it treats warehouse workers to the low taxes it pays and its effort to win concessions from cities to bring in jobs. So when he learned the online retail giant had poured $1 million into remaking the Seattle City Council with more business-friendly candidates, he pulled out his wallet. | The New York resident sent $15 to socialist council member Kshama Sawant, a target of the online retail giant. While that doesn\'t compare to Amazon\'s unprecedented spending Oct. 14, about 1,900 others also have donated to Sawant since then, her c…

Bryan Carrillo (2019-10-29). NYC solidarity with Chilean uprising. liberationnews.org The crowd sang \"El derecho de vivir en paz,\" a famous Victor Jara song that translates to \"the right to live in peace.\"

Martin Hart-Landsberg (2019-10-29). Flying above the clouds: the U.S. military and climate change. mronline.org Climate change is occurring, highlighted by dramatically shifting weather patterns and ever more deadly storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires. And the evidence is overwhelming that it is driven by the steady increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide and methane, produced by our fossil fuel-based economic system. | Source

Touria Prayag (2019-10-29). \"In terms of the coral reefs and all the dangers to the ecosystems, Mauritius is one of the countries most at risk\" -John Foster. mronline.org While environmentalist Greta Thunburg was at the UN, John Bellamy Foster, environmental sociologist and editor of the Monthly Review, was in Mauritius to train people on climate change. Weekly had an opportunity to talk to him. | Source

Mirinda Crissman (2019-10-29). As oil companies destroy Houston, community challenges Valero. workers.org In Houston, a city choked by oil refineries and regulatory capture, people are fighting back against one of the largest contributors to the climate crisis. Regulatory capture is when a regulatory agency, founded to advance the public interest, instead promotes the commercial or political aims of the industry it is . . . | Continue reading As oil companies destroy Houston, community challenges Valero at Workers.org

Santa Cruz News (2019-10-29). After Fighting to Keep Ross Camp Open, Homeless Woman Killed When Tree Strikes Campsite. indybay.org Deseire Quintero, whose name became synonymous with the legal effort to keep the Ross Camp in Santa Cruz open to its homeless residents, died Sunday morning when a tree fell and struck her at a survival campsite located in a wooded area in Pogonip, a City park. Quintero was 55 years old.

Keith McHenry (2019-10-29). Desieire Quintero Killed – Help her Son. indybay.org Desieire Quintero was fatally crushed by a falling tree at her campsite in the Pogonip Park in Santa Cruz. She was the lead plaintiff in a historic civil rights lawsuit filed against the city of Santa Cruz.

Staff (2019-10-29). Judge Tells ICE Not to Use Faulty Databases to Order Detentions. Will It Comply? truthout.org In 2012, deportations reached 409,849 — their highest level yet. That same year, a senior official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported a major problem with the program that earned President Obama his \"Deporter in Chief\" moniker. | David Marin, head of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Los Angeles, emailed headquarters to alert them that agents had asked loc…

Ben Norton (2019-10-29). Periodista Max Blumenthal es arrestado meses después de reportar sobre la violencia de la oposición venezolana. thegrayzone.com El editor de The Grayzone, Max Blumenthal, fue arrestado bajo falsas acusaciones luego de reportar sobre la violencia de la…

CodePink (2019-10-29). Golden Gate Bridge Walk: Bridges, Not Walls! indybay.org …

Fight Back (2019-10-29). Salt Lake City: Demand charges be dropped against Inland Port protesters, end to police brutality. fightbacknews.org Salt Lake City, UT – Sixty people rallied at Library Square in Salt Lake City, October 26, for the National Day of Action Against Police Brutality and Repression. The event, hosted by Utah Against Police Brutality (UAPB), focused on the devastating year of police violence locally, with eight people killed by police in 2019 so far. Organizers also denounced the recent charges of 14 anti-Inland Port activists, including ten felony riot charges. | \"Not only do we have killings nationwide, we have them here, police killings continue everywhere,\" said UAPB organizer Deb Blake, who emceed the event. \"We know that polic…

commondreams (2019-10-29). Scores of Activists Targeted with NSO Spyware on WhatsApp. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Jessica Corbett (2019-10-29). 27 youth climate activists arrested for Canadian parliament sit-in demanding Green New Deal. nationofchange.org \"Climate change is impacting us now, so we\'re acting now and we expect our politicians to do the same.\"

United Nations (2019-10-29). \'Real change\' involving women in peace and security, still too slow, Guterres tells Security Council. un.org The Women Peace and Security agenda must continue to be \"one of the top priorities of the United Nations\", Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Tuesday, in an open debate on how best to accelerate change.

Staff (2019-10-29). Protests in Chile Sparked by a Subway Fare Hike Come After 30 Years of Crisis. truthout.org In Chile, a new set of mass protests took place Monday as President Sebastián Piñera fulfilled the promise to appoint new members to his cabinet. As Piñera addressed the nation Monday, hundreds of protesters had already gathered outside the presidential palace in Santiago, waving flags, honking horns and demanding for Piñera\'s resignation. The reshuffling of his cabinet came after more than a million people flooded the streets last Friday in massive peaceful demonstrations over inequality, high…

WSWS (2019-10-29). As protests continue, Hong Kong\'s economy lurches into recession. wsws.org The deteriorating economy is not only being compounded by the protests, but is itself one of the driving forces behind the mass demonstrations.

Staff (2019-10-29). As Death Toll Tops 220, Iraqi Protesters Call for End to Corrupt Government. truthout.org In Iraq, masked gunmen shot dead 18 protesters overnight and injured more than 800 people in the Shiite holy city of Karbala on Monday. Nearly 225 Iraqis have been killed since a wave of anti-government protests swept the country last month. The protesters in Karbala were attacked while they camped out in the city\'s Education Square to protest corruption, lack of jobs and poor public services. Meanwhile in Baghdad, hospital officials said four people died during protests on Monday, while another 1…

teleSUR (2019-10-29). Iraqi Protests Intensify After PM Refuses Early Elections. telesurenglish.net The Iraqi people began their fifth day of protests on Tuesday as tens of thousands of demonstrators packed Baghdad\'s Tahrir Square to call for early elections and the removal of the government. | RELATED: | Iraq Declares Curfew in Baghdad As Protests Persist | The demonstrations on Tuesday were heavily motivated by the security forces shooting dead protesters in Kerbala overnight and the prime minister\'s refusal to call early elections. | It was the largest gathering in the capital since a…

Nino Pagliccia (2019-10-29). Latin America: Risks Worth Taking. counterpunch.org It was just a matter of time before the Bolivian government would be the target of a reactionary opposition. Indeed it happened at its most vulnerable time during an election process that had not officially ended. Following popular protests against neoliberal structural changes imposed by the governments of Ecuador and Chile, it was the conservative More

Yves Engler (2019-10-29). Open Letter Calling on the Canadian Government to Stop Backing a Corrupt, Repressive and Illegitimate Haitian President. globalresearch.ca In recent months, Haitians have demonstrated their overwhelming opposition to President Jovenel MoàØse. There have been massive protests and multiple general strikes demanding MoàØse leave. We consider their demands legitimate. | A recent corruption investigation by Haiti\'s Superior Court of Auditors …

Kathy Kelly (2019-10-29). Camp Bucca, Abu Ghraib and the Rise of Extremism in Iraq. globalresearch.ca Yesterday morning, President Trump announced the death of Abu Bakr Al- Baghdadi and three of his children. | President Trump said Al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS, was fleeing U.S. military forces, in a tunnel, and then killed himself by detonating a …

Kathy Kelly (2019-10-29). Camp Bucca, Abu Ghraib and the Rise of Extremism in Iraq. dissidentvoice.org Yesterday morning, President Trump announced the death of Abu Bakr Al- Baghdadi and three of his children. President Trump said Al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS, was fleeing U.S. military forces, in a tunnel, and then killed himself by detonating a suicide vest he wore. In 2004, Al-Baghdadi had been captured by U.S. forces and, for …

Dan Cohen (2019-10-29). By protecting Syria\'s Idlib, the US created a safe haven for Baghdadi and ISIS. thegrayzone.com With the killing of self-proclaimed ISIS \"caliph\" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shoddy narrative pushed by US government officials and regime…

Stephen Lendman (2019-10-29). Neoliberal Macri Regime Trounced in Argentinian Elections. globalresearch.ca Last August, opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez and running mate/former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner defeated President Mauricio Macri by a 47.22% to 32.36% margin. | It was short of a majority triumph, requiring a electoral runoff. Center-right Roberto Lavagna came in …

Philip Giraldi (2019-10-29). U.S. Universities Bow to Pressure of Israel Lobby. globalresearch.ca The Israel lobby in the United States and its counterparts in Europe have been paying particular attention to curtailing the activities of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS). This is because BDS, which is non-violent and based on established …

Colin Todhunter (2019-10-29). Genetically Engineered Golden Rice: A Silver Bullet that Misses the Target. counterpunch.org Promoters of genetic modification (GM) in agriculture have long argued that genetically engineered Golden Rice is a practical way to provide poor farmers in remote areas with a subsistence crop capable of adding much-needed vitamin A to local diets. Vitamin A deficiency is a problem in many poor countries in the Global South and leaves More

Rep. Ron Paul (2019-10-29). Trump Flip-Flops on Syria Withdrawal. Again. globalresearch.ca President Trump is reversing his foreign policy decisions so quickly these days that it almost seems like he overturns himself before making the decision in the first place. Last week he was very clear that the US was pulling its …

Renee Parsons (2019-10-29). From RussiaGate to UkraineGate: The Impeachment Inquiry. globalresearch.ca As the Quantum field oversees the disintegration of institutions no longer in service to the public, the Democratic party continues to lose their marbles, perpetuating their own simulated bubble as if they alone are the nation\'s most trusted purveyors of …