30 November 2017 — Housmans Bookshop
NEWS
1. Late night openings
2. Housmans Peace Diary
3. 1 Day Without Us – National Day of Action – 7th February 2018
Month: November 2017
Monsanto: Out of Control
30 November 2017 — Organic Bites
On October 9, we held a joint press conference at the EU Parliament in Brussels to announce that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in four EU countries was contaminated with glyphosate.
The next day, Carey Gilliam, journalist and research director for US Right to Know, delivered expert testimony at an EU Parliament hearing on the “science” surrounding glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s popular Roundup weedkiller.
Gillam didn’t talk about whether or not glyphosate and Roundup are safe. Instead, her presentation (“Decades of Deception”) to parliament members, focused on Monsanto’s long-running secretive campaign to manipulate the scientific record, to sway public opinion and to influence regulatory assessments.
In this recent article, “Corporate-Spun Science Should Not Be Guiding Policy,” Gillam lays out all ways corporate-spun science is spinning out of control—and threatening public health. (News update: This week the EU voted to allow the use of Roundup for another five years—not the 15 years Monsanto wanted, but more than the three years some countries favored. France just announced that it will move forward with a plan to ban Roundup after three years).
Read ‘Corporate-Spun Science Should Not Be Guiding Policy’
Video Preview: #stopmurdoch Sky Takeover
30 November 2017 — CPBF
The #stopmurdoch video is being crowdfunded and this is a preview and an opportunity to fund it.
The Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom
One of CPBF’s aims is to:
‘To challenge the myth that press freedom is best served by current forms of ownership and control, and by ‘self-regulation’ on the part of the Press Complaints Commission.’ For more see https://www.cpbf.org.uk/about Continue reading
Backlash Against Russian ‘Fake News’ Is Shutting Down Debate for Real By Robin Andersen
29 November 2017 — FAIR
A few days before the Halloween hearings held by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, where powerful tech companies would provide testimony about their roles disseminating “fake news” during the 2016 election, Twitter announced it would no longer accept advertising from the Russian government-sponsored broadcast channel Russia Today (RT), or the state-owned Sputnik.
In a Twitter PublicPolicy blog post (10/26/17), the company said it would “off-board advertising from all accounts” owned by RT and Sputnik. The decision was based on its own assessment of the 2016 US election “and the US intelligence community’s conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government.” As substantiation, Twitter merely provided a link to the January 6, 2017, intelligence report (ODNI).
Glyphosate: victory or defeat?
29 November 2017 — WeMove
This is a special day. For over two years a huge part of our energy was focused on one goal: stopping Monsanto from getting their hands on a 15-year licence to sell glyphosate on our European market.
And we did – but we didn’t get all we wanted. Instead of a total ban on glyphosate for which we fought long and hard, on Monday the EU countries unexpectedly voted for a 5-year approval of the toxic weed-killer. [1] Glyphosate will stay on our store shelves and will keep poisoning our food – but not for much longer, if we have something to say about it!
Save Net Neutrality!
29 November 2017 — OpenMedia
As I’m sure you’ve seen, it’s been all hands on deck to save Net Neutrality in the U.S. We need you to add your name now to our worldwide message to Republican Congressional leaders to stop the FCC from destroying the free and open Internet as we know it.
This won’t just impact Americans, it will disrupt the Internet for all of us who depend on it.
We only have until December 14th to save Net Neutrality. If you haven’t yet, please add your name.
Media Erase NATO Role in Bringing Slave Markets to Libya By Ben Norton
28 November 2017 — FAIR
Twenty-first century slave markets. Human beings sold for a few hundred dollars. Massive protests throughout the world.
The American and British media have awakened to the grim reality in Libya, where African refugees are being sold in open-air slave markets. Yet a crucial detail in this scandal has been downplayed or even ignored in many corporate media reports: the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in bringing slavery to the North African nation.
Net neutrality and the drive to censor the internet
25 November 2017 — WSWS
Wednesday’s move by the Trump administration to end net neutrality marks a milestone in the offensive by the US government and major corporations to put an end to the free and open internet, paving the way for widespread government censorship of oppositional news and analysis.
Under the current law, upheld by numerous court decisions and reaffirmed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2015, companies that provide internet access to users, known as internet service providers (ISPs), cannot block or impede their users’ access to any website or service.
Watching, Killing: The Evolution of RAF Drone Warfare in the 21st Century’ – Dr Peter Lee By Peter Burt
27 November 2017 — Drone Wars
Dr Peter Lee
Anyone who has conducted interviews with around 60 Reaper drone crew members and given evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones will have learned a thing or two about the Royal Air Force’s armed drone programme. Step forward Dr Peter Lee, a former Air Force chaplain now Director of Security and Risk Research at Portsmouth University, who over the past few years has been undertaking a detailed study into the human dimension of RAF Reaper drone operations. Dr Lee recently lectured at the Royal Aeronautical Society about his research and his forthcoming book on the RAF’s drone community.
Unrelenting Propagation of “Fake News”: Selected Articles
25 November 2017 — Global Research
The Objective of the US Is to Weaken and Destroy Syria: Prof. Tim Anderson
By Prof. Tim Anderson and Sputnik, November 24, 2017
In an interview with Radio Sputnik, Tim Anderson, an academic expert in economics and international politics from the University of Sydney, pondered on the US’ role in the standoff in Syria, saying that America misinterprets the Russian arms’ presence in the country.
Trump Administration Plays Media Like Fiddle on Iran/HBO Hacking Story By Adam Johnson
24 November 2017 — FAIR
The Washington Post (11/19/17) reported warnings that “Justice Department officials want to reveal [Iran-connected] cases because the Trump administration would like Congress to impose new sanctions on Iran.”
It’s rare to see evidence of an administration plot to manipulate the media unfolding in real time, but such is the case this week—and thus far, corporate media have taken the bait hook, line, and sinker.
The Washington Post reported Sunday (11/19/17) that the Trump Justice Department had been ordering national security prosecutors to single out cases involving Iranian nationals to help push for new sanctions on Iran. The Post’s Devlin Barrett, citing Justice Department officials, laid out the strategy (emphasis added):
Black Agenda Report 23 November 2017
23 November 2017 — Black Agenda Report
Trump FCC Wants To Remove Caps on Calls From Jails and Prisons, and to Kill Network Neutrality
Bruce A. Dixon, BAR managing editor
The Trump FCC wants to kill subsidies for poor people to pay phone and internet bills, and remove caps on how much telecoms can charge the families of prisoners to receive phone calls. Its FCC chair used to represent a prison phone company. And they intend to kill network neutrality.
Pambazuka News Special Issue 23 November 2017: Pan-Africanist perspectives on Mugabe
23 November 2017 — Pambazuka News
CONTENTS:
1. Features <http://www.pambazuka.net/en/issue.php/current/#cat_1>
2. Announcements <http://www.pambazuka.net/en/issue.php/current/#cat_3>
European Commission still trying to ram through the renewal of the licence for Roundup
23 November 2017 — SumOfUs
Fresh from its latest glyphosate defeat, the European Commission is still trying to ram through the renewal of the licence for Monsanto’s favourite weedkiller.
After EU member states voted down a ten-year license, the chemical lobby couldn’t even secure a five-year one either. But rather than accept that this battle is lost, the European Commission is still doing the handiwork for Monsanto, trying to ram through the relicensing in yet another meeting, with yet more votes.
Europe says no to the Censorship Machine!
23 November 2017 — OpenMedia
Great news! On Monday the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee voted NO to censorship machines![1] .
This is a fantastic moment, and it wouldn’t have been possible without your tireless support. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done. Over 135,000 people have spoken up against Censorship Machines and the Link Tax. Despite heavy lobbying from media conglomerates, Monday’s vote shows that your voices are being heard.[2]
Book Review: ‘The Humanitarian Impact of Drones’ By Jo Frew
22 November 2017 — Drone Wars
The Humanitarian Impact of Drones, edited by Ray Acheson, Matthew Bolton, Elizabeth Minor, and Allison Pytlak, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), 2017
The Humanitarian Impact of Drones is, as Chris Heynes says in the preface, “a most welcome contribution to a vital debate,” chiefly because it extends beyond the legal lens used to consider the rights and wrongs of particular targeted killings, often the criticism which dominates the debate on the use of armed drones. Instead, split in to two parts, the report covers broader humanitarian ‘impacts’ and ‘perspectives.’ It includes its fair share of discussion on the impacts of targeted killings and the legal perspectives on these actions but chapters range from the impact on peace and security and the environment, to gender-based and religious perspectives. Throughout, the chapters are interspersed with case studies from countries or regions, relating to the various topics covered. The report moves between practical, theoretical and legal frameworks to offer a comprehensive understanding of the nature of drone warfare in its fullest sense.
The Complicity of Warmongers: Selected Articles
22 November 2017 — Global Research
How Syrian-Nuke Evidence Was Faked
By Gareth Porter, November 21, 2017
When Yousry Abushady studied the highly unusual May 2008 CIA video on a Syrian nuclear reactor that was allegedly under construction when Israeli jet destroyed it seven months earlier, the senior specialist on North Korean nuclear reactors on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s staff knew that something was very wrong. Continue reading
Google’s Eric Schmidt admits political censorship of search results
22 November 2017 — WSWS
Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, confirmed this weekend that the world’s largest Internet company is, in close coordination with the state, manipulating search results to censor sites critical of the US government.
Responding to a question about the “manipulation of information” on the Internet during an appearance at the Halifax International Security Forum, Schmidt announced that Google is working on algorithms that will “de-rank” Russian-based news websites RT and Sputnik from its Google News services, effectively blocking users’ access to either site.
Media Lens: Survival? Symptoms Of Breakdown
22 November 2017 — Media Lens
If the human species survives long enough, future historians might well marvel at what passed for ‘mainstream’ media and politics in the early 21st century.
They will see that a UK Defence Secretary had to resign because of serious allegations of sexual misconduct; or, as he put it euphemistically, because he had ‘fallen short’. But he did not have to resign because of the immense misery he had helped to inflict upon Yemen. Nor was he made to resign when he told MPs to stop criticising Saudi Arabia because that would be ‘unhelpful’ while the UK government was trying to sell the human rights-abusing extremist regime in Riyadh more fighter jets and weapons. After all, the amount sold in the first half of 2017 was a mere £1.1 billion. (See our recent media alert for more on this.) Right now, the UK is complicit in a Saudi blockade of Yemen’s ports and airspace, preventing the delivery of vital medicine and food aid. 7.3 million Yemenis are already on the brink of famine, and the World Food Programme has warned of the deaths of 150,000 malnourished children in the next few months.
'The Nuclear Enterprise Is on Autopilot'
20 November 2017 — FAIR
Janine Jackson interviewed William Hartung about nuclear overkill for the November 17, 2017, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.
The New Dark Age 