US Special Rep for Iran, Brian Hook makes Captain Hook look like a good guy

6 September 2019 — InfoRos

Washington is intensifying its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran with the addition of unorthodox tactics including piracy, bribery, and extortion

By Sarah Abed, independent journalist and analyst

US Special Rep for Iran, Brian Hook makes Captain Hook look like a good guy Over the past few months, US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook the head of the Iran Action Group, has been personally writing emails and texts to over a dozen ship captains around the world, to make them an offer they can’t refuse.

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Climate Minimizers Don’t Deny Climate Change—but Find Endless Reasons to Reject Sanders’ Plan to Stop It

6 September 2019 — FAIR

by Esha Krishnaswamy

Climate change is an existential threat to human civilization. If only corporate media acted like it.

While the majority of corporate media do not outright deny the reality of the human-caused climate crisis, they are filled with another brand of insidious ideologues that I call climate minimizers. These downplay the threat that climate change poses to all of us by ignoring scientific data, avoiding discussion on the actual impact of climate change, and hyper-focusing on trivial details.

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The Venezuelan Disinformation Campaign

6 September 2019 — Voltaire Network

Arton207536 851dcIn August 2018, the international press reported on a massive exodus of Venezuelans fleeing the famine and chavist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. There were 18,000 to cross the border each day. At the time, the UN predicted that there would be 5.3 million Venezuelan migrants and refugeesthroughout Latin America by the end of 2019. There was a major crisis.

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Question … Again: Does Anthropocene Science Blame All Humanity?

5 September 2019 — Climate & Capitalism

New scientific papers explode a myth that refuses to die


It’s a myth that won’t die. Because the word “Anthropocene” is derived from the Greek word anthropos, meaning human being, some radical critics charge that Anthropocene science blames all of humanity for the global environmental crisis. Some even claim that naming the new epoch Anthropocene is part of a deliberate effort to distract attention from capitalism’s responsibility.

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US Defense Department prepares for mass internet censorship By Kevin Reed

6 September 2019 — WSWS

DARPA requests proposals for “Semantic Forensics” system

The US military has issued a call for research proposals from technology partners for the development of an automated system capable of scanning the entire internet and locating and censoring content deemed as “false media assets” and “disinformation.” According to government documents, the requested solution would provide “innovative semantic technologies for analyzing media” that will help “identify, deter, and understand adversary disinformation campaigns.”

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Because ‘A World Without Insects Is Not Worth Living In,’ Germany Announces Plan to Ban Glyphosate

4 September 2019 — Common Dreams

“What we need is more humming and buzzing.”

by Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Protesters hold balloons on January 20, 2018 in Berlin during a demonstration under the slogan "We are fed up" against agricultural politics and the use of glyphosate, dumping exports and for sustainable agriculture.

Protesters hold balloons on January 20, 2018 in Berlin during a demonstration under the slogan “We are fed up” against agricultural politics and the use of glyphosate, dumping exports and for sustainable agriculture. (Photo: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images)

The German government announced Wednesday it had agreed on a plan to phase out the use of glyphosate—the key chemical in the weedkiller Roundup—with a total ban set to begin by the end of 2023.

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UK pensioners suffer massive increase in poverty By Thomas Scripps

6 September 2019 — WSWS

The proportion of pensioners living in severe poverty, receiving less than 40 percent of median household income, has climbed to five times the level of 1986. This is an increase from 0.9 percent to 5 percent. It is the largest increase among western European countries, taking the UK from one of the lowest rates to the fourth highest.

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China News Links 5-6 September 2019

6 September 2019 — The New Dark Age

There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day, so check back

Russia, China to discuss foreign media interference in domestic affairs — foreign ministry
https://tass.com/world/1076864

The West Oppressed the Third World for so Long That It Became Third World Itself
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2019/09/06/the-west-oppressed-the-third-world-for-so-long-that-it-became-third-world-itself/

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Brexit/Bojo News Links 6 September 2019

6 September 2019 — The New Dark Age

There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day, so check back

The Sun scores a massive own goal by openly treating its English readers like mugs
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCanary/~3/vliWl4Ggcjc/

As his government falls apart, Johnson chooses to meet an alleged war criminal
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCanary/~3/uwDWuhAOksg/

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Information Clearing House Headlines 5 September 2019

5 September 2019 — Information Clearing House

[Due to some weirdness with ICH’s mailing list, I haven’t been able to get it delivered since 2017, until now! The archives here start in March 2003. WB]

Op-Ed

Empire USA: Why Washington Won’t Reduce Its Military Footprint

By Ted Galen Carpenter
U.S. imperialism consists of creating patron-client relationships with security dependents and enforcing that policy through a global network of military bases. –Continue

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