29 May 2019 — Electronic Intifada
Reporters Without Borders is facing sharp criticism for accepting a prize from a regime that murders journalists.
The group, often known by its French initials RSF, received the Dan David Prize for “defending democracy” earlier this month at a Tel Aviv University ceremony attended by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
29 May 2019 — Tim Hayward
On 13 May 2019 the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (WGSPM) published a document received from an anonymous whistleblower at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The document’s findings run counter to the conclusion of OPCW’s official final report (1 March 2019) on the 2018 chemical incident in Douma – the one cited as pretext for French, US and UK forces to fire 103 missiles into Syria.
29 May 2019 — Caitlin Johnson
Julian Assange’s Swedish lawyer Per Samuelson has told the press that “Assange’s health situation on Friday was such that it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him.”
This jarring revelation has been reported by a small handful of outlets, but only as an aside in relation to Sweden refusing Samuelson’s request for a postponement of a scheduled hearing regarding Assange’s detention en absentia for a preliminary investigation of rape allegations. The fact that the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder is so ill that he can’t converse lucidly is itself far more significant than the postponement refusal, yet headlines mentioning Samuelson’s statement focus on the Swedish case, de-emphasizing the startling news from his lawyer.
17 May 2019 — Mint Press
New information released by the FBI has brought fresh scrutiny to the possibility that the “Dancing Israelis,” at least two of whom were known Mossad operatives, had prior knowledge of the attacks on the World Trade Center.
29 May 2019 — WSWS
Tens of thousands of ambulance staff have quit Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).
The figures, uncovered by a Labour Party-led investigation, are staggering. Fully 33,414 paramedics, technicians and office staff have quit their jobs since 2010—the year the Conservatives came to power in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
28 May 2019 — Dissident Voice
It’s a David vs Goliath story. A former local newspaper reporter, Robert Stuart, is taking on the British Broadcasting Corporation. Stuart believes that a sensational video story about an alleged atrocity in Syria “was largely, if not entirely, staged.” The BBC would like it all to just go away. But like David, Stuart will not back down or let it go. It has been proposed that the BBC could settle the issue by releasing the raw footage from the event, but they refuse to do this. Why?
28 May 2019 — In Defence of Marxism
[Not a bad analysis except for its ambivalence over the role of the Labour Party in Labour’s debacle in the Euro elections but you be judge. WB]
As expected, the European elections saw a huge victory for the Brexit Party, which took 32 percent of the vote in Britain. This clearly reflects the frustrations of many people about the paralysis in Parliament and the failure of politicians to agree on a path for Britain’s departure from the EU.
28 May 2019 • 18:20 — The New Dark Age
There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day
‘Free Assange’: Irish politician wears t-shirt supporting WikiLeaks founder as she becomes MEP
https://www.rt.com/news/460484-clare-daly-elected-free-assange/
Idiocracy
https://www.greanvillepost.com/2019/05/28/idiocracy/
28 May 2019 — TRNN
David Renton discusses his new book The New Authoritarians: Convergence on the Right. Although the new wave of right-wing politicians is not fascist, it is dangerous and must be studied closely in order for the left to have a chance to fight back. The book focuses on the U.S, UK and France, and shows the… (inc. transcript)
28 May 2019 — Defend Wikileaks
If you’re in the UK, writing to your MP is an important way you can help Julian Assange in his fight against extradition to the United States.
An email written in your own words will be noticed. Your opinion matters. Regardless of what your MP thinks about this issue, they should pass on your concerns to the Home Office if you request it. For everyone who takes the time to write a letter, the UK government knows there are dozens more who think similarly – so even a couple of hundred letters can make a huge difference.
28 May 2019 — The New Dark Age
There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day
US boycotts arms control conference in protest at Venezuela
https://www.rt.com/news/460471-us-boycotts-conference-venezuela/
Venezuela Resisting Venezuela Reconstructing: A photo-feature
https://countercurrents.org/2019/05/venezuela-resisting-venezuela-reconstructing-a-photo-feature
28 May 2019 — Oriental News
Amid the escalating economic war between the US and China, discussions have intensified on how Beijing might stand up to the economic power of America, especially given that the global economy is increasingly dependent on the US dollar as the main currency for international trade, and the closing of US markets could do some serious damage to China’s export-oriented companies. China’s main foreign-policy publication, the Global Times, points to three trump cards that Beijing could use to at least level the playing field in its fight with the Trump administration and cause appreciable harm to the US economy, possibly forcing its opponent to temporarily scale back its ambitions.
28 May 2019 — Tim Hayward
This page provides selected links (most recent first) with brief annotations on how public understanding has developed in relation to the event and the informational contestation surrounding it.
27 May 2019 — Internationalist 360°
This interview with former President Rafael Correa is the first step in a more ambitious project that we have proposed in Misión Verdad: to go to the vanguard of Latin American political leaders and invite them to reflect on the future rather than on the current situation. Correa accepted our invitation and summoned us to the campus of the Louvain-la-Neuve University on the outskirts of Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where he himself studied as a teenager. A thirty-minute conversation which months later is still continuing.
28 May 2019 • 18:25 — The New Dark Age
There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day
Andre Vltchek: It Is Indifference of the Israelis That Is Killing People
https://www.mintpressnews.com/it-is-indifference-of-the-israel-that-is-killing-people/258811/
It is the Indifference of Israelis that is Killing People
https://dissidentvoice.org/2019/05/it-is-the-indifference-of-israelis-that-is-killing-people/
28 May 2019 — The New Dark Age
There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day
Leaked OPCW engineering report concludes alleged 2018 chemical attack in Syria was staged
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/28/doum-m28.html
US-Backed Terrorists “Struggle” After Returning from Syria
https://www.greanvillepost.com/2019/05/27/us-backed-terrorists-struggle-after-returning-from-syria/
28 May 2019 — WSWS
The ruling Conservatives have suffered their worst ever election result, while Labour suffered a debacle almost as bad.
Coming fifth nationwide with just 9 percent of the vote and taking just three seats, the Tories were eviscerated, suffering the largest ever loss since the party was founded in 1834. Their previous worst national performance was in the 2014 European election when they received just 24 percent, more than double that just recorded.
28 May 2019 — WSWS
On Sunday, polling day in the European elections, the largest Facebook group associated with the “yellow vest” protests in France, with more than 350,000 members, was frozen so that members could not publish or share information in it.
27 May 2019 — Moon of Alabama
During a press conference in Japan U.S. President Donald Trump today said (video):
And I’m not looking to hurt Iran at all.
I’m looking to have Iran say, “No nuclear weapons.”
We have enough problems in this world right now with nuclear weapons. No nuclear weapons for Iran.
And I think we’ll make a deal.
27 May 2019 — Jonathan Cook
It is astonishing how often one still hears well-informed, otherwise reasonable people say about Julian Assange: “But he ran away from Swedish rape charges by hiding in Ecuador’s embassy in London.”
