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This evening's music features Chicago blues harmonica player and singer Snooky Pryor. Enjoy!

“Politics: “Poli” a Latin word meaning "many" and "tics" meaning "bloodsucking creatures".”

-- Robin Williams

News and Opinion

The whole warmongering Democratic Party apparatus has to go.

Democratic-Aligned Think Tank Knocks Bernie Sanders for Vote Aimed at Avoiding War With Iran

A mainstream, Democratic Party-aligned foreign policy think tank is knocking Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for voting against new sanctions on Iran in 2017 — though the think tank itself and many members of its board oppose new Iran sanctions. Sanders has been an outspoken supporter of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and said at the time that he voted against the measure in order to preserve the deal. Sanctions, he argued, would have jeopardized the landmark agreement. But the sanctions were part of a package that also imposed restrictions on Russia and North Korea, which is why the think tank, Foreign Policy for America, supported the package.

Foreign Policy for America’s knock came in a score card that rated politicians on their votes in Congress. The group, also known as FP4A, released its new score card at the end of April, ranking members of Congress from the 115th session on a variety of foreign policy issues. The relatively new advocacy group gives Sanders a positive score in all but two of 13 categories — one of which was the bill that sanctioned Iran and Russia.

With an increasingly crowded field of presidential candidates, the score card gives people an easy way to evaluate and distinguish contenders. It might not do much to damage Sanders’s reputation, but it highlights a fundamental difference in how the foreign policy community prioritizes and understands various policy issues. In this case, the score reflected a prioritization of Russia issues — particularly related to Russia’s intervention in the 2016 election — against preserving the Iran nuclear deal at a time when the Trump administration seems intent on ratcheting up tensions.

Foreign Policy for America gave Sanders a negative score because he voted against sanctioning Russia during a time when policymakers feared that President Donald Trump “might arbitrarily lift the sanctions on Russia,” Albertson said. “And that was alarming to a lot of people, pretty across the board in Congress. And us too.” Sanders had put out a statement after that vote explaining his rationale. “I am strongly supportive of the sanctions on Russia included in this bill. It is unacceptable for Russia to interfere in our elections here in the United States, or anywhere around the world. There must be consequences for such actions. I also have deep concerns about the policies and activities of the Iranian government,” he said. “But I believe that these new sanctions could endanger the very important nuclear agreement that was signed between the United States, its partners and Iran in 2015. That is not a risk worth taking, particularly at a time of heightened tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia and its allies.”

Is the Iran nuclear deal dead?

Iran challenges Europe and China to stand up to US over nuclear deal

By taking a couple of small, carefully calibrated steps towards the exit from the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran has given Europe and China a two-month ultimatum to stand up to the US on the world stage, or risk a slide towards a new Middle East conflict. The erosion of that multilateral agreement and the return to military posturing in the Persian Gulf, has been driven by a small number of radical players in the Trump administration, the Israeli government, and the Saudi and Emirati monarchies. In the US and Israel, this has happened in the face of resistance from the defence establishment.

In the year since Donald Trump abrogated the multilateral agreement with Iran – by which Tehran accepted stringent limits on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief – the European, Russian and Chinese parties to the deal swore to uphold it. But they have failed so far to shield Iran from redoubled US sanctions. Corporations feared being blacklisted in the US more than they feared losing a share in the Iranian market. European efforts to insulate its companies from sanctions have so far proved flimsy.

Tehran’s initial response to Trump’s effort to destroy the deal was strategic patience, relying on the rest of the world to keep its economy afloat. Iran hoped that Beijing at least would defy the US and continue to buy its oil when the US ended sanctions exemptions for the last handful of Iran’s remaining customers on 2 May. So far, that has not happened. Now, Beijing is nervous about derailing delicate trade talks with Washington, and Chinese imports have dipped. ...

“For the Europeans, the Chinese and Russians, the nuclear deal has been a priority but it has not been in the top three priorities. It has been the sacrificial lamb,” said Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. By raising the stakes, Iran has challenged Europe and China to wean themselves off dependence on the dollar – for both a long-term aspiration. Iran is now giving them 60 days to take significant strides or face a potentially severe new crisis in the Middle East. ...

It is now China and Europe’s move.

Iran Nuclear Deal: EU rejects 'ultimatums' from Iran

Trump Admin Inflated Iran Intel, U.S. Officials Say

On Sunday, the National Security Council announced that the U.S. was sending a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Persian Gulf in response to “troubling and escalatory” warnings from Iran—an eye-popping move that raised fears of a potential military confrontation with Tehran. Justifying the move, anonymous government officials cited intelligence indicating Iran had crafted plans to use proxies to strike U.S. forces, both off the coast of Yemen and stationed in Iraq. National Security Adviser John Bolton also discussed the intelligence on the record. A consensus appeared to be emerging: that Iran was gearing up for war.

But multiple sources close to the situation told The Daily Beast that the administration blew it out of proportion, characterizing the threat as more significant than it actually was.

“It’s not that the administration is mischaracterizing the intelligence, so much as overreacting to it,” said one U.S. government official briefed on it. ...

The Daily Beast has not reviewed the intelligence itself, which is all but certain to be classified. That means that the characterization of the intel—both on the record and anonymously—is crucial. And in this case, there is not a consensus in intelligence and military circles on whether the administration’s interpretation, used to justify the deployment of an addition U.S. aircraft carrier and Air Force bomber task force to the Gulf, was accurate.

Maddow Sides With War Criminals On Venezuela

Venezuela: Maduro regime has 'kidnapped' national assembly vice president, says Guaidó

The crackdown against politicians involved in last week’s failed uprising against Nicolás Maduro has intensified with secret police seizing the vice president of Venezuela’s opposition-run parliament in Caracas. “The dictatorship has kidnapped [Edgar Zambrano],” Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader who commanded that botched revolt, tweeted, attacking what he called political persecution typical of authoritarian regimes.

Zambrano was on the scene on Tuesday last week when Guaidó tried unsuccessfully to spark a pre-dawn mutiny against Maduro outside an airforce base in the Venezuelan capital.

On Wednesday night, Zambrano was detained by intelligence agents who transported him to Venezuela’s most notorious political prison, El Helicoide, inside his vehicle after he refused to get out. “Edgar Zambrano has been detained. He was one of the main [leaders] of the coup,” Maduro’s second-in-command, Diosdado Cabello, celebrated on his weekly television show to loud applause from the studio audience.

Opposition leaders and members of the international community condemned what was the harshest move yet in Maduro’s counterattack against those who tried to topple him. Guaidó accused Maduro of “kidnapping” Zambrano in a bid to break up the opposition-controlled national assembly. “But they will not succeed,” he added. ...

The United States state department slammed Zambrano’s “illegal and inexcusable” detention, warning: “If he is not freed immediately, there will be consequences.”

Pompeo calls support in Britain for Venezuela's Maduro 'disgusting'

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday he was disgusted to see politicians in Britain, as well as in the United States, continue to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Responding to a reporter who asked about support for Venezuela’s government by Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Pompeo was blunt in his criticism.

“It is disgusting to see leaders in not only the United Kingdom but in the United States as well who continue to support the murderous dictator Maduro,” Pompeo said at a news conference in London. ...

A Labour spokeswoman said the party’s position on Venezuela was to call for no foreign interference in the country. “We oppose outside interference in Venezuela, whether from the U.S. or anywhere else: the future of Venezuela is a matter for the Venezuelans,” she said.

Worth a full read:

Corporate Media Target Gabbard for Her Anti-Interventionism—a Word They Can Barely Pronounce

Presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has not garnered much press coverage since announcing her bid on February 2; she’s the 13th-most-mentioned Democratic candidate on TV news, according to FAIR’s most recent count (4/14/19). But when corporate media do talk about the Hawaii congressmember, they tend to reveal more about themselves than about her.

A veteran of the Iraq War, Gabbard is centering her presidential campaign around anti-interventionism (2/3/19): the belief that US interference in foreign countries, especially in the form of regime-change wars, increases the suffering of the citizens in those countries. When corporate outlets talk about this anti-interventionist position, they primarily use it to negatively characterize the candidates who espouse it. Few in establishment media seem interested in going any deeper or considering the veracity of arguments raised by anti-interventionists.

The Washington Post (1/15/19) listed Gabbard’s anti-interventionism as a factor that hurts her electability in a video titled, “Why Some See Tulsi Gabbard as a Controversial 2020 Candidate.” Part of the video’s explanation: “The congresswoman has raised concern among Democrats in the past when she criticized Obama’s strategy on Iran, ISIS and Syria.” CBS News (2/4/19) briefly interviewed Honolulu Civil Beats reporter Nick Grube regarding Gabbard’s campaign announcement. The anchors had clearly never encountered the term anti-interventionism before, struggling to even pronounce the word, then laughing and saying it “doesn’t roll off the tongue.” When asked to define the candidate’s position, Grube equated it to President Trump’s foreign policy. But “America First” rallying cries aside, it hardly seems accurate to call Trump an anti-interventionist, given his administration’s regime change efforts in Venezuela, his unilateral reimposition of sanctions on Iran (FAIR.org, 5/2/19) and his escalation of the drone wars (Daily Beast, 11/25/18). ...

FAIR (e.g, 4/91, 3/19/07, 8/11) has documented mainstream media’s consistent support for US intervention across the globe. FAIR has also been documenting corporate media’s support for intervention in Venezuela, finding recently that zero percent of elite commentators opposed regime change in that country (4/30/19) and noting corporate media’s harsh admonishment of Bernie Sanders after he tepidly questioned US intervention in Venezuela (3/5/19). Gabbard’s campaign is just one small piece of a larger phenomenon in the mainstream media: Space for dissenting opinions on the US’s neoliberal, interventionist foreign policies must not be allowed.

Interview With Democratic Congresswoman and 2020 Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard

Ever since Tulsi Gabbard was first elected to Congress in 2012, she has been assertively independent, heterodox, unpredictable, and polarizing. Viewed at first as a loyal Democrat and guaranteed future star by party leaders — due to her status as an Iraq War veteran, a telegenic and dynamic young woman, and the first Hindu and Samoan-American elected to Congress — she has instead become a thorn in the side, and frequent critic, of those same leaders.

Gabbard’s transformation from cherished party asset to party critic and outcast was rapid, and was due almost entirely to her insistence on following her own belief system and evolving ideology, rather than party dogma and the longstanding rules for Washington advancement. ...

Gabbard has compiled a record on domestic policy questions that places her squarely within the left populist wing of the party — from advocating Medicare for All, a national $15 an hour minimum wage, various free college programs, and even participating in anti-pipeline Standing Rock protests in North Dakota. Yet her aggressive criticisms of the pieties of the bipartisan foreign policy community — particularly her harsh criticism of regime change operations from Iraq and Libya, to Syria and Venezuela, and her warnings about escalating tensions with Russia and China and the dangers of a “new Cold War” — have further cemented her status as party outsider and heretic from the perspective of Washington Democratic insiders.

Oh my ...

Ukrainian Embassy confirms DNC contractor solicited Trump dirt in 2016

In its most detailed account yet, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington says a Democratic National Committee (DNC) insider during the 2016 election solicited dirt on Donald Trump’s campaign chairman and even tried to enlist the country's president to help. In written answers to questions, Ambassador Valeriy Chaly's office says DNC contractor Alexandra Chalupa sought information from the Ukrainian government on Paul Manafort’s dealings inside the country in hopes of forcing the issue before Congress.

Chalupa later tried to arrange for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to comment on Manafort’s Russian ties on a U.S. visit during the 2016 campaign, the ambassador said. Chaly says that, at the time of the contacts in 2016, the embassy knew Chalupa primarily as a Ukrainian American activist and learned only later of her ties to the DNC. He says the embassy considered her requests an inappropriate solicitation of interference in the U.S. election. ...

Federal Election Commission records show Chalupa’s firm, Chalupa & Associates, was paid $71,918 by the DNC during the 2016 election cycle. ...

Chaly’s statement says the embassy rebuffed her requests for information [...] But Andrii Telizhenko, a former political officer who worked under Chaly from December 2015 through June 2016, told me he was instructed by the ambassador and his top deputy to meet with Chalupa in March 2016 and to gather whatever dirt Ukraine had in its government files about Trump and Manafort. ... Over lunch at a Washington restaurant, Chalupa told Telizhenko in stark terms what she hoped the Ukrainians could provide the DNC and the Clinton campaign, according to his account.

“She said the DNC wanted to collect evidence that Trump, his organization and Manafort were Russian assets, working to hurt the U.S. and working with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin against the U.S. interests. She indicated if we could find the evidence they would introduce it in Congress in September and try to build a case that Trump should be removed from the ballot, from the election,” he recalled.

Pffffttt...

Russian 'spy whale' may have provided therapy for children

The mysterious harness-wearing whale which approached Norwegian fishing boats last week could belong to a Russian diving center, Norway's Fiskeribladet reported on Tuesday.

The fishermen spotted the four-meter (13-foot) Beluga whale in Arctic waters. They reported the animal was rubbing itself against the boats in an apparent attempt to remove the harness strapped around its body. Eventually, one fisherman jumped into the water and took the item off the placid whale. Inspecting the harness, the Norwegians discovered it had a mounting point for a camera and was marked "Equipment St. Petersburg" in English.

Norwegian military subsequently showed interest in the find, with experts speculating the animal had been trained by the Russian navy for naval reconnaissance. ...

According to Fiskeribladet, however, the animal's tameness is not the result of military training, but rather working with children. One of its former journalists says the mammal shows a strong resemblance to Semyon, a therapy whale kept by a dive center in northern Russia. "I recognized him from a story we had made," former Fiskeribladet reporter Morten Vikeby told the paper, while also pointing to a video featuring Semyon playing with children.

"It was wearing a harness because it was used to dragging boats with children on board," the reporter added. "This is the reason why he is so social." However, the journalist emphasized he could not guarantee it was the same animal.

The House Judiciary Committee Just Voted to Hold Barr in Contempt

House Democrats will need a miracle to actually get America’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General William Barr, charged with a crime. But they’re so mad about Barr’s controversial handling of the Mueller report, they’re gearing up to give it the old college try, anyway.

The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to approve placing Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over the full, unredacted Mueller report. Now it’s onto the full House to take up the vote. The rare step follows accusations that Barr spun Mueller’s findings and lied to Congress — a move that could, at least in theory, land Barr in jail for up to a year. ...

But if Democrats want to respond with any meaningful force, they’ll likely have to get creative. Their most direct option for enforcing the contempt citation involves asking Barr’s own Department of Justice to indict him — a request that’s sure to get shelved. Democrats know that, and say they’re looking at alternative options to make themselves heard.

Rep. Jamie Raskin suggested Democrats might begin by filing a civil suit, despite warnings that approach could take a while. At least some legal experts think it could move along more quickly. Jill Wine-Banks, a former member of the Watergate prosecution team, pointed out that despite Nixon’s invocation of executive privilege in 1974, the Supreme Court took only three months to slap him down and grant a subpoena for the tapes to be released. ...

“One would hope that being held in contempt of Congress would be enough for the Attorney General just to do his civic and legal duty,” Raskin said. “If it’s not, we’re going to court. And if that doesn’t work, we will explore whatever means are available to us to get compliance.”

Uber and Lyft strikes: US drivers stop taking rides in protest over pay

Rideshare drivers are striking and protesting in major cities across the United States, with many participating in a 24-hour strike of the Uber and Lyft apps that began at midnight on 8 May. Cities affected by the stoppage – which varies in length from two-hour strikes to day-long boycotts – include Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia and others. Strikes are also expected overseas in Britain, Australia and elsewhere. The protests come the day before Uber launches its shares in a public offering on the US stock exchange.

The 4,300-member Rideshare Drivers United in Los Angeles is picketing outside Los Angeles international airport throughout the day in addition to participating in a 24-hour strike.

Alex has been driving with Uber for a year and a half, says he now drives 16 hours a day to support his wife and 6-year-old son #UberLyftStrike pic.twitter.com/BzNzY0TD8a

— Kari Paul (@kari_paul) May 8, 2019

“All of us had to guess when Uber’s [share launch] was, knowing this would be a key moment the public, investors and elected officials would be looking at Uber to see what kind of company it is, and we knew the voices of drivers had to be elevated in this. And that’s why we chose this time to organize,” said Nicole Moore, a part-time Lyft driver and organizer with RideShare Drivers United. ...

Many drivers in San Francisco expressed anger at how much money executives will make from the IPO. Annette Ribero has been driving for Uber for two years and held a sign that read: “Dara, I can’t pay my rent, how is your $17m mansion?” referencing a home that the Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, reportedly bought in San Francisco in 2018 for $16.5m. Khosrowshahi is expected to make more than $9m from his shares in the company the day of the IPO. Ribero referenced the fact that many drivers now sleep in their cars to make a living.

Trump Can Keep Sending Asylum Seekers to Mexico While They Await Immigration Hearings, Court Rules

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration can return asylum seekers to Mexico while they await immigration court hearings.

The decision reversed a previous injunction that would’ve kept asylum seekers from being sent to Mexico during the ongoing legal challenge to the policy, which is called the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP). The case could ultimately end up before the Supreme Court. The decision on Tuesday — made by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — could allow the Trump administration to potentially expand the policy beyond its current enforcement in cities in Texas and California.

Mexican immigration officials said that, through May 1, 3,267 Central American migrants has been sent to Mexico under the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy. Advocacy groups have argued that migrants could face dangerous conditions when they’re sent to wait in Mexico.

A district judge previously ruled in April that the “Remain in Mexico” policy didn’t have the proper safeguards to ensure asylum seekers weren’t sent to “places where they face undue risk to their lives or freedom,” but delayed implementing the injunction to give the government time to appeal. In the decision on Tuesday, the judges — two of whom were seemingly critical of the Trump administration's policy — wrote the injunction was “unlikely to be sustained” on appeal in its current form, while also noting fears for migrants’ safety were eased somewhat by the Mexican government.

Sen. Ron Wyden Demands Answers From DHS and Private Intel Firm Over Spying on Anti-Trump Immigration Protests

Sen. Ron Wyden is pressing for answers about how the Department of Homeland Security and LookingGlass Cyber Solutions, a private intelligence firm, gathered and distributed intelligence about hundreds of protests against the Trump administration’s policy of family separation. In separate letters, the Oregon Democrat demanded information from DHS and LookingGlass in the wake of an Intercept report that revealed that the firm shared dates, times, and physical locations of the protests with the law enforcement agency.

Wyden told DHS and LookingGlass Cyber Solutions in the letters, which were obtained by The Intercept, that the public has a right to understand why the company was closely monitoring lawful protests and then sharing that information with DHS, as well as what, if anything, DHS did with the information.

“Surveillance of protests — whether by the government, defense contractors, or unlawful vigilantes — can significantly chill this lawful, First Amendment-protected activity,” Wyden wrote in both letters, which were sent on Monday. “The restrictive effects of surveillance are further amplified for people who belong to communities that have long been over-policed and discriminated against by the state, particularly people of color.”

[See the letters and more information at the link. -js]

Perhaps we should start referring to the pharmacy industry as the "Shkreli Industry."

#CaravanToCanada: Facing Insulin Prices 10X Higher in US, Group Heads Across Border

A group of Minnesotans faced with "astronomical prices for insulin" in the U.S. recently crossed the border into Canada to obtain affordable access to the life-saving drug.

"We should not have to drive five hours to Canada to be able to afford #insulin!" said Quinn Nystrom, a diabetes advocate and one of those on the #CaravanToCanada Saturday.

In tweets over the weekend, Nystrom highlighted the price difference the five-hour drive would mean. Insulin costs 10 times more in the U.S. than in Canada.

A 5 hr road trip & this is the difference in $ for the same product (they just change the name). Where have we gone wrong America?!? We should be ashamed as a country that this is a solvable issue, and nothing has been done to make it more affordable. #insulin4all #MNinsulin4all pic.twitter.com/7nv3bRLnzP

— Quinn Nystrom (@QuinnNystrom) May 5, 2019

The road trip was part of the #insulin4all campaign, which laid out the problem those with Type 1 diabetes face. It noted the following:

• Since the 1990s, the cost of insulin has increased over 1,200%, yet the cost of production for a vial of analog insulin is between $3.69 and $6.16.
• Spending by patients with type 1 diabetes on insulin nearly doubled from 201 to 2016, increasing from $2900 to $5700.
• One of every four patients with type 1 diabetes has had to ration their insulin due to cost. Many have died.

Denver becomes first US city to decriminalize 'magic mushrooms'

Voters on Tuesday made Denver the first US city to in effect decriminalize psilocybin – the psychoactive substance in “magic mushrooms” – adding a new chapter to the city’s role in shaping wider drug policy. The citizen initiative on the ballot followed the same tack taken by marijuana activists to decriminalize pot possession in 2005 in the city. That move was followed by statewide legalization in 2012. A number of other states have since broadly allowed marijuana sales and use by adults.

Though initial results posted on Tuesday night showed the measure to be trailing, final unofficial results on Wednesday indicated it did pass.

Decriminalization led by a slim 51%, according to preliminary figures released by Denver’s election division. As many as 1,300 votes still remain to be counted, but that figure was not enough to swing the vote the other way, a division spokesman, Alton Dillard, said. Final election results would be released on 16 May, he said. ...

The initiative would effectively decriminalize use or possession of psilocybin by people 21 and older, making it the lowest enforcement priority for police and prosecutors. The measure does not legalize psilocybin or permit its sale by cannabis businesses.

Biden: “I Like Dick Cheney!”

Nearly two dozen Democrats want to be president. Only two have a climate change plan

Of the nearly two dozen Democrats running for president, only two campaigns have so far laid out deadlines for transforming American life to slash the pollution that is warming the planet’s climate. The world’s scientists warn that governments have about 11 years to put in place strategies to cut emissions from power plants, cars, buildings, factories and land use. Once the next US president takes office, they will have nine years. ...

The Washington governor Jay Inslee and Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke want the US to be carbon-neutral within the next three decades. Both have unveiled detailed climate policy plans. Inslee would set milestones for three sectors that could drive major reductions: power, transportation and buildings. He has earned praise for his specificity. O’Rourke would also spend $5 tn on green infrastructure.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed banning new coalmining and oil drilling on public lands, which could cut US emissions but fall short of what scientists say is needed. A House climate committee will consider the idea. ...

The Vermont senator Bernie Sanders speaks frequently about the urgency of the climate change problem and supports a Green New Deal to fight global warming while making life more equitable for the poor and people of color. In 2015, Sanders unveiled a plan to cut US carbon emissions 80% by 2050, but so far this campaign season he has not laid out a timeline for the broad strategies he supports.

Sanders has signed a pledge to refuse donations from fossil fuel interests, but other prominent Democrats have not, including the New Jersey senator Cory Booker, California senator Kamala Harris and former vice-president Joe Biden.

Nate Silver Attacks Progressives-Gets Immediately Owned

Fresh mountain smog? 96% of national parks have hazardous air quality

Millions of tourists will head out into America’s national parks this summer in search of fresh mountain air. But according to a new report they should instead expect dangerous levels of pollution; roughly 96% of the nation’s parks are struggling with significant air quality issues.

The report, released yesterday by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), found that some of the most popular parks, including Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Joshua Tree national parks and Mojave national preserve, were among the worst offenders. Last year, these parks recorded up to two months where ozone levels were considered dangerous –mostly in summer when visitation is at its highest.

In 88% of parks, the NPCA found that the elevated levels of air pollution were a direct threat to sensitive species. Air pollution is also exacerbating climate change, adding to a mounting list of threats to national parks that includes wildfire, drought and unnatural seasons.

“We are not doing right by the places that we most cherish,” said Stephanie Kodish, the Clean Air program director for the NPCA. “By protecting these places we are protecting each other, our communities and we are protecting the planet,” she says, emphasizing that the actions that need to be taken to safeguard the parks are the same needed to combat climate change and defend public health. ...

Advocates believe the problems will only get worse as the Trump administration continues to repeal regulations and push for more drilling on public lands. The administration has overseen an 85% drop in EPA pollution enforcement, and just last week the Bureau of Land Management took the next step in a plan that would open more than 1.6m acres in California near these parks to fracking.

Hey looky! We're number one! USA, USA, USA!

US is hotbed of climate change denial, major global survey finds

The US is a hotbed of climate science denial when compared with other countries, with international polling finding a significant number of Americans do not believe human-driven climate change is occurring.

A total of 13% of Americans polled in a 23-country survey conducted by the YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project agreed with the statement that the climate is changing “but human activity is not responsible at all”. A further 5% said the climate was not changing.

Only Saudi Arabia (16%) and Indonesia (18%) had a higher proportion of people doubtful of manmade climate change.

Americans were also more likely than any other western country polled to say they did not know whether the climate was changing or people were responsible – a total of 13% said this. ...

Americans also appear unusually prone to climate-related conspiracy theories, the YouGov data suggests. A total of 17% of those polled agreed that “the idea of manmade global warming is a hoax that was invented to deceive people”.

California defies Trump to ban pesticide linked to childhood brain damage

California is banning a widely used pesticide that has been linked to brain damage in children, a major victory for public health advocates who have long fought to outlaw the toxic chemical in the agricultural industry.

The state ban on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide used on almonds, citrus, cotton, grapes, walnuts and other crops, follows years of research finding the chemical causes serious health effects in children, including impaired brain and neurological development. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had moved to ban the chemical under Barack Obama, but the Trump administration reversed that effort, rejecting the scientific conclusions of its own government experts.

“Countless people have suffered as a result of this chemical,” the California EPA secretary, Jared Blumenfeld, said in an interview on Wednesday. “A lot of people live and work and go to school right next to fields that are being sprayed with chlorpyrifos … It’s an issue of environmental health and justice.”

The move in California, home to a vast agricultural sector responsible for growing a majority of the nation’s fruits and nuts, is the latest example of the state resisting Trump’s conservative agenda and policies. Environmental activists, however, have been pushing to stop chlorpyrifos use in the state for years in the wake of overwhelming evidence of harms caused by exposure.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

Intercepted Podcast: Everywhere Is War: The American Threat to Iran, Venezuela, and Women

The UAE and the Arab Counter-Revolution

Stefania Maurizi on How Julian Assange Changed Journalism

Inside the far-right conspiracy movement that’s preparing for a showdown with Germany’s government

France will send new arms shipment to Saudi Arabia

The Democratic Counterrevolution Has a Self-Appointed Leader: Josh Gottheimer

What I Saw in Gaza Changed Me Forever

How to fix capitalism: nine expert solutions for America's broken system

'Bombshell' Report: Internal Memos Show Trump EPA Ignored Agency Scientists' Calls to Ban Asbestos

This Talk Between Aaron & Gabor Maté Is The Best Political Video I’ve Ever Seen

GDT nature photographer of the year 2019 – in pictures

A Little Night Music

Snooky Prior - Little Brown Hen

Snooky Prior - Nine Below Zero

Snooky Pryor - You Tried To Ruin Me

Snooky Pryor - Fire, Fire

Snooky Pryor - Pay for All Our Sins

Snooky Pryor - Goin' Back to Arkansas

Snooky Pryor - Coal Black Mare

Snooky Pryor - Boogy Fool

Snooky Pryor - Someone To Love Me

Snooky Pryor - Boogie Twist