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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Roosevelt Booba Barnes

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Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features delta bluesman Roosevelt Booba Barnes. Enjoy!

^{Roosevelt Booba Barnes - Heart Broken Man}

“A program of "disarmament," while imperialist antagonisms survive, is the most pernicious of fictions. Even if it were realized by way of general agreement - an obviously fantastic assumption!- that would by no means prevent a new war. The imperialists do not make war because there are armaments; on the contrary, they forge arms when they need to fight.”

-- Leon Trotsky

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News and Opinion

Trump is provoking a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. What could go wrong?

How grimly galling, as Donald Trump ostentatiously marks today’s 75th anniversary of one of the world’s biggest battles, that he is so ready to risk starting another one of potentially greater magnitude. What could possibly be that dangerous, you might ask. Answer: selling American nuclear knowhow to Saudi Arabia without radiation-proof guarantees that it will not be used to make atomic bombs.

The fact that two licences were issued after last autumn’s murder of the US-based Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, is not the worst of it. ... Providing nuclear expertise to Riyadh will push Iran, their sworn enemy and regional rival, into developing its own nuclear capabilities. Supposedly the whole point of Trump’s campaign of threats and sanctions is to deter Tehran from doing just that. To provoke Iran in this fashion is astonishingly stupid – and hypocritical.

It is simply not good enough to say that two planned Saudi reactors, for which multibillion dollar tenders will be sought next year, are intended for civilian, not military use. So far at least, Riyadh has reportedly refused to offer standard guarantees that it will eschew uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing, two well-worn pathways to nuclear weapons, or accept independent inspections. ... Mohammed bin Salman, the hotheaded Saudi crown prince, vowed last year that if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, “we will follow suit as soon as possible”. Since Saudi and Israeli officials maintain that Iran is already doing exactly that, the implication is clear. ...

The burgeoning nuclear deal is of a piece with Trump’s wider Saudi sycophancy and, in part, is payback for Riyadh’s help in keeping world oil prices low. ... Trump claims he wants rid of nuclear weapons. But this is double-speak from a notoriously two-faced man. The global non-proliferation consensus is unravelling; just look at North Korea. The US, like Russia and China, is modernising its existing nuclear arsenal and seeking new weapons. Others may follow suit. And as his shady Saudi deals show, Trump would rather make a killing – no matter who gets killed.

Saudi King Calls Despots to Mecca for Emergency Meeting on Iran

I guess the Pentagon wants to get the fear levels back up...

U.S. commander says American forces face 'imminent' threat from Iran

The top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East says he believes the Iranians or their proxies may orchestrate an attack at any moment. "I think the threat is imminent," Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie said in an exclusive broadcast interview with NBC News in the Iraqi capital. "We continually evaluate our force posture in the region." ...

McKenzie stressed that tensions remain high. "I don't actually believe the threat has diminished," McKenzie said after holding a series of meetings with the Iraqi prime minister and defense chief. "...I believe the threat is still very real." McKenzie said he was "heartened" by the efforts of the Iraqi government to protect American forces and its allies in the region. Roadside bombs have posed the major danger to American forces in Iraq, McKenzie added, but he said the threat from the Iranians is evolving.

"They probe for weakness all the times," McKenzie said. "I would say the threat has probably evolved in certain ways even as our defensive posture has changed and become more aggressive, and we certainly thank our Iraqi partners for many of the things they've done."

"I think we're still in the period of what I would call tactical warning," he said. "The threat is very real." McKenzie declined to go into specifics on the nature of the threats.

In Media’s Looking Glass, US Doesn’t Threaten Iran But Merely Responds to Iranian Threats

US leaders have been threatening Iran for years, but US corporate media persistently and wrongly paint US escalations against Iran as defensive countermeasures. George W. Bush said in 2008 that “all options are on the table” in terms of the policies the US will consider toward Iran, which was a way of saying that the US might militarily attack Iran—even a nuclear first strike would fit under “all.” (Oddly, when officials talk about “all options,” options that involve killing people seem to be the only kind they have in mind.) President Barack Obama repeatedly made the same threat, vowing “we will do anything” to stop an Iranian nuclear weapons program that US intelligence agencies have long said Iran doesn’t have (FAIR.org, 10/17/17). Signing a nuclear accord with Iran did not end his administration’s belligerence, as Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, repeated the threat: “The president, this president or the next president, will have all options on the table, including military ones.”

John Bolton openly urged a military attack on Iran (calling for “a thorough job of destruction”—New York Times, 3/26/15), and President Donald Trump went on to appoint him national security advisor. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that, you guessed it, “all options” are on the table against Iran, including military ones. Recently Trump refused to rule out a war against Iran (“I don’t want to say no, but hopefully that won’t happen”). Surrounding a country with military forces is also a threat. Major US military bases have encircled Iran. The US has ships, jets, drones and tens of thousands of soldiers on Iran’s doorstep—surely US media would see it as threatening if Iran deployed comparable forces to Canada, Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico. Further, the US has openly talked about drawing up plans to invade Iran.

The US has gone beyond making threats to actually carrying out attacks against the country. Sponsoring Iraq’s 1980 invasion of Iran and helping Iraqi President Saddam Hussein use sarin and mustard gas in that war, as the US did, is one example. Throttling Iran socio-economically, as the US is currently doing, is another.

Nevertheless, US media have persisted in ignoring this long record of US threats and hostile actions against Iran, casting Tehran as the aggressor in its conflict with the US. The Hill (5/13/19) published an article under the headline, “B-52s Conduct First Mission of Counter-Iran Deployment.” ... A Foreign Policy headline (5/13/19) said “US Sends More Firepower to Counter Iran.” ... ABC used the headline (5/24/19) “1,500 More Troops and Defensive Capabilities Headed to Middle East to Deter Iran.” ... A CNBC headline (5/24/19) told readers that the “Pentagon Will Send 1,500 Troops, Along With Drones and Fighter Jets, to the Middle East to Counter Iran Threat.” ...

Iran is a threat to US interests in the sense that Iran is a barrier to full-spectrum US domination of the Middle East. But there’s no evidence Iran will attack the US, which is how the word “threat” will generally be interpreted by consumers of news media. The media’s false implication that Iran is a danger to the population of the United States makes US escalations against the country appear necessary and justified, and reduces the likelihood that a sufficient number of US citizens will mobilize to stop the potential and actual harm being inflicted in their name.

US tried & failed to unite Venezuelan opposition - Pompeo

Leaked audio reveals Pompeo saying US has struggled to keep Maduro opposition united

In a closed-door meeting last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. has struggled to keep the opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro united, according to The Washington Post.

“Our conundrum, which is to keep the opposition united, has proven devilishly difficult,” Pompeo said in audio obtained by the Post. “The moment Maduro leaves, everybody’s going to raise their hands and [say], ‘Take me, I’m the next president of Venezuela.’ It would be forty-plus people who believe they’re the rightful heir to Maduro.” ...

The secretary of State said the problems in uniting the opposition have been present since he became director of the CIA in 2017 and that internal squabbles among Maduro’s enemies were preventing a successful uprising. Maduro, Pompeo said in the recording, "is mostly surrounded by Cubans," adding, "He doesn’t trust Venezuelans a lick. I don’t blame him. He shouldn’t. They were all plotting against him. Sadly, they were all plotting for themselves."

US envoy says Russia still stands with Maduro, contradicting Trump

The US special envoy for Venezuela has said that Moscow has “not abandoned” the regime of Nicolás Maduro and that the Russian presence in the South American country has not significantly changed since the failed uprising in April led by opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

Donald Trump tweeted earlier this week that “Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela”, but the claim was quickly disputed by the Kremlin.

Elliott Abrams, who was appointed as special envoy in January, said on Thursday that the Russian role was not as vital to Maduro’s survival as the Cuban military presence, but remained important. And while some specialist forces may have left the country, he said “the Russians have not abandoned the regime”. ...

“Some of them I assume have left because some of them had specific tasks to conduct and would have completed those tasks and left,” Abrams added. “We believe that one of the things they were doing was repairing air defense systems which had become damaged by the series of blackouts in February. And I think once you do that you don’t need to stay – you’ve completed the task. So the fact that they would leave does not suggest that the Russians are not helping Maduro.” ...

It is unclear what prompted Trump to claim that “most” Russians had left Venezuela. The Guardian has learned that the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, told his US counterpart that there were 96 Russian military personnel left in Venezuela, but US officials believe there may be up to 150 still in the country.

US Media Spreads False Claims About Purging of North Korean Official

The corporate media’s editorial standards for reporting on official enemies of the U.S., especially North Korea, are as low as ever. Blatantly false stories are regularly circulated by leading news outlets without any kind of accountability. In the latest example, virtually every major media outlet reported that a senior North Korean official named Kim Yong-chol was supposedly forced into a “labor camp,” as part of a larger deadly “purge.” Two days later, that same official turned up alive at a public art performance, seated next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Bloomberg kicked off the frenzy on May 30 by publishing a report claiming, “North Korea executed its former top nuclear envoy to the U.S. and four other foreign ministry officials in March after a failed summit between Kim and Donald Trump.” Bloomberg’s source was South Korea’s far-right newspaper Chosun Ilbo, which has a long history of fabricating stories about North Korea. Chosen Ilbo’s story was based on a single unidentified source. That is to say, the false report obediently echoed by the Western press corps was based entirely on the claims of one unnamed person.

This obvious lack of evidence did not stop credulous reporters from jumping on the sensationalist propaganda. The story was circulated by The New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Fox News, CNBC, TIME, ABC News, The Financial Times, The Telegraph, VICE News, Rolling Stone, The Independent, The Washington Times, The New York Post, HuffPost, France 24, The Japan Times, Haaretz, The Times of Israel, Democracy Now, the U.S. government’s Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and many more.

Careful readers (only a small percentage of total readers) might have noticed that Bloomberg quietly admitted in its original report, “Previous South Korean media reports about senior North Korean officials being executed following the talks have proven false.” But this concession didn’t stop the rest of the corporate media from running with the story.

On June 2, the commentariat’s favorite fable fell apart: North Korea’s nuclear negotiator Kim Yong-chol showed up on state media, sitting a few seats away from Kim Jong-un at a musical performance. The Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, and CNN quickly published new reports making light of the news — but none of these contained mea culpas or official retractions. As of June 3, the vast majority of blatantly false reports published in dozens of outlets remain uncorrected.

Ethically Challenged NYTimes Journo Called Out

Spanish king asks socialists to form new government

Spain’s King Felipe VI has tasked acting prime minister Pedro Sánchez with forming a new government, a complex undertaking that will involve negotiations with diverging parties. While they won a general election in April and gained lawmakers compared with the previous term, Sánchez’s socialists failed to secure a majority in parliament and will need the support of other groupings.

But despite the obvious horse-trading that entails, Sánchez is widely expected to get the backing he needs to start his second term as prime minister. Without the necessary seats in parliament to form a majority, the conservative Popular party, centre-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) and far-right Vox have already resigned themselves to being in opposition.

The far-left coalition Unidas Podemos, with its 42 seats, has already shown its willingness to back Sánchez in the traditional parliamentary confidence vote that follows any general election. But in exchange, it wants to enter a coalition government.

The socialists are not keen on that scenario, preferring to rule alone in a minority government which would seek the support of other parties on a case-by-case basis when passing laws or reforms.

Frustration Grows as Powerful House Democrat Refuses to Accept New York Offer of Trump Tax Returns

The New York legislature passed a bill last month that would make President Donald Trump's state tax returns available to the House Ways and Means Committee upon request, but the committee's Democratic chairman Richard Neal has reportedly made clear that he has no plans to ask for the documents.

According to Bloomberg, Neal fears that attempting to obtain the president's state tax returns "would bolster Trump administration arguments that Congress is on a political fishing expedition."

"Richard Neal would be the only Democrat allowed by the new law to ask for the documents," Bloomberg reported, "but so far he has said he won't do it."

Neal's refusal to pursue Trump's New York returns—which could contain similar information to the president's federal tax returns—sparked anger from progressive activists and lawmakers, who argued the Ways and Means chairman should be using all of the power at his disposal to investigate Trump's potential financial conflicts.

'Is white supremacy not a global issue?' Ocasio-Cortez dissects FBI’s terrorism definition

What’s Happening to Puerto Rico Without the Delayed Disaster Aid

After months of negotiations, Congress finally passed a $19.1 billion disaster aid bill on Monday. The bill, which President Trump has said he will sign, will provide billions in aid to flood-ravaged Texas, wildfire areas in California, and hard-hit Puerto Rico. But the $1.5 billion that the bill allots to the island's recovery is just a fraction of the money the government has already promised — but failed to deliver.

"I think that the fact that we are not a state has essentially given the platform for the Administration to give a different and unfair treatment to Puerto Rico," Omar Marrero, the head of recovery in Puerto Rico, told VICE News.

Without proper funds, Puerto Rico has been slapping Band-aids on things, building only temporary infrastructure — and leaving tens of thousands living in shaky, damaged homes.

"Across all Puerto Rico, the only fixes, the only work that is being done, is emergency work," said Marrero.

Mexico tightens southern border security as another day passes with no tariff deal

As Donald Trump’s deadline for new tariffs on Mexican imports draws near, Mexico has stepped up security along its porous border with Guatemala – deploying police and soldiers to its southern frontier and arresting prominent migration activists. ...

Mexican immigration officials and navy marines corralled a caravan of Central American migrants on Wednesday, less than a day after it crossed into the country and had barely marched up the highway under the scorching hot sun. The column of men women and children had barely walked 12km on Mexican soil before it was stopped; previous caravans have successfully travelled nearly 4,000km across the length of the country to the US border. ...

On the same day, police arrested two members of the migrants’ rights organisation Pueblo Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders), which coordinates caravans crossing Mexico. Pueblos Sin Frontera said the detentions followed a pattern of harassment from the authorities in both countries against individuals assisting migrants and an attempt at “criminalising” the caravans. ...

Recent weeks have already seen a proliferation of immigration checkpoints in southern Mexico and police raids on migrant centers. Observers say Mexico prefers not to mix issues such as trade and immigration in its dealings with the US, but the Trump administration is attempting to push ever increasing responsibility for stopping migrants to its southern neighbour. “They want Mexico to stop migrants by all means possible,” said Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the Strauss Center at the University of Texas. “They want to outsource both enforcement and asylum processing, it seems.” ...

Meanwhile, the factors driving migrants from Central America – hunger, climate change, unemployment, crime and violence – remain in place.

Mexico tightens border security in wake of Trump tariff threats

Why We Shouldn’t Believe ICE’s Promise to Deport Migrants “With Compassion and Humanity”

Mark Morgan, the new acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said on Tuesday that “interior enforcement” will be the agency’s “next challenge.” In other words, the Trump administration isn’t just focusing on preventing migrants from entering the U.S. — it’s also going to work even harder to deport those who are already here. “That will include families,” Morgan said, but he tried to dispel any worry, adding the deportations will be handled “with compassion and humanity.”

This isn’t the first time that line has been used. On the campaign trail in 2015, Donald Trump repeatedly said his deportation plan would be “totally humane.” Despite Trump’s grandstanding, “humane” isn't what most deportations look like. Immigrants in deportation proceedings are regularly locked up in detention centers unless they can afford to pay a bond that, in some states, can cost upwards of $10,000. Because of a growing backlog in cases, they’re often forced to wait months or years for their cases to be adjudicated. And when they are deported, they’re usually shipped back to their countries of origin with no money and no resources. ...

These claims of “humane” immigration enforcement aren’t limited to the Trump era. For the past two decades, presidents on both sides of the aisle have promised to handle immigration with compassion — yet deportations have remained anything but.

Dr. John, Hall of Fame Singer Who Brought New Orleans to the World, Dead at 77

Mac Rebennack, the New Orleans pianist, singer-songwriter and producer better known as Dr. John, died Thursday at the age of 77. The cause of death was a heart attack, according to his family. ...

Although best known for his Seventies solo work and radio hits like “Right Place, Wrong Time,” Rebennack had a career that spanned pop history. He was a key part of the “Wrecking Crew” stable of ace Los Angeles session musicians in the Sixties. He played on recordings by Cher, Aretha Franklin, Canned Heat, Frank Zappa and countless others, fusing funk with R&B and boogie woogie. Rebennack began putting out his own records in 1968 with the release of Gris-Gris. It was the beginning of his larger-than-life Dr. John Creaux the Night Tripper character. He incorporated elements of voodoo into his outrageous stage show and quickly grew a large following, introducing much of America to New Orleans music.

Born Malcolm John Rebennack on November 21, 1940, Dr. John was immersed in the music of his native city from an early age. He started banging on a piano when he was three, venturing to African-America clubs when he was teenager and working at a studio in town during the same time. His first instrument was the guitar, not the piano, and he soon met and began playing with Professor Longhair, the New Orleans piano icon. Before he was even 20, Dr. John had played in bands, was writing songs for local acts like Lloyd Price and Jerry Byrne, and worked an A&R job at Ace Records. ...

Dr. John released dozens of albums over the course of his career as both a solo musician and member of Bluesiana Triangle, a trio he formed with jazz giants Art Blakey and David “Fathead” Newman. He made jazzy pop (City Lights), pre-rock pop standards (In a Sentimental Mood), and homages to his home town (Going Back to New Orleans). In 2012, he released the Dan Auerbach-produced album Locked Down, which landed on Rolling Stone‘s Best Albums of 2012. He continued to tour heavily until 2017 when health problems took him off the road.

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At Democratic Retreat, Chiefs of Staff Coached on Schmoozing With K Street

Democratic chiefs of staff gathered on Thursday for a retreat to hash out strategy for the coming year and orient themselves in Washington. One of the key agenda items: “How to Engage Downtown.”

“Downtown” in Washington is a reference to K Street, where the city’s lobbying industry has set up shop. Downtown is the destination for many a chief of staff in their post-congressional career, and that knowledge — as much or even more than campaign contributions — helps shape legislative strategies. ... The Washington retreat concludes with a happy hour, at which the chiefs can “meet members of the DC Downtown Community.” ...

Fighting President Donald Trump over impeachment or immigration plays into his hands, the chiefs were told, so it’s better to stick to terrain that’s safe for Democrats, such as shoring up the Affordable Care Act and lowering drug prices. Decrying corruption in Washington, they were advised, merely breeds cynicism, which can hurt Democrats.

2020 Dems Are Not Having Joe Biden’s Stance on Abortion Funding

Until this week, 2020 Democrats had largely avoided taking major shots at each other and preferred, instead, to burnish their own credentials or bash President Trump. But that ended Wednesday when former Vice President Joe Biden reiterated his support for the Hyde Amendment, a controversial budget rule that blocks government funding for abortions — except in cases involving rape, incest, or severe health risks to the mother.

Then, the pile-on began.

Biden confirmed to the New York Times that he’s still in favor of the Hyde Amendment, which makes him the only 2020 candidate to come out directly in support of the rule. And his opponents, namely Sen. Elizabeth Warren, were quick to point out that his stance negatively impacts low-income women since the rule most directly affects Medicaid. Biden’s view also puts him at odds with many abortion rights and women’s groups, who could offer high-profile endorsements in the 2020 race. ...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, another 2020 contender who has a plan of her own to ensure women have access to abortions, also spoke out against the Hyde Amendment after Biden’s comments. Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Sen. Kamala Harris, who has fundraised for abortion groups in the wake of restrictive laws, also took to Twitter to say they support repealing the Hyde Amendment. ...

Abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America told the Times Biden’s current Hyde stance would disqualify him from earning the group’s endorsement. Planned Parenthood Action Fund also said they “strongly encourage” Biden re-evaluate his position. The president of Emily’s List, which supports politicians who favor abortion rights, told the Times that Biden’s pro-Hyde stance “is going to be a factor for a lot of voters.”

Biden’s campaign, however, told Politico his position on the law could change if the country curtails abortion access further.

Pffffttt! If there's one word that describes Biden, it's not "principled." Biden will say anything to get people to vote for him.

Abortion: Biden drops support for 40-year-old rule day after backing it

A day after Joe Biden affirmed his support for the Hyde amendment – a measure that prohibits the use of federal funding for abortions – he reversed course and announced that he could no longer support the ban. Biden, the former vice-president and an early frontrunner for the Democratic party presidential nomination, abandoned the position he has held for decades amid fierce criticism from his top primary rivals, lawmakers and liberal activists.

“If I believe healthcare is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code,” he told an audience at the Democratic National Committee’s African American Leadership Council Summit in Atlanta on Thursday.

'In Everyone's Best Interests': New Hampshire 20th State to Call for Constitutional Amendment Limiting Political Spending

New Hampshire on Thursday became the 20th state in the U.S. to call for a constitutional amendment to allow limits on political spending.

The state Senate passed the measure in a 14 to 10 vote, following the lead of the state House, which approved the resolution on March 7.

The resolution, which aims to roll back the infamous Citizens United 2010 Supreme Court case that largely erased any limit on campaign spending, allows for legislators at the state and federal level to "regulate the role of money in elections and governance to ensure transparency, prevent corruption, and protect against the buying of access to or influence over representatives."

"No such regulation shall be deemed in violation of freedom of speech rights in the Constitution of the United States or its Amendments," the bill reads.

New Hampshire joins 19 other states and 803 localities in passing a resolution calling for restrictions in political spending—the total amount representing 46 percent of Americans, 141 million people, according to advocacy group United for the People.

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New Greenpeace Report Breaks Down Why Next US President Has No Choice But to Prioritize Total 'Fossil Fuel Phase Out'

As public demands for the Democratic Party to allow a 2020 primary debate centered solely on the climate crisis ramped up Thursday, Greenpeace USA released a new report that implores the next president—whoever it is and with help from Congress—to enact ambitious policies that urgently phase out oil, gas, and coal production to prevent planetary catastrophe.

Greenpeace's report, entitled Real Climate Leadership: Why The Next President Must Prioritize a Fossil Fuel Phase Out, outlines the need for "a transformative Green New Deal" in the United States to ensure "a clean and prosperous future" on a global scale. "For the next president and Congress, real climate leadership means not only saying yes to real solutions like a rapid transition to renewable energy with equitable ownership and participation, but also saying no to the destructive impacts of fossil fuel extraction," the report declares.

Just transitioning to clean energy sources in the United States, the report explains, is not enough to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels—a key target of the international Paris climate agreement. The United States could run on 100 percent renewable energy and still export enough oil to derail progress on cutting planet-warming emissions, according to an original analysis included in the report. "If steps are not taken to reduce domestic oil production," it reads, "roughly half of any reduction in domestic oil consumption will be counteracted by increased oil consumption elsewhere in the world."

"It should be obvious that we can't fight climate change and expand fossil fuel use at the same time, but still too many politicians are buying into fossil fuel executives' myth that we need oil, gas, and coal to survive," the report's lead author, Greenpeace USA senior research specialist Tim Donaghy, said in a statement. The group also urges the next president and Congress to end subsidies for fossil fuel production—which now total $20 billion a year—as well as restore the ban on exporting crude oil, and expand it to other dirty energy sources.

BREAKING: SEIU passes resolution in support of #GreenNewDeal. This groundbreaking measure aims to address climate change while creating high-quality union jobs. We need to combat climate change while raising standards for all working people. Read why here: https://t.co/tQNmgguaE8

— SEIU (@SEIU) June 6, 2019

Another demonstration of the fact that the Democratic Party is a fraud perpetrated on the American public and an impediment to human life and must go away.

'This Is an Emergency. We Need the Democrats to Act Like It': Outrage as DNC Announces It Will Not Host 2020 Debate on Climate Crisis

Sparking a torrent of backlash from Democratic White House contenders, environmental organizations, and youth climate leaders, the Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that it will not host a climate-specific presidential primary debate and will punish candidates who attend a debate hosted by any other organization.

News of the DNC's decision was made public by 2020 presidential candidate and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who was the first Democratic contender to call for a debate focused solely on the climate crisis.

"Today, my team received a call from the Democratic National Committee letting us know that they will not host a climate debate," Inslee said in a statement. "Further, they explained that if we participated in anyone else's climate debate, we will not be invited to future debates. This is deeply disappointing." Inslee said he will pressure the DNC leadership to change its mind, arguing that the climate emergency "merits a full discussion of our plans" rather than the "short exchange of talking points" typical of past presidential debates.

In a report published in April, Public Citizen found that corporate media networks have systematically failed to devote sufficient time to the climate crisis, which activists argue should—given the existential threat it poses—dominate the headlines on a daily basis.

The youth-led Sunrise Movement, which is planning a massive action outside of the second DNC debate in Detroit next month, urged all 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to "speak out against" the DNC's "disastrous decision" and pressure the committee to reverse course. "This is an outrage. Almost every major candidate has supported the call for a climate debate, but the DNC won't even let the American people hear their plans for one of the greatest challenges of our time," Sunrise tweeted. "This is an emergency. We need the Democrats to act like it."

'Biggest Animal Disease Outbreak We've Ever Had on the Planet': Swine Fever Spreads Like Wildfire Across Asia

Officials across Asia are reportedly calling on farmers to diversify their farms to offset the effects of the rapidly spreading African swine fever, a virus that's forced the region to slaughter millions of pigs in recent months.

The fever, which is believed to be harmless to humans and is also known as pig Ebola, has been spreading across Southeast Asia at an alarming rate since last August, forcing pig farmers to cull the animals by the millions and causing the price of pork, a widely-used meat worldwide, to soar.

The epidemic is "the biggest animal disease outbreak we've ever had on the planet," according to Dirk Pfeiffer, an expert on African swine fever.

"It makes the foot and mouth disease and [mad cow disease] outbreaks pale in comparison to the damage that is being done," Pfeiffer told The Guardian. "And we have no way to stop it from spreading."

African swine fever (ASF) causes pigs to die from internal hemorrhaging, and passes easily across borders as the virus can survive for several weeks in vehicles used to transport pigs. There is no vaccine for the disease, and contaminated animals must be slaughtered to stop it from spreading. The culling of over one million pigs in China and two million pigs in Vietnam—six percent of the country's supply—has caused global pork prices to soar by 40 percent.

As Wandile Sihlobo, an agricultural economist in South Africa, wrote on Twitter, Vietnam's leaders are asking farmers to diversify from raising pigs and begin raising other animals including ducks and chickens. Pork currently accounts for 75 percent of the meat consumed in Vietnam, and about 50 percent of workers are employed by the agriculture industry, including pig farms.

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Also of Interest

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

WSJ Says CIA Chief Wouldn’t Do Anything ‘Inappropriate’—Despite Record of Torture and Coverup

Odd NYT 'Correction' Exculpates British Government And CIA From Manipulating Trump Over Skripal Novichok Incident

Swedish Court Injects Some Sense into the Assange Case

Cuba Is Feeling John Bolton's Wrath

Britain a ‘United’ Kingdom How Much Longer?

Key figure that Mueller report linked to Russia was a State Department intel source

People Who Support Internet Censorship Are Infantile Narcissists

Why Elites Are Creating Surveillance States

Warning of 'Surveillance Capitalism' Nightmare, Big Tech Investor-Turned-Critic Pushes Toronto to Abandon 'Smart City' Waterfront Development

Civil rights leader William Barber convicted of trespassing for 2017 protest

Zuckerberg's Hawaii estate: battle's latest turn 'devastates' local family

Leopard kills toddler in South Africa's Kruger park

America's rural radio stations are vanishing – and taking the country's soul with them

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A Little Night Music

Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes - Ain't Goin'To Worry

Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes & The Playboys - How Long This Must Go On

Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes - Every Time She Goes By

Roosevelt Booba Barnes - Tin Pan Alley

Roosevelt Booba Barnes - No Place To Go

Roosevelt Booba Barnes - Tell Me What I've Done / My Last Affair

Roosevelt 'Booba' Barnes - Blind Man + I Pity The Fool

Roosevelt Booba Barnes - Louise, Louise Blues

Roosevelt Booba Barnes - Going Back Home

Roosevelt Booba Barnes - Rocking Daddy

Roosevelt Booba Barnes - Love Like I Wanna

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