Young, old join hands to protest security bills; Suga cites 'misunderstanding'

Protesters in Tokyo’s largest demonstration against national security bills hailed the turnout as a victory for democracy, but government officials downplayed the movement, saying the opponents are full of misunderstanding and ignorance.

Under rainy skies, crowds inundated streets near the Diet building on Aug. 30, calling for the scrapping of the bills... Read more.

Asahi Shimbun

Related,
- Massive rally in Tokyo against new Japan's military presence law (video) - RT
- Tens of thousands of Japanese protest against 'war law' - Al Jazeera

- Protest bij Japans parlement tegen meer bevoegdheden leger - NRC

Buffy Sainte-Marie - Power In The Blood

Lyric

Clashes, smoke grenades as crowds protest constitutional law in Kiev

Clashes have erupted in front of the parliament in the Ukrainian capital as protesters came to oppose amendments to the constitution proposed by President Petro Poroshenko.

The changes would provide for decentralization of the country. Read more.

RT

Related,
- RAW: Grenade explodes at Ukraine parliament riot, multiple injuries (video) - RT
- Loud blast heard outside Ukraine parliament (video) - PressTV

- Some 15 law enforcers wounded in blast outside Ukraine parliament- TASS
- Ukraine’s parliament passes constitutional amendments on decentralization in first reading - TASS

Long exposure to tiny amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup may damage liver, kidneys – study

Long-term intake of the Monsanto’s most popular Roundup herbicide, even in very small amounts lower than permissible in US water, may lead to kidney and liver damage, a new study claims.

The research, conducted by an international group of scientists from the UK, Italy and France, studied the effects of prolonged exposure to small amounts of the Roundup herbicide and one of its main components – glyphosate. Read more.

RT

Related,
- Monsanto Knew of Glyphosate (Roundup)-Cancer Link 35 Years Ago - Global Research
- Glyphosate: Scientists urge caution over experts' claims pesticide is 'probably' carcinogenic - Independent

- Supermarkets and garden centres ban Roundup weedkiller suspected of causing cancer - Guardian

The Pentagon's rules of media engagement - The Listening Post

Journalist or belligerent? What the Pentagon's Law of War manual means for conflict reporting; plus, tweeting the news.

The Pentagon has recently published new rules for its personnel on how to deal with the media, including guidance on how to treat reporters who cover wars. Read more.

Al Jazeera

The Illusion Of Choice … 90% Of American Media Controlled By 6 Corporations

It is worth repeating again and again that the bulk of America’s mainline media is owned and controlled by a mere 6 corporations. This, of course, means that unless you’re already consciously avoiding these mainline media sources, then most of the news and entertainment that makes it onto your screen and into your mind comes from a small pool of corporate sources, all of which play important roles in delivering propaganda, social programming and perpetual crisis narratives to the public.

The conglomerates are: General Electric, News Corp., Disney, Viacom, Time Warner and CBS. Read more.

Activist Post

Gerelateerd,
- Wie bepalen het nieuws in Nederland? - Anarchiel

Brandon Martinez on Red Ice Radio

Hour 2

Here is the full second hour of my Red Ice interview from a few months ago. We talked ISIS, Israel and Middle East geopolitics.

Non-Aligned Media

Sanders’s Screwy Mideast Strategy

Out of fear of offending the power centers of Official Washington, Democrats won’t or can’t formulate a coherent foreign policy. Even Sen. Bernie Sanders says the solution to Mideast chaos is more Saudi intervention when Saudi intervention in support of Sunni extremists is the heart of the problem, writes Sam Husseini.

By Sam Husseini -  There’s an old joke about two elderly men at a Catskill resort. One complains: “The food here is horrible.” The other vigorously agrees: “Yeah, I know — and the portions are so damn small!” Along those lines, several writers have noted that Sen. Bernie Sanders has been scant in terms of his foreign policy — small portions. But there’s also the question of quality. Read more.

Consortium News

Related,
- Bernie Sanders Is a Russia-Bashing, Pro-Israel, Militarist Tool - Russia Insider

After losses, Houthis make gains in Yemen’s Taiz

Pro-Hadi source attributes ‘tactical retreat’ from Al-Dabab Mountain region to dwindling military supplies

TAIZ, Yemen -  Following a number of recent reverses, the Shia Houthi militant group has reportedly managed to capture... Read more.

AA

Related,
- Persisting Saudi aggression kills 31 Yemenis - PressTV
- Yemen army recruits 4,800 southerners - Saudi Gazette

Strange bedfellows: Saudi Arabia moves toward Hamas

For Saudi Arabia, it is an opportunity to become the regional leader of a moderate Sunni bloc also supported at least quietly by Israel, which also strongly opposes the Iran nuclear deal.

Saudi Arabia has reached out to the Islamist Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, inviting its leaders to Riyadh, and offering to negotiate between Hamas and the rival Fatah movement. Read more.

JPost

Related,
- Obama predicts 'pretty quick' US-Israel realignment on Iran - JPost

Israeli, Jordanian Officers Killed among Al-Nusra Commanders in Syrian Airstrike

The Syrian air force killed a large number of Takfiri militant commanders, including senior Israeli and Jordanian officers, in airstrikes on terrorists' positions in the Southern province of Daraa, FARS news agency reported Saturday. 

At least 42 Al-Nusra Front Takfiri terrorist commanders,.. Read more.

Al Manar

Related,
- Israeli, Jordanian Officers Killed among Tens of Other Al-Nusra Commanders in Airstrike in Southern Syria - FNA

- Ceasefire Breaks down in Zabadani, Hezbollah Resumes Operation - Al Manar
- The army advances in alZabadani, continues targeting terrorists’ positions in various areas - SANA

- Syria ceasefire breaks down in three areas - Al Arabiya
- Terrorist bombing in Homs and rocket attacks in Damascus and Aleppo claim 5 lives, injure several - SANA

Belgian and Dutch delegation meets with Parliament Deputy Speaker and Baath Party official

Damascus, SANA – Members of the visiting delegation of Belgian and Dutch political activists said on Saturday their visit to Syria aims at expressing solidarity with it in the face of the organized terrorism it is being subjected to.

The delegation met with Deputy Speaker of the People’s Assembly Fahmi Hassan, who stressed the need that the international community confront the crimes of terrorist organizations in Syria, especially now that they have become a threat to all countries of the world. Read  more.

SANA

Turkey launches first airstrikes on ISIL as part of US-led coalition

Turkey announced Saturday that its fighter jets have carried out their first airstrikes as part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.

A Foreign Ministry statement said the jets began attacking ISIL targets late Friday across the border in Syria that were deemed to be threats to Turkey. Read more.

Today's Zaman

Syria Kurds test Turkey’s planned “safe zone”

The YPG says its fighter have conducted a raid outside Jarablus.

BEIRUT – The Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have launched an offensive against ISIS outside Jarablus, challenging Turkey's plans to establish a “safe zone,” roll back ISIS and prevent Kurdish forces from expanding along its border. Read more.

NOW

Related,
- Three Turkish police officers killed in PKK attacks - Hurriyet
- Concerns rise in Southeast as more civilians, including children, die in clashes - Today's Zaman

US court rules in favor of NSA bulk snooping despite public opposition

Despite the opposition of the US public and lawmakers to NSA surveillance, the courts keep handing the Obama administration the license to snoop.

A US appeals court just threw out a 2013 verdict against the NSA, to White House approval. Read more.

RT

Related,
- Court overturns injunction against NSA bulk data collection program - Politico
- Appeals court deals blow to lawsuit over NSA’s bulk phone data collection - Washington Post

Saudi jets kill several civilians in Yemen

At least nine people mostly civilians have been killed in the latest Saudi airstrikes on Yemen. The airstrikes targeted the provinces of Ibb, Bayda and Hajjah. Two civilians including a child were also injured in Saudi attacks on Sa’ada province.

Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen has entered its sixth month, with airstrikes hitting targets nationwide. More than 5,000 people mostly civilians have been killed.

The airstrikes have also caused severe damage to Yemen’s infrastructure. The Saudi war has created a dire humanitarian situation, and put millions of Yemenis in desperate need of basic supplies.

PressTV

Related,
- Yemen Ansarullah fighters, army units shell Saudi Arabia's Jizan - PressTV

U.S.-Made Cluster Munitions Causing Civilian Deaths in Yemen

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 27 2015 (IPS) - New research released today by a leading human rights watchdog has found evidence of seven attacks involving cluster munitions in Yemen’s northwestern Hajja governorate.

Carried out between late April and mid-July 2015, the attacks are believed to have killed at least 13 people, including three children, and wounded 22 others, according to an Aug. 26 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Read more.

IPS

Gerelateerd,
- Saoedi's gebruiken Amerikaanse clusterbommen in Jemen - MO

Fake: Report on Russian casualties in Ukraine tells fake story, Russia 'experts' retweet

Several major media organisations among which Forbes was republished details of an article with the sensational claim that Russia accidentally revealed that it's suffered military casualties there.

The first media to produce the scandalous report was the Russian 'Business Life'. After verification of the news had failed 'Business Life' turned out to be a fake as well. Read more.

RT

Registering UNA-UNSO as political party in Ukraine another test for EU and US — lawmaker

The Ukrainian Justice Ministry has registered the UNA-UNSO ultra-right Ukrainian nationalist organization as a political party

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. Registering Ukrainian National Assembly/Ukrainian People's Self-Defense (UNA-UNSO) as a political party... Read more.

TASS

America's Worst Nightmare: Russia and China Are Getting Closer

Will an inverted U.S.-China-Russia triangle reshape the world order?

It was a brilliant stroke in 1971, when Nixon and Kissinger took advantage of China’s fears of the USSR with the historic U.S. opening to China. That chess move created a strategic triangle with the United States in the catbird seat and turned ideology on its head, dividing the two communist regimes. Now amid a surprising attention deficit in the United States, tensions with Russia are resulting in Washington getting the short end of the stick, with risky implications for the global order:.. Read more.

National Interest

How the West Re-colonized China

The "Chinese dragon" of the last two decades may be faltering but it is still hailed by many as an economic miracle.

Far from a great advance for Chinese workers, however, it is the direct result of a consolidation of power in the hands of a small clique of powerful families, families that have actively collaborated with Western financial oligarchs.

Global Research TV

The Monarchy - Corbyn: A Rising Star In British Politics?

From his first televised debate for Labour leadership election, silent majority of the British society, already battered from the unprecedented general election results, welcomed the prospect of Corbyn emerging as a new party leader.

The results of the Labour leadership election is to be announced in less than a month and if such trends continue there seems to be a new surprise in the British politics. Read more.

PressTV

Venezuela is the third country with largest percentage of gold in its monetary reserves

Caracas, 24 Ago. AVN.- Venezuela ranks third among the countries with the highest percentage of gold in its forex reserves.

According to the report by the World Gold Council (WGC) of the total international reserves of the country 69.3% are composed of the precious metal. Read more.

AVN

Bernie Sanders Surpasses Hillary Clinton In New Hampshire Poll

This is the second poll this month that shows him ahead of Clinton in the state.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has a 7 percentage point lead over rival Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire,.. Read more.

Huff Post

Related,
- Second Poll Shows Sanders Leading Again in Key State of New Hampshire, Even Among 'Moderates' - Alternet

NSA Provided German Intelligence With Spyware in Exchange for Data

A previously unpublished document revealed by Edward Snowden reveals that Germany’s domestic security agency has received a spy software from NSA on terms of data exchange.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Germany’s domestic security agency has received a spy software from the US National Security Agency (NSA) on terms of data exchange,.. Read more.

Sputnik

Related,
- Deliberate Deception: Washington Gave Answer Long Ago in NSA Case - Spiegel

Smoke and Mirrors of Corporate Buybacks Behind the Market Crash

Michael Hudson, the author of Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Destroy Global Economy, says the stock market crash on Monday has very little to do with China and all to do with shortermism and buybacks of corporations inflating their own stocks.

TRNN

Related,
- China stocks down again on volatile Asia trading - RT
- China can achieve 7-pct growth in 2015: Economist - Xinhua

- Zwaar overdreven marktreactie, Chinese economie fundamenteel gezond - Beurs.com

The Age of Imperial Wars

James Petras | From Regional War, "Regime Change" to Global Warfare 2015 has become a year of living dangerously. Wars are spreading across the globe.

Wars are escalating as new countries are bombed and the old are ravaged with ever greater intensity. Countries, where relatively peaceful changes had taken place through recent elections, are now on the verge of civil wars. Read more.

Global Research

Digital surveillance 'worse than Orwell', says new UN privacy chief

Joseph Cannataci describes British oversight as ‘a joke’ and says a Geneva convention for the internet is needed

The first UN privacy chief has said the world needs a Geneva convention style law for the internet to safeguard data and combat the threat of massive clandestine digital surveillance. Read more.

Guardian

UK newspaper claims US blocking crucial data about Iraq invasion

A British newspaper reports that the US is withholding documents that could help explain why Tony Blair decided to join the invasion of Iraq. Washington’s refusal to declassify the documents has become a major scandal in London.

RT’s Gayane Chichakyan asked the US State Department about the obstruction of the Chilcot Inquiry documents and received a surprising answer. Read more.

RT

Related,
- White House in Chilcot 'cover-up': America bans crucial files that could reveal secret of why Blair invaded Iraq - Daily Mail
- Chilcot inquiry: Leading figures in British political Establishment accused of plotting to discredit investigation into Iraq war - Independent

- David Swanson: ‘US withholding Chilcot Inquiry docs as they may discourage future wars US is interested in’ (video) - RT

‘Unacceptable’: Lavrov blasts Biden idea on splitting Iraq into parts

The idea of partition for Iraq would never be agreed by Moscow, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said, stressing that this kind of ‘state structure manipulation’ is obsolete and Iraqis should define the future of their country themselves

“We would never adopt a position voiced without any constraint by US Vice President Joe Biden, who said directly that Iraq should be split into... Read more.

RT

Related,
- Russian FM says US VP's call for partitioning Iraq unacceptable - PressTV
- Iraq to split in three: So why not? - CNN

Sanders: Great White Hope or Hype?

Paul Street says Bernie Sanders is a non-option for Black or progressive America

TRNN

Related,
- Bernie Sanders Is a Russia-Bashing, Pro-Israel, Militarist Tool - Russia Insider
- Where Does Bernie Sanders Stand on Israeli Settlements in the West Bank? - Huff Post

- In 1988, Bernie Sanders Condemned Israeli Attacks On Palestinians As “Reprehensible” - Alternet
- Why Are #BlackLivesMatter Activists Harassing Bernie Sanders? - Haaretz

- On the US campaign trail with the Democrat 'socialist' (video) - Al Jazeera

U.K. Petition to Arrest Netanyahu for 'War Crimes' Reaches Nearly 80,000 Signatures

British government issues a response to e-petition, reiterating Israel's right to self-defense and the Prime Minister's diplomatic immunity ahead of his visit to London next month.

The number of signatures on a petition calling for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his visit to the U.K... Read more.

Haaretz

Related,
- Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested for war crimes when he arrives in London - Petition UK Government and Parliament

- Petition to arrest Netanyahu gains momentum in UK - Al Jazeera
- Petition calling for Prime Minister Netanyahu's arrest for war crimes gets 76,000 signatures - IBT

How To Deal With The Global Financial Meltdown and Why It Happened

In this video Luke Rudkowski breaks down the breaking news of the global financial meltdown that started in China and is affecting the rest of the world.

Luke goes over how this new financial crisis started and what you need to do to prepare yourself for it. More sources

We Are Change

Central Banks Have Become A Corrupting Force

Paul Craig Roberts and Dave Kranzler | Are we witnessing the corruption of central banks? Are we observing the money-creating powers of central banks being used to drive up prices in the stock market for the benefit of the mega-rich?

These questions came to mind when we learned that the central bank of Switzerland, the Swiss National Bank, purchased 3,300,000 shares of Apple stock in the first quarter of this year, adding 500,000 shares in the second quarter. Smart money would have been selling, not buying. Read more.

Paul Craig Roberts

21 Gram - Documentary

Een documentaire door Bram Kastelijns.
Onze tijd is schaars, wachten is dodelijk, vertraging is verlies en alles moet snel, snel, snel. We denken met het horloge in de hand en schamen ons voor onze rust. Heeft onze kloktijd en materialisme ervoor gezorgd dat het contact met onze ziel schaars is geworden? Maar wat is die ziel en hoe komen we er weer mee in contact?

A documentary by Bram Kastelijns.
Our time is scarce, waiting is deadly, delay is loss and everything should be fast, fast ,fast. We think with the watch in our hand and are ashamed of our rest. Has our clock time and materialism ensured that contact with our soul has become scarce? But what is the soul and how we get there in contact again.
English subtitles coming soon!

Black Monday: Biggest slide in Chinese stocks since 2007, Brent oil below $44

The Shanghai composite has closed down 8.5 percent in a brutal selloff, as Beijing’s measures have failed to ease investor concerns about the slowdown of the world's second-largest economy.

China's stocks are now down for the year after being up 60 percent in June. Read more + live updates.

RT

Related,
- It's China's 'Black Monday' as stocks go through the floor - Business Insider
- China’s Stocks Sink Most Since 2007 as State Intervention Fails (video) - Bloomberg

- China stocks in sharpest fall since 2007 - Xinhua
- Global Stocks Tumble Further Amid Doubts About China - NY Times

- AEX daalt stevig om zorgen Chinese economie - Beurs.nl
- Koersval Amsterdamse aandelenbeurs houdt aan - NU

- Ad Broere over nieuwe beurscrash (video) - Earth Matters

Yemen forces capture two Saudi military bases

The Yemeni army, backed by popular committees, has taken control of at least two Saudi army bases in the border province of Jizan as Riyadh continues its military aggression against the impoverished Arab nation.

Local media reports said on Sunday that the Yemeni forces also seized three Saudi tanks and destroyed several... Read more.

PressTV

Related,
- Saudi-led coalition launches raids in Ibb - SABA
- Saudi airstrike targets gas tanker in Mareb - SABA

- Over 16.000 civilian victims, 2.038 children, from 150-days airstrikes in Yemen - Yemen Post

Far left splits from Tsipras' SYRIZA party

SYRIZA rebels opposed to PM Tsipras' bailout deal walked out of the ruling party forming the "Popular Unity", aiming at 62% who voted "No" to the recent referendum.

Far left Syriza members, who oppose the promises of yet more austerity and economic reform that Tsipras made to secure 86 billion euros in bailout loans, broke away to form a new party. Read more.

TOC

Rrelated,
- Syriza hardliners form new Political Unity party - Press Project
- SYRIZA rebels clash with gov’t as parties prepare to draft candidate lists - eKathimerini

- PM Tsipras declines meeting with main opposition leader - ANA-MPA
- Opposition leaders weigh coalition despite snap poll - TOC

- A different (kind of) poll for the upcoming Greek elections (video) - Press Project

- Tsipras surrendered to troika demands: Ex-finance minister - PressTV
- Greek Government Resigns; PM Tsipras Calls Snap Elections Asking for a Fresh People’s Mandate - Greek Reporter

Russia prepares rescue for cash-strapped firms 'too big to fail'

Russia is priming a rescue mechanism for companies on the verge of bankruptcy, an emergency measure that may be taken to contain fallout from the country's first recession in six years.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a government decree that enables cash-strapped companies to receive state guarantees for debt refinancing,.. Read more.

AFR

Related,
- Ruble follows oil price down - DW
- Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will boost forex flows to support rouble - Economic Times

China pension fund allowed to invest in stock market

BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council published the final guideline on investment for the country's massive pension fund on Sunday, effectively opening the gate for more diversified and riskier products.

The final plan, released after considering public opinion, allows the pension fund to be invested in new products, including domestic stock markets,.. Read more.

Xinhua

Related,
- Lock-up shares worth 62 bln yuan to become tradable - Xinhua
- Global markets enter correction on China fears - RT

- World Closely Watching Beijing: Will China Face a Mega-Crash? - Sputnik
- John Bolton says China has 'real weakness in economy' - PressTV

- China stocks continue slump on Friday - Xinhua

Deflatie eurozone is het echte gevaar, gevaar snel aan het escaleren

Na de devaluatie van de Chinese Yuan en de ineenstorting van de grondstofprijzen vrezen experts nu een nieuwe crisis, namelijk het deflatie-spook dat opnieuw aan komt stormen.

Waar Mario Draghi, president van de ECB, het momenteel nog druk heeft met de Griekse problemen komt het volgende probleem er al aan. De Chinese ontwikkelingen escaleren in een snel tempo welke zowel interne als externe gevolgen heeft voor het land. Lees meer.

Beurs.com

Gerelateerd,
- Zware verliezen op Wall Street - Beurs.nl
- Stock Market CRASH as Deflation Begins! China Blamed for Panic Selloff! (video) - Money GPS

- Asia is deflating and China is going to have to do something about it - Business Insider

US gives cover to Saudi use of cluster bombs in Yemen: Report

The United States is providing a “thinly-veiled cover” for the use of cluster bombs by Saudi Arabia and its allies in their military aggression against Yemen, says a report.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that cluster bombs were “permissible” as legitimate weapons of war if “used appropriately,” according to The Inter Press Service. Read more.

PressTV

Related,
- U.S. Provides Cover for Use of Banned Weapons in Yemen - IPS
- Silence on crimes against Yemen promotes terrorism: Iran deputy FM  - PressTV

- "Saudi Apache helicopter downed in Yemen's Yasuf region" (video) - PressTV
- Yemeni army, popular forces attack Saudi convoy in Jizan - PressTV

'Pacifism over!' Poroshenko presents tanks, Humvees, weaponry to Donbass forces

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko visited the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuhuev to present 170 new pieces of weaponry to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The new gear includes heavy weaponry rocket launchers, tanks, APCs and American Humvees. All equipment will be moved to Ukrainian Army units in the embattled Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

According to Poroshenko, "Russia has been spending a great deal of money to get ready against Ukraine for 14 years" and "Minsk agreements have given us an opportunity and time to improve Ukrainian self-defence."

RT

Related,
- Poroshenko says Minsk agreement allowed Kiev military buildup - RT
- Poroshenko: Russia planned to annex another eight Ukrainian regions - Unian

- Poroshenko: Army budget amounts to about 45 bln this year - Interfax
- Kiev Army in Poor Condition Despite Gov't Spending ‘Cost of Two Mistrals’ - Sputnik

- Over 8,000 pieces of weaponry to enter service in Russia’s Western Military District - TASS

Soviet ghosts: Trotsky's old Turkish mansion for sale

Run-down home on Buyukada Island, where communist leader first lived after Soviet expulsion, on the market for $4.4m.

It has been 75 years since one of communism's most famous revolutionaries was assassinated in Mexico.

Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1929, and took refuge in several countries. Read more.

Al Jazeera

Related,
- Secrets of the World Revolution: Who paid Trotski? (video) - Documentary

Secrets of the World Revolution: Who paid Trotski?

Click CC for English subtitles

Secrets of the World Revolution. Who paid Trotski? Who did fund the Bolschevic Revolution? Rothschilds , German , Bankers, Schiff. Marx, Russian.

English Subtitles , Лев Троцкий. Тайна мировой революции ,Galina Ogurnaya,Director: Галина Огурная.

Related,
- 1913: When Hitler, Trotsky, Tito, Freud and Stalin all lived in the same place - BBC

MI5 spied on suspected communists & anti-colonial leaders, secret files reveal

Bitish intelligence spied on ordinary citizens with left-wing and anti-colonial sympathies during the post-war years, according to newly declassified files in the National Archives.

Security agency MI5 subjected anyone with links to the Communist Party to close surveillance, with spies listening to their telephone conversations, opening their letters and even following their movements. Read more + video.

RT

Related,
- MI5 spied on Doris Lessing for 20 years, declassified documents reveal - Guardian
- Doris Lessing: Acclaimed novelist was kept under MI5 observation for 18 years, newly released papers show - Independent

Social Engineering 2.0 – Google Algorithm Poses “Serious Threat To Democratic System”

Did democracy just get downgraded (yet again)? Social engineering is now a dated practice, that has undoubtedly influenced nearly all our lives for the past century in ways that many of us perhaps don’t notice.

I have a book titled Social Control from 1901, by Edward Alsworth Ross, that as the dust jacket explains, “formulated (and gave an answer to) the problems of the massive transformation of the American society by industrialization” where Ross “analyzed the dynamics of social change for modern socieities in general and for America in particular.” The book was a hit, and influenced economists, scholars, politicians and Progressives. Read more.

Activist Post

Related,
- Social control; a survey of the foundations of order (pdf book) - Edward Alsworth Ross

US National Cancer Institute Now Lists Cannabis as Potential Cancer Treatment

The National Cancer Institute now lists Cannabis as having strong potential for the treatment of Cancer, yet the DEA still lists Marijuana as a Schedule I substance, which by definition holds no medical application.

The National Cancer Institute’s page for Cannabis and Cannabinoids now lists several... Read more.

Graver

Related,
- Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ®) - NCI
- Cannabis And Cannabinoids Cancer Treatment: Could It Come To The UK? - Huff Post

- Amerikaanse overheid erkent dat cannabis kankercellen doodt - HLN

Sint Maarten To Block Dutch Anti-Corruption Team

PHILLIPSBURG - Sint Maarten is blocking decisions from the Netherlands to counteract corruption and crime on the island and Dutch officials are no longer welcome on the island.

This is according to confidential correspondence between the island and the Netherlands, AD reports. Read more.

Curaçao Chronicle

Gerelateerd,
- Vete loopt verder op: Sint Maarten gooit de deur dicht - AD
- Politie vindt bestuurders Sint Maarten te corrupt - AD

Venezuela Closes Border with Colombia after Attack

Caracas, Aug 20 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, has ordered the closure of the border with Colombia to capture those responsible for an ambush on a military patrol in the bordering state of Tachira that injured three people.

In telephone contact with Venezolana de Television (VTV) state-owned channel yesterday night, the head of State also reported that... Read more.

Prensa Latina

Colombia's Drop in Violence Due to FARC Cease-Fire, UN Says

The FARC peace delegation in Havana announced that it would extend its unilateral cease-fire.

The unilateral cease-fire declared by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is being crediting with helping reduce violence related to the country's internal conflict, the United Nations announced Wednesday. Read more.

teleSUR

Related,
- FARC violated ceasefire twice, Colombian army focused on other groups: Report - Colombia Reports

Drop in Bolivian Coca Culture Due to Evo Morales' Drug Policy

Coca cultivation in Bolivia has dropped 34 percent from 2010 to 2014 for the fourth consecutive year.

​While the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime has praised for a long time the steady decrease of coca growing in the Andean country, a report released Monday confirmed that this trend was mainly the result of the progressive policies implemented under Evo Morales' presidency. Read more.

teleSUR

At least 5 said killed in IDF strike on Syria rocket-firing cell

Military says it targeted Islamic Jihad men who fired projectiles on northern Israel Thursday; PM says Israel has no interest in escalation but maintains policy of retaliation

The Israeli military said it carried out a new raid Friday morning,.. Read more.

Times of Israel

Related,
- Israeli Army Says Cell Behind Rocket Fire From Syria Killed in Air Strike - Haaretz
- IDF strike against Golan base kills 1 soldier, says Syrian Army - JPost

- Israël helpt ISIS een handje, valt Syrisch leger aan - Zaplog

Jeremy Corbyn to apologise for Iraq war on behalf of Labour if he becomes leader

Exclusive: Leadership frontrunner tells Guardian he will apologise for ‘deception’ in run-up to 2003 invasion and to Iraqi people for suffering

The Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn is to issue a public apology over the Iraq war on behalf of the party... Read more.

Guardian

Related,
- Tony Blair could face trial over 'illegal' Iraq war, says Jeremy Corbyn - Guardian

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Threat Russia Poses

"It's a very very significant threat." Secretary Ashton Carter on Vladimir Putin's Russia.

C-SPAN

Related,
- US Can Cooperate With Russia Where 'Interests Are Aligned' - Ashton Carter - Sputnik

About 30 dead as Saudi warplanes pound southwestern Yemen

More than two dozen civilians have been killed and scores of others injured after Saudi military aircraft launched a series of airstrikes in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta'izz.

Saudi fighter jets bombarded residential buildings in the Salh district of the province,.. Read more.

PressTV

Kissinger: ‘Breaking Russia has become objective for US’

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has hit out at American and European policy in Ukraine, saying it ignores Russia’s relationship with its neighbor, and has called for cooperation between the White House and the Kremlin in Ukraine.

“Breaking Russia has become an objective [for US officials] the long-range purpose should be to integrate it,” the 92-year-old told The National Interest in a lengthy interview... Read more + audio.

RT

Related,
- The Interview: Henry Kissinger - National Interest
- Kissinger: ‘Breaking Russia has become objective for US’ (video) - RT

- Doves on Ukraine come from right and left - Chicago Tribune
- US Must Learn From Experience, Relate Strategy to Consequences - Kissinger - Sputnik

- China presents ‘fundamental challenge to American strategy,’ says Kissinger - TASS

UN Rebukes Israel over Latest Laws Against Palestinians

The U.N. political affairs chief condemned Israel for authorizing the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners and sentencing stone throwers to 20-years in prison.

The recent introduction of controversial laws by Israel, including the 20-year sentence for stone throwers and the authorization of force-feeding Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, would worsen an "already-precarious human rights situation," the United nations warned Wednesday. Read more.

teleSUR

Related,
- UN decries Israel’s unlawful administrative detention - PressTV
- Force-feeding is physical torture, top doctor says - Times of Israel

- High Court orders release of hunger-striker from administrative detention - JPost

Vladimir Putin: "80 to 85% Jews in 1st Soviet Government."

Part of Vladimir Putin's speech in the Jewish Museum of Moscow, June 2013, commented by Texe Marrs in September 2013.

Related,
- Putin: First Soviet government was mostly Jewish - Times of Israel
- Wall Street Funded the Bolshevik Revolution (video) - Antony Sutton

- Secrets of the World Revolution. Who paid Trotski? (video) - Documentary
- In the Shadow of Hermes by Jüri Lina (video) - Documentary (2009)

- Trotsky excommunicated Jew - Wikipedia
- Russian Jews Between the Reds and the Whites, 1917-1920 (pdf book) - by Oleg Budnitskii

Spanish public broadcaster accuses Jews of promoting Satanism

“Through black magic, the Israelites called on the powers of darkness with demonic rational,” the announcer of the program said.

A Spanish public broadcaster accused Jews of promoting Satanism. The assertion was the focus of a radio program titled From the Inferno... Read more.

JPost

Related,
- Spanish Public Radio Show Accuses Jews of Promoting Satanism - Haaretz
- ‘Satanism-promoting Jews’ claim by Spanish Radio program provokes Israeli anger - RT

- Jacob Frank and the Burning of the Talmud (This Week in Jewish History) (video) - Dr. Henry Abramson
- The satanic law of reversal, Sabbatai Zevi & Jacob Frank | Tamar Yonah Show: interview Rabbi Marvin Antelman - Arutz Sheva

Dan Dicks: "Canada Is Under A Tyrannical Regime With Political Parties Who Are Bought & Controlled"

Richie Allen Show

Related,
- Canadian government's jihad against 'disbelieving Canadians' - Sott.net

The Real Truth About Jeb Bush, CIA Sociopath

In this video Luke Rudkowski gives you the lowdown on John Elias Bush or Jeb Bush.

We go through his sketchy business career, early schooling, and current policy. More sources.

We Are Change

Related,
- Shocker: Jeb Bush thinks NSA needs broader powers to conduct surveillance on Americans to combat fictional 'evildoers' - Sott.net

- Jeb Bush must be asked about the 1980 October Surprise Wayne Madsen - Sott.net
- Jeb Bush’s Big Lehman Brothers Problem - Daily Beast

- Jeb Bush in de problemen - Telegraaf

St. Louis Fed official: No evidence QE boosted economy

The Federal Reserve is putting some of its post-crisis actions under a magnifying glass and not liking everything it sees.

In a white paper dissecting the U.S. central bank's actions to stem the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, Stephen D. Williamson, vice president of the St. Louis Fed, finds fault with three key policy tenets. Read more + video.

CNBC

Saudi Arabia kills tens in Yemen’s Hudaydah

Saudi Arabia has bombarded several areas in Yemen, killing tens of people in airstrikes on the province of Hudaydah.

According to local media outlets, the people were killed on Wednesday after Saudi warplanes bombarded restaurants and shops in the district of ad Dahi in Hudaydah in western Yemen. Read more.

PressTV

Related,
- Nearly 400 kids killed in Yemen since late March: UNICEF - PressTV
- DISTURBING: Children paying highest price in Yemen's brutal armed conflict (video) - RT

- Yemen Conflict: Over a thousand child casualties so far – UNICEF
- Amnesty urges war crimes probe in Yemen conflict that killed & injured over 1,000 children - RT

- U.S. boosts support role in Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen - LA Times
- US expands support role in Saudi war on Yemen: Report - PressTV

Doomsday clock for global market crash strikes one minute to midnight as central banks lose control

China currency devaluation signals endgame leaving equity markets free to collapse under the weight of impossible expectations

When the banking crisis crippled global markets seven years ago, central bankers stepped in as lenders of last resort. Profligate private-sector loans were moved on to the public-sector balance sheet and vast money-printing gave the global economy room to heal. Read more.

Telegraph

Related,
- Three Clear Signs the US is Back In Recession - Zero Hedge
- A September rate hike could tip the US economy back into recession - Business Insider

- U.S. Lacks Ammo for Next Economic Crisis - WSJ
- St. Louis Fed official: No evidence QE boosted economy (video) - CNBC

US, Germany to withdraw Patriot missiles from Turkey

Germany and the US will withdraw the Patriot missile batteries they deployed in Turkey's Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep provinces almost three years ago as part of a NATO mission to enhance Turkey's air defense against a possible attack from Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime.

Germany's Defense Ministry announced the country's decision in a statement on Saturday. Read more.

Today's Zaman

Related,
- Opinion: Bundeswehr withdrawal the right move - DW

‘It’s real massacre, but the world is silent’: Up to 200 people killed by ISIS in Lybia’s Sirte

ISIS takes full control of the city of Sirte, Lybia, the situation is desperate, local residents report

RT

Related,

- ISIL 'brutally' quells rebellion in Libya's Sirte - Al Jazeera
- Both sides of Libya divide said to be making separate plans to attack Sirte - Libya Herald

- ISIL killed over 150 in Libya’s Sirte in 4 days - Marsad Libya

- IS kill dozens in Libya’s Sirte, putting down uprising by local tribe - Marsad Libya

- Western governments condemn IS attack in Sirte - Libya Herald

“Poisoning the Sky”, Chemtrails and Geoengineering. Public Hearing on “Aircraft Emissions”

Activists Confront Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) . Patrick Roddie Testifies Before The EPA

August 11, a group of geoengineering activists including San Francisco’s intrepid researcher and citizen journalist Patrick Roddie testified before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Read more + video.

Global Research

Related,
- Why the "Chemtrail Conspiracy" Is Real - GreenMedInfo

US, Turkey Ignore Russian Warning, Move into Syria

Turkey and the United States have jointly decided to move into Syria, daring Russia to respond.

The US and Turkey have dropped all references to protecting refugees, always a very hard to sell fantasy based on Turkey’s long history of persecuting minorities. Read more.

NEO

IDF plans for possible Syria operation as jihadist, Hezbollah threats mount

Military drilled last week for advance into Syria, evacuation of northern civilians, in response to Islamist attack; Israel says Iran directing Hezbollah activity in Golan

The Israeli military is preparing for a possible ground operation on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights in the event of... Read more + video.

Times of Israel

Related,
- IDF troops prepare for possible incursion into Syria (video) - Ynet

- Who Is Stealing Syria’s Oil? - Fars News
- Israel Grants First Golan Heights Oil Drilling License To Dick Cheney-Linked Company - Business Insider

Lavrov: Kiev seems to be readying offensive in east despite ceasefire

The Foreign Ministers of Iran and Russia have met in Moscow - with July's nuclear deal and the Syrian crisis dominating talks.

Sergey Lavrov also took time to voice Russia's increasing concerns over the crisis in east Ukraine, saying it looks like Kiev is preparing a new offensive.

RT

Related,
- Russia claims Kyiv is planning a new offensive in eastern Ukraine - DW
- EU condemns escalation of military conflict in eastern Ukraine, urges parties to preserve civilians' lives - Interfax

- Attacks in Ukraine surge to levels seen at battles of Debaltseve, Ilovaisk - Kyiv Post
- Footage of Sartana damages from militant shelling released on Ukrainian TV (video) - Unian

- Intense Artillery Duel Rocks Ukraine's Coastal City Of Mariupol - RFERL
- DPR did not order return of tanks and armored vehicles to frontline positions - TASS

- 'Everybody's fed up with this war': Fighting in East Ukraine heats up (RAW battle video > click CC for subs) - RT
- Students hand professor over to security service for making pro-separatist statements - Kyiv Post

At Eli Lilly Headquarters: Marketing Big Pharma Profits at Risk to the Public

We visit the headquarters of Eli Lilly in downtown Indianapolis where the power of Big Pharma has carved out Indiana's political landscape, supplied its lobbyists and operatives, and created an empire of profits by (reportedly) treating the symptoms, hiding the risk and harm, and insisting on the safety of products – like Thimerosal and Prozac – without sufficient testing, and even less regard for the lives affected. Read more.

Truthstream Media

AT&T Helped U.S. Spy on Internet on a Vast Scale

The National Security Agency’s ability to spy on vast quantities of Internet traffic passing through the United States has relied on its extraordinary, decades-long partnership with a single company: the telecom giant AT&T.

While it has been long known that American telecommunications companies worked closely with the spy agency,.. Read more.

NY Times

Almost 1,300 people killed in shellings in DPR since start of 2015 — DPR ombudsperson

Since the start of the armed conflict with Ukrainian forces, 5,061 people have been killed and 6,100 more injured

MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. Almost 1,300 people have been killed in shellings by Ukraine forces in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR]... Read more.

TASS

Related,
- Ukrainian forces continue shelling of Gorlovka, other settlements - TASS

- Ukraine fears 'big war' as Russia sends in more troops - Independent
- At Point 18 in eastern Ukraine, the war grinds on, night after night - Washington Post

- Over 100 suicides among Ukrainian soldiers reported since beginning of ATO - Unian

Live From Ferguson: Voices of Protest

TRNN speaks to demonstrators gathered in Ferguson for the fourth consecutive day of protests to mark the one year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown

TRNN

Related,
- TRNN in Ferguson: Rally to Demand Release of Detained Protest Leaders (video) - TRNN

- Tensions die down in Ferguson, but activists continue to advocate for lost voices (video) - RT
- ‘Black Lives Matter will continue to protest police brutality’ – activist Carl Dix (video) - RT

Dutch newspaper uses n-word in headline of review of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s new book

On July 31, the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad published a review of several books on race and racism in the United States. The series, written by the paper’s Washington correspondent Guus Valk, leads with a review of Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates’s latest book, “Between the World And Me.” Somewhere along the editorial process, the editors thought it would be a good idea to headline the article, “Nigger, Are You Crazy?”

If the headline weren’t appalling enough, the article compounded the offensiveness factor with its accompanying blackface figures:.. Read more.

Washington Post

Gerelateerd,
- Opinieredacteur Washington Post boos om boekenbijlage NRC - NRC

The Worth of Gold Growing by the Day

F. William Engdahl | The worth of gold in the world is growing by the day. That might seem like a paradox but it isn’t. The worth of gold is not fixed on the Comex futures exchange, or the trade in London or Zurich. True, most of the gold-trading public takes its cue today from the CME’s COMEX gold futures price where it does not at all look like the worth of a bar of gold is growing. Why can we then speak of gold’s worth rising?

On Comex the price of gold futures has gone from a high of $1896 in August 2011 to current lows of $1099, lows last seen six years ago, tendency downward. Read more.

NEO

Reality And Dreams

Fidel Castro Ruz | Writing is a way to be useful if you believe that our long-suffering humanity must be better, and more fully educated, given the incredible ignorance in which we are all enveloped, with the exception of researchers who in the sciences seek satisfactory answers. This is a word which implies in a few letters its immense content.

All of us in our youth heard talk at some point about Einstein, in particular after the explosion of the atomic bombs which pulverized Hiroshima and Nagasaki, putting an end to the cruel war between the United States and Japan. Read more.

Cuba Debate

Related,
- On His Birthday, Fidel Castro Wants US to Repay Cuba the Millions it Owes - Sputnik
- Cubans Celebrate Fidel Castro''s 89th Birthday - Prensa Latina

- Caribbean activists demand lifting blockade of Cuba - Granma