2020-05-30: News Headlines

Kathy Kelly (2020-05-30). The Glory and Duty of Beating Swords to Plowshares. commondreams.org On April 4, 2018, Mark Colville, Clare Grady, Martha Hennessy, Elizabeth McAlister, Patrick O'Neill, Carmen Trotta and Fr. Steve Kelly, S.J. prayed, poured blood, spray painted messages against nuclear weapons, hammered on a replica of a nuclear weapon, hung banners and waited to be arrested. (Photo: Kings Bay 7) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/kings_bay_plowshares_0_0.jpeg

Andre Vltchek (2020-05-30). In the West: Propaganda, Hysteria and Truly Foul Breath! dissidentvoice.org If it wasn't so tragic, it would be laughable: the political brigands in North America and Europe are fuming, spitting and rolling their eyes upwards towards the ceiling. They are pointing fingers in all directions, shouting incoherently "China!", "Russia!", "Venezuela and Cuba!", "Iran!"; "You, You, YOU!". China and Russia are quietly building a new world, …

Philip Giraldi (2020-05-29). Trump the "Peace Candidate": Contemplating War During Pandemic against Two Global Competitors. Nuclear Weapons "Tests" against China and Russia. globalresearch.ca Let us consider why the Donald Trump White House is currently considering

T.J. Coles (2020-05-29). What's NATO Up to These Days? Provoking Russia, Draining Healthcare Budgets and Protecting Its Own from COVID. counterpunch.org In November 2019, as experts warned that a novel coronavirus was likely to develop in the near-future, NATO boasted that its European Allies, including the UK, as well as Canada, were boosting their military budgets by an average of 4.6 percent, or an additional $130bn since 2016. The implication is that this increase in military spending is at the expense of healthcare, which is being privatized worldwide.

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-05-29). Future Perspectives of Russia-Africa Relations. globalresearch.ca While celebrating the Africa Day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed Russia's commitment to offer support and participate in the sustainable development processes in Africa. In a videoconference held May 28 with local and foreign media, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman …

John Feffer (2020-05-29). Is It Time to Boycott the United States? zcomm.org The G7 kicked Russia out over its invasion of Crimea. Does the U.S. assault on international laws, treaties, and democracy itself warrant the same treatment?>

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-05-29). The Fear Is Real, Not Orchestrated. thealtworld.com For years I have been watching what little intelligence the human race ever had slowly evaporate before my eyes as governments built up arsenals of thermonuclear and biowarfare weapons that they cannot use without destroying us all. So many important social needs are forsaken, such as a national health service, in order to acquire useless weapons of mass destruction. My opinion of human intelligence is currently being reinforced by the hysteria over the attempts, however inadequate, to protect us from the consequences of a virus about which little is known. | The precautions of social distancing, masks, and close…

Dean Baker (2020-05-28). Washington Post Tells Readers About Trump's "Existential" Threat to China. cepr.net Thankfully, it is not a nuclear war. Apparently the Washington Post thinks plans considered by Trump to delist Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges and to make it more difficult for the country to trade in dollars will pose an "existential" threat to the country. While these plans, which put into practice, will almost certainly …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-05-28). US announces end of sanction waivers under nuclear deal to Iran. peoplesdispatch.org US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the end of exemptions provided under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to some foreign companies to work on certain Iranian nuclear sites. The waiver was renewed every 60 days despite the unilateral US withdrawal from the deal in 2018…

Jon Rainwater (2020-04-23). A Myriad of Ways to Wage Peace During These Times. peaceaction.org As we shelter in our homes to protect ourselves from this global pandemic, we wanted to share some of the many ways you can remain active and impactful in the work for a more peaceful world. Peace Action has long been a leader in organizing international conferences, marches, and rallies around the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty …

Jason Ditz (2020-02-20). Turkey Kills Over 50 Syrian Troops, Russian Warplanes Intervene to Halt Offensive. theantimedia.com Russia called the situation a "worst case scenario."

Jason Ditz (2020-02-17). DOJ Investigating Former CIA Director's Role in Russiagate. theantimedia.com The Justice Department is investigating the role of John Brennan in the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Strategic Culture (2020-02-08). US Deploys 'Mini-Nukes' in Deplorable Threat to World Peace. theantimedia.com These so-called "mini-nukes" represent—despite the diminutive-sounding name—an increased risk of nuclear war.

Tyler Durden (2020-02-08). Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions. theantimedia.com Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.

Middle East Eye (2020-02-07). Russia Says Israel Used Civilian Plane as Human Shield During Syria Strikes. theantimedia.com Russia accused Israel of "making a total mockery of the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians."

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-29). Trump's Anti-China Hysteria Goes Nuclear. strategic-culture.org The Trump administration's scapegoating of China over its own disastrous mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic has relied on baseless conspiracy theory, unscientific claims and hyperbole. This week the president's National Security Advisor went further by comparing the virus outbreak to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. | In a U.S. media

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-28). Australia & the Working of the American Imperial Hand. strategic-culture.org The paradox of Australia: a wealthy country whose complacent, U.S.-indoctrinated political elites are betraying its promise in so many important ways, writes Tony Kevin. | Tony KEVIN | It is hard to explain Australia to foreigners: a complicated former British colonial society that likes to think of itself as simple and honest, and sometimes persuades others that this may be true. The Australia of the "Dustyesky Russian Choir" that recently became a brief sensation on Russia's mainstream Channel One is a reassuring image: one in which some Russians might still sentimentally like to believe. | Yet there is a darke…

RT (2020-05-30). US 'not relying on Russia anymore' & keeping China on the outside: Trump campaign manager turns SpaceX launch into politics. rt.com Two NASA astronauts had barely taken off from the Kennedy Space Center when the achievement was already being politicized back on Earth. To the Trump campaign, it was an opportunity to blast Joe Biden and the Chinese government. | NASA Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, en route to the International Space Station in a capsule developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX corporation. | Also on rt.com | | The launch marks…

RT (2020-05-30). CNN blames 'RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA' for George Floyd riots because they 'Can't blame China' – Trump. rt.com With riots sweeping America, a CNN guest suggested that Russia may be responsible for stoking anti-police anger in the US. President Trump ridiculed the "sick losers" at the network for their 'Russiagate' obsession. | "Here we go again," Trump tweeted on Saturday. "Fake News @CNN is blaming RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA. They are sick losers with VERY bad ratings! P.S. Can't blame China because they need the cash?" | Here we go again. Fake News

RT (2020-05-30). 'US statements are fake, not Libyan money': Moscow rebuffs accusations of printing counterfeit dinars. rt.com Moscow printed dinars for Libya in accordance with a government contract, so Washington's claims of it being fake money have nothing to do with reality, according to Russia's Foreign Ministry. | The US State Department announced on Friday that $1.1 billion worth of "counterfeit, Russian-printed Libyan currency" was seized in Malta earlier this week. | Moscow confirmed the dinars were indeed printed by Russian state-owned company Goznak, but it was done in accordance with a contract it signed with the Central Bank of Libya in 2015. The order was fully paid for by the Libyan side, it was announced. | Also on rt.

en.mehrnews (2020-05-30). US act to end sanctions waiver against Iran violates NPT: Ulyanov. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 30 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said that the US act to end sanctions waiver against Iran means further violations of UN Charter, UNSC Resolution 2231 and NPT.

sputniknews (2020-05-30). Russian Health Ministry Approves First Domestic Drug for COVID-19. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Health Ministry has approved the first domestic drug, called Avifavir, for treating coronavirus patients, according to a new entry to the national drug registry.

_____ (2020-05-30). Fortress On A Hill: Interview With Gareth Porter. popularresistance.org Gareth Porter has long been one of my favorite foreign policy writers and investigative journalists. | Do check out his recent columns at the GrayZone! | He stopped by the podcast to discuss his long standing work on the Vietnam war, his thoughts on COVID-19 via the USS Theodore Roosevelt along with his previous work on the 1919 flu epidemic, the terrifying connections between Mike Pompeo and Bibi Netanyahu, and Israel's secret long standing nuclear stockpile. | Gareth Porter is an independent investigative journalist who has covered national security policy for decades, really, and was the recipient of the 2012…

_____ (2020-05-29). Scheer Intelligence: The 'Mass Murder Program' Behind America's Rise To Power. popularresistance.org The Cold War—how it was fought and brutally won by the U.S. on global scale—has defined international politics for more than half a century. That is the central argument of journalist Vincent Bevins' new book, "The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World." Through meticulous research and extensive interviews with over a hundred people in more than a dozen countries and several languages, Bevins connects the dots between a U.S.-sponsored terror scheme that killed more than a million civilians in Indonesia in the 1960s, and the slaughter of le…