Going Underground / RT (10/23/19) We speak to legendary journalist and filmmaker John Pilger on Julian Assange’s latest extradition hearing this Monday, which he attended. He discusses how Julian appeared at the trial, the bias of the judge against Julian Assange, the lack of mainstream media coverage of Julian’s persecution, his health and conditions in Belmarsh prison, CIA spying on Julian Assange and more! Link to 13-Minute Video

All of this should give liberal democrats pause. Consider what we’re seeing: rightwing populists’ open attacks on liberal democracy do not deter their supporters, particularly in highly polarized societies.  By Cas Mudde The Guardian (10/21/19) The Polish parliamentary elections last Sunday [10/20] will have profound national consequences but also include political lessons that go well beyond Poland’s borders. The elections disprove important received wisdom about far-right and populist politics, and the results should cause reflection among liberal democrats around the world. First and foremost, the ruling rightwing populist Law and Justice party (PiS) increased its vote share by 6%, from 37.6 to 43.6%,…

  By Scott Horsley NPR (10/18/19) A publishing company plans to add an advisory note to future copies of a book written by White House adviser Peter Navarro, after it was revealed that Navarro fabricated one of the people he quoted. The character Ron Vara appears in Navarro’s 2011 book, Death By China, offering dire warnings about Chinese imports. “Only the Chinese can turn a leather sofa into an acid bath, a baby crib into a lethal weapon, and a cellphone battery into heart-piercing shrapnel,” Vara is quoted as saying. But while the book is not supposed to be fiction, Vara is…

Clearly liberals and leftists who admire Gabbard’s foreign policy are mistaking her anti-interventionism for dovishness. By Branko Marcetic Jacobin (5/26/17) Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard is the new progressive darling. She’s young. She surfs. She’s a “rising star” in the Democratic Party, we’re told repeatedly. She might even win the presidency in 2020.Much of Gabbard’s elevated stature is due to her endorsement of Bernie Sanders at the end of February 2016, a seemingly principled, politically risky stand that led her to resign as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).But that wasn’t all. Before stepping down, Gabbard earned the ire of Democratic insiders when she called for…

  By Julia Conley Common Dreams (10/18/19) Critics of the United States’ student debt crisis took aim at loan corporation Sallie Mae on Friday after NBC News reported on a trip the company’s executives took over the summer to Hawaii to celebrate record-breaking sales in 2018. NBC reported Thursday night that more than 100 executives and salespeople used some of the profits raked in from 45 million Americans who collectively owe $1.6 trillion in student loans for an all-expenses-paid retreat in Maui in August. Sallie Mae lent $5 billion last year to 374,000 borrowers. One in five Americans owe student debt, a crisis which has contributed to many…

Anyone who has been — or been forced to hang around — adolescent boys knows exactly what Donald Trump is doing here when one of the female astronauts who participated in the first all-female space walk politely corrects him about other women having done space walks. There’s only one word for this snide little performance: ‘Jerk!’ Link to 45-Second Video

52% of Americans now support Trump’s impeachment and removal. — Latest Gallup poll (10/16/19) ***** “The Kurds are much safer right now.” — Trump’s reality-free version of life in Twitter world (10/16/19) ***** “He’s a eunuch. He’s a patsy. He’s a credulous boob led by his ego and his dick.” — Never-Trumper Rick Wilson tweet summarizing Trump’s foreign policy prowess. By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (10/17/19) Dear Fellow Readers, Trump offers a challenge for summarizing his daily chaos into as few words as possible. At least he’s held to two major fronts of chaos for 72 hours while digging…