Trudeau defends Canada's $15 billion arms deal with despotic Saudi regime
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-05-02
The Trudeau government is fully behind Washington's efforts to construct an anti-Iranian alliance with Israel and Saudi Arabia.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/02/trud-m02.html
Washington and Tel Aviv lurching toward a war with Iran
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-05-02
The aggression that is being prepared by the US and Israel threatens to drag all of the major powers into what could prove a catastrophic world war.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/02/pers-m02.html
US judge orders Iran to pay billions to families of 9/11 victims
RT | rt.com | 2018-05-02
Tehran has been ordered by a US court to pay more than $6 billion to victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, despite the fact that most of the plane hijackers were Saudi nationals, and no direct link was ever found to Iran. …
www.rt.com/usa/425625-judge-iran-pay-911-victims/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Iran: Assault on Access to Information
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-05-02
People protest in Tehran, Iran December 30, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | (Beirut) — The Iranian judiciary's blocking of the messaging application Telegram is an unjustifiable restriction on freedom of expression and access to information, Human Rights Watch said today. With more than 40 million users, Telegram had become the main social media platform for Iranians. | On April 30, 2018, Mizan Online News Agency, the judiciary's news agency, reported that the prosecutor of the second branch of Tehran's Culture and Media Court had ordered all internet service providers to block access to Telegram and its website, effective immediately. On the morning of May 1, the Iranian Students News Agency, ISNA, reported that the mobile operators Iran Cell and RighTel had begun blocking users' access to Telegram. | "Iran is…
www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/02/iran-assault-access-information
Netanyahu Rolls out 'Smoke-And-Mirrors' Once Again Ahead of Iran Nuclear Deal Decision
Alexander Mercouris | mintpressnews.com | 2018-05-01
One of the attributes of a skilled propagandist is to dress up as a "startling revelation" something which in reality everyone with knowledge of a matter has long known. | We had a masterclass in this technique yesterday from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is someone who is not just a skilled propagandist but who is actually a brilliant one. | Thus we heard from him a technically superb presentation about how Iran has "lied" about its nuclear programme, complete with the perfect prop: a vast archive of documents apparently stolen by Israeli intelligence from Iran, which supposedly confirms how Iran has previously "lied" about its nuclear weapons programme. | Netanyahu then drew from this "revelation" the conclusion that he wanted: that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA") between Iran and the world powers whereby Iran agreed to place…
Netanyahu Rolls out ‘Smoke-And-Mirrors’ Once Again Ahead of Iran Nuclear Deal Decision
Trump, Iran and the Fate of the JCPOA Nuclear Deal
Sasan Fayazmanesh | counterpunch.org | 2018-05-01
On 12 May 2018, Donald Trump will be deciding the fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, and whether the US will decertify and withdraw from the multilateral agreement. Recently, The Washington Post wrote that Trump will exit from the deal. But The Economist writes that staying in the deal is also…
counterpunch.org/2018/05/01/trump-iran-and-the-fate-of-the-jcpoa-nuclear-deal/
Iran Resoundingly Rejects Netanyahu's Nuclear Weapons Accusation
ZeroHedge.com | mintpressnews.com | 2018-05-01
Netanyahu provided the media with cover to cheer the next regional conflict: that between the US, its allies, Saudi Arabia and of course Israel on one side and Iran, Syria, Russia, and potentially China on the other. | The post Iran Resoundingly Rejects Netanyahu's Nuclear Weapons Accusation appeared first on MintPress News.
Iran Resoundingly Rejects Netanyahu's Nuclear Weapons Accusation
Israeli Military Attacks Iranian Backed Syrian Bases
INA | imemc.org | 2018-05-01
Colonel Larry Wilkerson: Israel does not want to end the war in Syria; it is in their interest to keep this war going, and to keep the Iran Nuclear Deal from succeeding. | TRNN video & transcript:…
imemc.org/article/israeli-military-attacks-iranian-backed-syrian-bases/
As Trump and Netanyahu Join Forces to Torpedo Iran Deal, Remember That Israel Has Nuclear Weapons
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-05-01
How can this hypocrisy continue, with Israel having hundreds of nuclear weapons, no inspections and no adherence to any nuclear treaty, yet calling out Iran on nuclear weapons? | The post As Trump and Netanyahu Join Forces to Torpedo Iran Deal, Remember That Israel Has Nuclear Weapons appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
truthdig.com/articles/as-trump-and-netanyahu-joins-forces-to-torpedo-iran-deal-remember-that-israel-has-nuclear-weapons/
White House Retracts False Claim on Iran Nuclear Program Citing Clerical Error
Jake Johnson | mintpressnews.com | 2018-05-01
After admitting its "clerical error" to reporters, the White House quietly deleted its previous tweet publicizing the statement–which came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "bizarre" speech claiming Iran is violating the terms of the nuclear deal. | The post White House Retracts False Claim on Iran Nuclear Program Citing Clerical Error appeared first on MintPress News.
White House Retracts False Claim on Iran Nuclear Program Citing Clerical Error
Condoleezza Rice Tells 'Fox and Friends' It Won't Be a 'Disaster' if Trump Pulls U.S. from Iran Nuclear Deal
Media Matters Staff, Media Matters | alternet.org | 2018-05-01
The former secretary of state's comments were disturbing. | From the May 1 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends: CONDOLEEZZA RICE (FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE): I actually think if we pull out now, it's not going to be the disaster that everybody is talking about. I would not have signed this deal. I don't think it was a very good deal. I think we were in a hurry to get a deal, and we left a lot on the table and, as you said, they got a lot up front. The allies love this deal, and I certainly hope that in their meeting with President Trump that [French President Emmanuel] Macron and [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel talked about ways to improve the deal if we're going to stay in it. But if we get out of this deal, it's going to be. . .
www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/condoleezza-rice-tells-fox-and-friends-it-wont-be-disaster-if-trump-pulls-us-iran
Fukushima Passes Chernobyl as Worst Nuclear Disaster in History: Does Anyone Care?
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2018-05-01
The continued cover-up of the Fukushima impacts in Japan is likely due to the widespread contamination of soil, vegetation, and water prolific enough that it would lead to evacuations so massive in scope they could collapse Japan's economy, the third largest in the world. | The post Fukushima Passes Chernobyl as Worst Nuclear Disaster in History: Does Anyone Care? appeared first on MintPress News.
Fukushima Passes Chernobyl as Worst Nuclear Disaster in History: Does Anyone Care?
US says Bibi's presentation proves Iran had 'robust' nuke program, Tehran calls it 'childish'
RT | rt.com | 2018-05-01
The White House has claimed documents released by Israel show that Iran had a "robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program," an allegation dismissed as both "ridiculous and childish" by Tehran. …
www.rt.com/usa/425549-washington-iran-deal-netanyahu/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Israel denounces Iran nuclear deal after new missile strikes on Syria
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-05-01
Netanyahu's bellicose speech indicting Iran, following on the heels of missile strikes on Syria, underscores the growing threat of a region-wide war.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/01/iran-m01.html
Headlines for May 1, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-05-01
Afghanistan: 10 Journalists Killed in Deadliest Day for Reporters Since 2001, South Korea Dismantles Propaganda Loudspeakers in Latest Step Toward Peace, Netanyahu Claims, Without Evidence, Iran Violated 2015 Nuclear Deal, 8 Migrants from Caravan Allowed to Enter U.S. and Seek Asylum, Reuters: EPA Granted Billionaire Carl Icahn a Financial Hardship Waiver for Refinery, NYT Obtains Mueller's List of Questions He'd Like to Ask Trump, NBC: John Kelly Repeatedly Called Trump an "Idiot", Stormy Daniels Sues Trump for Defamation, After Tweet, Roy Moore Sues 4 Women Who Accused Him of Sexual Assault, Harassment, #MuteRKelly: Women of Color Demand Companies Cut Ties with R. Kelly over Rape Claims, Arizona Teachers and Workers Across the World Set to Strike, Scholar and Activist Joel Kovel Dies at 81 in New York City…
www.democracynow.org/2018/5/1/headlines
The US Needs a Strong Iran to "Frighten the Arab World". Transforming the Middle East into a Huge US Weapons Warehouse
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2018-04-30
The US needs a strong Iran to use as a continuous scarecrow to frighten Middle Eastern countries, mainly Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Bahrain. The aim is to blackmail these Gulf countries and sell them US arms, transforming the Middle …
globalresearch.ca/the-us-needs-a-strong-iran-to-frighten-the-arab-world-transforming-the-middle-east-into-a-huge-us-weapons-warehouse/5638475
De-escalation With North Korea, Escalation With Iran
Patrick Cockburn | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-30
Photo by DAVID HOLT | CC BY 2.0 | As a journalist, I have always dreaded reporting on meetings between world leaders billed as "historic" or "momentous" or just plain "significant". Such pretensions are usually phoney or, even if something of interest really does happen, its importance is exaggerated or oversimplified. | But plus ca change is not always a safe slogan for the cautious reporter, because real change does occasionally take place and professional cynics are caught on the hop. | Watching the "historic" meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea at the Panmunjom border crossing this weekend — and listening to reporters bubbling over with excitement — it was difficult not to be captured by the enthusiastic mood. | But I recall similar meetings that were once billed as transforming the world for the better and…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/30/de-escalation-with-north-korea-escalation-with-iran/
The Real War for Syria is Taking Place in Its Skies
Jonathan Cook | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-30
Photo by Peter Mulligan | CC BY 2.0 | Nazareth. | The hidden battle in Syria — the one that rarely appears on our television screens — has been raging for years between Israel and a coalition comprising the Syrian government, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. | Watching over the proceedings without directly intervening has been Russia, although that might be about to change. | The prize is control over Syrian territory but the battlefield is Syria's skies. | According to United Nations figures, the Israeli military violated Syrian airspace more than 750 times in the four-month period leading up to last October, with its warplanes and drones spending some 3,200 hours over the country. On average, more than six Israeli aircraft entered Syrian airspace each day in that period. | Powerful rocket strikes reported on two sites in Syria…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/30/the-real-war-for-syria-is-taking-place-in-its-skies/
Israeli Military Attacks Iranian Backed Syrian Bases
TRNN | therealnews.com | 2018-04-30
Col. Larry Wilkerson: Israel does not want to end the war in Syria, it is in their interest to keep this war going, and to keep the Iran Nuclear Deal from succeeding…
therealnews.com/idirect.php?i=21693
What Does 'Denuclearization' Mean in the Negotiations for an End to the Korean War?
Dave Lindorff | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-30
Media news reports and commentary as well as political statements coming out of Washington on the surprising blossoming of peace talks between North and South Korea tend to focus on the question of whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is really "serious" about eliminating his recently developed nuclear weapons arsenal, or whether he will just…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/30/what-does-denuclearization-mean-in-the-negotiations-for-an-end-to-the-korean-war/
NYT Examines How History Impacts Korean Talks–but Its Own Memory Is Fuzzy
Jim Naureckas | fair.org | 2018-04-30
It's not surprising that the US and North Korea view the history of Libyan disarmament differently, when the New York Times ( 4/29/18) can't even agree with the New York Times about it. | In a New York Times news analysis ( 4/29/18) examining how the overthrow of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi after he agreed to halt his nuclear program might influence North Korean thinking about disarmament, the Times' Peter Baker writes that "President Barack Obama and European allies launched military action against Libya in 2011 to prevent a threatened massacre of civilians." Later, Baker recounts that Gadhafi "vowed to crush his opponents, including civilians, prompting Mr. Obama and European allies to intervene to stop him." | But did Gadhafi actually threaten to massacre civilians? A radio broadcast by the Libyan leader in which he declared he would show "no…
fair.org/home/nyt-examines-how-history-impacts-korean-talks-but-its-own-memory-is-fuzzy/
The Secret August 6-9, 2003 "Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration" Meeting at USSTRATCOM to Plan the Production of a New Generation of "More Usable" Nuclear Weapons
Alice Slater | globalresearch.ca | 2018-04-30
This article was first published by Global Research on August 14, 2003. | This August [2003], during the very same week that the world commemorated the 58th anniversary of the only use of nuclear weapons–an act which obliterated the cities of …
globalresearch.ca/the-secret-august-6-9-2003-secret-hiroshima-nagasaki-commemoration-meeting-at-usstratcom-to-plan-the-production-of-a-new-generation-of-more-usable-nuclear-weapons/5638411
The Korean Promise
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-30
It seems, and certainly feels like a distant number of months since a panel of experts noshed and chatted over how best to overcome the nuclear impasse that pitted North Korea against its southern neighbour and allies. Held in Seoul last December, the project of attendees hosted by the Korean National Diplomatic Academy was ambitious…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/30/the-korean-promise/
Societal Death or Transfiguration? Cinema Visions of Humanity Facing Extinction
Manuel García, Jr. | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-30
How should world society respond to the approach of human extinction compelled by implacable external forces, such as: radioactive fallout after a global nuclear war (as in Nevil Shute's novel On the Beach), or an alien invasion by a species of technologically superior beings from outer space, or an impending collision between Earth and…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/30/societal-death-or-transfiguration-cinema-visions-of-humanity-facing-extinction/
RPDC desmantelará en público centro de ensayos nucleares
Prensa Latina | peoplesworld.org | 2018-04-30
SEàöL, Corea del Sur — La República Popular Democrática de Corea (RPDC) desmantelará en mayo su sitio de pruebas nucleares en Punggye-ri mediante una transmisión pública, informó 29 abr la presidencia de Corea del Sur. Según el portavoz gubernamental, Yoon Young-chan, el líder de la RPDC, Kim Jong-un, prevé invitar a expertos en seguridad y …
Trump to meet North Korean leader in "three or four weeks"
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-04-30
Any talks could entirely break down over the definition of "denuclearisation" and a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/04/30/kore-a30.html
Iran: Criminal cover-up: Iran destroying mass graves of victims of 1988 killings
amnesty.org | amnesty.org | 2018-04-30
For nearly three decades, the Iranian authorities have systematically concealed the whereabouts of thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, who were forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in 1988. Amnesty International and Justice for Iran have documented how the authorities have destroyed or damaged mass grave sites across Iran that are believed to contain the remains of the victims. Amnesty International and Justice for Iran call on the authorities to stop the destruction of mass grave sites and ensure that they are preserved until proper, independent investigations can be carried out.
Iran: Criminal cover-up: Iran destroying mass graves of victims of 1988 killings
Headlines for April 30, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-30
North Korea Pledges to Abandon Nuclear Arms If U.S. Agrees Not to Invade, 8 Journalists, Including Famed Photographer, Killed in ISIS Bombing in Afghanistan, Israeli Soldiers Kill 7 Palestinians in Gaza over the Weekend, Trump Admin Moves to Freeze Fuel-Efficiency Standards for Cars, John Bolton: Trump Has Not Yet Decided Whether to Withdraw from Iran Nuclear Deal, Parkland Students Cry Hypocrisy After Guns Are Banned for Pence's NRA Address, In Campaign-Style Rally in Michigan, Trump Attacks Migrants, Media, Democrats & FBI, Dr. Ronny Jackson Will Not Return to His Role as White House Physician, Migrant Caravan Attacked by Trump Arrives at U.S. Border to Seek Political Asylum, British Home Secretary Resigns Amid Scandal over Deportation of Windrush Generation, Arizona Teachers Continue Strike into Third Day, Sprint & T-Mobile Agree to $26.5 Billion Merger, Former Black Panther Herman Bell Freed from Prison, Dr. James Cone, Founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dies at Age 79…
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/30/headlines
Tim Shorrock on North Korea Nuclear Deal: Will the U.S. Drop Sanctions & Economic Embargo?
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-30
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to abandon his nuclear weapons if the United States agrees to formally end the Korean War and promises not to invade his country. The announcement came after a historic meeting Friday between Kim and South Korean leader Moon Jae-in in the truce village of Panmunjom. Then, on Sunday, North Korea's state media said Kim had vowed to immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests, and would dismantle its Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site. We discuss the potentially historic developments with Tim Shorrock, correspondent for The Nation and the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism in Seoul.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/30/tim_shorrock_on_north_korea_nuclear
Iran drops the dollar. Others tried and were bombed. 'It's all about the banking,' says Lee Camp
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-30
Iran recently announced it is dropping the US dollar in foreign trade. Just as Iraq did shortly before it was invaded by the US, or Libya planned to before it was bombed by NATO-led allies. Lee Camp is starting to see a pattern. …
www.rt.com/news/425497-iran-drops-dollar-war/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Iran: New evidence reveals deliberate desecration and destruction of multiple mass gravesites
amnesty.org | amnesty.org | 2018-04-30
Bulldozing, road construction, mass rubbish dumping and new burial plots used to compromise and destroy mass graves | Iranian authorities deliberately eradicating vital forensic evidence that could hamper the rights to truth, justice and reparations | At least 4,000-5,000 people secretly buried in mass graves after bloody 1988 massacre | New evidence including satellite imagery, photo and video analysis shows that the Iranian authorities are deliberately destroying suspected or confirmed mass grave sites associated with the 1988 massacre in which thousands of prisoners detained for political reasons were forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed, according to a report released by Amnesty International and Justice for Iran today. | Criminal cover-up: Iran destroying mass graves of victims of 1988 killings reveals that the Iranian authorities are bulldozing, constructing buildings and roads,…
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/iran-new-evidence-reveals-deliberate-desecration-and-destruction-of-multiple-mass-gravesites/
US wants N Korea to take 'irreversible' steps to de-nuke, similar to Libya's denuclearisation
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-29
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea must take "irreversible" steps to rid the country of its nuclear arms programme, in a deal that could resemble the one struck with Libya in 2003. …
www.rt.com/usa/425487-north-korea-libya-pompeo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Noam Chomsky — Is Iran a Threat?
CP Editor | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-28
counterpunch.org/2018/04/28/noam-chomsky-is-iran-a-threat/
Have you been nice or naughty to US this year? Washington again threatens UN voting poopers
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-28
The US is unhappy that too many members of the United Nations fail to vote the way the US wants them to. It prepared lists of those that are safe from America's aid-cutting ire and those who should be afraid — like Cuba and Iran. …
www.rt.com/news/425433-haley-bullying-un-members/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Pompeo lands in Saudi Arabia, immediately calls for new sanctions against Iran
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-28
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has commenced a three-day tour designed to rally American allies in the Middle East, as new sanctions against Iran loom and the nuclear deal with Tehran hangs in the balance. …
www.rt.com/usa/425439-pomepo-iran-sanctions-saudi-arabia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Breaking My Silence on RussiaGate
Jill Stein | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-27
We are facing a precarious historic moment. Democracy is threatened by interference in our elections, and by interference in our civil liberties. Likewise we are endangered by warmongering, rampant militarism, nuclear confrontation and accelerating climate change. To solve any of these interlinked problems, we need a functioning democracy and a voting system we can have…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/27/breaking-my-silence-on-russiagate/
Move Over Chernobyl, Fukushima is Now Officially the Worst Nuclear Power Disaster in History
John Laforge | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-27
The radiation dispersed into the environment by the three reactor meltdowns at Fukushima-Daiichi in Japan has exceeded that of the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe, so we may stop calling it the "second worst" nuclear power disaster in history. Total atmospheric releases from Fukushima are estimated to be between 5.6 and 8.1 times that of…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/27/move-over-chernobyl-fukushima-is-now-officially-the-worst-nuclear-power-disaster-in-history/
For Donald Trump to Succeed With North Korea, He'll Need a Pragmatic Definition of "Denuclearization"
Zaid Jilani | theintercept.com | 2018-04-27
Thanks to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the Trump-Kim summit could be a true success for the world — if Trump can be flexible about what words mean. | The post For Donald Trump to Succeed With North Korea, He'll Need a Pragmatic Definition of "Denuclearization" appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2018/04/27/for-donald-trump-to-succeed-with-north-korea-hell-need-a-pragmatic-definition-of-denuclearization/
German chancellor travels to Washington amid trade and geopolitical tensions
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-04-27
Merkel's meeting with Trump takes place against the backdrop of planned US tariffs on steel and aluminum, and divisions over the Iran nuclear deal.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/04/27/merk-a27.html
As Supreme Court Weighs Travel Ban, Trump's Wider Anti-Muslim Agenda Proceeds Unchallenged
Sarah Aziza | theintercept.com | 2018-04-27
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Trump v. Hawaii, a suit challenging the legality of President Donald Trump's travel ban against individuals from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. In effect since December 2017, the presidential proclamation, which blocks citizens of the seven countries from entering the United States on multiple grounds. The court is considering challenges to the ban on both constitutional grounds, and questions of the statutory authority of the president to issue such a policy. | The first ban, announced on January 27, 2017, targeted only a handful of Muslim-majority countries, earning it the moniker of a "Muslim ban" and engendering massive popular protests. Critics have said the ban was the fulfillment of Trump's campaign promise for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S." The initial executive order was rescinded in…
theintercept.com/2018/04/27/muslim-ban-supreme-court-trump-vetting-muslims/
Karen Korematsu: "My Father Resisted Japanese Internment. Trump's Travel Ban Is Just as Unfair"
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-27
The U.S. Supreme Court looks poised to uphold President Trump's travel ban, which blocks most people from seven countries–including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen–from entering the United States. During oral arguments on Wednesday, Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared to side with the conservative side of the court. Lower courts have repeatedly ruled against versions of Trump's travel ban, saying they were unconstitutional and in violation of federal immigration law. Among those who have asked the Supreme Court to rule the travel ban unconstitutional are the children of Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II. | Joining us now is one of those children: Karen Korematsu, daughter of civil rights icon Fred Korematsu, who was jailed for refusing orders to be sent to an internment camp set up for U.S. residents of Japanese ancestry. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Last year Karen Korematsu wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post headlined "My father resisted Japanese internment. Trump's travel ban is just as unfair." For more, we speak with Karen Korematsu, founder and executive director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/27/karen_korematsu_my_father_resisted_japanese
"Our Dreams Are Coming True": Peace Activists Celebrate as Korean Leaders Vow to Officially End War
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-27
History has been made on the Korean Peninsula today, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shook hands at the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries and pledged to work to denuclearize the peninsula and to declare the official end to the Korean War. Today's historic summit marks the first time a North Korean leader has ever set foot inside South Korea. During the meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said, "I came here to put an end to the history of confrontation." The North and South Korean leaders pledged to pursue talks with the United States aimed at negotiating a formal peace treaty to replace the uneasy 1953 armistice. For more, we speak with Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army colonel and former State Department diplomat. She is a member of Women Cross DMZ, a group of international peacemakers who have been calling for an end to the Korean War.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/27/our_dreams_are_coming_true_peace
Further Information: Iran: Iranian trade unionist on hunger strike: Esmail Abdi
amnesty.org | amnesty.org | 2018-04-26
Iranian trade unionist Esmail Abdi started a hunger strike on 24 April to protest against the treatment of teachers and workers in Iran, on the one hand, and the denial of his requests for prison leave, on the other. Esmail Abdi is a prisoner of conscience serving a six-year sentence in Tehran's Evin prison for his peaceful trade union activities.
Further Information: Iran: Iranian trade unionist on hunger strike: Esmail Abdi
Supreme Court Appears Set to Uphold Trump's Travel Ban Targeting Muslim Nations
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-26
The U.S. Supreme Court looks poised to uphold President Trump's travel ban, which blocks most people from seven countries–including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen–from entering the United States. During oral arguments on Wednesday, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is often seen as a swing vote, appeared to side with the conservative wing of the court. U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco argued the travel restrictions were not a "so-called Muslim ban" and that the order fell within the president's executive authority. Francisco made the claim even though Trump campaigned for president calling for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." Lower courts have repeatedly ruled against versions of Trump's travel ban, saying they were unconstitutional and in violation of federal immigration law. We are joined by Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's national Immigrants' Rights Project, who presented the first challenge to President Trump's travel ban order last year, and Diala Shamas, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. She was in Djibouti last month speaking to Yemeni relatives of U.S. citizens attempting to come to the United States under Trump's travel ban.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/26/supreme_court_appears_set_to_uphold
Irán: Sindicalista iraní, en huelga de hambre
amnesty.org | amnesty.org | 2018-04-26
El sindicalista iraní Esmail Abdi se declaró en huelga de hambre el 24 de abril para protestar contra el trato que reciben los profesores y los trabajadores en Irán, por un lado, y contra el rechazo de su petición de un permiso carcelario, por el otro. Es preso de conciencia y está cumpliendo una pena de seis años en la prisión de Evin de Teherán por sus actividades sindicales pacíficas.
www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/8297/2018/es/
The growing threat of an Israeli war against Iran
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-04-26
In the shadow of US-French discussions on the Iranian nuclear deal, Israel is preparing for a military confrontation with Iran, threatening to ignite a regional and even global war.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/04/26/pers-a26.html
Trump boasts he changed Macron's stance on Iran deal
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-26
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his hardline approach may have changed how French President Emmanuel Macron views Iran, and credited that same approach with bringing North Korea to the negotiating table. …
www.rt.com/usa/425219-trump-boasts-macron-syria/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
US Supreme Court hears arguments on Trump's anti-Muslim travel ban
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-04-26
Hawaii is challenging Trump's travel ban, which bars citizens of Somalia, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Syria, North Korea and many Venezuelans from traveling to the United States.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/04/26/supr-a26.html
Washington wants to keep Iran nuclear deal, just make it more 'enduring,' US official insists
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-25
Washington is not planning to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal, but simply wants to expand its scope, a top US official has said. Tehran has blasted US efforts to alter the accord, warning that it's "either all or nothing." …
www.rt.com/usa/425123-nuclear-deal-trump-macron/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Trump Decries Iran Nuclear Deal as He Fills Cabinet with Advocates Pushing Regime Change in Tehran
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-25
President Trump threatened to attack Iran on Tuesday if it restarts its nuclear weapons program, while at the same time hinting he plans to scrap the international deal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear arms. Trump made his comments at the White House during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who had come to Washington in an attempt to preserve the Iran deal. Trump must decide by May 12 whether the U.S. should stay in the deal. Macron said he opposes throwing out the existing nuclear deal but is open to a new agreement with Iran to address Iran's role in Syria and other issues. But advocates say Trump is likely to leave the deal and that the U.S. is trying to force Iran to be the party that ends up leaving the accord–and that Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton and State Department Secretary nominee Mike Pompeo aren't "seriously interested" in further negotiations. "I think the United States has never abandoned the idea of regime change in Iran," says Jamal Abdi, the vice president for policy at the National Iranian American Council.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/25/trump_decries_iran_nuclear_deal_as