>Aircraft carrier sent to Middle East after indications Iran planned attack on US forces

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/aircraft-carrier-middle-east-indications-iran-planned-attack/story?id=62843182


Looks like the war drums are fueling up again for more never-ending wars against the middle east. No surprise since the US has been wanting to go after Iran for a long time. This is a bunch of bullshit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48624579

Just break up the Union and ceed England back to France if this Eton cum stain becomes PM.

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Cyril Sillyshaw - Sat, 15 Jun 2019 01:05:59 EST ID:4scaaRdR No.176764 Ignore Report Reply 1560575159139.gif -(525956B / 513.63KB, 200x172) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. this is crazy fam, like in my lifetime i have seen the British Empire erode from a pillar of modern society to basically a joke, the US Empire is not far behind. being an american, of course this gives me flutters of fear and nervousness, that perhaps i will no longer indirectly gobble up the rewards of oppression of the 3rd world, but whatever shred of morality lurks within my frail consciousness cheers at the notion of these institutions of compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission, ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite, being finally dragged out into the open as complete bullshit. i have a woo-woo feeling that this iran-us thing in the strait of hormuz is somehow going to lead to international skepticism of US narratives on a level never before seen. even reading a BBC article today, usually a mouthpiece of the US global narrative, had a very biting and condescending tone, almost holding Iran's narrative of events on equal credibility. things change faster than we think they are changing. i mean shit nigga Y2K was almost TWENTY YEARS AGO.

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Ian Blythedale - Sun, 16 Jun 2019 17:51:40 EST ID:f3xwqipF No.176787 Ignore Report Reply 1560721900596.jpg -(43472B / 42.45KB, 496x673) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. Britain needs to do over with its political system really. It wouldn't be hard to come up with something more representative and less corruptable but it'd be worse for the people in power so it'll never happen. Our media doens't help but at least a couple of our sources aren't completely lost. >meanwhile in the Guardian TV Guide

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/16/us/miami-beach-sea-turtles-arrest/index.html

How old is weed? At least, this old:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/06/oldest-evidence-of-cannabis-smoking-found-in-ancient-chinese-cemetery/

>>	Cyril Sillyshaw - Sat, 15 Jun 2019 01:11:25 EST ID:4scaaRdR No.176766 Ignore Report Reply 1560575485139.jpg -(93864B / 91.66KB, 331x436) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. >>176756

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48619771

>The Norwegian owned Front Altair and Japanese owned Kokuka Courageous were set on fire and crew evacuated today while leaving the Persian Gulf after suspected torpedo/mine attacks.

>This is the second such incident in a month.

>In May, four tankers were hit by explosive devices close to a port in the UAE. A report presented jointly by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway last week to the UN Security Council concluded they had been placed there by frogmen, but did not assign blame to any country.

>The UAE blamed an unnamed "state actor". The US said that actor was Iran, an accusation Tehran has denied.

>Iran is currently hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a mediator for talks with the United States, and has expressed suspicion about the timing of the attacks with his visit.

>Iran said it had rescued the 21 crew members on board the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous and the 23 on the Front Altair, owned by Norway.

>The US disputed this, saying its Navy had rescued some of those aboard.

Coincidentally, he used to be director of the CIA, so he probably has a few tricks up his sleeve:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/mike-pompeo-threatens-intervene-british-democracy-stop-corbyn-becoming-prime-minister/5680136

>US Secretary for State Mike Pompeo has come under fire after a recording emerged of him saying he’d intervene to stop Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister. In the recording first reported by the Washington Post, Pompeo suggests he won’t wait for Corbyn to be elected, rather he’ll attempt to stop it from being possible.

>Mr Corbyn has frequently spoken out against the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians since he became a Member of Parliament in 1983. He has also defended Jewish groups throughout his time in parliament too.

>There is a strong Lobby for Israel in UK politics. This is no secret and has played against Corbyn on many occasions. However, now the US Israeli lobby is getting involved, this ramps things up significantly. The United States has always been much closer to Israel and any threat to the status quo will be seen and treated as a threat.

>Mike Pompeo has made this clear in his comments.

https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/more-police-raids-as-war-on-journalism-escalates-worldwide-ef6dc2a19853

>The Australian Federal Police have conducted two raids on journalists and seized documents in purportedly unrelated incidents in the span of just two days.

>Yesterday the AFP raided the home of News Corp Australia journalist Annika Smethurst, seeking information related to her investigative report last year which exposed the fact that the Australian government has been discussing the possibility of giving itself unprecedented powers to spy on its own citizens. Today they raided the Sydney headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corp, seizing information related to a 2017 investigative report on possible war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan.

>In a third, also ostensibly unrelated incident, another Australian reporter disclosed yesterday that the Department of Home Affairs has initiated an investigation of his reporting on a story about asylum seeker boats which could lead to an AFP criminal case, saying he’s being pressured to disclose his source.

>“The criminalization and crack down on national security journalism is spreading like a virus,” WikiLeaks tweeted today in response to the ABC raid. “The Assange precedent is already having effect. Journalists must unite and remember that courage is also contagious.”

>>	Henry Bunbanks - Sun, 09 Jun 2019 03:51:41 EST ID:p4j1AMuW No.176611 Ignore Report Reply 1560066701524.jpg -(24727B / 24.15KB, 394x292) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. It's been 1984 for a good while now huh.

>>	Ebenezer Duckshit - Fri, 14 Jun 2019 04:56:51 EST ID:A5OHViKJ No.176739 Ignore Report Reply 1560502611690.jpg -(13139B / 12.83KB, 300x168) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. >>176570 Didn't know that Assange is Australian...

Land of the free
https://truthout.org/video/scott-warren-faces-up-to-20-years-in-prison-for-providing-aid-to-migrants/

>An Arizona humanitarian aid volunteer goes to trial today for providing water, food, clean clothes and beds to two undocumented migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. If convicted, Scott Warren could spend up to 20 years in prison. Warren, an activist with the Tucson-based No More Deaths, is charged with three felony counts of allegedly “harboring” undocumented immigrants. For years, No More Deaths and other humanitarian aid groups in southern Arizona have left water and food in the harsh Sonoran Desert, where the temperature often reaches three digits during summer, to help refugees and migrants survive the deadly journey across the U.S. border. Warren was arrested on January 17, 2018, just hours after No More Deaths released a report detailing how U.S. Border Patrol agents had intentionally destroyed more than 3,000 gallons of water left out for migrants crossing the border. The group also published a video showing border agents dumping out jugs of water in the desert. Hours after the report was published, authorities raided the Barn, a No More Deaths aid camp in Ajo, where they found two migrants who had sought temporary refuge.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/03/06/trump-quinnipiac-university-poll/3076827002/

One of the first polls conducted since President Donald Trump's former attorney implicated him in illegal activity was released Tuesday, and most of the results were not very good for the president.

A poll from Quinnipiac University National found 64 percent of American voters believe Trump committed crimes before assuming office, while 24 percent did not believe that he had (another 13 percent said they weren't sure.) Forty-five percent said they think Trump committed crimes since taking office compared to 43 percent who think he did not.

The numbers among Republicans were better for the president, with a third saying they believe he committed crimes before taking office and 48 percent saying he did not. Only 12 percent of Republicans said Trump had committed crimes since taking office while 79 percent did not.

Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen — already convicted of lying to Congress – provided members of Congress explosive testimony on February 27, when he accused Trump of being part of a criminal conspiracy.

However, just 44 percent of respondents believed Cohen told the truth in his testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. But half of them said they believed Cohen over Trump. Fifty-eight percent said Congress should do more to investigate Cohen's allegations.

"When two-thirds of voters think you have committed a crime in your past life, and almost half of voters say it's a tossup over whether you committed a crime while in the Oval Office, confidence in your overall integrity is very shaky," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "Add to that, Michael Cohen, a known liar headed to the big house, has more credibility than the leader of the free world."

Only 30 percent of voters said they believe the president is honest, although two-thirds of Republicans still said he is trustworthy (95 percent of Democrats disagreed). Twenty-two percent of voters said they consider Trump to be a good role model for children compared with 54 percent of Republicans who said they do think he is a good role model.

The good news for the president: despite high numbers of voters saying they suspect him of illegal activity, only 35 percent said Congress should begin impeachment proceedings, while 59 percent said it should not.

Overall, the poll found Trump's job approval rating among voters was at 38 percent with 56 percent of voters saying they disapproved of his performance. That number stood in contrast to other recent polls that had placed the president's approval rating in the mid-to-low 40s.

On Sunday, an NBC News/Wall Street poll – much of which was conducted before Cohen testified – had his approval rating at 46 percent. And his RealClearPolitics average was at 44.4 percent, a mark it had only surpassed once since March 2017.

It is too early to tell if the Quinnipiac poll – which tends to find Trump's approval rating lower than his polling average – is an outlier or a signal that Cohen's testimony is having an impact.

Trump's approval rating in the poll mirrored that of congressional Democrats. Thirty-eight percent of voters said they approved of the job Democrats are doing and 56 percent said they disapproved. Congressional Republicans had a 27 percent approval rating while 66 percent said they disapproved of the job they were doing.

The poll was conducted from March 1-4 from among 1,120 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.

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Simon Pucklespear - Thu, 13 Jun 2019 19:30:41 EST ID:/MwhWfsN No.176725 Ignore Report Reply 1560468641080.jpg -(55813B / 54.50KB, 750x802) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. Trump is currently threatening to sue democrats if they pursue impeachment. As if sue is the only verb he knows. He's terrified that democrats are going to start an impeachment inquiry. Trump only threatens to sue people when he screwed up. . he only threatens to sue people when he knows they're going to expose something bad. He tried to sue people for accusing him of sexual assault, and those lawsuits are being thrown out, he's losing. Donald Trump always resorts to lawsuits when he has nothing else to go on. Just the fact that he's even considering it, that he's threatening it, shows you how terrified he is. The lawsuit would get thrown out because he has no standing. He has no grounds to file any legal complaint against democrats doing something they're allowed, able and willing to do. You simply can't do that. There's no remedy in the constitution for the president to sue the party that runs the house that opens an impeachment inquiry. You would file the suit, and it would immediately get tossed out, probably even by your sycophants on the US Supreme Court.

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/congress-debates-aoc-amendment-to-make-it-easier-to-study-psychedelic-drugs/

>The House of Representatives rejected an amendment on Thursday that would have removed an existing rider that scientists say inhibits research into the therapeutic potential of Schedule I controlled substances such as psilocybin, MDMA and marijuana.

>The amendment, introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) last week, would have eliminated a section of a large-scale appropriations bill stipulating that no federal dollars can be spent on “any activity that promotes the legalization of any drug or other substance in Schedule I.”

>The presiding officer ruled that the measure was approved in a voice vote after the debate early Thursday morning, but that was reversed during a later roll call vote of 91 to 331.

>“Academics and scientists report that provisions like this create [stigma] and insurmountable logistical hurdles to researching schedule I drugs like psilocybin and MDMA which have shown promise in end of life therapy and treating PTSD,” a summary of the amendment states.

>“I’m a strong believer in evidence-based policymaking,” Ocasio-Cortez said during the floor debate. “And wherever there is evidence of good, we have a moral obligation to pursue and explore the parameters of that good. Even if it means challenging our past assumptions or admitting past wrongs.”

Western media is ignoring this:
https://jacobinmag.com/2019/06/sudan-revolution-khartoum-protests-massacre

>At dawn on Monday, June 3, paramilitary forces raided the sit-in opposite the Army General Command in Khartoum, Sudan, raining fire on protesters and bringing an end to six months of a largely peaceful uprising. Soldiers broke through the demonstrators’ barricades, burnt their tents to the ground, and shot at and beat protesters. Witnesses spoke of soldiers shooting indiscriminately, throwing bodies of slain protesters into the Nile, and raping two of the medics at the sit-in.

>Within forty-eight hours, the death toll rose to over a hundred, as tens of bodies were recovered from the Nile. Five hundred more were injured in what could only be described as a premeditated massacre.

>The sit-in outside the military headquarters had become the focal point of the ongoing Sudanese Revolution, with students and professionals having camped out to protest the ruling military regime since early April. Led by the Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group of trade unions that had previously been banned by the regime, the uprising maintained a nonviolent and highly organized character, culminating in a two-day general strike at the end of May.

>But two months after the initial protests that ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir, the revolutionaries were still voicing their same principal demand: an end to military rule in Sudan and a civilian-led transition government that could lead the way to fair and democratic elections. Weeks of negotiations with the military had stalemated, with the military refusing to relinquish control.

>Last Monday’s attack was led by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a state-controlled offshoot of the Janjaweed, a militia responsible for war crimes in Darfur. After storming and brutally massacring demonstrators in Khartoum’s sit-in, the RSF then moved to the surrounding neighborhoods — which had also boasted anti-regime protests and ongoing congregations of demonstrators — continuing to disperse, beat, and shoot activists.

https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/12/boat-captain-faces-20-years-jail-rescuing-migrants-mediterranean-9921099/

Fuck to the Boer dog:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/27/south-african-intelligence-officers-spread-aids-black-communities

>South Africa-based mercenary group has been accused by one of its former members of trying to intentionally spread Aids in southern Africa in the 1980s and 1990s.

>The claims are made by Alexander Jones in a documentary that premieres this weekend at the Sundance film festival. He says he spent years as an intelligence officer with the South African Institute for Maritime Research (SAIMR), three decades ago, when it was masterminding coups and other violence across Africa.

>The film also explores the unexplained murder of a young SAIMR recruit in 1990, whose family believe was killed because of her work on an Aids-related project run by the group in South Africa and Mozambique.

>And it also claims the group’s then leader had a racist, apocalyptic obsession with HIV/Aids. Keith Maxwell wrote about a plague he hoped would decimate black populations, cement white rule, and bring back conservative religious mores, according to papers collected by the film-makers.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/447586-alabama-governor-signs-bill-banning-colleges-from-limiting-students

>Alabama governor signs campus free speech bill into law

>Alabama's governor signed a bill into law Thursday that would stop colleges and universities in the state from limiting free expression and student speech to select areas designated on campus as "free speech zones."

>The Republican-sponsored bill would prohibit public universities in the state from establishing the so-called "free speech zones," which supporters of the bill say effectively limit full freedom of speech for students to designated areas of the schools, according to ALReporter.

>Free speech zones, which have been touted by some as ways to allow students to express a variety of opinions, often require school faculty to be notified in advance and approve demonstrations in the zones. Critics say such a process places an undue burden on students.

>Most Alabama colleges opposed the bill, the outlet reported.

>"The public institution of higher education shall not permit members of the campus community to engage in conduct that materially and substantially disrupts another person’s protected expressive activity or infringes on the rights of others to engage in or listen to a protected expressive activity that is occurring in a location that has been reserved for that protected expressive activity," the bill states, according to ALReporter.

>The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Matt Fridy (R), called such efforts by universities "unfair" attempts to crack down on viewpoints they disagree with.

What the fuck even is a "free speech zone"? Back when I was in school I remembered this being literally what police designated as places you could protest and hold signs safely away from jackass WTO and G20 types of diplomats and politicians and such where you couldn't bother anybody and they fenced everyone off with metal gates and sometimes pepper sprayed people in there anyway, like it was some kind of sick concentration camp foreplay.

So what exactly is going on? Why exactly does it feel like there's been a global crackdown on freedom of speech right and left? I keep reading new articles about journalists being arrested or sued even in supposedly developed "free" countries.