In summarizing environmental issues from the previous year, I would like to say that Donald Trump’s wining of the presidential race was the most significant eco-event of 2016. And all other events, regardless of their apparent importance (from the merger …

Eva Bartlett shares her reporting on Syria with audiences in the Canadian Prairies!

February 2nd: Winnipeg

Reporting the War in Syria

11:30am-12:45pm 

Tier building, room 206 (Tier is next to the Dafoe library)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1835677816715498/

What Really is Going on in …

This interview with Prof Michel Chossudovsky was first broadcast in June 2016 at the outset of Operation Anaconda, leading to the militarization of Russia’s Doorstep.

The significance of Anaconda 2016, NATO’s …

Now Donald Trump is a war criminal just like his predecessors.

That didn’t take long. Over the inaugural weekend, while the president was obsessing about the size of his crowd, his government also let loose two drone strikes against defenseless …

Since Alexandre Bissonnette, age 27, shot and killed six people during prayers at the Grande mosquée de Québec, theories have abounded to explain how this came to happen. Fingers are pointed at Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Quebec City’s …

In an outpouring of opposition to US President Donald Trump and in defence of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, thousands of people attended protests Monday throughout the UK. Denunciations of Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May for their Islamophobia …

Trump Traumatic Disorder has been making its away across the Atlantic, numbing British officials, activists and commentators on one vital point: Should President Donald J. Trump be able to see the Queen on an official state visit?

A good of …

Fighting in east Ukraine has restarted. This is an attempt by “deep state” forces to prevent any rapprochement between the U.S. and Russia under the new Trump administration.

The west-Ukrainian forces under command of the coup government of President Poroshenko …

A week ago, Syria peace talks came to a significant end in Kazakhstan. During these two days the representatives of the Syrian government and representatives of the armed opposition groups, with the participation of Russia, Turkey and Iran, discussed establishing …

President Trump’s ban against letting people from seven mostly Muslim countries enter the United States looks to many like a thinly concealed bias against a religion.

But it also is a troubling sign that Trump doesn’t have the nerve to …

President Donald Trump‘s executive order restricting immigration, including refugees, has drawn widespread criticism, with many believing that the U.S. blocking persecuted people from entering the country is a dramatic shift in American policy. Trump has responded, claiming that …

Adam Garrie asked Syrian journalist Afraa Dagher to reflect on the recent Astana Peace Conference and how this impacts on Syria’s long-term future.

AG:  The new draft constitution seems to have disappointed people on all sides. It’s not surprising that …

Reality is under assault. Verbal confusion reigns. Truth and illusion have merged. Mental chaos makes it hard to fathom what is happening. We feel trapped in a hall of mirrors. Exposed lies are answered with other lies. The rational is …

While the media attention has been focused on the death of one US serviceman who was killed during a raid in Yemen, one of the most tragic casualties of the assault ordered by President Donald Trump was an eight-year-old girl.…

With a reference to the Saturday Night Massacre that took place during the Watergate scandal under President Richard Nixon, the hashtag #MondayNightMassacre came alive on Monday night after President Donald Trump fired acting Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and accused …

Those who once enslaved the continent’s people are barring them from entry as guests and refugees

At its 28^th Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the African Union (AU) has selected a new chair of its commission for the …

President Donald Trump’s ban on nationals from 7 Muslim majority countries in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) entering the United States of America for a period of 90 days has brought to the fore the role and influence of …

In an important recent book, the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh refers to the present era of corporate-driven climate crisis as ‘The Great Derangement’. For almost 12,000 years, since the last Ice Age, humanity has lived through a period of …

The mindlessness is unbearable. Amnesty International tells us that we must “fight the Muslim ban” because Trump’s bigotry is wrecking lives. Anthony Dimaggio at CounterPunch says Trump should be impeached because his Islamophobia is a threat to the Constitution. This …

ISIS units have been developing an advance on the al-Sin air base in eastern Qalamoun near the city of Dumayr. The terrorist group launched the offensive last night and seized certain Syrian army checkpoints in the area. But the terrorists …

Yemen is Obama’s war, Saudis doing his dirty work, continuing it even though he’s gone. Now it’s Trump’s aggression unless he acts to stop it.

Genocide haunts the country, the region’s poorest, the suffering of its people largely ignored. Deaths …

Where is Mr. Trump coming from and where is he going to? What is really on his agenda, what is trustworthy, and what is sheer farce and eventually killed by its own weight of controversy? – While out there, the …

The CIA’s “Deep State”, Donald Trump and His “War on Terrorism”

By Larry Chin, January 30 2017

In the great tradition of Clarence Darrow, Charles Garry, Ernest Goodman, William Kunstler, Carol Weiss King, Arthur Kinoy, Constance Baker Motley and Michael Ratner, legendary people’s lawyer Leonard Weinglass defended the poor and disenfranchised who struggled for social justice.

His anti-Muslim order caused a firestorm of outrage nationwide, from relatives of affected individuals, activists, human rights groups, as well as state and local officials.

Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Trump’s …

On January 29th, the Syrian Defense Ministry officially announced that the Syrian army had liberated all villages in the Wadi Barada area northwest of Damascus. Thus, government forces were in control of the water supply line to Damascus and the …

While the new US president, Donald Trump, might have thought deeply about making “America great again”, the policies (read: “America First”) he has outlined to achieve this objective are likely to cause other consequences, most important of which is America’s …

The best way to protect America is by no longer attacking other countries, massacring their people, looting their resources, ruthlessly seeking unchallenged global dominance – along with harming its most vulnerable citizens and residents.

Decision-making in Washington is all about …

Protests against the Trump administration’s executive order banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries and all refugees spread across the country on Sunday, as the Homeland Security Department and immigration authorities continued to detain men, women and children denied entry to …

The diary of this particular US administration is bound to be heavy with incident. Executive orders are now coming out of the Trump administration at pace, and the question of whether they will compel obedience or not looms. In many …

You will often see potentially important pieces of legislation languish in the US House. A bill will remain active, meaning that it can be brought to the Floor at any time. But it flies just under the radar. Other times …

Less than 48 hours after announcing his executive order on refugees, global opposition to Trump intensified on Sunday as world leaders, US (mostly tech) companies and civil rights groups condemned the move to temporarily limit entry from predominantly Muslim countries.…

Earlier this month the world’s largest corporations and economic elites came together at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. More than ever before, climate change figured prominently on the agenda—especially how it might be leveraged for greater corporate …

The great flaw in ex-president Barack Obama’s record was his policy towards Russia. Going against everything he had said and written about before he became president, one action after another antagonised the Russians – his early proclamation that he …

The Trump administration’s order to halt the admission of refugees into the United States and bar entry to visitors and returning residents from seven countries—all majority-Muslim, all the targets of US military aggression or economic sanctions—underscores the unprecedented nature of …

On January 23, 2017, I asked, “Are Americans Racists?”  I pointed out examples where racist explanations prevail over empirical fact.  I did not write that there is no racism in America.  I said that racism is not the be-all and …

On Friday (Jan 27) President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt all refugees to the US for 120 days and to indefinitely ban refugees from Syria until “extreme vetting” measures could be put in place. It also limits …

Except for cooperating during WW II to defeat Nazism, America has been largely adversarial toward Russia for the past century.

On Saturday, Trump and Putin spoke by phone. Discussion lasted nearly an hour. Both leaders agreed to continue “regular personal …

Following the spirit of solidarity expressed in the message released by the participants of the XII Meeting of the “Network of Intellectuals, Artists and Social Movements In Defense of Humanity,” held in Caracas, on April 11, 2016, and as testimony …

There is a certain irony in the fact that Donald Trump’s executive order has barred nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries mostly affected by US’ assertive foreign policies over recent decades.

The Washington Post in its recent article, “Trump orders ISIS plan, talks with Putin and gives Bannon national security role,” attempts to portray US President Donald Trump’s recent moves as “anti-terror” in nature.

In particular, the Washington Post …

It is not surprising that the Davos Forum held in the middle of January 2017 chose not to examine the obscene, grotesque, ever widening economic inequalities in the world brought to its attention  by Oxfam, the global aid and development …

Lots of confusion about the infighting in the “rebel” held Idleb governate in Syria, the situation is now clearing up. After other tricks, like renaming the group, did not work to deceive al-Qaeda finally pulled back the veil. It is …

Rex Tillerson, former CEO of the ExxonMobil oil colossus is not designated Secretary of State because of his diplomatic experience. He is there because clearly the Trump Project of those Patriarchs behind Trump–ones such as Warren Buffett, David Rockefeller, …

Nigeria’s Farmers Alliance of over 14 million farmers have called on all farmers especially in the Northeast to reject the genetically modified organisms (GMO) and Hybrid seeds distributed by the United Nation’s World Food Program (WFP) and the World Bank.…

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard met with Syrian President Bashar Assad during a recent unannounced trip to the war-torn country.

“Originally, I had no intention of meeting with Assad,” she said, in a news release. “But when given the opportunity, I …

The December 9, 2016 Kremlin celebration of the Fatherland Heroes’ Day brought attention to one of obscure components of Russian covert paramilitary capabilities, when a photo featuring President Vladimir Putin and the leadership of the so-called Vagner Private Military Company…

Candidate Trump called it “obsolete,” saying the alliance needs reframing, focusing on combating ISIS and other terrorist threats, not targeting countries for regime change.

He suggested America might not defend certain NATO states if attacked, complained about America carrying too …

“From what we know so far, the Trump administration is geared to be the most pro-domestic-business, the most economically isolationist and protectionist, and the most pro-special interests American administration, ever. This could spell trouble for the United States and for …

During a visit to the Pentagon on Friday, President Donald Trump issued an executive action calling for stepped up violence in Syria and a vast expansion of the US military, including its nuclear arsenal, to prepare for war with “near-peer …

 A recent report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor exposes the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s 11-year long blockade on the Gaza Strip.

While Israel is only continuing its long history of isolating Gaza yet at an unprecedented length and severity …

On January 25, The Financial Times published an article on the role of Western countries at the Astana negotiations.

Author Erika Solomon writes that Western diplomats could do absolutely nothing to influence the negotiations and “found themselves relegated with journalists …

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh said in an interview that he does not believe the U.S. intelligence community proved its case that President Vladimir Putin directed a hacking campaign aimed at securing the election of Donald Trump. He blasted news …

South-Central Africa Foreword

The Hybrid War research has now moved from the Horn of Africa and East Africa down to a belt of states that the author has taken to calling South-Central Africa, which includes Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Angola …

U.S. and other media continue their strong move towards baseless, aka fake, news. We recently caught the New York Times claiming that Russia started the war in Georgia, something the NYT had earlier debunked itself. The Washington Post claimed that …

Trump saying he’ll “absolutely do safe zones in Syria for the people” has nothing to do with protecting them, if implemented. 

It’s about keeping refugees out of Europe and America. It’s continued US interventionism abroad, what he rhetorically opposed.

The …

U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has recently returned from Syria where she spent four days. She told CNN about her trip to the war-torn country.

During her visit, Gabbard had an appointment with President Bashar al-Assad, clergymen and citizens; she also …

As the US media expertly divides the American public into pro and anti-Trump camps over cartoonish, unfounded personal accusations aimed at President-elect Donald Trump, Trump’s nominee for US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson confirmed before the US Congress that hostilities …

Mid-week, President Donald Trump announced his intention to create a border wall with Mexico, making good on his incessant campaign rhetoric to “Build A Wall” and even make Mexico pay for it. While no one, including his supporters, realistically believed …

One of the conspicuous absences from the sound and fury last weekend’s protests was the impending executive act of President Donald Trump affirming the US exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.  Not that that was much in doubt: it had …

Trump’s “War on Terrorism”: Going After America’s “Intelligence Assets”?

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, January 27 2017

President Donald Trump has committed himself to eliminating terrorism from the face of the Earth. Alongside the ban on Muslims entering the US, Trump has tagged “Islamic terrorism” as a threat to the “Civilized World”.   

This broad commitment is also …

The news has been so overwhelming these weeks. So I hadn’t fully grasped the implications of one incident, namely, what Katie Rich, comedy writer for NBC’s popular Saturday Night Live, tweeted about President Trump’s 10-year-old son.

Even though she …

On Wednesday, Wall Street celebrated the installation of an administration staffed by CEOs and pledged to remove all obstacles to corporate profit-making by pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average above the 20,000 level for the first time in history. US …

On January 26, the ISIS terrorist group made a fierce attempt to cut off a supply line to the government held city of Aleppo near Khanaser. Initially ISIS units seized a few villages and even came close to cutting off …

Barack Obama rode into office on a wave of enthusiasm encapsulated in the hopeful slogan ‘Yes We Can’. Soon, reality set in and forced the administration to deal with the influence exerted by the deep state. A mythological monster with …

He may have the same idea in mind for China, perhaps other countries, risking a potentially devastating trade war – the last thing America’s fragile economy needs.

Taxing Mexican imports appears to be Trump’s way of paying for his ill-conceived …

“The British Government has colluded with Monsanto and should be held accountable in the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity and ecocide.” Dr Rosemary Mason.

The British public and the environment are being poisoned with a …

Update: according to a CNN report – so as always take with lots of salt – the story has shifted materially, because according to two senior administration officials, it wasn’t a resignation by the State Department officials, but …