2020-05-19: News Headlines

Scott Ritter (2020-05-19). US nukes in Poland would not be a deterrent, but a MASSIVE provocation for Russia. thealtworld.com The US has promoted the deployment of US nuclear weapons on Polish soil as part of NATO's 'nuclear sharing' arrangement. Such a move would only increase the chances of the very war such a deployment seeks to deter. | For the second time in little more than a year, the US ambassadors to Germany and Poland have commented on matters of NATO security in a manner which undermines the unity of the alliance while threatening European security by seeking to alter the balance of power in a way that is unduly provocative to Russia. | Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany and the acting director of national intellig…

Abdallah El Harif — Vijay Prashad (2020-05-18). The Bouficha Appeal: Universal Call for Humanity to End Militarism and Stop War. counterpunch.org On March 15, 1950, the World Peace Council sent out the Stockholm Appeal, a short text that called for a ban on nuclear weapons and that would eventually be signed by almost 2 million people. The appeal was made up of three elegant sentences: + We demand the outlawing of atomic weapons as instruments of

Karl Grossman (2020-05-18). The Coming Nuclear Menace: Hypersonic Missiles. counterpunch.org The United States is seeking to acquire "volumes of hundreds or even thousands" of nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles that are "stealthy" and can fly undetected at 3,600 miles per hour, five times faster than the speed of sound. Why so many? A Pentagon official is quoted in the current issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology as saying "we have to be careful we're not building boutique weapons. If we build boutique weapons, we won't—we'll be very reluctant to—use them." |

Matthew J. L. Ehret (2020-05-16). How Huxley's X-Club Created Nature Magazine and Sabotaged Science for 150 Years. dissidentvoice.org Amidst the storm of controversy raised by the lab-origin theory of COVID-19 extolled by such figures as Nobel prize winning virologist Luc Montagnier, bioweapons expert Francis Boyle, Sri Lankan Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, an elaborate project was undertaken under the nominal helm of Nature magazine in order to refute …

Conn Hallinan (2020-05-15). War and Plagues: Military Spending During a Pandemic. counterpunch.org Welcome to the world of the hypersonic weapons, devices that are not only superfluous, but which will almost certainly not work, They will, however, cost enormous amounts of money. At a time when countries across the globe are facing economic chaos, financial deficits and unemployment at Great Depression levels, arms manufacturers are set to cash in big.

Abdallah El Harif (2020-05-15). A universal appeal for humanity to end militarism and stop war. peoplesdispatch.org On March 15, 1950, the World Peace Council sent out the Stockholm Appeal, a short text that called for a ban on nuclear weapons and that would eventually be signed by almost 2 million people. The appeal was made up of three elegant sentences: | -We demand the outlawing of atomic weapons as instruments of intimidation and mass murder of peoples. We demand strict international control to enforce this measure. | -We believe that any government which first uses atomic weapons against any other country whatsoever will be committing a crime against humanity and should be dealt with as a war criminal. | -We call on a…

RT (2020-05-15). Jailing people who use Covid-19 as bioweapon would be 'discrimination.' So better lock up everyone instead? rt.com Accidentally spreading Covid-19 is wanting grandma dead, say opponents of ending lockdowns. Yet activists now worry that proposed laws to punish those who threaten to spread it deliberately would discriminate against minorities. | A Florida man spat and coughed on a police officer responding to a domestic violence call, and faces up to five years in prison on a federal charge of biological weapons hoax (he was negative for Covid-19). Another man in Texas, who falsely claimed on Facebook that he paid someone to spread the virus at local grocery stores, was charged with the same thing. A Michigan man who wiped h…

sputniknews (2020-05-19). Syria Seizes Stock of Terrorist Weapons, Including US-Made TOW and LAW Missiles – Photos. sputniknews.com Over the past three years, authorities in Syria have seized enough terrorist weapons, ammunition, communications equipment and medical supplies to field a small army. Many of the arms were covertly delivered to the country from abroad, and paid for by powers seeking the illegal armed overthrow of Syria's government.

sputniknews (2020-05-18). US Official Claims IG's Firing May Be Linked to Trump's $8 Bln Weapons Sale to Saudi Arabia. sputniknews.com US President Donald Trump reportedly fired the State Department inspector general in a letter sent to Congress late on Friday, saying that he no longer had the "fullest confidence" in Steve Linick, who had been in charge of the oversight office of Washington's diplomatic arm since his appointment in 2013 by President Barack Obama.