(2020-06-19). How the Saudis and the Qataris Duked It out in Washington, and Took Over the Imperial City in the Process. anti-empire.com 
It was a bare-knuckle brawl of the first order. It took place in Washington, D.C., and it resulted in a KO. The winners? Lobbyists and the defense industry. The losers? Us. And odds on, you didn't even know that it happened. Few Americans did, which is why it's worth telling the story of how Saudi, Emirati, and Qatari money flooded the nation's capital and, in the process, American policy went down for the count. | The fight began three years ago this month. Sure, the pugilists hadn't really liked each other that much before then, but what happened in 2017 was the foreign-policy equivalent of a sucker punch. On t…
(2020-06-18). Here's What 'Nonlethal' Weapons Can Do To The Body. popularresistance.org Civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd's death has spread around the world, and in some places, protesters are being met with tear gas, rubber bullets, stun guns, and other tactics intended to control crowds without taking lives. | Known as nonlethal or less-lethal weapons, many of these tactics were originally pitched as a way to make warfare more humane by incapacitating a person or encouraging them to flee. Law enforcement agencies later adopted these weapons from the military as an alternative to using firearms. | Yet people who study nonlethal weapons wonder if reclassification is in order, as research con…
(2020-06-18). USAF Paints Fighter Jet Russian Color Scheme to Prepare for Dogfights. globalresearch.ca A General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon at Hill Air Force Base, located in northern Utah, recently had an exterior makeover paint scheme that mimics the Russian Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter, reported The 576th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron painted …
(2020-06-18). Trump threatens to re-start nuclear weapons tests, undoing 50 years of agreements. peoplesworld.org 
If the Trump administration follows through on its threat to restart nuclear tests, it will complete the unraveling of more than 50 years of arms control agreements, taking the world back to the days when school children practiced "duck and cover" and people built backyard bomb shelters. It will certainly be the death knell for the Comprehensive …
(2020-06-18). Why Japan Cancelled Installation of American Missiles in Its Territory. US Military Presence Threatens Japan's Security. globalresearch.ca Since 1945, when the United States bombed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons, Japan has entered an era of total submission to Washington, demilitarizing and abdicating its own real sovereignty. Tokyo came under the umbrella of American …
(2020-06-17). Video: Russian Surface-to-Air Missile Systems in Syria Shoot Down Militants' Drones. globalresearch.ca Tor short-range surface-to-air missile systems have downed more than 45 unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Syrian militants, according to the chief of the Russian Air Defense Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Leonov. | "Since the start of combat duty, the calculations …
(2020-06-17). Let Them Eat Weapons: Trump's Bizarre Arms Race. dissidentvoice.org 
In late May of this year, President Donald Trump's special envoy for arms control bragged before a Washington think tank that the U.S. government was prepared to outspend Russia and China to win a new nuclear arms race. "The president has made clear that we have a tried and true practice here," he remarked. "We know how to win …
(2020-06-16). Seattle bans police use of tear gas, pepper spray & chokeholds as anarchist crowd reigns over portion of city. rt.com 
Seattle City Council has voted to make it illegal for police to deploy tear gas, pepper spray and chokeholds on peaceful demonstrators, as part of the city is being overrun by activists declaring it an "autonomous zone." | All nine members of the council voted to strip the city police of the authority to use a number of controversial crowd control means on Monday. | In a series of separate votes, the council banned the city from "owning, purchasing, renting, storing or using Crowd Control Weapons (CCWs)," which are defined as "kinetic impact projectiles, chemical irritants, acoustic weapons, water cannons" and…
(2020-06-16). No defunding: Trump's police executive order to ban chokeholds, urge safer policing. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order urging police departments across the country to "adopt the highest professional standards," including increased use-of-force training and a partial ban on chokeholds. | Trump announced the order at the White House on Tuesday, after meeting with several Black Lives Matter families. It would ban chokeholds — except for when the police officer's life is at risk — and prioritize federal funding to departments that meet high standards on use of force and de-escalation training. | Police would also be encouraged to use new nonlethal weapons, and sh…