2020-07-23: News Headlines

Max Elbaum (2020-07-23). Guns? Yes. Masks? No. And Gestapo in Portland. zcomm.org The toxic mix of valuing gun ownership over protecting public health, conspiracism, and reactionary movements glued together by white supremacy and national chauvinism are too deeply rooted to be ended any time soon…

Paul Larudee (2020-07-23). Shedding a Foreign Policy Based on Imperialism. dissidentvoice.org Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V. Is the U.S. ripe for a real revolution, where the disenfranchised and repressed overthrow the enfranchised and privileged? Unfortunately, there are many weapons in the hands of the existing U.S. power structure. These include racism, control of the media, chauvinism, greed and more. …

Joshua Frank (2020-07-23). Beyond John Muir's Racism: The Sierra Club and the Changing Face of Environmentalism. counterpunch.org It's about 100 years too late, but the Sierra Club is finally grappling with its founder's racist past. John Muir, lauded by many as the grandfather of the modern conservation movement, saw the west as a bastion of wide-open freedom. Not for Indigenous peoples or Black slaves, mind you, but for white colonial settlers.

Paul Street (2020-07-23). Moment of Supreme Danger: Trumpism-Fascism Rears its Head. counterpunch.org This is a supremely dangerous moment. The White House is occupied by a rogue fascist regime whose malignant leader Donald Trump has recently made it clear yet again that he will not honor the results of an election that does not go his way next November. It is well understood within his administration that Trump is a wannabe dictator who is only half-joking when he talks about wanting to be "president for life."

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-07-23). The Militarization of Strategic Waterways: US- India War Games Contemplated. Aggressive "Signal to China" globalresearch.ca "Whoever attains maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean would be a prominent player on the international scene." (US Navy Geostrategist Rear Admiral Alfred Thayus Mahan (1840-1914)) | Among Washington's strategic objectives is the militarization of major sea ways, extending from the …

Paul Wilcox (2020-07-23). Labor coalition strikes for Black lives. liberationnews.org Protests in as many as 100 cities that day rang out with a strong message that Black Lives Matter is a labor issue, an issue that affects the entire labor movement, and affects every individual worker.

Editor (2020-07-23). Defend Portland! Defend People's Resistance! No Police State! workers.org Despite the brutal attempt of the White House to crush the heroic Black Lives Matter movement by sending camouflaged federal agents ‚àí secret police ‚àí to Portland, Chicago and other U.S. cities, the movement and all who support it have been fighting back. The initial response to the threat of . . . |

Judith Ezekiel (2020-07-23). Confederate statues are monuments to the 'Lost Cause' cult of white supremacy. peoplesworld.org My mother recently moved into an assisted living facility, and some of her possessions were moved to my house, including boxes of photos. Among them, I discovered a photo from when I was 5 years old, when my grandparents had taken us to see a statue sculpted by a man they referred to as our …

Staff (2020-07-23). The Real News Network Joins Lawsuit Against Maryland Police Department. therealnews.com TRNN, the NAACP Prince George's County Branch, and the National Action Network filed a joint motion asking a judge to unseal a report that contains details of discrimination and racial bias within the Prince George's County Police Department.

Kathryn Shihadah (2020-07-23). Anti-Diplomacy: Danny Danon Ends Five Year Legacy of Israeli Hasbara at the UN. mintpressnews.com Kathryn Shihadah examines the legacy of Danny Danon, whose hawkish anti-diplomacy recently came to end after a five-year stint as Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations.

calvin deutschbein (2020-07-23). Anti-racist protests accelerate across North Carolina. workers.org Durham, N.C. July 20 — Throughout North Carolina, from urban to rural areas, the anti-racist uprising continues, most prominently with concurrent anti-jail demonstrations in four counties — Forsyth, Durham, Wake, Mecklenburg — on Friday, July 17. #DefundAvlPD banner dropped in Asheville the week of July 13. Last week the anti-police . . . |

Sunil Freeman (2020-07-23). Protest works: Racist team name bites the dust in Washington, DC. liberationnews.org The decision to change the name came swiftly after the start of protests following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others.

Al Neal (2020-07-23). Iconoclash: Removing racist monuments doesn't erase history. peoplesworld.org Littered throughout the annals of history are bits and pieces of chipped stone, melted down iron, bronze, copper, and the fine chalky gray sand that was once sculpting clay. They are the remnants of once stunning visual monuments, no longer relevant in some subsequent era or newly established political dynasty. For as quickly as empires …

Eds. (2020-07-23). As Trump threatens secret police deployment nationwide, Democrats debate expanding surveillance powers and new money for DHS. mronline.org The rogue deployment of secret federal police forces in Portland, Oregon, has added a new complication to negotiations over reauthorizing the Trump administration's vast surveillance powers and appropriating new money for the Department of Homeland Security.

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-07-23). Cities challenge Trump's dispatch of federal law enforcement officers. peoplesworld.org OAKLAND, Calif. — Outrage is growing throughout the country over Donald Trump's use of federal law enforcement against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and his threats to dispatch federal officers to other U.S. cities. On July 20, Trump told reporters he might send federal "law enforcement" to cities he claimed were experiencing heightened violence, naming cities …

Jeremy Ben-Ami, James Zogby (2020-07-23). It's Time for the Democratic Party to Mention the Occupation. thenation.com It's Time for the Democratic Party to Mention the Occupation…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-07-23). Why Palestinian-Israeli Prisoners Exchange Deal Could Happen Soon. dissidentvoice.org For the first time since the Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling its willingness to engage in negotiations regarding the release of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers believed to be held by resistance groups in Gaza. But will another prisoner exchange similar to that …

Karen Conner (2020-07-23). The Black-White Disability Gap Increases with Age. cepr.net With the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) happening this weekend as Black Lives Matter protests continue, it's a good time to look at the intersection between race and disability in the United States. The figure below compares disability rates by age, sex, and race for non-Latinx adults. The data in the …

Jonathan Cook (2020-07-23). Israel's Jewish National Fund is uprooting Palestinians — not planting trees. zcomm.org Palestinians have suffered forced displacement at the JNF's hands for more than a century, while watching it win plaudits from around the world for its work in improving the "environment"

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-23). Israeli forces raid Palestinian cultural institutes, arrest directors. peoplesdispatch.org The directors of three prominent Palestinian cultural centers have been arrested by the Israeli forces for an indefinite period on charges of funding terrorism, fraud and tax evasion…

WSWS (2020-07-23). German defence minister propagates rearmament, militarism and war. wsws.org With the revival of German militarism, the militaristic traditions that are historically linked above all to the Soldateska of the Kaiserreich (Imperial Empire) and the Wehrmacht (armed forces of Nazi Germany) are inevitably returning.

_____ (2020-07-23). New Tech Labor Movement Unites Office And Gig Workers. popularresistance.org The recent wave of employee activism and organizing efforts represents a widening rift between the industry's rank-and-file employees and its executives. For the first time, developers and product managers with higher pay and closer ties to management are siding with their lower-paid colleagues in warehouses, cafeterias, and contract gigs. | A global pandemic and sweeping protests against systemic racism have brought workers across pay scales, job types, geographies, and companies together in an unprecedented show of solidarity. They've protested unsafe and toxic workplaces, racial and gender discrimination, and…

RT (2020-07-23). Oakland mayor slams 'terror tactics' & votes down further police budget cuts after protesters vandalize her home with BLM graffiti. rt.com Protesters have vandalized the home of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, splattering it with red paint and graffiti while pelting the house with fireworks. The mayor's office said the attack was meant to "terrorize" and "intimidate." | Along with large splotches of paint thrown across Schaaf's garage door and a nearby retaining wall, the vandals left countless graffiti messages condemning the mayor and apparently voicing support for the Black Lives Matter movement. According to police, fireworks were also set off in the street during the incident — some fired at the mayor's house — which is believed to hav…

RT (2020-07-23). Inoperable pistol seized from St. Louis couple was fixed to make sure it was 'ready for lethal use' to charge McCloskeys — report. rt.com The gun Patricia McCloskey aimed at BLM protesters on a private street was inoperable when seized by police, but a St. Louis prosecutor reportedly had it fixed, deeming it ready for "lethal use," before charging the couple. | Patricia McCloskey and her husband Mark were charged on felony firearms offenses earlier this week after appearing in a controversial video in June pointing weapons at Black Lives Matter protesters who stormed their gated community. After the couple's weapons arrived in police custody, however, it was determined one of the guns — the pistol held by Patricia in the video — was in…

RT (2020-07-23). Tehran says AMERICAN, not Israeli fighter jets endangered passengers of Iranian airliner over Syria. rt.com US Air Force, not Israeli, fighter jets were responsible for unsafely intercepting the Mahan Air plane over Syria, which resulted in injuries to several passengers traveling to Beirut, Iranian media reported. | Mahan Air Flight 1152 was en route from Tehran to Lebanon when it was intercepted by two F-15 fighters near the Syria-Jordan border. The approaching jets forced it to rapidly change course and altitude, resulting in several injuries among the passengers, the company said. | Initial reports from eyewitnesses on board spoke of Israeli planes, and were repeated by international media outlets. The captain…

RT (2020-07-23). Portland mayor cheers protesters & joins them to face tear gas, gets calls to resign anyway (VIDEOS). rt.com Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler failed to win over a crowd of angry anti-police protesters despite rooting for their cause. But rather than seeing him as an ally against federal agents, some said he's part of the problem and has to go.

_____ (2020-07-23). Influential DC-based Ukrainian think tank hosts neo-Nazi activist convicted for racist violence. strategic-culture.org Moss ROBESON | The influential Washington-based U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF) The webinar featured an appearance by Diana Vynohradova (Kamlyuk), a sieg-heiling neo-Nazi decorated with white supremacist tattoos. Vynohradova was convicted of participating i…

Staff (2020-07-23). Philly DA Larry Krasner: Trump Is a "Wannabe Fascist." I Will Charge His Agents If They Break Law. democracynow.org As President Trump announces a "surge" of federal agents into major U.S. cities to confront protesters, we speak with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who warns he will arrest and charge Trump's police forces if they violate the rights of residents in his city. "The law applies to the president of the United States, even though he doesn't think so. The law applies to law enforcement. The law applies to civilians. It is real simple," says Krasner. He also discusses the importance of releasing incarcerated people during the pandemic, and tackling police corruption, such as in the case of political pris…

Staff (2020-07-23). Headlines for July 23, 2020. democracynow.org Trump to Send "Surge" of Federal Officers into Democrat-Run Cities, COVID-19 Hospitalizations in U.S. Near Same Level as Peak of Pandemic in April, Trump Falsely Claims Children Do Not Transmit COVID-19, McConnell to Unveil New $1 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package, Global COVID-19 Cases Top 15M as Deaths Reach New High in Brazil, U.N.: Israeli Threat to Annex West Bank Is Hampering Palestianian Response to Pandemic, Federal Judge Rejects Releasing Detained Immigrant Families, Report: U.S. Holding Immigrant Toddlers in Hotels for Weeks Before Deportation, Canada Court Rules United States Is Not Safe for Asylum Seek…

Staff (2020-07-23). Paramilitary-Style Tactics in Portland Mirror Decades of U.S. Violence on the Border & Abroad. democracynow.org The harrowing scenes of paramilitary-style units in the streets of American cities like Portland has shocked mainstream America, but award-winning independent journalist Todd Miller, who has reported on border security and immigration for over a decade, says it's a reflection of how the U.S. has operated around the world. We also speak with Cecilia Menjívar, UCLA sociology professor, who says the image of unmarked vans snatching people from the streets "brings back memories to Latin Americans who lived through disappearances of families and friends and co-workers."

William Boardman (2020-07-23). Defund the Police State, Before It's Too Late. globalresearch.ca The American police state is currently making its boldest test run to date in Portland, Oregon, escalating violence and lawlessness against the peaceful population of an American city. The people of Portland have responded with increased resistance, but support from …

Black Alliance for Peace (2020-07-23). Trump Administration Deploys Federal Forces into Major U.S. Cities. globalresearch.ca The repressive U.S. state's chickens have come home to roost with President Donald Trump announcing federal troops will be deployed to several U.S. cities. This comes after federal agents reportedly disappeared protesters last week off the streets of Portland, Oregon….

Fight Back (2020-07-23). Stand with the resistance in Portland! fightbacknews.org Protesters grabbed off the streets by federal agents who refuse to identify themselves, placed unmarked vehicles, and taken to undisclosed locations. These same agents nearly killed a young man holding part of a sound system at a demonstration. This is the outrageous reality in Portland today, were Trump has deployed a paramilitary police force to carry out a wave of repression. The good news is that the resistance in Portland has been nothing short of heroic, as thousands have taken to the streets in a powerful display of opposition. | The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that it is deploying federal a…

_____ (2020-07-23). New Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Federal Law Enforcement. popularresistance.org The Western States Center, the First Unitarian Church of Portland, two state representatives and an ACLU legal observer are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which alleges the federal government has violated protesters' 10th Amendment rights. It was filed Tuesday in federal court. | The 10th Amendment delineates the separation of powers between federal and state governments. | "The power to engage in ordinary law enforcement is one of the long-recognized powers that belong to the states and to their municipalities," said Cliff Davidson, an attorney with Snell & Wilmer, the firm filing the lawsuit. | The W…

_____ (2020-07-23). What Are Trump And His Goons Up To? popularresistance.org First and foremost, it is a political stunt to capture the law and order crowd and press on divides between the coastal cities and inland voters. But it's also more sinister than that. The use of federal forces is designed to weaken local accountability by freezing out local government that constituents can reach. Portland's mayor might not even have opposed some "help" from the feds, but he wasn't asked. In other words, this wasn't mutual aid. This was indeed an invasion. An alphabet soup of federal agencies have been employed to crack down on police brutality protests, including the National Guard, the US Marsh…

_____ (2020-07-23). Portland's Mayor Tear-Gassed By Militarized US Police. popularresistance.org The mayor of Portland, Oregon was tear-gassed by U.S. government agents as he stood outside a federal courthouse during another night of protests against the presence of federal police sent by President Donald Trump to quell the city's ongoing unrest. | Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, appeared slightly dazed and coughed and said Wednesday night it was the first time he'd been tear-gassed. | He put on a pair of goggles someone handed him and drank water but did not leave his spot at the front of the protest and continued to take tear gas as the demonstration raged — with protesters lighting a large fire betwe…

_____ (2020-07-23). Federal Agents Retreat To Portland Base As Protesters Control Streets. popularresistance.org The DHS officers dispatched by the president to put down the demonstrations have instead become prisoners of the building they are ostensibly there to defend. | "The feds don't have control of the streets," said a woman holding a sign "100% not a terrorist", who gave her name only as Shannon. "I think they're more scared than us. They're hiding in there. They don't know what they're doing." If the intent was to intimidate the protesters into abandoning the few square blocks of downtown Portland under their control, it backfired spectacularly. | Residents of a city with a long history of radical street protest wer…

yenisafak (2020-07-23). Turkey's Erdogan approves Supreme Military Council decisions. yenisafak.com Turkey on Thursday announced decisions taken by the summer Supreme Military Council meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.A written statement by the Directorate of Communications said 17 generals and admirals had been promoted, along with 51 colonels, as of Aug. 30. | The decisions, approved by Erdogan, will raise the number of generals and admirals in the Turkish Armed Forces from 226 to 247, it added.The Second Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Metin Gurak, was promoted to full general, while Naval Commander Vice Admiral Ercument Tatlioglu was promoted to full admiral. Major General Veli Ta…

yenisafak (2020-07-23). Israel to conduct coronavirus tests on Indian patients. yenisafak.com Israel on Thursday announced that it will send researchers and medical equipment to India to carry out COVID-19 tests in one of the hardest-hit countries in the world due to the pandemic."A plane carrying a delegation of some 20 Israeli officials and scientists and tons of gear — including ventilators and novel devices that are not yet produced on a mass scale — is to depart for Delhi in the coming weeks," Israeli officials said, according to Times of Israel.The plane will also carry technologies in the developing stage to be tested on Indian patients."The four tech systems that will be tested are: vo…

yenisafak (2020-07-23). In another night of unrest in Portland, tear gas hits mayor. yenisafak.com The mayor of the U.S. city of Portland, Ted Wheeler, was stung by tear gas early on Thursday morning after he joined demonstrators protesting against racial injustice and police brutality.Protests have rocked Portland every night for weeks, with security forces often tear-gassing and clubbing demonstrators.Visiting the protest site, Wheeler was jeered at by some demonstrators who called on him to resign and chanted "Shame on You". They said he should have done more to protect Portland's citizens.However, as he stood amongst the crowd outside Portland's Justice Center, Wheeler, who was wearing a face mask, was him…

sputniknews (2020-07-23). Video: Palestinians Accuse Israelis of Theft as IDF 'Returns' Baptismal Font to West Bank. sputniknews.com While Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) recently celebrated the return of a fifth-century baptismal font, Palestinian officials argue that Israeli forces "stole" the 1,500-year-old relic in an "abominable act of thuggery and cultural appropriation."

sputniknews (2020-07-23). France's on a Loser, Will Gain Obligations, Not Benefit From EU Recovery Plan, Politician Says. sputniknews.com On 21 July, after four days of intensive summit talks EU leaders agreed a much-awaited €750 billion recovery plan to tackle the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The French Patriots' leader Florian Philippot has explained why, for France, it's too early to pop open the champagne.

Sit. Walk. Listen organizing team (2020-07-23). Sunday 8/2: Sunday August 2, Sit. Walk. Listen. Because Black Lives Matter. indybay.org "The Pergola at Lake Merritt" (599 El Embarcadero) | Oakland, California…

Sit. Walk. Listen organizing team (2020-07-23). Sunday 8/2: Sit. Walk. Listen. Because Black Lives Matter. indybay.org "The Pergola at Lake Merritt" (599 El Embarcadero) | Oakland, California…

DLI (2020-07-23). Secret police in Portland violated human rights of peaceful protesters. indybay.org Videos showing U.S. Federal secret police(with no badges and riding in unmarked vehicles)inflicting massive violence on mostly peaceful protesters are running viral across the Globe. Yet the Federal governing regime brazenly avows that this will be the "new normal" in major cities from now on…

teleSUR (2020-07-22). South Africa: Andrew Mlangeni, Last Anti-Apartheid Icon Dies. telesurenglish.net The icon of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa Andrew Mlangeni died at 95 in the capital Pretoria, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday. | RELATED: | Andrew Mlangeni fought alongside Nelson Mandela in the liberation struggle against the white minority government that, from 1948, legalized racism unleashing the South African racial segregation system known as apartheid. | "The passing of Andrew Mekete Mlangeni signifies the end of gener…

Ramona du Houx (2020-07-22). American Sustainable Business Council has blueprint for a post-covid economy. indybay.org With many stimulus plans in the offing it's clear they must address systemic racism. American Sustainable Business Council has blueprint for a post-covid economy that does that.

Joshua Hanks (2020-07-22). Outrage over Trump attack: Portland movement fights back. workers.org Federal officers were deployed to "quell" Portland's protests beginning the weekend of July 10 and continuing the following week. Camouflaged unidentified agents arrested and detained demonstrators without even a pretext. The Trump administration has escalated the confrontation between the people and the state apparatus, bringing a whiff of fascism to . . . |

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-07-22). 'Abuse of Power': Trump and Barr to Deploy More Federal Agents to US Cities. commondreams.org "In case you were wondering, this is precisely what fascism looks like." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Alan Macleod (2020-07-22). Anger Over Israeli Decision to Demolish Palestinian COVID-19 Hospital Ahead of Deadly Second Wave. mintpressnews.com "This shows clearly that Israel doesn't care about Palestinian lives…They can't even give us our basic rights to healthcare so we can treat our people from the coronavirus." –Tayseer Abu Sneineh, Mayor of Hebron…