(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Australia's First Nations' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com Kaitlin Curtice and Esther Choo1 described the well known risks for infectious diseases among First Nations internationally and the serious concerns that COVID-19 poses for them. These risks include their levels of chronic disease, poverty, poor living conditions, and racism in mainstream services with resulting lack of trust using them. They also highlighted the problem of data not being available specifically for First Nations so that authorities are blind to the situation and hence how best to help them.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Dismantling racism in research. thelancet.com The widespread dissemination of how George Floyd was murdered prompted people around the world to demand structural reform. We agree with the points raised in the Editorial about the need to "find ways to use science as an instrument for social change".1 Here we highlight approaches for dismantling racism within research.
(2020-07-25). WorkWeek On Confederate Monuments & Knights Of Labor & Covid Murders. indybay.org WorkWeek looks at the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, Virginia and the Knights of Labor who were uniting Black and White workers against the Democrats and Republicans. WorkWeek also looks at racism at Tesla, the Port of Oakland and the fight against privatization of Alameda County Highland Hospital.
(2020-07-25). Who is the most dangerous fascist? mronline.org 
Most American leftists are incoherent on the term fascism, and Democrats have utterly destroyed the word's meaning.
(2020-07-25). Israeli Supreme Court rules: Palestinian prisoners have no right to social distancing protection against COVID-19. imemc.org By Adalah The Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights in Israel: 23/07/2020: Israel's top court rejects Adalah petition demanding Israel implement COVID-19 protective guidelines for prisoners at Gilboa prison; 30 prison guards and 7 prisoners are infected while 489 guards and 58 prisoners are in quarantine.
(2020-07-25). [Perspectives] Kesaveloo Goonaruthnum Naidoo: anti-apartheid campaigner. thelancet.com Few have done as much to forge an individual identity as "Dr Goonam", the name Kesaveloo Goonaruthnum Naidoo (1906—98) adopted as the first woman of colour to practise medicine in South Africa during the 1930s. She demanded women's inclusion in political organisations representing her Indian community, and joined others in passionate opposition to the apartheid policies that oppressed them.
(2020-07-25). Palestinian Child Abducted by Under Cover Agents in Jerusalem. imemc.org Undercover Israeli police abducted, on Thursday, a 12-year-old Palestinian child from the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of al-'Isawiya, the Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. Witnesses revealed that undercover agents were seen getting out of a civilian vehicle, and abducting Moath Ewewi, 12, taking him to an unknown location. Undercover Israeli forces, …
(2020-07-25). Report: 259 Israeli Violations Against Palestinian Journalists in 2020. imemc.org A new report released by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) has documented 259 violations committed against Palestinian journalists by Israeli Forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the beginning of this year. The head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Nasser Abu Bakr, said during a press conference that of the 259 …
(2020-07-25). Illinois Democrats embrace Trump's law enforcement "surge" wsws.org Illinois Democratic lawmakers have made public statements aimed at assuaging public fears that the federal forces will crack down on anti-police violence protesters in Chicago, just as they have in Portland.
(2020-07-25). Trump's Reelection Strategy Involves Terrorizing Us With Secret Stormtroopers. zcomm.org Trump's actions in Portland are terrifying by any standard.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Women's reproductive rights. thelancet.com I hope it is stating the obvious to suggest that it is despicable both to ban abortion and to impose it on women whether in the name of religion, in the service of a political ideology, or as a perceived demographic imperative.1 Forced birth and forced abortion are foul. They are an assault on the autonomy, dignity, and rights of women, and are a threat to their lives, health, and wellbeing. Examples of banning and forcing abortions are found throughout the world and across time (sometimes in the same place and at the same time, as seen in Nazi Germany).
(2020-07-25). Record numbers of coronavirus cases in every global region: Reuters tally. yenisafak.com Almost 40 countries have reported record single-day increases in coronavirus infections over the past week, around double the number that did so the previous week, according to a Reuters tally showing a pick-up in the pandemic in every region of the world.The rate of cases has been increasing not only in countries like the United States, Brazil and India, which have dominated global headlines with large outbreaks, but in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Uzbekistan and Israel, among others.Many countries, especially those where officials eased earlier social distancing lock…
(2020-07-25). Saturday 8/1: No More Billionaires Privatization, Union Busting & Racist Attacks. indybay.org 10: 30 AM Oakland Coliseum & Caravan To | GAP Corporate Headquarters Folsom & Embarcadero | San Francisco with rally at 12: 00 noon…
(2020-07-24). Unfit to Lead and Unqualified to Serve: Why William Perry Pendley Cannot be the Head of the Bureau of Land Management. counterpunch.org 
Amid the COVID-19 crisis and the uprisings against police brutality and systemic racism, it is understandable if many Americans overlooked the Trump administration's continued attacks on the management of public lands and the Constitution's mandates about how our leaders are appointed. The most recent attack of this type came with President Trump's June 30, 2020,
(2020-07-24). AOC: 'Rep. Yoho called me, and I quote, a "fucking bitch"'. peoplesworld.org 
On the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C., there is a list of a dozen easily recognized features of a society headed toward fascism. High on that list is the oppression and denigration of women—in short, sexism. Yesterday, New York's Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the leading socialist in the U.S. Congress, rose to the floor and changed …
(2020-07-24). Fascism Expert Warns Trump's Deployment of Feds Could Suppress Election Turnout. truthout.org President Donald Trump's plans to place federal agents in cities across the nation in order to quell uprisings responding to the killings of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement may be an attempt to help Trump win reelection, an expert in fascism recently warned. | Trump has
(2020-07-24). Homeland Security Justifies Invasion of Portland by Claiming Shields and Gas Masks are Weapons. mintpressnews.com DHS' Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli claimed that defensive tools like Shields and Gas Masks were evidence that protesters were making "preparations for violence."
(2020-07-24). Marjorie Cohn on Portland Secret Police. fair.org 
Media…
(2020-07-24). Portland's movement is fighting back! Defend Portland, Ore.! Defend People's Resistance! No Police State! workers.org 
Workers World Party Statement Despite the brutal attempt of the White House to crush the heroic Black Lives Matter movement by sending camouflaged federal agents — secret police — to Portland, Ore., Chicago and other U.S. cities, the movement and all who support it have been fighting back. The initial . . . |
(2020-07-24). Welcome back baseball! Players kneel for Black Lives; Fauci tosses first pitch. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON (AP)—In a joint demonstration of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, players, managers and coaches of the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals knelt in unison before the opening game of the 2020 baseball season, then stood for the national anthem Thursday night. "We wanted to do something united, something together," Yankees slugger …
(2020-07-24). Whole Foods workers sue: Amazon fired us for supporting Black Lives Matter. peoplesworld.org 
BOSTON—An old Republican politician said 50 years ago, "Watch what we do, not what we say." Well, 14 workers at the Amazon-owned Whole Foods grocery chain watched what their employer did—fired them for wearing Black Lives Matter apparel on the job—and marched into federal court in Boston to try to reverse that illegal action. In …
(2020-07-24). House votes to toss statues of rebels from U.S. Capitol. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—By a 305-113 vote, the Democratic-run U.S. House voted to eject statues of Confederate leaders, plus racist U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, from the U.S. Capitol, especially Statuary Hall. Republicans cast all 113 "no" votes, while 72 GOPers joined all 232 voting Democrats and the lone Independent in deciding to toss out the …
(2020-07-24). Some are in super-yachts and others are clinging to drifting debris. mronline.org 
COVID-19 has exposed the lie that free markets can deliver healthcare for all, the fiction that unpaid care work isn't work, the delusion that we live in a post-racist world. We are all floating on the same sea, but some are in super-yachts and others clinging to drifting debris.
(2020-07-24). From Portland to the World. mronline.org 
Since the end of May, demonstrators opposing police violence and white supremacy have thronged the streets of Portland, Oregon, clashing with law enforcement officers. Last week, aspiring autocrat Donald Trump escalated the situation by announcing that he would be sending federal agents around the country to assert his authority through acts of violence against protesters.
(2020-07-24). Leaked FBI Documents Reveal Secret Program To Criminalize Social Media. therealnews.com 
Simply posting about your presence at a police brutality protest can be used to incriminate you and lead to your arrest. We speak to Portland residents on the ground about the influx of unmarked federal agents.
(2020-07-24). 'Black people can't be racist': UK rapper Wiley accused of anti-Semitism after branding Jews 'the real enemy' & comparing to KKK. rt.com 
British rapper Wiley has been accused of anti-Semitism after a lengthy series of Twitter posts in which he likened Jews to the Ku Klux Klan, declared them "the real enemy," and "the ones who rob us blind." | British rapper Wiley has been accused of anti-Semitism after a lengthy series of Twitter posts in which he likened Jews to the Ku Klux Klan, declared them "the real enemy," and "the ones who rob us blind." | The hours-long stream of tweets on Friday kick-started with the grime artist
(2020-07-24). Black protester ATTACKED while trying to stop mob taking down Portland courthouse fence (VIDEO). rt.com 
Protesters returned to the Justice Center in Portland for another night of orchestrated chaos on Thursday. Eyewitness footage from the scene captured the moment apparent Antifa members attacked a black protester calling for calm. | After repeated criticism of heavy-handed tactics, reportedly no police or federal agents were posted on the streets at the beginning of Thursday evening, instead remaining inside the courthouse and issuing repeated orders that protesters not target the exterior fence. | Despite this, several agitators in the crowd threw trash over and set it on fire at the fence, which quickly desce…
(2020-07-24). Appeasing the crowds? Chicago pulls down embattled Columbus statue days after mayor agrees to let feds in. rt.com 
Shortly after Mayor Lori Lightfoot conceded to allow the federal government to deploy their agents to Chicago, the city has removed the bronze Columbus statue which has been vandalized amid massive Black Lives Matter rallies. | The removal operation started at Chicago's Grant Park in the middle of the night on Friday. Workers used two heavy-duty cranes to attach metal ropes to the Christopher Columbus monument, which was wrapped tight in white tarpaulin. | The statue of the Italian explorer, erected in the 1930s with funding and blessing from Chicago's Italian-American community, was then brought down in front…
(2020-07-24). Military bases named after Confederate officers WILL NOT be rechristened, despite veto-proof vote — Trump. rt.com 
Despite passing the Senate with a veto-proof majority, a bill removing the names of Confederate officers from military bases will not take effect, President Donald Trump has tweeted, hinting at Senate opposition to the measure. | Senate Armed Services Committee chair Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) "WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts," Trump tweeted triumphantly on Friday, adding that the GOP senator shared his antipathy toward "Cancel Culture." | I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator
(2020-07-24). Texas congressman proposes to cancel DEMOCRATS over support of slavery and Confederacy (VIDEO). rt.com 
If Congress is purging all things related to slavery and the Confederacy in the name of battling bigotry, the Democratic Party should be among them, says a resolution proposed in all seriousness by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). | Gohmert's
(2020-07-24). 'Trump's not the first racist president': Charlamagne tha God tells Joe Biden to 'shut the f*** up forever'. rt.com 
Joe Biden was attempting to whitewash Donald Trump's predecessors when he called him the "first" racist president, black radio host Charlamagne tha God said, urging the Democratic candidate to "shut the f*** up forever." | Asked earlier this week about Trump's use of the term "China virus" to describe Covid-19, Biden responded: "We've had racists, and they've existed. They've tried to get elected president. He's the first one that has." | The statement earned the presidential hopeful the "Donkey of the Day" title on Thursday's episode of the Breakfast Club radio show and inspired a fiery rant from its host, wh…
(2020-07-24). Oregon judge bans feds from arresting or using force against 'journalists & legal observers' at Portland protests. rt.com 
A judge has issued a temporary restraining order on federal agents deployed in Portland, ruling that they may not arrest, disperse or otherwise use force against reporters and legal observers covering ongoing protests there. | US District Court Judge Michael Simon
(2020-07-24). WATCH Portland protesters battling federal police to sound of Star Wars' Imperial March. rt.com 
Chaotic scenes outside Portland's federal courthouse were given a snarky soundtrack by a demonstrator who showed up to the fracas armed with a stereo. The city has seen nightly clashes between police and protesters. | Footage taken by New York Times correspondent Mike Baker shows activists and federal agents fighting over control of a fence guarding the building in downtown Portland, which has been under siege by demonstrators for nearly two months. | Protesters used projectiles and laser pointers against federal law enforcement tasked with protecting the courthouse, who in turn deployed tear gas to keep the m…
(2020-07-24). Police in Israel use water cannon on anti-Netanyahu protesters. thecanary.co 
Israeli police have used water cannons on protesters in central Jerusalem. It happened as clashes broke out overnight after thousands staged a demonstration against the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Israelis have held a series of demonstrations in recent weeks calling on Netanyahu to resign. Protesters are citing his trial on corruption charges and his fractious unity government's poor handling of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic as reasons.Protests: The protest near the prime minister's residence began around sundown on Thursday 23 July. It was initially largely peaceful, but police said at least 5…
(2020-07-24). Why Palestinian-Israeli Prisoners Exchange Deal Could Happen Soon? counterpunch.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
(2020-07-24). International media and politicians silent on anti-Semitism in Polish elections. wsws.org The central role of anti-Semitism in the official campaign of the ruling PiS has no precedent in Poland since the end of the Nazi occupation in World War II.
(2020-07-24). Friends of the IDF Lobby Group Secures Forgivable US COVID Loans for Israeli Soldiers. mintpressnews.com A non-profit organization that supports IDF soldiers received a $2.5 million PPP loan under the guise of a "religious organization," but adds up to a mere pittance of the continued bonanza of American tax-payer dollars flowing to the apartheid state.
(2020-07-24). "There'll Be Some Changes Made": Current and Future American Policing. counterpunch.org Introduction Let's establish some First Principles. 1) The slogan "Black Lives Matter" arose after repeated, unpunished killings of unarmed Black people by police. If the standards are "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," life comes first. Without life, a person cannot achieve liberty or pursue happiness. As a pure expression, "Black Lives Matter" is
(2020-07-24). The reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque is yet another provocative move by Turkey's fascistic president. thecanary.co On Friday 24 July, hundreds of men It has now been reconverted into a mosque after eight decades. W…
(2020-07-24). PCHR: Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (16— 22 July 2020). imemc.org Summary Israeli military forces continued to commit crimes and multi-faceted violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse and attacks on civilians. This week, the Israeli army's excessive use of force rendered 5 injuries among Palestinian …
(2020-07-24). Israel's Jewish National Fund is Uprooting Palestinians — Not Planting Trees. counterpunch.org Nazareth. The Jewish National Fund, established more than 100 years ago, is perhaps the most venerable of the international Zionist organisations. Its recent honorary patrons have included prime ministers, and it advises UN forums on forestry and conservation issues. It is also recognised as a charity in dozens of western states. Generations of Jewish families,
(2020-07-24). Four Palestinians Injured by Israeli Forces at Weekly Kufur Qaddoum March. imemc.org Israeli forces injured four Palestinians, on Friday, at the weekly demonstration against Israeli settlements, in Kufur Qaddoum village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, according to local sources. Morad Eshteiwi, coordinator of the popular resistance in the village, told the Palestinian WAFA News Agency that Israeli soldiers opened …
(2020-07-24). Israeli Military Detained a Number of Palestinians, Including Former Prisoners. imemc.org Israeli forces, on Friday, detained four Palestinians, including a Fatah activist, from Jerusalem and Tubas districts, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. The sources confirmed that Israeli soldiers detained a Fatah activist, identified as, Sami Abu Ghalieh, after ransacking his home in al-Eizariya town, southeast of occupied Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israeli forces …
(2020-07-24). Patriotic Dissent: How a Working-Class Soldier Turned Against "Forever Wars" counterpunch.org When it comes to debate about US military policy, the 2020 presidential election campaign is so far looking very similar to that of 2016. Joe Biden has pledged to ensure that "we have the strongest military in the world," promising to "make the investments necessary to equip our troops for the challenges of the next century,
(2020-07-24). 2020 Vision Will Show You What is True, if You Can Keep Your Sanity. counterpunch.org We've all been making jokes about how terrible 2020 has played out, but I think even those of us with a bit of an imagination for the absurd and ominous missed the mark as far as this ultimate level of governmental degeneracy we've been able to achieve. Dads backing up moms in Portland with leaf
(2020-07-24). Trump orders federal police to more cities. wsws.org The Trump administration is stepping up its unconstitutional moves toward dictatorial rule, tear gassing the mayor of Portland, Oregon and announcing the deployment of federal police to additional cities.
(2020-07-24). Uprising: Mass Protests Rock the Nation. counterpunch.org In an act of political desperation, President Donald Trump ordered a contingent of federal law-enforcement officers to impose order in Portland, OR. Under the direction of Attorney General Bill Barr, agents from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Bureau of Prisons were deployed to protect
(2020-07-24). Trump Uses Border Patrol to Implement Police State. progressive.org The same agents arresting protesters in Portland routinely terrorize immigrant communities.
(2020-07-24). The COIN doctrine comes to Portland? nationofchange.org The president has also promised to deploy similar militarized police to other cities, claiming that those run by Democrats are somehow in the thrall of the 'radical left', despite the latter being among the most strident critics of the former.
(2020-07-24). Scheer Intelligence: The Unbearable Violence Of Being American. popularresistance.org America's military industrial complex and multiple presidential administrations have funnelled several generations of soldiers through unwinnable wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq seemingly without qualms. What has emerged from these tragedies are thousands of traumatized young Americans bringing home wars and leaving behind millions of innocent civilians killed, wounded and forced to become refugees. But some of these former soldiers also came home with an urgent new perspective to share with their compatriots.