Daily Archives: August 13, 2020

2020-08-13: News Headlines

Juan Cole (2020-08-13). Ilhan Omar defeats Corporate Democrat, Israel Lobbies in Overwhelming Primary Victory. zcomm.org Although the Israel lobbies put a lot of money into defeating Omar, the issues on which she won, of progressive policing and health care, were largely disconnected from the geopolitical ones where her straight talk had attracted so much vitriol to her…

_____ (2020-08-13). Bolivia: Political Strike Shuts Down Country. popularresistance.org Once again, a scenario of multiple crises that began with the November coup defines Bolivia's future. De facto President Jeanine àÅñez's main achievement was to unleash a shameless wave of racist repression against Morales' Movement for Socialism (MAS) and the Aymara and Quechua Indigenous peoples. | àÅñez kept none of the promises she made to pacify the people after the November coup, nor did she offer any assistance to the poor during the twin crises of COVID-19 and the ensuing economic collapse.

RT (2020-08-13). Racism revoked: Georgia shop apologizes for saying it would charge only white customers $20 to book appointments. rt.com A vintage clothing store in Savannah, Georgia has backed down from a plan to charge only white customers a $20 fee to book appointments to shop, saying it had been slammed with both negative feedback and threats of lawsuits. | Civvies on Broughton announced the new fee on Monday, as it was reopening by appointment only, after being shut down because of Covid-19. The refundable whites-only $20 deposit was introduced because the shop's mostly white staff and owners didn't feel comfortable "upholding a digital financial barrier which could prohibit BIPOC [black, indigenous and other people of color] from shopping…

Laurent Ross (2020-08-13). Our fight is with capitalists, not with higher-paid workers. peoplesworld.org This submission was received as a response to the article Is Black Lives Matter a tipping point on class inequality?, by Tim Libretti, which appeared in People's World on Aug. 4, 2020. It also engages with the long-running topic of meritocracy which has appeared in previous articles by Libretti. Author Tim Libretti once again, for …

RT (2020-08-13). Unconvinced by virtue signaling: Poll shows 8 in 10 Americans think corporate anti-racism statements in BLM era are disingenuous. rt.com Efforts by corporations to kowtow to the woke crowd may avail little because few Americans see sincerity in the anti-racism messages pouring out of PR departments amid Black Lives Matter protests, a poll has revealed. | Only 19 percent of Americans

RT (2020-08-13). Black protector of Confederate statues dubbed a Dave Chappelle 'skit come to life' by Twitter users. rt.com A black Alabama man vowing to defend symbols of the pro-slavery Confederate States of America went viral as his atypical persona reminded Internet community of a character from a sketch on comedian Dave Chappelle's show. | "Regardless of how the next person feels, I'm not going to take my flag down," Daniel Sims said on Wednesday to the local WHNT news in Alabama's Marshal county. He aims to protect the monuments to the US Civil War Confederacy from being taken down by vandals or any local authorities that may be pressured by the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. "If I've got anything to do with it, ain't n…

RT (2020-08-13). 'Get the f**k out!': WATCH Chicago residents confront BLM protesters in tense standoff. rt.com Residents of Chicago's Englewood community angrily accosted a group of Black Lives Matter protesters who showed up to demonstrate at a police station, where hostilities between locals and activists nearly boiled over into a brawl. | A BLM protest march from Englewood to Chicago's 7th District police station on Tuesday ended in a showdown with community members, at times devolving into shouting matches as locals insisted the demonstrators were giving their neighborhood a bad name. | "If you ain't from Englewood, get the f**k out of here!" longtime south side resident Darryl Smith was heard shouting at the prote…

RT (2020-08-13). DOJ accuses Yale of racial discrimination against WHITE and ASIAN applicants after 2-year-long probe. rt.com A Department of Justice investigation has found that Yale University is discriminating against white and Asian applicants, in violation of federal civil rights law, but the school calls the accusation "meritless." | "Yale's race discrimination imposes undue and unlawful penalties on racially-disfavored applicants, including in particular Asian-American and White applicants," Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband

RT (2020-08-13). Biden praises 'historic step' of Israel-UAE deal, but claims credit goes to Obama admin and doesn't mention Trump AT ALL. rt.com Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden praised the "historic" decision by the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations with Israel, claiming part of the credit for himself and not mentioning President Donald Trump even once. | "Today, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have taken a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East," Biden said in a statement on Thursday. "The UAE's offer to publicly recognize the State of Israel is a welcome, brave, and badly needed act of statesmanship." | | Biden statement on the Isra…

RT (2020-08-13). Newsweek forced to deny promoting 'birther' theory against Kamala after 'RACIST' op-ed takes deep dive into 14th Amendment. rt.com Newsweek was pushed into defending an op-ed questioning Kamala Harris' eligibility for the position of vice president based on the 14th amendment after numerous critics slammed it as "racist birtherism." | In a Wednesday

Noam Chomsky (2020-08-13). "Real politics is constant activism" zcomm.org Interview on the pandemic, the election, the word Bernie Sanders needs to stop using, the Harper's letter, the 1619 Project, patriotism, and the greatest social movement in U.S. history…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-08-13). The Politics of War: What is Israel's Endgame in Lebanon and Syria? dissidentvoice.org On August 4, hours before a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued an ominous warning to Lebanon. "We hit a cell and now we hit the dispatchers. I suggest to all of them, including Hezbollah, to consider this," Netanyahu said during an official tour of a military facility …

South Front (2020-08-13). What if the Beirut Explosion Was an Attack? globalresearch.ca On August 11, 3 Israeli battle tanks crossed a technical fence on the Israeli-Lebanese contact line, the official Lebanese News Agency reported. | According to the Lebanese side, Israeli forces broke through the technical fence in the town of Mays al-Jabal …

WSWS (2020-08-13). US Supreme Court rules ballot access petitioning must proceed during coronavirus pandemic. wsws.org In a one paragraph order with no legal explanation provided, the US Supreme Court overturned a decision by a trial judge in Oregon relaxing ballot access requirements in consideration of the restrictions imposed on public interaction during the pandemic.

Ron Daniels (2020-08-13). Repaying the debt owed to Black people requires a democratic and reparative economy. zcomm.org The entire racial capitalist system that extracts labor and blood from Black lives must go…

Unicorn Riot (2020-08-13). From Juneteenth in Minneapolis to Jawnteenth in Philadelphia. unicornriot.ninja Minneapolis, MN — The historic movement for Black lives that has recently permeated the globe reinvigorated 2020's Juneteenth celebrations. On June 19, 2020, Unicorn Riot reporters documented from two of these celebrations; 'Jawnteenth' in West Philadelphia and a celebration in North Minneapolis at a Cub…

MintPress News Desk (2020-08-13). Watch: "Woke" Corporations Supporting Black Lives Matter Quietly Funding Police. mintpressnews.com A report from the Public Accountability Initiative exposes how corporate America is bankrolling police departments across the country, including many of the same ones facing scrutiny over racist practices.

John W. Whitehead (2020-08-13). This Is Amerika: Where Fascism, Totalitarianism and Militarism Go Hand In Hand. dissidentvoice.org In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem. — Ronald Reagan, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981 There's a pattern emerging if you pay close enough attention. Civil discontent leads to civil unrest, which leads to protests and counterprotests. Without fail, what should be an exercise in how …

Muhammed Shabeer (2020-08-13). "We face a system incapable of solving the problems of the youth and the people. peoplesdispatch.org Aritz Rodríguez Galán, president of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, talks about the centrality of youth in anti-racism protests, COVID-19 relief work and the building of a better world…

Jordan Green (2020-08-13). How These Rural Canvassers Disrupt Racist Narratives. zcomm.org "We believe that organizing in rural spaces with progressive, multiracial solidarity messaging is the future"

Abayomi Azikiwe (2020-08-13). Black People Confront Racist Violence. globalresearch.ca Since the May 25 police execution of George Floyd in Minneapolis, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest racist violence. | Cities across the United States were impacted by the blocking of streets and highways along …

_____ (2020-08-13). Street Artists Rise To The Occasion. popularresistance.org The massive protests in Los Angeles in response to the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many others organized through the Black Lives Matter movement generated an outpouring of engaging and provocative visual artworks. Open-air installations, murals, posters, "street art" works, and similar efforts abound, many in my Venice/Mar Vista neighborhood where I regularly jog. | I participated in many of those protests and saw some of these efforts personally. Cumulatively, these, and similar works throughout the United States and the world, have added to the burgeoning tradition of politica…

_____ (2020-08-13). Lebanon: Bellwether, Battleground, And Bastard Child Of The Mideast. popularresistance.org When I was a kid, "Beirut" became a cultural shorthand for any chaotic and violent urban setting. In the 1990s, my hometown rappers — the Wu Tang Clan — repeatedly shouted out the Lebanese city (plus one of its civil war antagonists, the P.L.O. — Palestinian Liberation Organization); but so did Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eminem, and the Dead Kennedys. In the 2001 Hollywood blockbuster Spy Game, CIA agents played by Brad Pitt and Robert Redford sprint through rubble and gunfire along the Green Line dividing war-torn 1980s Beirut's Christian East and Musl…

yenisafak (2020-08-13). Israeli police indicted for assaulting Palestinians. yenisafak.com Israel's Justice Ministry on Thursday filed indictments against five border police officers for assaulting and robbing Palestinians, said state media. | "Today, the Police Internal Investigations Department at the Ministry of Justice submitted indictments to the Beersheba District Court against five border guards," reported the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. | The indictments included "crimes related to armed robbery, assault, conspiracy, assault in dangerous conditions, abuse, and other crimes against Palestinians." | The attacks were carried out against Palestinians seeking to go through Israeli milit…

Abdul Rahman (2020-08-13). Making sense of the ongoing anti-corruption protests in Israel. peoplesdispatch.org Protests in Israel which began with the demand for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resignation over corruption charges are gradually changing in nature. Anti-occupation and pro-Palestinian groups are entering the space as well…

Staff (2020-08-12). As Kamala Harris Makes History as VP Pick, Her "Top Cop" Record Faces New Scrutiny Amid BLM Protests. democracynow.org Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's selection of California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate for the November election makes her the first Black woman and the first Indian American on a major party presidential ticket. "It's hard to overstate how historic, how monumental this is," says Aimee Allison, president of She the People, which works to elevate the political voice and leadership of women of color. But in the midst of the largest protest movement in American history against racist policing, Briahna Joy Gray, the former national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders pres…

sputniknews (2020-08-12). Videos: IDF Bombards Hamas 'Infrastructure' in Gaza Strip in Retaliation for Incendiary Balloons. sputniknews.com Israeli airstrikes were launched in Gaza early on Thursday local time, hitting people's homes, after incendiary balloons were launched into Israel and sparked fires.

Raouf Halaby (2020-08-12). Teaching Palestinian Children to Love Beethoven, Bizet, and Mozart is a Threat to a Depraved Israeli Society. counterpunch.org The subject box of a mid-March email from Jerusalemite Palestinian author and scholar read: "Simply Reflecting." Samia Khoury's 16/March/2020 message was a concise and tellingly prescient homily on the pathetically worsening universal condition of humanity as well as the depraved banality to which Israel's Jewish leaders have descended. The topics included the spread of Covid-19,

Editor (2020-08-12). An anti-racist vote for class unity. workers.org Rashida Tlaib of Detroit made history on Nov. 7, 2018, when she became the first Palestinian American woman elected to Congress. This year, in the weeks leading up to the Michigan Democratic Party primary on Aug. 4, the capitalist media questioned whether she would get a shot at reelection. "Congressperson . . . |

RT (2020-08-12). US & Israel say they have successfully tested ANTI-BALLISTIC missile interceptor. rt.com The Israeli Ministry of Defense has confirmed a recent test of an Arrow missile defense interceptor, partly manufactured by Boeing and developed in cooperation with the US Missile Defense Organization (MDO). | Tel Aviv issued a statement on Wednesday, confirming that the secretive airspace closures the day before were indeed a "pre-planned flight test" of the Arrow weapons system. The Israeli MoD added that an Arrow 2 interceptor was used against a Sparrow target missile. | | The joint Israeli-American test reflects the partnership & fri…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-08-12). The Likud Conspiracy: Israel in the Throes of a Major Political Crisis. counterpunch.org Protests against Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have raged on for weeks, turning violent sometimes. Israelis are furious at their government's mediocre response to the coronavirus pandemic, especially as COVID-19 disease is experiencing a massive surge throughout the country. Netanyahu warned protesters, thousands of whom have been rallying outside his residence in Jerusalem, against "anarchy

Lisa Newcomb, staff writer (2020-08-12). 'Vital Democracy Reform' Takes Hit in Oregon After US Supreme Court Undermines Another Ballot Initiative. commondreams.org A state-level effort to put redistricting in the hands of the people amid the pandemic was set back after the nation's highest court intervened. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Fight Back (2020-08-12). Black Lives Matter rally in Waupaca, WI takes the street. fightbacknews.org Waupaca, WI – Nearly 100 people turned out for a Black Lives Matter (BLM) rally in the rural Wisconsin town of Waupaca. This huge turnout for an action in such a small town came in the wake of two earlier events that faced a growing amount of harassment from police and white supremacists. | The violent arrest of activist Matt Banta at a march on August 2 and the subsequent rise in racist threats toward others contributed to the organizing of this larger event. Organizers of previous BLM actions in Waupaca have been targeted by white supremacists, with a mass armed counter-protest allegedly being planned. | Hosted…

John W. Whitehead (2020-08-12). This Is America: Where Fascism, Totalitarianism and Militarism Go Hand in Hand. globalresearch.ca "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem."—Ronald Reagan | There's a pattern emerging if you pay close enough attention. | Civil discontent leads to civil unrest, which leads to protests and counterprotests….

WSWS (2020-08-12). Armed forces and fascist gangs mobilized against blockades in Bolivia. wsws.org The demand for the immediate fall of the àÅñez regime, brought to power in last November's US-backed coup, is gaining increasing popular support.

Elijah Magnier (2020-08-12). How Israel views the Beirut explosion and Hezbollah's involvement. thealtworld.com "Hezbollah controls the Harbour of Beirut and is knowledgeable of everything happening in it. It uses its influence to smuggle its shipments through and prefers to keep these shipments at the harbour to prevent Israel from bombing them." | "Hezbollah controls Lebanon and forced the choice of General Michel Aoun as a President and of Hassan Diab as a Prime Minister. Moreover, through its influence in the parliament and the cabinet, it is enforcing the protection of its arsenal and of its presence as a powerful armed organisation". | "Israel will use its influence to prevent any financial support from reaching Leba…

Elijah Magnier (2020-08-12). Comment Israà´l voit l'explosion de Beyrouth et l'implication du Hezbollah. thealtworld.com ´ Le Hezbollah contrà¥le le port de Beyrouth et est au courant de tout ce qui s'y passe. Il se sert de son influence pour faire passer ses cargaisons en contrebande et préfère garder ces cargaisons au port pour empêcher Israà´l de les bombarder. ª | ´ Le Hezbollah contrà¥le le Liban et a forcé le choix du général Michel Aoun comme président et de Hassan Diab comme premier ministre. De plus, par son influence au parlement et au cabinet, il impose la protection de son arsenal et sa présence en tant que puissante organisation armée. ª | ´ Israà´l usera de son influenc…

Yves Engler (2020-08-12). The Lobby Attacks Left-wing Restaurant. dissidentvoice.org As part of a well-organized, multilayered, Israel nationalist lobby bid to bankrupt a small left-wing restaurant a prominent Toronto interior designer sued Kimberly Hawkins for $800,000. Shai DeLuca is claiming the Foodbenders owner libeled him. The suit was filed by RE-LAW LLP and the US-based Lawfare Project which harasses pro-Palestinian activists. The Lawfare Project, reports …

Rann Miller (2020-08-12). Tom Cotton Wants to Stop Kids From Learning About American Racism. progressive.org The Arkansas Senator proposed a law to effectively ban educators from using material from the 1619 Project, The New York Times' series on the legacy of slavery in the United States.

Scott Ritter (2020-08-12). Russia wants neither 'rethink' nor 'reset' if it means restoring American supremacy & returning to Cold War diplomacy. thealtworld.com Some 136 American "experts" on US-Russian relations recently debated the merits of "rethinking" US policy on Russia. What these specialists failed to consider is that Moscow may not be interested in their plans. | In the span of a week, Politico, a non-partisan global news and information company whose The first, which appeared on August 5, was an "open let…

DEFEND 209 (2020-08-12). Saturday 8/29: #AllOut Against Racist 'Hate-Pride' Anti-LGBT Rally in Modesto. indybay.org 1431 McHenry Ave, Planned Parenthood Parking lot.

_____ (2020-08-12). Numerous Assaults Witnessed During Black Lives Matter Protests. popularresistance.org A group of about thirty Black Lives Matter protesters from Gardnerville, Carson City and Lake Tahoe took to the streets of Douglas County today, where they were met with hundreds of heavily armed counter-protesters, some of whom were physically and verbally assaulting the mostly-teenaged protesters. | After Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley issued a public open letter to the Douglas County Library Board stating his opposition to their proposed support of Black Lives Matter, joining numerous library associations across the country, and threatening to not respond to the library's call for assistance anymore, many…

_____ (2020-08-12). Remembering Hiroshima And Nagasaki By Shutting Down A Nuclear Base. popularresistance.org At around 6: 45 AM on Monday, demonstrators arrived at the Main Gate and formed a vigil line along the roadway. At around 7: 05 AM, four "peacekeepers" entered the roadway and stopped traffic, while behind them, six demonstrators set themselves and their banners on the roadway. | Three of the demonstrators carried a banner stating, "Hiroshima Nagasaki Never Again!" Two demonstrators held a blue painted banner stating, "No More Genocide in My Name." One demonstrator carried a banner, "Peace Walk Nuclear-Free World, Black Lives Matter."

_____ (2020-08-12). Chile's Militarisation of the Araucania Influences Racism Against the Mapuche Population. strategic-culture.org As Chile shifted its attention to the coronavirus pandemic, which brought out the country's widespread social inequalities, the state's aggression towards the Mapuche people went on unhindered. In June, President Sebastian Piñera

The Canary (2020-08-12). Activist's arrest in Portland galvanises Black Lives Matter movement. thecanary.co The arrest during a protest in Portland, Oregon, of a Black woman who became a leading activist in the racial justice movement, has galvanised Black Lives Matter groups. The activist, Demetria Hester, was assaulted by a white supremacist three years ago. | Portland has endured more than two months of often violent, nightly protests since George Floyd's police killing in Minneapolis, including weeks of clashes between protesters and federal agents. The agents were dispatched to the city by US president Donald Trump. | Authorities said they won't be charging Hester, a prominent activist, following her arrest after…

Staff (2020-08-12). The 2020 Race Is Down to Center-Right vs. Far Right. truthout.org Vice President Mike Pence was doing a campaign gig in Arizona last night, the state where incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally

Lisa Newcomb, staff writer (2020-08-12). Racist, QAnon Conspiracy Theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene Wins Georgia GOP Primary. commondreams.org Marjorie Taylor Greene's views "have no place on the ballot or in Congress," said DCCC chairwoman Cheri Bustos. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Hamzah Raza (2020-08-11). By clasping hands with Netanyahu, 'top cop' Kamala Harris whitewashes Israel's racism. thegrayzone.com A friendly meeting California senator and self-declared "top cop" Kamala Harris held with Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows…

Fight Back (2020-08-11). Ilhan Omar speaks at Minneapolis celebration of NO BAN Act passage In House. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – A small crowd gathered in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on August 10 for a press conference celebrating the passage of the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. | The bill would repeal President Trump's racist travel ban that has prevented immigration from a list of Muslim-majority and African countries. It would also strengthen prohibitions against discrimination on visa applications, permanently barring the executive branch from banning people from entering the United States on the basis of religious affiliation. Approv…

Monica Moorehead (2020-08-11). Student-athletes organize for health, Black Lives Matter, labor rights. workers.org Since March 12, the coronavirus has impacted every sector of U.S. society, not only health but also social life. With all the suffering going on and with no national public health care system in the U.S., different sectors of society are seeking to protect themselves by preventing the spread of . . . |