Daily Archives: September 4, 2020

2020-09-04: News Headlines

Staff (2020-09-04). How Fascism Works: Trump's "Law & Order" Is Lawlessness, Fueling Racist Violence & Chaos. democracynow.org As President Trump openly embraces the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon and promotes "law and order" while refusing to condemn armed followers of his who target antiracist protesters, we speak with Jason Stanley, Yale philosopher and scholar of propaganda, author of "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them." Stanley says Trump built a cult of personality within the Republican Party, as evident during the Republican National Convention, and has moved the United States steadily into authoritarianism during his term. "Fascism is a cult of the leader who promises national restoration in the face of supposed t…

Staff (2020-09-04). Headlines for September 4, 2020. democracynow.org Key Model Projects 410,000 Dead in U.S. from COVID-19 by January 1, Trump Mocks Biden for Wearing Mask During Pandemic, COVID-19 Cases Surge on College Campuses, Amnesty: Over 7,000 Health Workers Have Died During Pandemic, 1,300 in Mexico, U.S. Marshals Kill Anti-Fascist Activist Suspected in Fatal Portland Shooting, Rochester Suspends Seven Officers Tied to Death of Daniel Prude, D.C. Protesters Condemn Police Killing of Black Teenager Deon Kay, Biden Visits Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Meet Family of Jacob Blake, L.A. Airport Workers Stage Die-In Calling for Benefits for Laid-Off Workers, Attorney General Barr Refus…

Paul Street (2020-09-04). Trump Knows What He's Doing — He Needs to Go Now. counterpunch.org This is an actual statement from the President of the United States in a recent interview with his fellow far-right white nationalist Laura Ingraham of Fatherland (FOX) News: "Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization…The first time I ever heard of Black Lives Matter, I said, 'That's a terrible name.' It's so discriminatory. It's bad for Black people. It's bad for everybody."

Saul Foster (2020-09-04). Killing in Kenosha: 'Blue Lives' terror comes of age. mronline.org The killing of two Black Lives Matter protesters by a vigilante represents a new departure for violent reaction, argues Wisconsin activists Michael Billeaux.

Ramzy Baroud (2020-09-04). Israel's Friends at the RNC: 'Christian Zionists' Dictate the Agenda of the Republican Party. counterpunch.org It is difficult — and futile — to argue which American president has historically been more pro-Israel. While former President Barack Obama, for example, has pledged more money to Israel than any other US administration in history, Donald Trump has provided Israel with a blank check of seemingly endless political concessions. Certainly, the unconditional backing

CounterSpin (2020-09-04). Heidi Beirich on White Supremacist Violence, Howard Bryant on Black Athlete Activism, Sharon Lerner on Plastic Recycling and PR. fair.org Media…

South Front (2020-09-04). Video: Israeli Forces Rain Down Missiles on Syria. globalresearch.ca The Israeli Air Force conducted a second round of missiles strikes on Syria in less than a week. | Late on September 2, Israeli warplanes launched missiles at the T4 airport in the province of Homs. According to Syria's state media, …

Steve Martinot (2020-09-04). Racism is a Relation Between White People. counterpunch.org In the midst of a pandemic, most people simply wish for a vaccine, a shot in the arm to make the threat of disease go away. These days, people adopt a similar attitude toward that other pandemic of racism and police brutality, the one that doesn't go away. Many people are wishing there was a

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-04). Palestinian groups lay down time frame for national unity plans. peoplesdispatch.org All major Palestinian factions including Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad met virtually to discuss major challenges and the need for unity. They have decided to convene a special session of Palestinian Liberation Organization's Central Council…

news.un (2020-09-04). UN agency for Palestinian refugees launches $95 million appeal to keep COVID at bay. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a health and socio-economic emergency across the occupied Palestinian territory, the UN agency for the region warned on Friday, noting a swell of coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

Frank Joyce (2020-09-04). Property Values Matter. Bigly. counterpunch.org White supremacy isn't just rooted in white people owning Black people. It's about white people owning the Native people's land too. There they went. Again. The opening night prime time proceedings of the Republican Convention prominently featured Mark and Patrice McCloskey. They are the couple who brandished guns at Black Lives Matter protestors in their

Fight Back (2020-09-04). Black Lives Matter mourns and denounces another killing by LA sheriffs. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles called for justice for Dijon Kizzee at their weekly "DA Jackie Lacey Must Go" protest, September 2. Many families, victims of LAPD and LA sheriff killings and brutality, as well as organizations like Centro CSO, gathered outside of the offices of Sheriff Alex Villanueva and Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey. | Dijon Kizzee was shot over 20 times in South LA on the evening of August 31, over an unspecified vehicle code violation while riding a bicycle with a bundle of clothes. In the police version, Kizzee dropped a handgun when the altercation turned viole…

Dan Lieberman (2020-09-04). The Case for Israel as a Criminal Enterprise. dissidentvoice.org After UAE-Israel deal, missing is that the Emirates bewildering moment and the shattered Palestinian moment are due to a misrepresentation of what is called the Middle East conflict. The misrepresentation has led to a fallacious approach for rectification, and an impasse for obtaining peace with justice. Even the terminology seems incorrect. Is this a conflict …

WSWS (2020-09-04). Biden in Kenosha: Ignoring fascist killings, doubling down on identity politics. wsws.org The Democratic presidential candidate treated the events in Kenosha as the product of racism, saying nothing about the murders of two white protesters against police violence.

_____ (2020-09-04). Black-Led Resistance Movements Are Paving The Way For Reparations. popularresistance.org Months after the police killing of George Floyd sparked racial justice protests around the world, Black Lives Matter activists are once again flooding the streets — this time in response to the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Among the demands that continue to ring out is the call for reparations, or payment to people of African descent. Several African countries — including Namibia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — have also joined the call, demanding reparations from European countries for the perpetration of genocide under colonialism.

_____ (2020-09-04). Portland Protest Killing Suspect Acted In Self Defense, Murdered During Arrest. popularresistance.org Ever since a member of the right-wing "Patriot Prayer" group was shot and killed during a violent rally in downtown Portland August 29, the police investigation has reportedly focused on 48-year-old Michael Forest Reinoehl, an Army veteran and father of two who has provided what he called "security" at Black Lives Matter protests. | The Wall Steet Journal reported earlier that Reinoehl was a person of interest in the killing of Aaron "Jay" Danielson, who was taking part in a massive pro-Trump caravan that began in Clackamas earlier in the day.

_____ (2020-09-04). Germany: Extreme Right Marches Under Anti-Lockdown Banner. popularresistance.org The large Berlin demonstration and rally against the federal government's corona policy on August 29 was a moral victory for the right and neo-Nazis. Pictures of fascists occupying the stairs to the Reichstag building with the Reichsflag (symbol of the empire overthrown by the revolution in 1918 and the Nazi dictatorship 1933-45) are circulating around the world and trigger alarms, especially among anti-fascists. | Such symbolic images also serve to weld the right scene together. After all, more members of the extreme right are likely to have marched through the federal capital unified and unmolested on this day…

_____ (2020-09-04). A Silver Lining in the Rise of Neo-Fascism. strategic-culture.org The only benefit from the rise of neo-fascist leaders in heretofore democratic nations is that the various fascist, neo-Nazi, racial and religious supremacists, and far-right terrorists have reared their ugly heads to the degree where it is now easier to identify them and their circle of contacts and organizations. When the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Poland, Turkey, and other similarly afflicted nations return to political normalcy, the forces of the far-right, already self-identified, can be rolled up, stripped of their weaponry and access to the Internet as threats to public safety. These resurgent Nazis…

Staff (2020-09-04). Trump's "Law and Order" Is Feeding Racist Violence and Chaos. truthout.org As President Trump openly embraces the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon and promotes "law and order" while refusing to condemn armed followers of his who target antiracist protesters, we speak with Jason Stanley, Yale philosopher and scholar of propaganda, author of How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. Stanley says Trump built a cult of personality within the Republican Party, as evident during the Republican National Convention, and has moved the United States steadily into authoritarianism during his…

Staff (2020-09-04). The Milwaukee Bucks Strike Is Part of a Long Tradition of Athlete Resistance. truthout.org "Everybody knows me. I'm the big basketball star, the weekend hero, everybody's All-American," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at the time, known as Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor) said at a founding meeting of the Olympic Project for Human Rights in 1967. "Well, last summer I was almost killed by a racist cop shooting at a black [man] in Harlem. He was shooting on the street — where masses of people were standing around or just taking a walk. But he didn't care. After all we were just [Blacks]." | Abdu…

yenisafak (2020-09-04). US police kill Portland shooting suspect during arrest. yenisafak.com US law enforcement forces shot and killed a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a pro-Trump supporter in Portland, Oregon Thursday night during an arrest, according to a report. | Michael Forest Reinoehl, self-described "100% Antifa" supporter was shot by officers during an encounter in Lacey, Washington, four law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told The New York Times anonymously. | Antifa, short for "antifascist", is a far-left anti-fascist political activist movement that became popular in the US following the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in Augu…

Staff (2020-09-03). Headlines for September 3, 2020. democracynow.org CDC Urges States to Be Ready by Late October to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine, Iowa Sen. Ernst Spreads COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories as Cases Soar in State, U.S. Pulls $62 Million in Funding for World Health Organization, U.S. Sanctions Top ICC Prosecutors for Investigating U.S. War Crimes, Trump Campaign Aide Justifies Vigilante's Killing of Black Lives Matter Protesters, Trump Moves to Cut Billions in Federal Aid to Cities, Citing "Anarchist Jurisdictions", The Killing of Daniel Prude: Naked Black Man Suffocated After Police Put Hood Over His Head, California Police Officer Charged with Shooting Dead Black Man in…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-09-03). 'Dying to Fish': How Israeli Piracy Destroyed Gaza's Once Thriving Fishing Industry. counterpunch.org On August 16, the Israeli navy declared the Gaza sea a closed military zone. A few days later, a group of Gaza fishermen decided to take their chances by fishing within a mere two or three nautical miles off the Gaza shore. No sooner had they cast their nets, Israeli navy bullets began whizzing all

Fight Back (2020-09-03). Philippines: Trade unions call for release of vulnerable prisoners. fightbacknews.org The militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) went to the Supreme Court grounds on Wednesday, September 2, to amplify the call for the release of minor, sick, elderly and other vulnerable detainees. | "We urge the Supreme Court to decisively act on the urgent petition of kin of sick, elderly and other vulnerable detainees. The petition was filed on April 8, and no action has been taken by the Supreme Court since. We ask the Supreme Court this on humanitarian grounds in this time of pandemic," said Eleanor de Guzman, KMU secretary for human rights. | KMU cited the fragile state of prisons as basis for the relea…

teleSUR (2020-09-03). Brazil: Federal Court Restitutes Disputed Land to Pataxo People. telesurenglish.net Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Thursday put out an order to cease the evictions of Pataxo people, an Indigenous community in Bahia state. | RELATED: | "Minister Gilmar Mendes of the STF has just decided in favor of the community, also suspending the decision of the judge from Eunápolis for not complying with the decision of the STF. Double victory of the Patax people!" tweeted Indigenous rights' activi…

Marjorie Cohn (2020-09-03). Federal judge tackles police immunity law. mronline.org The judge wrote, "If the Civil War was the only war in our nation's history dedicated to the proposition that Black lives matter, Reconstruction was dedicated to the proposition that Black futures matter, too."

Eds. (2020-09-03). Wisconsin man who says he marched with Rittenhouse in Kenosha was immersed in White Supremacist propaganda. mronline.org Ryan Balch, a 31-year-old Wisconsin man who joined Kyle Rittenhouse and a contingent of militia conducting armed patrols in Kenosha, used his social media accounts to link to a Nazi propaganda video.

Phyllis Bennis (2020-09-03). The Israel-UAE Deal isn't About Peace at All. counterpunch.org In some ways, the U.S.-brokered plan for mutual recognition between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is big news. For more than a quarter of a century, only two Middle Eastern countries — Egypt and Jordan — had officially recognized Israel. None of the Gulf monarchies did. So, it was a pretty big deal when

Monica Moorehead (2020-09-03). NBA players ignite sports-wide strike vs. police terror. workers.org Kenosha, Wis., became the epicenter of the anti-racist struggle after a 29-year-old Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot seven times in the back at point-blank range by a white police officer on Aug. 23. Kenosha is 40 miles from Milwaukee, Wisconsin's biggest city. A recorded video showed that the unarmed . . . |

Ramzy Baroud (2020-09-03). Israel's Friends at the RNC: "Christian Zionists" Dictate the Agenda of the Republican Party. dissidentvoice.org It is difficult — and futile — to argue which American president has historically been more pro-Israel. While former President Barack Obama, for example, has pledged more money to Israel than any other US administration in history, Donald Trump has provided Israel with a blank check of seemingly endless political concessions. Certainly, the unconditional backing …

_____ (2020-09-03). Do Any Lives Actually Matter? strategic-culture.org If there is one expression that has defined the political arguments of 2020 it is Black Lives Matter and its many derivatives like All Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter and so on. But why is this the case? There is something in these statements that is very powerful, political and deeply ideological. Something about this reasoning is very effective. So, let's take a look at its internal mechanics. When people scream Black Lives Matter what do they really mean and why this particular wording has dominated recent political discourse? | Image: Just what exactly would lives "mattering" look like? | A Utopian Statement…

Paul Haeder (2020-09-03). Your Right to Your Opinion Ends with My Right to Might. dissidentvoice.org No ruling class could survive if it wasn't attentive to its own interest consciously trying to anticipate control/ initiate events at home & abroad both overtly & secretly. The dirty truth is that many people find fascism to be not particularly horrible. — Michael Parenti, 1 POLITICS AND ISSUES, Fascism In a Pinstriped Suit, p. …

yenisafak (2020-09-03). Montenegro: Muslims threatened with genocide. yenisafak.com Muslims living in Montenegro were threatened with genocide after the Sunday general election results showed the country's future policy leaning more towards Russia and Serbia. | Elections resulted in the long-governing Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) winning majority of the votes. But it lost majority in the National Assembly to the opposition For the Future of Montenegro alliance, led by the Democratic Front (DF), leaning more towards Russia and Serbia. | The DF is known for its anti-NATO stance and closeness to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC). | Those who gathered around the churches sang Serbian nationa…

Colin Todhunter (2020-09-03). From Cotton to Brinjal: Fraudulent GMO Project in India Sustained by Deception. dissidentvoice.org Insecticidal Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton is the first and only GM (genetically modified) crop that has been approved in India. It has been cultivated in the country for more than 20 years. In a formal statement to the Supreme Court of India, the Indian government has asserted that hybrid Bt cotton is an outstanding success. …

_____ (2020-09-03). US Punishes ICC For Investigating Potential War Crimes. popularresistance.org The Trump administration has sought to weaken or abandon various international agencies since 2016. Now it's taking aim at the International Criminal Court, a global tribunal that investigates and prosecutes war crimes, torture and genocide. | Claiming the ICC's investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan poses a national security threat, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on June 11 effectively criminalizing anyone who works at the ICC. Its lawyers, judges, human rights researchers and staff could now have their U.S. bank accounts frozen, U.S. visas revoked and travel to the…

Joseph Hayden (2020-09-03). What Is Antifa? Mostly a Myth. progressive.org As the presidential election in November draws near, it's clear that conservatives are using the myth of antifa to pander to their base. But is it working?

Dr. Nicolai Due-Gundersen (2020-09-03). How the Israel-UAE Deal Could Leave Jordan Out in the Cold. globalresearch.ca With the signing of the

Howard Graves (2020-09-03). The Shooting Deaths in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Were Predictable and Avoidable. splcenter.org Last week, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of two protesters and the maiming of a third on the night of Aug. 25 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Responses by local law enforcement and militia groups illustrate the disastrous assumptions that made this incident all but inevitable.

Steven Sahiounie (2020-09-03). Israel Hits the Jackpot in UAE Investment Deal. "Betrayal of the Palestinian Cause" globalresearch.ca Monday, the …

Dave Zirin (2020-09-03). The Sports Strikes Against Racism Have Not Been Coopted. zcomm.org Even as the energy of the last week is being steered in a safer direction and away from labor militancy, we still don't know how this story is going to end…

Lynda Carson (2020-09-03). Trump regime is in lockstep with the KKK and fascist armed militias. indybay.org Black Lives Matter Protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin:…

Solidarity in Tiburon (2020-09-03). Black, White, Brown, Young, Old, Raise Fists in Resistance to Racist Police Practices. indybay.org Tiburon police questioned the owners of Yema, a store on Main Street in Tiburon, in an incident of racial profiling. The officers insisted the merchant, who is Black, show proof that he really did belong inside the store he owns. On August 29 protesters showed solidarity with the store owner and with one another at a protest in front of the police station.

_____ (2020-09-03). Trump Incites Vigilante Violence Against Peaceful Protests. popularresistance.org In the week since a fascistic gunman killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin and seriously wounded a third, the Trump administration and its allies within the media and political establishment have defended the killings and the murderer. | The actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Trump supporter who had previously attended Trump rallies, are the direct outcome of the incitement by this administration itself. It occurred during the week of the Republican National Convention, as speaker after speaker railed against the "radical left" and demanded the restoration of "law and order" in response to the prote…

Staff (2020-09-03). The Fed Invested Public Money in Fossil Fuel Firms Driving Environmental Racism. truthout.org In April, the price of oil fell so far so fast that oil futures contracts

Staff (2020-09-03). Decades-Old Gang Laws Are Being Used to Target Black Lives Matter Protesters. truthout.org This story was originally published by On July 9, Madalena McNeil bought several buckets of red paint, a ladder, and paint rollers from a Salt Lake City Home Depot store. Later that night, she accompanied two dozen other people to a demonstration outside the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office, amidst ongoing nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd by…

yenisafak (2020-09-03). At least 25 Palestinian groups call for general elections. yenisafak.com Several Palestinian civil society and rights groups on Thursday urged leadership to conduct presidential and parliamentary elections.Signed by 25 Palestinian groups, a letter was handed over to Hanna Nasser, the chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, ahead of the intra-Palestinian meeting scheduled to take place in the evening.Addressing a press conference in front of the Elections Commission office in Ramallah, Issam Arouri, director-general of Jerusalem Legal Aid Center, said the letter will be presented to President Mahmoud Abbas and the heads of Palestinian groups, asking them to conduct pa…

WSWS (2020-09-03). Australian establishment treats sentencing of Christchurch terrorist as a non-event. wsws.org Fascist gunman Brenton Tarrant spent his formative years in Australia and had connections to extreme-right movements that were promoted by its political establishment.

Futher Column, By Abby Zimet, Staff Writer (2020-09-03). Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-09-03). Paul Craig Roberts — Fed Will Have Problem When Gold Hits $3,000. thealtworld.com Former Assistant Treasury Secretary in the Reagan Administration and award winning journalist Dr. Paul Craig Roberts says the ideology fueling riots in America is "dangerous and anti-white." Dr. Roberts explains, "They are trying to give impunity to violence that is conducted in the name of opposing white racism. If you want to take action against white racism, which includes all white people because, by definition, if you are white, you are a racist. So, any violence against white racism is, therefore, tolerated because it would be illegitimate to try to stop that violence. This is the reason the Democrats have…

Eliza Egret (2020-09-03). Israeli forces attack a 68-year-old Palestinian man using brutal knee-to-neck tactic. thecanary.co Once again, Israeli forces have been caught on camera using the brutal knee-to-neck tactic. This time it was to restrain a 68-year-old Palestinian man. | On 1 September, Khairy Hanoun was savagely attacked after a demonstration in the northern West Bank. He was protesting against the confiscation of his land. Video Bulldozing land: | Hanou…