Daily Archives: October 21, 2020

2020-10-21: News Headlines

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies (2020-10-21). How Biden Flubbed Town Hall Foreign Policy Question. counterpunch.org Toward the end of Joe Biden's October 15 town hall session, a Trump supporter asked Biden the only foreign policy question of the night. "So peace is breaking out all over the world," the questioner claimed. "Our troops are coming home. Serbia is talking to Kosovo. And the Arabs and Israelis are talking peace, which

Shatha Hammad (2020-10-21). 'Paradise lost': How Israel turned the West Bank into a sewage dump for its settlements. middleeasteye.net 'Paradise lost': How Israel turned the West Bank into a sewage dump for its settlements | Untreated wastewater has destroyed the soil of Palestinian villages, causing their often ancient oilve trees to die | Wed, 10/21/2020 – 09: 14 | Residents and farmers say increasing quantities of sewage are being pumped onto their lands from the illegal settlements (MEE/Supplied) | Abdullah Maarouf typically t…

Eds. (2020-10-21). Capitalism, slavery, and economic white supremacy. mronline.org What is at stake when we talk about the economics of North American slavery? Over the last 75+ years it has been whether capitalism superseded slavery or whether capitalism and slavery were co-constituted, capitalism to some extent relying on slavery.

SRACC (2020-10-21). Houston Racist KPFT Coupster Bill Crosier & Supporters at KPFA & Pacifica. indybay.org Former Pacifica interim executive director Bill Crosier called the police on the Black staff at KPFT and now wants to institute corporate bylaws. He has opposed community Black and Brown programming at Houston and supported racist programmers. He and his corporate racist agenda is being supported by KPFA programmers and other programmers in Pacifica as well as "liberals" like Code Pink leader Jodie Evans. While these people complain about the corporatization of the state, they are supporting the corporatization of the Pacific bylaws and ending democratic governance to a hand picked corporate team that supported t…

Mark Hertsgaard (2020-10-21). Amy Coney Barrett Gets That Covid Is Infectious—but Not That Climate Change Is Real. thenation.com Amy Coney Barrett Gets That Covid Is Infectious—but Not That Climate Change Is Real…

Aaron Maté (2020-10-20). Chomsky: from nuclear weapons to Iran, Trump's worst threats are dangerously ignored. thegrayzone.com Noam Chomsky warns that the Trump administration poses a unique threat to humanity, and its most reckless policies are receiving far too little attention. Noam Chomsky discusses the White House's threats to the New START treaty, the last remaining accord limiting the US and Russia's nuclear weapons arsenals; its latest round of crippling sanctions and threats against Iran; the bipartisan US refusal to accept a Middle East Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, which would terminate Israel's nuclear weapons program; and the silencing of …

Staff (2020-10-20). Headlines for October 20, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Continues Attack on Fauci as U.S. Coronavirus Cases Surge and Death Toll Mounts, SCOTUS Deadlock Hands Victory to Voters in Pennsylvania as Floridians Break Early Voting Record, Debate Commission Announces Changes Ahead of Final Presidential Face-Off, Evo Morales Celebrates Victory of MAS Party, Says He Will Return to Bolivia, Trump Admin to Remove Sudan from U.S. List of Terrorist States, At Least 15 People Killed as Nigerian Protests Against Police Violence Continue, WSJ: U.S. Held Talks with Syrian Intelligence About Missing U.S. Citizens, Palestinian Prisoner in Critical Condition After Nearly 3 Months…

Aseel Jundi (2020-10-20). Israeli takes its attacks on UNRWA schools to the United Nations. middleeasteye.net Israeli takes its attacks on UNRWA schools to the United Nations | Israeli ambassador to the UN accuses its Relief and Works Agency of using curricula inciting against Israel, the latest move in a long campaign against the body | Tue, 10/20/2020 – 19: 12 | Palestinian children fly kites at a school belonging to UNRWA in Gaza City on 12 March 2018 as a protest against US aid cuts (AFP) | Israel's am…

William Camacaro (2020-10-20). Decisive Victory of MAS in Bolivia: A Blow to Anti-Indigenous and Anti-Socialist Coups in the Americas. counterpunch.org Caracas. The decisive electoral victory of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) in Bolivia may be a point of inflection on the continent that advances the construction of a new South American socialist bloc. After having been removed from power by a military coup with fascist, anti-Indigenous, and neoliberal elements a year ago, ex-president Evo Morales,

Kathy Kelly (2020-10-20). Afghanistan, Black Lives Matter, and Antiwar Activism. zcomm.org Interview on a variety of topics…

Martha Grevatt (2020-10-20). How do we defend reproductive justice? workers.org It appears likely that the Trump wing of the ruling class will ram through the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who is racist, pro-patriarchy, anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ2S+ and anti-worker. The Senate Judiciary Committee votes on the nomination Oct. 22, and the full Senate vote is expected before the . . . |

Al Neal (2020-10-20). Supreme Court to review 'Remain in Mexico' policy; migrants face terror-filled wait. peoplesworld.org For asylum seekers and refugees forced to stay in Mexico as their requests to enter the United States enter procedural limbo, their lives are minimized to being political and legal ping-pong balls, going back and forth over the new (incomplete) border wall with every court ruling or Trump administration executive order. On Monday, Oct. 19, …

MEE staff (2020-10-20). Israeli firm signs deal to transport UAE oil to Europe. middleeasteye.net Israeli firm signs deal to transport UAE oil to Europe | The deal would create a cheaper, faster way to get oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean by bypassing Egypt's Suez Canal via a 'land bridge' | Tue, 10/20/2020 – 21: 37 | EAPC oil storage containers are seen on the shore of Israel's southern city of Ashkelon on 27 January, 2015 (Reuters/File photo) | An Israeli pipeline company has announced a prelimi…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-20). Anti-fascists across the UK honor volunteers of the International Brigade. peoplesdispatch.org Around 2500 volunteers from Britain and Ireland participated in the Spanish Civil War supporting the Spanish Left and Republican forces against the fascist forces led by Francisco Franco…

David Schultz (2020-10-20). Amy Coney Barrett, Constitutional Precedent, and the Problem of Originalism. counterpunch.org Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett is a threat to many constitutional precedents, including Roe v. Wade (abortion rights), National Federation of Business v. Sebelius, (Obamacare), and Obergefell v. Hodges (marriage equality). It may not simply be her ideology or pre-judged opinions that pose the problem, it is her constitutional interpretive method of Originalism that is the issue.

Kim Scipes (2020-10-20). Fighting Racism in the US Marine Corps. counterpunch.org By 1971, the Marine Corps had suffered racial outbreaks at every major Marine base in the world, except one. In Vietnam, some units were disarmed after coming out of the bush, as there had been firefights between white and Black Marines. A celebration of Martin Luther King's life by Black Marines at Chu Lai in April 1969, one year after his assassination, had been surrounded by tanks. Racial "relations" were terrible. (As was true in all the other branches, in Vietnam, the US and on bases in Europe.)

Umar A Farooq (2020-10-20). Keith Ellison faces mounting criticism over attendance at Yitzhak Rabin memorial. middleeasteye.net Keith Ellison faces mounting criticism over attendance at Yitzhak Rabin memorial | Minnesota attorney general has been accused of 'ignoring Palestinian voices' by agreeing to attend event honouring the legacy of late Israeli prime minister | Tue, 10/20/2020 – 18: 26 | Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is slated to appear at a memorial service for former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (…

RT (2020-10-20). Televangelist Pat Robertson predicts Trump will win re-election and bring about THE END TIMES. rt.com Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat Robertson has predicted that President Donald Trump will secure re-election, which he says will then lead to the end of the world. | "…The next thing is the election that's coming up in just a few weeks, at which time, according to what I believe the Lord told me, the president is going to be re-elected," Robertson prophesized during his show on Tuesday. The preacher then added that Trump's victory is "going to lead to civil unrest, and then a war against Israel and so forth…" | According to Robertson, the war's outcome has also already been pre-determined. "There…

RT (2020-10-20). Dying laughing: Facebook demonetizes satirical website Babylon Bee for 'inciting violence' with Monty Python joke. rt.com Facebook has demonetized Christian satire site the Babylon Bee, saying even after a manual review that an article which used a popular Monty Python bit to skewer Senate questioning of Trump's Supreme Court pick "incites violence." | The social media behemoth told Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon that it "stood by" the decision to not only remove the article but demonetize the Bee's entire page on Tuesday, insisting the piece — headlined "Senator Hirono Demands ACB Be Weighed Against a Duck To See if She Is a Witch" — "incites violence," Dillon revealed on Twitter. | So after a manual review, Facebook says…

RT (2020-10-20). France will dissolve pro-Hamas Muslim group, as Islamist crackdown continues — Macron. rt.com French President Emmanuel Macron has said that a Hamas-linked Muslim group connected with the beheading of a teacher in Paris will be disbanded. Macron also promised to take "concrete actions" against radical Islamist terrorism. | "We know what needs to be done," the president told reporters in Paris on Tuesday, announcing that a Muslim group connected to Palestinian Hamas militants would be broken up. The group is believed to be linked to the beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty by a teenage Chechen refugee last week. Prior to the killing, Paty had shown his class a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed. | A…

RT (2020-10-20). UAE wants to exchange embassies with Israel 'as soon as possible'. rt.com The United Arab Emirates wants its embassy in Tel Aviv to be opened "as soon as possible" and hopes Israel will reciprocate in Abu Dhabi, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has said, as rapprochement between the former foes continues. | The intention was announced in a letter from Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, delivered to his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi by a high-ranking UAE delegation which landed in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. | In the missive — which, according to Israeli media, was written in Hebrew — Zayed told the Israeli FM that the UAE had "full trust in your unequivocal s…

Nicolas J S Davies (2020-10-20). How Biden Flubbed the Town Hall Foreign Policy Question. progressive.org From praising Trump's deal with Israel to smearing China's president Xi Jinping, Biden's response wasn't just disappointing, it was incorrect.

WSWS (2020-10-20). Michigan sheriffs and police refuse to enforce state government ban on guns at polling places. wsws.org Police leaders announced Monday they would not enforce a recent order by the elected secretary of state aimed at preventing fascist militias from interfering with the November election.

WSWS (2020-10-20). Macron launches anti-Muslim police-state crackdown after terror attack in France. wsws.org Macron's policy is indistinguishable from the fascistic ravings of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen.

Refuse Fascism Bay Area (2020-10-20). Sunday 10/25: Mass Public Assembly to Protest & Demand: Trump/Pence Out Now! indybay.org Civic Center Plaza, Dr Carlton B Goodlett Place, San Francisco…

sputniknews (2020-10-20). US Legislation Seeks Congressional Oversight Over F-35 Exports. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Senators Bob Menendez and Dianne Feinstein said they introduced legislation to reassert congressional oversight over the exports of F-35 fighter jets and ensure that such deals do not undermine Israel's military superiority in the Middle East.

Tom Anderson (2020-10-20). NSPCC under fire for accepting donations from UK company implicated in the demolition of Palestinian homes. thecanary.co Campaigners are calling on the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to stop accepting donations from UK company JCB. | JCB equipment used to demolish Palestinian homes: | Last week, The Canary

yenisafak (2020-10-20). Bosnia commemorates 1st president Izetbegovic's death. yenisafak.com Bosnia and Herzegovina this week commemorates the 17th death anniversary of Alija Izetbegovic, independent Bosnia's first president and one of the most important Muslim thinkers of the last century.Izetbegovic — a politician, writer, lawyer, and philosopher who came to international prominence during the bitter 1992-1995 Bosnian War — is commemorated every year on the anniversary of his death.Having struggled against fascism and Chetnik nationalists during World War II and later communism, Izetbegovic fought for the independence of Bosnia Herzegovina from Yugoslavia in the 1990s as well as to raise the religiou…

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-10-20). The New York Times Is Anti-White and Anti-American. thealtworld.com The vast majority of the New York Times's subscribers are white people. These are people who apparently are so emotionally and mentally weak and so full of guilt and self-loathing that they support a rabid anti-American propaganda organization that brands its readers "racists" and delegitimises the founding principles of the United States. | The US Defense Secretary, Espy, distracts us with the "Russian and Chinese enemies," while the worst enemy that the United States has ever had—The New York Times—carries on its deadly attack of deconstructing America. The New York Times' position is that America i…

Staff (2020-10-19). Jeremy Scahill: Trump Has Incited White Supremacists & Emboldened Police to Act Outside the Law. democracynow.org As the 2020 presidential campaign enters its final two weeks, we look at the past four years of the Trump presidency with investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill of The Intercept. His podcast "Intercepted" has just released the fourth chapter in a seven-part audio documentary titled "American Mythology," which critically examines the Trump presidency and places it within a larger historical context. Scahill says Trump has empowered white supremacist vigilantes and given permission to law enforcement to act extrajudicially to enforce a racist status quo, but he cautions that "Donald Trump is not an aberration of U…

Staff (2020-10-19). Trump Has Stoked White Supremacy and Led Police to Act Outside the Law. truthout.org As the 2020 presidential campaign enters its final two weeks, we look at the past four years of the Trump presidency with investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill of The Intercept. His podcast "Intercepted" has just released the fourth chapter in a seven-part audio documentary titled American Mythology, which critically examines the Trump presidency and places it within a larger historical context. Scahill says Trump has empowered white supremacist vigilantes and given permission to law enforcement to…

Maicol David Lynch (2020-10-19). Ohio student's research rescues memory of lynched Black man, Christopher Davis. peoplesworld.org Between 1865 and 1950, over 6,500 African Americans were lynched or massacred by white supremacist terrorists. Of those murders, 4,400 took place after the defeat of Reconstruction and restoration of the former slavocracy to power. More than 80% of lynchings occurred in the former Confederacy's 11 states, but over 300 took place in northern states. …

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2020-10-19). Socialists win big in Bolivia; Morales expected to return from exile. peoplesworld.org Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca, presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively, for Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism Party (MAS), scored an overwhelming first-round election victory on Oct. 18. They won 53% of the vote, showing strength in cities and rural areas alike. MAS was formerly headed by deposed President Evo Morales. The Supreme Election Tribunal certified the …

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-10-19). Arabic press review: Tunisia investigates MP's Facebook post on French teacher beheading. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Tunisia investigates MP's Facebook post on French teacher beheading | Meanwhile, Arab financial support for the Palestinian government reportedly falls by 82 percent and Bahrainis protest against Israeli visit | Mon, 10/19/2020 – 14: 47 | A man holds a French flag as people gather in Paris on 18 October 2020, to remember teacher Samuel Paty, beheaded by an attacker (AFP) | <...

MEE staff (2020-10-19). Israel and UAE to discuss influx of Gulf tourists to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque. middleeasteye.net Israel and UAE to discuss influx of Gulf tourists to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque | A former Jordanian religious endowment minister tells MEE Amman is 'not interested nor aware nor part of these visits' coordination' | Mon, 10/19/2020 – 15: 43 | Flags of Israel and the United Arab Emirates (AFP) | An Israeli official said on Monday that Israel and the United Arab Emirates had set an agenda to discuss bringing th…

MEE and agencies (2020-10-19). UAE cabinet approves Israel normalisation deal. middleeasteye.net UAE cabinet approves Israel normalisation deal | First Emirati passenger flight lands at Tel Aviv as UAE government approves establishing relations | Mon, 10/19/2020 – 14: 45 | UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan (L) and his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi are pictured before their historic meeting in Berlin, 6 October (AFP) | The Emirati cabinet has approved an agr…

RT (2020-10-19). US Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump's appeal on border wall funding while reviewing legality of 'stay in Mexico' policy. rt.com The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by Donald Trump's administration over a ruling that he overstepped his constitutional boundaries when funneling military funds to border wall construction. | The legal battle around Trump's 2016 campaign cornerstone — the US-Mexico border wall — continued on Monday when the Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal. | Back in June, a lower court ruled that the Trump administration's decision to shift military money to construction of a border wall, after Congress had refused to appropriate funds for the project, was illegal. Trump took $2.5 billion from…

Global Research News (2020-10-19). Selected Articles: Where Are the Borders of the State of Israel? globalresearch.ca By Let no one say — without a vigorous challenge — that the so-called 'new normal' …

yenisafak (2020-10-19). Palestine slams Al-Aqsa visits under Israeli protection. yenisafak.com Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh has criticized visits by Arab delegations to Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque under Israeli police protection."Al-Aqsa Mosque shall be entered through the gate of its owners, not through the gate of the Israeli occupation," Shtayyeh said during the weekly cabinet meeting on Monday."It is sad to see some Arab delegations entering the compound through the Israeli gate, while worshippers are denied access to it to perform their prayers," he said.On Sunday, a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) visited Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli forces.T…

WSWS (2020-10-19). Australian pseudo-left denies fascist danger in US presidential election crisis. wsws.org Socialist Alternative is attempting to chloroform the working class, insisting that the American ruling class would never resort to dictatorial rule.

One America News Network (2020-10-19). Video: "Don't be Afraid of the Virus": American Doctors Speak Out on Misinformation Surrounding the Coronavirus. globalresearch.ca A group of medical experts from around the country are speaking out against misinformation surrounding the coronavirus. | The doctors gathered on the Supreme Court steps in the nation's capitol Saturday October 17, 2020 to inform Americans not to be afraid …

Majdi Khaldi (2020-10-19). Where Are the Borders of the State of Israel? Why Do They Refuse to Demarcate Them? globalresearch.ca When you ask any Israeli government official or diplomat about the borders and map of the State of Israel, surely you will not get a clear answer. Successive Israeli governments, backed up by the Zionist movement worldwide, have ambitions to …

Raul Diego (2020-10-19). With an Eye on Nearby Iran, Israeli Weapons Fuel the Violence in Azerbaijan. mintpressnews.com Hoping to profit, protect an important source of oil, and to antagonize nearby Iran, Israel is selling drones and weapons to Azerbaijan, fueling the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

_____ (2020-10-19). Embracing The Gifts Of Conflict For Social Change. popularresistance.org As a collective, we are living in unprecedented times. The triple pandemic of COVID-19, white supremacy, and capitalist-driven climate crisis has intensified survival fears and made the structural oppression we are living under more palpable and unbearable. We are coming face to face with the fact of our interdependence, and the stakes are high. Either we as a species learn to live well with each other and the earth now, or die trying. | As so many wise souls are reminding us, our liberation is bound together, and we need each other, now, more than ever.

Linda Pierce, Santa Cruz News Group (2020-10-19). Manu Koenig and Trail Now PAC Apologize for Anti-Semitic Cartoons Featuring John Leopold. indybay.org Manu Koenig, candidate for Santa Cruz County Supervisor in District 1, has apologized to the Jewish community following the public outcry over the publication of a series of cartoon caricatures considered to be anti-Semitic of his opponent incumbent Supervisor John Leopold, who is Jewish. In an email interview conducted on October 16, Manu Koenig stated: "I was so horrified to realize that the cartoon we had used in our campaign ad about the rail corridor could be considered anti-Semitic. That was not our intention but I now understand how it could be perceived that way given the catalogue of the artists' work. W…

_____ (2020-10-19). Two Deep Mysteries of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. strategic-culture.org Eric S. MARGOLIS | Forty-seven years ago, Egypt and Syria launched a massive surprise attack on Israeli forces dug into fortifications along the Suez Canal and Golan Heights. The 'limited' Arab objective was to recapture both strategic areas that had been seized from the two Arab states in Israel's victorious 1967 War. | Re-armed with modern — but by no means top drawer — Soviet weapons, Egypt and Syria sought to drive the Israelis back, then wait for the great powers to impose a truce. It was a badly flawed strategy, which assured the heavily armed Israelis would control the military initiative with…

yenisafak (2020-10-19). Israel to face pressure from Democrats if Trump loses: advisor. yenisafak.com US President Donald Trump's loss in the upcoming presidential election would put pressure on Israel in the Middle East, one of his advisors said Monday.If Trump loses the election on Nov. 3 to his opponent Joe Biden, Israel will face pressure from the Democrats to make concessions in Judea and Samaria, Mike Evans, senior Evangelical Christian leader and advisor to Trump, told Israel National News in an interview."This is the most pro-Israel president in American history. But he's not doing so well in the polls," said Evans, who is also the founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem.Evans said alt…

yenisafak (2020-10-19). Palestinian talks not condition for Arab ties: Israel. yenisafak.com A top Israeli intelligence official said on Monday that Israel's normalization with the Arab countries must not be conditioned with advancing negotiations with the Palestinians."The negotiations with the Palestinians must not be a condition or obstacle in front of continuing contacts for normalization with the region's states," Mossad chief Yossi Cohen told the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.Israeli media reported earlier that Cohen was assigned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to conduct secret contacts with heads of Arab states.Israel signed recently two normalization deals with the United Arab Emirates…

Staff (2020-10-19). Headlines for October 19, 2020. 18.224.45.15 U.S. COVID-19 Cases Surge as Trump Continues Unmasked Campaign Rallies, Cases Mounting Across Europe as New Restrictions Enacted, Top Palestinian Official Saeb Erekat in Critical Condition with COVID-19, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Accuses Trump of Inspiring, Incentivizing and Inciting Terrorism, White Supremacists Indicted for Arms Trafficking, Murder and Plotting to Bomb Synagogue, Death Toll in Nagorno-Karabakh Fighting Mounts as New Ceasefire Falls Apart, Kyrgyzstan Installs New President, Who Will Also Serve as Prime Minister, Alexei Navalny Calls on Trump to Denounce Use of Chemical Weapons, Car Bomb in…

Pip Hinman (2020-10-19). Sydney Black Lives Matter rally called for October 26. greenleft.org.au First Nations advocates and families of people who have died in custody are planning a Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney on October 26, reports Jim McIlroy.