2020-01-13: News Headlines

Staff (2020-01-13). Who Profits when Iran and America Fight? therealnews.com We spoke to Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin after Thursday's War Powers resolution vote. Whose interests are driving the narrative around conflict with Iran?

Staff (2020-01-13). "America Exists Today to Make War": Lawrence Wilkerson on Endless War & American Empire. democracynow.org Retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff from 2002 to 2005, says the escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran today is a continuation of two decades of U.S. policy disasters in the Middle East, starting with the 2003 run-up to war with Iraq under the Bush administration. "America exists today to make war. How else do we interpret 19 straight years of war and no end in sight? It's part of who we are. It's part of what the American Empire is," says Wilkerson. "We are going to cheat and steal to do whatever it is we have to do to continue th…

Asa Winstanley (2020-01-13). British Universities Invest in Israeli Apartheid. globalresearch.ca British universities have invested more than an estimated half a billion dollars in companies that arm Israel or support Israeli settlement infrastructure. | This revelation comes from new research by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. | Activists on Wednesday held an "Apartheid …

Staff (2020-01-13). As Tensions With Iran Escalate, It Is Time to Challenge Empire in the Classroom. truthout.org For educators, war is one of the most difficult topics to discuss within our classrooms. And yet, with the recent U.S. assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iraqi senior military leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and other Iraqis, the threat of imminent war is now forcefully part of the everyday thoughts of many students. | For families from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and other parts of the region, the weight of these anxieties has been carried for…

The War Machine's School System (2020-01-13). Only 23% of American Voters Found Iran on the Map, etc. indybay.org Believe it or not, only 23% of American voters can find Iran on the map, and the voters are the most educated sector of the population. See www.globalresearch.ca/only-23-american-v…

Text RR Photos Chris Cassell, Pro Bono Photo (2020-01-13). Culture Jam at Facebook HQ: Protesters Hijack Giant "Like" Billboard Pt. I. indybay.org In the tradition of billboard liberators everywhere, activists projected slogans on to the giant thumbs up sign, also known as the "like" sign, outside Facebook Headquarters on January 9.

Staff (2020-01-13). Minneapolis Activists Ask Local Leaders to Invest in Communities, Not Cops. truthout.org In dramatic effect, a Minneapolis resident dumps a bag of money onto a podium during public comments at the final City Council meeting on the 2020 budget last month. The person with them, who identified himself as David, is addressing the council members. | "This is $193.40," David says, then begins to explain that the money represents the $193 million budget Mayor Jacob Frey proposed to give the Minneapolis Police Department in 2020, more than one-third of the city's general fund. The budget sp…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-01-13). Danish trade unions demand hike in minimum wages. peoplesdispatch.org Ahead of the 'OK 2020' collective bargaining negotiations with the industry, trade unions in Denmark on January 8, Wednesday, mobilized for an increase in the minimum wage. Demonstrations at the Copenhagen City Hall Square on Wednesday saw the participation of hundreds of activists from several professional trade unions in the private and public sectors. | As of now, there is no statutory minimum wage in Denmark. The current minimum salary in Copenhagen for a full-time position holder is reportedly around DKr 110 (USD 16.37) per hour or DKr 17,000 (USD 2,580) per month. | Trade unions representing 2,30,000 worker…

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-01-13). "Iran Must Begin Acting Like a Normal Nation," Says Totally Normal Nation. theantimedia.com The government which runs a globe-spanning empire led by a reality TV host keeps talking about the lack of normality in the nation of Iran.

Liberation Staff (2020-01-12). VIDEO: "How many times have we been told the same lie?" Boston anti-war activists take the streets. liberationnews.org The following is adapted from a speech given by PSL organizer Rachel Domond at an anti-war rally on January 4, 2020 in downtown Boston.

teleSUR (2020-01-12). Star War Actor Rejects Advertising Depicting Pinochet as Jedi. telesurenglish.net The U.S. actor Mark Hamill, who is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, Saturday rejected an image in which far-right activists portrait Chile's dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) as a Jedi. | RELATED: | Chile: College Admissions Test Suspended Due To Student Protest | The story began when Natire Bolledo wrote to Hamill telling him that…

Staff (2020-01-12). Activists Demand U.S. Close Guantánamo and End 18 Years of Torture. truthdig.com Human rights advocates marked the 18th anniversary of the opening of the U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba with a rally outside the White House on Saturday to "demand an end to years of torture and human rights violations" and call for the detention camp's immediate closure. | In January 2018, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep the prison open. The move, which revoked an order from Trump's predecessor that called for the pri…

teleSUR (2020-01-12). Human Rights Advocates Demonstrate, Demand Guantanamo's Closure. telesurenglish.net As Jan. 11 marked the 18th anniversary of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp opening by the United States, human rights activists rallied Saturday outside the White House to demand the prison's immediate closure and an end to "years of torture and human rights violations." | RELATED: | Roger Waters Plays 'Wish You Were Here' Live in Support of Assange | The organizers explained on social media that their goal was to call "attention to the brutality of the prison, including in…

Jim Miles (2020-01-12). How to Hide an Empire — A History of the Greater United States. globalresearch.ca The Greater United States of the title is not just the contiguous states of the mainland plus insets for Alaska and Hawaii, but includes many of the smaller — and not small — territories and possessions held by the U.S. …

Afroze Fatima Zaidi (2020-01-12). Britain's colonial legacy carries on, which is why children need to learn about it in school. thecanary.co Britain seems to be quite happy to talk about its colonial past, as long as it's framed in terms of pride in the British empire. However, a protest on 9 January by student campaign Fill in the Blanks sought to disrupt popular narratives around British colonialism. | The campaign distributed 5000 'newspapers' at 20 different tube stations around London which reported the headline: Boris backs Empire education. The intention was to spark discussions around the importan…

Camden Goetz (2020-01-11). 'No war on Iran!' say activists picketing recruitment center in Times Square. liberationnews.org Washington's imperialist aggression on Iran has sparked a new wave of anti-war activism, with actions in over 90 cities saying no to war on Iran.

Mindy Isser (2020-01-11). Climate Activists Can't Afford to Ignore Labor. A Shuttered Refinery in Philly Shows Why. commondreams.org In the early morning hours of June 21, 2019, a catastrophic explosion tore through the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) oil refinery in the southwest section of Philadelphia.

Staff (2020-01-10). Canada's Cops Were Ready to Shoot Indigenous Anti-Pipeline Activists. therealnews.com RCMP officers were instructed to use as much violence as they wanted at the blockade of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline. Kanahus Manuel, an indigenous activist in British Columbia, said it's part of Canada's long colonial legacy.

Susan Price (2020-01-10). US peace activists, leftists oppose Iran war. greenleft.org.au anti-war Susan PriceIssue 1248 United States US wars US aggression against Iran peace movementJanuary 10, 2020Former vetera…

Liberation Staff (2020-01-09). Peace activists in South say 'No war on Iran'. liberationnews.org Reports from North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky.

Ajamu Baraka (2020-01-09). Sheep-dogging on Steroids: The New Democratic Party Anti-War Activists. dissidentvoice.org In the cynical spectacle that is called politics in the United States, the latest insult to the intelligence of the people is the Democrats who are posturing as Anti-war champions in reaction to the Trump Administration's assassination of Qassem Soleimani and the possibility of further attacks on Iran. We are supposed to buy that the …

Leland Nally (2020-01-06). Dems Must Repudiate Trump's Warmongering. progressive.org Thin-lipped, consultant-speak mewling is not going to stop a war with Iran.

ANSWER (2020-01-01). Sat. Jan. 4 National Day of Action U.S. Troops Out of Iraq! liberationnews.org Initiators for this call include the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Popular Resistance, World Beyond War and many other anti-war and peace organizations.

splcenter (2019-12-20). Investigation: Washington State Rep. Matt Shea Poses Threat of 'Political Violence' Against U.S. splcenter.org Washington state Rep. Matt Shea has been vocal about his support for antigovernment and anti-public lands activists in the West, and a new report alleges those activities pose a threat of "political violence" against the U.S. government.

Hatewatch Staff and Rachel Janik (2019-12-06). Trump Officials Address Event Featuring Anti-LGBTQ Activists. splcenter.org A conference ostensibly meant to showcase "family policy" reveals how anti-LGBTQ groups have embraced strong-family rhetoric to push their agenda of intolerance.

Ricardo Vaz (2019-11-01). Venezuelan Leftist Parties and Unions Stage Protest, Demand Gov't Answers. venezuelanalysis.com Dozens of activists demanded better wages and respect for collective bargaining rights.