Monthly Archives: May 2020

2020-05-15: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

Facebook deactivates dozens of accounts of Palestinian journalists and activists
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-05-15
At least 52 Palestinians have been affected by Facebook's deactivation sweep, according to data collected by Middle East Eye…
mronline.org/2020/05/15/facebook-deactiv…

The Japanese Art of Avoiding Your Relatives (Or Why Covid-19 Flopped in Japan)
Ash Warren | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
Let's say you do not get along with your mother-in-law and you do not wish to have contact with her like, ever. | Here are two possible methods you might employ. | The first is to burn down your house, fake your own death and move somewhere else under an assumed identity, or failing that to dig up the entire road between your place and hers, blow up her car and steal all her shoes. | This may discourage the urge to visit. | The other is to just not open the door when she knocks. | In many countries as we all well know, in order to avoid coming in contact with the dreaded Covid-19, which is possibly even more i…
anti-empire.com/the-japanese-art-of-avoi…

No Lockdowns: The Terrifying Polio Pandemic of 1949-52
Jeffrey A. Tucker | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
World War II had ended four years earlier and the U.S. was trying to return to peace and prosperity. Price controls and rationing were ended. Trade was opening. People were returning to normal life. The economy started humming again. Optimism for the future was growing. Harry Truman became the symbol of a new normacy. From Depression and war, society was on the mend. | As if to serve as a reminder that there were still threats to life and liberty present, an old enemy made its appearance: polio. It's a disease with ancient origins, with its most terrifying effect, the paralysis of the lower extremities. It mai…
anti-empire.com/no-lockdowns-the-terrify…

Anonymous shootings target students as violence against activists increases in Chile
Carole Concha Bell | thecanary.co | 2020-05-15
Chile has had a turbulent few months. And at the end of April, a dozen people were shot from an unmarked car in one of Santiago's most populated suburbs, La Florida, during a peaceful protest. This was not an isolated incident. Violence against students and protesters by anonymous attackers has…
thecanary.co/feature/2020/05/15/anonymous-shootings-target-students-as-violence-against-activists-increases-in-chile/

Venezuelan TV Exposed US Mercenaries' Names, Photos and Incursion Plan a Month Before It Happened
Ryan Parry | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
The Americans behind the failed Venezuelan coup went ahead with the ill-fated mission even though the country's ruling regime publicly exposed their plan on live TV more than a month earlier. | In footage unearthed by DailyMail.com Venezuelan state television claimed its government had infiltrated the 'mercenaries' and even aired photographs of the coup's US leader, Jordan Goudreau. | They also appeared to have the names of the other two Americans captured and paraded on TV this week, ex Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry. | The revelation, alongside the apparent lack of funding and adequate equipment fo…
anti-empire.com/venezuelan-tv-exposed-us…

Burundi Kicks Out WHO Meddlers
AFP | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15

"Burundians greet each other by shaking hands and often continue holding hands for several minutes after starting a conversation. Figurative or literal references to cattle is an important part of the greetings. For example, both parties might wish each other large cattle herds, a sign of prosperity."

| Burundi has ordered the country's top World Health Organization (WHO) representative and three other experts coordinating the coronavirus response…
anti-empire.com/burundi-kicks-out-who-me…

Bye-Bye TEACHERS, COPS And Government PENSIONS
Karl Denninger | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
To all the screaming Karens: You've fired a few million workers and some of them even include you. | Retail sales for April were 22% below last year's figures. | No stores open, no bars and restaurants open, nobody actually spending money. "Oh, you can order out." Uh huh. The volume of business collapsed anyway. | That means no tax receipts. No sales taxes. | It means commercial property, which has property taxation at much higher rates than residences, is now wort…
anti-empire.com/bye-bye-teachers-cops-an…

In Defence of Conspiracy Theories (And Why the Term Is a Misnomer)
David Coady | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
Before 2012, if you had voiced suspicions that the Australian government had been anything but open and honourable in dealing with East Timor

Biden Can't Return Things to Normal, Because Trump Is a Normal US President. That's the Problem
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-15
To be clear, this is not a good thing. Trump has kept the bloodthirsty imperialism, corporate cronyism, Orwellian oppression, neoliberal exploitation and police militarization that holds the US empire together ticking along in basically the same way as his predecessors, in some ways more egregiously and in some ways less so.
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/15/bi…

Up to Five Iranian Tankers en Route to Venezuela Carrying Much-Needed Gasoline
Irina Slav | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
An Iranian tanker loaded with gasoline has set sail for Venezuela, Reuters reports, citing tanker tracking data. The cargo should help alleviate a growing shortage of gasoline in the sanctions-stricken South American country. | The Clavel, a medium tanker, loaded in March at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, and this week passed the Suez Canal, the data showed. | TankerTrackers.com co-founder Samir Madani confirmed the data to Oilprice.com, noting that there were several vessels en route from Iran to Venezuela, with the cargo all or mostly gasoline. | twitter.com/Joyce_Karam/status/126102216……
anti-empire.com/up-to-five-iranian-tanke…

The 1930s and now: Looking back to move forward
Martin Hart-Landsberg | mronline.org | 2020-05-14
While there are great differences between the crises and political movements and possibilities of the 1930s and now, there are also important lessons that can be learned from the efforts of activists to build mass movements for social transformation during the Great Depression. My aim in this paper is to illuminate the challenges faced and …
mronline.org/2020/05/14/the-1930s-and-no…

Saturday, May 16, Second Webinar, 12-1 PM EDT Disarm and Divest During Covid-19
David Quinn-Jacobs | kingsbayplowshares7.org | 2020-05-11
Disarm & Divest During COVID19 Last KBP 7 Webinar Before Sentencing SATURDAY, MAY 16, 12-1pm. The Kings Bay Plowshares defendants will hold their final webinar before sentencing, this Saturday, May 16, 12-1 pm ET. Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of the Intercept, will host the defendants. Lead attorney Bill Quigley will join the webinar…
kingsbayplowshares7.org/2020/05/sat-5-16…

Facebook Is Go-To Platform For Organizing Protests Against Social Distancing
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2020-05-04
As COVID-19 continues to pose a lethal threat worldwide, fringe, right-wing activists are using Facebook to mobilize protests of stay-at-home orders in several states.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/05/05/faceb…

Jailing people who use Covid-19 as bioweapon would be 'discrimination.' So better lock up everyone instead?
rt.com | 2020-05-15
Accidentally spreading Covid-19 is wanting grandma dead, say opponents of ending lockdowns. Yet activists now worry that proposed laws to punish those who threaten to spread it deliberately would discriminate against minorities. | A Florida man spat and coughed on a police officer responding to a domestic violence call, and faces up to five years in prison on a federal charge of biological weapons hoax (he was negative for Covid-19). Another man in Texas, who falsely claimed on Facebook that he paid someone to spread the virus at local grocery stores, was charged with the same thing. A Michigan man who wiped h…
rt.com/usa/488692-criminalizing-covid-di…

Last Process: 14 Postees: 2020-05-15 22:06 GMT (18:06 EST)

2020-05-14: News Headlines

Saul Foster (2020-05-14). The 1930s and now: Looking back to move forward. mronline.org While there are great differences between the crises and political movements and possibilities of the 1930s and now, there are also important lessons that can be learned from the efforts of activists to build mass movements for social transformation during the Great Depression. My aim in this paper is to illuminate the challenges faced and …

Michael Molitch-Hou (2020-05-14). Paramilitary Panda: WWF Land Grabs Rooted in Covert Apartheid History. indybay.org According to a BuzzFeed News series, the WWF has been tied to paramilitary violence in third world countries. What they completely ignored was that the WWF was previously involved in the murder of 6,000 anti-apartheid activists in South Africa a part of an "anti-poaching" mission in the 1980s. All evidence seems to suggest that the WWF was used as cover for an MI6 operation on behalf of powerful business interests in South Africa.

RT (2020-05-13). 'They will not silence us': Michigan activists undeterred after Facebook removes anti-lockdown group with 380,000 members. rt.com Facebook has shuttered a popular group for Michiganders who oppose their governor's extreme lockdown measures, fueling debate about free speech during the coronavirus crisis. | 'Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine' had more than 380,000 members, with media reports describing it as one of the largest anti-lockdown groups in the nation. It's not clear if Facebook has provided an explanation for the group's removal. Visiting the page gives the following message: "Sorry, this content isn't available right now." | Garrett Soldano of Mattawan, Michigan created Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine in Apri…

Liz Ford (2020-05-13). 6.3 Million Will Develop Tuberculosis as a Result of COVID-19 Lockdown, 1.4 Million Will Die. anti-empire.com

"TB kills 1.5 million people a year, more than any other infectious disease"

| The head of a global partnership to end tuberculosis (TB) said she is "sickened" by research that revealed millions more people are expected to contract the disease as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. | Up to 6.3 million more people are predicted to develop TB between now and 2025 and 1.4 million more people are expected to die as cases go undiagnosed and untreated during lockdown. This will set back global efforts to end TB by five to eight years. | "The fact that we've rolled back to 2013 figures and we have so…

Peter Hitchens (2020-05-13). The Strangling of the Economy Does Threaten the NHS, Life and Health — According to the Government That Strangled It. anti-empire.com For more than six weeks I have been abused and smeared as someone who cares more about money than life, because I have warned that the smashing of the economy by the government was a major threat to the NHS which it claims to be protecting, as well as a general danger to lives and health. | Now, in Paragraph 1.1 of the government's new document on 'rebuilding ' the country after smashing it up, you may find the government's own admission that I was and am in fact absolutely right: 'The longer the virus affects the economy, the greater the risks of long-term scarring and permanently lower economic activity, with…

Nic Lewis (2020-05-13). Why Herd Immunity to COVID-19 Is Reached Much Earlier Than Thought. anti-empire.com A study published in March by the COVID-19 Response Team from Imperial College (Ferguson20 The 'herd immunity threshold' (HIT) can be esti…

Denis Campbell (2020-05-13). Lockdown Will Kill an Additional 18,000 Cancer Patients That Wouldn't Have Died Otherwise, Cancer Doctors Calculate. anti-empire.com Almost 18,000 more people with cancer in England could die after the coronavirus pandemic led hospitals to suspend treatment and deterred patients from seeking NHS care, research has found. |

Daniel Wighton (2020-05-12). Switzerland Bends the Knee to Swedish Model, Dismantles Lockdown a Month Ahead of Schedule. anti-empire.com The Swiss government brought forward a plan to ease lockdown restrictions in the country meaning pubs, restaurants gyms and other sites can reopen sooner than expected so the country "can learn to live with the virus." | In a press conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Simonetta Sommaruga and Health Minister Alain Berset While some of these had been announced previously,…

Dr. Steven Shapiro (2020-05-12). Chief Medical Officer for 40-Hospital UPMC Network Trashes the Case for Continued Lockdown in Senate Hearing. anti-empire.com Dr. Steven Shapiro, UPMC's chief medical and scientific officer, participated in a virtual roundtable convened by U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Health Care, on May 6 to explore the issue of reopening the economy. Following are his remarks: | I would like to thank Senator Toomey and the committee members for the opportunity to share a typical health care experience of COVID-19 through the lens of UPMC, whose hospitals span urban, community and rural areas comprising the largest academic health system in the country and a health plan with 3.8 million su…

Alexander W. Salter (2020-05-12). The Fed Wants to Become a Financial Central Planner, Will Be Selecting Winners and Losers on a Grand Scale. anti-empire.com

"In this case, Fed policy permanently impedes the ability of financial markets to operate smoothly. Expect political considerations, rather than market discipline, to play an increasingly large role in the allocation of credit for the foreseeable future"

| Of all the policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve's is the most extraordinary. Many people are unaware of the Fed's recent behavior. Monetary policy is not the most visible of government actions, after all. But this time, the public cannot afford to ignore what the Fed is doing. In short, the US central bank has compl…

Teresa Gutierrez (2020-05-12). Political Prisoners Teach-In: Mumia, migrant rights and cages. workers.org These slightly edited remarks were made April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" teach-in webinar sponsored by Mobilization4Mumia and held in honor of the 66th birthday of political prisoner and revolutionary Mumia Abu-Jamal, incarcerated for 39 years by the U.S. state. Teresa Gutierrez First of all, happy . . . |

Philipp Bagus (2020-05-12). The Lockdown Crisis Is Driving the EU to the Brink. anti-empire.com The eurozone is a gigantic machine of monetary More specifically, the European Central Bank (ECB) may buy eurozone government bonds directly from market participants or accept them as collateral in its lending operations, effectively increasing the monetary base. Through this monetization, a government can externalize the costs of its deficit partially onto the citizens of other eurozone countries…

Ramesh Thakur (2020-05-12). Wrecking Entire Economies: Lockdowns May Be Causing More Harm Than Good Worldwide, and Especially in India. anti-empire.com

Homeless people line up for free food distributed by Assam Police during lockdown to curb the spread of new coronavirus, in Gauhati, India, Monday, April 27, 2020. India last week eased the lockdown by allowing shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming activities to resume in rural areas to help millions of poor, daily-wage earners. But the economic costs of the nationwide lockdown continue to mount in a country of 1.3 billion people. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

| Locking up healthy people in their homes and putting wholesale populations under house arrest is perverse. Coronavirus panic merchan…

David Quinn-Jacobs (2020-05-11). Sat. May 16, Last KBP7 Webinar Before Sentencing, 12 Noon to 1 PM EDT. kingsbayplowshares7.org MAY 16, Noon ET WEBINAR: Disarm and Divest The Kings Bay Plowshares defendants will hold their final webinar before sentencing this Saturday, May 16 at noon, ET. The six defendants who are out of jail will speak for a few minutes and then take some questions. Lead attorney Bill Quigley will also be…

James Zogby (2020-05-11). The End of US Empire: Covid-19 Exposes Once-Great Superpower as Epic Failure. commondreams.org The election of Donald Trump was the byproduct of our partisan dysfunction. (Photo: Matthew Busch/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …

Last Process: 15 Citations: 2020-05-14 17:48 GMT (13:48 EST)