Daily Archives: June 10, 2020

2020-06-10: News Headlines

Medea Benjamin (2020-06-10). Defund the Police, Defund the Military. zcomm.org Together we must seize this moment to move from incremental reform to real systemic change, not just within the U.S. but throughout the racist, neocolonial world that is policed by the U.S. military…

teleSUR (2020-06-10). Dominican Republic: Police Put Down Anti-Racism Protest. telesurenglish.net Dominican Republic's Santo Domingo conservative organizations and police Tuesday confronted anti-racism activists who claimed justice for George Floyd in a demonstration. | RELATED: | "Those nationalists came and threw themselves at us and the police, instead of taking the attitude of protecting us, what they did was to stop us," said Reconocido (recognized) non-governmental organization leader Ana Maria Belique. | Reconocido…

Wendi C. Thomas (2020-06-10). The police have been spying on black reporters and activists for years. I know because I'm one of them. nationofchange.org Wendi C. Thomas is a black journalist who has covered police in Memphis. One officer admitted to spying on her. She's on a long list of prominent black journalists and activists who have been subjected to police surveillance over decades.

Ajit Singh (2020-06-09). Hong Kong's 'pro-democracy' movement allies with far-right US politicians that seek to crush Black Lives Matter. thegrayzone.com As a Hong Kong protest leader promotes far-right condemnations of US anti-racism demonstrations and activists shut down a Black Lives…

People's World Correspondents (2020-06-09). National uprising continues: Reports from around the country. peoplesworld.org During this national uprising against racist police violence, People's World is being inundated with correspondence from local reporters and activists around the country—more than we can possibly print. Presented here are just a few recent selections submitted from towns and cities across the United States. FREDERICK, MARYLAND Carl Gentile In an unprecedented show of solidarity, …

Jason Cohen (2020-06-09). One step closer to freedom for Ana Belen Montes. workers.org For close to 20 years Ana Belen Montes, a Puerto Rican woman, has been held hostage in a federal prison located in Fort Worth, Texas. Due to the hard work of dedicated activists an international movement in solidarity with Montes has forced the federal government to grant her early release . . . |

Elliot Sperber (2020-06-09). End Police, With the Utmost Respect for Farmers. counterpunch.org End Police, With the Utmost Respect for Farmers Perhaps you won't believe it Incredulous as you are But my father's father fought In the army of the Tsar In 1916 he deserted And would've been caught, and shot Lucky for us, though, Before they could get him The empire vanished — ha ha In 1921, with

Paul M. Renfro (2020-06-08). Arresting Justice: Victimizing the Victimizers Won't End the Policing Crisis. counterpunch.org In the wake of the brutal slayings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Tony McDade in Tallahassee, and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, demonstrators nationwide and throughout the world have trained their anger on racialized police brutality and state violence, more broadly. While many have expressed support for decarceration, abolition, and cuts to police budgets, some of these same activists and commentators have petitioned for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

Alastair Crooke (2020-06-08). For This to Slip Would Be the 'End of Empire'. thealtworld.com A hot humid day, but a gentle, warm breeze is blowing. The smoke and tear gas swirl gently to and fro, hanging in the dense, sweaty air, as shafts of dazzling sunlight scythe through the smokiness at sharp angles. A mass protest is forming. Youths are chattering; people moving aimlessly. It still has not solidified into purpose, yet the raw tenseness of the coming conflict hangs, as palpably as does the smoke in the air. It is evident — there will be violence today. | No, this is not America. This is the flashpoint crossroad between the radical Jewish settler outpost of Beit El in the West Bank, and its int…

Fight Back (2020-06-08). Minneapolis: 'Disband, defund,' or community control, of the police. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On June 7, Minneapolis officials tried to pull one over on the people again, in the guise of promising real change after the murder of George Floyd. Nine city council members declared a "commitment to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department." The announcement was made at community meeting held by Black Visions and Reclaim the Block, two grassroots organizations that have been calling on the council to divest from MPD since 2018. | Even if the proposal comes to pass, it will do little to deliver true justice and to avenge the victims who have been brutalized and murdered by the police over th…

Sam Levin (2020-06-07). Movement to Defund Police Gains 'Unprecedented' Support Across US. zcomm.org Activists say the way to stop police brutality and killings is to cut law enforcement budgets and reinvest in services. Some lawmakers now agree…

Indigo Olivier (2020-06-07). Activists around the country are rallying for #PoliceFreeSchools. zcomm.org In Minneapolis, Cops Were Kicked Out of Schools. Cities in 7 Other States Could Soon Follow Suit…

Peter Phillips (2020-06-07). A Strategy for Global Democracy and Wealth Sharing. globalresearch.ca It is time for power to the people! | Global capitalist inequality contributes directly to health pandemics, environmental degradation, and mass poverty. Elite-corporate oligarchs control the governments and political parties. They use established militarized police states to protect their vast empires …

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-06-08). Time Served and $25 a Month in Fines in First Sentencing of Kings Bay Plowshares Anti-Nuclear Activists. commondreams.org "I don't apologize for it," said sentenced activist Elizabeth McAlister. "I think the weapons are completely destructive of life." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Andrey Areshev (2020-06-07). The Sun Never Sets: Why Modi's Green BRI Doppelganger Is Doomed to Fail. strategic-culture.org India was once known as the Crown jewel of the British Empire before gaining independence in 1946. Sadly, like most of…

David P. Goldman (2020-06-08). America Is trying to Ban Korea, Taiwan and China (!) From Selling Chips to Huawei If They've Been Made With US-Made Tools. anti-empire.com Editor's note: In the long run why would anyone continue buying American machine tools? |
| South Korea has told Washington that restrictions on semiconductor sales to Huawei and other Chinese companies are "unacceptable," according to industry sources. | Seoul is trying to mediate between Beijing and Washington following the US Commerce Department's May 18 announcement that sales of computer chips to companies on its "entity list" will require a license if they are produced with US technology, even if they are produced overseas by foreign companies. | After the US temporarily banned exports of high-end smar…

Addison Blu (2020-06-08). Syria Sends Advisors to Aid US Rebels. anti-empire.com WASHINGTON — As the United States works through its immense internal challenges with human rights, equality, and government use of force, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad seeks to help the US in the same way the US helped during the recent Syrian civil war. | "We're sending advisors from our elite special operations units to, you know, help foster peace," Assad told reporters while hiding a smirk. "I can't tell you how valuable it was to have a foreign influence stoking the fires during a period of violent unrest. The least we can do is return the favor." | Assad's aides exchanged high fives in a symbol of…

Dan Diamond (2020-06-08). Couldn't Bury Your Father Because of Lockdown? Public Health Experts Have a New Exciting Message for You: "ACAB!" anti-empire.com For months, public health experts have urged Americans to take every precaution to stop the spread of Covid-19—stay at home, steer clear of friends and extended family, and absolutely avoid large gatherings. | Now some of those experts are broadcasting a new message: It's time to get out of the house and join the mass protests against racism. | "We should always evaluate the risks and benefits of efforts to control the virus," Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, tweeted on Tuesday. "In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the ha…

The Washington Times (2020-06-08). Lego Halts Advertising for Its Donut Shop Set in Light of US Protests. anti-empire.com Editor's note: This is not satire. | Trade website The Toy Book first

Staff (2020-06-10). We Won't Win the Climate Fight Without Youth Leadership. truthout.org Jamie Margolin, 18, youth climate lawsuit litigant and founder of youth-led climate activist group By noon on a typical day in school, as Margolin chronicles in her guide for youth activists,

Staff (2020-06-09). Activists Catalog Nearly 600 Videos of Officer Violence Against Protesters. truthout.org President Donald Trump on Monday

RT (2020-06-09). Anarchists & 'Antifa' occupy Seattle police station abandoned by 'regime' forces, set up 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone'. rt.com After police in Seattle, Washington retreated from the Capitol Hill neighborhood, protesters took over the abandoned 'regime' precinct and erected barricades to mark an 'autonomous zone' for several blocks around it. | Six blocks of downtown Seattle have been declared the 'Free Capitol Hill Zone' or 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' (CHAZ), according to area activists that have taken control of Seattle PD's East Precinct, on 12th Avenue and E. Pine Street. | Journalist Julio Rosas tweeted photos from the 'zone,' including flyers demanding that Seattle PD be defunded, and declaring that police "will always be raci…

RT (2020-06-07). Taking a knee not enough? VIDEO shows Massachusetts police chief LYING FACE DOWN at urging of BLM protesters. rt.com A video on social media shows the head of police in Webster, Massachusetts expressing his solidarity with Black Lives Matter activists by lying face down on the ground, prompting applause from protesters — and anger on Twitter. | In the footage circulating online, Michael Shaw is seen telling a group of demonstrators that he fully supports their right to peaceful assembly and that their message against police brutality and racism has been heard "loud and clear." While other law enforcement officials have made similar statements, he went one step further by lying face down in front of a sign reading "I ca…

_____ (2020-06-10). The Police Have Been Spying On Black Reporters And Activists for Years. popularresistance.org On Aug. 20, 2018, the first day of a federal police surveillance trial, I discovered that the Memphis Police Department was spying on me. | The ACLU of Tennessee had sued the MPD, alleging that the department was in violation of a 1978 consent decree barring surveillance of residents for political purposes. One of the first witnesses called to the stand: Sgt. Timothy Reynolds, who is white. To get intel on activists and organizers, including those in the Black Lives Matter movement, he'd posed on Facebook as a "man of color," befriending people and trying to infiltrate closed circles.