(2020-06-16). Trump Hammers Cuba While Cuba Cures the Sick. mintpressnews.com 
Not content to sabotage Cuba's domestic health sector, the Trump administration has been attacking Cuba's international medical assistance, from the teams fighting coronavirus to those caring for underserved communities in 164 countries.
(2020-06-16). Food Sovereignty Activists See The Pandemic Crisis As Pivotal For Change. popularresistance.org Disaster brings change, however. Many grassroots organizations and movements are trying to seize the moment to propose alternatives, and in some cases, to begin implementing them. Some are breathing new life into proposals made before the COVID-19 crisis began. It has been a chance for this alternative system to prove its value. "Conventional farmers lost their crop because they lost their market when restaurants closed and the distribution chains broke down," Garcia explains. "Puerto Rico still gets most of its food from outside, so the supply problems meant the supermarkets didn't have food on the shelves. Pric…
(2020-06-15). Guerrilla artists use the Houses of Parliament as their agit-prop canvas. thecanary.co 
UPDATE: This article was amended at 10.45am on 16 June to clarify the roles of the groups involved and add some additional detail on the action in Santiago.Guerrilla artists and activists have used iconic buildings in central London as their canvasses. On Saturday evening, they projected an image of a riot police officer in a helmet with his index finger pressed against his lips. A member of independent art curators
(2020-06-15). Activists Paint 'Defund Police' In Front Of Baltimore City Hall. therealnews.com 
Black Lives Matter activists are demanding Baltimore cut half its police budget to fund schools and violence prevention programs.
(2020-06-15). US Supreme Court greenlights pipeline cutting through Appalachian Trail in decision activists say could put other land at risk. rt.com 
The US Supreme Court has handed a victory to the Trump administration, ruling that construction can continue on a $7.5 billion gas pipeline, which would run under the Appalachian Trail, in a major defeat for environmentalists. | The The pipeline would run approximately 600 miles from West Virginia to North Carolina. About half a mile w…
(2020-06-15). Activists re-establish Kangaroo Point protest blockade after police break it up. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-06-15). Divesting From a Distance. progressive.org Students were winning the fight for a fossil fuel-free campus—then the pandemic happened.
(2020-06-15). New Online Database of Police Brutality Videos Highlights 'Casual Cruelness' of Law Enforcement. sputniknews.com As attempts to collect videos of police violence quickly became unwieldy, two activists created a public database comprising what has become hundreds of cases. However, one technologist told Sputnik the list is just a drop in the bucket, and the practice is much older than cellphone videos.
(2020-06-14). On Contact: Analysis Of George Floyd Protests. popularresistance.org On the show today, Chris Hedges discusses the George Floyd protests erupting in over 140 American cities with Glen Ford, executive editor of Black Agenda Report. | "And the black misleadership class seems to be more upset and angry about this than the white misleadership class. Sometimes it's funny. Activists have coined the term 'coopaganda,' to describe these funny gestures by cops and other authority figures to be kneeling. A gesture of submission to the demands but of course it's a diversion, a distraction designed to soften people attitude toward the rulers. And it shouldn't fool anyone.
(2020-06-14). Congress Can Lead the Charge on Divesting From Law Enforcement. commondreams.org Police use tear gas during protests against the killing of George Floyd in Seattle, Washington on May 30, 2020. (Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-06-14). Collapse of the British Empire, The Round Table Movement, Canada's Untold History. globalresearch.ca This article was originally published by Matthew Ehret on The Canadian Patriot in November 2018. | Canada's struggle for existence as a sovereign nation has been caught between two opposing views of mankind represented by the British and American System of …
(2020-06-14). The Movement to Uplift Black Lives and Defund Police Can No Longer Be Ignored. truthout.org On May 25, 2020, the nation ignited after a bystander posted a horrific video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck for over eight minutes. | Now the movement to uplift Black lives, and to defund and dismantle police departments where officers disproportionately kill and brutalize African-American men and women, has grown to a point where it can no longer be ignored. | We'll hear from activists in Minneapolis, mourners in Houston, and we'll go to our archiv…
(2020-06-14). Calls Mount for 'Radical Changes in Policy and Policing' and the Arrest of Fired Atlanta Officer Who Killed Rayshard Brooks. commondreams.org Local activists and an attorney for the family of Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer Friday night, are calling for the officer to be arrested and charged along with demanding "radical" reforms to policing in Georgia's capital city. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-06-13). New Study: US Empire Is Falling But Will Not Fall Quietly. popularresistance.org Where will the next war occur? Who will fight in it? Why will it occur? How will it be fought? This brief summarizes a series of reports that sought to answer these questions—looking out from now until 2030. The reports took the approach of examining these questions through the lenses of several trends—geopolitical, economic, environmental, legal, informational, and military—that will shape the contours of conflict. | Military history is littered with mistaken predictions about the future of warfare that have left forecasters militarily unprepared—sometimes disastrously so—for the co…
(2020-06-13). VIDEO claims to show man threatening people with MACHETE inside activist-held 'autonomous zone' in Seattle. rt.com 
A video surfaced online purportedly showing a machete-wielding man scaring people inside the 'autonomous' CHAZ enclave set up by activists in the middle of Seattle, Washington. Police have warned of lawlessness in the area. | The short clip that has been circulating on social media shows a man in dark clothes holding what appears to be a machete while strolling near tents set up on a sports field. At one point, the man starts waving his weapon as several bystanders seem to become concerned about his behavior. | Activists established the 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' (CHAZ) in downtown Seattle earlier this…
(2020-06-13). CHAZ 2.0? Nashville protesters descend on Tennessee Capitol as governor vows 'autonomous zones will not be tolerated'. rt.com 
Taking cues from Seattle, protesters in Nashville are attempting to create their own "autonomous zone" near the Tennessee Capitol, but the governor is having none of it, warning that "lawlessness" will not stand in his state. | A small group of demonstrators showed up to Nashville's Legislative Plaza near the state capitol on Friday, setting up a tent and tables, laying out food and even informally renaming the area to "Ida B. Wells Plaza" after the famed civil rights leader. The move mirrors a similar effort in Seattle, where activists have occupied several city blocks and an abandoned police station for near…
(2020-06-13). Black man found HANGED near city hall in California in alleged 'suicide,' but protesters suspect LYNCHING & demand full probe. rt.com 
Residents and activists are demanding answers after the body of Robert Fuller, 24, was found hanging from a tree in a Los Angeles suburb. While police say early findings point to suicide, skeptics suspect a hate crime. | Fuller was found dead earlier this week, suspended from a tree with a rope tied around his neck near city hall in Palmdale, California. Authorities have yet to issue an official cause of death, but speaking to
(2020-06-13). Pentagon Starts Bailing Out Defense Firms. anti-empire.com 
The Pentagon has begun to bail out U.S. companies that have seen large parts of their business dry up amid the coronavirus pandemic, in a bid to make sure they can still build weapons. | On Wednesday, officials announced that five mid-tier defense companies had received a total of $135 million to "help sustain defense-critical workforce capabilities in body armor, aircraft manufacturing, and shipbuilding," according to a Defense Department
(2020-06-13). Lebanese Protesters Set Central Bank on Fire. anti-empire.com 
Demonstrators in Lebanon attempted to occupy the central bank in the capital Thursday after the country's currency sank to a record low against the US dollar. | As a result of the nation's economic crisis, the dollar rose to 6,000 Lebanese pounds from 4,000 in the last two days, prompting protesters to take to the streets in Beirut and many other cities. | twitter.com/BasedPoland/status/127152377… | They blocked roads to traffic with garbage containers and burning tires. | Forcing their way into the central bank on Hamra Street, they had to withdraw when security forces intervened. | Security for…
(2020-06-13). Police Have Long History of Responding to Black Movements by Playing the Victim. truthout.org The protests across the country in response to the police killing of George Floyd have led to significant pressure on mayors and city councils. One of the most important demands has been for the defunding of police departments. | Activists in Minneapolis succeeded in getting the University of Minnesota and the public school system to
(2020-06-12). Europe's top human rights court overturns French conviction of BDS activists. peoplesdispatch.org A French court had convicted 11 BDS activists for 'incitement to economic discrimination' after they organized a boycott protest against Israel outside a supermarket in France during the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2009-10…
(2020-06-12). Court of Human Rights Deals Major Blow To Israel's War On Palestine Solidarity. popularresistance.org The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled unanimously that the French highest court's 2015 criminal conviction of activists with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement advocating nonviolent boycotts of Israeli goods violated article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. | Reacting to the breaking news, Rita Ahmad from the Palestinian-led BDS movement said: | This momentous court ruling is a decisive victory for freedom of expression, for human rights defenders, and for the BDS movement for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality. It confirms a 2016 European U…
(2020-06-12). Project Venezuela: Right-Wing Activists Push Wikipedia to Blacklist MintPress, other Alternative Media. mintpressnews.com 
Still unable to convince a sufficient number of their countryfolk to support them, the Venezuelan opposition has turned their efforts towards convincing an international audience — primarily Americans — to support their cause. Part of that is spending inordinate amounts of time online, arguing in English on social media, creating Now, a…
(2020-06-12). US Bombers Are So Ridiculously Expensive Air Force Forced to Make Up for Low Numbers by Planning Cargo Planes for Combat. anti-empire.com 
Editor's note: A decent article but which does not explain the background of why the Air Force is experimenting with using cargo planes in this way. Despite having a massive budget the hardware the service orders from the defense industry is so ridiculously expensive the stable just isn't large enough. That is also the reason the ancient but reliable B-52s are still kept in service (and indeed form the backbone of the nuclear and heavy bomber force) and will outlive far newer but overly-complicated and troubled machines like the B-1 from the corporate handout era: Curious taxpayers might wonder why we need the Lon…
(2020-06-12). Trump's Chip Ban Gives Huawei and South Korea an Enormous Incentive to Strike a Grand Bargain. anti-empire.com 
A US ban on foreign companies' sales of chips to Huawei Technologies if American equipment or software is involved will undermine America's already-weakened position in the global semiconductor equipment market, industry sources say. | Chip fabricators will remove American equipment from production lines in order to maintain market share in China, the world's largest purchaser of semiconductors. | Samsung, the world's biggest fabricator of memory as well as logic chips after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, already has set up a small production line for top-of-the-line 7-nanometer chips using only…
(2020-06-12). Great! Louisville Passes Law to Ban No-Knock Warrants. Now Can We Have the Same for Afghanistan? anti-empire.com 
Louisville All 26 members of the Louisville Metro Council voted on Thursday to pass a ban on no-knock warrants, a measure known as The unanimously passed ordinance, which still needs to be approved by the mayor, bans any search warrant that does not re…
(2020-06-12). Activists in Japan join the global Black Lives Matter movement. peoplesworld.org 
TOKYO—In response to the Black Lives Matter movement spreading from the United States to the rest of the world, several rounds of anti-racism demonstrations in Tokyo and Osaka have seen massive turnout—even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. On June 7, the chant "Black Lives Matter" echoed throughout downtown Osaka City. The rally was …
(2020-06-12). Starbucks bows to online roasting and 'cancel' calls, changes dress code to declare 'Black Lives Matter'. rt.com 
Starbucks overrode its long-standing dress code and pledged to sponsor 'Black Lives Matter' merchandise after celebrities and activists threatened to 'cancel' the coffee chain for its perceived lack of wokeness. | The company announced on Friday it would sponsor 250,000 'BLM' shirts for its employees and allow buttons supporting the cause, reversing course after just one day of social media brigading. | The shirts are intended to "demonstrate our allyship and show we stand together in unity," the executives wrote in a letter on Friday, titled 'Standing together against racial injustice'. | Black Lives Matter.
(2020-06-12). Starbucks roasted & faces boycott by Black Lives Matter activists for reminding employees that dress code matters too. rt.com 
Celebrities and activists are calling for a boycott on Starbucks after the company reminded its employees that wearing accessories, even in support of the noble Black Lives Matter cause, is still a violation of its dress code. | According to an internal memo obtained by Buzzfeed, Starbucks doesn't want employees donning any Black Lives Matter attire — pins, buttons, t-shirts, etc. — part of a sweeping ban on any accessory related to a "political, religious, or personal issue." For BLM in particular, the company observed that there are people who "misconstrue" the movement and the sight of such items…
(2020-06-12). Congressional Budget Office: Will Take the US 10 Years to Catch Up to Where It Would Have Been Without Lockdowns. anti-empire.com 
Editor's note: My personal hunch is that this is hugely optimistic. I think 3 months lost, are 3 months lost forever. It's a tall order to presume eventual convergence with where we would have been on any timescale. That said, even a convergence after a decade is still terrible news, especially when you consider how irrational and pointless the lockdowns were. |
| Please consider a CBO Key Points | CBO projects that over the 2020—2030…
(2020-06-12). Klobuchar Worked With Law Enforcement Group to Increase Police Budgets. truthout.org This article was produced by As activists around the country work to defund police departments, the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee is considering a senator who worked to boost police department budg…
(2020-06-12). Milley Apologized for Trump? He Must Go (Trump Has Lost Control of the Pentagon). anti-empire.com Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also said that he was "outraged" by the killing of George Floyd and added that the protests it sparked spoke to "centuries of injustice tow…