Daily Archives: July 1, 2020

2020-07-01: News Headlines

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J.S. Davies (2020-07-01). A New Anti-War Mobilization Must Topple Trump—and Challenge Biden. commondreams.org We will not rescue our country from the iron grip of the military-industrial complex by picking the lesser evil and hoping for the best. (Photo: CD/CC BY 2.0) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-07-01). Twitter Targets Accounts Of Outlets Covering Unrest In Bolivia. popularresistance.org Social media giant Twitter took the step of suspending the official account of MintPress News on Saturday. Without warning, the nine-year-old account with 64,000 followers was abruptly labeled as "fake" or "spam" and restricted. This move is becoming a frequent occurrence for alternative media, especially those that openly challenge U.S. power globally. | Immediately preceding the ban, MintPress had been sharing stories about Israeli government crimes against Palestinians, the Saudi-led onslaught in Yemen (both funded and supported by Washington), and about activists challenging chemical giant Monsanto's latest p…

Staff (2020-07-01). International Pressure Kept Canada From Joining Security Council. therealnews.com Despite Canada's liberal reputation, its international affairs are built around support for empire and corporate interest.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-01). Global protests against Israel's 'Annexation Plan'. peoplesdispatch.org Protests, both on the ground and on the virtual platforms, were organized on Wednesday July 1 across the world to denounce the proposed Israeli annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank. Several organizations are also demanding international sanctions against Israel if it goes ahead with the move. | Civil society movements, including the Palestinian Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS), organized protests in countries such as the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and Spain, among several others. | Israel had announced that it would start the process of annexation of the parts of the occupied…

Alan Macleod (2020-07-01). Afghan Bounty Scandal Comes at Suspiciously Important Time for US Military Industrial Complex. mintpressnews.com The latest scandal, like others before it, is based on scant testimony by anonymous officials and has had the effect of pushing liberal opinion on US foreign policy into a far more hawkish direction.

Matthew J.L. Ehret (2020-07-01). A Canada Day Surprise: How a "Synthetic Nationalism" Was Created to Break the US-Russia Alliance. dissidentvoice.org As a Canadian author associated with a Canadian geopolitical magazine and a book series rooted in the thesis that Canada is still under the dominance of the British Empire to this very day, the July 1st holiday known as "Canada Day" is a bit of a strange thing to celebrate. As I have recently written …

RT (2020-07-01). DHS to deploy extra 'anti-vandal' police units across US for July 4, bracing for 'increased disruptive activity' — report. rt.com The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will station special "Rapid Deployment Teams" around the country for the July 4 holiday to guard monuments from vandalism, following numerous attempts by activists to tear down statues. | Police officers specially trained in crowd and riot control will deploy to a number of American cities for the weekend surrounding Independence Day, including Seattle, Portland and Washington, DC, Fox News reported, citing an unreleased DHS memo. | "The upcoming July 4th holiday weekend has the potential for increased disruptive activity at specific locations across the country tha…

Daria Solomennikova (2020-07-01). In Russia, a New Generation of Activists are Taking on Climate Crisis. commondreams.org For young climate activists like Alexey, the lesson is clear: Vladimir Putin, the authoritarian president who has been in power for all of their lives, has never been all too concerned about their safe and sustainable future. (Photo: Fridays for the Future Russia / Facebook) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-07-01). Pro-Israel Racist Group ADL Moves To Co-Opt Black Lives Matter. popularresistance.org For those who yearn for an end to systemic racism, these are exhilarating times as Black activists and organizations lead a global uprising against symbols and structures of white supremacy. | But if you are a racist group masquerading as a civil rights organization, these days are fraught with the danger that you'll get found out. | It's a balancing act that has for years bedeviled the Anti-Defamation League, a major Israel lobby group in the United States. The crisis is particularly acute right now as the ADL tries to portray itself as an ally of Black Lives Matter while also shielding Israel from criticism ove…

Stop The Money Pipline Coalition (2020-07-01). Sunday 7/5: 'The Condor & The Eagle' New Climate Film & Discussion w/ Activists & Indigenous Leaders. indybay.org Online via livestream: | event.webinarjam.com/live/91/wygzyu7mbo8… | www.facebook.com/filmsforaction/

calvin deutschbein (2020-06-30). Who created the Saharan dust cloud? workers.org From March 19 to Oct. 31 in 2011, the U.S. empire and its imperialist client states, ranging from Belgium to Qatar, launched over 160 tons of cruise missiles and multiple air strikes against the anti-imperialist state of Libya. The strikes targeted hospitals, bakeries, religious services and private residences, killing hundreds . . . |

Staff (2020-06-30). NJ Latinx Parents & Students Fight Robert Wood Johnson Plan to Demolish Public School. democracynow.org In a story Democracy Now! has followed closely, Juan González shares an update on efforts to prevent the demolition of the Lincoln Annex public school in New Brunswick, New Jersey. City officials are trying to proceed with demolishing the public school this summer, in a move that would force 760 students to be bused to other schools for years, and parents and local activists are holding a rally in front of the Lincoln Annex School. "They want to keep the pressure on in the streets and to call on allies … who support public education, who are against gentrification and the abuse of immigrants, to join the rally,…

Susan Price (2020-06-30). United States: Armed, right-wing vigilantes terrorise BLM activists in New Mexico. greenleft.org.au

Susan Price (2020-06-30). Armed, right-wing vigilantes terrorise BLM activists in New Mexico. greenleft.org.au

_____ (2020-06-29). How Palestine Advocates Can Support Black Struggle. popularresistance.org Black people are one of the first and largest victims of Western colonialism and racial capitalism. We have never received justice for 500 years of racist violence and exploitation. | The US and most Western countries built their empires through profits from the Atlantic slave trade. | As an illegitimate settler colony that was built on the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population and enslavement of Africans, the US requires the continuous subjugation of Black and Indigenous people to maintain its imperial domination abroad. | Accordingly, the greatest internal threat to the US empire is that of a Black revo…

Timothy Alexander Guzman (2020-06-29). While the World Burns, the Road Map to War with Iran Continues. globalresearch.ca Let's face it, the long prediction held by many all agree on one thing, the US empire is on the way into the dustbins of history, but not without a fight to the end. Geopolitically speaking, the US military-industrial complex …

_____ (2020-06-29). Empire Files: Afghanistan War Exposed. popularresistance.org The perpetual occupation of Afghanistan has become so normalized and mostly serves as background noise to Americans. It's even jokingly referred to as the "Forever War," accepted as just a constant reality. A soldier dies now and again. A couple of dozen civilians get killed in another bombing. It's never enough to stir the population to pressure Washington to stop it. The endless war drags on. | Since 2001, almost one million US troops have been deployed to Afghanistan. Many repeatedly. Of those, 2,300 have died and the new revelation that nearly 4,000 mercenaries have also died fighting in Afghanistan, almost d…

RT (2020-06-29). VIDEO Activists set up guillotine outside Jeff Bezos' home, call for end to Amazon. rt.com Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was targeted on Sunday by activists, who set up a guillotine outside his Washington DC home and called for an end to the "exploitation" of the company's employees. | In front of the guillotine was a sign reading: "Support our poor communities not our wealthy men." | Footage from the scene shows demonstrators outside the residence saying: "It is still exploitation, and when they become threatened, and we have no voice, the knives come out." | Wow going after newspaper owners like this smh these attacks on the press must end

RT (2020-06-29). Detroit police filmed driving SUV through crowd of protesters in blood-chilling VIDEO. rt.com A terrifying video from Detroit shows a police vehicle forcefully breaking out of a circle of chanting protesters, carrying some of them on the hood. The department said the officer behind the wheel "tried to escape" the crowd. | Footage of the incident shows the SUV surrounded by dozens of activists. The vehicle suddenly accelerates and stops several times, as people around it scream in fear. Some of the protesters were knocked to the ground while others tried to cling to the hood as it was speeding away. | Detroit Police Department drove into 10-12 protesters including myself. Multiple people are going to th…

Staff (2020-06-29). Louisiana Activists Face 15 Years for "Terrorizing" Oil Lobbyist with Box of Plastic Pollution. democracynow.org Two environmental activists with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade face up to 15 years in prison for leaving a box of plastic pellets, found on the Texas coast, at the home of an oil and gas lobbyist in December. Advocates say the "terrorizing" felony charges reflect longtime attempts to criminalize environmental activists in Louisiana and come amid a campaign to block Formosa Plastics from building a new plant in St. James Parish, an area known as Cancer Alley. We speak with Anne Rolfes, director of the group Louisiana Bucket Brigade and one of those facing felony charges, and Gregory Manning, activist and pastor of…

Leah Sankey (2020-06-29). The Battle to Keep Robert E. Lee Out of Lee County. progressive.org In Fort Myers, Florida, white supremacists swayed the city to protect a bust of the Confederate general—now, young activists are pushing back.

commondreams (2020-06-29). GW Commits to Fossil Fuel Divestment. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Destin Jenkins (2020-06-29). What Does It Really Mean to Invest In Black Communities? thenation.com What Does It Really Mean to Invest In Black Communities?

yenisafak (2020-06-29). Sudan on high alert ahead of mass protests. yenisafak.com Sudanese security forces have been placed on high alert on Monday ahead of mass protests by rival groups on the first anniversary of a power-sharing deal between the military and civilians. | Forces from the military and police have been deployed across the streets of Khartoum. Main roads and bridges leading to the army headquarters in the capital have been sealed, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter on the ground. | Activists have called for demonstrations on June 30 to pile pressure on the transitional government to implement "goals of the revolution" that ousted long-serving President Omar al-Bashir last y…

sputniknews (2020-06-29). Activists Erect 'Guillotine' Outside Jeff Bezos' House, Demand Destruction of Amazon. sputniknews.com Jeff Bezos, the richest human on Earth, has long been the subject of anger amid accusations of overseeing poor working conditions, low wages, and of busting of organised labour movements.

sputniknews (2020-06-29). Jewish Watchdog Slams Black Lives Matter UK Over Calls to Sanction Israel. sputniknews.com Created in the US in 2013 as an anti-racism activism and protest movement, Black Lives Matter has enjoyed a surge in support and media coverage in the wake of the George Floyd protests across the US and around the world. Activists have been criticized by conservatives, and by Israel supporters, however, over their attacks on the Jewish State.

Staff (2020-06-28). When War Against Black Americans Represents "Peace," We Must Redefine the Word. truthout.org The world now knows about police brutality, what we American Negroes* have experienced as a matter of course since the slave patrols. The "peace officers" that purportedly swore to uphold and defend the Constitution by serving and protecting citizens like George Floyd, murdered him. Maybe "peace officer" seems absurd. The term evokes the Orwellian phrase "war is peace." | But it makes sense if we deconstruct "peace." The Pax Romana ("Roman Peace") denoted Roman Empire; the king's peace spans B…

RT (2020-06-28). WATCH crowd of protesters shout down Catholic priest trying to defend statue of Saint Louis in Missouri. rt.com Angry protesters in St. Louis, Missouri shouted down a young Catholic priest who tried to defend a statue of the city's namesake. The activists sought to destroy the monument in a wave of statue-toppling sweeping the US. | Priest Stephen Schumacher was filmed in Forest Park defending an equestrian statue of French King Louis IX (1226-1270), the city's namesake, who was canonized by the Catholic Church. | "Saint Louis was a man who willed to use his kingship to do good for his people," Schumacher said through a loudspeaker to a crowd of angry protesters demanding to have the statue taken down. He insisted that…

_____ (2020-06-28). Activists Charged With Felonies After Delivering Formosa Plastic Pollution To Lobbyists. popularresistance.org Two Louisiana environmental activists, Anne Rolfes and Kate McIntosh, were taken in handcuffs and leg irons from a Baton Rouge police station to jail after they voluntarily surrendered themselves on felony charges after months' earlier delivering plastic pollution pulled from Texas waters to fossil fuel lobbyists' homes. The two posted bond and were released later the same day. | "The women are accused of terrorizing oil and gas lobbyists by giving them a file box full of plastic pellets found in Texas bays near a plastic manufacturing facility owned by Formosa Plastics," NOLA.com reports. | Rolfes and McIntosh a…

_____ (2020-06-28). The Struggle To Protect The Sacred Place Where Life Begins. popularresistance.org As the Trump administration neared the end of its first year in office in 2017, it seemed environmental activists had lost one of the most hard-fought battles in the movement's history. Thanks to a last-minute maneuver by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Congressional Republicans succeeded in passing legislation allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR. Some of the worst fears of environmental and Indigenous rights groups for what might happen under the administration appeared to be coming true. | However, two and a half years later, no drilling or seismic testing has taken place in the re…

_____ (2020-06-28). The Stonewall Riots Didn't Start The Gay Rights Movement. popularresistance.org Despite what you may hear during this year's fiftieth anniversary commemorations, Stonewall was not the spark that ignited the gay rights movement. The story is well known: A routine police raid of a mafia-owned gay bar in New York City sparked three nights of riots and, with them, the global gay rights movement. In fact it is conventional to date LGBTQ history into "before Stonewall" and "after Stonewall" periods—not just in the United States, but in Europe as well. British activists can join Stonewall UK, for example, while pride parades in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are called "Christopher Street…

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-06-28). #DropOutHickenlooper, Say Indigenous Activists, After 'Disgraceful' Photos Surface of Former Gov in Imitative Native American Dress. commondreams.org "These actions are not missteps. They are not one-time, isolated incidents." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…