(2020-07-28). Headlines for July 28, 2020. democracynow.org Senate Republicans Unveil Plan to Slash Unemployment Benefits as Pandemic Rages, Moderna Late Stage Vaccine Trial Starts, as Trump's NSA Tests Positive for Coronavirus, WHO: COVID-19 "Most Severe Global Health Emergency" as Global Death Toll Tops 654,000, AG Barr and National Guardsman to Testify Before Congress with Battling Narratives, John Lewis Lies in State in Capitol Rotunda as He Is Honored by Fellow Lawmakers, 100s of DNC Delegates to Oppose a Party Platform Without Medicare for All, DNC Members Vote to Support Israel's Illegal Annexation of West Bank, "Free Them All!": Immigrant Rights Activists Chain Th…
(2020-07-28). As Maryland Evictions Resume, Activists Demand Protections. therealnews.com 
Activists demanded state and local officials extend protections for the some 400,000 people unable to pay rent during the coronavirus pandemic.
(2020-07-28). Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, the U.S. War Machine Presses On. strategic-culture.org Jeff MACKLER | That Russia paid the Taliban financial bounties to kill 18 U.S. and "coalition" soldiers in Afghanistan is in dispute to say the least. Both Democrats and Republicans cite various and conflicting official U.S. intelligence agencies on the veracity of this latest New Cold War episode. The July 9 New York Times reported, "The C.I.A. — as well as analysts at the National Counterterrorism Center — expressed medium or moderate confidence in that conclusion. The National Security Agency, which puts greater stock in surveillance intercepts, was more skeptical, officials have said." | As with t…
(2020-07-28). Trump is Daring Us to Stop Him. counterpunch.org President Donald Trump's recent reelection campaign advertisement is straight out of the plot of a horror movie. Just days after he deployed federal officers to the streets of Portland, Oregon, his campaign released a 30-second television spot featuring an elderly white woman watching on her television the news of activists demanding a defunding of police.
(2020-07-28). Fossil Fuel Industry Pollutes Black And Brown Communities. popularresistance.org Many of the most powerful oil and gas companies, private utilities, and financial institutions that drive environmental injustice are also backers of the same police departments — through their funding, sponsoring, and governing of police foundations — that tyrannize the very communities these corporate actors pollute. As demands continue to rise to defund the police and reinvest in Black and Brown communities, as well as to divest from the fossil fuel industry and reinvest in environmental justice and a just transition, the fossil fuel industry power structure presents a common foe for these intercon…
(2020-07-28). Pakistan discovers | very own Ertugrul Ghazi. yenisafak.com Hold onto your hats ladies and gentleman! Pakistan now has its very own Ertugrul Ghazi, the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire.Hardcore Pakistani fans of the series were shocked when they discovered the doppelganger of Engin Altan Dàºzyatan, who stars as the famous leader in the globally-acclaimed Turkish TV series Resurrection: Ertugrul, in their very own backyard.Mustafa Hanif is a Pakistani Youtuber from Karachi who shot to fame on social media after it was discovered that he bears a striking resemblance to the titular character of the show, which also airs on PTV. "My name is Mustafa and many pe…
(2020-07-28). How Modern Jihadism Became Co-Invented by the U.S. and Saudi Governments. strategic-culture.org Modern jihadism was co-invented in 1979 by Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan al Saud, and U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, working together, and here is the background for it, and the way — and the reasons — that it was done: | Back in the later Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church and its aristocracies had used religious fervor in order to motivate very conservative and devout people to invade foreign countries so as to spread their empire and to not need to rely only on taxes in order to fund these invasions, but also to highly motivate them by their faith in a heavenly reward. It…
(2020-07-27). Seattle & Portland Activists: Protest Federal and City Police Crackdowns & Keep Focus on BLM Agenda. democracynow.org 
As nationwide protests against systemic racism and police violence stretch into their second month, President Trump has sent a team of federal agents to Seattle, following a controversial deployment of federal forces in Portland, Oregon. "We don't know exactly what the federal officers are doing. What we do know is we are in a situation where local police are welcoming those federal agents into our city," says Seattle community organizer Nikkita Oliver, co-executive director of Creative Justice. We also speak with Pastor E.D. Mondainé, president of the Portland, Oregon, branch of the NAACP.
(2020-07-27). Fossil Fuel Advocates' New Tactic: Calling Opposition to Arctic Drilling 'Racist'. zcomm.org Some say oil and gas exploration is essential as a source of jobs and revenue for Alaska Native communities, but activists argue it is simply exploitation.
(2020-07-27). The U.S. Empire Is Ending? A Turning Point in World History. globalresearch.ca On July 26th, Germany's Die Welt (The World) Sunday newspaper headlined
(2020-07-27). White Liberals Have Destroyed the Prospects of US Multiculturalism. thealtworld.com Ron Unz argues that multiculturalism is working. I fervently hope he is correct, but I doubt it. His example is his high education/high income area of Palo Alto and Silicon Valley, a unique area where people share a professional interest and are judged professionally. See Unz: Multiculturalism did not work in Yugoslavia or in the Austro-Hungarian Empire or for native Americans, and it is not working in the rest of the US as the ongoing riots indicate. Multic…
(2020-07-27). Hagia Sophia: Religion As Politics. globalresearch.ca Sultan Abdul Hamid II, in the face of a rising secular nationalism in the late 1800s, that culminated in the Young Turk movement, tried to restore the influence of the Ottoman Empire among Islamic nations and the Empire's many …
(2020-07-27). The Militarized Assault On Our Right To Protest. popularresistance.org The Trump Administration sent federal law enforcement, including the paramilitary squad of Customs and Border Patrol, BORTAC, which has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, to the streets of Portland, OR to stop the ongoing demonstrations against racist police violence. Federal law enforcement, working with local police, is also being sent to other cities where anti-racist protests are going on. We speak with constitutional lawyer Mara Verheyden-Hilliard about the legality of this and how activists can fight back to protect the rights of everyone and end police violence and lawless impunity.
(2020-07-27). Saturday 8/8: Indigenous Women Activists During & After the Protest Occupation of Alcatraz Island. indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-07-26). NYC rallies to defend Portland. fightbacknews.org New York, NY – Over 40 people gathered in Union Square in New York City, July 24, to stand in solidarity with Portland against the recent targeting of activists there. The action was called in response to viral videos of protesters in Portland being picked up by unmarked vans and brought to undisclosed locations, all just for speaking out against racist violence. | The action was called by the Workers World Party and included speakers from New York Community Action Project, Code Pink, Peoples Power Assemblies, Veterans for Peace, A Call to Action on Puerto Rico, and The Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum. | The speeches…
(2020-07-26). Police declare riot in Portland after protesters pull down courthouse fence (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Law enforcement officers have begun pushing protesters away from Portland's federal courthouse after demonstrators pulled down a fence surrounding the building. | Activists used wire cutters, power saws, and ropes to attack the fence on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday morning. Videos show a group of demonstrators rocking the chainlink barrier back and forth, ultimately pulling it down. Projectiles and tear gas flew across the sky, in what one observer described as a scene resembling a battlefield. Several fires were then lit outside the courthouse before police declared a riot and emerged fro…
(2020-07-26). Transparency International Silent On Jailed Transparency Journalist Assange. popularresistance.org Berlin, Germany – On a cool July day, the Berlin neighborhood where Transparency International's global headquarters is situated feels a thousand miles away from London's Belmarsh Prison. But it is not just the pleasant setting a few blocks from the Spree River that makes the influential NGO seem so detached from the maximum security penitentiary's most famous inmate, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. | Transparency International has been vocal in defending jailed opposition activists in states like Zimbabwe, Russia, and Venezuela.
(2020-07-26). Housing Activists in Philly Launch Major Takeover of Abandoned Public Buildings. truthout.org In Philadelphia, single mothers and their children have moved into abandoned, publicly owned buildings, in the most significant housing take over in the country—at a time when millions have lost their jobs and the country is on the brink of another housing crisis. Jennifer Bennetch has helped place unhoused people into vacant homes owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), as the founder of Occupy PHA and a member of the Philadelphia Housing Action coalition. She's doing wha…
(2020-07-25). Strobe lights, electric saws & glass bottles: Portland protesters expand weapons arsenal in ongoing clashes with police (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Demonstrators in downtown Portland are using a range of weapons in their nightly skirmishes with law enforcement officers, and their growing arsenal now includes everything from leaf blowers to lasers. | Ropes and electric saws: | Protesters tried out some new tactics during the latest fracas. Footage shows a group of helmeted, masked activists using an electric saw to break apart the fence used to protect the city's besieged federal courthouse. The operation appeared to be well-coordinated, with several demonstrators using shields to protect the individual using the saw. | Portland rioters are using e…
(2020-07-24). Should We Abolish the Police? aclu.org Since the protests decrying the murder of George Floyd began in May, the institution of American policing has taken center stage. Activists are calling for change, and the phrase "defund the police" can be heard in cities across the country. As the concept of slashing police budgets and reinvesting those resources into Black and Brown communities goes increasingly mainstream, a more radical call is also gaining attention: Abolish the Police., , On At Liberty this week, attorney, author, researcher, and organizer Andrea Ritchie and senior staff attorney for the ACLU's Trone Center for Justice, Carl…
(2020-07-24). Trump forced to cancel RNC acceptance speech, Jacksonville wins showdown. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL — Community members and activists are celebrating after Donald Trump's July 23 announcement that he is canceling the Jacksonville portion of the Republican National Convention, including the acceptance speech he intended to deliver. It is a great victory for all those who oppose Donald Trump and the Republican party, including the Coalition to March on the RNC. | The Coalition to March on the RNC is a national group that has experience organizing large marches against previous RNCs in Saint Paul (2008), Tampa (2012) and Cleveland (2016). The Coalition promised to march on the convention on…