Daily Archives: October 2, 2020

2020-10-02: News Headlines

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies (2020-10-02). Two Years After Khashoggi's Murder, Why is America Still An Accomplice to MBS's Crimes? counterpunch.org Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered on October 2, 2018 by agents of Saudi Arabia's despotic government, and the CIA concluded they killed him on direct orders from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Eight Saudi men have been convicted of Khashoggi's murder by a Saudi court in what the Washington Post

Staff (2020-10-02). Can 'Beat Trump, Battle Biden' coalition really stop the right? therealnews.com More than fifty progressives, activists and writers signed a petition calling to beat Trump, then battle Biden. Marc Steiner talks with three of these thinkers who signed the petition about the internal conflict involved in supporting a centrist capitalist with a problematic past on race and crime and the reasons why it's necessary.

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-10-02). Arabic press review: Plans for Israel-UAE canal enrage Egypt. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Plans for Israel-UAE canal enrage Egypt | Meanwhile, Jordan expels former Palestinian prisoner Nizar al-Tamimi, and three ministers of Arab origin join new Belgian government | Fri, 10/02/2020 – 15: 14 | Egypt is reportedly worried that a new canal between Israel and the UAE might threaten its crucial income from the Suez Canal (AFP/file photo, November 2019) | Canal tri…

The Canary (2020-10-02). 'I will stay in this tree' — HS2 protesters stand firm as eviction bid restarts. thecanary.co Tensions are building between treehouse protesters obstructing HS2 construction in a forest and evictions officials, as a second day of removals got under way.A number of environmental activists remained camped up trees at Jones' Hill Wood in Buckinghamshire through lashing wind and rain overnight, after HS2 officials with chainsaws and Thames Valley Police ceased removals on Thursday evening.Roald Dahl wrote his stories in the nearby town of Great Missenden, and classics like Fantastic Mr Fox are said to have taken inspiration from the forest.An anti-HS2 sign on a farmer's gate in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghams…

Editor (2020-10-02). COVID-19 Lays Bare the Reality of 'Small Government' Conservatism. scheerpost.com Ted Eytan / CC BY-SA 2.0] By Jim Hightower / OtherWords Amazingly, America has become a nation of socialists, asking in dismay: "Where's the government?" These are not born-again Bernie Sanders activists, but everyday people of all political stripes (including previously apolitical multitudes) who are now clamoring for big government intervention in their lives. Nothing like a coronavirus pandemic… |

David Penner (2020-10-02). The Hysteria of Identity Politics is Devolving Into Violence. dissidentvoice.org If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. — Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Colonel Charles Yancey, January 6th, 1816 As the tech monopolies, the military industrial complex, the medical industrial complex, and other powerful corporate entities accumulate unprecedented …

Miko Peled (2020-10-02). Civil Rights Groups Are Finally Waking Up to the ADL's Right Wing Agenda. mintpressnews.com From its National Counter Terrorism Seminars, its mapping of pro-Palestinians activists, and its silence over Israeli human rights violations, the ADL's thin veneer of civil rights advocacy is quickly wearing.

_____ (2020-10-02). The Politics That Led To The 'Worst Debate'. popularresistance.org The rich man's media are calling it "the worst debate in modern American history," but that's because the truth is often painful to watch. The Biden-Trump confrontation revealed, with crystalline clarity, that the real "genius" of the American electoral process is its total imperviousness to popular demands for a healthier, more just and less economically precarious society and a peaceful, ecologically stable world. Instead, the Democratic alternative to the white supremacist Republican in the White House is — another lifelong racist, mass-incarcerating, corporate-serving, warmongering old white man.

teleSUR (2020-10-01). Colombia: Women Organizations Protest Against Police Brutality. telesurenglish.net Colombian feminist organizations, women rights advocators, artists, and activists marched on Thursday in Bogota to protest against Police gender-based violence, sexism, and abuses against womenfolk. | RELATED: | The demonstrators marched from the District Planetarium to Bolivar Square while shouting out slogans like "No more fear," "They will not silence us, it's time to denounce, this must stop," and "Women are not spoi…

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J.S. Davies (2020-10-01). Two Years After Khashoggi's Brutal Murder, Why Is America Still an Accomplice to MBS's Crimes? commondreams.org A protester dressed as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and another dressed as U.S. President Donald Trump stand outside the White House in the wake of the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Oct. 19. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

RT (2020-10-01). Russian combat strength is at post-USSR peak after decade of investment, says military industry bankrolled British think tank. rt.com A Western weapons-industry funded think tank claims Russia's military capability is at its strongest since the Cold War period, and its forces are better equipped and more professional after ten years of investment and reform. | The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), says Russia's modernization and recent combat experience means it now has a highly capable army. It is worth noting that the organisation is funded by the likes of Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Raytheon and Boeing: All of whom have a vested business interest in promoting the idea of threats to Western military hegemony. | "Today…

_____ (2020-10-01). Fortress On A Hill: Understanding The War Industry. popularresistance.org Christian Sorenson stops by the podcast to discuss his new book "Understanding the War Industry", a detailed look at contracting within the U.S. military industrial complex and how its giant war chest gets funneled to an endless list of contractors, without question to its necessity or what could have been purchased in its place. | Everyone from libertarians to mainstream liberals to anarchists utters the words "military-industrial complex," often as a catchall for murky forces that press the U.S. government into war. But what is this complex?

Robert Norse (2020-10-01). Growing Resistance to City Manager's Camp & FNB Sweep Threats. indybay.org Dozens of activists and volunteers gathered at 8 AM Monday morning in Parking Lot #27 on the 200th day of a SC Homeless Union COVID-19 Relief Center–created back in March at the Town Clock by the Union, Food Not Bombs [FNB], and Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom [HUFF] .

DCFPTN (2020-10-01). Palantir Protests Make Business News. indybay.org Palantir's public offering is founded on the company's sales pitch that its software represents the ultimate tool of surveillance. The secretive company's history of working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and countries with questionable human rights records makes it a bad investment, say activists. Protests at the company's new and old headquarters are the subject of major media attention as the company makes its first public trades today.

commondreams (2020-10-01). Cambridge University Makes Historic Break With the Fossil Fuel Industry and Commits to Full Divestment. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Alec Connon (2020-10-01). Whatever Happens in November, Wall Street Must Act on the Climate Crisis. commondreams.org "There are two great centers of power in this nation: Washington DC and Wall Street," writes Connon. "Both are capable of changing the world, and both, should they choose to do so, are capable of bringing to heel the fossil fuel corporations that are the single greatest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and the single greatest opponents of climate progress. If Washington falls to Trump, climate activists will need to turn to Wall Street." (Photo: Phillipp/cc/flickr) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Alec Connon (2020-10-01). Whatever Happens in November, Wall Street Must Act on the Cimate Crisis. commondreams.org "There are two great centers of power in this nation: Washington DC and Wall Street," writes Connon. "Both are capable of changing the world, and both, should they choose to do so, are capable of bringing to heel the fossil fuel corporations that are the single greatest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and the single greatest opponents of climate progress. If Washington falls to Trump, climate activists will need to turn to Wall Street." (Photo: Phillipp/cc/flickr) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-10-01). Putting 'Its Money Where Its Brains Are,' Cambridge Announces Historic Fossil Fuel Divestment of £3.5 Billion Endowment. commondreams.org While welcoming the move as a "massive victory," campaigners said that "this announcement comes five years too late and we'll be pushing for the 2030 commitment to be brought forward." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-09-30). Russia Could Never Discredit The US Empire The Way These Guys Just Did. thealtworld.com Well. | Wow. | I mean, wow. | So in case you missed it, the first US presidential debate was everything the US empire deserves and a fair reflection of everything the US empire is. | If Vladimir Putin were every bit the election-meddling demon the Democrats say he is, and if he had unlimited time and unlimited resources to create the perfect ninety-minute propaganda video to discredit the US-led unipolar world order, he could not have designed one more effective than the performance that was just delivered by President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden with the help of moderator Chris Wallace. | Trump…

_____ (2020-09-30). Russia Could Never Discredit The U.S. Empire The Way These Guys Just Did. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | Wow. | I mean, wow. | So in case you missed it, the first US presidential debate was everything the US empire deserves and a fair reflection of everything the US empire is. | If Vladimir Putin were every bit the election-meddling demon the Democrats say he is, and if he had unlimited time and unlimited resources to create the perfect ninety-minute propaganda video to discredit the US-led unipolar world order, he could not have designed one more effective than the performance that was just delivered by President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden with the help of moderator Chris Wall…

commondreams (2020-09-30). CODEPINK Commends Mayor Khan's Decision to Skip the G20 Summit Hosted by Saudi Arabia. commondreams.org ______________________________…

MEE staff (2020-09-30). Lawmakers urge Trump to 'personally' intervene in trial of US-Saudi national. middleeasteye.net Lawmakers urge Trump to 'personally' intervene in trial of US-Saudi national | Salah al-Haidar faces as long as 33 years in prison as he goes before court that has imprisoned rights activists, journalists, clerics and minority Shia Muslims | Wed, 09/30/2020 – 17: 43 | Lawmakers have also urged president to intervene in case of Salah al-Haidar's mother, prominent Saudi women's rights activist Aziza al-Yousef (A…

Alex MacDonald (2020-09-30). One year on, has Iraq's anti-government protest movement changed the country? middleeasteye.net One year on, has Iraq's anti-government protest movement changed the country? | Activists and analysts say year-long campaign has had huge social – if little political – impact on Iraq | Wed, 09/30/2020 – 09: 18 | Iraqis protest on Jumhuriya bridge in Baghdad in November 2019 (MEE/Alex MacDonald) | In the year since Iraqis took to the streets en masse to protest against unemployment, corruption,…

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-09-30). International virtual webinars call for ending all nuclear weapons. peoplesworld.org On Sept. 26, the United Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, two remarkable events spanning 10 hours of virtual programming by activists, legislators, artists and leaders of struggles around the world were presented by UNFOLD ZERO and We The Peoples 2020. The programs, divided into two five-hour segments, were timed for …

Areeb Ullah (2020-09-30). Poll: Half of UK Conservative party members believe Islam 'incompatible with British way of life'. middleeasteye.net Poll: Half of UK Conservative party members believe Islam 'incompatible with British way of life' | A new poll suggests that 40 percent of Tories want to reduce the number of Muslims entering Britain | Wed, 09/30/2020 – 13: 04 | Boris Johnson launched an investigation into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party earlier this year following social media posts from activists and elected officials (AFP) | A…

news.un (2020-09-30). LIVE: UN chief, Prince Charles, rally 'coalition of the willing' to end biodiversity destruction. news.un.org Here's our special LIVE coverage of the UN Summit on Biodiversity, where activists and senior UN officials are calling for urgent action on biodiversity, to help ensure sustainable development for all.

Kathryn Shihadah (2020-09-30). Amid Torrent of Anti-BDS Legislation, Columbia University Students Win Referendum Against Apartheid. mintpressnews.com Colombia's President has already hinted at efforts to undermine the referendum's success, claiming that the BDS is tied to anti-Semitism and ignores "similar issues in other countries."

yenisafak (2020-09-30). Outrage over Indian rape victims' cremation by police. yenisafak.com The covert cremation by police of the body of a 19-year-old gang-rape victim early Wednesday triggered protests and condemnations by citizens and activists in India.The Dalit (lower caste) woman was tortured and gang-raped by four men from an upper caste at her village in Hathras in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sept. 14. She battled for her life for two weeks before succumbing to her injuries on Tuesday.In a video going viral on social media, the victim's mother is seen pleading with police to allow her to see her daughter one last time, and bring her body home, as the police cremated the body amid tigh…

Staff (2020-09-29). Philly Activists Reclaim 50 Vacant Houses, Creating a Model for Organizing as Mass Evictions Loom. democracynow.org In a historic victory for unhoused people, Philadelphia city officials agreed to hand over 50 vacant homes to a community land trust, following months of organizing and protest encampments. We hear from one of the organizers and speak to Philadelphia-based Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, who has written extensively about housing insecurity and says the direct actions there are applicable across the U.S. "This dynamic exists all over the country where you have both empty housing and houseless people, a completely irrational expression of what American capitalism means," Taylor says. The sustained movement in Philadelphia…