Monthly Archives: October 2020

2020-10-15: News Headlines

Andrew Korybko (2020-10-14). Syria's Devastating Forest Fires. globalresearch.ca The Syrian people who have already been suffering from nearly a decade of externally waged Hybrid War are now forced to deal with the environmental devastation caused by the 156 forest fires that recently ravaged the Arab Republic, though most …

Azad Essa (2020-10-14). Muslim Voices for Trump event cut short after being 'Zoom bombed' by activists. middleeasteye.net Muslim Voices for Trump event cut short after being 'Zoom bombed' by activists | The call had to be abandoned less than 20 minutes in when it turned into a disorderly free-for-all | Wed, 10/14/2020 – 12: 47 | One activist who led the disruption said there were no more than 50 people on the Zoom call (Screengrab) | An online event organised by "Muslim Voices for Trump" descended into chaos late on Tuesday when…

WSWS (2020-10-14). Britain: The world's second largest arms exporter and friend to warmongers and despots. wsws.org The list of Britain's customers reads like a roll call of the most corrupt and blood-soaked regimes on the planet.

Robert J. Burrowes (2020-10-14). 'We are Many, They are Few': Nonviolent Resistance to the Elite's COVID-19 Coup. globalresearch.ca On 16 August 1819, an estimated 60,000 pro-democracy and anti-poverty activists were peacefully protesting the utterly corrupt nature of the Parliament in Westminster and demanding the reform of parliamentary representation (which afforded less than 2% of people the right to …

Staff (2020-10-14). Activists Are Mobilizing to Help Incarcerated People Get Their Stimulus Checks. truthout.org For months incarcerated people and their families heard conflicting messages about whether they were eligible to receive the pandemic stimulus payments provided by Congress as the Trump administration attempted to block prisoners from receiving their checks. Last week a federal judge slammed the administration with an order to provide the stimulus relief, and now advocates across the country are working to ensure low-income people caged in state and federal prisons can apply for the much-ne…

Staff (2020-10-14). Texas Is Limiting Ballot Drop-Off Locations. Activists Are Pushing Back. truthout.org Despite a last-minute ruling restricting absentee voting in Texas, voting rights advocates in the state's hardest hit communities of color are redoubling their efforts to get out the vote amid one of the most severe voter suppression campaigns in the state in recent election cycles. | Texas counties remain blocked from setting up multiple ballot drop-off locations after a federal appeals court on Monday

pip.hinman (2020-10-14). Thai democracy activists warn of military action against students. greenleft.org.au &nbsp…

Aranxta Calles (2020-10-13). San Diego protesters stand in solidarity with Denver activists against police repression. liberationnews.org On Oct. 10, members of the San Diego branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized a rally in solidarity with the anti-racist organizers arrested under false charges in Denver, Colorado. The organizers are facing decades in prison simply for leading the struggle for justice for Elijah McClain. Different organizations also came out to …

Staff (2020-10-13). Philly activists occupy and win control of vacant homes. therealnews.com On Sept. 26, housing activists and organizers from Philadelphia Housing Action The deal came about after months of standoffs between activists and the city over homeless encampments, evictions, a…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-10-13). Senate Dems raise threat to health care as Barrett hearings open. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—-The latest Republican dog-and-pony show, officially called Senate committee hearings on Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, opened Oct. 12 with the panel's Democrats stating should she join the other justices, health care for at least 130 million people would be changed for the worse or killed. That threat to the 10-year-old …

The Canary (2020-10-13). Activists board supertrawler to prevent it from fishing in 'protected waters'. thecanary.co Greenpeace activists have boarded a supertrawler in the North Sea and prevented it from fishing in what it claims are protected waters.The environmental group said the Helen Mary vessel was fishing in the Central Fladen protected area, east of Scotland.Activists from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza boarded the 117 metre-long vessel and hung a banner reading: Ban supertrawlers now!Greenpeace activists board the Helen Mary supertrawler (Greenpeace/PA)Protected areas: They placed fishing deterrents in the supertrawler's nets before the Germany-registered Helen Mary left the area.In 2019, the same vessel was deta…

Fight Back (2020-10-13). Tampa activists rally against anti-protest bill. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On October 10, members of the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee and others rallied at Tampa City Hall to protest Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' proposed anti-protest bill. On September 21, DeSantis released the proposed legislation called "Combatting Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act." If the bill is signed into law, it would legalize running over protesters with cars, and would make marching on the street a felony offense. Governor DeSantis' anti-protest bill is a direct response to protests during the George Floyd uprising, the Black Lives Matter movement…

Nicolas J.S. Davies, Medea Benjamin (2020-10-12). Trump's True Legacy Is That of a Warmonger. commondreams.org The legacy of Donald Trump remains one of continued U.S. wars and aggression, backed by a bloated military budget. (Photo: Flickr / U.S. Air Force photo / Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-10-12). COVID-19: How 3 Prior Pandemics Triggered Massive Societal Shifts. strategic-culture.org Andrew Latham begins with the Antonine and Cyprian twin plagues, which ravaged the Roman Empire and gave rise to Christianity. | Andrew LATHAM | Before March of this year, few probably thought disease could be a significant driver of human history. | Not so anymore. People are beginning to understand that

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-12). Protesters demand release of political activists in Gilgit-Baltistan. peoplesdispatch.org Protesters said the demonstrations will continue until the authorities release all the political prisoners who are in jail after being charged under the anti-terrorism act for allegedly causing riots in August 2011…

Caren Holmes (2020-10-12). The Campaign to "Kill" the BDS Movement Against Israel Extends Far and Wide. globalresearch.ca Israel is facing declining public support in the United States and sees the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign as a key threat to its legitimacy. That's why Israel is enlisting the US government, American university administrators, and even tech companies …

Fight Back (2020-10-12). Students and youth webinar launching campaign for police accountability. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On October 9, student and youth activists held a webinar to launch a national campaign to fight for police accountability, on and off campus, under the headline, "Students and Youth Demand Police Accountability." The main organizations represented were New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), AnakBayan USA, and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. | Normally, SDS and other student groups host their conventions around this time of year. Instead, with the White House refusing to respond to the pandemic and with coronavirus cases on the rise, these student groups took to Zoo…

Thomas Meisenhelder (2020-10-11). Declining American Hegemony Could Be A Good Thing. commondreams.org We spend more on weapons of war than any other country in the world. Researchers at Brown University have found that since the horror of 9/11, the so-called "war on terrorism" has killed 800,000, displaced 37,000,000, and cost taxpayers $6.4 trillion. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

2020-10-14: News Headlines

Andrew Korybko (2020-10-14). Syria's Devastating Forest Fires. globalresearch.ca The Syrian people who have already been suffering from nearly a decade of externally waged Hybrid War are now forced to deal with the environmental devastation caused by the 156 forest fires that recently ravaged the Arab Republic, though most …

WSWS (2020-10-14). Britain: The world's second largest arms exporter and friend to warmongers and despots. wsws.org The list of Britain's customers reads like a roll call of the most corrupt and blood-soaked regimes on the planet.

Robert J. Burrowes (2020-10-14). 'We are Many, They are Few': Nonviolent Resistance to the Elite's COVID-19 Coup. globalresearch.ca On 16 August 1819, an estimated 60,000 pro-democracy and anti-poverty activists were peacefully protesting the utterly corrupt nature of the Parliament in Westminster and demanding the reform of parliamentary representation (which afforded less than 2% of people the right to …

_____ (2020-10-14). Two Massive New Leaks Show Dirty Underbelly Of Empire. popularresistance.org Most Americans don't know reality. | They know their personal reality, but unfortunately their reality is thoroughly detached from real pure, uncut reality. For example, do they know that police across the country work with corporations to criminalize journalism? Do they know that large PR companies created a false reality to justify U.S. intervention in Syria? Do they know the word "intervention" acts as a euphemism for "cold-blooded murder under false pretenses"? | Americans don't know these aspects of reality. You and I wouldn't know either if it weren't for leaks and whistleblowers.

pip.hinman (2020-10-14). Thai democracy activists warn of military action against students. greenleft.org.au colombiareports.com/feed/

Staff (2020-10-13). Philly activists occupy and win control of vacant homes. therealnews.com On Sept. 26, housing activists and organizers from Philadelphia Housing Action The deal came about after months of standoffs between activists and the city over homeless encampments, evictions, a…

Aranxta Calles (2020-10-13). San Diego protesters stand in solidarity with Denver activists against police repression. liberationnews.org On Oct. 10, members of the San Diego branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized a rally in solidarity with the anti-racist organizers arrested under false charges in Denver, Colorado. The organizers are facing decades in prison simply for leading the struggle for justice for Elijah McClain. Different organizations also came out to …

Mark Gruenberg (2020-10-13). Senate Dems raise threat to health care as Barrett hearings open. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—-The latest Republican dog-and-pony show, officially called Senate committee hearings on Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, opened Oct. 12 with the panel's Democrats stating should she join the other justices, health care for at least 130 million people would be changed for the worse or killed. That threat to the 10-year-old …

The Canary (2020-10-13). Activists board supertrawler to prevent it from fishing in 'protected waters'. thecanary.co Greenpeace activists have boarded a supertrawler in the North Sea and prevented it from fishing in what it claims are protected waters.The environmental group said the Helen Mary vessel was fishing in the Central Fladen protected area, east of Scotland.Activists from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza boarded the 117 metre-long vessel and hung a banner reading: Ban supertrawlers now!Greenpeace activists board the Helen Mary supertrawler (Greenpeace/PA)Protected areas: They placed fishing deterrents in the supertrawler's nets before the Germany-registered Helen Mary left the area.In 2019, the same vessel was deta…

Fight Back (2020-10-13). Tampa activists rally against anti-protest bill. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On October 10, members of the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee and others rallied at Tampa City Hall to protest Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' proposed anti-protest bill. On September 21, DeSantis released the proposed legislation called "Combatting Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act." If the bill is signed into law, it would legalize running over protesters with cars, and would make marching on the street a felony offense. Governor DeSantis' anti-protest bill is a direct response to protests during the George Floyd uprising, the Black Lives Matter movement…

Nicolas J.S. Davies, Medea Benjamin (2020-10-12). Trump's True Legacy Is That of a Warmonger. commondreams.org The legacy of Donald Trump remains one of continued U.S. wars and aggression, backed by a bloated military budget. (Photo: Flickr / U.S. Air Force photo / Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-10-12). COVID-19: How 3 Prior Pandemics Triggered Massive Societal Shifts. strategic-culture.org Andrew Latham begins with the Antonine and Cyprian twin plagues, which ravaged the Roman Empire and gave rise to Christianity. | Andrew LATHAM | Before March of this year, few probably thought disease could be a significant driver of human history. | Not so anymore. People are beginning to understand that

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-12). Protesters demand release of political activists in Gilgit-Baltistan. peoplesdispatch.org Protesters said the demonstrations will continue until the authorities release all the political prisoners who are in jail after being charged under the anti-terrorism act for allegedly causing riots in August 2011…

Caren Holmes (2020-10-12). The Campaign to "Kill" the BDS Movement Against Israel Extends Far and Wide. globalresearch.ca Israel is facing declining public support in the United States and sees the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign as a key threat to its legitimacy. That's why Israel is enlisting the US government, American university administrators, and even tech companies …

Fight Back (2020-10-12). Students and youth webinar launching campaign for police accountability. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On October 9, student and youth activists held a webinar to launch a national campaign to fight for police accountability, on and off campus, under the headline, "Students and Youth Demand Police Accountability." The main organizations represented were New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), AnakBayan USA, and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. | Normally, SDS and other student groups host their conventions around this time of year. Instead, with the White House refusing to respond to the pandemic and with coronavirus cases on the rise, these student groups took to Zoo…

Thomas Meisenhelder (2020-10-11). Declining American Hegemony Could Be A Good Thing. commondreams.org We spend more on weapons of war than any other country in the world. Researchers at Brown University have found that since the horror of 9/11, the so-called "war on terrorism" has killed 800,000, displaced 37,000,000, and cost taxpayers $6.4 trillion. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Loretta Graceffo (2020-10-10). What activists who fought the AIDS crisis can teach us about organizing during a pandemic. zcomm.org More than 30 years after ACT UP was founded, their bold activism in response to the AIDS crisis offers critical lessons for those mobilizing around COVID-19…