2021-01-26: News Headlines

Staff (2021-01-26). Biden's First Climate Actions Are a Result of Years of Indigenous Activism. truthout.org Indigenous activists emerged as leaders of a climate movement that put increasing pressure on Joe Biden, who revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline shortly after becoming president. So, what happens next? Mike Ludwig speaks with Jade Begay, the Climate Justice Director of NDN Collective, an Indigenous led-organization building Indigenous power by working with front line activists. | Music by TRANSCRIPT: | Note: This a rush…

Medea Benjamin and Ariel Gold (2021-01-26). Rob Malley for Iran Envoy: A Test Case for Biden's Commitment to Diplomacy. dissidentvoice.org (Photo credit: National Press Club) President Biden's commitment to re-entering the Iran nuclear deal—formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA—is already facing backlash from a motley crew of warhawks both domestic and foreign. Right now, opponents of re-entering the deal are centering their vitriol on one of the nation's foremost experts …

Dana Taib Menmy (2021-01-26). Iraq: Kurdish presidency files defamation lawsuit against poet. middleeasteye.net Iraq: Kurdish presidency files defamation lawsuit against poet | Activists warn of risk to freedom of speech after KRG launch legal action over critical rap video | Tue, 01/26/2021 – 13: 23 | A still from Helgord Qehar's video 'Confusion', in which he berates the KRG parliament on a digital stage (screenshot) | The presidency of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has filed a legal case against…

Eds. (2021-01-26). NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang blasted for comparing BDS to 'fascist boycotts'. mronline.org One-time presidential hopeful faces backlash over op-ed saying BDS movement 'rooted in antisemitic thought and history'.

VINS (2021-01-26). Pro-BDS Activists Blacklisted and Labeled as Terrorist Supporters by Canary Mission. projectcensored.org Created in 2015, the anonymously-run, pro-Israel website CanaryMission.org aims to "document individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses." The site is being used to…

Fight Back (2021-01-26). Facebook shuts down community, women's groups and activists' pages without cause. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On January 22, Facebook disabled the main pages of two major community organizations, Peoples Power Assembly and Women In Struggle/Mujeres En Lucha, as well as activists around the country who have played roles in either group, including Puerto Rican activist Berta Joubert-Ceci; Greg Butterfield, Struggle La Lucha writer; Cheryl La Bash, co-chair, National Network on Cuba; Maggie Vascassenno, Los Angeles Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice; and others. | It also banished Peoples Power Assembly page editor Charlene Lady J. Jenkins, a founder of "What's Up Baltimore," whose Baltimore grassroo…

Editor (2021-01-25). Noam Chomsky and Chris Hedges on the State of the American Empire. scheerpost.com On this week's "On Contact," host Chris Hedges talks to Professor Noam Chomsky, the pioneering linguist, prolific author of numerous seminal political works, about the state of the American Empire. Professor Chomsky is the author of over 100 books including "The Fateful Triangle," "Manufacturing Consent," "Failed States" and "Requiem for the American Dream," and America's …

Medea Benjamin, Ariel Gold (2021-01-25). Rob Malley for Iran Envoy: A Test Case for Biden's Commitment to Diplomacy. commondreams.org Biden's response to the far-right uproar against Malley will be a test of his fortitude in standing up to the hawks and charting a new course for U.S. policy in the Middle East. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Medea Benjamin (2021-01-25). Robert Malley for Iran Envoy: A Test Case for Biden's Commitment to Diplomacy. mintpressnews.com Biden's response to the far-right uproar against Malley will be a test of his fortitude in standing up to the hawks and charting a new course for U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Staff (2021-01-25). As an Eviction Crisis Looms, Tenant Organizing Explodes Across the Country. truthout.org It started last June with squatting. Quietly and without fanfare, Philadelphia activists affiliated with OccupyPHL and the Black Renter's Cooperative broke into long-vacant public housing buildings and supported houseless families moving in. Then came the massive, barricaded protest encampment on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a tree-lined oasis in the middle of the Pennsylvania city surrounded by some of Philadelphia's most expensive housing. | "They totally could have used the cops to disperse the…

Azad Essa (2021-01-25). Pressure builds on Biden to end support for Saudi-led war in Yemen. middleeasteye.net Pressure builds on Biden to end support for Saudi-led war in Yemen | As humanitarian crisis deepens, campaigners from around world rally for end to protracted conflict | Mon, 01/25/2021 – 17: 40 | Dozens of activists rallied outside office of Congressman Gregory Meeks to protest war in Yemen (MEE/Kawthar Abdullah) | In what is being described as one of the biggest coordinated anti-war efforts since the 2003 in…

Azad Essa (2021-01-25). Activists press Biden to end support for Saudi-led war in Yemen. middleeasteye.net Activists press Biden to end support for Saudi-led war in Yemen | As humanitarian crisis deepens, campaigners from around world rally for end to protracted conflict | Mon, 01/25/2021 – 17: 40 | Dozens of activists rallied outside office of Congressman Gregory Meeks to protest war in Yemen (MEE/Kawthar Abdullah) | In what is being described as one of the biggest coordinated anti-war efforts since the 2003 invas…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-25). Activists demand justice for Giulio Regeni who was kidnapped and murdered in Egypt. peoplesdispatch.org Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old Ph.D. student at Cambridge University, was kidnapped on January 25, 2016 from Cairo. His body was found a few days later with torture marks. He had been working on Egyptian trade unions for his dissertation…

Kollibri terre Sonnenblume (2021-01-25). Activists Occupy Site of Proposed Lithium Mine in Nevada. counterpunch.org On Friday, January 15th, two activists drove eight hours from Eugene, Oregon, to a remote corner of public land in Nevada, where they pitched a tent in below-freezing temperatures and unfurled a banner declaring: "Protect Thacker Pass." You'll be forgiven if you've never heard of the place—it's seriously in the boonies—but these activists, Will Falk

commondreams (2021-01-25). NYC Pension Funds Begin Historic Fossil Fuel Divestment. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Pip Hinman (2021-01-25). Activists take aim at Santos' greenwashing. greenleft.org.au Fossil Free SA and Extinction Rebellion SA organised a week of climate action from January 24 to draw attention to the disastrous impact of gas on the climate and to call for the Tour Down Under to #BreakAwayFromGas, reports Kerry Smith.

Amanda Marcotte (2021-01-25). Trump's coup didn't fail just from incompetence — credit the progressive activists who stopped him. salon.com To defeat the GOP's assault on democracy, it's critical for everyday voters to understand that they do have power…

Rev. John Dear (2021-01-25). The beginning of the end for nuclear weapons. nationofchange.org Few antiwar activists ever thought they'd see nuclear weapons banned, but thanks to dedicated organizing, a historic UN treaty goes into effect today.

_____ (2021-01-24). Chris Hedges: State Of American Empire. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Professor Noam Chomsky, the pioneering linguist and prolific author of numerous seminal political works, about the state of the American Empire. | Professor Chomsky is the author of over 100 books, including 'The Fateful Triangle', 'Manufacturing Consent', 'Failed States' and 'Requiem for the American Dream', and America's most important intellectual. His new book, with Marv Waterstone, professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, is 'Consequences of Capitalism: Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance'.

Editor (2021-01-24). Intensification of Contradictions in the Empire: Election in the USA and Its Impacts. socialistproject.ca In his last interview (streamed live on November 6th, 2020), Leo Panitch spoke with the International Relations and Marxism Network (RIMA), in partnership with Chutando a Escada Podcast and PUC-Rio, about the escalation of contradictions in the empire, the US elections and their impact on global capitalism. The recent election in the USA has profound …

_____ (2021-01-24). Announcing The Finalists For The Kevin Zeese Emerging Activists Fund. popularresistance.org The Zeese Family is excited to announce the finalists for this years Kevin Zeese Emerging Activists Fund grant. This fund was put together quickly after the unexpected death of Kevin Zeese last September as a way to honor him and carry on his legacy. We thank all of you who donated to it. | The response to the fund was overwhelming with over 110 applicants from across the United States and around the world. This included both individual activists and front line organizations doing work for racial, economic and environmental justice and peace. The decision was difficult to make, but the family was able to narrow i…

RT (2021-01-24). Dutch police nab 'Asia's El Chapo', suspected leader of one of world's largest drug-trafficking operations. rt.com Tse Chi Lop, the suspected kingpin of one of the world's largest drug syndicates, has been arrested in Amsterdam at the request of Australian authorities who have been probing his shadowy narcotics empire. | The Chinese-born Canadian national was arrested without incident at Amsterdam's Schiphol International Airport, Australia's Federal Police announced on Saturday. Tse is believed to be the leader of the Sam Gor Syndicate, also known as 'the company'. The criminal organization has been described by authorities as perhaps the largest illegal drug operations in Asia, earning between $8 and $17.7 billion each y…

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-01-24). What Biden's Warmongering Will Actually Look Like. thealtworld.com There's a But…

Steven Sahiounie (2021-01-24). Double Suicide Bombing: Baghdad Blast Responsibility in Question. globalresearch.ca A deadly double suicide bombing ripped through a second-hand clothing market in Tayaran Square, located in Bab Al-Sharqi commercial district of Baghdad on Thursday. Hassan Mohammed Al-Tamimi, Iraq's Health Minister, said at least 32 people were killed and 110 others …

Joachim Hagopian (2021-01-24). One World Governance and the Council on Foreign Relations. "We Shall have World Government… by Conquest or Consent." globalresearch.ca The fact is the Council on Foreign Relations has been controlling US foreign policy for almost a century, and chief among its most obvious agendas has been building and maintaining US Empire's global unipolar hegemony and military strength at all cost.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-24). Slovenian artists and political activists protest targeting of cultural space in Ljubljana. peoplesdispatch.org The inhabitants of the Autonomous Rog Factory were evicted on January 19. The abandoned factory had been taken over by activists and artists over a decade ago and converted into a community space for alternative cultural and social initiatives…

Direct Action Everywhere (2021-01-24). Joe Biden's Presidency Should Be One To Take on Animal Ag. indybay.org When Joe Biden was giving his Super Tuesday victory speech, our activists jumped to the stage and asked him to #LetDairyDie.

Jordan Davidson (2021-01-23). Press Secretary: Biden Exempt From His Own Mask Order Because He Was 'Celebrating'. anti-empire.com President Joe Biden asked Americans to wear masks for at least 100 days, but he thinks he is exempt because of his inauguration celebrations. | Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday, mandating the use of masks on all federal property. | "Wearing masks isn't a partisan issue — it's a patriotic act that can save countless lives. That's why I signed an executive order today issuing a mask mandate on federal property. It's time to mask up, America," he wrote on Twitter. | Despite his recent mask order, the new president and his family were spotted parading around the Lincoln Memorial without face coverin…

Monica Showalter (2021-01-23). Poll: Less Than Half of Voters Think Election Concerns Got a Fair Hearing. anti-empire.com For all the talk about basement-campaigning Joe Biden winning the election freely and fairly, from the press calling any questioning of election results "baseless" with zero detail to Biden himself crowing that the courts have taken his side, the perception of electoral fraud among the public continues to linger. | According to

Editor (2021-01-23). Everywhere You Look, American Empire Is Crumbling. scheerpost.com Beverly & Pack / CC BY 2.0] By Rebecca Gordon / TomDispatch How can you tell when your empire is crumbling? Some signs are actually visible from my own front window here in San Francisco. Directly across the street, I can see a collection of tarps and poles (along with one of my own garbage cans) that were used to construct a makeshift home on the sidewalk. Beside that edifice stands a wooden… |