2021-02-01: News Headlines

Patrick Bond (2021-02-01). Biden-Kerry International Climate Politricks. counterpunch.org Is U.S. President Joe Biden's January 27 Executive Order to address 'climate crisis' as good as many activists claim, enough to reverse earlier scepticism? To be sure, it's great that the word crisis is consistently deployed, not just 'climate change.' Applause is due Biden's commands to halt fossil fuel subsidies and new oil and gas

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-01). Military in Myanmar stages a coup, detains Aung San Suu Kyi and other political activists. peoplesdispatch.org The military declared that state power has been handed to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, general Min Aung Hlaing, and a state of emergency has been imposed for one year…

Binoy Kampmark (2021-02-01). Boris Johnson and the Deaths of the Hundred Thousand. counterpunch.org Not exactly Thermopylae. Not even close. The hundred thousand who have now been taken by COVID-19 in Britain were not determined warriors holding up the forces of a mighty empire to save their land. They were the innocent victims of infection, mismanagement and miscalculation. Central to the policy which led to such losses was a

Editor (2021-02-01). Hedges: Papering Over the Rot. scheerpost.com By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost The death spiral of the American Empire will not be halted with civility. It will not be halted with the 42 executive orders signed by Joe Biden, however welcome many are, especially since they can, with a new chief executive, be immediately revoked. It will not be halted by removing Donald Trump, and the crackpot conspiracy theorists… |

The Canary (2021-02-01). Protest groups join forces to occupy Israeli arms company building. thecanary.co Demonstrators have blocked the entrance of a factory where they claim deadly arms are made. | Protesters from Palestine Action and Extinction Rebellion, armed with banners and red paint, said their early-morning raid on the Israeli-owned Elbit Ferranti factory in Oldham, Greater Manchester, is because they "will not accept an economy based on devastation, occupation and war". A press release from the two groups stated that: Activists from Palestine Action and Extinction Rebellion are occupying an Israeli-owned arms factory in Oldham, forcing the site to halt its production of deadly weapons. Several have blocked t…

_____ (2021-02-01). Chris Hedges: Papering Over The Rot. popularresistance.org The death spiral of the American Empire will not be halted with civility. It will not be halted with the 42 executive orders signed by Joe Biden, however welcome many are, especially since they can, with a new chief executive, be immediately revoked. It will not be halted by removing Donald Trump, and the crackpot conspiracy theorists, Christian fascists and racists who support him, from social media. It will not be halted by locking up the Proud Boys and the clueless protestors who stormed the Congress on January 6 and took selfies in Mike Pence's Senate chair. It will not be halted by restoring the frayed allia…

RT (2021-02-01). WATCH Thai police clash with opponents of military coup outside Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok. rt.com Thai police have broken up a protest rally staged by the opponents of a military coup in neighboring Myanmar. The activists gathered outside the country's embassy in Bangkok. | Some 200 Myanmarese expats and local Thai activists gathered for a spontaneous protest outside Myanmar's embassy, the Bangkok Post reported, citing police. They held flags of Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD), whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested by the military on Monday, as well as photos of Suu Kyi. | Students were seen distributing leaflets denouncing the coup. The Myanmarese constitute the largest migrant group in…

Mehr News Agency (2021-02-01). A US HR institute calls for lifting Iran sanctions. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — A US-based Human Rights Institute named "CODEPINK" called on the new US administration to lift sanctions imposed by US against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

RT (2021-02-01). 12 arrested in SWAT operation after activists armed with KNIVES & AXES briefly occupy hotel in Olympia, WA (VIDEOS). rt.com A dozen people were arrested after armed protesters attempted to forcibly take over the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia, Washington. A SWAT team cleared out the hotel and escorted guests and employees out of the building. | Demonstrators armed with hatchets, batons, and knives stormed the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Olympia on Sunday, reportedly assaulting an employee who tried to lock the establishment's doors. The rest of the staff barricaded themselves in the hotel's basement,

yenisafak (2021-02-01). French hijab wearers must navigate politics to keep identity. yenisafak.com Few issues trigger reactions in French politics as much as Muslim women donning the veil and headscarf, or hijab, who once again find themselves at the center of controversy as far-right leader Marine Le Pen last week proposed a nationwide ban of the garment on the streets and in public places.A day before world hijab day is marked on Feb. 1, activists from feminist group Nemesis, dressed in flowing black burqas, staged a protest in front of the Trocadero, overlooking the Eiffel tower. They held a large banner that read, "France in 50 years" in a visual assertion that this is the future of the country if "creepin…

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2021-02-01). 'An Ominous Moment': Human Rights Groups Sound Alarm as Military Coup Unfolds in Myanmar. commondreams.org "The concurrent arrests of prominent political activists and human rights defenders sends a chilling message that the military authorities will not tolerate any dissent amid today's unfolding events." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Dimitris Eleas (2021-02-01). From "Blue Homeland" to Reuniting the Ottoman Empire? globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | "Mavi vatan," or "blue homeland," has become a common phrase in …

Anonymous (2021-02-01). VVPD Targets Mutual Aid Event, Arrests and Assaults Activists. indybay.org Vacaville Police Department targeted a local mutual aid event, and made a targeted arrest of the same Black woman they have targeted for months. Four arrests were made, leading to several injured. Three short videos are attached that depict these violent arrests.

Middle East Monitor (2021-02-01). City-State or Empire? The United Arab Emirates Seeks dominance in the Horn of Africa. juancole.com By Usman Butt | — ( Middle East Monitor) — Since the 2011 Arab Spring the United Arab Emirates has been taking an active role in a number of hotspots from Egypt, Libya to Yemen. The Gulf nation has spent $26 billion annually on its defence budget since 2016 and this is expected to increase …

_____ (2021-01-31). On Contact: Radical As Reality Itself. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Michael Smith about civil rights attorney Michael Ratner's recently published memoir, "Moving the Bar — My Life as A Radical Lawyer". Smith was a close friend and collaborator of Ratner's for over three decades. | Michael Ratner was one of the most important civil rights attorneys in our era. He spent his life fighting on behalf of those who state and empire sought to crush, from the leaders of the prison uprising at Attica to Muslim prisoners held in Guantanamo, to Julian Assange.

Liberation Staff (2021-01-31). Tacoma activists clean encampments, dump trash at city manager's doorstep. liberationnews.org The message: Provide services like trash pickup and housing to our houseless community. Pay for it by firing her and killer cops!

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2021-01-31). 'We Should All Be Water Protectors': Ilhan Omar Visits #StopLine3 Organizers Day After Activists Block Enbridge Worksites. commondreams.org "We owe it to future generations, to the Indigenous communities we've signed treaties with, and to every living being on this planet to stop building fossil fuel infrastructure." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2021-01-31). Students Continue To Pressure Northwestern University To Abolish The Police. popularresistance.org After several months of continuous pressure on Northwestern administration to abolish University Police and divest from policing and other militarized entities, NUCNC is continuing their work into the new quarter. | Since their campaign of more than 30 days of consecutive actions, the group has not held any mass protests or demonstrations, but they continue to pressure the University and practice mutual aid — a core tenet of prison-industrial complex abolition. | "Prisons are the biggest social service we have," NUCNC member Eliza Gonring said. "So poor people, homeless people, Black people are just getting…

Tina Gerhardt (2021-01-30). Stopping Keystone Pipeline Is First Step Toward Environmental Justice. zcomm.org Indigenous groups and environmental activists are also calling on President Biden to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline and Enbridge Line 3…

yenisafak (2021-01-30). Houthis hail Italy's block of arms sales to Saudi, UAE. yenisafak.com Yemen's Houthi rebels have welcomed an Italian decision to suspend the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)."Italy's announcement of halting arms sales to the countries that are engaged in an aggression on Yemen is a positive move," rebel spokesman Mohamed Abdel-Salam said on Twitter.He said the move would "contribute to protecting [Yemeni] civilians and support the peace process".On Friday, Italy's Foreign Ministry announced blocking exports of arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, following warnings by activists and lawmakers about the use of weapons in violation of human rights in Yemen…

Noa Yachot (2021-01-30). Fears Grow that Efforts to Combat US Domestic Terrorism Can Hurt Minorities. zcomm.org Civil rights advocates worry that moves to fight far-right extremism will be used against communities of color and leftwing activists…

_____ (2021-01-30). UN Independent Expert: 'This Is How The Human Rights Industry Works'. popularresistance.org Indeed, a "human rights industry" exists, and many officials of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner [for Human Rights], diplomats, activists from non-governmental organisations, human rights teachers, and, of course, also many "independent experts" and rapporteurs are more or less opportunistic. | These people consider themselves "better" than others, but do not necessarily feel solidarity with the victims of human rights violations. Some of my bosses were models of integrity and professionalism, such as Professor Theo van Boven, Professor Kurt Herndl, Judge Jakob Muller, or High Commissioners Bertrand Ramch…

Students Demand Action (2021-01-30). Thursday 2/4: National Gun Violence Survivors Week Summit for Youth Activists. indybay.org Online event…

Editor (2021-01-30). Joe Biden Is the Embodiment of Our Fading Empire. scheerpost.com Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0] By Alfred McCoy / TomDispatch After four years of Donald Trump's fitful tenure, America is awakening from a long, troubled sleep to discover, like the fictional character Rip Van Winkle, that the world it once knew has changed beyond all recognition. In that classic American tale by Washington Irving published in 1819, an amiable but shiftless farmer strolls out of… |

R.R. (2021-01-30). Large "No War on Yemen" Car Caravan and Rallies in San Francisco. indybay.org Joining in a worldwide week of action, on January 25 activists in San Francisco demonstrated for an immediate halt to the U.S.-backed Saudi coalition's attack on Yemen. | Photos: Terry Scussel, Pro Bono Photo. Please credit the photographer.

R. G. Davis (2021-01-29). The Ideological Function of Netflix: the Trial of Chicago 7. counterpunch.org Thanks to Nancy Kurshan and Jonah Raskin's CounterPunch articles this subject is 'on the table.' The film industry in the USA has become the ideological arm of the war machine with a tripartite vision of revisionism. The process is clever in that in a docu-fiction, a film that relies upon an original historical event to

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies (2021-01-29). Will Biden End America's Global War on Children? counterpunch.org Most people regard Trump's treatment of immigrant children as among his most shocking crimes as president. Images of hundreds of children stolen from their families and imprisoned in chain-link cages are an unforgettable disgrace that President Biden must move quickly to remedy with humane immigration policies and a program to quickly find the children's families

Workers World Party (2021-01-29). PDF of January 28 issue. workers.org Download the 12-page PDF. Biden appoints warmongers 30-year U.S. war on Iraq; Workers on the move; No waiting to confront Biden; Webinar vs. racism; Women's clinic attacked; Anti-imperialist feminism. Editorial: Socialism vs. capitalism. Hank Aaron, civil rights icon; Rubin Kanowitz, °presente! GLOBAL: Vietnam; Tunisia. TEAR DOWN THE WALLS: Crushing ICE; . . . |

Medea Benjamin and Nicholas J.S. Davies (2021-01-29). Will the Biden Administration End America's Global War on Children? juancole.com Most people regard Trump's treatment of immigrant children as among his most shocking crimes as president. Images of hundreds of children stolen from their families and imprisoned in chain-link cages are an unforgettable disgrace that President Biden must move quickly to remedy with humane immigration policies and a program to quickly find the children's families …

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2021-01-29). #TheWorldIsWatching: Youth Activists Direct Ire Over Climate Inaction at WEF Elite. commondreams.org "If only leaders were as good [at] taking real action as they were giving speeches," said Greta Thunberg. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Tina Gerhardt (2021-01-29). Indigenous Leaders and Environmental Activists Are Standing Firm on Their Demands of President Biden. commondreams.org Indigenous groups and environmental activists are also calling on President Biden to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline and Enbridge Line 3. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Sam Pizzigati (2021-01-29). Essential Workers Take the Risk, CEO's Reap the Rewards. counterpunch.org Every week, millions of us walk into a Walgreens drugstore without giving it a second thought. Maybe we should. Walgreens perfectly encapsulates the long-term economic trends of the Trump years: top corporate executives pocketing immense paychecks at the expense of their workers. At Walgreens, workers start at just $10 an hour. No chain store empire

Gabriela Sarmet (2021-01-29). Vale's Crime in Brumadinho. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles including the E-Book can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | Brazilian activists continue to campaign for justice two …