Daily Archives: February 2, 2021

2021-02-02: News Headlines

NDR (2021-02-02). Facility for 'Quarantine Objectors' in Germany Ready for Inmates. anti-empire.com Machine translated from German | Today is the official start, but so far the rooms have not been used. Until Friday afternoon it was not foreseeable that the districts would already make use of the accommodation, said a spokeswoman for the district assembly. In the building on the grounds of the Moltsfelde juvenile detention center in Neumàºnster, there is space for up to six quarantine objectors. The cells are each twelve square meters in size and the facility is closed from the outside. The operator is the Segeberg district and makes them available to the other districts and independent cities. | Housi…

AFP (2021-02-02). Germany Rejects French Call to Scrap Russia Gas Pipeline Over Navalny. anti-empire.com France on Monday urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over the detention in Moscow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but the plea fell on deaf ears in Berlin. | "We have always said we have the greatest doubts on this project in this context," European Affairs minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio. | Asked specifically if France wanted Berlin to drop the project, Beaune said: "Indeed, we have already said this." | Nord Stream 2 is a 10 billion euro ($11 billion) pipeline that will run beneath the Baltic Sea and is set to double Russian natural-gas shipments to Ge…

H.I. Sutton (2021-02-02). China's New Aircraft Carrier Killer Is World's Largest Air-Launched Missile. anti-empire.com Navies are racing to develop hypersonic missiles which may change the pace of naval warfare. Russia will deploy the Zircon hypersonic missile aboard warships and submarines. The US Navy has started down the path of the common hypersonic glide body (c-HGB) for its destroyers. Meanwhile China's latest hypersonic weapon is something completely different; it is air launched. | The massive new missile, labelled CH-AS-X-13, is probably the largest air-launched missile in the world. | The missile was first reported by Ankit Panda, the Stanton Senior Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for Internatio…

Armin Rosen (2021-02-02). Regime Journalists Mobilize to Ban Competition. And Your Free Speech. anti-empire.com "Like many of the other proponents of controlled speech mentioned here, Bazelon's writing has a detectable winking quality to it: Don't worry, dear reader, YOU'RE not the one who's going to be censored. THEY are. In fact, the censorship, so-called, won't even be that bad. You'll hardly notice it." | "One thing that people might not immediately recognize when they hear scary-sounding words like "censorship" is that the act of controlling other people's speech can be gratifying, a psychic net-positive for those who dream of a purified information space."The new enemy is no longer "disinformation" but "misinformatio…

The Babylon Bee (2021-02-02). Scientists Predict Humans Will Simply Be Giant Rolling Balls of Masks by 2024. anti-empire.com Experts are now predicting that humans will make a giant evolutionary leap forward in the next few years, moving from walking around on two legs to rolling around in a giant ball of masks, thanks to ever-evolving mask guidelines. | "At the current rate of mask growth, humans will evolve to just be rolling around in a giant ball of them within three years," said evolutionary biologist Bob Carson III. "As the mask arms race accelerates, we're already seeing humans wearing three, four, five, six, even seven masks. Projecting that rate out, assuming logarithmic growth — let's see, carry the one… yep. We're all…

MEE staff (2021-02-02). Biden urged to publicly support rights of citizens to boycott Israel. middleeasteye.net Biden urged to publicly support rights of citizens to boycott Israel | Human Rights Watch calls on Biden administration to renounce Trump-era policy that labelled BDS movement as antisemitic | Tue, 02/02/2021 – 16: 47 | The BDS movement was founded in 2005 and modelled after a similar campaign credited with ending apartheid in South Africa (AFP/File photo) | A leading human rights group has called on US Presid…

Staff (2021-02-02). On Inauguration Day, Police Nationwide Went After Left-Wing Protesters. truthout.org The storming of the U.S. Capitol by armed far right activists shifted the political climate for much of the U.S., despite the fact that anti-fascist activists and researchers had been warning for years that this type of response was imminent. While the tone and behavior of the far right had escalated since the election — a result of Donald Trump's failure to win a second term and his explosive conspiracy theories — the events on January 6 showed that the risks were not just street-level…

Eliza Egret (2021-02-02). The government brags its 2020 badger-murdering spree was effective. But activists vow to stop the cull. thecanary.co The government has released its latest figures from the UK's annual badger cull, stating that the state-sanctioned murder spree was "effective" in 2020. The cull, which takes place between September and November, was already The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA)

Fight Back (2021-02-02). Tampa activists rally against police brutality and Gov. DeSantis' anti-protest bill. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On January 30, the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC), alongside other local organizations and around two dozen people gathered near city hall to demand that state legislators reject HB1, the repressive bill being proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis. | William Blake, a member of TBCAC, said, "This bill is a huge attack on those fighting for police accountability in Florida. It would legalize running over a protester, something we've seen many times in Tampa, as well as giving felonies to those exercising basic constitutional rights." The bill, which was proposed during the uprisings of the sum…

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… |

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-02-01). Revolution Isn't Microsurgery, It's A Long Road Trip. thealtworld.com Every day it seems like there's more sectarian fighting within the online left than the day before. | Maybe it's because lockdowns and social distancing have largely cut us off from in-person interactions. Maybe it's because generations of government psyops geared at stopping socialism and activist groups have left us all paranoid and hostile. Maybe it's because of increased infiltration and propaganda as a dying empire approaches crunch time. Maybe we just tend to be a bit more neurotic than other ideological groups. Maybe it's a mixture. | It feels like a state of paralysis. Someone will suggest some possible w…

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…

The Times of India (2021-02-01). New Delhi Has Near Herd Immunity Levels of Antibodies Seroprevalence and No Armaggeddon. anti-empire.com The capital could be heading towards developing herd immunity from Covid-19, with the fifth serological survey indicating over 50% of Delhiites having developed antibodies, sources said. This could be a reason behind the consistent dip in the number of new cases this month, experts said. | Delhi government conducted the survey between January 11 and 21, during which 28,000 samples, the highest till date, were collected from across the 11 districts. "It will take more than a week for the report to come in but seroprevalence is over 50% this time and, in one district, it is around 60%," a source said. "This indicat…

Luke Henriques-Gomes (2021-02-01). Much of Western Australia Is Thrown Into Mass House Arrest After a Single PCR Test Shows Up Positive. anti-empire.com South Australia and

Asa Winstanley (2021-02-01). Miriam Adelson Now Leads Sheldon's Pro-Israel Empire. anti-empire.com Casino magnate He is survived by his Israeli widow One of the He…

teleSUR (2021-02-01). Guaido Prevents the Use of Frozen Funds for Vaccines. anti-empire.com Jan 21 (teleSUR) — The former lawmaker rejected a proposal of the legitimate government to allocate gold blocked in the United Kingdom to anti-COVID-19 vaccines. | Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza denounced Wednesday that former opposition deputy Juan Guaidó rejected a proposal by the legitimate government of the South American nation to allocate 120 million dollars, illegally withheld in the United Kingdom, to the purchase of anti-Covid-19 vaccines. | In a message disseminated through the social network Twitter, Arreaza detailed that this maneuver constitutes "another proof of the cruelty of Guaid…

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). 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,

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.

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…

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 …

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.

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 …

_____ (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…

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… |

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

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.