2020-06-22: News Headlines

Raul Diego (2020-06-22). US Senate Initiates Legislation Which Would Categorize Cuba's Medical Missions as "Human Trafficking Operations" globalresearch.ca In what has already become a parody of a shrinking empire's habit of clutching at the vestiges of its Cold-War era mistakes, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and fellow war-hungry reactionaries in the United States Senate, Rick Scott (R-FL) …

Mark Gruenberg (2020-06-22). Hundreds of thousands join the New Poor People's Campaign virtual March. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—From eradication of poverty, an end to U.S. racism, to dismantling the war machine and creating a Green New Deal with thousands of well-paying jobs — especially union jobs — hundreds of thousands of people demanded a complete reversal and creation of a better society in three virtual mass marches on D.C. the weekend of …

Sarah Anderson (2020-06-22). Virtual Poor People's Campaign Rally Draws Crowd of More Than a Million. commondreams.org The virtual rallies over the weekend organized by the Poor People's Campaign "lifted up people who are living the interconnected injustices that have been the campaign's focus for the past two years: systemic racism, poverty and inequality, ecological devastation, and militarism and the war economy. Many spoke of how the Covid-19 pandemic has only deepened existing inequalities." (Photo: Poor People's Campaign) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Matthew Ehret-Kump (2020-06-22). The Multiple Hands of British Intelligence. "The Real British Empire is A Nasty Beat" globalresearch.ca

_____ (2020-06-21). On Contact: Planet Of The Humans. popularresistance.org In this week's episode of On Contact, Chris Hedges discusses the criticism and censorship of Michael Moore's film Planet of the Humans with the director, Jeff Gibbs. | "Perhaps it's a form of denial to actually instead of understanding the – this civilization, the industrial civilization, the human species – we're hitting limits and we're gonna crash. We're instead hoping that this fantasy will save us. And as I discovered, and I'm not saying that all environmental leaders are on the take, but one of the things our critics ignore is that the shocking list of things that you when you divest from fossil fuels and y…

Rev Dr Liz Theoharis, Stephen Miles (2020-06-20). Dismantle the War Economy. commondreams.org Demonstrators carry signs during an anti-war protest after President Donald Trump launched airstrikes in Syria, April 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

James Holmes (2020-06-20). It Will Take More Than One B-1 Bomber Run From South Dakota to Faze Russia's Black Sea Fleet. anti-empire.com Related:
| It has become clear that the U.S. Air Force now regards itself as an implement of sea power. Its metamorphosis is a beautiful thing to behold for any Western-leaning nautical enthusiast. In recent years, land-based warbirds have trained to

RT (2020-06-20). 'Disgrace to our country!' Trump calls for arrests as activists topple & BURN statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike in DC (VIDEO). rt.com US President Donald Trump denounced Washington, DC police for seemingly doing nothing to prevent a group of activists from bringing down a Confederate general's statue, calling for the "immediate" arrest of the perpetrators. | Videos have emerged showing a group of protesters in the US capital dismantling a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike on Friday evening. Activists made several unsuccessful attempts to tear down the monument, and even had to take a break to review their strategy before eventually knocking the statue from its pedestal — with local police making no attempt to intervene at any po…

RT (2020-06-20). Seattle police probe deadly shooting in activist-run CHAZ 'autonomous zone'. rt.com US police are investigating a shooting that left one dead and another with life-threatening injuries in the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) run by activists in downtown Seattle. | Shots were fired at the main entrance to the enclave Saturday morning. The Seattle Police Department has

Dave Martin (2020-06-20). Americans in Vietnam — Tax Collectors for the Landlord Class. anti-empire.com Another big difference between My Lai and other atrocities is that it was perpetrated on the ground and not from the air. The testimony at Chapel Hill and at Detroit came largely from conscience-stricken soldiers—mainly enlisted men—who saw their victims, often face to face. The

Jeff Schogol (2020-06-20). US Navy Decides Against Reinstating the Crybaby Who Took a $6 Billion Carrier Out of Commission Over a Cold. anti-empire.com Editor's note: The ship has a crew of 5,680. Pretty much everyone was exposed, of whom 1,273 were susceptible and became infected. Of these, the vast majority developed only mild symptoms. 10 were hospitalized and 1 died. One death is a tragedy but you don't succumb to a hysteria over a coronavirus with a 1 in 5680 exposure lethality. |
| The captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt will not be reinstated following an investigation into a massive outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) aboard the ship that sickened 1,273 sailors and ultimately led to the acting Navy secretary to resign, a Congressional aid…

Fraser Myers (2020-06-20). Every Brand Under the Sun Supports Black Lives Matter. Why? anti-empire.com It can't have escaped people's notice that the Social media were awash with black squares as every brand under the sun took part in #BlackOutTuesday in favour of the protests. Apple — the

Charles Hugh Smith (2020-06-20). The Fed's Casino Is in Flames, but Please Continue Gambling. anti-empire.com Those taking seats at the gaming tables in the Federal Reserve's casino believe that they can't lose. Or more precisely, any losses they suffer will quickly be made good by the house, i.e. the Fed, which can digitally print as much currency as needed to restore order to the gambling. | The punters crowding around the tables have forgotten that gambling is inherently risky. The Fed can digitally print currency, but it can't force punters to play. | Unfortunately for all the punters crowding around the tables, the casino is on fire. The Fed's rigged games are in flames, and Head Tout/Fixer Jay Powell is telling all…

Guo Yingzhe (2020-06-20). China's Economic Rebound Continues, but Slower Than Expected. Might Hit 2% Growth for 2020. anti-empire.com China's economy continued its gradual recovery from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic in May, as major indicators released Monday showed investment, consumption and industrial output all improved from the previous month. But the recovery wasn't as fast as economists expected, as the surveyed unemployment rate in big cities hit a record high. | More economic activity resumed last month as China brought its domestic outbreak under control. The economy also got a boost from government policies that expanded infrastructure investment and measures that offered relief to hard-hit businesses. The central governmen…

Giselle McIntyre (2020-06-20). Anguillans Demand Extradition of US Citizen in Worker's Murder. telesurenglish.net "Let… me… speak." These were the last-known words of a hotel worker, Kenny Mitchel. They have become the rallying cry of activists in the Caribbean island of Anguilla, who gathered to demand justice in Mitchel's April 2019 killing. | RELATED: | UN Calls for Urgent Debate on Racism and Police Violence | Mitchel died after he was put in a chokehold while on the job at a tourist resort. The U.S. citizen Gavin Scott Hapgood, who is facing manslaughter charges in connection with Mitchel's killing, is currently in the U.S. after being released from the custody of Anguillan authorities on a US$74,000 bond.

Staff (2020-06-20). A Giant Plastics Company Tried to Halt a Juneteenth Ceremony for Buried Slaves. truthout.org St. James Parish, Louisiana — Death Alley activists gathered near the hamlet of Welcome on Friday to celebrate Juneteenth, which observes the date when news of the end of slavery reached enslaved Black people in Texas. About 40 people danced, prayed and sang gospel songs at a cemetery of unmarked graves on the grounds of a former plantation where nearby residents firmly believe their Black ancestors were buried after working the land as slaves. The celebration paid homage to those who…

ahtribune (2020-06-19). European Court of Human Rights Upholds Right to Boycott Israel. ahtribune.com "Criminal conviction of activists involved in the BDS campaign boycotting products imported from Israel had no relevant and sufficient grounds and violated their freedom of expression" | That is the heading on the 11 June 2020 press statement from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), announcing that it had overturned the conviction by a French court of eleven individuals for engaging in BDS activity. | The Court ruled that their conviction violated Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights — the right to freedom of expression — which states: | "Everyone has the right to freedom o…

Eds. (2020-06-19). Struggle Theater: Don't let theatrics shroud the reality of systemic oppression. mronline.org America's power brokers are hoping murals, kente cloth, and a series of half-baked legislative reforms will appease activists into giving up the fight for real change.

Rachell Tucker (2020-06-19). San Antonio activists seek justice, demand reopening of police killings. liberationnews.org Like in other places around the country, thousands are in the streets in San Antonio demanding justice for victims of national significance like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but also for local victims of police terror.

RT (2020-06-19). PANDERMONIUM: Snapchat yanks cringeworthy Juneteenth filter that asked users to 'smile to break chains'. rt.com Snapchat has removed a Juneteenth-themed that encouraged users to "smile" to break the chains of slavery, something that was quickly flagged by social media users as an offensive attempt to pander to Black Lives Matter activists. | If users chose to use the filter, they could photograph themselves in front of an African flag with the words "Juneteenth" and "Freedom Day" captioned. The user was then told to smile as chains appear and then suddenly break, a clear nod to the day being a celebration of the end of slavery in the US. | The filter was disabled after numerous complaints and removed from the service in…

bne IntelliNews (2020-06-19). Russian Deputies Introduce Bill to Un-Ban the Excellent Telegram Messaging App. anti-empire.com Russian Duma deputies from the minority fraction Fair Russia have conceded defeat to reality and have introduced a bill to un-ban the popular messaging service Telegram that belongs to Russian tech whizz-kid Pavel Durov. | Three deputies — Fedot Tumusov, Dmitry Ionin and Alexander Terentyev — have submitted a draft bill to the Duma to terminate the attempts to outlaw Telegram. | The company and the Kremlin clashed after the widely used service refused a request by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to hand over digital keys so the security forces could eavesdrop on conversations on the service. | Tele…

Sam LaGrone (2020-06-19). US Navy Lacks 'Clear Theory of Victory' Needed to Build New Fleet. anti-empire.com The Navy and the Department of Defense haven't finished their homework needed to inform how the Navy builds its future fleet, a panel of naval experts told a House panel on Thursday. | The debate in Congress and in the Pentagon on naval power has been pegged on the last assessment of the number of hulls the Navy needs to meet the future requirements — 355. However, the underlying mission of what a newly structured fleet would do is unclear, said the panel addressing the House Armed Service subcommittee on seapower and projection forces. | The Navy never released an unclassified maritime strategy in conjunct…

RT (2020-06-19). WATCH Portland police tear down 'Autonomous Zone' in front of mayor's house. rt.com Videos show Portland police removing barricades and disbanding a nascent 'Autonomous Zone' set up by protesters in front of the mayor's home after activists' demands were not met at a city hall meeting. | Demonstrators PPB is declaring a civil disturbance and unlawful assem…

RT (2020-06-19). WATCH: Portland protesters tear down statue of George Washington, drape it with burning US flag. rt.com Activists in Portland have torn down a statue of George Washington after covering its head with a flaming US flag during the latest night of protests sweeping the city. | At roughly 11pm local time on Thursday, a group of some 30 to 40 protesters initially vandalized the statue, located on the lawn of the German American Society in Northeast Portland, with graffiti which read: "You're on native land." They called the first president of the US a "genocidal colonist." The group later brought the statue down with ropes. | The nearly 100-year-old statue of George Washington in NE Portland has been pulled down. The…

RT (2020-06-19). PANDER-MONIUM: Snapchat yanks cringeworthy Juneteenth filter that asked users to 'smile to break chains'. rt.com Snapchat has removed a Juneteenth-themed that encouraged users to "smile" to break the chains of slavery, something that was quickly flagged by social media users as an offensive attempt to pander to Black Lives Matter activists. | If users chose to use the filter, they could photograph themselves in front of a Pan-African flag with the words "Juneteenth" and "Freedom Day" captioned. The user was then told to smile as chains appear and then suddenly break, a clear nod to the day being a celebration of the end of slavery in the US. | The filter was disabled after numerous complaints and removed from the service…

Marko Marjanoviƒá (2020-06-19). Trump Says Should Have Fired Bolton for Botching NK Talks, but Bolton Had Already Sabotaged Talks Under Bush. anti-empire.com Trump now He also blames Bolton for setting him back on the North Korea process so much so the consequences are still felt to this day: | twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/12736… | twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/12736… | Trump says he should have fired…

Moran Palumbo (2020-06-19). How the Saudis and the Qataris Duked It out in Washington, and Took Over the Imperial City in the Process. anti-empire.com It was a bare-knuckle brawl of the first order. It took place in Washington, D.C., and it resulted in a KO. The winners? Lobbyists and the defense industry. The losers? Us. And odds on, you didn't even know that it happened. Few Americans did, which is why it's worth telling the story of how Saudi, Emirati, and Qatari money flooded the nation's capital and, in the process, American policy went down for the count. | The fight began three years ago this month. Sure, the pugilists hadn't really liked each other that much before then, but what happened in 2017 was the foreign-policy equivalent of a sucker punch. On t…

Miachael Arria (2020-06-19). Biden VP Front Runner Susan Rice Has a History of Criticizing Israel…While Also Letting Its Government Do Whatever It Wants. anti-empire.com The Associated Press

Ben Aris (2020-06-19). Economic Ministry Forecasts Russia Won't Climb Back to Pre-Lockdown Levels Until Late 2022. anti-empire.com Russia's Ministry of Economy has released a fresh forecast for 2019-2022. The ministry said there will be no V-shaped recovery: after a 5% plunge in 2020, real GDP will only recover starting in mid-2022. The Ministry of Economy predicts GDP growth of 2.8% in 2021 and 3% in 2022. | The Urals price stays below the base budget price of $42, at which point the Russian budget breaks even. Urals will average $31.1 per barrel this year, rising to $35.4 in 2021 and only in 2022 will it return to the breakeven price of $42.2 when Russia Inc. goes back into profit. | That means the Ministry of Finance will rely on the Nati…

Sam LaGrone (2020-06-19). After Spending $1 Billion Japan Gives Up on Installing a Costly (and Unproven) US Missile Shield. anti-empire.com Japan is backing away from installing two Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems in the country over technical concerns, Minster of Defense Taro Kono told reporters on Monday. | "In view of the cost and time [necessary] for the deployment, we will halt the process," Kono told reporters, according to In particular, Kono said there were concer…

Brian Cloughley (2020-06-19). Floundering NATO Tries to Surface by Confronting China. anti-empire.com On June 8 Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the U.S.-NATO military alliance, gave a speech at NATO's new New on the Stoltenberg list is China, which is a long way from the North…

David S. Cloud (2020-06-19). US Wants to Surround China With Missiles, but Its Asian Clients Don't Want to Host Them. anti-empire.com The governor of a Japanese territory where the Pentagon is thinking about basing missiles capable of threatening China has a message for the United States: Not on my island. | "I firmly oppose the idea," said Gov. Denny Tamaki, the governor of Okinawa, in an email to The Times. | Officials in other Asian countries are also signaling they don't want them. | But Pentagon planners aren't backing down after the Trump administration withdrew last year from a 33-year-old arms control treaty that barred U.S. land-based intermediate-range missiles in Asia. | Senior officials now say that putting hundreds of American miss…

Gordon J. Brigsley (2020-06-19). Australia: Are the "Chooks Coming Home to Roost" for the British Empire, and Their Treatment of Slaves Around the World? asia-pacificresearch.com

Tom Engelhardt (2020-06-19). The End of the American Century. thenation.com The End of the American Century…

Patrick Munger and Monica Johnson (2020-06-18). Rebellions against racism continue in Atlanta after police killing of Rayshard Brooks. liberationnews.org On June 13, protests assembled across Atlanta in response to the police killing of Rayshard Brooks and in solidarity with all victims of racism and police violence. The night before, community members and local activists had mobilized immediately after learning that another Black man, Brooks, had been killed by the police outside of a Wendy's …

The Canary (2020-06-18). Lloyd's of London and Greene King to pay over slave links. thecanary.co Two of Britain's largest companies have vowed to pay money benefiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities after their roles in the slave trade were revealed.Insurance giant Lloyd's of London and pub chain Greene King said they will devote large sums to projects assisting BAME communities, after they were named in a database of companies connected to slavery compiled by University College London.Greene King was founded in 1799 by Benjamin Greene, who became one of 47,000 people who benefited from compensation paid to slave owners when slavery was abolished in the British empire in 1833.Greene surre…

Matthew Ehret-Kump (2020-06-18). Cecil Rhodes' Project for a Renewed Single Anglo-Saxon Empire. Submission of the "Uncivilized World". "We are the Finest Race" globalresearch.ca In 1877, while laying out his agenda for the formation of a secret society to recapture Britain's lost colony of America and the submission of "inferior" races (ie. non anglo-saxon) under the control of a renewed British Empire, Cecil Rhodes,…

Tom Engelhardt (2020-06-18). The Pre-History of the Decline and Fall of the American Empire: A Rant. commondreams.org Think of Donald Trump as the American imperial establishment's ultimate gift to humanity. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-06-18). COVID-19: A Polygraph For These Times. popularresistance.org Like a lie detector, COVID-19 has made obvious at least two phenomena that have been taking place already over the past few years: the decline of the U.S. empire and the failure of capitalism. For a number of years now, the U.S. has been losing this super-power status, its economy has lost range, and the dollar has hit the skids. Its international reserves do not cover even 2% of the exorbitant external debt and it is not sufficient for even 2 months of imports (hence the desperation to re-open the economy in the midst of the pandemic.) for decades, the U.S. has imported more than it has exported, and its commerc…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-06-18). New Vatican Document Urges Fossil Fuel Divestment to Serve Planet and the Common Good. commondreams.org "The Vatican's call for divestment is a breath of hope in times when faith is more needed than ever," said 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben. "It is a powerful statement that attempting to profit off the destruction of the planet is plainly and simply immoral and unethical." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…