Popular viral video firm sues Facebook over Russian propaganda label
Alan MacLeod | mronline.org | 2020-08-19
The company behind In The Now, Soapbox and Waste-Ed is taking on media giant Facebook, who it claims is falsely labeling it as Russian state-controlled propaganda.
mronline.org/2020/08/19/popular-viral-video-firm-sues-facebook-over-russian-propaganda-label/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=popular-viral-video-firm-sues-facebook-over-russian-propaganda-label

Oliver Stone on challenging Hollywood convention & film as a 'disappearing' art form
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2020-08-19
Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with award-winning screenwriter and director Oliver Stone about his memoir, "Chasing the Light". Anya…
thegrayzone.com/2020/08/18/oliver-stone-on-challenging-hollywood-convention-film-as-a-disappearing-art-form/

Oliver Stone on challenging Hollywood convention & film as a "disappearing" art form
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2020-08-19
Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with award winning screenwriter and director Oliver Stone about his memoir, "Chasing the Light"….
thegrayzone.com/2020/08/18/oliver-stone-on-challenging-hollywood-convention-film-as-a-disappearing-art-form/

UN salutes real-life heroes doing 'extraordinary things, in extraordinary times'
news.un.org | 2020-08-19
Marking World Humanitarian Day, top UN officials are honouring the workers overcoming "huge challenges" to save and improve the lives of millions of women, men and children, hit hard by crises and the COVID-19 pandemic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070512

Reuters (Unsurprisingly) Looks Away as Ecuador Tries to Outlaw Opposition Parties
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
Reuters routinely buries information that would badly damage the reputation of US allies in the Americas…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/reuters-unsurprisingly-looks-away-as-ecuador-tries-to-outlaw-opposition-parties/

Congressional Candidates and Voters Sue to Stop Trump's Sabotage of USPS
Marjorie Cohn | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
Trump's attacks on…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/congressional-candidates-and-voters-sue-to-stop-trumps-sabotage-of-usps/

Dalí and the Marx Brothers: The Mirror Scene that Crashed
John Kendall Hawkins | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
"If I held you any closer, I'd be on the other side of you." -Groucho Marx We could use some comic relief in these troubled times, and the times are always troubled. My grandfather used to say, "If you're not a little wacky today, there's something wrong with you." Some people look to mindfulness for…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/dali-and-the-marx-brothers-the-mirror-scene-that-crashed/

Needed: Indicators for Measuring Injustice and Societal Decay
Ralph Nader | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
The more Americans know where their country is heading, the more they may just want to work for a better future by participating in or supporting the movements dedicated to turning our democracy around…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/needed-indicators-for-measuring-injustice-and-societal-decay/

Will There Ever be Elections Again in Bolivia?
Vijay Prashad — Manuel Bertoldi | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
On November 10, 2019, President Evo Morales Ayma of Bolivia announced his resignation from the presidency. Morales had been elected in 2014 to a third presidential term, which should have lasted until January 2020. In November 2019, protests around his fourth electoral victory in October led to the police and the military asking Morales to…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/will-there-ever-be-elections-again-in-bolivia/

Saudi Arabia Is Just An Honest America: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-19
~ | Look at Yemen with fresh eyes and it will haunt your dreams and fill you with mountain-moving rage. | That's why people don't. | That's why people should. | ~ | Steal from the wealthy and give a bit to your friend and they'll call you a thief. Steal from the working class and give a bit to agendas you approve of and they'll call you a philanthropist. | ~ | Placing yourself in the ideological center between two corporatist warmongering parties doesn't make you a centrist, it makes you a corporatist warmonger. | ~ | Watching liberals fake enthusiasm for Biden/Harris is like watching women fake enthusiasm in rea…

Saudi Arabia Is Just An Honest America: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

The pandemic, technology, and remote work: the corporate push for greater control over workers' lives
Martin Hart-Landsberg | mronline.org | 2020-08-19
The U.S. economy is undergoing a major transformation largely driven by the coronavirus pandemic. One hallmark of that transformation is the explosion in what is called "remote" work.
mronline.org/2020/08/19/the-pandemic-technology-and-remote-work-the-corporate-push-for-greater-control-over-workers-lives/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-pandemic-technology-and-remote-work-the-corporate-push-for-greater-control-over-workers-lives

EDITORIAL — El virus, el PIB y el afán de lucro
Editor | workers.org | 2020-08-19
"El costo de la pandemia de coronavirus en la economía de la nación se volvió enfáticamente más claro el jueves", escribió el New York Times el 30 de julio, "cuando el gobierno detalló el colapso de tres meses más devastador registrado, que borró casi cinco años de crecimiento". 'Pero cada . . . | Continue reading EDITORIAL — El virus, el PIB y el afán de lucro at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50647/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editorial-el-virus-el-pib-y-el-afan-de-lucro

Democrats vs. Republicans: Which party really CARES?
Editor | workers.org | 2020-08-19
While the corporate media focus public attention on the imminent opening of the Democratic and Republican Party conventions and the electoral contest, another battle matters much more to tens of millions of people still out of work: the failure of Congress to pass a second stimulus bill. The provisions of . . . | Continue reading Democrats vs. Republicans: Which party really CARES? at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50653/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=democrats-vs-republicans-which-party-really-cares

On Capital Punishment
Paul Edwards | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
There's no ambiguity in the term: capital punishment is killing, carried out by an entity commonly, but not exclusively, judicially empowered. It refers only to the killing of persons, of course. Doesn't it? In this uniquely terrible time in America, when there is such fathomless confusion and desperation, such vitriolic, violent and conflicted fury in the adversarial…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/on-capital-punishment/

Mayor Keller's Killer Cops: An Assessment of Court-Ordered Police Reform in Albuquerque
KJSKDC | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller says the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) is making progress at police reform, but you can't ask Albuquerque residents Ken Reiss and Jose Vallejos what they think about Keller's claims. APD officers killed them last week. Reiss, the co-owner of a beloved college-area dive bar in Albuquerque, wore a tattered ball cap…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/mayor-kellers-killer-cops-an-assessment-of-court-ordered-police-reform-in-albuquerque/

Trump's War on the Post Office and the Census Bureau
Melvin Goodman | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/trumps-war-on-the-post-office-and-the-census-bureau/

Defecting From Trump's GOP
Nick Licata | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
Rick Wilson has worked to elect Republicans for thirty years, but he will "no longer use those skills to serve the party I once loved. That party is gone." He has not become a Democrat, but he is adamantly anti-Trump. His book, Running Against the Devil; A Plot to Save America From Trump and Democratsfrom…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/defecting-from-trumps-gop/

Disastrous US school openings lead to 3,000 infections across 44 states
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
Barring the independent mobilization of educators, parents and the broader working class to halt the reopening of schools, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/scho-a19.html

Disastrous US school openings lead to 2,500 infections across 44 states
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
Barring the independent mobilization of educators, parents and the broader working class to halt the reopening of schools, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/scho-a19.html

COVID-19 overtakes accidents as third leading cause of death in the US as testing continues to decline
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
Despite the deadly nature of the virus, which has already killed more than 175,000 in the US, testing capacity is declining as states move to resume in-school learning.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/covi-a19.html

Shadow Gate Documentary
The Alternative World | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-19
This documentary is about the private national security state that rules us with false news and controlled explanations. It relies on whistleblowers from within the organization. It describes how it was used with Russiagate and Impeachgate against Trump. | Reportedly, the journalist Millie Weaver was arrested at home in Ohio yesterday as she was about to release the documentary. | There is a full press attempt underway to keep the documentary from the public. Youtube lied that the documentary violated their policy on hate speech. There is no hate in the documentary. | Perhaps anticipating such, she had already se…

Shadow Gate Documentary

Tampa demands justice for Jonas Joseph, 'Community control now!'
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-19
Tampa, FL – Over 50 people rallied and marched through downtown Tampa August 15 to demand justice for Jonas Joseph, a 26-year-old Haitian-American man murdered by five Tampa Police Department officers after they fired 125 shots. The march was attended by the family of Jonas Joseph and members of the community and was hosted by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) and Black Lives Matter Restoration Polk Inc. | Jonas Joseph was murdered by Tampa officers the night of April 28 when he was pulled over for a traffic stop. Police accounts of the events leading up to the shooting have changed numerous times…
fightbacknews.org/2020/8/18/tampa-demands-justice-jonas-joseph-community-control-now

Tampa demands justice for Jonas Joseph, 'Community control now!'
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-19
Tampa, FL – Over 50 people rallied and marched through downtown Tampa August 15 to demand justice for Jonas Joseph, a 26-year-old Haitian-American man murdered by five Tampa Police Department officers after they fired 125 shots. The march was attended by the family of Jonas Joseph and members of the community and was hosted by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) and Black Lives Matter Restoration Polk Inc. | Jonas Joseph was murdered by Tampa officers the night of April 28 when he was pulled over for a traffic stop. Police accounts of the events leading up to the shooting have changed numerous times…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/8/18/tampa-demands-justice-jonas-joseph-community-control-now

Coalition to March on the DNC joins march against Trump in Oshkosh, WI
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-19
Oshkosh, WI – On the afternoon of August 17, a large crowd of people marched and rallied to protest the arrival of President Donald Trump at Wittman Airport. Answering the call put forth by a handful of organizations, most of whom are members of the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention, over 120 people gathered in the parking lot of the Lake Aire Shopping Center, just a half mile from where Trump spoke. | Despite releasing information on road closures earlier in the day with different information, the police on hand changed which roads were closed and where. This threw a wrench into the plan f…
fightbacknews.org/2020/8/18/coalition-march-dnc-joins-march-against-trump-oshkosh-wi

Several injured and 77 detained as police attack protest rally in Sudan
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-19
A rally on the anniversary of the ratification of the Constitutional Declaration in Sudan was attacked by the police on Monday. Protesters asked the govt. to set up the legislative council and and solve the economic crisis…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/19/several-injured-and-77-detained-as-police-attack-protest-rally-in-sudan/

Coalition to March on the DNC joins march against Trump in Oshkosh, WI
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-19
Oshkosh, WI – On the afternoon of August 17, a large crowd of people marched and rallied to protest the arrival of President Donald Trump at Wittman Airport. Answering the call put forth by a handful of organizations, most of whom are members of the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention, over 120 people gathered in the parking lot of the Lake Aire Shopping Center, just a half mile from where Trump spoke. | Despite releasing information on road closures earlier in the day with different information, the police on hand changed which roads were closed and where. This threw a wrench into the plan f…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/8/18/coalition-march-dnc-joins-march-against-trump-oshkosh-wi

Trump's suggestion of a pardon for Edward Snowden meets US intelligence community backlash
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
Democrats and Republicans with close ties to the intelligence agencies have launched a campaign of opposition after the president said he would look into the case of the former NSA contractor who exposed illegal mass surveillance.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/snow-a19.html

Fidel at 94: The ideas of a revolutionary never die
Teresa Gutierrez | workers.org | 2020-08-19
Makasi was 16 when he first learned about Fidel Castro. As a Black Latinx youth, Makasi notes that "growing up as a Puerto Rican in the U.S., learning about Fidel showed me how someone from a small Caribbean island can challenge the most powerful and most vicious empire in the . . . | Continue reading Fidel at 94: The ideas of a revolutionary never die at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50650/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fidel-at-94-the-ideas-of-a-revolutionary-never-die

If we recognize Israel regime, we should give up Kashmir
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — PM Imran Khan says Pakistan will not recognize Israel regime until the Palestine issue is resolved and if recognizes it, Pakistan must then give up Kashmir as well, due to its similar background with Palestine.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162479/If-we-recognize-Israel-regime-we-should-give-up-Kashmir

Trump Is Losing the Tech War Against China
Dilip Hiro | thenation.com | 2020-08-19
Trump Is Losing the Tech War Against China…
thenation.com/article/economy/trump-china-amazon/

DNC: Conservative forces dominate opening night; security state apparatus dominates streets in Milwaukee
Robert Penner | liberationnews.org | 2020-08-19
The true nature of the Democratic Party is on display not only through the digital convention, but on the ground as well.
liberationnews.org/dnc-conservative-forces-dominate-opening-night-security-state-apparatus-dominates-streets-in-milwaukee/

In Chicago, teacher-community solidarity forces district to put safety first
Catherine Henchek, CPS parent and member of Parents 4 Teachers | liberationnews.org | 2020-08-19
The school district's turnaround shows what can happen when unions and community members work together.
liberationnews.org/in-chicago-teacher-community-solidarity-forces-district-to-put-safety-first/

As courts re-open, Britain's renters must confront the power of landlords
Jacob Stringer | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
"Alas, many middle class people are now invested in this relationship of domination."
zcomm.org/znetarticle/as-courts-re-open-britains-renters-must-confront-the-power-of-landlords/

The Contours of Atlanta's Policing Debate
George Chidi | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
Why most of the city's Black council members shot down a proposal to defund the police…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-contours-of-atlantas-policing-debate/

Never Surrender in Portland, Oregon
Mike Hastie | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
These young people have their entire lives ahead of them, and they see a grim future, and that is why they are so fucking angry…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/never-surrender-in-portland-oregon/

Why do we need to Transform Economics, and how do we do it?
Jayati Ghosh | mronline.org | 2020-08-19
First, a lot of it is simply wrong: that is, it is misleading about how economies work and the implications of economic policies and processes. For decades now, a significant and powerful lobby within the discipline has peddled half-truths and absolute falsehoods on many critical issues.
mronline.org/2020/08/19/why-do-we-need-to-transform-economics-and-how-do-we-do-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-do-we-need-to-transform-economics-and-how-do-we-do-it

Merkel, Macron call Putin as mass strikes escalate in Belarus
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
Shocked by the eruption of workers' anger in Belarus, Berlin and Paris hope Moscow can suppress it by brokering a deal between the regime and the official opposition.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/bela-a19.html

This Op-Ed Can Get Us Arrested in the Philippines
Menchie Caliboso and Vanessa Acosta | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
What if state officials targeted people who shared an Instagram post criticizing the government for criminalizing the poor and not providing mass testing or economic relief?
zcomm.org/znetarticle/this-op-ed-can-get-us-arrested-in-the-philippines/

Iran's COVID-19 death toll passes 20,000
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — According to Iranian Health Ministry, the novel coronavirus claimed 153 lives in Iran in the past 24 hours, putting the total number of cases in the country at 20,125.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162487/Iran-s-COVID-19-death-toll-passes-20-000

Zarif felicitates new Omani counterpart on appointment
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — In a Wednesday tweet in Arabic, Iranian FM Zarif congratulated his new Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood AlBusaidi on his appointment.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162488/Zarif-felicitates-new-Omani-counterpart-on-appointment

Iran remains main supporter of Resistance against Zionists
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Condemning the UAE' tie normalization with the usurping Zionist Regime, the representative of Islamic Jihad in Lebanon called Iran as the main supporter of Resistance Front in the fight against the Zionists in the region.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162482/Iran-remains-main-supporter-of-Resistance-against-Zionists

Intelligence forces dismantle big ammunition smuggling gang
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Iran's Intelligence forces have identified and dismantled a big arms and ammunition smuggling band in Alborz Province.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162492/Intelligence-forces-dismantle-big-ammunition-smuggling-gang

Zarif, Atmar discuss Afghan peace talks on phone
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — In a telephone conversation, Iranian FM Zarif and the Caretaker of the Afghan Foreign Ministry Mohammad Hanif Atmar conferred on Afghan peace talks.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162484/Zarif-Atmar-discuss-Afghan-peace-talks-on-phone

VIDEO: Dusting ceremony of Imam Hussein (PBUH) Mausoleum
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — The Holy Dome of Mausoleum of Third Infallible Imam of Household of Holy Prophet, Imam Hussein (PBUH) was dusted by the servants on the eve of mourning Month of Muharram in Karbala on Wed.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162485/VIDEO-Dusting-ceremony-of-Imam-Hussein-PBUH-Mausoleum

Khaf-Herat Railway to go on stream in Unity Week this year
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — An official at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development revealed that Khaf-Herat Railway project would become operational during the Unity Week which falls on Nov. 9-16, 2020.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162481/Khaf-Herat-Railway-to-go-on-stream-in-Unity-Week-this-year

Podcast: COVID-19 vaccine trials latest and privacy in contact tracing
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-08-19
In this edition: Results of the COVID-19 vaccine animal trials and the latest news from the human trials, plus privacy in contact tracing apps.
imperial.ac.uk/news/202493/podcast-covid-19-vaccine-trials-latest-privacy

Monday 8/24: Create a Just & Green Economic Recovery with Pat Showalter & Justine Burt
Debbie Mytels | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
On line. Link will be given upon registration.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835967.php

Saturday 8/22: Save the Post Office!
Berkeley Save the Post Office Committee | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
Downtown Berkeley Post Office steps | Allston & Milvia, Berkeley, CA…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835969.php

Thursday 8/20: SMART Local 1741 School Bus Drivers Rally SF City Hall For Justice & Against Privatizatio
SMART Local 1741 School Bus Drivers | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
San Francisco City Hall | Polk & McAllister | San Francisco…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835959.php

65% of California homes are single family homes
zrants | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
Fighting single family homes is like fighting…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835972.php

Upcoming 9/11 Truth Events and Actions
Carol Brouillet | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
2020 is not a normal year. With public gatherings essentially banned, events have gone virtual, including this year's 9/11 Truth events.There are also actions taking place in the courts.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835973.php

Tuesday 8/18: #AndStillIVote: Engaging & Supporting the Youth Vote in America
LCCHR | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
Online via livestream…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835955.php

Sunday 8/30: Amerikkka Is Burning Ball
The Peoples Oakland Pride | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
LAKE MERRITT AMPHITHEATER…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835982.php

Wednesday 8/19: We Mean Abolition: March in Santa Cruz
We Mean Abolition | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
Clock Tower, Mission and Pacific, Santa Cruz…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835970.php

Saturday 9/26: 2020 Yosemite National Park ~ CA Buffalo Soldier Celebrations
Khubaka, Michael Harris | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
Yosemite Valley…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835962.php

Friday 8/28: Exhibition Opening: Community is Collective Care
SCMAH | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History | 705 Front St, Santa Cruz…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835968.php

Thursday 8/20: On Common Ground: Para Nosotros, Por Nosotros August 20, 2020
KQED | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
Online/Virtual Event…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835957.php

Bill Clinton lectures Trump on 'taking responsibility' & proper Oval Office behavior while backing Biden's 2020 bid
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Former US president Bill Clinton took aim at the Trump administration's pandemic response in his speech to the Democratic convention, saying it has been "only chaos," while urging voters to send Joe Biden to the Oval Office. | "Denying, distracting and demeaning work great if you're trying to entertain or inflame, but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards," Clinton said of President Donald Trump's handling of the ongoing health crisis. | At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just one thing never changes — his deter…
rt.com/usa/498376-bill-clinton-endorses-biden/

American Samoa 'hostage situation' & Rhode Island 'calamari ninja': Twitter loses it over DNC's virtual roll call
rt.com | 2020-08-19
As the Democratic Party moved to nominate Joe Biden, viewers watching at home were somewhat distracted, infatuated with Rhode Island's calamari-wielding "ninja" and a bizarre "hostage-taking" scene in American Samoa. | The party's national convention pushed into its second night on Tuesday, seeing Biden officially elevated as the Democrats' 2020 presidential candidate alongside running mate Kamala Harris. During the roll call vote prior to the nomination, however, spectators couldn't help but notice that delegates in American Samoa, a US territory, were flanked by a pair of uniformed soldiers, giving the appea…
rt.com/usa/498378-democratic-nomination-roll-call-memes/

Joe Biden officially nominated as Democratic presidential candidate
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Joe Biden has clinched the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, becoming the official 2020 pick alongside running mate Kamala Harris after emerging from a crowded primary field. | Though Biden was the only Democratic candidate left in the running after facing off with early rivals during the primary, he formally seized the nomination on the second night of the party's national convention on Tuesday, selected in a virtual roll call vote by delegations from 57 states and territories. | "Thank you very, very much from the bottom of my heart. It means the world to me and my family, and I'll see you on Thurs…
rt.com/usa/498377-democrats-officially-nominate-biden/

Portland police identify suspect in BRUTAL assault by BLM mob (DISTURBING VIDEO)
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Portland police are searching for a Black Lives Matter protester who took a running kick at the head of a defenseless man, knocking him out after a group dragged the victim from his truck and made him sit in the street. | …
rt.com/usa/498373-portland-blm-kick-head/

Riot declared after Portland protesters set fire to county office that promotes 'cultural traditions and diversity' (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Portland police have dispersed a crowd of protesters after a mob vandalized and torched a local government building that hosted Oregon's first same-sex marriage ceremony. | The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said that demonstrators had "repeatedly smashed first floor windows with rocks and threw burning material" into the Multnomah County Building, which houses the county's Office of Community Involvement. Photographs show the outside of the building was vandalized with graffiti. | Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese said the destruction was "reprehensible" and "serves no legitimate purpose." | pic.twitter.
rt.com/usa/498395-portland-fire-diversity-office-protests/

Joe Biden nominated to take on Donald Trump
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-19
Democrats have formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee, as party officials and activists gave the former vice president their overwhelming support to take on Donald Trump. | The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who had sought the presidency twice before and is now cemented as the embodiment of Democrats' desperate desire to defeat Trump in autumn. | The roll call of convention delegates formalised what has been expected for months since Biden took the lead in the primary elections' chase for the nomination. | It came as he worked to demonstrate the breadth of his coalition f…
thecanary.co/us/us-news-us/2020/08/19/joe-biden-nominated-to-take-on-donald-trump/

Hapless Hancock defends cabinet colleague Williamson over exam fiasco
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-19
Calls for education secretary Gavin Williamson to quit over the A-level grades fiasco are a distraction at a time when he is focused on getting children back to school next month, a Cabinet colleague has said.Health secretary Matt Hancock said all ministers are "trying to do their best" in unprecedented circumstances "and I know that is true of Gavin Williamson".Hancock also acknowledged calls to increase student places at medical schools and promised that the government is working on the problem.Williamson is under intense pressure after he was forced to abandon the algorithm-based system for awarding A-level an…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/19/hapless-hancock-defends-cabinet-colleague-williamson-over-exam-fiasco/

World Bank's Rating Obsession Will Negate Debt Justice
Patrick Bond — Dominic Brown | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
The international financial system's reliance upon credit ratings — usually based on dubious premises — needs urgent rethinking. The Covid-19 pandemic is just one of the catastrophes leaving many low-income countries — and soon middle-income countries — unable to service foreign debts. Yet, the World Bank and IMF continue squeezing poor countries on behalf of…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/world-banks-rating-obsession-will-negate-debt-justice/

The Democratic Party and the national question
Monica Moorehead | workers.org | 2020-08-19
With the Aug. 11 announcement of California Sen. Kamala Harris's nomination for the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate, WW is reprinting excerpts from the July 25, 2019, article, "A revolutionary understanding of the national question — In defense of the squad." (workers.org/2019/08/43256) In response to Trump's xenophobic attack on Harris, . . . | Continue reading The Democratic Party and the national question at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50656/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-democratic-party-and-the-national-question

Brent oil price down with halt in US-China trade talks
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
Oil prices eased on Wednesday after stagnant US economic stimulus talks, and with US President Donald Trump postponing US-China trade talks.International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $45.05 per barrel at 0614GMT for a 0.9% decrease after closing Tuesday at $45.46 a barrel.American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $42.56 per barrel at the same time, down 1.3% after ending the previous session at $43.12 a barrel.Trump on Tuesday said he postponed trade negotiations with China, commenting that he does not want to talk to China "right now."Scheduled talks between representatives from the US and China…
yenisafak.com/en/economy/brent-oil-price-down-with-halt-in-us-china-trade-talks-3537190

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Trump campaign sues New Jersey over mail-in ballotsThe re-election campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump has sued New Jersey, following a decision on Friday by its Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, to mail a ballot to every voter in the state for November's elections, as well as hold in-person voting amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.The lawsuit filed described the step taken by Murphy as "illegal" and made two charges – first, that Murphy exercised power that belonged to the state legislature in changing the state's election law, and sec…
yenisafak.com/en/life/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-coronavirus-right-now-3537187

Syria's Idlib records first coronavirus death
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
The first coronavirus death in Syria's northwestern Idlib province was recorded, according to health officials. | "A female patient in her 80s died from the virus," the interim government's Health Minister, Maram al-Sheikh, said in a statement late Tuesday. | He indicated that the patient had suffered from a chronic kidney failure. | A total of 54 virus infections have been recorded in areas under the Syrian opposition, of which 46 recovered as of Wednesday.
yenisafak.com/en/world/syrias-idlib-records-first-coronavirus-death-3537188

Philippines reports 4,650 new coronavirus cases, 111 additional deaths
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
The Philippine health ministry on Wednesday confirmed 4,650 new coronavirus infections and 111 additional deaths.In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases have risen to 173,774, the highest in Southeast Asia, while deaths have increased to 2,795.The government on Wednesday relaxed a strict lockdown in the capital and nearby provinces, allowing more business establishments to resume operations.
yenisafak.com/en/world/philippines-reports-4650-new-coronavirus-cases-111-additional-deaths-3537181

Philippines work on use of saliva for COVID-19 testing
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
Researchers in Philippines are working to see the possible use of saliva as a sample for coronavirus testing.Maria Rosario Vergeire, a health department official, said Wednesday Filipino researchers were working on the "method of collecting saliva samples for almost a month now," daily Phil Star reported.The archipelago nation Wednesday reported 4,650 new cases and 111 deaths due to the virus. The national death toll climbed to 2,795 after fresh fatalities, while the number of total infections hit 173,774."That is being studied by our lab experts' panel. We forwarded it to our laboratory experts' panel to study a…
yenisafak.com/en/world/philippines-work-on-use-of-saliva-for-covid-19-testing-3537189

Russia reports 4,828 new coronavirus cases
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
Russia reported 4,828 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, pushing its nationwide tally to 937,321, the fourth largest in the world.Russia's coronavirus taskforce said 117 people had died over the last 24 hours, bringing its official death toll to 15,989.
yenisafak.com/en/world/russia-reports-4828-new-coronavirus-cases-3537185

Britain to bring in mass testing for coronavirus
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
Britain is planning to bring in population-wide mass testing for coronavirus to help control the pandemic, said health minister Matt Hancock on Wednesday."This is a really, really important drive that we have across government to bring in mass testing, population-wide testing," Hancock told BBC radio."We'll ramp it up, certainly over the remainder of this year."
yenisafak.com/en/news/britain-to-bring-in-mass-testing-for-coronavirus-3537186

Mali: Coup leaders pledge 'credible' elections
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
Leaders of a military coup in Mali vowed to hold "credible" elections in a statement announced on national television on Wednesday.The coup leaders, who pushed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign, have also announced the creation of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) to oversee a political transition.The committee affirmed its intention to set up a civil political transition that will lead to elections "in a reasonable delay", according to a statement read on national television ORTM by Col.-Maj. Ismael Wague, spokesman for the CNSP.He also announced an intention to respect inter…
yenisafak.com/en/news/mali-coup-leaders-pledge-credible-elections-3537184

Turkish | expert warns against | makeup | sharing due to Covid-19 risk
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
"It is certainly risky to share makeup under the current circumstances due to Covid-19. If a beauty product is used by several customers, it could linger on these products for 4 to 5 hours, resulting in potentially contracting the virus" Mehmet Ceyhan, a professor at Ankara-based Hacettepe University told Demirà∂ren News Agency, warning people before they visit beauty shops and salons.The Turkish expert pointed out that cosmetic products used, particularly those applied to the eyes and lips, pose a greater risk in spreading COVID-19."Communal makeup testers should not be used as we have to avoid sharing obje…
yenisafak.com/en/life/turkishexpert-warns-againstmakeupsharing-due-to-covid-19-risk-3537192

Dozens of Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa complex
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-19
Dozens of Jewish settlers forced their way into Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Wednesday, according to an official with the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. "Ninety-eight Jewish settlers have entered the compound since the morning, accompanied by Israeli police," the official told Anadolu Agency.He said the settlers entered through the compound's al-Mugharbah Gate, while more settlers are expected to enter the complex during the day to perform their rituals.Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site for Muslims, while Jews refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Je…
yenisafak.com/en/world/dozens-of-jewish-settlers-storm-al-aqsa-complex-3537191

This Is What Dystopia Looks Like
Aaron Talley | thenation.com | 2020-08-19
This Is What Dystopia Looks Like…
thenation.com/article/society/coronavirus-education-chicago/

What Populism Is and Is Not
Edward Burmila | thenation.com | 2020-08-19
What Populism Is and Is Not…
thenation.com/article/politics/thomas-frank-people-no-review/

Trump or Biden: Any Difference for the Global South?
Ajamu Baraka | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Congress decided to go on vacation while millions of U.S. workers are in economic limbo and while the United States continues to engage in criminal activity, such as when it seized four Iranian oil tankers that were on their way …
globalresearch.ca/trump-biden-any-difference-global-south/5721382

As Fires Surge in Brazilian Amazon, Bolsonaro Strategy to Battle Deforestation Blasted as 'PR Stunt'
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
"Instead of combating criminal behavior and protecting Indigenous forest guardians already hit hard by Covid-19, this government continues to reduce environmental protection." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gp_amazon_16aug20.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/08/18/fires-surge-brazilian-amazon-bolsonaro-strategy-battle-deforestation-blasted-pr?cd-origin=rss

'What Happens If Julian Assange Dies In A British Prison?'
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
For Assange however, justice delayed is not only justice denied. With global attention shifting from Wuhan to Washington, from Minneapolis to Lebanon, the father of two young children has spent another five months in incarceration without access to lawyers or family visitations. It follows what is approaching ten years of what the United Nations has repeatedly labeled arbitrary detention — the British government has so far failed to respond to three separate U.N. reports and correspondences on the matter. | Serena Tinari, a Switzerland-based investigative journalist, condemned Britain's handling of the case…
popularresistance.org/what-happens-if-julian-assange-dies-in-a-british-prison/

Assange extradition proceedings are illegal and should end, 100s of lawyers tell government
Tom Coburg | thecanary.co | 2020-08-18
154 lawyers and legal academics worldwide and hundreds more represented by their professional associations have written to UK government heads to request that extradition proceedings against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange end immediately. The letter is addressed to pri…
thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2020/08/18/assange-extradition-proceedings-are-illegal-and-should-end-100s-of-lawyers-tell-government/

US govt-funded Coda Story smears American journalists who undermine new Cold War propaganda
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-08-18
With backing from the US government's regime-change arm, an Operation Mockingbird-style website called Coda Story is attacking American journalists who…
thegrayzone.com/2020/08/18/us-government-funded-coda-story/

UN Ambassador Moncada: US Keeps Plotting To Invade Venezuela
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
The Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, reiterated his denunciation of the United States' orchestrating an invasion in Venezuela to destroy the military and political forces of the Bolivarian Revolution. | On his Twitter account, the Ambassador indicated that the White House's war propaganda against Venezuela seeks to assassinate the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro and turn the country into a colony. | …
popularresistance.org/un-ambassador-moncada-us-keeps-plotting-to-invade-venezuela/

Video: "The House Cat Flu" is Coming. The Meow Apocalypse
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
This article was first published on April 18, 2020 | The following episode of the Simpsons was released in 2010. | It is a satire. But at the same time it reveals the unspoken truth. The writer of the script is an …
globalresearch.ca/video-the-house-cat-flu-is-coming-the-meow-apocalypse/5710033

Bernie Sanders: 2020 Election Is a Fight Against Trump, Authoritarianism, Greed, Oligarchy & Bigotry
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-18
Calling the 2020 election "the most important in the modern history of this country," Senator Bernie Sanders, in his speech to the Democratic National Convention, urged people to fight "against greed, oligarchy and bigotry" by voting President Trump out of office in November. "We need Joe Biden as our next president," Sanders said.
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/18/bernie_sanders_dnc_2020_speech

"His Only Preexisting Condition Was Trusting Trump": Daughter Speaks at DNC After Dad Dies of COVID
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-18
One of the most memorable speeches of the opening night of the virtual Democratic National Convention was delivered by Kristin Urquiza, who said her father, a supporter of Donald Trump, died after believing the president's assurances that the coronavirus was under control. "My dad, Mark Anthony Urquiza, should be here today, but he isn't," she said. "My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump — and for that, he paid with his life."
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/18/kristin_urquiza_dnc_2020_speech

"Donald Trump Is the Wrong President for Our Country": Michelle Obama Slams President at DNC
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-18
On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a searing critique of President Trump, accusing him of being "in over his head" and incapable of carrying out the duties of the office. "If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can," Obama said. We air excerpts from her keynote speech, delivered virtually after the convention was moved online due to the pandemic.
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/18/michelle_obama_dnc_2020_speech

19th Amendment Turns 100: Fight for Voting Rights Builds on Centuries of Struggle Led by Black Women
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-18
As this year marks 100 years since the ratification of 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing women's right to vote, we look at the connection between the movement for women's suffrage and the movement to abolish slavery. Many states created laws to continue to deny women the vote, and African American women were subjected to the same Jim Crow laws already used to deny the vote to African American men. "To look for African American women and their history of the vote in 1920 is to miss the important chapter that begins in 1920 and doesn't culminate until the Voting Rights Act is adopted in 1965," says au…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/18/us_constitution_19th_amendment

Julián Castro Ran for President on a Police Reform Platform But Wasn't Invited to Give DNC Address
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-18
The Democratic National Convention faces criticism over the lack of diversity in its primetime programming during this year's virtual event, even as Latinx voters are slated to make up the largest bloc of nonwhite voters in 2020. Only a handful of Latinx speakers and no Muslim speakers are appearing during the broadcasted convention, while Republicans like former Ohio Governor John Kasich were given slots. "There were 35 primetime speakers, and only three of them were Latinx, and I raised a concern about that," says Julián Castro, former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and the only Latinx candidate in the…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/18/julian_castro_dnc_latinx_representation

On Bombs And Bombings
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-18
a full week now the Israeli army has been bombing Gaza, a population that is about to run out of fuel for its only power plant due to a years-long Israeli program of deliberate siege warfare. | Yesterday the US

On Bombs And Bombings

On Bombs And Bombings
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-18
For a full week now the Israeli army has been bombing Gaza, a population that is about to run out of fuel for its only power plant due to a years-long Israeli program of deliberate siege warfare.

On Bombs And Bombings

Protect the Vote and End Privatization of the Postal Service
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-08-18
As we warned earlier in the year, the US Postal Service is failing due to a long term effort to weaken it plus the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic, recession and intentional efforts by the Trump administration to suppress the vote. Members of Congress and state leaders are starting to take notice because of the …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/08/protect-the-vote-and-end-privatization-of-the-postal-service/

SouthCom Feels Threatened By Russia's 'Fundamental' Support Of Venezuela
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
The head of the Southern Command of the United States Armed Forces, Craig Faller, declared that Russia and Cuba represents a threat to them due to the "fundamental" support they give to Venezuela, a country on which the Donald Trump regime has imposed a brutal total blockade and continually threatens military invasion. | In viralized statements on social networks, Faller says that they have had to set off the alarms because of "the size of the threat" represented by "Russian influence" and the support that the Eurasian country gives to the government presided over by Nicolás Maduro. | "I cannot describe the size…
popularresistance.org/southcom-feels-threatened-by-russias-fundamental-support-venezuela/

COVID-19, Marxism, and the metabolic rift
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-08-18
The danger doesn't only come from the symptoms of a virus: it comes from our distorted relationship with the natural world.
mronline.org/2020/08/18/covid-19-marxism-and-the-metabolic-rift/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=covid-19-marxism-and-the-metabolic-rift

Desastre ambiental segundo Marx: faces da crise capitalista (II)
Mondialisation | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Continuando a análise comeàßada na primeira parte deste artigo — Monopólio, desemprego e desigualdade: faces da crise capitalista (I) –, vejamos como a crise do trabalho (desemprego) e a crise ambiental se relacionam, constituindo-se como duas faces da "crise estrutural …
globalresearch.ca/desastre-ambiental-segundo-marx-faces-da-crise-capitalista-ii/5721450

The US Prepares Conditions to Impose Its New 'Colombia Plan'
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Colombia's President Ivan Duque Monday met with U.S. officials to launch the Colombia Growth Initiative (CGI), which is the new version of the "Colombia Plan", the military aid aimed at combating drug cartels and left-wing insurgents in the 2000s. | RELATED: | Colombia: UN Condemns Massacre in Nariño | At the launch of this geopolitical proposal were the U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, the Southern Command Chief Craig Faller, the Presidential Adviser Mauricio Claver-Caron…
telesurenglish.net/news/The-US-Prepares-Conditions-to-Impose-Its-New-Colombia-Plan-20200818-0006.html

Don't be Hoodwinked by Trump's UAE-Israel "Peace Deal"
Medea Benjamin, Ariel Gold | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
"HUGE breakthrough today," crowed Donald Trump on twitter as he announced the new peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The deal makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state and the third Arab nation, after Egypt and Jordan, to have diplomatic ties with Israel. But the new Israel-UAE partnership should fool…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/dont-be-hoodwinked-by-trumps-uae-israel-peace-deal/

Don't Be Hoodwinked by Trump's UAE-Israel 'Peace Deal'
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-08-18
Medea BENJAMIN, Ariel GOLD | "HUGE breakthrough today," crowed Donald Trump on twitter as he announced the new peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The deal makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state and the third Arab nation, after Egypt and Jordan, to have diplomatic ties with Israel. But the new Israel-UAE partnership should fool no one. Though it will supposedly stave off Israeli annexation of the West Bank and encourage tourism and trade between both countries, in reality…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/18/dont-be-hoodwinked-by-trump-uae-israel-peace-deal/

Supporting communities and refugees in Lebanon a 'top priority': UNHCR chief
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
The head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is in Lebanon to drive home the message of solidarity with all those affected by the devastating blast a fortnight ago, reaching out to both Lebanese and the many refugees and migrants sheltering in the country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070452

Migrant attacked by man moments after landing in UK
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
A young migrant was assaulted by a man moments after landing in the UK, the Sun reported Tuesday.The migrant, who was in his twenties, landed on the beach in Kingsdown, Kent, southeast England. The attack happened around 11 a.m. (1000GMT) Sunday, and the migrant was left injured.Police, searching for the attacker, said in a statement: "Kent Police was notified at around 11.05 a.m. on Sunday of a reported assault of a man in his 20s off Undercliffe Road, Kingsdown."Officers attended to ensure the welfare of the man, who was not seriously injured and did not require hospital treatment."Enquiries to establish the ci…
yenisafak.com/en/world/migrant-attacked-by-man-moments-after-landing-in-uk-3537098

Refugee with compromised health calls for freedom, thanks supporters
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-18
Refugees & migrants Ali MirzaeiIssue 1277 Australia Mantra Hotel medevac law MelbourneAugust 18, 2020Ali Mirzaei, a refugee who i…
greenleft.org.au/content/refugee-compromised-health-calls-freedom-thanks-supporters

CODENAME: Operation Virus Identification 2019; the Elitist Plan to Remake Society
Mike Whitney | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Everything we were originally told about the Coronavirus has turned out to be wrong. | In fact, it's not a "novel" one-of-a-kind infection at all, but a member of a larger family of which there have been many iterations in the …
globalresearch.ca/codename-operation-virus-identification-2019-elitist-plan-remake-society/5721376

The Specter of a Fascist Coup by Trump Haunts the US: There's Worse to Worry About
Roger D. Harris | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-08-18
Spreading faster than COVID-19 among those on the portside, warnings of a fascist-style coup by Trump are rampant this presidential campaign season. Should Trump fail to carry the Electoral College, Noam Chomsky admonishes, "he could send Blackshirts out in the streets… preparation for a plan to try to bring the military in to carry out …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/08/the-specter-of-a-fascist-coup-by-trump-haunts-the-us-theres-worse-to-worry-about/

'Palestine Is a Red Line', Morocco-Israel Relations, Netanyahu's "Normalization" Machine? Moroccan Writers Boycott UAE, Israel
Tamba Franàßois Koundouno | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Five Moroccan authors have announced their decision to boycott an Emirati literary prize in objection to the UAE's "normalization" deal with Israel, Spanish newspaper EFE reported Saturday. | According to the report, the Moroccan writers all expressed their dismay and disappointment …
globalresearch.ca/palestine-red-line-moroccan-writers-boycott-uae-israel/5721400

The Decline in Power of the Oil States
Patrick Cockburn | zcomm.org | 2020-08-18
Beset by wars and dysfunctional social and economic systems, the Middle East is too fragile to cope with the coming earthquake…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-decline-in-power-of-the-oil-states/

Poland and Lithuania Are Escalating Events in Belarus as They Did with Maidan
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus with five candidates bidding to be head of state. According to the Central Election Commission, the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, won in the first round with over 80% of the …
globalresearch.ca/poland-lithuania-escalating-events-belarus/5721411

Managing the Narrative
Philip Giraldi | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-18
Corporations and government use internet to control information | Some Americans continue to believe that when they go to the internet they will get a free flow of useful information that will guide them in making decisions or coming to conclusions about the state of the world. That conceit might have been true to an extent twenty years ago, but the growth and consolidation of corporate information management firms has instead limited access to material that it does not approve of, thereby successfully shaping the political and economic environment to conform with their own interests. Facebook, Google and other n…

Managing the Narrative

Managing the Narrative: Corporations and Government Use Internet to Control Information
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Some Americans continue to believe that when they go to the internet they will get a free flow of useful information that will guide them in making decisions or coming to conclusions about the state of the world. That conceit …
globalresearch.ca/managing-narrative-corporations-government-use-internet-control-information/5721394

Needed: Indicators for Measuring Injustice and Societal Decay
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
Economic indicators — data points, trends, and micro-categories — are the widgets of the big information industry. By contrast, indicators for our society's democratic health are not similarly compiled, aggregated, and reported. Its up and down trends are presented piecemeal and lack quantitative precision. We can get the process started and lay the basis for…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/needed-indicators-for-measuring-injustice-and-societal-decay/

Hands off Lebanon: Macron's Self-serving 'New Pact' Must Be Shunned
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-18
Devastated Lebanon is now receptive to another bout of 'disaster capitalism': the notion that a country must be on its knees as a prerequisite to foreign economic takeover, political and, if necessary, military intervention.
mintpressnews.com/hands-off-lebanon-emmanuel-macron-self-serving-new-pact-must-be-shunned/270531/

Anthony Fauci Is Out, Sidelined by Trump. Common Sense Might be Returning. Enter Dr. Scott Atlas to the Coronavirus Task Force
Rep. Ron Paul | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
It is now official: the media has confirmed that Dr. Anthony Fauci has been "sidelined" by Trump. This is nothing new. Fauci has not been fired as head of the NIASD. It is unclear whether this new appointment will trigger | …
globalresearch.ca/fauci-out-common-sense-returning/5721406

Anthony Fauci Is Out, "Sidelined" by Trump. Enter Dr. Scott Atlas to the Coronavirus Task Force
Rep. Ron Paul | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
It is now official: Dr. Anthony Fauci has been "sidelined" by president Trump. This is nothing new. | Dr. Fauci has not been fired as head of the NIAID. Moreover, it is unclear whether this new appointment will trigger a significant | …
globalresearch.ca/fauci-out-common-sense-returning/5721406

Colonialism intensifies pandemic school crisis for Puerto Ricans
Lorraine Liriano Chávez | workers.org | 2020-08-18
This slightly edited talk was given at the Aug. 6 Workers World Party webinar, "War on the Working Class: the Socialist Response," which featured education workers. Lorraine Liriano Chávez Puerto Rico faces the life-threatening decision of the reopening of schools in the midst of rising COVID-19 cases. This escalation is . . . | Continue reading Colonialism intensifies pandemic school crisis for Puerto Ricans at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50621/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=colonialism-intensifies-pandemic-school-crisis-for-puerto-ricans

Colonialism intensifies pandemic school crisis for Puerto Ricans
| workers.org | 2020-08-18
By Lorraine Liriano Chávez This slightly edited talk was given at the Aug. 6 Workers World Party webinar, "War on the Working Class: the Socialist Response," which featured education workers. Lorraine Liriano Chávez Puerto Rico faces the life-threatening decision of the reopening of schools in the midst of rising COVID-19 . . . | Continue reading Colonialism intensifies pandemic school crisis for Puerto Ricans at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50621/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=colonialism-intensifies-pandemic-school-crisis-for-puerto-ricans

U.S., fascists set scopes on socialist-leaning Belarus
Otis Grotewohl | workers.org | 2020-08-18
Chinese President Xi Jingping and Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on his reelection Aug. 9. USSR-era socialist art in Minsk, Belarus, in February 2019. U.S. imperialism and the Western bourgeois media, however, wasted no time in denouncing Lukashenko's victory as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used . . . | Continue reading U.S., fascists set scopes on socialist-leaning Belarus at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50609/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=u-s-fascists-set-scopes-on-socialist-leaning-belarus

Venezuela: PSUV Reinforces the Organization of Its Electoral Base
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Guayana Mayor Tito Oviedo Tuesday announced that the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is fully prepared and organized to win the December 6 parliamentary elections. | RELATED: | Venezuela Fights Malnutrition With 3,000 'Food Houses' | "The electoral roll in the largest city in southeastern Venezuela is 98 percent updated," Oviedo said and commented that PSUV militants will be present at all polling stations to testify about the citizen vote. | He also re…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-PSUV-Reinforces-the-Organization-of-Its-Electoral-Base–20200818-0015.html

U.S., Fascists Set Scopes On Socialist-Leaning Belarus
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
Belarus's government has its contradictions. While Belarus still maintains features from its socialist history as part of the Soviet Union, it lost other socialist features during and after the USSR's collapse. The people have some legitimate grievances against Lukashenko, especially regarding his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Taking advantage of these grievances, Washington and the Belarus opposition use problems caused by the pandemic as a pretext against Belarus's sovereignty — despite the U.S. government's own mishandling of the pandemic crisis. | As of this writing, the opposition's future is st…
popularresistance.org/u-s-fascists-set-scopes-on-socialist-leaning-belarus/

Socialist to contest Geelong council elections, calls for sustainable jobs
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-18
Economy Sue BullIssue 1277 Australia Geelong council elections Windermere Ward GeelongAugust 18, 2020Union organiser and activist…
greenleft.org.au/content/socialist-contest-geelong-council-elections-calls-sustainable-jobs

Socialist to contest Geelong council elections, calls for sustainable jobs
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-18
Economy Sue BullIssue 1277 Australia Geelong council elections Windermere Ward GeelongAugust 18, 2020Union organiser and activist…
greenleft.org.au/content/socialist-contest-geelong-council-elections-calls-sustainable-jobs

Trump Gives Chinese Parent Company 90 Days to Divest from TikTok
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
US cold war on China risks turning hot if bipartisan hardliners in Washington push things too far. | Their hostile actions are all about wanting China's development, growth, and prominence on the world stage undermined. | Since Trump took office, scores of …
globalresearch.ca/trump-gives-chinese-parent-company-90-days-divest-tiktok/5721390

"Fake News": Iran Paid Taliban to Kill US Troops… Big Lies Take a Life of Their Own
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
When repeated ad nauseam, Big Lies take on a life of their own. | Before the television age arrived, famed actor/humorist Will Rogers once said: "All I know is what I read in the papers." | He might have added that mind …
globalresearch.ca/iran-paid-taliban-kill-us-troops/5721389

Colombia: Uribe Resigns Senate Seat
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Colombia former president Alvaro Uribe renounced his seat in the Colombian Senate on Tuesday amidst an inquiry against him for witness manipulation. | RELATED: | The US Prepares Conditions to Impose Its New 'Colombia Plan' | Uribe sent a resignation letter addressed to Senate president Arturo Char Chaljud, alleging the Supreme Court does not offer legal guarantees in the judicial process. | …
telesurenglish.net/news/colombia-uribe-resigned-to-his-seat-in-the-senate–20200818-0018.html

Afghanistan: Missiles Hit Near Kabul's Diplomatic District
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Afghanistan's Interior Ministry Tuesday announced that a dozen people were injured after several rockets hit the diplomatic district known as the Green Zone in Kabul. | RELATED: | Afghanistan: US Troops Drawdown Depends On Taliban Commitment | "The rockets were fired from two vehicles parked at the Kabul Presidential Palace. Five men, four children, and a woman were injured," Interior Ministry's spokesman Tariq Arian said. | So far, authorities have not reported any fatalities du…
telesurenglish.net/news/afghanista-missiles-hit-near-kabuls-diplomatic-district-20200818-0001.html

Will there ever be elections again in Bolivia?
Vijay Prashad | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-18
Following a massive national strike organized after elections were postponed for a third time in Bolivia since the coup d'état, Vijay Prashad and Manuel Bertoldi discuss the future of Bolivian democracy…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/18/will-there-ever-be-elections-again-in-bolivia/

Justice Wins in Michigan
Jessica Ayoub | aclu.org | 2020-08-18
When voters resoundingly chose Karen McDonald in the August 4 primary to become her party's nominee for Oakland County prosecutor, the ACLU of Michigan considered it a major win. Not for a particular candidate, but for the policies that can help us end our community's overreliance on incarceration and eliminate racism within our criminal legal system. Voters are increasingly seeking the kinds of policies at the heart of our Smart Justice Campaign, as illustrated by this race and many others across the country., , Oakland County is one of the state's largest counties.
aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/justice-wins-in-michigan

Votes for Women — and Everyone — Now!
Susan N. Herman | aclu.org | 2020-08-18
When the 19th Amendment, ratified on August 18, 1920, finally allowed women to vote, ACLU founder Crystal Eastman, an ardent suffragist, was not interested in a victory celebration. She wanted women to use their newly minted political power to promote true freedom and equality, regardless of sex. " Now We Can Begin," she urged, in a still-renowned speech. , , But the adoption of the 19th Amendment did not actually enable all women to vote. Black women and other women of color still had to confront laws and practices design…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/votes-for-women-and-everyone-now

Hariri assassination: UN-backed tribunal finds one guilty, three acquitted
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
The UN Secretary-General took note on Tuesday of the guilty verdict delivered by a special UN-backed court, in the case of one of the defendants accused of killing former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in a bomb attack 15 years ago. Three other defendants, also reportedly members of militant group, Hezbollah, were acquitted.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070482

Democratic convention opens with appeal to right-wing Republican support
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
Bernie Sanders led the way in preaching political unity from "left" to right against Trump and for Biden.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/dems-a18.html

Bernie Sanders: 2020 election is a fight against Trump, authoritarianism, greed, oligarchy & bigotry
Amy Goodman | nationofchange.org | 2020-08-18
"This election is the most important in the modern history of this country."
nationofchange.org/2020/08/18/bernie-sanders-2020-election-is-a-fight-against-trump-authoritarianism-greed-oligarchy-bigotry/

Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama rally the troops
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-18
Delivering stark warnings about disasters that would befall the nation and the planet under four more years of Donald Trump, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., urged his sometimes-recalcitrant supporters to vote for and campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden this fall. "The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is …
peoplesworld.org/article/bernie-sanders-and-michelle-obama-rally-the-troops/

US: Trump Criticized During Democratic National Convention
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
U.S. President Donald Trump Monday was harshly targeted by speakers during the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Washington. | RELATED: | Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris as Running Mate | Trump was slammed about the way he is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic downturn, and the social unrest derived from racism episodes in the nation. | Former First Lady Michelle Obama said he has been overtaken by the times the country is going through and called him "the wrong…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-trump-criticized-during-democratic-national-convention-20200818-0012.html

The Way to Enact a Progressive Foreign-Policy Agenda? Personnel
Matt Sedlar | cepr.net | 2020-08-18
The American Prospect See article on original site From his rejection of multilateralism to his embrace of hostile dictators, President Trump's foreign policy has failed all but a small clique of committed war hawks, defense contractors, and international corporations. As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris work to present a stark contrast to Trump on the …
cepr.net/the-way-to-enact-a-progressive-foreign-policy-agenda-personnel/

A view from a South Asian revolutionary on Kamala Harris — a WW commentary
| workers.org | 2020-08-18
By Tania Siddiqi Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced on Aug. 11 that California Sen. Kamala Devi Harris, the first South Asian American and the second African American woman to serve as a U.S. senator, will be his running mate for the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Tania Siddiqi Harris . . . | Continue reading A view from a South Asian revolutionary on Kamala Harris — a WW commentary at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50636/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-view-from-a-south-asian-revolutionary-on-kamala-harris-a-ww-commentary

A Battleground State at War with Itself
Emilio Leanza | progressive.org | 2020-08-18
President Trump's flyover stop in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was only to spite Biden and stir division.
progressive.org/dispatches/battleground-state-war-with-itself-leanza-herman-200818/

A view from a South Asian revolutionary on Kamala Harris — a WW commentary
Tania Siddiqi | workers.org | 2020-08-18
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced on Aug. 11 that California Sen. Kamala Devi Harris, the first South Asian American and the second African American woman to serve as a U.S. senator, will be his running mate for the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Tania Siddiqi Harris is now the . . . | Continue reading A view from a South Asian revolutionary on Kamala Harris — a WW commentary at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50636/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-view-from-a-south-asian-revolutionary-on-kamala-harris-a-ww-commentary

Harris' Problem Isn't Her Identity, It's Her Politics
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
As you no doubt know by now, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has chosen US Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate. You've probably also noticed the first salvo of Republican attacks on Harris: She's "not really black," and she may not even be a "natural born citizen" as required by the Constitution to…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/harris-problem-isnt-her-identity-its-her-politics/

President Piñera Launches Bidding to Set up 5G Network in Chile
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Chile's President Sebastian Piñera launched the first bidding process to install the 5G technology in the country, which is one of the first Latin American nations to develop this network. | RELATED: | Chile Takes to the Streets Against President Sebastian Piñera | "The 5G application will be prioritized in essential sectors such as health, education, transportation, and natural disaster control," Piñera said. | Chile will allocate between US$2.65 billion and US$3 billion to dou…
telesurenglish.net/news/President-Pinera-Launches-Bidding-to-Set-up-5G-Network-in-Chile-20200818-0013.html

Making Billions v Making Ends Meet
Dominic Rushe | zcomm.org | 2020-08-18
How the Pandemic Has Split the US Economy in Two…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/making-billions-v-making-ends-meet/

China Demands US To Cancel Measures Against TikTok
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
China's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected the announcement to ban TikTok and WeChat in the United States made by President Donald Trump's administration. | RELATED: | Trump Keeps Pushing ByteDance to Hand Over TikTok to the US | He said that TikTok follows the U.S. regulations, its managers are U.S. citizens, and its servers are outside of China. | Zhao also affirmed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has confirmed that China…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-Demands-US-To-Cancel-Measures-Against-TikTok-20200818-0010.html

The Danger of War With China is Real and Insane
Larry Wilkerson | zcomm.org | 2020-08-18
China and the U.S. must work together to solve the climate crisis, but the power of the militaries and national security states on both sides is making that impossible…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-danger-of-war-with-china-is-real-and-insane/

A Child of Drought: On Climate Resilience, Community, and Love
Leia Barnett | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
It feels strange to say it, but I am a child of drought. Not drought in any kind of metaphorical sense. Drought in the literal description, as defined by Merriam-Webster: a period of dryness, especially when prolonged. Perhaps this is the price of reveling in the beauty of the desert southwest. We are gifted daily…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/a-child-of-drought-on-climate-resilience-community-and-love/

Can California's Prison Firefighter Program Be Reformed?
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-08-18
California's Conservation Camps put prisoners to work fighting climate change-fueled fires for pennies on the dollar.
therealnews.com/stories/can-californias-prison-firefighter-program-be-reformed

Workers Struggles: The Americas
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
Colombian Federation of Education Workers conducted a 48-hour strike August 12 and 13 against plans for a rotating reopening of the country's schools that teachers say is unsafe.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/wrkr-a18.html

USA to Iraq: We Will Withdraw but Without Being Humiliated
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi is preparing to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House, about issues that are burdening Iraq. The country is struggling with a stifling economic crisis, the Coronavirus pandemic, the US military presence that …
globalresearch.ca/usa-iraq-we-withdraw-without-being-humiliated/5721402

Peru tops half a million coronavirus cases as political crisis deepens
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
With over 535,000 COVID-19 cases and 26,000 deaths, and amid growing class tensions, President Vizcarra is leaning heavily on the military.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/peru-a18.html

The Dystopian Coronavirus America
Peter Crowley | zcomm.org | 2020-08-18
Alas, we are a lost, divided and confused nation. No longer are we the laughing stock of the world, as when Donald Trump was elected, but its pity.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-dystopian-coronavirus-america/

Industrial Recreation isn't Conservation
Mike Bader | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
Industrial strength recreation is a clear and present danger to our public wildlands. Legendary Montana wilderness guide Smoke Elser observed there is a new breed of recreationist on the land: "Mountain bikers are out to challenge the resource. It's about how fast you can go and how many miles you can put on. Snowmobilers are after the highest mark on the hillside, the highest speed across the meadow."
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/industrial-recreation-isnt-conservation/

What Will Trump Do to the World to Win Re-Election?
John Feffer | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
In 2016, Alan Lichtman departed from conventional wisdom to predict a Donald Trump victory in that year's presidential election. The political scientist was following something he called the "13 keys to the White House." Using this relatively straightforward metric, Lichtman had correctly predicted the outcome of presidential elections stretching back to 1984. Trump was so…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/what-will-trump-do-to-the-world-to-win-re-election/

India's Frontline Health Workers Laboring Through the Lockdown
Ira Deulgaonkar | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
"We have gone through a lot of strain during the lockdown. Apart from the Covid-19 surveys, I handled 27 childbirths from just April to July. Right from the mother's check-up to taking her to the primary health centre for delivery, I was there for all of them," says Tanuja Waghole, an ASHA worker — accredited…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/indias-frontline-health-workers-laboring-through-the-lockdown/

Industrial Recreation isn't Conservation
Mike Bader | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
Industrial strength recreation is a clear and present danger to our public wildlands. Legendary Montana wilderness guide Smoke Elser observed there is a new breed of recreationist on the land:…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/industrial-recreation-isnt-conservation/

Trump Holds the Mail Hostage
Richard C. Gross | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
You drop a check for a bill or a greeting card in a blue post office letter box and walk away without a second thought, knowing your mail will arrive, not if. Not in the twisted age of Trump, who is on a crusade to cripple the mail to try to ensure his reelection.
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/trump-holds-the-mail-hostage/

What Will Trump Do to the World to Win Re-Election?
John Feffer | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
In 2016, Alan Lichtman departed from conventional wisdom to predict a Donald Trump victory in that year's presidential election. The political scientist was following something he called the "13 keys to the White House." Using this relatively straightforward metric, Lichtman had correctly predicted the outcome of presidential elections stretching back to 1984. Trump was so…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/what-will-trump-do-to-the-world-to-win-re-election/

The Basic Case for a Wealth Tax
Bob Lord — Lee Price | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
Changes in tax policy since 1980 have been driving U.S. inequality to levels not seen since the original Gilded Age. Reversing that trajectory — and restoring a more egalitarian society — will require a complete overhaul of the changes in tax policy we've seen over the past four decades. Taxes as a share of national…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/the-basic-case-for-a-wealth-tax/

Why I Write
James Bovard | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
I was born in Iowa, raised in the mountains of Virginia, and attended Virginia Tech sporadically from 1974 to 1976 before dropping out to try my luck writing. At some point in the late 1970s, individual liberty became my highest political value and I resolved to do what I could to defend it. I had…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/why-i-write/

How Software Companies Might Lead Us Out of Our E-Waste Dilemma
Julian Vigo | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
I first came across the subscription model when, immediately following a software update, my Adobe Acrobat system failed to work and I was forced to reinstall it. But when I got to the step for entering the serial number I was instead deferred to an Adobe website where I was told to sign up for…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/how-software-companies-might-lead-us-out-of-our-e-waste-dilemma/

The COVID Pandemic and the Housing Crisis
Yixia Cai — Shawn Fremstad | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
Over 20 million people lost jobs and wages during the initial months of the pandemic. In July 2020, the economy was still down nearly 13 million jobs from its February level. The CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020, included a number of provisions designed to replace lost income and keep…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/the-covid-pandemic-and-the-housing-crisis/

Mali: Shootings and Arrests in Bamako Warns of Possible Coup
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
On Tuesday morning, a mutiny in a military camp and the arrest of high-ranking officers raised fears of an attempted coup against Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. | RELATED: | US Ends Ebola Screenings for Travelers from Mali | "The embassy received information about the Armed Forces' mutiny. Norwegians must stay at home," Norway's embassy tweeted. | Bamako people are in great turmoil. Government offices, banks, and shops have closed. Local media are not providing any official info…
telesurenglish.net/news/mali-shootings-and-arrests-in-bamako-warns-of-possible-coup-20200818-0005.html

Mali: Military Forces Arrest President and Top Officials
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, alongside other officials, were arrested on Tuesday by military forces following weeks of widespread protests against the government. | RELATED: | Mali: Shootings and Arrests in Bamako Warns of Possible Coup | Local media outlets point at Colonel Malick Diaw and General Gen Sadio Camara as the alleged coup leaders. | The chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemned the coup via Twi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mali-Military-Forces-Arrest-President-and-Top-Officials-20200818-0019.html

The Specter of a Fascist Coup by Trump Haunts the U.S. — There's Worse to Worry About
Roger D. Harris | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-18
Spreading faster than COVID-19 among those on the portside, warnings of a fascist-style coup by Trump are rampant this presidential campaign season.
mintpressnews.com/specter-of-trump-fascism-coup-haunting-us/270514/

US: Los Angeles to Test All Students and Teachers for COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent Austin Beutner announced a COVID-19 testing plan for students and school personnel, as learning activities would resume this fall. | RELATED: | Mali: Military Forces Arrest President and Top Officials | "Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary actions, and while this testing and contact tracing effort is unprecedented, it is necessary and appropriate," Beutner said. | The testing program would start on Monday, August 24, an…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-los-angeles-to-test-all-students-and-teachers-for-covid19-20200818-0022.html

'No One Is Allowed Out': How COVID-19 Is Spreading Through Wisconsin Prisons
Arvind Dilawar | progressive.org | 2020-08-18
Wisconsin officials have put safety precautions in place, but that hasn't stopped prison guards from refusing to follow them.
progressive.org/dispatches/how-covid-is-spreading-through-wi-prisons-dilawar-200818/

The Hunger Crisis in Guatemala
Yanis Iqbal | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
A report released by Oxfam in July 2020 states, "COVID-19 is deepening the hunger crisis in the world's hunger hotspots and creating new epicentres of hunger across the globe. By the end of the year 12,000 people per day …
globalresearch.ca/hunger-crisis-guatemala/5721355

What went wrong with the first COVID-19 shutdown?
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-08-18
In the spring, we shut down our lives and our economy in hopes of reducing the spread of COVID-19 enough to be able to manage it through widespread testing and contact tracing. In spite of that shutdown, today the virus is raging virtually uncontrolled. We didn't stick with it until the job was done.
mronline.org/2020/08/18/what-went-wrong-with-the-first-covid-19-shutdown/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-went-wrong-with-the-first-covid-19-shutdown

Children have 'nowhere to turn', as COVID-19 hits protection, social services, reports UNICEF
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
Disruptions to services for preventing and responding to violence in the home , due to the global pandemic, has left children in more than 100 countries vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey has found.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070412

Bridging Asia-Pacific 'digital divide' vital to realize tech benefits
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
Countries across Asia and the Pacific are using new technologies to contain the global pandemic and mitigate its impact, the UN's regional socio-economic development arm has said, as governments and experts work together to identify ways to innovate further, and build back better, after COVID-19.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070502

WHO chief warns against COVID-19 'vaccine nationalism', urges support for fair access
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
Warning against "vaccine nationalism" in the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has again underlined the importance of global solidarity in addressing the crisis.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070422

Weighing the Benefits and Risks of Proliferating Observational Treatment Assessments
Califf RM, Hernandez AF, Landray M. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-08-18
This Viewpoint discusses the role of observational study designs and data in the rapid stand-up of an evidence base for managing the COVID-19 pandemic, proposing ways to position observational research as a foundation for rapid follow-on randomized evaluation without premature overinterpretation of its findings.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769139

Peru: Doctors to Go on Strike for Better Working Conditions
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Peru's Medical Federation (FMP) Monday announced a 48-hour national strike to demand greater investment in the health sector as COVID-19 cases soar in the country. | RELATED: | Peru: Over 900 Women Disappeared During Quarantine | In a letter addressed to Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti, the FMP asked for better working conditions and salary improvement as more of their colleagues become infected. | They also pointed out that the strike will take place on August 26 and 27 since the government…
telesurenglish.net/news/peru-doctors-announce-strike-to-demand-better-working-conditions–20200818-0007.html

"A poor man's virus:" COVID-19 reveals the class chasm in America
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
America's extreme social inequality underpins all aspects of the US government's response to the pandemic, which has been characterized by total disregard for the health, safety and well-being of the vast majority of the population.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/pers-a18.html

Children have 'nowhere to turn', as COVID-19 hits protection, social services, reports UNICEF
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
Disruptions of important violence prevention and response services due to the global pandemic has left children in more than 100 countries vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey has found.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070412

At North Carolina colleges, 'Safe Jobs Save Lives'
calvin deutschbein | workers.org | 2020-08-18
Chapel Hill, N.C. At 2: 15 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14 — as the first week of in-person classes at the University of North Carolina wound to a close — the independent student newspaper, the Daily Tarheel, made the announcement: "BREAKING: Carolina Housing reported two COVID-19 clusters today." UE 150 organized . . . | Continue reading At North Carolina colleges, 'Safe Jobs Save Lives' at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50615/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=at-north-carolina-colleges-safe-jobs-save-lives

Who is Scott Atlas, Trump's new adviser on the COVID-19 pandemic?
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
Dr. Scott Atlas, a former neuroradiologist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution was selected as the new presidential adviser on the pandemic to "counter" Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading US epidemiologist.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/atls-a18.html

Video: The Great Vaccine Debate! Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. vs Alan Dershowitz
Robert F. Kennedy Jr | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Don't miss this historic debate between Children's Health Defense Chairman Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz. | With the current COVID crisis dominating headlines at national and local levels, the topic of vaccines is now front …
globalresearch.ca/video-robert-f-kennedy-jr-vs-alan-dershowitz-great-vaccine-debate/5721378

Scientists Determine The Order Of COVID-19 Symptoms
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) Monday identified the likely order in which COVID-19 symptoms appear, a finding that could help both patients and doctors to better handle the disease. | RELATED: | Russia Officially Produces First Batch of COVID-19 Vaccine | The study was led by doctoral candidate Joseph Larsen with faculty advisors Peter Kuhn and James Hicks from the USC Michelson Convergent Science Institute in Cancer (CSI-Cancer). | Specialists conclu…
telesurenglish.net/news/scientists-determine-the-order-of-covid-19s-symptoms-20200818-0004.html

London bus drivers deliver massive strike vote over "COVID pay," health and safety
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
The ballots show the willingness of drivers to fight but Unite's "consultative" ballot campaign is a fraud.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/busb-a18.html

Canadian authorities to reopen schools, facilitating COVID-19 spread
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
The Canadian ruling elite has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting ever more explicitly the homicidal principle of "herd immunity."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/casc-a18.html

Mexico: 98 Percent of Children Will Study From Home
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Mexico's Education Secretary Esteban Moctezuma Monday announced that the Learn at Home II program is ready to serve 98 percent of elementary and middle school students. | RELATED: | Mexicans to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine for Free, AMLO Vows | "We developed a fair strategy for children that considers their socioeconomic conditions and the region in which they live," he said, recalling that face-to-face classes were suspended on March 23. | At that time, the Education Secretary (S…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mexico-98-Percent-of-Children-Will-Study-From-Home-20200818-0003.html

Cuba to Start a Clinical Trial for a COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Cuba advances in the development of its COVID-19 vaccine as the country already has four vaccine candidates and one of them has already been approved for clinical trials. | RELATED: | Russia to Start the Production of Its COVID-19 Vaccine in Cuba | The Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV) registered a clinical trial for one of its vaccine candidates on August 13 in the Cuban Public Registry of Clinical Trials. The trial, named SOBERANA 01, is on phase I and II and the first enrollmen…
telesurenglish.net/news/Cuba-to-Start-a-Clinical-Trial-of-a-COVID-19-Vaccine-Candidate-20200818-0025.html

Police arrest journalist and counterprotesters at far-right Proud Boys rally in Michigan
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
The role of the police during the fascist attack Saturday in Kalamazoo contrasts sharply with the repressive response to protests against police violence in early June.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/kzpb-a18.html

Spontaneous Lines: The Art of Rita Blitt. A Yes to Life, A Yes to the World… Art is Life
Prof. Sam Ben-Meir | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Rita Blitt: Around and Round (Tra Publishing, 2020), looks back at the long and prolific career of this notable American artist. If Blitt's work is about anything then it is about the exuberance, the joy, the …
globalresearch.ca/spontaneous-lines-art-rita-blitt/5721417

Interpreting the UAE/Israel Agreement on Suspending Annexation
Richard Falk | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Any comment on regional implications of the Agreement is, of course, highly speculative as the real reasons for such an initiative are rarely disclosed by those with the power of decision. In this case the uncertainties are magnified by some …
globalresearch.ca/interpreting-uae-israel-agreement-suspending-annexation/5721357

Venezuela, and Trump's Irrational Electoral Policy
Jorge Arreaza | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Elections always have an interesting effect on public policy, in particular if the person in charge of designing and implementing a certain policy is up for reelection. In politics, it is logical that an incumbent candidate decides to show successful …
globalresearch.ca/venezuela-trump-irrational-electoral-policy/5721408

Former Lebanese Interior Minister Blames Israel for Beirut Attack
Richard Silverstein | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
A former Lebanese Interior Minister has publicly blamed Israel for the attack on Beirut: | This operation in Beirut was carried out by Israel in a clear and explicit manner," Machnouk said, adding: "It is clear we are looking at a | …
globalresearch.ca/former-lebanese-interior-minister-blames-israel-beirut-attack/5721396

Pandemic Pod People: Invasion of the School Snatchers
Project Censored | projectcensored.org | 2020-08-18
With no national plan to control the pandemic, nor a coherent program to reopen schools safely, the Trump Administration has trapped school districts in a Sophie's Choice: to open schools…
projectcensored.org/pandemic-pod-people-invasion-of-the-school-snatchers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pandemic-pod-people-invasion-of-the-school-snatchers

United Arab Emirates-Israel agreement cements US-led alliance against Iran
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
The agreement makes the UAE the first Gulf state and the third Arab nation to reach such a deal, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/isra-a18.html

Why is the US threatening to activate 'snapback' sanctions on Iran?
Abdul Rahman | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-18
The latest US threat of resuming sanctions comes after its failure to get the UN Security Council's approval for an indefinite extension of the international arms embargo against Iran which is set to expire on October 18…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/18/why-is-the-us-threatening-to-activate-snapback-sanctions-on-iran/

Death Valley temperature, likely highest since 1931: UN weather agency
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
"All indications" suggest that the extreme temperature reading of 54.4 degrees Celsius recorded in California's Death Valley on Sunday, is legitimate, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070442

DARPA Launches Project CHARIOT in Bid to Shield Big Tech Profits
Raul Diego | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-18
DARPA announces a new type of cryptography to protect the Big Tech firm profits from the dawn of quantum computers and allow backdoor access into 3 trillion internet-connected devices.
mintpressnews.com/darpa-launches-project-chariot-bid-shield-big-tech-profits/270505/

Rights groups demand justice for murdered Baloch student
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-18
A final year student of Karachi University, 23-year-old Hayat Baloch Hayat, was allegedly killed by Pakistan's Frontier Corps personnel after being accused of involvement in a roadside bomb explosion…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/18/rights-groups-demand-justice-for-murdered-baloch-student/

Social activist and rights advocate Zara Alvarez murdered in the Philippines
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-18
Zara Alvarez was killed by unidentified gunmen in Bacolod City on Monday. The incident comes a week after NDF peace consultant Randall Echanis was killed near the capital Manila…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/18/social-activist-and-rights-advocate-zara-alvarez-murdered-in-the-philippines/

Smoking Gun: Police Bias, in Black and White
progressive.org | 2020-08-18
Recent police murders have drawn renewed attention to police brutality and racist violence.
progressive.org/magazine/smoking-gun-police-bias/

Free Daily Home Testing, is a practical solution to end this pandemic and also end the need for social disintegration and restrictions
Antonio Carty | zcomm.org | 2020-08-18
I give the solution's basis right here at the start, in case you only have time or patience to read a bit. The practical way, to shut this pandemic down permanently and allow the full re-opening of society, removing the need for all the social limits and restrictions, is for the state to mass produce Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/free-daily-home-testing-is-a-practical-solution-to-end-this-pandemic-and-also-end-the-need-for-social-disintegration-and-restrictions/

Responding to US provocations, Chinese officials appeal for "peaceful coexistence"
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang warned that relations between the US and Beijing were facing "the gravest challenge since the establishment of diplomatic ties" in the 1970s."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/chin-a18.html

How Northern California's Police Intelligence Center Tracked Protests
Micah Lee | zcomm.org | 2020-08-18
The center sent daily emails listing upcoming protests to thousands of local police and circulated inflammatory online posts…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/how-northern-californias-police-intelligence-center-tracked-protests/

Social media video shows Pittsburgh police kidnapping protester during Saturday march
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
Matthew Cartier, 25, was abducted by police and charged with multiple crimes for attempting to protect marchers during Saturday's protest…
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/pitt-a18.html

US Authorizes Oil and Gas Search in Protected Arctic Area
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
President Donald Trump's administration Monday released its plan to open up part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas development. | RELATED: | Argentina Rejects U.S. Plans To Rule Regional Bank | The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) gave its approval to a project allowing the search of fossil fuels in the ANWR coastal plain, an area of about 600,000 hectares. | The decision sets the stage for what is expected to be a fierce l…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Authorizes-Oil-and-Gas-Search-in-Protected-Arctic-Area–20200818-0008.html

Mapuche Leader Celestino Córdova Agrees to End Hunger Strike
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Mapuche leader Machi Celestino Córdova decided to end his 107 days fast after signing an agreement with the Government on Tuesday. | RELATED: | Chile: Government Denies Resolution To Mapuche Leader's Demands | The spiritual leader accepted ending his hunger strike as Chilean authorities signed an eight-point understanding that includes a 30-hour visit to Celestino's home once he recovers. However, the conditions will be imposed by health and prison entities. | Moreover, the Mini…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mapuche-Leader-Celestino-Cordova-Agrees-to-End-Hunger-Strike-20200818-0023.html

Quick Note on Lost GDP Due to Shutdowns
Dean Baker | cepr.net | 2020-08-18
Some folks have complained about the loss of GDP over the last five months and questioned whether the shutdowns have been worth the price. While people often toss around huge numbers in the trillions of dollars as the cost of the shutdown, these big numbers are often both inaccurate and misleading. Measuring Lost GDP The …
cepr.net/quick-note-on-lost-gdp-due-to-shutdowns/

"No Justice, No Street" — Community Makes Demands, Eviction of George Floyd Memorial Square Delayed
Unicorn Riot | unicornriot.ninja | 2020-08-18
Minneapolis, MN — Organizers at the George Floyd Memorial Square declared their intent to defend the square from planned eviction and revealed their "justice resolution" with 24 demands during a Saturday press conference. | The presser came a day after a surprise announcement by the city…
unicornriot.ninja/2020/no-justice-no-street-community-makes-demands-eviction-of-george-floyd-memorial-square-delayed/

Physicians and Social Determinants of Health–Reply
Schwenk TL. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-08-18
In Reply Dr Rousseau vigorously defends the role of physicians in addressing social determinants of health for the benefit of their patients. I agree with him up to the point of expecting physicians to be responsible for resolving the socioeconomic deficiencies that affect their patients. Knowledgeable–yes. Aware–yes. Supportive–yes. Responsible–no.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769464

The Death of Huxley
jamanetwork.com | 2020-08-18
Thomas Henry Huxley, the eminent English naturalist, died June 29, aged 70 years. He was in his twenty-first year when he took his M. B. degree at the University of London, after having studied three years at the Charing Cross Hospital Medical School; he took second honor in anatomy and physiology. In 1846 he joined the medical branch of the Royal Navy, serving first at the Haslar Hospital, and afterward as assistant surgeon on H. M. S., Rattlesnake, during its four years' voyage to the South Pacific. In 1853 he resigned from the Navy, to become the professor of natural history in the Royal School of Mines. From…
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769456

Easy Democratic victory Nov. 3? Washington primary results suggest otherwise
Tim Wheeler | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-18
SEQUIM, Wash.–Washington state's voter turnout in the Aug. 4 primary broke records and the conventional wisdom is that it is good news for the Democrats. Yet warning bells are ringing because Republican turnout was unexpectedly high in rural areas of the state. Statewide, 55%, or 4.6 million voters, filled out their ballots and mailed them …
peoplesworld.org/article/easy-democratic-victory-nov-3-washington-primary-results-suggest-otherwise/

Brookland Manor, D.C.'s largest affordable housing community, is under attack
Sean Sullivan | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-18
WASHINGTON–Brookland Manor has roots that run deep in D.C. Across the District, it is widely known as a vibrant historically Black neighborhood that has housed multi-generational families since the late 1930s. Comprising 19 buildings situated on a 22-acre plot of land in the Northeast corner, it is a place that thousands of D.C. residents warmly …
peoplesworld.org/article/brookland-manor-d-c-s-largest-affordable-housing-community-is-under-attack/

PROFILE: Taking a lead against genocide, 'no society is immune' warns Adama Dieng
news.un.org | 2020-08-18
Adama Dieng assumed the position of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide in 2012, after a long and distinguished career in law and human rights, stepping down from…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070402

The Heat: U.S.-China Trade
Anand Naidoo | america.cgtn.com | 2020-08-18
Despite escalating diplomatic and political tensions between the United States and China, both sides remain committed to a trade deal. At the beginning of 2020 the U.S. and China signed Phase One of a bilateral trade agreement. It signaled a truce in their bruising dispute …
america.cgtn.com/2020/08/18/the-heat-u-s-china-trade

In 24 hours 2,385 COVID-19 cases recorded in Iran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-18
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has infected 2,385 people and claimed 168 lives in Iran in the past 24 hours, a senior health official said.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162440/In-24-hours-2-385-COVID-19-cases-recorded-in-Iran

Leader condoles demise of Ayatollah Taskhiri
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-18
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Leader of the Islamic Revolution has expressed condolences over the demise of Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, a member of Iran's Expediency Council.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162447/Leader-condoles-demise-of-Ayatollah-Taskhiri

Iran's economic roadmap to be unvailed in Government Week
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-18
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that the country's economic roadmap for the final year of the incumbent administration's tenure will be unveiled during the Government Week (August 24-30).
en.mehrnews.com/news/162435/Iran-s-economic-roadmap-to-be-unvailed-in-Government-Week

US desperately tried to resuscitate past since 1979
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-18
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the US has desperately tried to resuscitate the past since 1979.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162460/US-desperately-tried-to-resuscitate-past-since-1979

Oil tankers seized by US 'not Iranian'
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-18
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Tuesday that the four oil tankers seized by the US few days ago belong to Venezuela not Iran.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162436/Oil-tankers-seized-by-US-not-Iranian

"The Unseen" goes to S Korea's DMZ filmfest
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-18
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — The Iranian " The Unseen" anime-documentary will be screened at the 12th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in South Korea.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162437/The-Unseen-goes-to-S-Korea-s-DMZ-filmfest

Al Kadhimi leaves Baghdad for Washington
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-18
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi left Baghdad for Washington on Tuesday.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162439/Al-Kadhimi-leaves-Baghdad-for-Washington

Kamala Harris seals Trump's re-election
Jacob Reimann and Thomas Denkler | indybay.org | 2020-08-18
The appointment of Kamala Harris as Biden's vice candidate is now the result of the Democratic establishment's pathological fear of anything that could even begin to smell left. The cause of this pathology lies in the historical shift to the right of the US party system described by Chomsky.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835950.php

Embodied Inequality: The Intersections Between COVID, Racial Justice, and the Environment
Brianna Cunliffe | indybay.org | 2020-08-18
The consequences of our fossil fuel economy and a global pandemic fall heaviest on America's most vulnerable communities. Elected Officials are saying enough.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835948.php

G7 Calls for More Debt Relief to Confront COVID-19 Crisis
Zach Conti | indybay.org | 2020-08-18
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin convened G7 Finance Ministers, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to coordinate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835951.php

Saturday 8/22: Nationwide Protest: Save the Post Office from Trump, Save Our Votes Now!
MoveOn, SEIU, NAACP, Indivisible, others | indybay.org | 2020-08-18
Nationwide protests at local post offices across the country in support of USPS…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835952.php

Tuesday 8/18: "Defund SFPD Now" Direct Action & Protest
indybay.org | 2020-08-18
Holly Park, 424 Holly Park Circle…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835954.php

SMART Local 1741 School Bus Drivers Rally At SF City Hall For Justice
SMART Local 1741 | indybay.org | 2020-08-18
SMART 1741 School bus drivers will be protesting against their layoffs, cuts in medical benefits and privatization…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835953.php

Giants and Warriors Workers Rally at Ballpark
Marc Norton | indybay.org | 2020-08-18
Giants and Warriors workers rallied at the Giants ballpark on Friday, August 14. The Giants have lost 13 out of 19 games since the Giants fired their concession workers.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/18835946.php

Make Corporate Landlords Pay For Housing Crisis
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
While so many of us struggle to survive, some of the richest billionaires in the world dominate the residential real estate industry in the United States. These corporate landlords are companies owned by extremely wealthy individuals, Wall Street entities like private equity firms and hedge funds, and institutional investors. At least six leading residential property owners — Essex Property Trust, Brookfield Property Partners, Equity Residential, Related Companies, Irvine Company, and Blackstone — have top executives on the Forbes billionaires list. The U.S. real estate industry is led by some of the…
popularresistance.org/make-corporate-landlords-pay-for-housing-crisis/

Jimmy Lai Arrested, And Long Live Hong Kong
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
The 71-year-old Lai, originally from Mainland China, owns a right-wing tabloid Apple Daily. He is known for dutifully echoing media salvos that are being fired by Western governments and media outlets, salvos against Beijing, and SAR administration, which in turn gained him, in the West, of course, various flattering and unreal titles such as 'an outspoken pro-democracy figure in Hong Kong who regularly criticizes China's authoritarian rule' (CBS News). Lies, of course. Obvious lies.
popularresistance.org/jimmy-lai-arrested-and-long-live-hong-kong/

Bolivia: The Scream Of àÅñez Out!
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
àÅñez Out is the main demand of the current popular protest mobilization in Bolivia. Barely a week ago the demand was: Elections, now! That was calling for September 6, agreed date by the political organizations and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), for the elections to be held. That was at the time against the new postponement of the elections for October 18 adopted by the TSE, which was the third one, with the excuse of protecting the population against the coronavirus, without having carried out any consultation with the political forces and the popular movement. àÅñez proclaimed herself "inter…
popularresistance.org/bolivia-the-scream-of-anez-out/

The Specter Of A Fascist Coup By Trump Haunts The US
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
Spreading faster than COVID-19 among those on the portside, warnings of a fascist-style coup by Trump are rampant this presidential campaign season. Meanwhile, in the real world, more than 51 million Americans have filed for unemployment since March. Some 27 million people have lost their health insurance on top of around 30 million who were uninsured before, in the face of the massive pandemic. The Federal Reserve has pumped $7 trillion into corporate bonds, municipal securities, loans and grants to business, while millions are going hungry. The pandemic death toll in the US is 168,345 as it rages out of control…
popularresistance.org/the-specter-of-a-fascist-coup-by-trump-haunts-the-us/

Coup 53: The Anglo-American Coup Against A Democratic Iran
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-18
On August 19, the 67th anniversary of the Anglo-American coup in Iran, COUP 53 will hold a special transatlantic virtual premiere in partnership with venues across the US, Canada, UK and Ireland, followed on August 20 by an exclusive live Q&A with the editor Walter Murch director Taghi Amirani and a surprise special guest! Ten years in the making, COUP 53 tells the story of the 1953 the Anglo-American coup d'état that overthrew Iran's government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and reinstalled the Shah. The CIA/MI6 covert action was called Operation Ajax. It was all about Iran's oil and who gets to contr…
popularresistance.org/coup-53-the-anglo-american-coup-against-a-democratic-iran/

An asteroid just made the closest fly-by of Earth ever recorded… and nobody saw it coming
rt.com | 2020-08-18
A car-sized asteroid just skimmed past Earth in the closest space rock fly-by ever recorded. And none of our planetary defense systems saw it coming until it had already passed by. | Asteroid 2020QG whizzed past Earth at a distance of less than 3,000 kilometers, meaning it came closer than the vast majority of commercial satellites that orbit Earth. The remarkably close shave means the space rock jumps straight to the top of Earth's close calls with asteroids. This is despite the database stretching back over 100 years. | Astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in California first spotted the asteroid six hours…
rt.com/news/498346-asteroid-closest-shave-ever-undetected/

Vote for Weinstein? Michelle Obama's praise of Biden prompts opponents to recall her similar praise for Hollywood rapist
rt.com | 2020-08-18
Michelle Obama's heartfelt endorsement of Joe Biden for president ringed familiar to her opponents who have previously heard her introduce convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein as a "wonderful human being" and a "good friend." | The former First Lady endorsed Biden during her speech at the virtual Democratic National Convention on Monday. "I know Joe, he is a profoundly decent man guided by faith," Obama said about her husband's vice president. | The words seemed to ring hollow with the conservative crowd, who took little time before unsheathing the 2013 clip of her praising the disgraced movie mogul using simi…
rt.com/usa/498347-michelle-obama-biden-weinstein/

'Vote for Biden like your life depends on it!' Michelle Obama unloads on Trump to virtual ovation at Dem convention
rt.com | 2020-08-18
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has warned that lives may hang in the balance in the 2020 presidential race, pleading with voters to send Joe Biden to the White House to put an end to the "chaos" of Donald Trump's presidency. | …
rt.com/usa/498273-michelle-obama-biden-trump/

#YoKamalaSoIndian hashtag trends in India as locals mock Biden's VP pick's persistent public demonstration of own identity
rt.com | 2020-08-18
Indian Twitter users have been reacting to Kamala Harris' "first Indian-American vice-presidential candidate" status by jokingly trying to imagine the US politician actually living in their country. | The Twitter trend under the hashtag #YoKamalaSoIndian began on Tuesday, after an earlier New York Times report on Harris' "brightest childhood memories" of her Indian family members. | Indian netizens overdressed the California senator in various stereotypes and some local insights about their culture, j…
rt.com/usa/498328-yokamalasoindian-hashtag-trends-in-india/

Democratic Convention rides on BLM momentum, putting George Floyd family front & center in moment of silence
rt.com | 2020-08-18
On the first night of its national convention, the Democratic Party has sought to cash in on months of raging protests over police brutality to sell 2020 nominee Joe Biden, trotting out George Floyd's relatives at the event. | "George had a giving spirit, a spirit that has shown up on streets around our nation and around the world. People of all races, all ages, all genders, all backgrounds, peacefully protesting in the name of love and unity," said Philonise Floyd, the brother of the man slain by Minneapolis police in May, bringing in a moment of silence to honor the memory of "the many other souls we lost to…
rt.com/usa/498272-democratic-convention-blm-floyd-family/

US & Brazil are biggest drivers of coronavirus case counts — WHO
rt.com | 2020-08-18
The Americas account for 64 percent of officially reported coronavirus deaths around the globe — despite having just 13 percent of the world's population, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. | Covid-19 cases in the Americas have reached almost 11.5 million as the region continues to carry the highest burden of the disease, WHO Regional Director Carissa Etienne said on Tuesday. | Over 400,000 people have died in the region as a result of the pandemic, she added, speaking at a virtual briefing from Washington with other Pan American Health Organization directors. | The biggest drivers of the case…
rt.com/news/498342-us-brazil-coronavirus-cases-who/

Australian police raid fishing boat and find 1 TON of cocaine, worth up to $180 MILLION
rt.com | 2020-08-18
Australian law enforcement has seized around a ton of cocaine after dramatically raiding a moving vessel which had received the major transfer of drugs from another boat, about 200 nautical miles off the coast of Newcastle. | Saturday's raid followed an Australian border force investigation, which began last week after authorities spotted a ship moving in an unusual trajectory from the coast of China. A fishing vessel named the Coralynne approached the boat from China and allegedly performed an "at-sea transfer of illicit drugs bound for Australia," New South Wales Police reports. Police posted a video of the…
rt.com/news/498350-australian-ton-of-cocaine/

More than 100,000 evacuated as southwestern China stricken by worst floods in decades (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2020-08-18
Authorities in China's southwestern Sichuan province have raised the flood emergency alert to the highest level for the first time on record as local rivers broke their banks and flooded the cities, sparking massive evacuations. | Continuous rainfall has caused the worst flooding in Sichuan in some 70 years. More than two dozen of the region's major rivers overran their banks with muddy swelling waters flooding urban areas. The streets of Leshan — a major provincial city located at the confluence of two rivers — have been almost entirely submerged by water. | Footage published by the Ruptly video…
rt.com/news/498363-china-worst-floods-decades-evacuated/

'Covid is just a metaphor'?! Cuomo draws outrage with unhinged Trump-bashing DNC victory lap
rt.com | 2020-08-18
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has ignited a firestorm after attempting a poetic comparison between President Donald Trump and the coronavirus, dubbing the deadly illness but a "metaphor" in a speech to the Democratic convention. | "Our nation is in crisis. And in many ways Covid is just a metaphor," the governor pontificated during his speech to the party's virtual convention on Monday night, comparing the Trump administration to a "dysfunctional" immune system. | A virus attacks when the body is weak and when it cannot defend itself. Over these past few years, America's body politic has been weakened. The di…
rt.com/usa/498274-cuomo-covid-metaphor-dnc/

Is the pandemic over? Cuomo slated for writing BOOK on his Covid 'leadership' after disastrous nursing home order & high NY deaths
rt.com | 2020-08-18
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, with a lack of self-awareness seldom seen outside hereditary dictatorships, is writing a book on managing the Covid-19 outbreak — after leading the state to the US' highest coronavirus death toll. | Crown Publishing announced the book, titled 'American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic', on Twitter on Tuesday, and said it will be released on October 13, three weeks before the US presidential election. The book will include leadership advice and a look at Cuomo's relationship with President Donald Trump. | We're excited to share this new book from Govern…
rt.com/usa/498358-cuomo-covid19-leadership-book/

Indian country? Memes and mockery greet Elizabeth Warren's DNC appearance at Native American Caucus
rt.com | 2020-08-18
The Democratic National Convention came in for a round of online ridicule after Senator Elizabeth Warren, who once passed herself off as Native American, took part in discussions of how Covid-19 affected the "Indian country." | Warren (D-Massachusetts) spoke at the Native American Caucus virtual panel on Tuesday, the second day of the convention, to accuse President Donald Trump of having "failed Indian country" by not sending enough coronavirus relief to the tribes. | | Elizabeth Warren speaking now. | Talking about how Trump admin has "f…
rt.com/usa/498371-elizabeth-warren-native-american-dnc/

Indian country? Memes and mockery greet Elizabeth Warren's DNC appearance at Native American Caucus
rt.com | 2020-08-18
The Democratic National Convention came in for a round of online ridicule after Senator Elizabeth Warren, who once passed herself off as Native American, took part in discussions of how Covid-19 affected the "Indian country." | Warren (D-Massachusetts) spoke at the Native American Caucus virtual panel on Tuesday, the second day of the convention, to accuse President Donald Trump of having "failed Indian Country" by not sending enough coronavirus relief to the tribes. | | Elizabeth Warren speaking now. | Talking about how Trump admin has "f…
rt.com/usa/498371-elizabeth-warren-native-american-dnc/

Leaky bubble? Michigan college puts students on campus arrest with mandatory Covid-19 tracking app, while staff get to leave
rt.com | 2020-08-18
Michigan's Albion College is requiring incoming students to install a tracking app on their phones that warns the school if they leave campus. The 'Covid bubble' plan lets teachers come and go as they please, however. | The draconian rules, which mandate that students remain within the Albion campus' 4.5-mile perimeter throughout the entire 14-week semester, are part of Albion's plans to create a 'Covid bubble' protecting its entire student body, the Washington Free Beacon reported on Monday. | While Albion claimed students are being restricted to campus in order "to reduce the risk of transmission between the…
rt.com/usa/498351-albion-michigan-mandatory-app-coronavirus/

Nothing better to do, Mike? Pompeo 'gotchas' RT by revealing his nonsensical Iran quote is ACTUALLY by OBAMA
rt.com | 2020-08-18
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo apparently thought that 'revealing' a nonsensical quote he posted about Iran sanctions was actually authored by President Barack Obama somehow invalidated RT's coverage of reactions to it. | RT.com "got it wrong again," Pompeo tweeted on Tuesday, saying that it was President Barack Obama who made a statement we attributed to him. "He told Congress, rightly, that the US could snapback sanctions on Iran anytime and no country could block it. It is still true now. I'll wait for your correction." | Hey @RT_com, you got i…
rt.com/usa/498353-pompeo-obama-quote-correction/

Rebel soldiers detain Mali president & PM as political crisis boils into mutiny (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-08-18
Soldiers who have taken up arms in Mali have arrested the nation's top officials, including President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, sparking concerns in the UN and the African Union. | Keita's detention came after a period of uncertainty amid reports suggesting that soldiers mutinied at the Kati military base outside of the Malian capital of Bamako and arrested a number of senior military and civil officials, including several ministers. | Both the president and the prime minister are "at the hands" of the rebelling military, according to various sources both within the government and…
rt.com/news/498366-mali-president-prime-minister-arrested/

US Postal Service reforms SUSPENDED until after the election to avoid 'appearance' of impact, Postmaster General says
rt.com | 2020-08-18
To "avoid even the appearance of any impact" on the November election, US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he has suspended all postal service reforms until after the vote, amid protests demanding his resignation. | "
rt.com/usa/498354-postmaster-usps-reforms-election/

Vodka no longer in top 50 items sold in Russian alcohol stores — time to retire tired & outdated Russian drinking stereotypes?
rt.com | 2020-08-18
In the first seven months of 2020, Russians were less likely to buy vodka, preferring to purchase other drinks – primarily beer – in alcohol stores, according to the analytical department of cashback company CheckScan. | By studying 130,000 receipts from two of Russia's most popular liquor chains, 'Krasnoe & Beloe' and 'Bristol', the analysts discovered that Russians have turned towards beer as their beverage of choice. From January to July, the golden brew took the top spot in alcoholic rankings every single month, with the old Soviet-era staple, vodka, failing to even make the top 50. | We are now a long way…
rt.com/russia/498339-vodka-popularity-russian-shops/

Former DHS Staffer Tweets Pic of Himself and Trump After President Claims He 'Never Heard of Him'
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-18
US President Donald Trump is facing criticism from a former DHS staffer who recently publicly endorsed his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. The staffer has leveled a series of accusations against the president.
sputniknews.com/us/202008181080209213-former-dhs-staffer-tweets-pic-of-himself-and-trump-after-president-claims-he-never-heard-of-him/

US House to Proceed With Saturday Vote on Postal Service Bill, Pelosi Says
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-18
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US House of Representatives is set to vote on Saturday on a bill to provide multi-billion financial support to…
sputniknews.com/us/202008181080209972-us-house-to-proceed-with-saturday-vote-on-postal-service-bill-pelosi-says/

'That's a Good Thing': More Infectious COVID-19 Mutation Less Deadly Than Other Strains, Expert Says
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-18
The D614G mutation, a common strain of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus that has been found in Europe and North America and recently in parts of Asia, may be more infectious than other strains. However, it may also be less deadly, according to Paul Tambyah, the president-elect of the International Society of Infectious Diseases.
sputniknews.com/society/202008181080210221-thats-a-good-thing-more-infectious-covid-19-mutation-less-deadly-than-other-strains-expert-says/

US Reports Lowest Daily COVID-19 Case Count in Almost Two Months
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-18
The United States on Monday reported around 35,000 new COVID-19 cases, which is the lowest daily count in almost two months.
sputniknews.com/society/202008181080209859-us-reports-lowest-daily-covid-19-case-count-in-almost-two-months/

Economic Community of West African States Orders Closing of Regional Borders with Mali
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-18
On 18 August, a group of officers from the armed forces of the landlocked West African nation of Mali began a mutiny, reportedly capturing the country's president and prime minister and taking control of the capital Bamako.
sputniknews.com/africa/202008181080210174-economic-community-of-west-african-states-orders-closing-of-regional-borders-with-mali/

Three Rockets Strike Near US Base in Syria's Deir Ez-Zor
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-18
According to local authorities in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate, several rockets landed near the US base set up outside the region's eponymous capital city, causing no damage or casualties.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008181080209725-three-rockets-strike-us-base-in-syrias-deir-ez-zor/

'Irresponsible' breaking up of Public Health England expected to be announced
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-18
Plans to break up Public Health England in the middle of a pandemic are "irresponsible" and "risky", Labour has said.Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said that structural reorganisation is "time consuming" and "energy sapping".In a series of scathing tweets, Ashworth said the government was trying to "shift the blame" when it announces plans to break up the embattled organisation later.A story placed with the Sunday Telegraph suggests that the coronavirus (Covid-19) response work of PHE is to be merged with NHS Test and Trace to form a new Health Protection Institute, designed specifically to deal with p…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/08/18/irresponsible-breaking-up-of-public-health-england-expected-to-be-announced/

Charity describes journeys of refugees fleeing war and forced military service
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-18
For children fleeing persecution and forced military service, the cold and dangerous trip across the Channel is just one part of their long and frightening journey.Some seek safety from violence perpetrated by Daesh (ISIS/Isil) in "lawless" Iraq while others have been sent away by their families to stop them being forced into a life as a child soldier, a charity says.Many of the young people who arrive in Dover in dinghies have travelled across Europe with no parents, guardians or relations with them.Until recently they have been taken into the care of Kent County Council but yesterday it announced it had reached…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/08/18/charity-describes-journeys-of-refugees-fleeing-war-and-forced-military-service/

In DNC Speech, Sanders Urges Popular Front to Defeat Donald Trump
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
Calling the 2020 election the most important in modern U.S. history — one in which the survival of democracy, the economy, and the planet hang in the balance — Sen. Bernie Sanders used his primetime address at the virtual Democratic National Convention Monday night to warn of the existential dangers of handing President Donald Trump a second term and urge the nation to unite to ensure he is defeated in November. | "I and my family, and many of yours, know the insidious way authoritarianism de…
truthout.org/articles/in-dnc-speech-sanders-urges-popular-front-to-defeat-donald-trump/

Politics Slows Flow of US Pandemic Relief Funds to Public Health Agencies
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
As the coronavirus began to spread through Minneapolis this spring, Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant tore up her budget to find funds to combat the crisis. Money for test kits. Money to administer tests. Money to hire contact tracers. Yet even more money for a service that helps tracers communicate with residents in dozens of languages. | While Musicant diverted workers from violence prevention and other core programs to the COVID-19 response, state officials debated how to distribute $1.87…
truthout.org/articles/politics-slows-flow-of-us-pandemic-relief-funds-to-public-health-agencies/

Congressional Candidates and Voters Sue to Stop Trump's Sabotage of USPS
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
A lawsuit that promises to be one of many was filed yesterday to stop Donald Trump's sabotage of the mail leading up to the presidential election. | Mondaire Jones et al. v. U.S. Postal Service, Postmaster General, and Donald Trump was brought by Democratic candidates for national and state congressional seats, as well as voters who cast mail ballots to protect themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic. Several s…
truthout.org/articles/congressional-candidates-and-voters-sue-to-stop-trumps-sabotage-of-usps/

Border Policing and the War on Terror Fuel Trump's Authoritarian Agenda
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
"The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization." So declared Donald Trump in late May. Commentators quickly noted the U.S. has no such legal designation that would apply to all those groups and individuals which constitute antifa, an extremely broad swath of anti-fascist resistance. Still, it would n…
truthout.org/articles/border-policing-and-the-war-on-terror-fuel-trumps-authoritarian-agenda/

Susan B. Anthony Never Sought Anyone's Pardon, But Trump Did It Anyway
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
President Donald Trump has announced plans to pardon Susan B. Anthony, a suffragist, who was charged for voting illegally in 1872. He announced the pardon at an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote in 1920. | In November of 1872, Anthony persuaded election officials to allow her to vote in the presidential election. Shortly after, she was arrested — and, at her trial, was adamant that her crime was only unjust under "forms of law al…
truthout.org/articles/susan-b-anthony-never-sought-anyones-pardon-but-trump-did-it-anyway/

The Convention's First Night Was Filled With Sorrow — as It Should Be
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
Technologically flawless, light on policy but with lots of lumber to lump up Donald Trump, the first night of the Democratic National "Convention" was what it needed to be: a well-crafted TV show that (mostly) kept your attention from start to finish. | Here in the valley of the shadow of death, the national mood is somber and grim. The first night of any convention is meant to set the tone for the week. Last night's tone was also somber and grim, but with enough hope to warm some of the places in the…
truthout.org/articles/the-conventions-first-night-was-filled-with-sorrow-as-it-should-be/

Julián Castro Ran on Police Reform Platform But Wasn't Asked to Give DNC Address
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
The Democratic National Convention faces criticism over the lack of diversity in its primetime programming during this year's virtual event, even as Latinx voters are slated to make up the largest bloc of nonwhite voters in 2020. Only a handful of Latinx speakers and no Muslim speakers are appearing during the broadcasted convention, while Republicans like former Ohio Governor John Kasich were given slots. "There were 35 primetime speakers, and only three of them were Latinx, and I raised a c…
truthout.org/video/julian-castro-ran-on-police-reform-platform-but-wasnt-asked-to-give-dnc-address/

DeJoy Donated Big to GOP Senators Up for Reelection — They're Silent on USPS
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-18
Recently appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a top donor to Donald Trump and until earlier this year the head fundraiser for the Republican National Convention, has given tens of thousands of dollars to Republican Senators up for re-election this November…
truthout.org/articles/dejoy-donated-big-to-gop-senators-up-for-reelection-theyre-silent-on-usps/

Philippines: Killings of rights defenders continue amid COVID-19 spike, economic recession
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-18
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Labor NGO: Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER). | Rampant harassment and terroristic acts by the state towards the people made it clear that the Duterte administration does not aim to resolve all the crises brought out by the pandemic, according to Labor NGO Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER). | EILER firmly stands with all the peasant rights defenders and demands accountability for the brutal killings of Randall "Ka Randy" Echanis, 72; Reken Remasog, 24, and Zara Alvarez, 39. | Ka Randy was a…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/8/18/philippines-killings-rights-defenders-continue-amid-covid-19-spike-economic-recession

Philippines: Killings of rights defenders continue amid COVID-19 spike, economic recession
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-18
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Labor NGO: Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER). | Rampant harassment and terroristic acts by the state towards the people made it clear that the Duterte administration does not aim to resolve all the crises brought out by the pandemic, according to Labor NGO Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER). | EILER firmly stands with all the peasant rights defenders and demands accountability for the brutal killings of Randall "Ka Randy" Echanis, 72; Reken Remasog, 24, and Zara Alvarez, 39. | Ka Randy was a…
fightbacknews.org/2020/8/18/philippines-killings-rights-defenders-continue-amid-covid-19-spike-economic-recession

Ecuador: Rafael Correa Seeks to Run for Vice President
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Ecuador's former President Rafael Correa seeks to participate in the 2021 elections as a candidate for the vice presidency accompanying the presidential candidate Andres Arauz. | RELATED: | Interpol Denies Red Alert Request Against Rafael Correa | "If you allow me, I will be a candidate. I have to be there not only for my country but also for my harassed colleagues and the tranquility of our families," Correa said. | The Arauz-Correa binomial will be sponsored…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Rafael-Correa-Seeks-to-Run-for-Vice-President-20200818-0002.html

US Lawmakers Interrupt Summer Recess to Solve Postal Crisis
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
The U.S. House of Representatives will interrupt its summer recess to solve the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) crisis amid President Donald Trump's threats to undermine the agency. | RELATED: | For Trump, Venezuela Intervention Serves 2020 Re-election Bid | "This week we will vote on a bill that would stimulate the U.S. economy as it will financially support…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-lawmakers-interrupt-recess-to-address-postal-vote-crisis–20200818-0009.html

Still 'Miles to Go' to Ensure a Safe and Fair Election, Rights Groups Say After DeJoy Announces Suspension of Changes to Mail Operations
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
Civil rights advocates vowed to continue fighting to thwart any attempt by the Trump administration to sabotage to U.S. Postal Service and the 2020 general election on Tuesday, after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he would "suspend" changes to post office operations. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1228082630_1.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/08/18/still-miles-go-ensure-safe-and-fair-election-rights-groups-say-after-dejoy-announces?cd-origin=rss

Marks & Spencer to cut 7,000 jobs as virus hits sales
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
UK High Street retailer Marks and Spencer announced Tuesday it is set to cut 7,000 jobs over the next 3 months as its clothing business hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.The retailer said strong online and home delivery was not enough to offset the fall in trading in the stores which remains well below last year."It is clear that there has been a material shift in trade and whilst it is too early to predict with precision where a new post COVID sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change," it said in a statement.The retail giant also noted that the lockdown taught working more flexibly and pr…
yenisafak.com/en/news/marks-spencer-to-cut-7000-jobs-as-virus-hits-sales-3537096

National vaccine efforts need to fit global approach, says WHO
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
National supply deals in the event of the development of a successful vaccine against the coronavirus should fit a global approach, World Health Organization senior adviser Bruce Aylward said on Tuesday.World leaders pledged in late April to accelerate work on tests, drugs and vaccines against COVID-19 and to share them around the globe under a WHO-led initiative known as the ACT (Access to COVID-19 Tools) Accelerator.More than 21.9 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 772,647 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
yenisafak.com/en/life/national-vaccine-efforts-need-to-fit-global-approach-says-who-3537099

France to make mask mandatory in work places
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
France will make mask wearing mandatory in work places starting from Sept. 1, with some exceptions, as the country grapples with a surge in COVID-19 infections, the head of one the leading unions told BFM TV on Tuesday."The government deems its necessary to wear a mask when you're not alone (in the work place)", said Yves Veyrier, leader of Force ouvriere, adding the labour minister had made it clear it was up to the companies concerned to pay for the masks.
yenisafak.com/en/world/france-to-make-mask-mandatory-in-work-places-3537100

UN sends 20 truckloads of aid to Syria's Idlib
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
The trucks carrying supplies entered Idlib province through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's south.The aid will be distributed among residents of Idlib, and nearby rural areas.Syria has been ravaged by civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad re…
yenisafak.com/en/world/un-sends-20-truckloads-of-aid-to-syrias-idlib-3537101

Turkey will always stand with Libyan people: DefMin
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
Turkey will always help Libya maintain its integrity, security, and ensure the prosperity of its people, the Turkish defense minister said on Tuesday.Hulusi Akar, who arrived in Libya on Monday along with Turkish military chief Gen. Yasar Guler, spoke to reporters about the specifics of his visit."We are here upon the invitation of the Government of National Accord (GNA) that was recognized by the United Nations (UN). We will continue standing with our Libyan brothers and sisters in the future, with whom we share a common history and culture of 500 years," he said."We will do everything that is needed in order fo…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkey-will-always-stand-with-libyan-people-defmin-3537095

Merkel, Putin discuss Belarus over phone
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the recent political crisis in Belarus over the phone, her spokesman said on Tuesday.Steffen Seibert said in a press release that the two leaders discussed the latest situation in Belarus after the presidential elections held in Aug. 9."The chancellor has emphasized that the Belarusian government must refrain from using violence against peaceful demonstrators, release political prisoners immediately and initiate a national dialogue with the opposition and society in order to overcome the crisis," he said.In a separate statement, the Kr…
yenisafak.com/en/world/merkel-putin-discuss-belarus-over-phone-3537094

Netanyahu says UAE deal does not include sale of F-35 jets
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-18
Israel said Tuesday that a deal to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not include the US sale of F-35 fighter jets to the Gulf state.In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the agreement did not include "any approval by Israel on any arms deal between the United States and the United Arab Emirates".Netanyahu said he directed Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Drammer on Aug. 3 to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to convey an explicit message of Israel's opposition to selling the F-35 and other advanced weapon systems to any country in the Middle East."The peac…
yenisafak.com/en/news/netanyahu-says-uae-deal-does-not-include-sale-of-f-35-jets-3537092

Build our future: climate justice and jobs
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-18
Environment School Strike 4 ClimateIssue 1277 Australia School Strike 4 Climate SS4C sustainable jobsAugust 18, 2020
greenleft.org.au/content/build-our-future-climate-justice-and-jobs

In Denial: Australia, Human Rights and Climate Change
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
When the complaint was lodged in May 2019, there was a sense of the audacious about it. Eight Torres Strait Islanders had taken the trouble to petition the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Committee, citing climate change and Australian violations as their main concern. Australia, they claimed, had violated their fundamental rights under the International Covenant…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/in-denial-australia-human-rights-and-climate-change/

Australia's rising COVID-19 death toll: A ruling class crime
wsws.org | 2020-08-18
Fatalities in Victoria, which have increased from 20 to 351 in around six weeks, are the direct consequence of the pro-business "reopening" of the economy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/18/auco-a18.html

A vaccine for COVID-19?
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-18
Healthcare Martin Wolterding Coral WynterIssue 1277 Australia vaccine COVID-19August 18, 2020Most of us, in self-isolation, long for l…
greenleft.org.au/content/vaccine-covid-19

Google's Open Letter: Fighting Australia's News Media Bargaining Code
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Tech giants tend to cast thin veils over threats regarding government regulations. They are also particularly concerned by those more public spirited ones, the sort supposedly made for the broader interest. Google has given us an example of this in …
globalresearch.ca/google-open-letter-fighting-australia-news-media-bargaining-code/5721414

Rebellion, counterinsurgency and Kamala Harris — WW commentary
Makasi Motema | workers.org | 2020-08-18
"[T]here were two or three years there where the movement went a little too far toward … [Kwame Ture], but in the end, John Lewis prevailed." Those words were spoken at Rep. John Lewis's funeral on July 30 by President Bill Clinton, one of the architects of the 1994 crime . . . | Continue reading Rebellion, counterinsurgency and Kamala Harris — WW commentary at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50630/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rebellion-counterinsurgency-and-kamala-harris-ww-commentary

Make Corporate Landlords Pay the Bills During the Pandemic
Sofia Lopez, Sara Myklebust | commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
Tenants and housing activists gathered at Maria Hernandez Park for a rally and march in the streets of Bushwick, demanding the New York City administration cancel rent immediately as many New Yorkers remain strapped for cash and out of work. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/eviction-violence.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/18/make-corporate-landlords-pay-bills-during-pandemic?cd-origin=rss

No to Expanded HHS Surveillance of COVID-19 Patients
Adam Schwartz | commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
An intensive care nurse treat a patient at intensive care unit at the Klinikum Bad Hersfeld hospital on March 20, 2020 in Bad Hersfeld, Germany. (Photo: Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images) | | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/hhs-protect.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/18/no-expanded-hhs-surveillance-covid-19-patients?cd-origin=rss

Pentagon Secrecy Around Covid-19 at Guantanamo Just One More Reason to Shut Offshore Prison, Say Senate Dems
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
Eleven Democratic senators said Monday that the Pentagon's refusal to provide details about its Covid-19 mitigation strategy at Guantanamo Bay, where 40 detainees are currently being held, only bolsters the case for shutting down the prison. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/guantanamo_1.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/08/18/pentagon-secrecy-around-covid-19-guantanamo-just-one-more-reason-shut-offshore?cd-origin=rss

Democracy Initiative re: Today's Statement from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Operational Changes at U.S. Postal Service
commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/08/18/democracy-initiative-re-todays-statement-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy?cd-origin=rss

For Israel and the UAE, Peace for Profit Comes with Authoritarian Maneuvering and State-Surveillance
Talya Wintman | commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
A group of Palestinians gathers in front of the UAE's Embassy in Berlin to protest against the UAE-Israel normalization deal, on August 17, 2020, in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/uae-israel.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/18/israel-and-uae-peace-profit-comes-authoritarian-maneuvering-and-state-surveillance?cd-origin=rss

Watchdog Calls on Authorities to Drop 'Absurd' Charges Against Journalists Covering Black Lives Matter Protests
Lisa Newcomb, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-08-18
More than 600 attacks against members of the press covering the ongoing protests have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/getty_blm_protests.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/08/18/watchdog-calls-authorities-drop-absurd-charges-against-journalists-covering-black?cd-origin=rss

Meet the Renegades: Michael Hudson
CP Editor | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/meet-the-renegades-michael-hudson-2/

Oil spill threatens disaster for Mauritius
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-08-18
The Japanese-owned (Mitsui-operated) MV Wakashio was en route to Brazil from China to fetch iron ore from a port owned by the notorious mining company Vale. Here the ship is seen having run aground near Blue Bay, one of the area's most pristine sites for coral, already threatened by bleaching due to the climate crisis. …
mronline.org/2020/08/18/oil-spill-threatens-disaster-for-mauritius/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oil-spill-threatens-disaster-for-mauritius

US Firestorming of Tokyo Rivaled the Hiroshima Bombing
Shane Quinn | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-18
Featured image: Charred remains of Japanese civilians after the firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9–10 March 1945. (Source: Ishikawa K≈çy≈ç / Wikimedia Commons) | In the early hours of 10 March 1945, as America's heavy aircraft dropped over 1,600 …
globalresearch.ca/us-firestorming-of-tokyo-rivaled-the-hiroshima-bombing/5643852

Seth Rogen Turns the Truth Into a Joke
Lawrence Davidson | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
Just how much erosion has support for Israel suffered among Western Jews under the age of 40? The polls are not much help, because they tell contradictory stories. However, in anecdotal terms, there is a strong sense that the gap is growing between an increasingly rightwing and racist Israeli society and younger, liberal/progressive Western Jews.
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/seth-rogen-turns-the-truth-into-a-joke/

Early clinical and sociodemographic experience with patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at a large American healthcare system
Cian P. McCarthy, Sean Murphy, Maeve Jones-O'Connor, David S. Olshan, Jay R. Khambhati, Saad Rehman, John B. Cadigan, Jinghan Cui, Eric A. Meyerowitz, George Philippides, Lawrence S. Friedman, Aran Y. Kadar, Kathryn Hibbert, Pradeep Natarajan, Anthony F. Massaro, Erin A. Bohula, David A. Morrow, Ann E. Woolley, James L. Januzzi, Jason H. Wasfy | thelancet.com | 2020-08-18
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are frequently of vulnerable socioeconomic status and often require intensive care. Patients who survive COVID-19 hospitalization have substantial need for post-acute services.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30248-0/fulltext?rss=yes

[Original Research] Changes in mental health and drug use among men who have sex with men using daily and event-driven pre-exposure prophylaxis: Results from a prospective demonstration project in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
R.C.A. Achterbergh, E. Hoornenborg, A. Boyd, L. Coyer, S.J.A. Meuzelaar, A.A. Hogewoning, U. Davidovich, M.S. van Rooijen, M.F. Schim van der Loeff, M. Prins, H.J.C. de Vries | thelancet.com | 2020-08-18
Mental health disorders are prevalent among those initiating PrEP. We did not find increases in mental health disorders during PrEP use, but rather a decrease in sexual compulsivity and drug use disorders. The initial prevalence of mental health disorders in our study point at the continuous need to address mental health disorders within PrEP programs.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30249-2/fulltext?rss=yes

Treatments for infantile Hemangioma: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
Qiang Fei, Yu Lin, Xian Chen | thelancet.com | 2020-08-18
A combination of β blockers and laser might be the first-line treatment of IHs and a longer pulsed dye laser is preferred.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30250-9/fulltext?rss=yes

Messi Could Leave Barcelona After Shame In Champions League
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Barcelona Soccer Club board announced that star Lionel Messi gave green light to decide his future at the club, after the team's disastrous UEFA Champions League exit last week. | RELATED: | Lionel Messi Makes Soccer History After Scoring 400th Goal | The club made public its decision after the player presumably asked to leave Barcelona this summer, even when his contract expires in June 2021. However, the Blaugranes remain hopeful of extending his contract. | Many teams already an…
telesurenglish.net/news/messi-could-leave-barcelona-after-shame-in-champions-league-20200818-0014.html

Money Becomes King: University Greed in the Midst of a Global Pandemic
Lauren Novosat | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-18
Students around the nation prepare to return to campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic and are met with empty promises of safety: social distancing in the classroom, a hybrid education system with in-person and online teaching, an overwhelming feeling that the return to campus will be just as lonely as the long trek home in early…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/18/money-becomes-king-university-greed-in-the-midst-of-a-global-pandemic/

Egypt: Parliament Passes Bill on Behalf of Sex Crime Victims
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-18
Egypt Parliament on Tuesday passed a law allowing anonymous complaints from sexual violence victims, to protect them from offenders and social prejudices. | RELATED: | US: Los Angeles to Test All Students and Teachers for COVID-19 | "When we observed that there is a reluctance to report specific crimes… and that some of the victims feared for their reputation from being named in such crimes, the government submitted a bill to encourage citizens to report these crimes," Justice…
telesurenglish.net/news/egypt-parliament-passed-a-bill-on-behalf-of-sex-crime-victims-20200818-0024.html

Looking back in anger: Stuart Christie, anarchist revolutionary, author and publisher, 1946 — 2020
Tom Coburg | thecanary.co | 2020-08-18
Stuart Christie, who died on 15 August 2020, was an anarchist revolutionary, author and prolific publisher, famed for his role in a 1964 attempt to assassinate fascist dictator General Franco. He was accused of being a member of the revolutionary 'group', the Angry Brigade, but acquitted on all charges. He also co-founded the Anarchist Black Cross, which provided relief and other support to anarchist prisoners.I knew Stuart via our mutual friend Albert Meltzer, also an anarchist activist and publisher.(The featured image above shows, left to right, Stuart C…
thecanary.co/feature/2020/08/18/looking-back-in-anger-stuart-christie-anarchist-revolutionary-author-and-publisher-1946-2020/

How Biden Should Spend His First Days as President
Andrew J. Bacevich | thenation.com | 2020-08-18
How Biden Should Spend His First Days as President…
thenation.com/article/politics/biden-trump-2020/

Progressives, Get Ready to Push Biden and Harris
Katrina vanden Heuvel | thenation.com | 2020-08-18
Progressives, Get Ready to Push Biden and Harris…
thenation.com/article/politics/progressives-get-ready-to-push-biden-and-harris/

Trump's Attacks on Science Will Hasten Climate Catastrophe
Sasha Abramsky | thenation.com | 2020-08-18
Trump's Attacks on Science Will Hasten Climate Catastrophe…
thenation.com/article/environment/trumps-attacks-on-science-threaten-climate-catastrophe/

Swelling Protests in Belarus Signal a Possible Revolution of Love
Nasta Zakharevich | thenation.com | 2020-08-18
Swelling Protests in Belarus Signal a Possible Revolution of Love…
thenation.com/article/world/belarus-protests-minsk/

The Factory Joins the Square: Putin's Nightmare Unfolds in Belarus
Stephen Crowley | thenation.com | 2020-08-18
The Factory Joins the Square: Putin's Nightmare Unfolds in Belarus…
thenation.com/article/world/putin-belarus-protests/

Surge in Child Abuse, Harm During COVID-19 Pandemic Reported
Kuehn BM. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-08-18
A study documenting an alarming rise in abuse-related head injuries among children in the United Kingdom adds to increasing evidence that the novel coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it are taking a serious toll on children.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769482

Julian Assange Court Case Delayed Again in Bizarre Circumstances
Alan MacLeod | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
"I have never in my career faced so much difficulty attempting to trial monitor as in Julian Assange's case." — Rebecca Vincent, Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders. | *** | There were bizarre scenes at Westminster Magistrates' …
globalresearch.ca/julian-assange-court-case-delayed-again-bizarre-circumstances/5721250

As Congress Goes on Vacation, Calls for a General Strike Across America Grow Louder
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-17
Government inaction, added to the prospect of being forced back to work under unsafe conditions, is leading to increasing calls for a general strike to begin on September 1.
mintpressnews.com/calls-general-strike-across-america-amid-congress-inaction-coronavirus/270489/

US Remains Defiant, Promises New Sanctions After UN Rejects Anti-Iran Measures
Alan MacLeod | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-17
According to the State Department, it was the world that was wrong, not Washington. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the decision to reject their "reasonable resolution" and side with "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" as "inexcusable." | MPN– The latest chapter in the sometimes Orwellian world of Middle Eastern politics occurred this weekend, as the Trump administration, which unilaterally walked away from Obama's Iran deal, attempted to convince the world to enact a…

US Remains Defiant, Promises New Sanctions After UN Rejects Anti-Iran Measures

US Remains Defiant, Promises New Sanctions After UN Rejects Anti-Iran Measures
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-17
According to the State Department, it was the world that was wrong, not Washington. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the decision to reject their "reasonable resolution" and side with "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" as "inexcusable."
mintpressnews.com/following-failure-un-us-promises-snapback-sanctions-iran-coming-days/270470/

Facial recognition technology riddled with racial bias; cities are fighting back
Cameron Hughey | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-17
In the wake of the George Floyd protests, many cities and technology conglomerates are banning police agencies from utilizing facial recognition technology, citing racial discrimination as a vital concern. While many believe these preventative measures need to be taken a step further, corporations such as IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon have restricted or at least halted …
peoplesworld.org/article/facial-recognition-technology-riddled-with-racial-bias-cities-are-fighting-back/

Missionaries Gain Access to Amazon's Indigenous Peoples, Despite Pandemic
Eduardo Campos Lima | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
When the first COVID-19 cases hit Brazil in March, the government agency in charge of protecting the country's Indigenous peoples, the National Indigenous Foundation, ordered all civilians to leave the Indigenous reservations. Only essential workers, such as health care personnel …
globalresearch.ca/missionaries-gain-access-amazon-indigenous-peoples-despite-pandemic/5721293

How to Fund the Salvation of Humanity
Simon Whalley | commondreams.org | 2020-08-17
A smartphone being operated in front of Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon logos as background in H√©d√©-Bazouges, western France, on Septemeber 28, 2017. (Photo: Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gafa_0.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/17/how-fund-salvation-humanity?cd-origin=rss

Anti-Racist Uprising Infiltrated by Extreme-Right Hooligans
Andre Vltchek | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
The city of Minneapolis is where it all began. It is where the last drop fell on the surface of a proverbial overflowing lake, causing the dam to burst, consequently starting to destroy the foundations of the empire. | A death …
globalresearch.ca/anti-racist-uprising-infiltrated-by-extreme-right-hooligans/5721286

Russian-Belarusian Relations: Back to Being Brothers? Crimea 2.0 Is Unlikely
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
Several recent developments in Russian-Belarusian relations — in particular, Belarus' return of 32 suspected Wagner mercenaries to Russia, Belarusian opposition leader Tsepkalo's departure from Russia, and the two phone calls between Presidents Putin and Lukashenko — hint that bilateral ties …
globalresearch.ca/russian-belarusian-relations/5721299

The Show Trial of Julian Assange: A Cruel and Pseudolegal Farce
Thomas Scripps | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
Yesterday's hearing in London made clear, if any further proof was needed, that the prosecution of Julian Assange is a shameful and degrading show trial, intended to railroad an innocent man to prison or death for revealing the crimes of …
globalresearch.ca/show-trial-julian-assange-cruel-pseudolegal-farce/5721279

Prominent lawyers and legal associations demand Assange's freedom
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
The 152 legal experts are unambiguous: the campaign against Assange has been based on gross violations of law and he must be immediately released from prison.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/assa-a17.html

International Lawyers Make Urgent Appeal To British Government
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
We write to you as legal practitioners and legal academics to express our collective concerns about the violations of Mr. Julian Assange's fundamental human, civil and political rights and the precedent his persecution is setting. We call on you to act in accordance with national and international law, human rights and the rule of law by bringing an end to the ongoing extradition proceedings and granting Mr. Assange his long overdue freedom — freedom from torture, arbitrary detention and deprivation of liberty, and political persecution. We remind the UK government that the right to a fair trial is a corner…
popularresistance.org/international-lawyers-make-urgent-appeal-to-british-government/

NATO War Crimes: NATO's "Humanitarian" Bombings, the Balance Sheet of Destruction in Yugoslavia (1999)
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
This article by Michel Chossudovsky was written in 1999 at the height of the NATO bombing campaign. It was presented to the Ad-hoc Committee to Stop Canada's Participation in the War in Yugoslavia, Press Conference, Monday, April 12, National Press …
globalresearch.ca/impacts-nato-humanitarian-bombings-balance-sheet-destruction-yugoslavia/5721209

"I Cannot Vote for This Platform": Rep. Ro Khanna on Why Democrats Must Support Medicare for All
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-17
As the Democratic National Convention kicks off virtually in Milwaukee, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says he will be voting no on the Democratic platform because it does not support Medicare for All. Khanna, who served as national co-chair of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2020 presidential campaign, says ensuring universal healthcare is crucial for the Democratic Party, especially during a pandemic. "I am very enthusiastic about supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to defeat Donald Trump, but I cannot vote for this platform that does not have universal healthcare as a right," says Khanna.
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/17/ro_khanna_universal_healthcare_dnc_platform

"We Have to Expand the Squad": Cori Bush on Her Upset Primary Win, Defunding Police & Kamala Harris
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-17
We speak with Cori Bush, a nurse and single mother who was formerly homeless, who joins the growing number of young Black progressives likely headed to Congress this November, after she won a stunning primary upset over 10-term incumbent Congressmember William Lacy Clay Jr. in Missouri's 1st Congressional District in the St. Louis area. Bush says her campaign's victory was a result of a grassroots effort from across her district and beyond. "We believed that it's time for a change, it's time for an active leader, someone who knows the streets, someone who knows the struggle of what's happening in our country, esp…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/17/cori_bush_2020_missouri_primary_victory

"We Have to Expand the Squad": Cori Bush on Her Upset Primary Win, Defunding Police & Kamala Harris
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-17
We speak with Cori Bush, a nurse and single mother who was formerly homeless, who joins the growing number of young Black progressives likely headed to Congress this November, after she won a stunning primary upset over 10-term incumbent Congressmember William Lacy Clay Jr. in Missouri's 1st District in the St. Louis area. Bush says her campaign's victory was a result of a grassroots effort from across her district and beyond. "We believed that it's time for a change, it's time for an active leader, someone who knows the streets, someone who knows the struggle of what's happening in our country, especially with C…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/17/cori_bush_2020_missouri_primary_victory

We Are in Danger Daily: Honduran Afro-Indigenous Garífuna Demand Return of Kidnapped Land Defenders
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-17
At least 212 land and environmental defenders were murdered last year — the highest number since the group Global Witness began gathering data eight years ago. Some 40% of those killed were Indigenous peoples. We get an update from Honduras, where the Afro-Indigenous Garífuna community continues to demand the safe return of five Garífuna land defenders who were kidnapped by heavily armed men who were reportedly wearing police uniforms and forced them into three unmarked vehicles at gunpoint. This was the latest attack against the Garífuna community as they defend their territory from destructive projects fu…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/17/garifuna_land_defenders_honduras

Rep. Ro Khanna: Trump's Postal Service Changes Are a Deliberate Strategy to Steal the Election
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-17
As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls lawmakers back from summer recess for an urgent vote this week to stop changes at the U.S. Postal Service that could interfere with the upcoming election, we speak with California Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says millions of ballots could be at risk of going uncounted. "That, in my view, is a deliberate strategy to try to disqualify millions of votes and for the president to try to steal this election," says Khanna. President Trump recently admitted he's working to undermine…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/17/ro_khanna_usps

A Letter on Gary Leupp's "The RCP, Fascism, and Chairman Bob's Endorsement of Biden for President"
Larry Everest et al | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Lies, slanders, distortions, and ad hominem attacks don't constitute substantive discussion, debate and controversy — they prevent it. Dear CounterPunch, We, the undersigned have all written for CounterPunch. We come from different perspectives, but we all greatly value your work for its edge, willingness to engage controversy, and openness to a diversity of views and…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/a-letter-on-gary-leupps-the-rcp-fascism-and-chairman-bobs-endorsement-of-biden-for-president/

A Letter on Gary Leupp's "The RCP, Fascism, and Chairman Bob's Endorsement of Biden for President"
Larry Everest et al | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Lies, slanders, distortions, and ad hominem attacks don't constitute substantive discussion, debate and controversy — they prevent it. Dearn CounterPunch, We, the undersigned have all written for CounterPunch. We come from different perspectives, but we all greatly value your work for its edge, willingness to engage controversy, and openness to a diversity of views and…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/a-letter-on-gary-leupps-the-rcp-fascism-and-chairman-bobs-endorsement-of-biden-for-president/

Israeli aircraft strike 'underground terror targets' in Gaza in response to 'explosive balloon' attacks
rt.com | 2020-08-17
The Israeli Defense Forces have bombed subterranean Hamas targets in Gaza, saying the strikes came in retaliation for explosive and incendiary balloon attacks launched from the Palestinian enclave. | "Recently, IDF fighter jets and aircraft attacked underground infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," the Israeli military said in a tweet,…
rt.com/news/498264-israel-gaza-hamas-targets/

The 2020 Census Will Be a Bust
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
I wanted to get the count of people who live in my geographical area right during the 2020 US Census. I had taken part in the 2010 census and I enjoyed working both on the streets counting people in my area, and later on, working at the local census office in western Massachusetts attempting to…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/the-2020-census-will-be-a-bust/

Chile: Mapuche People Call for Actions Against Capitalism
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
Mapuche people Sunday condemned Chile's capitalist regime, which is the main responsible for the domination and oppression of this Indigenous people. | RELATED: | Chile: Mapuches Mobilize In Solidarity With Political Prisoners | "We are calling on the people to carry out sabotage against capital, forestry industry, and other capitalist investments that threaten Mapuche People's lives," the Arauco-Malleco Coordination (CAM) stated. | This call was made amid the Mapuche people's…
telesurenglish.net/news/chile-mapuche-people-call-for-actions-against-capitalism-20200817-0009.html

Ainu People Sues Japan to Confirm Salmon Fishing Rights
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
A cultural organization of the Ainu People Monday sued the Japanese State and the Hokkaido Island government so that the authorities recognize their indigenous rights and lift the ban on commercial salmon fishing in rivers. | RELATED: | Chile: Mapuche People's Spiritual Advisor Stops Drinking Water | The lawsuit is the first of its kind filed by members of this Indigenous people, who were subjected to forced assimilation more than a century ago. | Although Japanese law recognize…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ainu-People-Sues-Japan-to-Confirm-Salmon-Fishing-Rights-20200817-0002.html

Trump's America Fails Coronavirus
Juan Cole | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
170K — 202K dead, Child Cases Spike, while other Countries are back to Normal…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/trumps-america-fails-coronavirus/

Trump's America Fails Coronavirus as 170,000 to 204,000 Die, Child Cases Spike, While Other Countries Are Back to Normal
Juan Cole | commondreams.org | 2020-08-17
We have a system that works for the rich, instead of a public health system for all Americans that readily anticipates and controls new pathogens through testing, contact tracing, and quarantine. (Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/coronavirus_urgency_0_1.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/17/trumps-america-fails-coronavirus-170000-204000-die-child-cases-spike-while-other?cd-origin=rss

Venezuela: President Maduro Volunteers To Test Russian Vaccine
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Sunday announced he'll be the first to get vaccinated when the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, arrives in the country. | RELATED: | Russia Officially Produces First Batch of COVID-19 Vaccine | He recalled that Russia was the first country in the world to vaccinate its population and volunteered to test the Sputnik V. | "There will be a time when we all get vaccinated and the first to be vaccinated will be me. I'm going to get the vaccine, I…
telesurenglish.net/news/venezuela-maduro-volunteers-to-test-the-russian-covid-19-vaccine-20200817-0005.html

Xi's article on Marxist political economy in contemporary China to be published
Xinhua | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
An article by President Xi Jinping on opening new horizons of the Marxist political economy in contemporary China will be published Sunday.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/xis-article-on-marxist-political-economy-in-contemporary-china-to-be-published/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=xis-article-on-marxist-political-economy-in-contemporary-china-to-be-published

The Cost of 'Singapore Inc.'? A Coronavirus Outbreak Among Migrants
Kirsten Han | thenation.com | 2020-08-17
The Cost of 'Singapore Inc.'? A Coronavirus Outbreak Among Migrants.
thenation.com/article/world/singapore-coronavirus-migrant-workers/

History of Settler Colonialism in Palestine
Dr. Zuhair Sabbagh | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
The following research article aims at exploring the issue of history of settler colonialism in Palestine. It will tackle three different settler colonial projects that were established in Arab Palestine: the German Templers, the Jewish and the Zionist. | In the …
globalresearch.ca/history-settler-colonialism-palestine/5721303

The Decline in Power of the Oil States
Patrick Cockburn | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
President Donald Trump is cock-a-hoop over the United Arab Emirates becoming the first Arab Gulf state to normalise its relations with Israel. He needs all the good news he can get in the months before the US presidential election. "HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!" Trump tweeted.
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/the-decline-in-power-of-the-oil-states/

A matter of life and death: What war and the pandemic have in common
Patrick Cockburn | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
Patrick Cockburn examines the threads between the pandemic and the media's coverage of age of endless war.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/a-matter-of-life-and-death-what-war-and-the-pandemic-have-in-common/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-matter-of-life-and-death-what-war-and-the-pandemic-have-in-common

Agenda ID2020 of the "One World Order": The 101 to Understanding Its Implications
Peter Koenig | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
Agenda ID2020 — is hardly mentioned by any media, let alone the mainstream. Agenda ID2020, if carried out, is the ultimate control by a small elite — of the One World Order (OWO), also called the New World Order (NWO) …
globalresearch.ca/agenda-id2020-101-understanding-implications/5721260

Needed: Indicators for Measuring Injustice and Societal Decay
Ralph Nader | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
Adequate housing, healthcare, food, public services, education, mass transit, health & safety standards, and environmental protections are the prerequisites for a humane democracy. | *** | Economic indicators — data points, trends, and micro-categories — are the widgets of the big information …
globalresearch.ca/indicators-measuring-injustice-societal-decay/5721284

Beirut Explosion, Western Imperialism And Media Misinformation
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
On August 4, 2020, an explosion of tons of ammonium nitrate being stored at the port of Beirut Lebanon ripped through the city killing 0ver 170 people and injuring 6,000 people. This happened at a time when Beirut was already suffering an economic collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic. We speak with Rania Khalek, a Lebanese-American independent journalist who was in Beirut, about what it was like during and after the explosion, the protests that followed and the complicated political situation in Lebanon. Khalek explains how the United States and other Western and Gulf States are interfering and causing more harm an…
popularresistance.org/beirut-explosion-western-imperialism-and-media-misinformation/

'Regime Change' in Belarus Looks Like an Objective of Both the Trump Administration and the Biden Campaign
Adam Dick | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
It seems that whoever wins the presidency, United States foreign policy will keep chugging away at intervening across the world, including via "regime change" efforts. Over the last couple decades, targets for US-government-supported overthrow have included Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, …
globalresearch.ca/regime-change-belarus-objective-trump-administration-biden-campaign/5721254

Can Lebanon be Saved?
Robert Fisk | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
How do you save a truly corrupt country like Lebanon? It's a question with an almost impossible answer…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/can-lebanon-be-saved/

Belarus Kicks Off Large-scale Military Drills Near Poland, Lithuania
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
On August 16, the Belarusian Armed Forces announced large-scale military drills near the country's nuclear plant and in the Grodno region bordering Poland and Lithuania. The drills will take place on August 17-20 and involve rocket and artillery units, air-defense …
globalresearch.ca/belarus-kicks-off-large-scale-military-drills-near-poland-lithuania-lukashenko-losing-propaganda-war-western-backed-opposition/5721276

Lebanon Devastated by Corruption, Economic Collapse, and Beirut Explosion
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
A perfect storm affects Lebanon and vast majority of its near-seven million people, including: | Out-of-control rampant corruption. | Unemployment of a third or more of working-age Lebanese. | Poverty exceeding 50% of the population. | Over 80% inflation since last October, debasing the …
globalresearch.ca/lebanon-devastated-corruption-economic-collapse-beirut-explosion/5721271

US intelligence agencies have another bounty case in Afghanistan, alleging Iran paid the Taliban to attack American forces
rt.com | 2020-08-17
It turns out Russia isn't the only country that US intelligence agencies are anonymously accusing of paying bounties to Taliban fighters to attack US troops in Afghanistan. Another bogeyman, Iran, is allegedly to blame this time. | A foreign government paid bounties to the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network for an attack last December on the Bagram Air Base that killed two civilians and injured more than 70 other people, including four US troops, CNN reported Monday, citing a Pentago…
rt.com/usa/498257-iran-taliban-bounty-claims/

Venezuela: Attorney General to Investigate Disappearance of Revolutionary Carlos Lanz
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-08-17
The former guerrilla fighter, who was investigating paramilitary infiltration in Venezuela, disappeared from his home on August 8.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14971

Snowflakes Hither, Yonder and In the Tropics: Ungentrifying Journalism from Brazil to Ecuador
Julian Cola | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-17
The mammoth machine of mainstream and western media at-large tells us who is articulate enough, indeed worldly, mindful, and honest enough to saddle the demands required of international journalism.
mintpressnews.com/racism-international-journalism-brazil-to-ecuador/270468/

An Abortion Advocacy Movement for Everybody
Blair Wallace | aclu.org | 2020-08-17
Abortion is legal in Texas and across the United States, but that doesn't stop anti-abortion politicians from doing whatever they can to interfere with access to reproductive healthcare. Local governments have added fuel to the fire by passing anti-abortion ordinances that confuse residents about their rights and increase the ever-present stigma around seeking abortion care., , That's why, for the first time, reproductive rights, health, and justice groups in our state are joining forces to expand essential health care access for all Texans by creating the Texas Abortion Access Network. Join us for TAAN'…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/an-abortion-advocacy-movement-for-everybody

We've Filed 400 Legal Actions Against Trump
aclu.org | 2020-08-17
Immediately after Trump's election, we put the president and his administration on notice: If they enacted unconstitutional and illegal policies, we would see them in court. We meant it. As of today, we've filed 400 legal actions against this administration. Our 400th filing was a class-action lawsuit that seeks to block the removal of
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/weve-filed-400-legal-actions-against-trump

Following protests across the globe, Israel releases BDS activist Mahmoud Nawajaa
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-17
Following his release after 17 days in prison, Mahmoud Nawajaa called for the intensification of BDS campaigns "to bring to an end this system of apartheid and oppression and free all 4,700 Palestinian prisoners"
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/17/following-protests-across-the-globe-israel-releases-bds-activist-mahmoud-nawajaa/

The Biden/Harris campaign and the dead-end of "lesser evil" politics
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
As the US election enters its final stage, enormous pressure is being brought to bear to convince workers and youth that the only way to oppose Trump is to support Biden and Harris.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/pers-a17.html

Do Americans Dream of Capitalist Sheep?
Hiroyuki Hamada | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-08-17
It's capitalism after all. Those political parties for the rich and powerful know how to sell exploitation and subjugation by their good cop/bad cop marketing. If you don't buy this, you get Trump. But if you buy what they sell, you get Biden, an imperialist with the crime bill, Patriot Act, and the rest of the schemes …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/08/do-americans-dream-of-capitalist-sheep/

The Hoopla Over the Kamala Harris VP Selection Obscures the Many Young People of Color Who Are Winning Offices Nationally
Sonali Kolhatkar | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Joe Biden's pick of Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate for the 2020 Democratic presidential ticket has generated strong responses. While many Democrats are elated at the idea of seeing a brown-skinned woman of Indian and Jamaican heritage in such a position, progressives are debating one another about Harris' mixed record on bread-and-butter…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/the-hoopla-over-the-kamala-harris-vp-selection-obscures-the-many-young-people-of-color-who-are-winning-offices-nationally/

The US Press on Huawei by Limiting Its Access to Tech
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
The U.S. Department of Commerce Monday restricted access by Huawei and its affiliates on the tech items produced domestically and abroad from U.S. technology and software. | RELATED: | US Warns Brazil About Consequences of Authorizing Huawei in 5G | "Huawei and its foreign affiliates have extended their efforts to obtain advanced semiconductors developed or produced from U.S. software and technology in order to fulfill the policy objectives of the Communist Party," Commerce Sec…
telesurenglish.net/news/The-US-Press-on-Huawei-by-Limiting-Its-Access-to-Tech-20200817-0012.html

10-year-old rape victim in Brazil safely aborts after feminists expel religious extremists
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-17
Religious fundamentalists attempted to invade a health center in the city of Recife in a bid to prevent the procedure. The child earlier had to travel over 1,800 km after she was denied her legal right in her home State…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/17/10-year-old-rape-victim-in-brazil-safely-aborts-after-feminists-expel-religious-extremists/

Venezuela and Trump's Irrational Electoral Policy
Jorge Arreaza Monserrat | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Caracas, Venezuela. Elections always have an interesting effect on public policy, in particular if the person in charge of designing and implementing a certain policy is up for reelection. In politics, it is logical that an incumbent candidate decides to show successful policies and accomplishments while minimizing failures or shortcomings. However, what is irrational is…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/venezuela-and-trumps-irrational-electoral-policy/

US: Donald Trump's Younger Brother Dies At The Age Of 71
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
U.S. President Donald Trump's younger brother Robert Trump Saturday passed away in New York after being hospitalized in the intensive care unit for several days. | RELATED: | US: Trump Plans to Ban Alibaba, China's e-Commerce Giant | The President himself made the announcement hours after visiting his brother in the hospital, alerted by White House officials about his critical condition. However, he did not release a cause of death. | "It is with a heavy heart I share that my wonderful b…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-donald-trumps-younger-brother-dies-at-the-age-of-71-20200817-0004.html

US Snapback From Humiliation
Finian Cunningham | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-17
American President Donald Trump has darkly warned of something big this week, vowing to apply "snapback" international sanctions on Iran. It would be a drastic move and likely to further isolate Washington in the eyes of the world. | But the real snapback is Washington's fury after the United States was subjected to a humiliating diplomatic defeat at the UN security council last week. | A proposal by the US for the United Nations to extend an arms embargo on Iran was decisively rejected by the security council comprised of five permanent members and 11 non-permanent members. Russia and China voted against the…

US Snapback From Humiliation

China Announces Its First COVID-19 Vaccine Patent
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
China's National Intellectual Property Administration Monday granted the first patent to a COVID-19 vaccine developed in the Asian nation. | RELATED: | Russia Registers the World's First COVID-19 Vaccine | The Ad5-nCoV vaccine was co-developed by CanSino Biologics, the Beijing Biotechnology Institute, and a People's Liberation Army (PLA) team. | During the next year, the vaccine will be for the military forces' exclusive use. However, the military high command will be responsible for autho…
telesurenglish.net/news/china-announces-its-first-covid-19-vaccine-patent-20200817-0011.html

'We Want Climate Justice Now!' protest set for Minnesota Governor's Mansion
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-17
Minneapolis, MN – While the Democratic National Convention will take place virtually in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from August 17 to 20, activists from Minnesota's Climate Justice Committee and others are planning their own action targeting the DNC. Protesters are planning to picket the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to send a message to superdelegates that they want climate justice faster than the Democratic nominee's environmental plan. | Minnesota's Governor Walz is one of those superdelegates attending the DNC virtually. So on August 18, at 5 p.m., protesters plan to picket the Governor's Mansion at 1006 Summit…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/8/17/we-want-climate-justice-now-protest-set-minnesota-governor-s-mansion

FROM THE FIELD: Protection among the mangroves
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
The rehabilitation and replanting of mangrove forests in Cuba's coastal regions is helping to protect the lives of people living on the Caribbean island, and reduce the effects of climate change, thanks to a UN Development Programme project.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070362

'We Want Climate Justice Now!' protest set for Minnesota Governor's Mansion
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-17
Minneapolis, MN – While the Democratic National Convention will take place virtually in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from August 17 to 20, activists from Minnesota's Climate Justice Committee and others are planning their own action targeting the DNC. Protesters are planning to picket the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to send a message to superdelegates that they want climate justice faster than the Democratic nominee's environmental plan. | Minnesota's Governor Walz is one of those superdelegates attending the DNC virtually. So on August 18, at 5 p.m., protesters plan to picket the Governor's Mansion at 1006 Summit…
fightbacknews.org/2020/8/17/we-want-climate-justice-now-protest-set-minnesota-governor-s-mansion

Coronavirus 'starkly' exposes vulnerability of persons with disabilities
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
The COVID-19 pandemic has "starkly exposed" the heightened vulnerability and risks to persons with disabilities, a major meeting convened to discuss the international treaty that supports persons with disabilities, heard on Monday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070372

Coronavirus, Corruption, and Resistance: Life Under South Africa's Lockdown
Unicorn Riot | unicornriot.ninja | 2020-08-17
Durban, South Africa — Five months ago South Africa's President, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of emergency and announced a "21 day lockdown" in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus in South Africa. The lockdown's time frame has since been extended multiple…
unicornriot.ninja/2020/coronavirus-corruption-and-resistance-life-under-south-africas-lockdown/

Historic Collapse of US Economy: Real GDP Registers Biggest Quarterly Slump in Last 70 Years at 32.9%
Justinas Baltrusaitis | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
The United States economy has been growing steadily over the last few years as indicated by the real Gross Domestic Product figures. However, the coronavirus health crisis has plunged the economy to the worst levels in about seven decades. | Data …
globalresearch.ca/collapse-of-us-economy-real-gdp-registers-biggest-quarterly-slump-in-last-70-years-at-32-9/5721272

Doctors Lay Out Plan to 'Punish' People Who Refuse Coronavirus Vaccine: 'There Is No Alternative'
Claire Chretien | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
'Simply put, getting vaccinated is going to be our patriotic duty,' and America should consider making it difficult for the unvaccinated to participate in society, three doctors wrote. | *** | A coronavirus vaccine should be mandatory, and tax penalties, higher insurance …
globalresearch.ca/doctors-lay-out-plan-punish-people-refuse-coronavirus-vaccine-no-alternative/5721252

Engineered COVID-19-Infected Mouse Bites Researcher Amid 'Explosion' of Risky Coronavirus Research
Jonathan Latham | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
University researchers genetically engineer a human pandemic virus. They inject the new virus into a laboratory mouse. The infected mouse then bites a researcher…..It is a plot worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster about risky coronavirus research. But according to newly obtained minutes of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) of the University of North Carolina (UNC),…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/engineered-covid-19-infected-mouse-bites-researcher-amid-explosion-of-risky-coronavirus-research/

The Dystopian Coronavirus America
Peter Crowley | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
A parade of armed white nationalists took over the Michigan statehouse demanding that Gretchen Whitmer "Liberate Michigan" and reopen. The police stood there and did nothing, with some likely smiling inside. Fast forward two months to Portland, Oregon, where protesters outside a federal building were tear gassed and beaten with batons by federal agents. Covid-19…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/the-dystopian-coronavirus-america/

Mining the Deep Sea
Julia Barnes | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
They want to mine the deep sea. We shouldn't be surprised. This culture has stolen 90% of the large fish, created 450 deoxygenated areas, and murdered 50% of the coral reefs. It has wiped out 40% of the plankton. It has warmed and acidified the water to a level not seen since the Permian mass…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/mining-the-deep-sea/

Never Surrender in Portland, Oregon
Mike Hastie | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
There is a whole new generation of Americans who have decided that non-stop resistance is the only way to confront the lethal power structure that is bound and determined to tattoo obedience on their very souls. That relentless longevity of energy is being acted out in Portland, Oregon like no other city across this nation. This has really become a profound awakening of historical precedence. The Black community only represents 6% of the population in Portland. Most of the demonstrators have been predominately young white people who are strong supporters of Black Lives Matter. There has been some very effective B…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/never-surrender-in-portland-oregon/

Rental Inflation Appears to be Slowing, Especially in High-Priced Cities
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6 percent in July, the same as the rate in June. The core CPI rose 0.6 percent in July after rising 0.2 percent in June. Over the last year the indexes are up 1.0 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. The inflation of the last two months is overwhelmingly…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/rental-inflation-appears-to-be-slowing-especially-in-high-priced-cities/

White Christian Bigotry
James Haught | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Racism is much stronger among America's white Christians than among churchless whites — and it always has been. That's the message of a new book by social analyst Robert Jones, head of the Public Religion Research Institute. White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity contends that white churches didn't merely adapt…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/white-christian-bigotry/

Domestic Violence in the Time of the Pandemic
Cesar Chelala | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
One of the most neglected consequences of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 is the increasing violence against women of all ages. UN Women has called it "the shadow pandemic," and António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General has said,…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/domestic-violence-in-the-time-of-the-pandemic/

Wear a Mask If You Can, Don't Bully Those Who Can't
Jill Richardson | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
I've been seeing memes online advocating shaming people who aren't wearing masks. Please don't. If you see someone in a store without a mask, talk to the store instead of bothering the customer. There are two reasons why. First, your bigger problem isn't the person — it's the store. What are their procedures? Ask them…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/wear-a-mask-if-you-can-dont-bully-those-who-cant/

The Pandemic Has Revealed America's Zip Code Map of Inequality
Marshall Auerback | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
It is understandably tempting to drop all the blame for America's catastrophic response to COVID-19 on the big desk in the Oval Office. But there's more to the story than epic incompetence, grift and delusion at the highest levels of government. The stark divide in the level of health care from testing to treatment is…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/the-pandemic-has-revealed-americas-zip-code-map-of-inequality/

Trumps' Coy Snowden Mystery: The Kiss of Death
John Kendall Hawkins | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Had we but world enough and time, This coyness, lady, were no crime. — Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress" (1681) I'm tired of the bullshit. Now that I've joined Twittersphere I've been getting magic bullets tweeting me all day. Up and to the Left. Some Mark Chapman is said to be disappointed in how…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/trumps-coy-snowden-mystery-the-kiss-of-death/

About Portland: An Interview with Author Jennifer Robin
Tamra Lucid | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Writer Jennifer Robin shares her experiences at the Portland Protests. One of the most compelling writers in America, Jennifer's first book, Death Confetti: Pickers, Punks, and Transit Ghosts in Portland, Oregon, is a series of vignettes of jarring experiences vividly portraying people struggling in the apocalyptic shadow of America. She was writing then about the surreal reality…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/about-portland-an-interview-with-jennifer-robin/

Nigeria To Reopen International Airports on August 29
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
Nigeria Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika announced on Monday the reopening of international airports on August 29. | RELATED: | Africa Surpasses One Million Covid-19 Cases | "It is safe to fly if we observe all those protocols in place," Sirika said. | On March 23, Nigeria ceased international flights due to the virus outbreak, remaining only the essential travels. | The Lagos and Abuja international airports would receive four flights daily, keeping precautionary measures as physical distance, hand…
telesurenglish.net/news/nigeria-to-reopen-international-airports-on-august-29-20200817-0019.html

Real Life Heroes: building trust, and saving lives
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
Marie-Roseline Bélizaire, a doctor and epidemiologist with the World Health Organization (WHO), is using her passion for community medicine to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the Central African Republic (CAR).
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070292

A risky game with health and lives as schools reopen throughout Germany
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
With the beginning of mandatory school attendance, the number of COVID-19 infections is increasing.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/germ-a17.html

Trump Pushes to Reopen Schools Despite the US Health Crisis
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
U.S. President Donald Trump once again pushed for schools reopening despite his country registers 5,400,180 COVID-19 cases and 169,955 deaths. | RELATED: | US Senate Hearing Unveils Trump's Plans Against Venezuela | "The children have to return to the classrooms. They tend to only develop mild COVID-19 symptoms. Health complications in minors are incredibly rare," Trump said. | Previously, on July 6, he also said that "schools must reopen in the fall," insisting that "children are su…
telesurenglish.net/news/trump-pushes-to-reopen-schools-despite-alarming-infection-rate-20200817-0013.html

Pregnancy and labor during COVID-19
Nation Nyoka | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-17
"I feel so bad for him. He only knows four people right now in his life and I…" Her face is eclipsed by the chubby cheeks of a curious baby. Before she can continue, he repeatedly attacks the screen with the palm of his hand, babbling away in baby talk. His bottom milk teeth are obscured when his drool drenches the camera before the call is summarily cut. | "Eish, this boy! Sorry sisi, I was saying he doesn't know any other faces or people except us," says Maria Beda*, wiping the camera clean. | Like Beda, Thembeka Sibiya, 27, is concerned that her newborn son will not enjoy the same social life as her seven-ye…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/17/pregnancy-and-labor-during-covid-19/

With pandemic raging, Florida governor deepens drive to reopen schools
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
School districts and teachers in Florida have been forced to resume in-person learning while COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to surge throughout the state.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/flor-a17.html

Russia officially produces first batch of COVID-19 vaccine
teleSUR Desk | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
"Russia's health workers and teachers will be the first ones to receive the vaccine in the country," Russia's Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/russia-officially-produces-first-batch-of-covid-19-vaccine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=russia-officially-produces-first-batch-of-covid-19-vaccine

COVID and Kafala
Faisal Hamadah | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
To imagine that a country as structurally classist as Kuwait could have ever succeeded in fighting a pandemic that was born from exploitation and thrives on inequality is the kind of naivety one dreams of achieving, so comforting must it be.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/covid-and-kafala/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=covid-and-kafala

The war on democracy
Thomas Magstadt | nationofchange.org | 2020-08-17
"I don't know what else to call it when a president is actively curtailing voting rights and doing his damnedest to de-legitimize the election…"
nationofchange.org/2020/08/17/the-war-on-democracy/

Ecuador: Court Begins Trial for Rebellion Against Paola Pabon
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
Ecuador's Constitutional Court Monday held a hearing to start a trial for rebellion against the Pichincha Prefect Paola Pabon, Virgilio Hernandez, and Christian Gonzalez, all of whom are members of the Citizen Revolution Movement (RC). | RELATED: | Ecuador: Former President Bucaram Is Arrested for Organized Crime | They belong to the party supporting former President Rafael Correa and are accused of organizing a rebellion during the national strike th…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Court-Begins-Trial-for-Rebellion-Against-Paola-Pabon-20200817-0010.html

One Way To Counter the Far Right? Demilitarize the Police
Cassie Miller | splcenter.org | 2020-08-17
In recent weeks, the blocks surrounding Portland's federal courthouse have turned into a battleground where armed federal troops emerge nightly to violently suppress protests against police brutality.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/08/17/one-way-counter-far-right-demilitarize-police

Foiled in the Security Council: The United States, Extending Arms Embargoes and Iran
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
There are no official policing authorities as such when it comes to international relations. Realists imagine a jungle of states, the preyed upon and the predators, a grim state of affairs moderated by alliances, agreements and understandings. But there is …
globalresearch.ca/security-council-united-states-extending-arms-embargoes-iran/5721265

"The World That I See Today": Sanity, Her Son, and the Credulous
Jordan Henderson | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
I have recently completed a large painting (oil on canvas), exploring the emotional and spiritual side of mandatory masks, and what they symbolize. Visual art can serve as a medium to express sentiments from an angle that cannot be …
globalresearch.ca/sanity-her-son-credulous/5721263

Private U.S. Contractors Part of the 'Kill Chain' in East Africa "Anti-Terrorist Operations"
Kira Zalan | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-17
It was early on a Sunday morning when Al-Shabab militants attacked the small airstrip next to a military base on Kenya's north coast. Plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky as the militants destroyed six aircraft and killed three …
globalresearch.ca/private-us-contractors-part-kill-chain-east-africa-anti-terrorist-operations/5721291

Foiled in the Security Council: The United States, Extending Arms Embargoes and Iran
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-08-17
There are no official policing authorities as such when it comes to international relations. Realists imagine a jungle of states, the preyed upon and the predators, a grim state of affairs moderated by alliances, agreements and understandings. But there is one body whose resolutions are recognised as having binding force: the Security Council, that most …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/08/foiled-in-the-security-council-the-united-states-extending-arms-embargoes-and-iran/

As Defense Bill Divides Senate, the Pentagon Shows a Crack in the Armor
Raul Diego | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-17
The national security state is on the verge of a radical transformation. From DHS to the military, the pressure is mounting on all sides to revamp federal law enforcement hierarchies, shift information pipelines, and reimage the nature of warfare.
mintpressnews.com/as-defense-bill-divides-senate-the-pentagon-shows-a-crack-in-the-armor/270495/

"A Cynical Manipulation": On Israel's Empty Gesture of Goodwill to Beirut
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-17
While some may see Israel's gesture as an act of magnanimity, showing solidarity with an enemy country, one is hard-pressed to find words to express just how disgusting and cynical it really is.
mintpressnews.com/tel-aviv-israel-gesture-of-goodwill-to-beirut-lebanon/270455/

'The Killing Was Really Cut and Dry'
Brian Gilmore | progressive.org | 2020-08-17
George Floyd's murder sparks a worldwide campaign to end policing as we know it.
progressive.org/magazine/the-killing-was-really-cut-and-dry-gilmore/

Latin America Increases its Food Exports to the European Union
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
The Latin American countries increased their agricultural exports to the European Union (EU) during the pandemic. | RELATED: | Spain: One In Four Citizens At Risk Of Poverty — Survey | "The behavior of the Latin American agricultural exports has been outstanding compared to the rest of the world," the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) specialist Joaquin Arias said. | He also mentioned that the Latin American countries are takin…
telesurenglish.net/news/Latin-America-Increases-its-Food-Exports-to-the-European-Union-20200817-0007.html

Texas A&M faculty decry plans to reopen campuses in midst of pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
Faculty, professors and students at multiple Texas A&M University campuses recently penned an open letter that has garnered roughly 900 signatures.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/oppo-a17.html

Modi govt attempts to dilute Indian environment laws amid pandemic
Surangya | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-17
India's right-wing government is set on diluting its environment protection laws. In yet another neoliberal move, the government has proposed amendments in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) process that will make it easier for private capital to exploit natural resources.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/17/modi-govt-attempts-to-dilute-indian-environment-laws-amid-pandemic/

Rival Belorussian protests take place in Minsk as EU ponders new sanctions
Steve Sweeney | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-17
peoplesworld.org/article/rival-belorussian-protests-take-place-in-minsk-as-eu-ponders-new-sanctions/

Lebanon's future is uncertain after this month's massive explosion
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-08-17
After protests, citizens are looking to end corruption once and for all.
therealnews.com/stories/lebanons-future-is-uncertain-after-massive-explosion

Thousands hit the streets in anti-government demonstration in Bangkok
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-17
An estimated ten thousand people participated in a demonstration on Sunday, supporting the ongoing students' movement calls for political reforms. This is the latest in a series of growing protests against the establishment…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/17/thousands-hit-the-streets-in-anti-government-demonstration-in-bangkok/

Protests, strikes against Lukashenko regime mount in Belarus
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
The involvement of growing sections of workers has panicked the Lukashenko regime, and the NATO-backed opposition is calling for "dialogue" with the regime.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/bela-a17.html

Belarus: Mass Protests Against President Lukashenko Continue
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko Sunday attended a demonstration organized by government supporters in Minsk, while hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered to demand his resignation at the most massive opposition demonstration ever. | RELATED: | EU Won't Accept Belarus Election Results, Sanctions Coming | The protests began in Minsk nine days ago, after the announcement of Lukashenko's re-election. Today the demonstrations have spread throughout Belarus, with more par…
telesurenglish.net/news/mass-protests-continue-in-belarus-against-president-lukashenko-20200817-0001.html

Minneapolis Police 5th Precinct Attacked, Sees Two Nights of Protests
Unicorn Riot | unicornriot.ninja | 2020-08-17
Minneapolis, MN — Fireworks exploded on the roof of the Minneapolis Police (MPD) 5th Precinct on Saturday night while dozens took part in spray painting and egging the windows of the building. | After a nighttime march reached the precinct, a participant shouted into a bullhorn…
unicornriot.ninja/2020/minneapolis-police-5th-precinct-attacked-see-two-nights-of-protests/

Teacher sickout closes Arizona school district as support grows for national strike
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
Phoenix area teachers forced the closure of the first day of school today as protests against the unsafe opening of schools spread across the country.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/ariz-a17.html

Somalia: UN condemns 'brazen' terrorist attack on beachside hotel
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
The UN in Somalia has strongly condemned a terrorist attack that took place on Sunday at the Elite Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, which reportedly killed at least 16 people and left many others injured.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1070342