Face Masks Pose Serious Risks to the Healthy
Dr. Russell Blaylock | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-20
First published by GR on May 26, 2020 | "By wearing a mask, the exhaled viruses will not be able to escape and will concentrate in the nasal passages, enter the olfactory nerves and travel into the brain." — Russell Blaylock, …
globalresearch.ca/face-masks-pose-serious-risks-healthy/5712649

Food delivery workers strike in multiple Indian cities against drastic reduction in pay
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-20
Having worked throughout the lockdown delivery riders are now left with little to show as earning, which, in many cases, have been reduced to a fifth of what they used to earn in March…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/20/food-delivery-workers-strike-in-multiple-indian-cities-against-drastic-reduction-in-pay/

Green Bay police videos prompt march for Black lives
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-20
Green Bay, WI – On August 14, more than 30 community members gathered at Brown County Courthouse to protest the recent 'public service' videos put out by the Green Bay Police Department. The third video, titled "Hands Up, Don't Shoot," is particularly offensive. The videos are meant to portray change, while no actual change takes place, and a murderer, Officer Erik O'Brien, remains employed. | In fact, GBPD promoted O'Brien to sergeant after he murdered Jonathon Tubby, an Oneida man, on October 19, 2018. Police Chief Andrew Smith publicly defends O'Brien, while making comments that compare Jonathon Tubby's…
fightbacknews.org/2020/8/19/green-bay-police-videos-prompt-march-black-lives

Green Bay police videos prompt march for Black lives
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-20
Green Bay, WI – On August 14, more than 30 community members gathered at Brown County Courthouse to protest the recent 'public service' videos put out by the Green Bay Police Department. The third video, titled "Hands Up, Don't Shoot," is particularly offensive. The videos are meant to portray change, while no actual change takes place, and a murderer, Officer Erik O'Brien, remains employed. | In fact, GBPD promoted O'Brien to sergeant after he murdered Jonathon Tubby, an Oneida man, on October 19, 2018. Police Chief Andrew Smith publicly defends O'Brien, while making comments that compare Jonathon Tubby's…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/8/19/green-bay-police-videos-prompt-march-black-lives

Detainees during the Pandemic
Prabhat Patnaik | mronline.org | 2020-08-20
It is a common practice all over the world that when those incarcerated face a threat to life, the authorities send them home.
mronline.org/2020/08/20/detainees-during-the-pandemic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=detainees-during-the-pandemic

University Greed in the Midst of a Global Pandemic
Lauren Novosat | zcomm.org | 2020-08-20
This is the way of the modern University administration–they are sneaky, they are greedy, and they care nothing for the health and safety of their students…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/university-greed-in-the-midst-of-a-global-pandemic/

Food delivery workers strike in multiple Indian cities against drastic reduction in pay
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-20
Delivery personnel with the Indian company Swiggy are protesting in a number of cities claiming that the payment they get per order has sharply decreased, as have other incentives…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/20/food-delivery-workers-strike-in-multiple-indian-cities-against-drastic-reduction-in-pay/

Algerian journalist Abdulkrim Zeghileche faces prison term for "undermining national unity"
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-20
Abdulkrim Zeghileche, an active supporter of the Hirak protests, has been in pre-trial detention since June 23 and his trial is expected to begin in a few days. He faces a three-year prison term if convicted…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/20/algerian-journalist-abdulkrim-zeghileche-faces-prison-term-for-undermining-national-unity/

Harris targets Trump the predator, denounces structural racism
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-20
WILMINGTON, Del.–Several big Democratic figures graced television screens for the party's virtual national convention on Wednesday night, but the finale was left to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. The history-making first Black woman ever on a major-party ticket, Harris used her acceptance of the party's 2020 vice-presidential nomination to introduce her personal story and tie it …
peoplesworld.org/article/harris-targets-trump-the-predator-denounces-structural-racism/

PDF of August 20 issue
A. Majumdar | workers.org | 2020-08-20
Download the 12-page PDF. Stop Trump's attack on…
workers.org/2020/08/50692/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pdf-of-august-20-issue

To the victor belong the spoils
David Ruccio | mronline.org | 2020-08-20
The phrase, which was used in the early nineteenth century to describe the the spoils system of appointing government workers, accurately describes the American economy today.* And it's pretty clear who the victor is, and it's not the working-class. Instead, a small group at the top have come out as the victor–and that's been true …
mronline.org/2020/08/20/to-the-victor-belong-the-spoils/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=to-the-victor-belong-the-spoils

New Haven organizers host first annual Unity Walk for Survivors of Police Violence
Liberation Staff | liberationnews.org | 2020-08-20
We're giving the people that got killed by the police, that are dead, that are no longer here with us, a voice. They're talking through us.""
liberationnews.org/new-haven-organizers-host-first-annual-unity-walk-for-survivors-of-police-violence/

RPI's long-standing ties to U.S. militarism
Jacob Kaplan | zcomm.org | 2020-08-20
Be careful whose dreams you help come true…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/rpis-long-standing-ties-to-u-s-militarism/

Nurses united in the fight for a new contract at Connecticut's Backus Hospital
Gil Netter | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-20
NORWICH, Conn.–Over 250 nurses, who are members of the Backus Federation of Nurses, AFT-CT Local 5149, and community supporters carried out an informational picket here Sunday, Aug. 9, outside Backus Hospital. They were demanding the hospital administration negotiate a new contract addressing safety issues affecting nurses and patients. The reasons for the picket and rally …
peoplesworld.org/article/nurses-united-in-the-fight-for-a-new-contract-at-connecticuts-backus-hospital/

DNC: Performance Progressivism
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-08-20
Stir Crazy! Episode 79: Today we are joined by TRNN visual producer Andrew Corkery and organizers from the People's City Council of Los Angeles Ina Morten and Ricci Sergienko. Hosted by Kim Brown.
therealnews.com/stories/dnc-performance-progressivism

Dedicated activists help La Riva 2020 win ballot access in Arkansas
Liberation Staff | liberationnews.org | 2020-08-20
The success of the coordinated effort to secure ballot access in Arkansas clearly demonstrates the ability of an organized revolutionary party to overcome the undemocratic hurdles the capitalist electoral system throws our way.
liberationnews.org/dedicated-activists-help-la-riva-2020-win-ballot-access-in-arkansas-2/

The Democratic Platform and Medicare for All: A Nod Is as Good as a Wink (To a Blind Horse)
Mark Dudzic | zcomm.org | 2020-08-20
Medicare for All has won the battle of ideas. Now we have to win the battle against entrenched economic and political power.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-democratic-platform-and-medicare-for-all-a-nod-is-as-good-as-a-wink-to-a-blind-horse/

Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger problem
Sue Davis | workers.org | 2020-08-20
Planned Parenthood of Greater New York issued a strong statement July 21 that condemned Margaret Sanger's relationship with eugenics theory and practice. "By saying this, we disarm a tool anti-abortion opponents use to shame women of color, especially Black women, from seeking the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health . . . | Continue reading Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger problem at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50683/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=planned-parenthoods-margaret-sanger-problem

"Your Economics Professor is almost Certainly a Charlatan: A review with commentary of My Mis-Education in 3 Graphics," a film by Mary Filippo
Michael D. Yates | mronline.org | 2020-08-20
Mary Filippo began in 2004 to audit economics classes in the hope that she could "learn something about globalization. Does it really help people in developing countries? What are its downsides?" She did not learn these things.
mronline.org/2020/08/20/your-economics-professor-is-almost-certainly-a-charlatan-a-review-with-commentary-of-my-mis-education-in-3-graphics-a-film-by-mary-filippo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=your-economics-professor-is-almost-certainly-a-charlatan-a-review-with-commentary-of-my-mis-education-in-3-graphics-a-film-by-mary-filippo

Venezuela: The real enemy
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-08-20
We became an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. imperialism in 1999. From that moment on, our enemy declared war, not a conventional war, but war nonetheless.
mronline.org/2020/08/20/venezuela-the-real-enemy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=venezuela-the-real-enemy

Former deputy sentenced to prison for ordering attack on inmate
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2020-08-20
"The duty of correctional officers is to uphold the law and protect the people within their care. These actions are not only illegal and morally wrong, they go against the oath this officer took when he entered the job."
nationofchange.org/2020/08/20/former-deputy-sentenced-to-prison-for-ordering-attack-on-inmate/

Michigan agrees to $600 settlement in Flint water crisis
Amanda Mills | nationofchange.org | 2020-08-20
"If money is how government expresses sorrow for its crimes — this is a big apology."
nationofchange.org/2020/08/20/michigan-agrees-to-600-settlement-in-flint-water-crisis/

Prisoners' lives matter! 'Inmates cannot social distance'
| workers.org | 2020-08-20
Makinni Iyapo By Makini Iyapo This edited talk was given at an Aug. 13 Workers World Party webinar, "From Black August to Black Lives Matter," hosted by the WWP Prisoners Solidarity Committee. I am so honored to be here, in the company of people of like minds. I feel rejuvenated . . . | Continue reading Prisoners' lives matter! 'Inmates cannot social distance' at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50680/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=prisoners-lives-matter-inmates-cannot-social-distance

Hillary Clinton tells voters: Don't let Trump steal the election, again
C.J. Atkins | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-20
Three million more people voted for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump in 2016. It's been nearly four years since that fateful election, but the number is worth repeating. If not for the anachronistic institution known as the Electoral College, there would be no President Donald Trump. On Wednesday night, the woman who beat Trump …
peoplesworld.org/article/hillary-clinton-tells-voters-dont-let-trump-steal-the-election-again/

Egyptians stand up against sexual violence
Mary Fawzy | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-20
A case against a rich alleged rapist has sparked outrage across the country, leading to an amendment to legislation to conceal the identities of survivors — but is it enough?
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/20/egyptians-stand-up-against-sexual-violence/

Poor People's Campaign launches drive to build power among poor, low-income voters
The Poor People's Campaign | zcomm.org | 2020-08-20
U.S. residents have fewer voting rights today than they did after the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/poor-peoples-campaign-launches-drive-to-build-power-among-poor-low-income-voters/

A National Emergency Requires a Bold Local Response
Paul Cienfuegos | zcomm.org | 2020-08-20
Just imagine how Portland could become a beacon of light for the rest of the nation. Imagine if other cities followed in our footsteps. Imagine if We the People began to recognize that our most nationally transformative work could be done locally.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/1037587/

Jobless crisis worsens: Army of the unemployed grows by more than 1.7 million
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-20
WASHINGTON–Actual initial claims for state and federal jobless benefits combined climbed to 1.44 million in the week ending August 15, the Labor Department reported. The adjusted figure, however, was 215,000 claims higher than that, all for state jobless benefits alone. The increase pushed the official number of unemployed to 28.06 million, BLS added. Private analysts …
peoplesworld.org/article/jobless-crisis-worsens-army-of-the-unemployed-grows-by-more-than-1-7-million/

A bullet lodged next to my son's heart
Manal Tamimi | zcomm.org | 2020-08-20
I have lived my entire life under Israeli occupation. Generations of my family have fought against Israel's violent apartheid…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/a-bullet-lodged-next-to-my-sons-heart/

Giants and Warriors workers fight back
Marc Norton | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-20
The San Francisco Giants returned home on Friday, August 14, and found themselves being picketed by the workers who normally sell garlic fries and beer to the fans. This must have been bad karma, as both Friday and Saturday the Giants blew a big lead over the Oakland A's in the ninth inning, then got …
peoplesworld.org/article/giants-and-warriors-workers-fight-back/

Teachers Unions Test Goodwill with Strike Threats, Hardball Negotiations
Megan Cassella, Nicole Gaudiano, and Mackenzie Mays | zcomm.org | 2020-08-20
As schools prepare to open, in addition to safety measures, some unions are pressing for police-free schools, canceling rents and mortgages, and bans on new charter programs and standardized testing.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/teachers-unions-test-goodwill-with-strike-threats-hardball-negotiations/

The Heat: U.S. politics and COVID-19 in Latin America
Mike Walter | america.cgtn.com | 2020-08-20
Politics and the pandemic. Plus — Latin America passes Europe as the region with the most Covid deaths the world.
america.cgtn.com/2020/08/20/the-heat-u-s-politics-and-covid-19-in-latin-america

No right for US to request snapback of UN sanctions on Iran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-20
TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — China says the US has no right to request snapback of UN sanctions on Iran after pulling out from the JCPOA.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162526/No-right-for-US-to-request-snapback-of-UN-sanctions-on-Iran

'We must be ready for post-sanctions era'
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-20
TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (MNA) — Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh believes that Iran needs to be ready for post-sanctions era.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162529/We-must-be-ready-for-post-sanctions-era

S.Korea must be accountable for halting drug imports to Iran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-20
TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Iranian First Vice President Es'hagh Jahangiri said on Thursday that South Korea must be held accountable for its negative response to drug imports to Iran.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162534/S-Korea-must-be-accountable-for-halting-drug-imports-to-Iran

Great strides taken in Iran's nuclear industry
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-20
TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — AEOI, in a tweet on Thursday, said with or without the activation of the trigger mechanism against Iran, the body has taken major steps in empowering its nuclear industry and providing 90,000 SWU.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162532/Great-strides-taken-in-Iran-s-nuclear-industry

'US shouldn't try its luck, it'll only be humiliated again'
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-20
TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi in his Thursday tweet said the US should not try its luck for it will only be humiliated again.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162535/US-shouldn-t-try-its-luck-it-ll-only-be-humiliated-again

Iranian defense industry competitive with modern intl. rivals
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-20
TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (MNA) — In a statement on Thursday, IRGC said Iranian defense industry is competitive with its developed and modern international rivals.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162536/Iranian-defense-industry-competitive-with-modern-intl-rivals

Israeli regime biggest threat to region: Nasrallah
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-20
TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Hassan Nasrallah said that the Israeli regime is the biggest threat to the West Asia (Middle East) region.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162538/Israeli-regime-biggest-threat-to-region-Nasrallah

Thursday 8/27: Supporting Voting Rights in California Jails: A Community Training
ACLU & partners | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
Online via Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/20/18836007.php

World Bank Says Bold Debt Relief Plans Needed to Confront COVID Crisis
Jubilee USA Network | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
World Bank President David Malpass called for debt cancellation for poor countries struggling with the coronavirus, in an interview he gave to The Guardian.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/19/18835988.php

GLIDE Expands Access to its Free, Low-barrier Tenderloin Neighborhood COVID Testing Site
GLIDE | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
GLIDE expands access to its free, low-barrier Tenderloin neighborhood COVID testing site and continues to provide essential services to meet the growing needs of vulnerable residents.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/20/18836008.php

On Facebook Banning Anarchist and Antifascist Pages & the Digital Censorship to Come
CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
Today Facebook deleted a variety of far-Right militia and Qanon accounts along with anarchist and antifascist pages, including It's Going Down and CrimethInc. The following is a joint statement in response.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/19/18835999.php

Thursday 8/20: Rideshare Drivers to Protest Across CA as Uber, Lyft Threaten to Abandon Drivers
William Fitzgerald | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
1455 Market St San Francisco, CA 94103…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/19/18836001.php

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

Wednesday 9/16: Oakland Privacy: Fighting Against the Surveillance State
Oakland Privacy | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
Online, via Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/20/18836006.php

Save Social Security and the Postal Service
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
Save Social Security, Now!
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/19/18835993.php

Saturday 8/22: Jeremiah Wright's America
David Giesen | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
Join Zoom Meeting | zoom.us/j/96790644732?pwd=Z1ByS25DMW01NnRpMWpZMDV2ekE4Zz09 | Meeting ID: 967 9064 4732 | Passcode: 9KNjPY…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/19/18836003.php

California Moves to Protect Declining Leatherback Sea Turtles
Center for Biological Diversity | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
Prehistoric Reptiles Threatened by Fishing…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/19/18835992.php

Sunday 8/30: Amerikkka Is Burning Ball
The Peoples Oakland Pride | indybay.org | 2020-08-20
LAKE MERRITT AMPHITHEATER…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/18/18835982.php

#SaveThePostOffice Day Of Action! Tuesday, August 25
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-20
Since the Coronavirus crisis hit, USPS has become more essential than ever, from delivering life-saving medicine, to sustaining our democracy through mail-in voting. It has also become more endangered than ever, facing a massive budget crisis. Postal workers and the public are united in urging Congress to pass $25 billion in emergency COVID-related relief for USPS. | Through mass public outcry, we've begun to roll back Trump's new appointee Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's most recent plans to reduce service. We need to keep pushing for the $25 billion dollars in funding the USPS desperately needs.
popularresistance.org/savethepostoffice-day-of-action-tuesday-august-25/

Detroit Teachers Vote Overwhelmingly To Authorize Safety Strike
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-20
During an emergency special meeting Wednesday, members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) voted to authorize a potential safety strike aimed at pressing the Detroit Public Schools Community District to implement basic science-based safety protocols before schools reopen during the continuing coronavirus pandemic. | The vote authorizes the DFT executive board to call a safety strike if the union and the school district do not reach an agreement. Members voted 91 percent in favor of authorizing a safety strike.
popularresistance.org/detroit-teachers-vote-overwhelmingly-to-authorize-safety-strike/

Will COVID-19 Spur A Wave Of Unionization?
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-20
In mid-March, someone asked me whether COVID-19 would spur a wave of unionization. My first reaction was no. How could workers possibly unionize when there was all this social distancing and people couldn't even meet in groups? Moreover, I thought workers would be so cowed by the horrors of the pandemic that they wouldn't give much thought to unionizing. | That response was short-sighted. I didn't realize how furious many workers would become about the uncaring, even callous way their companies have treated them during this crisis–about the many employers that didn't lift a finger to provide masks or hand s…
popularresistance.org/will-covid-19-spur-a-wave-of-unionization/

Belarus: This Color Revolution Is Already Dead
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-20
The color revolution attempt in Belarus, which we predicted in June, evolved over the last week. But today's events tell us that it will soon be over. | While President Alexander Lukashenko claimed to have won 80% of the votes during last Sunday's election, the 'western' candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya claimed that she had won. (While the 80% is certainly too high it is most likely that Lukashenko was the real winner.) Protests and riots ensued. On Tuesday Tikhanovskaya was told in no uncertain terms to leave the country. She ended up in Lithuania.
popularresistance.org/tbelarus-color-revolution-dead/

Tell The People That The Struggle Must Go On
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-20
Young children marvel at an obvious contradiction in capitalist societies: why do we have shops filled with food, and yet see hungry people on the streets? It is a question of enormous significance; but in time the question dissipates into the fog of moral ambivalence, as various explanations are used to obfuscate the clarity of the youthful mind. The most bewildering explanation is that hungry people cannot eat because they have no money, and somehow this absence of money — the most mystical of all human creations — is enough reason to let people starve.
popularresistance.org/tell-the-people-that-the-struggle-must-go-on/

On Facebook Banning Anarchist And Antifascist Pages
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-20
Facebook has taken down multiple Facebook pages they believe to be connected with crimethinc.com and itsgoingdown.org, among other anarchist and anti-fascist publishing projects, officially on the pretext that they "support violence." This has nothing to do with stopping violence and everything to do with cracking down on social movements and everyday people getting organized in their communities. | Facebook has always promoted itself as seeking to assist people in creating networks to meet their needs.
popularresistance.org/on-facebook-banning-anarchist-and-antifascist-pages/

Defund The Police Movement Can Learn From Corrupt Gun Trace Task Force
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-20
"I Got A Monster" is a page turner that's as hard to put down as it is disturbing. What's more, it could not be more relevant to our times. Through extensive reporting, authors Baynard Woods and Brandon Soderberg show that repressive police tactics — like throwing civilians into unmarked cars and fabricating and planting evidence — are more than recent national news topics. They have been used for years against Black communities. | Immaculately researched, the authors use court documents, wiretaps, interviews, and body camera footage to recreate the unraveling of one of the greatest police scandals of…
popularresistance.org/defund-the-police-movement-can-learn-from-corrupt-gun-trace-task-force/

'Take it from me': Still bitter Hillary Clinton warns Americans that Trump & 'foreign adversaries' could steal election AGAIN
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton again sounded alarms about election-meddling "foreign adversaries" in her speech to the Democratic convention, while urging voters to take revenge for her bitter 2016 loss to Donald Trump. | "For four years, people have said to me, 'I didn't realize how dangerous he was,' 'I wish I could go back and do it over,' or worse, 'I should have voted,'" Clinton said in her address to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, taking voters to task for not sending her to the Oval Office in the last presidential contest. | Well, this can't be another woulda coulda sh…
rt.com/usa/498483-hillary-clinton-biden-trump-dnc/

Obama shreds Trump's 'reality show' presidency, vows his former VP Biden will save US democracy & solve all America's problems
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Former US president Barack Obama said the Trump administration had turned the presidency into a "reality show" in his speech to the Democratic convention, holding up Joe Biden as a panacea for all of the country's troubles. | Addressing the third night of his party's national convention on Wednesday, the ex-POTUS took an uncharacteristically harsh tone on President Donald Trump, saying he hadn't "grown into the job because he can't" while laying blame for the Covid-19 crisis squarely on his administration. | "I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job…
rt.com/usa/498484-obama-trump-reality-show-presidency/

'Where's the war? I don't see the war': Trump says Obama & Hillary marched the US into conflict while he 'kept us out' of new wars
rt.com | 2020-08-20
President Donald Trump has boasted that by replacing Barack Obama and defeating Hillary Clinton, he saved the US from war with North Korea. An unlikely dove, Trump has often accused his rivals of clamoring for conflict. | Speaking on Thursday from Old Forge, Pennsylvania — just two miles from Joe Biden's hometown of Scranton — Trump tore into his opponent, calling Biden a "puppet of the radical left movement" who wants to "hike your taxes" and "take away your guns," among other by now well-worn criticisms. | After rounding on Biden, Trump boasted of his own accomplishments in office, including his se…
rt.com/usa/498596-trump-obama-hillary-war/

Journalism professor melts down after seeing Trump ads on Washington Post website, accusing the paper of SELLING ITS SOUL
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Seeing the front page of his beloved Washington Post plastered with campaign ads for President Donald Trump sent one journalism professor into a fit of rage. And the angrier he got, the more people in the comments laughed. | "No, @washingtonpost, no, no NO. How dare you? Were these pieces of silver worth the price of your soul?" City University of New York journalism professor Jeff Jarvis tweeted on Thursday, after seeing an ad slamming Joe Biden emblazoned across the banner of the Washington Post's website. | No, @washingtonpost, no, no NO.
rt.com/usa/498585-trump-ads-washington-post/

'Trump is destroying our country!' Billie Eilish targets young voters with pro-Biden rant & new song performance at Dem convention
rt.com | 2020-08-20
American pop star Billie Eilish tore into US President Donald Trump before performing a new song at the Democratic convention, in an apparent attempt to attract young voters to the party's 77-year-old nominee, Joe Biden. | "Donald Trump is destroying our country and everything we care about… We need leaders who will solve our problems like climate change and Covid, not deny them… It starts with voting against Donald Trump and for Joe Biden," Eilish said before performing her new track, 'My Future,' at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night. | You don't need me to tell you things are a mess.
rt.com/usa/498482-billie-eilish-trump-biden-dnc/

Lyft SUSPENDS California service to avoid registering drivers as employees, Uber expected to follow suit
rt.com | 2020-08-20
After a California court's preliminary injunction required Uber and Lyft to reclassify drivers as employees, both companies threatened to shut down their ride-hailing services, with the latter confirming the move. | Lyft will suspend its transportation activity in California at 11: 59pm local time on Thursday, the company announced in a blog post. "This is not something we wanted to do, as we know millions of Californians depend on Lyft for daily, essential trips," the company — valued in the billions of dollars &#…
rt.com/usa/498586-lyft-california-service-drivers-uber/

LA Mayor Garcetti crowned Covid-19 'dictator' after shutting off utilities at TikTok star's Hollywood party mansion
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti has been labeled a despotic hypocrite by social media, after he cut off water and power at a TikTok influencer's residence where gatherings were held in violation of coronavirus orders. | In a tweet, Garcetti announced that he had instructed the city to disconnect utility services at a house in the Hollywood Hills, claiming that its tenants had put the community at risk by hosting parties "in flagrant violation of our public health orders." | The residence in question has reported…
rt.com/usa/498487-eric-garcetti-water-tyrant-los-angeles/

Portland police use tear gas to disperse protesters after mob targets ICE building (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Federal officers tussled with protesters in Portland after a crowd vandalized an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in the city. Police declared the assembly a riot and deployed tear gas. | Several hundred demonstrators marched to the ICE building on Wednesday night, where they proceeded to shine lights and lasers at federal officers inside the premises. According to a statement released by the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), the crowd began kicking and banging on the building's doors, and tagged the government office with graffiti. The office's windows were also damaged. | Federal agents exited th…
rt.com/usa/498549-portland-protest-ice-tear-gas/

'We believe in law enforcement': Texas governor pledges to financially punish cities that attempt to defund the police
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Governor of Texas Greg Abbott has issued a stark warning to left-leaning cities in the Lone Star State, saying he will withdraw funding from municipalities that try to defund law enforcement agencies. | The Republican politician sent the unambiguous message after Austin's city council slashed its police budget by $150 million last week. "Texas will defund cities that try to defund their police. We support law enforcement in Texas," Abbott tweeted late on Wednesday. | Discussing the issue on Fox News, Governor Abbott accused liberal precincts of "caving to socialism," and argued that the violence that's erupted…
rt.com/usa/498527-texas-threatens-defund-cities-defund-police/

Steve Bannon & 3 others ARRESTED, charged with border wall fundraiser fraud
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Former Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon, triple-amputee Air Force vet Brian Kolfage and two others have been arrested and charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors with their 'We Build the Wall' online fundraiser. | Bannon, Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea are accused of scamming over $25 million under the guise of raising funds to build a wall on the US' southern border with Mexico in an indictment unsealed Thursday in Manhattan federal court. | While donors to the crowdfunding campaign were told Kolfage, the public face of We Build the Wall, "would not be paid a cent," the quartet a…
rt.com/usa/498555-steve-bannon-indicted-wall/

Trump's pardon for Susan B. Anthony SNUBBED as museum rejects it on her behalf, gives president pointed to-do list it would prefer
rt.com | 2020-08-20
A museum ostensibly dedicated to honoring the memory of women's-rights hero Susan B. Anthony has instead chosen to score partisan political points by rejecting a pardon from President Donald Trump on her behalf. | The National Susan B. Anthony Museum in Rochester, New York, snubbed the pardon on Twitter, taking the liberty of channeling what it supposed would be Anthony's thoughts 114 years after her death. "On news of the presidential pardon for Susan B. Anthony on August 18, 2020: Objection, Mr. President. Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon today!" | Anthony wrote in her diary in 1873 that…
rt.com/usa/498598-museum-snubs-trump-pardon/

WATCH: Florida lashed by multiple tornados, snapping trees in half and flipping vehicles
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Florida has been lashed by a series of ferocious storms culminating in multiple tornados descending from the sky, terrifying beleaguered locals, uprooting trees and flipping cars in the process. | One waterspout touched down around lunch time, before transforming into a fully-fledged tornado at Golden Beach near Aventura on Wednesday. | Eyewitness footage captured the moment the waterspout made landfall and gathered pace as it transformed into a fully-fledged tornado. | Tornado / waterspout golden beach Florida – ramen by my mom pic.twitter.com/ANsCQgVHqS– Scott shea…
rt.com/usa/498501-giant-tornado-touches-down-florida/

'Loneliness epidemic': Half of American singles aren't looking for a relationship or even seeking casual dates, Pew poll shows
rt.com | 2020-08-20
Half of single adults in the US aren't looking for casual dates, let alone a committed relationship, reflecting a trend toward more reclusive lifestyles in Japan and other developed nations, a new Pew Research Center poll showed. | Fifty percent of Americans who aren't in a relationship aren't seeking a committed partner or trying to find dates, Pew reported Thursday, based on polling that was done in October 2019. As for those open to r…
rt.com/usa/498600-single-americans-not-dating/

Washington's Gift to President Putin
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-08-20
Russia is often portrayed as resisting international norms and rejecting honest olive branches from the West. But Russia has made many attempts at peace and partnership only to be rejected. Watch the video and read more in the article by Brian Cloughley.
strategic-culture.org/video/2020/08/20/washingtons-gift-to-president-putin/

Why the U.S. Should Keep Its Distance From Belarus
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-08-20
Russian leaders have reason to regard Ukraine and Belarus as being within Moscow's rightful sphere of influence. Indeed, those two nations are within Russia's core security zone, and the Kremlin will likely go to great lengths to prevent an even bigger NATO military presence on its borders than the one that exists now.
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/20/why-us-should-keep-its-distance-from-belarus/

It's Not Happening: The Mainstream Media Is the Enabler of American Dysfunction
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-08-20
Has anyone seen anywhere in the mainstream media a serious discussion of Israel's possible role in the Beirut bombing? I am not suggested an evidence-free indictment of Israel but rather just a review of Israel's possible motive and a consideration of its capability to carry out such an attack without having to directly do it itself with one of its bombs or missiles. Given the Jewish state's unrelenting hostility towards Hezbollah and its repeated violations of Lebanese territory and airspace, it would seem to me that it would at least merit a sentence or two in the New York Times or Washington Post. | Or how abo…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/20/its-not-happening-mainstream-media-is-the-enabler-of-american-dysfunction/

Obama warns US democracy is at stake if Trump is re-elected
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
Former US president Barack Obama has warned that American democracy could falter if Donald Trump is re-elected in the autumn.Obama's stunning rebuke of his successor was echoed by Kamala Harris at the Democratic Convention as she embraced her historic role as the first Black woman on a US national political ticket alongside presidential hopeful Joe Biden.The former president — who broke barriers himself as America's first Black president — pleaded with voters to "embrace your own responsibility as citizens — to make sure that the basic tenets of our democracy endure". | Obama warned: "Because that'…
thecanary.co/us/us-news-us/2020/08/20/obama-warns-us-democracy-is-at-stake-if-trump-is-re-elected/

2019 saw record levels of annual loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet, study finds
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
The annual ice mass loss from Greenland in 2019 broke the previous record melt in 2012 by 15%, a new study suggests. | The Greenland Ice Sheet is one of the largest contributors to sea level rise, and is associated with about 0.76mm per year, out of the total of about 3.5mm per year rise in global mean sea level from 2005 to 2017, researchers say. | Using the satellite missions Grace (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and its follow-on mission Grace-FO, experts have been able to quantify ice mass loss by tracking changes in gravity. | Ingo Sasgen from the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/08/20/2019-saw-record-levels-of-annual-loss-from-the-greenland-ice-sheet-study-finds/

Contact tracing apps 'unlikely to contain Covid-19 spread without support'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
Contact tracing apps are unlikely to be effective in reducing the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) unless there is a large-scale uptake by the population and it is supported by other public health control measures, scientists have said. | Their findings, published in the journal Lancet Digital Health, are based on a review of data from 15 scientific studies published between January and mid-April this year. | The researchers, led by University College London, also said evidence on the effectiveness of automated contact tracing systems is limited and there is an "urgent need for further evaluation of these apps".
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/08/20/contact-tracing-apps-unlikely-to-contain-covid-19-spread-without-support/

Record GCSE grades 'likely to prompt more students than ever to attend college'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
More students than ever are likely to progress to A-levels and vocational courses following steep rises in the GCSE pass rates for maths and English, college leaders have said.Nearly three in four (71.2%) entries in England received a grade 4 or above — broadly equivalent to a C or above — in English this year, compared with 61.8% last year, according to data published by exams regulator Ofqual.The pass rate for maths has increased by 7 percentage points. Two in three entries received a grade 4 or above, compared with 59.6% in 2019.(PA Graphics)David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of College…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/20/record-gcse-grades-likely-to-prompt-more-students-than-ever-to-attend-college/

Sister 'sickened' by police actions in 'I'll choke you out' arrest video
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
A woman has said she was sickened by footage of her brother being arrested while being told "chill out or I'll choke you out" by a police officer.A West Yorkshire officer has been suspended after a video was widely shared of Hassan Ahmed, 27, being arrested in Halifax on Sunday.His sister Safyah, who did not wish to give her surname, joined around 100 people for a demonstration outside Halifax police station on Wednesday afternoon.Hassan Ahmed's sister Safyah joined around 100 people for a demonstration outside Halifax police station (Dave Higgens/PA)She said of her brother's arrest: "It was a total abuse of powe…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/20/sister-sickened-by-police-actions-in-ill-choke-you-out-arrest-video/

Ex-White House adviser Steve Bannon arrested over border wall fundraising scheme
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon has been arrested on charges that he and three others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme called We Build The Wall.The charges were contained in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others "orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors" in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $25m (£19m) to build a wall along the southern border of the United States.A spokesperson for Bannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Steve Bannon l…
thecanary.co/us/us-news-us/2020/08/20/ex-white-house-adviser-steve-bannon-arrested-over-border-wall-fundraising-scheme/

Williamson was warned of algorithm's impact on poorer pupils last month
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
Gavin Williamson was warned the exams algorithm would disadvantage poorer pupils around a month before it was axed, it has emerged as the embattled education secretary came under fresh scrutiny.Jon Coles, a former Department for Education director-general, issued a clear warning to Williamson that hundreds of thousands of students could receive the wrong grades, it became clear on Thursday as pupils learned their GCSE results.But Williamson pushed on with using the algorithm in England until he came under cross-party fire after nearly 40% of A-level students had their results downgraded.The Cabinet minister was h…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/20/williamson-was-warned-of-algorithms-impact-on-poorer-pupils-last-month/

Latinx Democrats Received the Same Number of DNC Prime-Time Slots as Republicans
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-20
On the first night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), four Republicans spoke in support of former Vice President Joe Biden. That's the same as the number of Latinxs who will be given time to speak during prime time for the entire week of the convention. While the first face to appear on-screen during the first-ever virtual DNC was Eva Longoria, the activist and actor of "Desperate Housewives" fame, only three other Latinxs received prime-time billing: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto…
truthout.org/articles/latinx-democrats-received-the-same-number-of-dnc-prime-time-slots-as-republicans/

Warren Uses DNC to Demand Child Care as "Basic Infrastructure of This Nation"
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-20
Speaking on the third night of the Democratic National Convention from a Massachusetts kindergarten facility that's been shuttered for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday lamented the failure of the wealthiest country on the planet to provide crucial services to families with children and demanded that child care be treated as "part of the basic infrastructure of this nation." | "Our economic system has been rigged to give bailouts to billionaires and kick d…
truthout.org/articles/warren-uses-dnc-to-demand-child-care-as-basic-infrastructure-of-this-nation/

Remembering Charlotta Bass, the First Black Woman to Run for VP in 1952
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-20
Image Credit: Southern California Library | Senator Kamala Harris is the first Indian American and first Black woman to be nominated for vice president on a major party ticket, but, as many historians have noted, Harris is not the first Black woman to run for vice president. That distinction belongs to the journalist and political activist Charlotta Bass, who was the editor of The California Eagle for nearly 30 years, one of the country's oldest Black newspapers, which covered women's suffrage, police…
truthout.org/video/remembering-charlotta-bass-the-first-black-woman-to-run-for-vp-in-1952/

USPS Sorting Machines Are Still Being Dismantled Despite DeJoy's Promise to Stop
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-20
In spite of promises from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy earlier this week to suspend radical changes to United States Postal Service (USPS) facilities that resulted in slower mail delivery, some post offices in Michigan appear to be continuing to dismantle their mail sorting machines. | DeJoy had wanted to decommission more than 600 machines across the U.S. used to help workers more eff…
truthout.org/articles/usps-sorting-machines-are-still-being-dismantled-despite-dejoys-promise-to-stop/

Obama Breaks With Convention Protocol to Call Trump a Threat at DNC Night Three
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-20
The third night of the Democratic National Convention was an affirmation of the formidable opposition to a second Trump term. Here was Kamala Harris, a Black and Indian American woman, becoming the vice-presidential nominee with the crack of a gavel. Here was Hillary Clinton, the road not taken made flesh, dressed in suffragette white and warning the country not to blow it again. Here was Elizabeth Warren with a plan. Here were children made electric in their fear of dying in bullet-riddle…
truthout.org/articles/obama-breaks-with-convention-protocol-to-call-trump-a-threat-at-dnc-night-three/

GOP Is Waging a War on Voting. Here Are 8 Ways You Can Protect Election 2020
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-20
The 2020 presidential election will not be decided by the popularity of candidates or their ideas. It will not be decided by how many people intend to vote for each candidate. The usual dramas of polls, debates and running mates are irrelevant. | The election will be decided by how many people try to vote and how many votes get counted and reported correctly in a handful of battleground states. Donald Trump is not trying to appeal to more voters with popular ideas. He is appealing to those who…
truthout.org/articles/gop-is-waging-a-war-on-voting-here-are-8-ways-you-can-protect-election-2020/

Prominent left veterans say vote Biden-Harris, then keep organizing
John Bachtell | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-20
Alarm over the prospect of a second Trump presidency and desire for substantial change is preparing the ground for an unprecedented voter turnout in November. The virtual Democratic National Convention showcased the vast array of support coalescing around former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. That support ranges from former Ohio Republican …
peoplesworld.org/article/prominent-left-veterans-say-vote-biden-harris-then-keep-organizing/

UN health body weighs in on Africa schools reopening
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
As schools re-open in many African states, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday stressed the need to continue preventive measures against coronavirus.In a media briefing, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director of WHO, said the issue needs to be addressed with the same urgency that we have seen in opening up economies and businesses.Moeti said the WHO's advice is to weigh the risks, to use the data on COVID-19 cases in the community to guide decisions on re-opening schools "and to put in place measures to enable physical distancing […] as well as ensuring students wear masks and are able to wash their…
yenisafak.com/en/world/un-health-body-weighs-in-on-africa-schools-reopening-3537268

Battling "The Empire" of Gang Green Collaborators, Timber Industry, and Trump's Forest Service in the North Cascades
Mike Garrity | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-20
Several pseudo environmental groups joined forces with the timber industry and the Forest Service against the Alliance for the Wild Rockies after it filed a lawsuit last year against the Mission Restoration Project on Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in the Methow Valley west of Twisp, Washington. This scenic, pristine, and remote rural area is sandwiched between the Pasayten…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/20/battling-the-empire-of-gang-green-collaborators-timber-industry-and-trumps-forest-service-in-the-north-cascades/

Bring Back Affirmative Action to UC Berkeley
Cecil Brown | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-20
An Open Letter to Michael Drake, UC President Carol Christ, UC Chancellor, Kamala Harris,Vice Presidential Nominee, It is not possible for me to think of myself without thinking of the U of C and what opportunities it provided –Dr. Michael Drake I wish to congratulate you on being the first African American president of the…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/20/bring-back-affirmative-action-to-uc-berkeley/

Nancy Pelosi Needs to Do More to Save the Postal Service — and the Election
Matt Sedlar | cepr.net | 2020-08-20
The Daily Beast See article on original site The crisis at…
cepr.net/nancy-pelosi-needs-to-do-more-to-save-the-postal-service-and-the-election/

Turkey: E-commerce volume up 64% in H1 amid COVID-19
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Spurred by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Turkey's e-commerce volume surged 64% year-on-year in the first half of 2020, the country's trade minister announced Thursday.The January-June figure hit 97.7 billion Turkish liras ($14.2 billion), up from 55.9 billion Turkish liras ($9.98 billion) in the same period last year, Ruhsar Pekcan said.She underlined that 91% of the total e-trade volume comprised of domestic spending in the first six months of the year, versus 81% in 2019.The share of e-commerce in the country's total trade reached 14.2% in January-June, up from 8.4% in the same period last year, Pekcan added…
yenisafak.com/en/economy/turkey-e-commerce-volume-up-64-in-h1-amid-covid-19-3537255

Fourteen missing amid ship collision off Shanghai, China
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
At least 14 crew members remain missing after two ships collided near the mouth of the Yangtze River early on Thursday, local media reports said.According to the Beijing-based daily Global Times, an oil tanker carrying 3,000 tons of gasoline collided with a gravel boat 1.5 nautical miles southeast of the estuary's lightvessel.The collision, which occurred near Shanghai, caused a major fire on the deck of the patrol tanker, while gravel boat sank.Rescue teams have so far saved three crew members of 17 who were onboard, while 14 are still missing, the newspaper reported.This was the first collision between ships ne…
yenisafak.com/en/world/fourteen-missing-amid-ship-collision-off-shanghai-china-3537269

US weekly jobless claims top 1M
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits last week slightly increased and topped 1 million after recording the lowest figure the previous week since the coronavirus pandemic began, the US Labor Department said Thursday.A total of 1,106,000, jobless claims were filed, representing a week-on-week increase of 135,000.The previous week, the lowest number recorded since mid-March, 963,000, signaled the virus-hit labor market is on the mend.However, claims entered a downward trend as the economy started moving toward reopening.The US is the worst-hit country by the pandemic, with more than 5.5 millio…
yenisafak.com/en/world/us-weekly-jobless-claims-top-1m-3537276

Turkey helps South Sudan produce face masks
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Turkey's state-run aid agency TIKA has provided South Sudan sewing machines and cloth rolls for making masks to help it respond better to the coronavirus pandemic.The 30 sewing machines, and 1,000-meter cloth roll will help in the production of about 15,000 face masks, the Turkish ambassador to South Sudan said while handing them over to the Ministry of Labor in the capital Juba on Thursday."We are ready to support South Sudan whenever needed," Tugrul Biltekin said."We are working closely with the South Sudanese government, and have divided our aid into five phases. This is the last phase, to provide masks," he s…
yenisafak.com/en/world/turkey-helps-south-sudan-produce-face-masks-3537271

Cuba to begin clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Cuba will begin the first stage of a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine Aug. 24, officials said Wednesday.The Finlay Vaccine Institute registered a clinical trial for one of its candidates at the Cuban Public Registry of Clinical Trials. The SOBERANA 01 trial is on phase I and II and involves 676 volunteers between the ages of 19 and 80."Achieving an effective vaccine against COVID-19 is a priority for our entire science and innovation system at BioCubaFarma. Today we see how solid and accelerated progress has been made in this project in the Finlay Institute," said Eduardo Martínez, president of the BioCubaFa…
yenisafak.com/en/life/cuba-to-begin-clinical-trials-of-covid-19-vaccine-3537260

Airbnb bans parties in COVID-19 fight
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
No more parties and events in homes listed on Airbnb, the short-term home rental company said on Thursday as it tries to enforce strict social-distancing norms to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.The new rules include a cap on occupancy at 16, with hosts or guests who try to skirt the rules facing a ban from Airbnb's community and even legal action, the company said on Thursday."Instituting a global ban on parties and events is in the best interest of public health," Airbnb said in a statement, adding that the ban applies to all future bookings.Airbnb said 73% of its listings globally already ban parties in their hous…
yenisafak.com/en/economy/airbnb-bans-parties-in-covid-19-fight-3537273

'About 75% patients feel COVID-19 effects months after recovering'
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Almost three-quarters of patients have reported symptoms of COVID-19 three months after recovering, according to a new study in the UK.The study of 110 patients was carried out by North Bristol NHS Trust as part of its Discover project, which aims to identify the long-term effects of the virus — "Long COVID."A total of 81 patients out of 110 — almost 74% — experienced symptoms, including breathlessness, excessive fatigue, and muscle aches, after 12 weeks, the research found.Although the majority had recovered from the initial symptoms, such as a high fever, cough, and losing their sense of smell…
yenisafak.com/en/life/about-75-patients-feel-covid-19-effects-months-after-recovering-3537259

US-Iran showdown on cards over UNSC 'snapback sanctions'
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
After the UN Security Council turned down a resolution seeking an "indefinite extension" of the arms embargo on Iran, the US is all set to trigger snapback sanctions against the country."We'll be doing a snapback," US President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday "You'll be watching it next week," referring to unilateral reinstatement of all pre-2015 international sanctions on Iran.The US' envoy to the UN, Kelly Craft, said the US will "follow through on that promise" and "stop at nothing" to trigger a snapback of sanctions on Iran.According to reports, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said the council'…
yenisafak.com/en/news/us-iran-showdown-on-cards-over-unsc-snapback-sanctions-3537254

Iran says it detained a UAE ship, its crew on Monday
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Iran seized a United Arab Emirates-registered ship violating its territorial waters this week, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, adding that UAE coast guards killed two Iranian fishermen on the same day."On Monday, an Emirati ship was seized by the border guards of Iran and its crew were detained due to illegal traffic in our country's waters," state TV quoted the statement as saying."On the same day, UAE guards shot dead two Iranian fishermen and seized a boat … the UAE has expressed regret for the incident and in a letter on Wednesday announced its readiness to pay compensation."
yenisafak.com/en/world/iran-says-it-detained-a-uae-ship-its-crew-on-monday-3537258

South Korea says Russia violated its air defense zone
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
South Korea on Thursday alleged that at least six Russian aircraft violated its air defense zone.According to South Korean military officials, the Russian military air activity prompted its Air Force to respond and push them out of the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.Details released by the South Korea military said two Tu-95MS strategic bombers and four other Russian military jets on Wednesday entered the KADIZ near South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea."There was no prior notice" about the air activity by the Russian side, the South…
yenisafak.com/en/news/south-korea-says-russia-violated-its-air-defense-zone-3537256

California's notorious 'Golden State Killer' faces sentencing
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
A former California police officer dubbed the "Golden State Killer" who confessed to 13 murders and dozens of rapes during the 1970s and '80s faces a life prison term when he is sentenced in Sacramento on Friday.Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole following three days of emotional hearings in which victims or their family members confronted him in open court."What a gut punch it was that I had been brutally raped by a full-time police officer," victim Gay Hardwick said, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. She was attacked in her San Stockton home…
yenisafak.com/en/world/californias-notorious-golden-state-killer-faces-sentencing-3537261

Turkey's Central Bank keeps interest rates steady
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
The decision was announced in a statement following the bank's eighth Monetary Policy Committee (MCP) meeting of 2020."The gradual normalization of pandemic-specific financial measures and recent tightening steps taken in liquidity management are judged to support macrofinancial stability," said the bank statement.Saying that uncertainties over domestic and external demand conditions remain significant, the bank stressed that it will continue with liquidity measures.In recent weeks the bank has taken several steps to tighten liquidity conditions to support the Turkish lira such as halving the overnight borrowing…
yenisafak.com/en/economy/turkeys-central-bank-keeps-interest-rates-steady-3537262

Palestinian dies after being shot, detained by Israeli army
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
A Palestinian youth who was shot and taken away by Israeli soldiers succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.Mohammad Haziz was among three Palestinians shot by Israeli forces near the Deir Abu Meshal village, close to Ramallah in the central West Bank.The Palestinian Red Crescent said earlier on Thursday it had taken two wounded youths to hospitals in Ramallah, while a third injured person was detained by Israeli forces.Emad Zahran, head of Deir Abu Meshal's local council, told Anadolu Agency that Haziz's family was informed of his death by the Israeli army hours after he was detained."Mohammad was detained at dawn…
yenisafak.com/en/world/palestinian-dies-after-being-shot-detained-by-israeli-army-3537257

'Efforts to block Turkish energy ships will pay price'
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Anybody who tries to block Turkish energy exploration in its coastal waters will regret it, said the head of a Turkish political party on Thursday."Anyone who dares to confront our navy and research ships in the [Eastern] Mediterranean or the Aegean will pay the heaviest price," Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said in a written statement.Bahceli reiterated that Turkey's rightful actions are in line with international law, adding that they "upended global plans."Greece, France, Egypt, and other countries have moved to deprive Turkey of Mediterranean energy resources and box it in,…
yenisafak.com/en/news/efforts-to-block-turkish-energy-ships-will-pay-price-3537270

Palestinian rights paramount over Israel: Pakistan
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Pakistan won't accept Israel until Palestinians are granted their rights, the country's president told the parliament Thursday. | "We cannot accept Israel until Palestinians are given their rights as envisaged by Pakistan's founder Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah," said President Arif Alvi, applauding Prime Minister Imran Khan for "taking a clear position on the issue". | Prime Minister Khan in an interview last Tuesday night had said: "Our stand about Israel is very clear. It is the same that the founder of nation, Quaid-i-Azam, had. We cannot recognize Israel until Palestinians get their right, which should b…
yenisafak.com/en/news/palestinian-rights-paramount-over-israel-pakistan-3537278

Doctors offer contradictory information on condition of Russia's Navalny
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-20
Medics on Thursday provided contradictory information about the health of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, saying his condition had stabilised, but that there was still a threat to his life.His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on Twitter he was in a serious but stable condition.She had earlier said that he was in a coma in a Siberian hospital after drinking a cup of tea that she said she believed was laced with poison.
yenisafak.com/en/world/doctors-offer-contradictory-information-on-condition-of-russias-navalny-3537253

Cyclists protest climate destruction
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-20
Climate crisis Coral WynterIssue 1277 Australia global warming Extinction Rebellion SydneyAugust 20, 2020Early on August 16,…
greenleft.org.au/content/cyclists-protest-climate-destruction

Vickery coal mine: serial climate vandal given go-ahead to expand
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-20
Environment Margaret GleesonIssue 1277 Australia Vickery coal mine Whitehaven CoalAugust 20, 2020The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission's (IPC) approval for Whitehaven Coal to ext…
greenleft.org.au/content/vickery-coal-mine-serial-climate-vandal-given-go-ahead-expand

Galilee Blockade targets insurer AON
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-20
Environment Coral WynterIssue 1277 Australia Galilee Blockade Adani AON SydneyAugu…
greenleft.org.au/content/galilee-blockade-targets-insurer-aon

University workers discuss how to become strike-ready
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-20
Workers & unions Jonathan StraussIssue 1277 Australia National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) National Higher Education Action NetworkAugust 2…
greenleft.org.au/content/university-workers-discuss-how-become-strike-ready

Satellite data confirms significant ground movement over WestConnex tunnels
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-20
Transport Peter BoyleIssue 1277 Australia WestConnex NSW government SydneyAugust 20, 2020Residents in several Sydney suburbs where the rapidl…
greenleft.org.au/content/satellite-data-confirms-significant-ground-movement-over-westconnex-tunnels

'Mistakes happen' says Ruby Princess cruise ship inquiry
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-08-20
Economy Jim McIlroyIssue 1277 Australia Ruby Princess Maritime Union of Australia (MUA)August 20, 2020The New South Wales Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess handed down its r…
greenleft.org.au/content/mistakes-happen-says-ruby-princess-cruise-ship-inquiry

Before Kamala Harris, There Was Charlotta Bass
CP Editor | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-20
counterpunch.org/2020/08/20/before-kamala-harris-there-was-charlotta-bass/

Send in the Clowns for the Circus is in Town
Edward Curtin | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-08-20
Don't bother, they're here, already performing in the center ring under the big top owned and operated by The Umbrella People. Trump, Biden, Pence, Harris, and their clownish sidekicks, Pompeo, Michelle Obama, et al., are performing daily under the umbrella's shadowy protection. For The Umbrella People run a three-ring circus, and although their clowns pop …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/08/send-in-the-clowns-for-the-circus-is-in-town/

Kamala Harris Does Her Best to Redeem Our Sexist, Racist Past
Joan Walsh | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
Kamala Harris Does Her Best to Redeem Our Sexist, Racist Past…
thenation.com/article/politics/kamala-harris-democratic-convention/

A Kystallnacht For White Americans?
Paul Craig Roberts | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-20
Those who are working overtime to delegitimize white Americans have coined a term that they use as a weapon–"white privilege." The propaganda is that being white is a racial privilege that elevates white Americans above other Americans and enables white people to oppress blacks. It doesn't strike those who use the term as a weapon that these same "racist white people" are the ones who elected Obama president and put Kamala Harris in the Senate. | "White privilege" conveys the idea that white people have impunity. They can abuse, even kill, people of color without consequence. Yet, it is white officer Chauvi…

A Kystallnacht For White Americans?

Selected Articles: Was COVID-19 a Cover for an Anticipated or Planned Financial Crisis?
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-20
We hope that by publishing diverse view points, submitted by journalists and experts dotted all over the world, the website can serve as a reminder that no matter what narrative we are presented with, things are rarely as cut and …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-covid-19-cover-anticipated-planned-financial-crisis/5721695

Looking for the truth in a sea of false information
Shelby Wilder | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
Unreliable information is hurting the global effort to defeat the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. A surge in false information has created the perfect storm for cybercrime and spreading harmful falsehoods. The increase of misinformation and disinformation during a health emergency hamper an effective public health response while sowing confusion and distrust. To combat this crisis, international collaboration is essential, while citizens must understand the key terms in the uphill battle against the rise of false information. | Coronavirus has created the perfect storm for waves of false information to travel ac…
thecanary.co/opinion/2020/08/20/looking-for-the-truth-in-a-sea-of-false-information/

The Rise of False Information
Andrew Butler | thecanary.co | 2020-08-20
This short film, produced by Jono Namara, Shelby Wilder and the European Journalism Centre, examines how waves of false information travel across the globe and how we might combat them. | Wilder says, "unreliable information is hurting the global effort to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. A rise in false information has created the perfect storm for cybercrime and spread of harmful falsehoods. The spread of misinformation and disinformation during a health emergency hamper an effective public health resp…
thecanary.co/video/2020/08/20/the-rise-of-false-information/

So Far, 2020 Has Been Our Year of Magical Thinking
Gregg Gonsalves | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
So Far, 2020 Has Been Our Year of Magical Thinking…
thenation.com/article/society/coronavirus-response-winter/

School Reopenings Are Only Going to Get More Chaotic
Zoà´ Carpenter | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
School Reopenings Are Only Going to Get More Chaotic…
thenation.com/article/society/schools-teachers-covid-2/

What Belarus Stands to Lose
Vadim Nikitin | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
What Belarus Stands to Lose…
thenation.com/article/world/belarus-lukashenko-election-protests/

As Democrats Leave Cities, Rural Areas See an Uptick in Voter Registration
Karen Rothmyer | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
As Democrats Leave Cities, Rural Areas See an Uptick in Voter Registration…
thenation.com/article/politics/voter-registration-rural/

Live Chat: Join 'The Nation' for the Democratic National Convention
The Nation | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
Live Chat: Join 'The Nation' for the Democratic National Convention…
thenation.com/article/politics/dnc-live-chat/

The DNC Refuses to Address the Elephant in the Room
Elie Mystal | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
The DNC Refuses to Address the Elephant in the Room…
thenation.com/article/politics/democratic-convention-court/

Please Mr. Postman
Hooked Hands | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
Please Mr. Postman…
thenation.com/article/economy/please-mr-postman/

The Radical Afterlives of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Mayukh Sen | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
The Radical Afterlives of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha…
thenation.com/article/culture/theresa-hak-kyung-cha-dictee-essay/

Canceling Margaret Sanger Only Helps Abortion Opponents
Katha Pollitt | thenation.com | 2020-08-20
Canceling Margaret Sanger Only Helps Abortion Opponents…
thenation.com/article/society/canceling-margaret-sanger/

The Burden of the Debt: Lessons for Biden Adviser Ted Kaufman
Dean Baker | cepr.net | 2020-08-20
Top Biden adviser, and long-time personal friend, Ted Kaufman was seen in the Wall Street Journal warning that the debt run up by the Trump administration will seriously limit what Biden will be able to do as president. This is wrong big time, and it is the sort of silly thing that no one in …
cepr.net/the-burden-of-the-debt-lessons-for-biden-adviser-ted-kaufman/

"A Disturbing Milestone": America's Top 12 Plutocrats Now Own $1 Trillion in Wealth
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-19
New figures from the Institute for Policy Studies show that, despite a pandemic that has stunted the economy for months, America's billionaire class is becoming richer than ever, adding nearly $700 billion to their fortune since the nationwide lockdown in March.
mintpressnews.com/disturbing-milestone-top-12-plutocrats-hold-1-trillion-wealth-inequality/270569/

"A Disturbing Milestone": America's Top 12 Plutocrats Now Own $1 Trillion in Wealth
Alan MacLeod | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-19
New figures from the Institute for Policy Studies show that, despite a pandemic that has stunted the economy for months, America's billionaire class is becoming richer than ever, adding nearly $700 billion to their fortune since the nationwide lockdown in March. | MPN– For the first time in history, the 12 richest individuals in the United States collectively hold over $1 trillion in wealth. New figures from the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies (…

“A Disturbing Milestone”: America’s Top 12 Plutocrats Now Own $1 Trillion in Wealth

Oxfam: Saudis Carry Out Equivalent of One Attack Every Ten Days on Yemen's Medical and Water Facilities
Alan MacLeod | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-19
According to a new Oxfam analysis, the Saudi Colation has carried out the equivalent of "one air raid every ten days during the conflict affecting hospitals, clinics, ambulances, water drills, tanks and trucks," since it began the war in 2015. | MPN– Yemen is already living through what the United Nations calls "the world's worst humanitarian crisis." Yet despite twin epidemics of cholera and COVID-19 raging through the embattled nation, the Saudi-led…

Oxfam: Saudis Carry Out Equivalent of One Attack Every Ten Days on Yemen’s Medical and Water Facilities

Oxfam: Saudis Carry Out Equivalent of One Attack Every Ten Days on Yemen's Medical and Water Facilities
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-19
According to a new Oxfam analysis, the Saudi Colation has carried out the equivalent of "one air raid every ten days during the conflict affecting hospitals, clinics, ambulances, water drills, tanks and trucks," since it began the war in 2015.
mintpressnews.com/oxfam-saudi-arabia-attack-yemen-hospitals/270554/

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/

The Fake News About Iran & the Taliban Aims to Achieve Three Strategic Objectives
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
The CNN report earlier this week alleging that Iran paid bounties to the Taliban to kill US troops aims to reinforce the narrative that Tehran supports "terrorists", portray the country as an obstacle to peace in Afghanistan, and lastly prompt …
globalresearch.ca/fake-news-iran-taliban-aims-achieve-three-strategic-objectives/5721501

Lukashenko Just Hinted at a 'Phased Leadership Transition' in Belarus
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
Belarusian President Lukashenko's announcement that presidential elections will follow a planned constitutional referendum possibly paves the way for a "phased leadership transition" in the Color Revolution-beleaguered former Soviet Republic, one which opens up an opportunity for Russia to protect its …
globalresearch.ca/lukashenko-phased-leadership-transition-belarus/5721347

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 Parampil and Oliver Stone discuss the legendary screenwriter and director's experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War; his films, including "Platoon" and "Scarface"; his work on Latin America; and his views on the demise …
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/

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/

'Green Frontier' and 'Wild District': Bolivarian vs. Bolsonarian revolution
Dennis Broe | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-19
Two series from Colombia, Green Frontier and Wild District, both Netflix originals and both done by the same production house, Dynamo, stake out the left and right of Colombian politics. The iconography of the progressive series, Green Frontier, links it with a history of Latin American films dealing with the continent's Indigenous, a part of …
peoplesworld.org/article/green-frontier-and-wild-district-bolivarian-vs-bolsonarian-revolution/

Covid-19: Lockdown of the Global Economy of Planet Earth. Diabolical Project: The Closing Down of 193 National Economies is Not "A Solution"
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
Planet Lockdown. Devastating economic and social consequences. | We are living one of the most serious crises in modern history. | According to Michel Chossudovsky, the coronavirus pandemic is used as a pretext and a justification to close down the global …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-lockdown-of-the-global-economy-of-planet-earth-diabolical-project-the-closing-down-of-193-national-economies-is-not-a-solution/5721581

"We Will Make Biden Do It": Economist Darrick Hamilton on Pushing the Next Admin to the Left
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-19
As Democrats coalesce around Joe Biden ahead of the November presidential election, we speak with economist Darrick Hamilton, a former Bernie Sanders supporter who took part in the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, about where the Democratic Party is headed on economic policy. Hamilton says that while Biden's policies are not as radical as the moment requires, he can be pushed by social movements. "We will make Biden do it," Hamilton says, quoting Franklin D. Roosevelt on the need for activists to pressure lawmakers. "But first and foremost, Donald Trump needs to get removed."
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/19/economist_darrick_hamilton_joe_biden_democrats

Sunrise Movement: Dems Must Address Climate Crisis as DNC Drops Pledge to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-19
The Democratic National Committee has dropped a pledge to eliminate tax breaks and subsidies for the fossil fuel industry from its party platform, after a DNC spokesperson said the amendment was originally included in "error," despite both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris supporting it on the campaign trail. Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive director of the Sunrise Movement, says it is "disappointing to see" Democrats back away from the pledge, but adds that as long as social movements sustain pressure, "it will be a priority for the Biden administration, shoul…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/19/dnc_2020_varshini_prakash_climate_crisis

Dems Formally Nominate Joe Biden for President, as DNC Features Republicans & Sidelines Progressives
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-19
Joe Biden is the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, after he was formally picked by the party to challenge President Trump in November on the second night of the virtual Democratic National Convention. We feature highlights from the night, which featured speeches from 17 so-called rising stars in the Democratic Party, including voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, who unsuccessfully ran for Georgia governor in 2018, as well as Democratic heavyweights like former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. For a second night in a row, the DNC prominently featured the voices of Republicans and former Republicans…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/19/dnc_joe_biden_formally_nominated

Ady Barkan, Medicare for All Activist Dying from ALS, Urges Biden to Adopt Universal Healthcare
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-19
As the Democratic Party formally selected Joe Biden as its nominee for president at the virtual Democratic National Convention, one of those who joined in the call to elect him was activist Ady Barkan, who is paralyzed and unable to speak due to terminal ALS. Barkan is a leading advocate of Medicare for All and has publicly challenged Biden, who does not support Medicare for All. "We live in the richest country in history. And yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need, regardless of their employment status or ability to pay," Barkan said, u…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/19/dnc_2020_ady_barkan_universal_healthcare

Return to Sender: Amid National Outcry, Trump's Postmaster General Drops Plans to Gut USPS — For Now
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-19
After massive public outcry against cuts to mail service ahead of November's election, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has announced he will suspend changes to the U.S. Postal Service until after the election, when a record number of voters are expected to cast ballots by mail. President Trump has admitted he's working to undermine the USPS in order to make it harder to vote by mail in November. We speak with Lisa Graves, executive director of the policy research group True North Research, who says Louis DeJoy is "the most partisan person, in 100 years at least, to head…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/19/usps_louis_dejoy_privatization

Keep It Real: "Circle in the Darkness: Memoirs of a World Watcher". Review of Diana Johnstone's Book
Rick Sterling | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
Diana Johnstone has written a compelling and insightful book. It is mostly a review and analysis of significant events from the past 55 years. It concludes with her assessment of different trends that are being debated on the Left today …
globalresearch.ca/keep-real-review-circle-darkness-memoirs-world-watcher/5721479

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

Saudi Arabia Is Just An Honest America: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-19
Saudi Arabia is just an honest version of America. The tyranny is right out in the open, state censorship is straightforward instead of being outsourced to Silicon Valley, the oligarchs and the official government are the same people, they don't pretend their wars are humanitarian, and they just directly murder journalists they dislike instead of a using fake judicial system to do it. | ~ | 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…

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

Colombia: Three AWA Indigenous Youths Assassinated in Nariño
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) Tuesday denounced the murder of three Awa indigenous youths in the Pialapi Pueblo Viejo Reservation in the Nariño Department. | RELATED: | Colombia: UN Condemns Massacre in Nariño | Armed Forces representatives had to walk for 12 hours to get to the crime scene and try to clarify what had happened. | The Awa Camaguari community leaders requested to President Ivan Duque's administration more National Unit fo…
telesurenglish.net/news/Colombia-Three-AWA-Indigenous-Youths-Assassinated-in-Narino-20200819-0004.html

Ecuador: Moreno Does Not Keep His Word on Indigenous University
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
In Ecuador, Indigenous organizations expressed their disagreement with President Lenin Moreno's decision to establish a museum and not an Indigenous university at the former headquarters of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in Quito. | RELATED: Ecuador's Workers Ask Moreno Policies to Mitigate Layoffs | The Ecuadorean Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) suspects that such a decision is an act of revenge due to the October protests, which stopped the applicati…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Moreno-Does-Not-Keep-His-Word-on-Indigenous-University-20200819-0009.html

Bolivian journalist explains the 'important victory' people have won against the coup government
Slava Zilber | thecanary.co | 2020-08-19
The Canary interviewed the journalist Ollie Vargas on 14 August about the recent developments in Bolivia. A US-backed coup forced out Bolivia's socialist and indigenous president Evo Morales in November 2019. Jeanine Añez took over as interim leade…
thecanary.co/feature/2020/08/19/bolivian-journalist-explains-the-important-victory-people-have-won-against-the-coup-government/

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/

Humans Are an Endangered Species: Will They Act to Save Themselves?
Lawrence Wittner | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
"We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world."
zcomm.org/zmagazine/humans-are-an-endangered-species-will-they-act-to-save-themselves/

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/

Tenant Unions For The Future
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
Calls to rent strike have yet to cohere into a national political movement. But as the economic crisis deepens, tenants' fates will ultimately be decided by their level of collective organization. | With the arrival of the pandemic, staying home became emergency work for a failing state. Amid disastrous negligence at every level of government, one of the most ordinary facts of life in capitalism–rent–suddenly appeared clearly as an affront. "One section of society here demands a tribute from the other for the very right to live on the earth," Marx wrote of landlords. In the early spring, with state-le…
popularresistance.org/tenant-unions-for-the-future/

Germany's IG Metall trade union preparing to enforce jobs massacre and deep wage cuts
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
Big business and the trade unions are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to secure the upper hand in the global trade war by imposing savage attacks on workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/igme-a19.html

Anti-Immigrant Policies Are Not Only Cruel, They Also Have an Economic Cost
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the government agency that processes visas, green cards and citizenship applications, claims it's going broke. USCIS officials are threatening to furlough some 13,400 employees as early as August 30, after initially planning the measure for August 3. The furloughs would add to what was already a huge backlog in application processing, creating a disaster fo…
truthout.org/articles/anti-immigrant-policies-are-not-only-cruel-they-also-have-an-economic-cost/

An Ultimate Meaning of the Bernie 2020 Campaign: "Not Him. Us."
Norman Solomon | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
Millions of Americans, inspired and energized by the Bernie 2020 campaign, certainly do not want to stay right where they are, in the midst of the capitalist wilderness surrounding us…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/an-ultimate-meaning-of-the-bernie-2020-campaign-not-him-us/

Dems nominate Biden with roll call featuring workers
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-19
MILWAUKEE–Delegates to the Democratic National Convention formally nominated Joe Biden for president on August 18 in a roll-call that spotlighted a wide variety of working-class people and causes in the U.S., just after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and universal health care activist Andy Barkan made their own dramatic presentations. An unofficial tally disclosed 3,605 votes …
peoplesworld.org/article/dems-nominate-biden-with-roll-call-featuring-workers/

'Trump should thank her': AOC 'endorses' Bernie Sanders, but bends the knee to Biden
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez angered some Democrats when she appeared to endorse Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention. But her endorsement was a procedural one, and the establishment machine had the last laugh. | In a minute-long appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, the New York congresswoman formally nominated Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for the presidency of the United States. The nomination was a procedural one, as every candidate who has received more than 300 delegates during primary season must be nominated, and Sanders later transferred his delegates to the p…
rt.com/usa/498434-aoc-endorses-sanders-biden/

'Trump should thank her': AOC 'endorses' Bernie Sanders, but bends the knee to Biden
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez angered some Democrats when she appeared to endorse Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention. But her endorsement was a procedural one, and the establishment machine had the last laugh. | In a minute-long appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, the New York congresswoman formally nominated Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for the presidency of the United States. The nomination was a procedural one, as every candidate who has received more than 300 delegates during primary season must be nominated, and Sanders later transferred his delegates to the p…
rt.com/usa/498434-aoc-endorses-sanders-biden/

AOC Slams NBC News for "Malicious and Misleading" Tweet About Her DNC Appearance
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) criticized NBC News on Wednesday morning in response to the network's misleading tweet regarding a nomination statement she had made at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) the night before. | Ocasio-Cortez had seconded the nomination of Sen. Bernie Sanders for president at the DNC on Tuesday night, doing so in the name of a "movemen…
truthout.org/articles/aoc-slams-nbc-news-for-malicious-and-misleading-tweet-about-her-dnc-appearance/

After explosion, imperialists pressure Lebanon; Iran, China send aid
Karin Leukefeld | workers.org | 2020-08-19
From jungewelt.de, Aug. 18. The author has been covering Syrian, Lebanon and Palestine for progressive German-language publications for decades. Translation by John Catalinotto. It was only last January — in response to the street protests — that the technocratic government of the engineer and former university professor Hassan Diab was . . . | Continue reading After explosion, imperialists pressure Lebanon; Iran, China send aid at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50674/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=after-explosion-imperialists-pressure-lebanon-iran-china-send-aid

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

Trade Wars Threaten Post-pandemic Global Economic Recovery
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop U.S. protectionism and its trade disputes with the rest of the world, especially with China and the European Union. In actual fact, it deepened the conflict. This behaviour anticipates very complicated post-pandemic international trade, …
globalresearch.ca/trade-wars-threaten-post-pandemic-global-economic-recovery/5721534

Berlin's Appeasement to Turkish Aggression Linked to Germany's Plans to Become the Biggest Energy Hub in EU
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
At a time when the European Union was extremely quick to mobilize and condemn Alexander Lukashenko's presidential re-election and is preparing a sanctions package against Belarus, disinterest and appeasement towards Turkish aggression against member states Greece and Cyprus continues …
globalresearch.ca/berlin-appeasement-turkish-aggression-linked-germany-plans-become-biggest-energy-hub-eu/5721345

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/

Rania Khalek: 'Sadistic' U.S. Policy Sees Beirut Blast as Opportunity
Rania Khalek | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-19
Rania Khalek explains that a corrupt neoliberal government is responsible for the catastrophe in Beirut and how Western powers are deepening the crisis with "monstrous" sanctions that block trade with neighboring Syria.

Rania Khalek: ‘Sadistic’ U.S. Policy Sees Beirut Blast as Opportunity

Video: Rain of Rockets Hits US Forces in Iraq. Israeli-UAE Peace Deal Crumbles Days after Its Announcement
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
As it was expected, the 'historic' UAE-Israeli peace deal did not contribute to the stability in the Middle East. Instead, the situation has been slowly, but steadily moving towards a larger confrontation in the region. | Immediately after the announcement of …
globalresearch.ca/video-rockets-hit-us-forces-iraq-israeli-uae-peace-deal-crumbles-days-announcement/5721368

Video: US-led Coalition Struck Syrian Army Checkpoint after US Patrol Was Blocked in Northeastern Syria
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
For the first time in about a year, Syrian pro-government forces and the US-led coalition found itself engaged in what seems to be direct clashes near the village of Tal al-Dhahab in northeastern Syria. | Syrian sources said that on August …
globalresearch.ca/video-us-led-coalition-struck-syrian-army-checkpoint-us-patrol-blocked-northeastern-syria/5721475

The Supreme Court Dropped The Ball On The Right To Protest
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
In recent months, US cities have seen widespread protests denouncing police brutality against unarmed Black people. Local and national law enforcement agencies, responding to crowds of unprecedented size and scale, relied on methods that were equally unprecedented. For more than 30 years, the Supreme Court has failed to take up a freedom-of-assembly case. As a result, this fundamental constitutional right is in sore need of an update, such as a ruling that would protect protesters from the unduly harsh police response that has become all too common as a response to demonstrations in recent years. | The First Amen…
popularresistance.org/the-supreme-court-dropped-the-ball-on-the-right-to-protest/

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/

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 step down; by every description of the term, this was a coup d'état. Two days later, Morales went into exile in Mexico.
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/will-there-ever-be-elections-again-in-bolivia/

Stop the Police Surveillance State Too
Chad Marlow | aclu.org | 2020-08-19
In the wake of George Floyd's murder, protestors throughout America march to demand an end to police abuse. Advocates for the compelling movement to divest from the police and reinvest in communities convincingly argue that significant portions of the tax dollars we spend on policing would be better spent supporting the needs of communities of color and on alternatives to policing itself. Continuing to rely on overfunded police departments, which seem all too happy to continue to enforce laws in a racist manner and unwilling to limit aggressive uses of force, does not advance public safety., , Consider how the…
aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/stop-the-police-surveillance-state-too

From Empire Back to Republic? Toward the Restoration of the American Republic. Towards A National Anti-Imperalist Consensus?
Prof. Charles McKelvey | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
In the 2010 book American Empire Before the Fall, Bruce Fein maintains that beginning with the notion of Manifest Destiny and the launching of war against Mexico in 1846, and culminating in the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the …
globalresearch.ca/toward-conservative-progressive-consensus-restoration-american-republic/5721362

The Hariri Assassination Verdict. The Geopolitical Implications
Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
On February 14, 2005, an explosion rocked Beirut killing and injuring hundred of people chief among them the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik al-Hariri. The West was quick to blame Hezbollah and Syria. In 2006, Israel and its …
globalresearch.ca/hariri-assassination-verdict/5721471

UN Tribunal finds only one guilty of Hariri assassination and no evidence of Syrian or Hezbollah involvement
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
The ruling is a setback for the US and its local stooges, who planned on using a damning verdict to further its bid to eliminate Hezbollah as a political force in Lebanon.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/hari-a19.html

Will Biden do enough to fight the climate crisis?
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-08-19
Biden has a climate plan. It's good–but does it go far enough?
therealnews.com/stories/biden-enough-to-fight-climate-crisis

New Zealand: Gov't to Deploy Soldiers to Enforce Quarantine
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced on Wednesday the deployment of 500 soldiers to patrol quarantine facilities and to enforce a lockdown as the tracking of Auckland's outbreak continues. | RELATED: | Joe Biden Is Confirmed as Trump's Challenger in November | "Our intention is to stop using private security contractors particularly in the riskiest places, such as entry and exit points in public areas and replace them with defense force staff," Ardern said. | The mili…
telesurenglish.net/news/new-zealand-govt-to-deploy-soldiers-to-enforce-quarantine–20200819-0013.html

Colin Powell at the Democratic National Convention: Democrats prepare administration of militarism and war
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
The second day of the convention featured remarks by Powell, a leading architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and a video highlighting Biden's "unlikely friendship" with arch warmonger John McCain.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/pers-a19.html

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

Trumka: Dems 'have to pay attention to working people' to win
PAI | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-19
As they head into the homestretch of the 2020 campaign, national Democrats "have to pay attention to working people" to win this fall, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says. And presidential nominee Joe Biden, who was formally approved by the party's virtual convention roll call on August 18 "gets it," he declares. "He's always been a …
peoplesworld.org/article/trumka-dems-have-to-pay-attention-to-working-people-to-win/

The Complete Guide: US Government Role in Thailand's "Student Protests"
Anthony Cartalucci | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-19
Virtually every aspect of "student protests" in Thailand are funded and backed by the US and aimed at destabilizing a key partner of China, reversing Thai-Chinese relations, and advancing Washington's Beijing containment policy. | Thailand is a key partner of China's and has pivoted toward Beijing at Washington's expense; | Protesters are backed by pro-US billionaire-led opposition parties; | US-backed billionaire-led opposition vowed months ago to "take to the streets;" | US government funds core protest leader Anon Nampa via National Endowment for Democracy (NED); | US also funds orgs trying to "rewrite" Thaila…

The Complete Guide: US Government Role in Thailand's "Student Protests"

Chinese prime minister: 600 million people earn less than $145 a month
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
While almost half of its population earns less than $145 a month, China recorded 373 billionaires in 2020, the second highest figure in the world.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/chin-a19.html

The Verdict Is Out, and a New Investigation Is Beginning in Beirut
Steven Sahiounie | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
The verdict was finally delivered Aug. 18 by presiding Judge David Re, of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), based near The Hague in The Netherlands. The trial, which began in 2014 and cost about $1 billion, found …
globalresearch.ca/verdict-out-new-investigation-beginning-beirut/5721542

Understand the circumstances in which abortion is legal in Brazil
Brasil de Fato | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-19
The case of the 10 year old who became pregnant after being abused by her uncle, has intensified the debate about abortion over the past weekend. However, the subject surfaces with very outdated issues being discussed in relation to what feminist movements in Brazil consider urgent. | While human rights organizations have been trying for decades to consolidate the notion that abortion is exclusively a woman's choice, religious fundamentalists contes…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/19/understand-the-circumstances-in-which-abortion-is-legal-in-brazil/

China vs. America, Whose Century Is It? Don't Ask Donald Trump: "The Invisible Chinese Virus"
Dilip Hiro | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
For the Trump administration's senior officials, it's been open season on bashing China. If you need an example, think of the president's blame game about " the invisible Chinese virus" as it spreads wildly across the U.S. | When it …
globalresearch.ca/whose-century-dont-ask-donald-trump/5721494

China: Thousands Evacuated Due to Flooding in Sichuan Province
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
Over 100,000 people Tuesday were evacuated from their homes in the Sichuan province due to floods hitting the region, which has triggered the highest level of emergency response. | RELATED: | China Announces Its First COVID-19 Vaccine Patent | Continued rains caused 22 major rivers to exceed their flood alert threshold, flooding urban areas in cities such as Ya'an and Leshan. | In Yibin city, where 26,000 people have also been evacuated, it is feared that the rains will overflow the Min Riv…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-Thousands-Evacuated-Due-to-Flooding-in-Sichuan-Province-20200819-0002.html

Le Kha Phieu °presente!
Paddy Colligan | workers.org | 2020-08-19
On Aug. 7, another of the heroic and determined generation of revolutionaries who guided Vietnam's liberation movement passed away. Le Kha Phieu was born in 1931 in Thanh Hoa province in the northern part of Vietnam (then French Indochina). At 15, he joined the revolutionary struggle to gain independence from . . . | Continue reading Le Kha Phieu °presente! at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50677/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=le-kha-phieu-presente

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

The Pandemic Stilled Human Activity. What Did this 'Anthropause' Mean for Wildlife?
Erik Stokstad | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
After the coronavirus pandemic exploded worldwide, Ari Friedlaender, a marine ecologist at the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz, had to abandon his fieldwork in Antarctica, where he was studying the effects of tourism and fishing on humpback whales. …
globalresearch.ca/pandemic-stilled-human-activity-what-did-anthropause-mean-wildlife/5721344

The Simple Fix For Corporate Income Tax: Tax Stock Returns
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
It is time for a major and simple overhaul of the corporate income tax system. The main problem with the current system is that it is focused on the wrong target. Instead of taxing corporate profits, we should be taxing stock returns. Before explaining how this alternative would work, it is worth going through some…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/the-simple-fix-for-corporate-income-tax-tax-stock-returns/

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

Take a good hard look at the new Britain we all now live in
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-08-19
By TruePublica Editor: It's all desperately sad to watch, isn't it? At TruePublica we have consistently warned since David Cameron's 2015 electoral win that Britain was in grave danger. We warned that Cameron, little more than an over-privileged corporate public relations agent would usher in the decline of Britain leading to a proud nation circling …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/take-a-good-hard-look-at-the-new-britain-we-all-now-live-in/

Foiled in the Security Council: The United States, Extending Arms Embargoes and Iran
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
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…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/foiled-in-the-security-council-the-united-states-extending-arms-embargoes-and-iran/

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/

Minsk as a Rival of Geneva? No! No! and No!
Daniel Warner | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
Editors' Note: This article was written in February 2015, where appeared on Daniel Warner's blog in a Geneva newspaper . The government of Belarus sent a formal complaint about its contents to the government of Switzerland, which was transmitted to me. Given the demonstrations in Belarus today, we thought it might be worthy of republication. February 13,…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/minsk-as-a-rival-of-geneva-no-no-and-no/

The Terrorizing Simultaneity of Bounty
Clark T. Scott | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-19
The word "bounty" has been used in association with the supposed United States of America to describe the resources used for and the possibility of acquiring monetary wealth, but recent rumors have been a reminder that the word also has another connotation/meaning which is equally applicable. It is a payment of reward for the capture/elimination…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/19/the-terrorizing-simultaneity-of-bounty/

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/

President of Mali resigns following military take over
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-19
The coup was in response to the protests going on for the last few months in the country demanding the resignation of the president, widespread reforms and the expulsion of French troops from the country…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/19/president-of-mali-resigns-following-military-take-over/

Halting Our Descent into Tyranny: Defeating the Global Elite's COVID-19 Coup
Robert J. Burrowes | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
As many authors have documented, the global elite is conducting a coup to take complete control of our lives. It is doing this by using the 'virus' to terrorize the human population into believing that we will 'catch' Covid-19 if …
globalresearch.ca/defeating-global-elite-covid-19-coup/5721522

Mass student protests in Thailand continue to grow
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
After a month of continuous protests, a demonstration in Bangkok on Sunday was the largest since the 2014 military coup.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/thai-a19.html

Halting Our Descent into Tyranny: Defeating the Global Elite's COVID-19 Coup
Robert J. Burrowes | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
As many authors have documented, the global elite is conducting a coup to take complete control of our lives. It is doing this by using a non-existent 'virus' to terrorize the human population into believing that we will 'catch' Covid-19 …
globalresearch.ca/defeating-global-elite-covid-19-coup/5721522

Today is the anniversary of the US organizing a coup in Iran
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-08-19
CIA documents offers key details on how the U.S. and Britain overthrew Iran's democratic government in 1953, says the National Security Archives' Malcolm Byrne…
therealnews.com/stories/today-anniversary-us-doing-a-coup-iran

Women in Care Roles Vulnerable Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and United Nations Women warned on Wednesday that the economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic must prioritize women in care roles. | RELATED: | Argentina Launches Public Works With a Gender Perspective | In a joint report, the organizations explain that the current distribution of the responsibilities of care work is unequal and carried out mostly by women as unpaid work. At the same time, the CO…
telesurenglish.net/news/Women-in-Care-Roles-Vulnerable-Amid-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-20200819-0017.html

The World Can Show How Pharma Monopolies Aren't the Only Way to Fight COVID-19
Prabir Purkayastha | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
After making America sick again, Trump is trying to compensate for his administration's failure by buying Gilead's production for the next three months for the U.S., leaving nothing for the rest of the world…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/the-world-can-show-how-pharma-monopolies-arent-the-only-way-to-fight-covid-19/

UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame and Michigan State University forced to revert to online learning after COVID-19 outbreaks
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
UNC Chapel Hill reported 130 new student cases of COVID-19 during its first week, far more than the ten it reported on campus during the week prior to reopening.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/unc-a19.html

Venezuela Honors Cuban Doctors for Their Fight Against COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez Tuesday decorated Cuban doctors for their cooperation in the fight against COVID-19. | RELATED: | Another Brigade of Cuban Doctors Arrives in Venezuela | Rodriguez presented the Francisco de Miranda Order to the doctors in recognition of the work they do for the benefit of Venezuelans. | She indicated that over 22,000 members of the Henry Reeve Brigade are deployed in her nation, which has saved thousands of lives over…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Honors-Cuban-Doctors-for-Their-Fight-Against-COVID-19-20200819-0001.html

For Iraqis, the Choice Is Between Pandemic and Poverty
Nabil Salih | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
On Baghdad's al-Rashid street, stalls, tea houses and restaurants serve unmasked customers in crammed markets in spite of COVID-19 rapidly spreading among the populace. This busy street in Baghdad is a testament to pre-existing governance failure that has been felt …
globalresearch.ca/iraqis-choice-between-pandemic-poverty/5721524

How COVID-19 Temporarily Changed the Way Families Receive Aid
Eleanor J. Bader | progressive.org | 2020-08-19
An organization takes a personal, but anonymous, approach to helping children in financial need.
progressive.org/dispatches/covid-change-families-receive-aid-bader-200819/

DSA-backed challenger has a shot at Baltimore's city council
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-08-19
Educator Franca Muller Paz saw the way COVID-19 impacted her students and that inspired her third party run.
therealnews.com/stories/dsa-backed-challenger-has-a-shot-at-baltimores-city-council

Video: Trudeau and Canadian Government Sued over COVID Measures. Constitutional Lawyer Rocco Galati
Rocco Galati | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
Super Lawyer Rocco Galati sues the Canadian government, Trudeau, Health Ministers, and others in first of its kind superior court lawsuit. | Galati lays out for listeners why his client and others have decided to sue over the extreme COVID measures …
globalresearch.ca/trudeau-canadian-government-sued-covid-measures-sets-worldwide-example-rocco-galati/5721543

Russia Tests Chinese Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
Russia's company Petrovax Wednesday began the last phase of human trials of the recombinant Ad5-nCoV vaccine, which was got by the partnership between the People's Liberation Army (EPL) and the Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics. | RELATED: | Cuba to Start a Clinical Trial for a COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate | After promising results were obtained in earlier research, Russian scientists coordinated with CanSino Biologics to apply the drug to 625 volunteers at eigh…
telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Tests-Chinese-Recombinant-COVID-19-Vaccine-20200819-0007.html

Ecuador's Workers Ask Moreno Policies to Mitigate Layoffs
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
The Ecuadorean Workers Confederation (CTE) Tuesday urged President Lenin Moreno to take urgent measures to mitigate the wave of layoffs that employers have unleashed by taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | President Moreno Declares State of Exception in Ecuador's Prisons | "Layoffs in the public and private sectors are plentiful. Around 45,000 people are unemployed and a program of aggressive layoffs continues," the CTE activist Miguel Garcia warned. | "Th…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadors-Workers-Ask-Moreno-Policies-to-Mitigate-Layoffs-20200819-0006.html

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

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

Not All Face Masks Provide the Same Protection, Study Says
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
A U.S. Duke University study revealed that even though face masks prevent the spread of COVID-19, not all types provide the same protection from the virus. | RELATED: | New Zealand: Gov't to Deploy Soldiers to Enforce Quarantine | The investigators evaluated the accuracy of 14 masks type according to their material, purpose, and design. They recreated saliva droplets expelling in each case in talking, shouting, and coughing. | The study found that N95 respirators have a better per…
telesurenglish.net/news/not-all-face-masks-provide-the-same-protection-study-says-20200819-0015.html

COVID 19: For how long do antibodies stay?
Newsclick | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-19
Dr. Satyajit Rath talks about the immunity developed in recovered COVID-19 patients and also the immunity that the potential vaccines can induce.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/19/covid-19-for-how-long-do-antibodies-stay/

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

Reform FEC to Protect Democracy
Connor Wielgos | progressive.org | 2020-08-19
Our democracy's safeguards are in jeopardy now more than ever, and any solutions will need to come in the long term.
progressive.org/op-eds/reform-fec-protect-democracy-wielgos-200819/

Canadian Left Rejects Organization of American States
Yves Engler | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-08-19
When people say "America" everyone understands they mean one country, the USA. In a similar fashion it is time for all to understand that the Organization of American States (OAS) serves the interests of that country. In a recent webinar on "Bolivia's fight to restore democracy and Canada's role" organized by the Canadian Latin America …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/08/canadian-left-rejects-organization-of-american-states/

Chief Defendant in Rafik Hariri Killing Convicted on All Counts by UN-backed Tribunal
Middle East Eye | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on Tuesday found Salim Jamil Ayyash guilty of conspiracy to kill former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others in a 2005 bombing. | There was insufficient evidence against three other men charged …
globalresearch.ca/chief-defendant-rafik-hariri-killing-convicted-all-counts-un-backed-tribunal/5721513

Lebanon: Pearl on the New Silk Road or Zone of Dark Age Chaos
Matthew Ehret-Kump | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
Many voices have been quick to enter the chorus of commentators hypothesizing the manifold possible causes of the devastating explosions which occurred on the afternoon of August 4 in Beirut which has led to mass anarchy and the surprising resignation …
globalresearch.ca/lebanon-pearl-new-silk-road-zone-dark-age-chaos/5721258

Ten Years of Planetary Movement for Mother Earth!
Prof. Claudia von Werlhof | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
The article below is only an excerpt, you may download full document at the link provided at the bottom. | Introduction | Within 10 years we have reached a point at which we can say: We have done our best to get …
globalresearch.ca/10-years-planetary-movement-mother-earth/5721492

Analysis of Vaccine, Censorship Claims Another Victim: Honest-Journalism Giant, Del Bigtree's "The Highwire"
Robert F. Kennedy Jr | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
On July 29, YouTube terminated Del Bigtree's "The Highwire" account after he posted a video of Del and me discussing my debate with Alan Dershowitz on vaccine mandates. YouTube also purged hundreds of other truthful videos on vaccines. | YouTube's …
globalresearch.ca/censorship-of-analysis-of-vaccine-honest-journalism-giant-del-bigtrees-the-highwire/5721483

The Global Research Newsletter Is Back!
The Global Research Team | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
Dear Readers, | We are happy to announce that we have launched The Global Research Newsletter in its new format. This change was required for technical reasons. We apologize for the interruption in our daily send-out and thank you for your …
globalresearch.ca/the-global-research-newsletter-is-back/5721525

The Great Election Fraud: Will Our Freedoms Survive Another Election?
John W. Whitehead | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
globalresearch.ca/great-election-fraud/5721490

America Has Never Experienced a Heatwave Quite Like this
Michael Snyder | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
Every summer is hot, and every summer there are heatwaves, but what we are witnessing in 2020 is rewriting all of the rules. It has been blistering hot across the Southwest, and record after record is being broken. In a …
globalresearch.ca/america-never-experienced-heatwave-like-this/5721487

New Normal? Better Normal! Economic and Social Impacts of Lockdown. Director-General of the ILO
Guy Ryder | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-19
In these times of New Normal? Better Normal! Economic and Social Impacts of Lockdown. Director-General of the ILO appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/new-normal-better-normal-economic-and-social-impacts-of-lockdown-director-general-of-the-ilo/5721384

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

A Statue of Hatuey
Don Fitz | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
Hatuey led the first guerrilla warfare against European invasion of the western hemisphere…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/a-statue-of-hatuey/

In act of high seas piracy, US hijacks Iranian oil bound for Venezuela
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
The oil seizure came as Washington failed to secure support at the United Nations Security Council for a resolution extending an arms embargo against Tehran.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/vene-a19.html

Among this Week's Victims of Israeli State Violence: A Disabled Elderly Palestinian Man
Kathryn Shihadah | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-19
The week is not yet over but already Palestinians multiple Palestinian families are making funeral arrangements and planning hospital visits. The following are three stories — one death and two injuries. Each story raises many questions, more than there is space to fully answer, but there remains a benefit in asking. | A sixty-year-old disabled man is shot: | On Monday, a sixty-year-old Palestinian man approached an Israeli checkpoint on foot, not in the pedestrian section, but in the area of the checkpoint designated for vehicles. Israeli guards shouted at him to stop, but he kept walking "suspicio…
mintpressnews.com/victims-israeli-state-violence-elderly-disabled-palestinian-man/270575/

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

Should We Be More Worried About the Economy?
Dean Baker | cepr.net | 2020-08-19
We are really in an unprecedented period where the economy is trying to recover from the shutdowns of April and May, while being faced with partial shutdowns due to the resurgence of the pandemic in large parts of the country. We are struggling to make sense of data, which often has a substantial lag. We …
cepr.net/should-we-be-more-worried-about-the-economy/

Should We Be More Worried About the Economy?
Dean Baker | cepr.net | 2020-08-19
We are really in an unprecedented period where the economy is trying to recover from the shutdowns of April and May while being faced with partial shutdowns due to the resurgence of the pandemic in large parts of the country. We are struggling to make sense of data, which often has a substantial lag. We …
cepr.net/should-we-be-more-worried-about-the-economy/

UAE- Israel 'peace' deal is a dagger aimed at Palestinians
Joyce Chediac | liberationnews.org | 2020-08-19
On Aug 13, Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to end decades of hostility and normalize relations. The agreement was brokered by, and announced by President Trump, who called it, "a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East." Nothing could be further from the truth. This is not a …
liberationnews.org/uae-israel-peace-deal-is-a-dagger-aimed-at-palestinians/

UAE- Israel 'peace' deal is a dagger aimed at Palestinians
Joyce Chediac | liberationnews.org | 2020-08-19
By Joyce Chediac On Aug 13, Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to end decades of hostility and normalize relations. The agreement was brokered by, and announced by President Trump, who called it, "a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East." Nothing could be further from the truth. This …
liberationnews.org/uae-israel-peace-deal-is-a-dagger-aimed-at-palestinians/

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

Protest Marks 11th Anniversary of Justin Teigen's Death After Police Encounter
Unicorn Riot | unicornriot.ninja | 2020-08-19
On August 19, 2009, the body of 24-year-old Justin Teigen was found in a recycling center after a disputed interaction with St. Paul Police officers. | Today, protesters in Minnesota are honoring Teigen's memory on the 11th anniversary of his death. Watch Unicorn Riot's live coverage…
unicornriot.ninja/2020/protest-marks-11th-anniversary-of-justin-teigens-death-after-police-encounter/

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

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/

Protest Marks 11th Anniversary of Justin Teigen's Death After Police Encounter
Unicorn Riot | unicornriot.ninja | 2020-08-19
On August 19, 2009, the body of 24-year-old Justin Teigen was found in a recycling center after a disputed interaction with St. Paul Police officers. | Today, protesters in Minnesota are honoring Teigen's memory on the 11th anniversary of his death. Watch Unicorn Riot's live coverage…
unicornriot.ninja/2020/protest-marks-11th-anniversary-of-justin-teigens-death-after-police-encounter/

US: New York Teachers Union to Strike Against Schools Reopening
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
The U.S New York United Federation of Teachers (UFT) on Wednesday said the organization would strike or sue district authorities if they do not enforce an accurate precautionary plan before schools reopening. | RELATED: | New Zealand: Gov't to Deploy Soldiers to Enforce Quarantine | "The minute we feel that the mayor is trying to force people into a situation that is unsafe, we go to court, we take job action," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said. | New York mayor Bill de Blasio an…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-new-york-teachers-union-to-strike-against-schools-reopening–20200819-0016.html

Uruguay: Senate Rejects Political Violence Ahead of Elections
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
Uruguay's Senate adopted on Tuesday a resolution against all forms of political violence ahead of the departmental and municipal elections scheduled for September 27. | RELATED: | Uruguay: Social Development Ministry Forecasts More Poverty | After lawmakers from the Broad Front party (Frente Amplio) presented the statement, the Senate voted unanimously to reject politically motivated attacks and stand in solidarity with the victims. | The decision was taken as a response to dea…
telesurenglish.net/news/Uruguay-Senate-Rejects-Political-Violence-Ahead-of-Elections-20200819-0011.html

Lebanon: Poverty Increases at Alarming Rates-Report
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) warned on Wednesday that the population living under poor conditions has doubled in 2020 compared to the same period last year. | RELATED: | Lebanon: Beirut Blast Victims Call for International Enquiry | ESCWA's latest report indicates that the poverty rate reached 55 percent in 2020, whereas in 2019, it stood at 28 percent. | The organization explains that "massive explosion and an accelerating increase i…
telesurenglish.net/news/Lebanon-Poverty-Increases-at-Alarming-Rates-Report-20200819-0014.html

Trump's "Plan" Is Simply to Make the Virus and Its Casualties Disappear
Sonali Kolhatkar | zcomm.org | 2020-08-19
Trump has repeatedly told Americans that the virus would simply go away–like magic. Now, he has even taken steps to control hospital data on the virus, just like the sleight of hand that a magician requires in order to perform an illusion…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/trumps-plan-is-simply-to-make-the-virus-and-its-casualties-disappear/

US steps up war against Huawei
wsws.org | 2020-08-19
The latest US bans against the Chinese telecom giant have been described by one financial analyst as a "death sentence" for its global operations.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/19/huaw-a19.html

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

En honor a las Ligas Nacionales Negras: Solo la pelota era blanca
Gloria Rubac | workers.org | 2020-08-19
El gran Satchel Paige Este año, 2020, es el centenario de las Ligas Nacionales Negras. No la Liga Nacional de Grandes Ligas, sino las Ligas Nacionales Negras. Me gustaría que conocieras a algunos de mis héroes: Cool Papa, Peach Head, Double Duty, Satch, Buck y Peanut. Incluso si eres un . . . | Continue reading En honor a las Ligas Nacionales Negras: Solo la pelota era blanca at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/08/50671/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en-honor-a-las-ligas-nacionales-negras-solo-la-pelota-era-blanca

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

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

Lemon harvest in S Iran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
BANDAR ABBAS, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Farmers of Hormozgan province, southern Iran, have cultivated lemon in some 10,000 ha of land. Some 100,000 tons of lemon have been harvested so far across the province.
en.mehrnews.com/photo/162493/Lemon-harvest-in-S-Iran

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

Iranian students win six medals at intl. poomsae event
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Iranian students won six medals at the first virtual tournament of ISF World School Taekwondo Poomsae Championship, which was held in Nepal, August 13-15.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162499/Iranian-students-win-six-medals-at-intl-poomsae-event

Iran security result of all intelligence forces' effort
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Iranian Minister of Intelligence Mahmoud Alavi said that Iran's security is the result of the efforts made by all the intelligence and security organizations of the country.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162514/Iran-security-result-of-all-intelligence-forces-effort

US enforce sanctions on UAE-based companies, individual
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — The US has imposed sanctions on two UAE-based companies and an Iranian national due to their cooperation with Mahan Airlines.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162510/US-enforce-sanctions-on-UAE-based-companies-individual

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

Amal Movement condoles passing of Ayatollah Taskhiri
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Amal Movement expressed condolences over the demise of Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, a member of Iran's Expediency Council.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162501/Amal-Movement-condoles-passing-of-Ayatollah-Taskhiri

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

Gantz calls for imposition of arms embargo on Iran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Israeli regime's war minister Benny Gantz has emphasized his country's desire to see an international arms embargo imposed on Iran.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162503/Gantz-calls-for-imposition-of-arms-embargo-on-Iran

Muharram means honoring a unique memory of history
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Wed. said that Muharram is commemoration of a unique and unparalleled memory of history.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162511/Muharram-means-honoring-a-unique-memory-of-history

VIDEO: 2 US drones crashed after midair collision in Syria
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-19
TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Two US drones collided and crashed over Idlib, Syria.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162506/VIDEO-2-US-drones-crashed-after-midair-collision-in-Syria

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

World Bank Says Bold Debt Relief Plans Needed to Confront COVID Crisis
Jubilee USA Network | indybay.org | 2020-08-19
World Bank President David Malpass called for debt cancellation for poor countries struggling with the coronavirus, in an interview he gave to The Guardian.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/19/18835988.php

Climate Activists Are Closer Than Ever To Ending All Fossil Fuel Investments
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
When New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced last month that the state would divest its over $200 billion Common Retirement Fund from more than 20 coal companies, it marked an important milestone for a grassroots campaign that has seen a recent burst of new momentum. In an op-ed published on July 12, DiNapoli stated, "After a thorough assessment, the fund has divested from 22 thermal coal mining companies that are not prepared to thrive, or even survive, in the low-carbon economy." | This victory is thanks to a near decade-long effort by activists who have been pressuring New York to divest from the…
popularresistance.org/climate-activists-are-closer-than-ever-to-ending-all-fossil-fuel-investments/

At North Carolina Colleges, 'Safe Jobs Save Lives'
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
The UNC-Chapel Hill administration's communications team finally acknowledged the spread of infection half an hour later and issued a campus alert. | The administrators had spent months fighting students, workers, local and state governments, the N.C. Department of Health, virtually every local community group — and the very concept of human dignity — to push forward an in-person reopening. | The University of North Carolina, a statewide system of 16 colleges and universities, wields considerable indirect power over the entire higher education sector in the state. This is reflected in the in-person op…
popularresistance.org/at-north-carolina-colleges-safe-jobs-save-lives/

Canada's Post-Pandemic Response
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
The antithesis to a vision of austerity and increased privatization is the set of principles endorsed by hundreds of community organizations and groups across Canada known collectively as a just recovery. The pandemic has shown how crucial investments in communities and public services can be to lift vulnerable folks out of poverty and contribute to stronger public health outcomes. | David Bleakney, a representative of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, argued that any stability felt during this crisis has been dependent on frontline labour, including healthcare workers, postal workers, or those on the front l…
popularresistance.org/canadas-post-pandemic-response/

Open Letter To The Protesters In Belarus
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
What you can expect in Belarus after a more or less ‚Äûpeaceful revolution", you can certainly study in detail in almost all other countries in Eastern Europe. Get information about the liquidation of state enterprises, mass layoffs, collapse of collective farms and farms, mass exodus from the countryside and the death of villages in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Poland … Compare the disintegration of the social infrastructure of Daycare centers, hospitals, old people's homes and the consequences for life expectancy, alcoholism and neglect …
popularresistance.org/open-letter-to-the-protesters-in-belarus/

Postal Service Halts Some Changes Amid Outcry, Protests And Lawsuits
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
Facing mounting public pressure and a crush of state lawsuits, President Donald Trump's new postmaster general announced Tuesday he is halting some operational changes to mail delivery that critics blamed for widespread delays and warned could disrupt the November election. | Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he would "suspend" several of his initiatives — including the removal of the distinctive blue mail boxes that prompted an outcry — until after the election "to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail." | "We will deliver the nation's election mail on time," DeJoy said in a statemen…
popularresistance.org/postal-service-halts-some-changes-amid-outcry-protests-and-lawsuits/

$16.5M Settlement Reached In Class-Action Lawsuit Over Mass Arrests
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
A $16.5-million settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit over mass arrests at the 2010 G20 summit. | The agreement comes after 10 years of court proceedings and negotiations between the Toronto Police Services Board and representatives for about 1,100 people who were arrested during the summit. | Under the settlement, those arrested will each be entitled to compensation between $5,000 and $24,700, depending on their experiences. | The deal also includes a public acknowledgment by police regarding the mass arrests and the conditions in which protestors where detained, as well as a commitment to changi…
popularresistance.org/16-5m-settlement-reached-in-class-action-lawsuit-over-mass-arrests/

Lebanon: The Top Ten Myths About The Country And Its Conflicts
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-19
Plenty of folks finally know the CIA-Soviet-Afghan thread of that backstory; fewer are familiar with the Lebanese layer. They should be. After all, an impressionable young Saudi named bin Laden tuned in to America's dastardly dalliances there in the 1980s, and vowed revenge. | Then as now, the US was hardly alone among the opportunist foreign vultures who've picked the Lebanese carcass throughout its centenary existence. However, Americans — those most confidently uninformed and incurious of peoples — keep proving those repeatedly-wrong-on-the-Mid-East New York Times editors right: Lebanon does remain…
popularresistance.org/lebanon-the-top-ten-myths-about-the-country-and-its-conflicts/

'Low Bar 2020': Twitter users roll their eyes at Biden saying that ALL Latino kids speak Spanish
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Democratic nominee for US president Joe Biden appeared to have said that all Latino kids speak Spanish during his speech about the community's importance. It provoked online outrage, both about the comment and the MSM silence. | Biden made the provocative statement during a virtual forum organized by Voto Latino — an organization that encourages young Latino voters to register to cast their ballot. | "Latinos are among the fastest-growing populations in the United States," Biden told American composer Lin-Manuel Miranda on Tuesday…
rt.com/usa/498424-low-bar-2020-biden/

Prohibited activity: US Army investigating soldiers in viral DNC 'hostage situation' video
rt.com | 2020-08-19
First they were mocked online for posing in a bizarre "hostage-taking" scene. Now they're being investigated for taking part in a political event in uniform. The soldiers who appeared in a Democratic video can't catch a break. | As the Democratic National Convention voted on Tuesday to confirm Joe Biden as its presidential candidate, delegates appeared by video link to cast their votes for the former vice president. One such stream, from American Samoa, drew ridicule, as the territory's top Democrats appeared flanked by a pair of masked soldiers in a scene reminiscent of a ransom video. | Also on rt.com…
rt.com/usa/498463-american-samoa-soldiers-investigation/

AdBlock is getting CANCELLED for allegedly making users see an unskippable Trump ad on Youtube
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Anti-Trump netizens have begun ditching the AdBlock app en masse, after users reported they couldn't turn off a YouTube political advertisement sponsored by the president's campaign. | The online outrage over US President Donald Trump's campaign ads began on Tuesday, prompting AdBlock — a browser extension that allows adverts to be filtered out online — to trend on Twitter. YouTube videos with titles such as "Did something happen to Joe Biden?" and "Democrats ruined their cities" apparently couldn't be skipped, blocked or decreased in volume, according to some Twitter users. | Meanwhile, some users r…
rt.com/usa/498436-adblock-is-getting-cancelled/

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/

Biden plays president, demands Russia fall in line on Belarus
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Joe Biden may be an uncertain election away from becoming president, but he's already tweeting like one. Following an entirely predictable script, Biden demanded that Russia "be told not to interfere" in Belarus' affairs. | "The brave citizens of Belarus are showing their voices will not be silenced by terror or torture," Biden tweeted on Wednesday. "The U.S. should support Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's call for fair elections. Russia must be told not to interfere–this is not about geopolitics but the right to choose one's leaders." | The brave citizens of Belarus are showing their voices will not be silenc…
rt.com/usa/498452-biden-belarus-russia-warning/

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/

Trump demands full restoration of UN sanctions on Iran, as Pompeo warns Russia & China not to meddle
rt.com | 2020-08-19
US President Donald Trump said the State Department will soon attempt to trigger a "snap back" of UN sanctions on Iran, as the top American diplomat threatened consequences for Moscow and Beijing if they try to block the effort. | "Today I'm directing the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the United Nations Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all of the United Nations sanctions on Iran — it's a snap back, not uncommon," Trump told reporters during a White House press conference on Wednesday. | When the United States entered into the Iran deal, it was clear the Unite…
rt.com/news/498477-trump-pompeo-iran-un-sanctions/

Trump demands full restoration of UN sanctions on Iran, as Pompeo warns Russia & China not to meddle
rt.com | 2020-08-19
US President Donald Trump said the State Department will soon attempt to trigger a "snapback" of UN sanctions on Iran, as the top American diplomat threatened consequences for Moscow and Beijing if they try to block the effort. | "Today I'm directing the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the United Nations Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all of the United Nations sanctions on Iran — it's a snap back, not uncommon," Trump told reporters during a White House press conference on Wednesday. | When the United States entered into the Iran deal, it was clear the United…
rt.com/news/498477-trump-pompeo-iran-un-sanctions/

'The rich should not be given priority' for Covid-19 vaccine, Pope Francis says, urges against return to 'normality' of inequality
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Pope Francis has called on rich countries not to hoard any coronavirus vaccine and asked them to only give pandemic-related bailouts to companies committed to protecting the environment and helping the most needy. | "It would be sad if the rich are given priority for the Covid-19 vaccine. It would be sad if the vaccine becomes property of this or that nation, if it is not universal and for everyone," Francis said during his weekly general audience on Wednesday. | The pontiff also said that the world should not return to normality after the pandemic if 'normal' means social injustice and the degradation of the…
rt.com/news/498450-pope-francis-coronavirus-vaccine-plea/

Goodyear backpedals on diversity virtue-signaling after Trump calls for boycott — but it's too late
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Tire maker Goodyear is scrambling to do damage control after a leaked diversity-training slide suggested it'd fallen in with Black Lives Matter corporate virtue brigade, triggering calls for a boycott from President Donald Trump. | The company attempted to distance itself from the offending slide — which warned of "zero tolerance" for Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats or slogans such as "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter," while deeming "Black Lives Matter" and LGBT pride attire acceptable — in a frantic tweet on Wednesday. | Cautioning that the slide had "created some misconceptions about…
rt.com/usa/498454-goodyear-damage-control-trump-boycott/

US won't execute ISIS 'Beatles', if UK helps prosecute them – AG Barr
rt.com | 2020-08-19
US Attorney General WIlliam Barr has promised not to execute a group of Islamic State terror suspects dubbed 'The Beatles,' as long as the UK helps with their prosecution. If the UK refuses, the suspects will likely face death. | In a letter to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on Tuesday, Barr requested that London transfer information on the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) suspects to the US before October 15, stating that "further delay is an injustice to the families of the victims." | Barr and his predecessor,…
rt.com/news/498471-death-penalty-isis-beatles/

US won't execute ISIS 'Beatles,' if UK helps prosecute them — AG Barr
rt.com | 2020-08-19
US Attorney General WIlliam Barr has promised not to execute a group of Islamic State terrorist suspects dubbed 'The Beatles,' as long as the UK helps with their prosecution. If the UK refuses, the suspects will likely face death. | In a letter to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on Tuesday, Barr requested that London transfer information on the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) suspects to the US before October 15, stating that "further delay is an injustice to the families of the victims." | Barr and his predecesso…
rt.com/news/498471-death-penalty-isis-beatles/

Facebook purges & restricts THOUSANDS of QAnon accounts — plus antifa & militia — stretching definition of 'dangerous individuals'
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Facebook has removed thousands of groups and pages related to the QAnon conspiracy after expanding its concept of 'dangerous individuals' to include those who merely 'celebrate violent acts.' Streisand effect, meet slippery slope. | The social media behemoth announced a sweeping crackdown on militia groups, "offline anarchist groups that support violent act amidst protests" (i.e. antifa), and the pro-Trump psy-op QAnon in a blog post on Wednesday. | Explaining that groups that "hav…
rt.com/usa/498472-facebook-purges-qanon-accounts/

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." | Office at Mu…
rt.com/usa/498395-portland-fire-diversity-office-protests/

Facebook purges & restricts THOUSANDS of QAnon, Antifa & militia accounts, stretching definition of 'dangerous individuals'
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Facebook has removed thousands of groups and pages related to the QAnon conspiracy after expanding its concept of 'dangerous individuals' to include those who merely 'celebrate violent acts.' Streisand effect, meet slippery slope. | The social media behemoth announced a sweeping crackdown on militia groups, "offline anarchist groups that support violent act amidst protests" (i.e. Antifa), and the pro-Trump psy-op QAnon in a blog post on Wednesday. | Explaining that groups which "ha…
rt.com/usa/498472-facebook-purges-qanon-accounts/

Lithuania declares Lukashenko persona non grata ahead of EU sanctions on Belarus
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Lithuania has apparently decided not to wait for its EU and NATO partners, which are still deliberating over their collective response to protests in Belarus, and has imposed an entry ban against President Alexander Lukashenko. | Perhaps wanting to set an example to the rest of the Western blocs, Vilnius raced to compile a blacklist of Belarusian officials in response to the ongoing protests in the neighboring nation, issuing it before the EU had come up with a list of its own. | The move was announced by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, who said his country welcomed the EU's "determination" in t…
rt.com/russia/498475-lithuania-sanctions-lukashenko-belarus/

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/

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/

Lithuania declares Lukashenko persona non grata ahead of EU sanctions on Belarus
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Lithuania has apparently decided not to wait for its European partners, which are still deliberating over their collective response to the protests in Belarus, and has imposed an entry ban against President Alexander Lukashenko. | Seemingly deciding to set an example to the rest of Europe, Vilnius raced to compile a blacklist of Belarusian officials in response to the ongoing protests in the neighboring nation, issuing it before the European Union had come up with a list of its own. | The move was announced by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, who said his country welcomed the EU's "determination"
rt.com/russia/498475-lithuania-sanctions-lukashenko-belarus/

UK journalism org unveils 'defense & security' award sponsored by killer drone manufacturer Northrop Grumman
rt.com | 2020-08-19
Military contractor Northrop Grumman is sponsoring an award for best "aerospace, defense and security" journalism at PressGazette's British Journalism Awards, a crude act of public relations that doesn't seem to faze the media. | UK journalism organization Press Gazette has announced a pair of new categories for 2020's British Journalism Awards: "anti-corruption journalism," sponsored by human rights NGO Global Witness, and "aerospace, defense and security," sponsored by Northrop — a company one might charitably call the polar opposite of a human rights NGO. | This year's "British Journalism Awards" by
rt.com/uk/498464-northrop-grumman-sponsors-journalism-award/

Abandoning Union State agreement with Russia would cost Belarus 25% of GDP, Lukashenko's financial advisor warns opposition
rt.com | 2020-08-19
A key aide to Belarus's embattled President Lukashenko has warned opposition members to think again about any idea of withdrawing from the 'Union State' treaty with Moscow. Valery Belsky says it would collapse living standards. | The two countries form a unique partnership under a 1999 agreement, enthusiasm for which has fluctuated over the past two decades. The deal has helped Belarus maintain considerably higher living standards than other similar post-Soviet states, such as Western-leaning Ukraine and Georgia. According to the International Monetary Fund, Belarus's GDP per capita (when measured by purchasin…
rt.com/russia/498455-abandon-russia-agreement-25-percent-gpd/

US House to Vote Saturday on $25 Billion to Boost Postal Service Before Election, Pelosi Says
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-19
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The House of Representatives will pass a $25 billion support package for the US Postal Service in a one-day session on Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement on Wednesday.
sputniknews.com/us/202008191080220958-us-house-to-vote-saturday-on-25-billion-to-boost-postal-service-before-election-pelosi-says/

Malian Opposition Vows to Cooperate With Coup Leaders on Transition Period — Reports
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-19
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Malian opposition has promised to cooperate with the leaders of the coup on organizing the transition period in the country, local media reported.
sputniknews.com/africa/202008191080221606-malian-opposition-vows-to-cooperate-with-coup-leaders-on-transition-period–reports/

Domestic Violence Cases Nearly Double in US State Amid COVID-19 Pandemic – Study
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-19
A study recently published in the journal Radiology shows that there has been a higher incidence and severity of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US state of Massachusetts compared to previous years.
sputniknews.com/society/202008191080221716-domestic-violence-cases-nearly-double-in-us-state-amid-covid-19-pandemic—study/

'There Will Be Peace': Trump Predicts Saudi Arabia, Iran Will Join UAE-Israel Deal
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-19
US President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday he believes Saudi Arabia will be the next country to join the recent peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He said once enough nations join, so will Iran, and "there will be peace."
sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008191080221511-there-will-be-peace-trump-predicts-saudi-arabia-iran-will-join-uae-israel-deal/

Trump: US to Restore All 'Snapback' Sanctions on Iran
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-19
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he intends to restore all economic sanctions against Iran, which were reimposed in 2018 when Trump accused Tehran of breaking the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008191080221468-trump-us-to-restore-all-snapback-sanctions-on-iran/

Libya to Export Only Oil Accumulated in Terminals, LNA Says
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-19
CAIRO (Sputnik) – Libya, following the resumption of the operation of oil facilities, will export only oil accumulated in port terminals, crude produced at deposits will not be exported, Libyan National Army spokesman Major General Ahmad al-Mismari said.
sputniknews.com/africa/202008191080221664-libya-to-supply-abroad-only-oil-accumulated-in-terminals-lna-says/

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/

AOC Was the Highlight of DNC's Night Two Despite Speaking Just 97 Seconds
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
For the second night in a row, the Democratic National Zoom Meeting was a galloping montage of videos that used its time to good effect. After another hiccup-free evening of content that entirely sidelined the network talking heads for two hours — an unanticipated boon — it is hard to imagine the party going back to the old way of doing conventions in four years. | For my money, the second-best part of the event was the nomination roll call, and not just because Bernie Sanders pulled…
truthout.org/articles/aoc-was-the-highlight-of-dncs-night-two-despite-speaking-just-97-seconds/

DNC Drops Support for Ending Fossil Fuel Handouts From Platform
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
Environmentalists reacted with outrage late Tuesday to news that the Democratic National Committee this week quietly removed from the final party platform an amendment calling for an end to federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, a longstanding demand of climate activists that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris supported during the primary. | HuffPost's Alexander Kaufman reported Tuesday…
truthout.org/articles/dnc-drops-support-for-ending-fossil-fuel-handouts-from-platform/

Dying Medicare for All Activist Urges Biden to Adopt Universal Health Care
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
As the Democratic Party formally selected Joe Biden as its nominee for president at the virtual Democratic National Convention, one of those who joined in the call to elect him was activist Ady Barkan, who is paralyzed and unable to speak due to terminal ALS. Barkan is a leading advocate of Medicare for All and has publicly challenged Biden, who does not support Medicare for All. "We live in the richest country in history. And yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in…
truthout.org/video/dying-medicare-for-all-activist-urges-biden-to-adopt-universal-health-care/

Trump Dropped Into Iowa — and Didn't Even Try to Understand the Devastation
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Amid the rubble of uprooted trees and fallen power lines, my teenage son set up his climate strike protest last Friday for the 79th consecutive week, holding up a wobbly handmade sign: "Wake up, Iowa. Climate action plan now." | We were still without electricity or internet on Friday morning, four days into riding out the aftermath of the hurricane-level "derecho" storm th…
truthout.org/articles/trump-dropped-into-iowa-and-didnt-even-try-to-understand-the-devastation/

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Are "Embarrassed" by Trump's COVID Response
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
A new poll published this week demonstrates that Americans are increasingly pessimistic about how the U.S. has generally responded to the coronavirus pandemic, with a majority believing "the worst is yet to come" for the first time since the start of May. | A CNN/SSRS poll published on Wednesday and conducted from August 12 to 15 finds that only 40 percent of Americans believe the worst of COVID-19 is behind us, while 55 per…
truthout.org/articles/nearly-7-in-10-americans-are-embarrassed-by-trumps-covid-response/

In an Era of Pandemic and Protest, STEM Education Can't Pretend to Be Apolitical
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
Across the U.S., the push to reopen schools is predicated on troubling beliefs about schools and families. Time at home is assumed to result in "learning loss" because our institutions measure learning and achievement by standardized test scores, and do not consider students' families as a source of education. Besides chasing test score gains, the driving goal for reopening schools is facilitating parents' return to work — regardless of the health consequences for all involved. | Howe…
truthout.org/articles/in-an-era-of-pandemic-and-protest-stem-education-cant-pretend-to-be-apolitical/

DNC Chair Put Lobbyists in Charge of Reviewing DNC Member Qualifications
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
This article was produced by Sludge, an independent, ad-free investigative news site covering money in politics. Click here to support Sludge. | For a political party whose platform calls for "sustainable economic growth, which will create good-paying jobs and raise wages," the Democratic National Committee has appointed a lot of lob…
truthout.org/articles/dnc-chair-put-lobbyists-in-charge-of-reviewing-dnc-member-qualifications/

Former DHS Official: Trump Wasn't Joking About Trading Puerto Rico for Greenland
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-19
In the summer of 2019, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had " joked in a meeting" with staffers about the possibility of trading Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, for Greenland, a territory of Denmark. | But on Wednesday, former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief of staff Miles Taylor alleged that those comments weren't a joke at all — and that Trump had made r…
truthout.org/articles/former-dhs-official-trump-wasnt-joking-about-trading-puerto-rico-for-greenland/

Joe Biden Is Confirmed as Trump's Challenger in November
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-19
The Democratic National Convention Tuesday formally confirmed Joe Biden as its 2020 presidential candidate to the November elections. | RELATED: | Trump Suggests Postponing Elections in the United States | Democratic Party officials and activists from across the nation gave the former vice president their overwhelming support during this virtual convention. | Previously, Biden's toughest competitor for the Presidential nomination was Senator Bernie Sanders. A…
telesurenglish.net/news/Joe-Biden-Is-Confirmed-as-Trumps-Challenger-in-November-20200819-0008.html

The Democratic Platform Heads in Right Direction on Criminal Justice, but Still Misses the Moment
Udi Ofer | commondreams.org | 2020-08-19
Democratic presidential hopefuls former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) speak during the second round of the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season hosted by CNN at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on July 31, 2019. (Photo: Jim Waton/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/joe_biden_kamala_harris_healthcare_1.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/19/democratic-platform-heads-right-direction-criminal-justice-still-misses-moment?cd-origin=rss

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

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

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