Bolivian social movements and trade unions end strike and lift blockades
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-08-17
The decision was taken following the enactment of a new electoral law that calls to hold general elections no later than October 18 and imposes criminal penalties on any effort to postpone the date…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/17/bolivian-…

Calls For Nationwide Sickout As Arizona School District Cancels Reopening
Lois Beckett | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
Arizona public school district forced to abandon plans after more than 100 teachers and staff members called in sick…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/calls-for-nationwi…

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

US Remains Defiant, Promises New Sanctions After UN Rejects Anti-Iran Measures
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-08-17
According to the State Department, it was the world that was wrong, not Washington. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the decision to reject their “reasonable resolution” and side with “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism” as “inexcusable.”
mintpressnews.com/following-failure-un-u…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday 8/22: Nationwide Protest: Save the Post Office from Trump, Save Our Votes Now!
MoveOn, SEIU, NAACP, Indivisible, others | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
Nationwide protests at local post offices across the country in support of USPS…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/1883595…

As Bolivian Regime Delays Elections A Third Time, Media Continue To Ignore Coup
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
After both of the nation’s leading papers admitted that the reason for declaring the October election a fraud was itself a fraud, few have asked the critical questions about why the OAS and the United States were so quick to have Morales removed from office. In fact, few media outlets altered their coverage of Bolivia at all. | Reuters (7/9/20) described how “a disputed election led to widespread protests that eventually toppled…Evo Morales,” with a later piece (7/15/20) reporting that Añez “took power in a political vacuum.” A CNN segment (7/17/20) on the COVID crisis in Bolivia described how “widespread unres…
popularresistance.org/as-bolivian-regime…

School Cancelled In Arizona Area After ‘Sick Out’ Over Reopening
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
An Arizona school district that ignored state safety guidelines and voted to begin in-person learning on Aug. 17 has had to cancel classes after staff said it was unsafe to return and called in sick. | Greater Phoenix’s J.O. Combs Unified School District canceled all instruction for Monday due to “insufficient staffing,” days after its board disregarded state benchmarks on when students can safely return to classes during the pandemic. | The “sick out” underlined the difficulties in returning to in-person learning in the United States after schools in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama closed this week as students a…
popularresistance.org/school-cancelled-i…

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

Trump Is Facing a Nationwide Wave of Backlash Over His Postal Service Sabotage
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-17
Facing increasingly unfavorable poll numbers, Trump has clearly decided the only way he can win reelection is to cheat. Trump has ramped up attacks on…
truthout.org/articles/trump-is-facing-a-…

State Attorneys General Appear Ready to Sue Trump Over Changes at the USPS
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-17
At least six state attorneys general appear to be discussing possible legal action against the Trump administration due to changes at the United States Postal Service (USPS) that could disenfranchise voters seeking to cast their ballot by mail this year. | The group of Democratic state officials appear to be making moves toward a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Postmaster Genera…
truthout.org/articles/state-attorneys-ge…

Pelosi calls lawmakers back to stop Trump’s election and postal service sabotage
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-17
WASHINGTON–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. has called lawmakers back into session, despite the “virtual” Democratic National Convention, to stop GOP President Donald Trump’s multifaceted scheme to stop voting by mail by basically shutting down the U.S. Postal Service before the Nov. 3 election. Trump’s objective, along with that of his political puppets, is to stop …
peoplesworld.org/article/pelosi-calls-la…

Stamp Out the Trump Attacks on Our Postal Service!
Michael Winship | commondreams.org | 2020-08-17
The president and his obeisant postmaster general are out to destroy voting by mail—and democracy.
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/17/stamp-…

After Organizing Mass ‘Sick-Out,’ Arizona Teachers and School Staff Applauded for ‘Bold’ Collective Action to Stop Unsafe Reopening
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-08-17
Teachers and school staff members in a Phoenix suburb were praised by progressives and public health experts on Monday for their “bold” decision to call in sick en masse, forcing their school district to reverse its plan to return to in-person classes. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/08/17/after-o…

How to Fund the Salvation of Humanity
Simon Whalley | commondreams.org | 2020-08-17
A smartphone being operated in front of Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon logos as background in H√©d√©-Bazouges, western France, on Septemeber 28, 2017. (Photo: Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/17/how-fu…

Scotland’s schools reopen as COVID-19 infects students
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
The Scottish National Party’s school reopening exposes it as the accomplice of the Johnson government’s herd immunity strategy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/scot…

Platform fight precedes Democratic convention
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-17
The Democratic National Convention hasn’t started yet, and already there’s a fight over the party platform. There are differences in a party united in its determination to defeat Trump but divided on some key issues like Medicare-for-All and the Green New Deal. And another fight may be brewing over the party leadership’s decision to basically …
peoplesworld.org/article/platform-fight-…

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

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

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

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

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

Xi’s article on Marxist political economy in contemporary China to be published
Xinhua | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
An article by President Xi Jinping on opening new horizons of the Marxist political economy in contemporary China will be published Sunday.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/xis-article-on-m…

From the Archive | Part two: Marxism and African liberation
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
In this second of a two-part series, Guyanese historian and activist Walter Rodney argues that the theory of scientific socialism can and should be used in the African context.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/from-the-archive…

The Cost of ‘Singapore Inc.’? A Coronavirus Outbreak Among Migrants
Kirsten Han | thenation.com | 2020-08-17
The Cost of ‘Singapore Inc.’? A Coronavirus Outbreak Among Migrants.
thenation.com/article/world/singapore-co…

Ocasio-Cortez Welcomes Help From Anti-Trump Republicans in Defeating President—But Rejects Kasich’s Attempt to Define Party
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-08-17
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday made clear that she will reject any attempt by so-called “moderate” Republicans who are invited to the party’s convention to define what the Democratic Party stands for. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/08/17/ocasio-…

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

A matter of life and death: What war and the pandemic have in common
Patrick Cockburn | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
Patrick Cockburn examines the threads between the pandemic and the media’s coverage of age of endless war.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/a-matter-of-life…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Belarus crisis: Top UN official concerned over torture allegations
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
In the wake of ongoing electoral-related unrest in Belarus, the top UN official in the country has requested an urgent meeting with authorities focused on the issue of human rights, according to a statement from her offic…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1…

Real Life Heroes: building trust, and saving lives
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
Marie-Roseline Bélizaire, a doctor and epidemiologist with the World Health Organization (WHO), is using her passion for community medicine to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the Central African Republic (CAR).
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1…

World Bank’s rating obsession will negate debt justice
Patrick Bond | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
The World Bank and IMF continue squeezing poor countries on behalf of commercial lenders, failing to provide the debt cancellations desperately needed.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/world-banks-rating…

Heat wave, rolling blackouts affect thousands across California
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
A major heat wave affecting much of the southwestern US caused rolling blackouts Friday and Saturday throughout California.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/cali…

Russia officially produces first batch of COVID-19 vaccine
teleSUR Desk | mronline.org | 2020-08-17
“Russia’s health workers and teachers will be the first ones to receive the vaccine in the country,” Russia’s Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said.
mronline.org/2020/08/17/russia-officiall…

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

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

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

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

Latino Theater Company offers free virtual online season starting August 18
Special to People’s World | peoplesworld.org | 2020-08-17
LOS ANGELES — Pay no attention to this dateline! Although the storied Latino Theater Company is based here, the virtual online season can be accessed literally from wherever you are in the world! Over the next five months, LTC’s fall season includes streamed, archival footage of fully staged hit productions and live streamed “sneak-peek” readings …
peoplesworld.org/article/latino-theater-…

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

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

South Dakota governor first to reject unemployment aid from Trump executive order
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
While four states have already been approved by FEMA to begin authorizing payments, Kristie Noem cited cherry-picked statistics to justify her rejection of federal benefits.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/unem…

US-backed opposition in Solomon Islands opposes ties to Beijing
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
A provincial administration in Malaita insists that it has the right to maintain its own relations with Taiwan and refuses to recognise Beijing.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/solo…

Mijente Stayed Out of the 2016 Election. Here’s Why It’s Going All In This Time
Ray Levy-Uyeda | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
Hispanic voters will comprise 13% of the electorate this year–the largest nonwhite demographic group of eligible voters. Mijente’s “Fuera Trump” campaign aims to mobilize them for the November election.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/mijente-stayed-out…

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

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

Antifa crackdown is the new red scare
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-08-17
The Nation’s Ken Klippenstein discusses the United States government’s recent push against antifa.
therealnews.com/stories/antifa-crackdown…

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

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

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

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

The First Emancipation
Alan Johnstone and Stephen Shenfield | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-08-17
Dramatic news spreads among the slaves. Their masters are at war! They are told that their masters’ enemies are also theirs. But some doubt whether that is true. Might not their masters’ enemies be their friends? Soon it is rumored that any slave who crosses the lines into enemy-held territory goes free. A scene from the Civil War, …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/08/the-first-ema…

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

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

Indiana Rank-and-File Safety Committee demands reinstatement of whistleblower at Faurecia Gladstone plant
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
The newly-formed Faurecia Gladstone Rank and File Safety Committee is also demanding an immediate halt on the part of the company and the local union to all forms of intimidation and harassment.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/indi…

Judge blocks GM’s bid to reopen racketeering case against Fiat Chrysler
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
The judge made the ruling despite credible and explosive new allegations about the scale and scope of FCA’s bribery of the United Auto Workers union.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/auto…

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

Coronavirus ‘starkly’ exposes vulnerability of persons with disabilities
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
The COVID-19 pandemic has “starkly exposed” the heightened vulnerability and risks to persons with disabilities, a major meeting convened to discuss the international treaty that supports persons with disabilities, heard on Monday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1…

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

Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen in The Good Liar: The consequences of light-mindedness
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
Essential conformism on important matters seems an apt summing up of Bill Condon’s film career to date. At any rate, The Good Liar will not do much to change one’s attitude.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/liar…

Abnormalize The Status Quo
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-17
We are in the same situation now. We are having a wildly insane status quo thrust upon us by the powerful and for the benefit of the powerful. Only difference is we’re not all out in the streets, and instead of thrusting this horrible situation upon us suddenly, they’ve been doing it this entire time. | Which is precisely why we’re not out in the streets. We were born into this mess, so we assume it’s normal and that things are supposed to be this way. But it isn’t, and they aren’t. | What is normal is health. Health is the normal default condition. If you wake up with a fever and stabbing pain in your abdomen yo…
thealtworld.com/caitlin_johnston/abnorma…

Community-based farms rise to the occasion as big food supply chains stall
Elizabeth Henderson | nationofchange.org | 2020-08-17
Organic CSA farms like Massaro in Connecticut have been able to nimbly reorient marketing and production to serve the urgent needs of their communities.
nationofchange.org/2020/08/17/community-…

India: Motherson’s “inquiry” rubber stamps sacking of strikers
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
The ongoing persecution of Motherson autoparts strikers was facilitated by the Maoist Left Trade Union Centre’s betrayal of the 140-day walkout.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/moth…

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

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

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

FROM THE FIELD: Protection among the mangroves
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
The rehabilitation and replanting of mangrove forests in Cuba’s coastal regions is helping to protect the lives of people living on the Caribbean island, and reduce the effects of climate change, thanks to a UN Development Programme project.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1…

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

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

El Salvador: Prosecutor’s Office Arrests Ex Defense Ministers
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
In El Salvador, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that former Defense Ministers David Munguia and Jose Atilio were arrested on charges of illegal weaponry exchange. | RELATED: | El Salvador: Bukele Accuses Judges Of Obeying Parliament | Munguia and Atilio held office between 2009 and 2014 during President Mauricio Funes’ administration. Three civilians, Hector Mejia, Manuel Romero, and Carlos Davidson were also captured. | Besides being a pharmaceutical…
telesurenglish.net/news/El-Salvador-Pros…

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

Cops Have Repeatedly Attacked and Obstructed Street Medics During BLM Rebellion
Ella Fassler | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
Dozens of reports of police arresting medics and destroying their property have arisen since the revolt began in late May. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, police assaulted medics at their tent in a Kmart parking lot on May 31.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/cops-have-repeated…

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

Racist Soledad prison guards intentionally infect Black prisoners
Patricia Gorky | liberationnews.org | 2020-08-17
Racist prison guards brutalized more than 200 Black prisoners at Soledad in a violent 3 a.m. raid, forcing prisoners to sit shoulder-to-shoulder, with no masks. Guards in riot gear hurled racial slurs at the Black men who were targeted.
liberationnews.org/racist-soledad-prison…

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

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

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

Canadian provinces and cities confront huge deficits as economic crisis deepens
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
Huge debts, which have been accumulated chiefly through measures to bail out the banks and financial oligarchy, are being seized upon to demand intensified austerity for the working class.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/debt…

Confirmed: King Juan Carlos I Is in the United Arab Emirates
telesurenglish.net | 2020-08-17
Spanish Royal Family Monday confirmed that the Emeritus King Juan Carlos I has been in the United Arab Emirates since early August. | RELATED: | King Juan Carlos I Flees to the Caribbean to Evade Justice | On August 3, he arrived in the Arab country and has remained there ever since. His decision to leave Spain occurred amid an investigation into hidden businesses that Juan Carlos I maintained in Switzerland. | It was speculated that the monarch had chosen an exclusive neighborhood…
telesurenglish.net/news/confirmed-king-j…

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

Maine Shipbuilders Bring the Hammer Down, Reject Concessions
Andy O’Brien | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
More than 4,300 shipbuilders at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine struck for seven weeks from June to August in the largest private sector strike in the U.S. this year…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/maine-shipbuilders…

Half of UK Early Years learning workers paid less than minimum wage for 25-year-olds
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
Low pay is one of the main reasons given for leaving the profession, alongside increasing work demands and a lack of training and professional development.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/earl…

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

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

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

Charter Schools Have Failed (And We Need to Stop Funding Them)
Jeff Bryant | progressive.org | 2020-08-17
Nearly one million students have been left stranded because of charter school closures in the past twenty years–there’s clearly something wrong here.
progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/…

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

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

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

US child care in existential crisis as schools and businesses reopen
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
As plummeting enrollment at day cares during the spring forced many to close, the beginning of grade school classes in the fall will compound the crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/chil…

The Secret History of the Emirates’ Relationship to Israel
Dr Adnan Abu Amer | zcomm.org | 2020-08-17
The Palestinians have always felt that the UAE has been seeking for years to exploit their suffering and their need for financial and relief aid, to stipulate that they should not issue a position condemning any step to enhance normalisation with Israel.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-secret-history…

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

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

Somalia: UN condemns ‘brazen’ terrorist attack on beachside hotel
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
The UN in Somalia has strongly condemned a terrorist attack that took place on Sunday at the Elite Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, which reportedly killed at least 16 people and left many others injured.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1…

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

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

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

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

Terrorism victims must never be forgotten: UN Secretary-General
news.un.org | 2020-08-17
Secretary-General António Guterres has underscored UN solidarity with all victims of terrorism and urged people everywhere to ensure they are never forgotten.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/08/1…

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

The NYPD is withholding evidence from investigations into police abuse
Eric Umansky and Mollie Simon | nationofchange.org | 2020-08-17
The NYPD has regularly failed to turn over key records and videos to police abuse investigators at New York’s Civilian Complaint Review Board.
nationofchange.org/2020/08/17/the-nypd-i…

This week in history: August 17-23
wsws.org | 2020-08-17
25 years ago: Mumia Abu-Jamal escapes death penalty Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former Black Panther and broadcast journalist who had been on Pennsylvania’s death row for over 13 years, narrowly escaped an execution scheduled for August 17, 1995 when his trial judge granted a stay.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/08/17/twih…

Blood and soil!
Philip Farruggio | nationofchange.org | 2020-08-17
What both those storm troopers of 90 years ago and this new breed of lemmings should be saying is “Yeah, Our blood and Their soil!” as to who really calls the shots for their actions.
nationofchange.org/2020/08/17/blood-and-…

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

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

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

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

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

Risk factors for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers during April 2020 in a UK hospital testing programme
John S Leeds, Veena Raviprakash, Thomas Jacques, Noel Scanlon, Jeremy Cundall, Clare M Leeds | thelancet.com | 2020-08-17
Background: Healthcare workers (HCW) are a crucial part of the workforce but are also at potentially at increased risk of infection from SARS-CoV-2. Emerging evidence has suggested specific groups of HCW are at further increased risk particularly those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. Previous reports have not examined risk factors associated with contracting the virus and were reported prior to the pandemic peak in the UK.Methods: Staff testing in our facility commenced on the 1st April and all individuals were entered into a database.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PI…(20)30257-1/fulltext?rss=yes

‘Gabriel’ to go on screen at Cheongju Intl. Short FilmFest
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Iranian short film, ‘Gabriel’ directed by Yousef Kargar, will be screened at the 17th edition of the Cheongju International Short Film Festival in South Korea.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162392/Gabriel-to-g…

Triggering Snapback Mechanism to create more problems for US
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov criticized the White House for claiming to trigger the Snapback Mechanism.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162407/Triggering-S…

Three Asiatic cheetahs spotted in Semnan
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
SEMNAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Park rangers have spotted three Asiatic cheetahs in near Sharoud in Semnan province, central Iran.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162372/Three-Asiati…

Iran registers 2,247 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has infected 2,247 people and claimed 165 lives in Iran in the past 24 hours, a senior health official said.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162387/Iran-registe…

Observing health protocols emphasized by all religious figure
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah in a televised speech on commemorating Ashura amid the spread of coronavirus with Almanar TV urged the Shia Muslims to hold mourning ceremonies of Muharram with health protocols in place.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162402/Observing-he…

Persian Restaurants in New Mexico
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — The restaurant concept is defined by business model and restaurants theme, style of service, cuisine, interior design, and price point. One of these concepts is catering restaurants.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162374/Persian-Rest…

UAE rulers’ betrayal not to be erased from Muslims’ memories
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Referring to UAE-Israeli tie normalization, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said that the strategic mistake and the brazen betrayal of the UAE rulers will not be erased from the historical memories of the Muslims and freedom seekers.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162389/UAE-rulers-b…

Supreme Council of Standards meeting held
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Iran’s Supreme Council of Standards held in meeting on Monday morning with the presence of First Vice President Es’hagh Jahangiri and other senior officials at the place of Presidential Administration.
en.mehrnews.com/photo/162378/Supreme-Cou…

Tough sanctions situation should be disseminated to people
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that tough conditions of sanctions imposed against the country as well as salient measures taken by the government should be disseminated to all walks of life.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162403/Tough-sancti…

Foreign patent offices registers 110 of Iran’s inventions
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Iran Patent Center announced that as many as 110 inventions by Iranian scientists have been granted patents by authentic foreign patent offices, according to Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162391/Foreign-pate…

‘Untimely’ to take part at Italian, American film festivals
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Iranian feature ‘Untimely’, directed by Pouya Eshtehardi, will take part at three international film festivals in Italy and the US.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162398/Untimely-to-…

Iran Air to resume Tehran-Madrid flights after 17 years
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Spain announced the resumption of weekly flights on the Tehran-Madrid-Tehran route after 17 years.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162401/Iran-Air-to-…

Armed Forces has taken giant stride in fight against COVID-19
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) –Spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces said that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have taken giant strides in battling the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 and its activities should be reflected duly.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162381/Armed-Forces…

Khuzestan taekwondokas win medals at intl. online competition
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Taekwondokas from Khuzestan Province grabbed three medals at the Takavaran International Online Poomsae Competition, head of public relations of Khuzestan Taekwondo Board said.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162373/Khuzestan-ta…

67 years after 1953 Coup; Is it possible to put trust in US?
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Iran is marking the 67th anniversary of the 1953 Coup, a clear foreign intervention by the United States that that shaped Iran-US relations up to now.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162388/67-years-aft…

VP visits Ardabil to pursue provincial development affairs
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
ARDABIL, Aug. 17 (MNA) — Vice President and Head of Plan and Budget Organization (PBO) Mohammad Bagher Nobakht visited northwest Ardabil province on Monday with the aim of following up measures to develop the province.
en.mehrnews.com/photo/162404/VP-visits-A…

Police Seize 853 kg of narcotics in Yazd province
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-08-17
TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (MNA) — The police forces of Yazd province in central Iran have seized 853 kilograms of illicit drugs in two separate operations.
en.mehrnews.com/news/162405/Police-Seize…

World still in ‘early stage of pandemic’ – Neil Ferguson
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-08-17
Neil Ferguson is ‘optimistic’ Europe won’t see very large numbers of new COVID-19 cases this year, but poorer nations may face ‘bigger problems’.
imperial.ac.uk/news/201953/world-still-early-stage-pandemic-neil

Special Award for Pandemic Service goes to academic behind rapid COVID-19 test
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-08-17
Professor Chris Toumazou has been awarded a President’s Special Award for Pandemic Service by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
imperial.ac.uk/news/202053/special-award-pandemic-service-goes-academic

Low-cost sensor developed by Imperial students to identify recyclable objects
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-08-17
Students from Imperial have used AI-powered cameras to identify recyclable objects, enabling them to be automatically sorted at waste facilities.
imperial.ac.uk/news/200954/low-cost-sensor-developed-imperial-students-identify

Friday 8/21: Online Event: Covid’s Hidden Toll with Filmmakers Daffodil Altan and Andrés Cediel
Revolution Books | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
Revolution Books, 2444 Durant Ave. Berkeley CA 94704…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/16/1883594…

Tuesday 8/18: “Defund SFPD Now” Direct Action & Protest
indybay.org | 2020-08-17
Holly Park, 424 Holly Park Circle…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/1883595…

SMART Local 1741 School Bus Drivers Rally At SF City Hall For Justice
SMART Local 1741 | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
SMART 1741 School bus drivers will be protesting against their layoffs, cuts in medical benefits and privatization…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/1883595…

Embodied Inequality: The Intersections Between COVID, Racial Justice, and the Environment
Brianna Cunliffe | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
The consequences of our fossil fuel economy and a global pandemic fall heaviest on America’s most vulnerable communities. Elected Officials are saying enough.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/1883594…

Saturday 9/5: Strike Debt Bay Area Book Group: Modern Monetary Theory
Strike Debt Bay Area | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
Online via Zoom | EMAIL STRIKE.DEBT.BAY.AREA@GMAIL.COM FOR ZOOM INFO A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/15/1883593…

Saturday 8/22: Swing Left SF Phone Bank Training for Introverts (& Friends)
Swing Left San Francisco | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
Online Event…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/15/1883593…

Giants and Warriors Workers Rally at Ballpark
Marc Norton | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
Giants and Warriors workers rallied at the Giants ballpark on Friday, August 14. The Giants have lost 13 out of 19 games since the Giants fired their concession workers.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/1883594…

Kamala Harris seals Trump’s re-election
Jacob Reimann and Thomas Denkler | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
The appointment of Kamala Harris as Biden’s vice candidate is now the result of the Democratic establishment’s pathological fear of anything that could even begin to smell left. The cause of this pathology lies in the historical shift to the right of the US party system described by Chomsky.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/1883595…

G7 Calls for More Debt Relief to Confront COVID-19 Crisis
Zach Conti | indybay.org | 2020-08-17
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin convened G7 Finance Ministers, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to coordinate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/17/1883595…

Trump’s War On Arms Control And Disarmament
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
Trump’s hostile and counterproductive acts have undermined the arms control regime that U.S. presidents have developed over the past seven decades. Every president from Eisenhower to Obama contributed to improving the verification and monitoring of strategic arms; reducing the numbers of strategic weapons; eliminating intermediate-range missiles, and/or trying to avoid accidental confrontation. During the presidential campaign in 2016, ten former nuclear control officers anticipated the worst and organized a letter stating that, if elected, Trump should not be given the nuclear codes. | For the past two years, Tr…
popularresistance.org/trumps-war-on-arms…

NATO’s ‘Unified Front’ At Breaking Point
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
The NATO alliance’s fault lines extend beyond the Arab World. In most cases, these divisions trace back to member states’ unease with U.S. imperial overreach and pugnacious provocations. Early rumblings surfaced during the Afghan War, when many NATO allies proved unenthusiastic about — and attached combat-avoidance “national caveats” to — increased roles in the alliance’s first “out-of-area” expeditionary operation. Member states were quick, and correct, to point out that NATO was never designed for such missions. | More recently, in ruptures that can be blamed on Mr. Trump, some NATO allies have prov…
popularresistance.org/natos-unified-fron…

Discussion Of Wikileaks Or ‘Hacked Information’ Banned Under New YouTube Rules
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
Social media giant YouTube announced yesterday a host of new measures it says are aimed at preventing any interference in the upcoming presidential elections. Chief among the list it wrote on its blog, is “removing content that contains hacked information, the disclosure of which may interfere with democratic processes, such as elections and censuses.” An example it gives would-be deleting “videos that contain hacked information about a political candidate.” | It also promised to “raise up authoritative voices” when it comes to current events and politics by changing its algorithm to show users more credible chan…
popularresistance.org/discussion-of-wiki…

During COVID-19, The Risk To Health Care Workers Has Never Been Greater
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
If you happen to provide health care services to actual Covid-19 patients — as a nurse or a doctor, an orderly or a physician’s assistant — this has been the year from hell. Amid the worst worldwide pandemic in over a century, you’ve been working long, intense, chaotic hours. You’ve watched patients die at rates unimaginable just six months ago. You’ve watched colleagues die. You’ve worried that you may be bringing death home to your families. | If you work in health care but don’t interact with pandemic patients, the months since March haven’t exactly been easy street either. In April alone, 1.4 mill…
popularresistance.org/during-covid-19-th…

Indicators For Measuring Injustice And Societal Decay
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-17
Economic indicators — data points, trends, and micro-categories — are the widgets of the big information industry. By contrast, indicators for our society’s democratic health are not similarly compiled, aggregated, and reported. Its up and down trends are presented piecemeal and lack quantitative precision. | We can get the process started and lay the basis for qualitative and quantitative refinement. Years ago, when we started “re-defining progress” and questioning the very superficial GDP and its empirical limitations, professional economists took notice. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, economis…
popularresistance.org/indicators-for-mea…

Joe Biden blasted for softball interview with Cardi B after avoiding real journalists ahead of convention
rt.com | 2020-08-17
Joe Biden is facing a backlash after taking the time to sit down for a video chat with rapper Cardi B, having dodged interviews with major journalists and news outlets ahead of the Democratic convention. | Biden tuned in for a candid video conversation with the provocative and political rapper Cardi B for Elle Magazine. Posted online on Monday, the virtual tete-a-tete prompted immediate eye-rolling and accusations that the Democratic candidate was using the celebrity to appear relevant. | The unusual pairing discussed a variety…
rt.com/usa/498227-joe-biden-softball-car…

Great minds think alike? NZ PM Ardern postpones election over coronavirus spike, sparks comparisons with Trump
rt.com | 2020-08-17
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has announced that she’s delaying the general election by a month citing a surge in coronavirus cases. The move has attracted attention in the US where Donald Trump floated a similar idea earlier. | Ardern announced…
rt.com/usa/498174-new-zealand-election-d…

Twitter ‘accidentally’ suspends satirical site Babylon Bee after it mocked Kamala Harris and USPS conspiracies
rt.com | 2020-08-17
Twitter suspended the account of parody news site The Babylon Bee after it mocked Democrat VP candidate Kamala Harris and ‘mail vote suppression’ conspiracies. It was shortly restored amid protests about censorship. | The Bee went dark around 6 pm on Monday. Archives showed that their last tweet was a story about President Donald Trump “riding around in an SUV” smashing mailboxes “to make it impossible for people to mail in their ballots.” | BREAKING: It appears the Babylon Bee’s Twitter account has been suspe…
rt.com/usa/498263-babylon-bee-satire-twi…

Twitter ‘accidentally’ suspends satirical site Babylon Bee after it mocked Kamala Harris and USPS conspiracies
rt.com | 2020-08-17
Twitter suspended the account of parody news site The Babylon Bee after it mocked Democrat VP candidate Kamala Harris and ‘mail vote suppression’ conspiracies. It was shortly restored amid protests about censorship. | The Bee went dark around 6 pm on Monday. Archives showed that their last tweet was a story about President Donald Trump “riding around in an SUV” smashing mailboxes “to make it impossible for people to mail in their ballots.” | pic.twitter.com/KUadrxKnlM– Daily Caller (@DailyCaller)
rt.com/usa/498263-babylon-bee-satire-twi…

Trump carves into Biden’s lead on eve of Democratic convention, poll shows
rt.com | 2020-08-17
Donald Trump is nearly neck-and-neck with presidential opponent Joe Biden, who earlier enjoyed a comfortable lead over the incumbent, according to a new CNN poll. Voters are divided over Biden’s VP pick, Kamala Harris. | The presumptive Democratic nominee leads Trump by just four points nationally, 50 percent to 46 percent, the poll shows. In fifteen battleground states, the CNN poll gives the former vice president a one-point lead, with Biden at 49 percent and Trump at 48 percent. Factoring in the poll’s margin of error, ranging from 3.7 to 5 percentage points, the presidential contenders may be close to tied…
rt.com/usa/498179-trump-biden-cnn-poll-c…

Trump speeds up plans for oil development in Alaska wildlife reserve, but drillers may show little interest amid industry slump
rt.com | 2020-08-17
The Trump administration said it will begin leasing oil exploration blocks in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), inflaming opposition at a time when it may not even be economically attractive to drill in the region. | Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Monday that opening up 1.5 million acres of federally owned land in the refuge will create thousands of jobs and marks “a new chapter in American energy independence.” The first lease sale could take place by the end of this year, four years sooner than is required by 2017 legislation. A tax bill passed that year by Congress, then controlled b…
rt.com/usa/498254-anwr-oil-drilling/

Great minds think alike? NZ PM Ardern postpones election over coronavirus spike, sparks comparisons with Trump
rt.com | 2020-08-17
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has announced that she’s delaying the general election by a month citing a surge in coronavirus cases. The move has attracted attention in the US where Donald Trump floated a similar idea earlier. | Ardern announced…
rt.com/usa/498174-new-zealand-election-d…

Pentagon ‘reviewing’ report of near-COLLISION between drone & Air Force One with Trump on board
rt.com | 2020-08-17
The US Air Force said it is probing a near-miss between a plane carrying President Donald Trump and an object believed to be a drone. The close call came just before the craft touched down at Andrews Air Base in Maryland. | …
rt.com/usa/498268-air-force-one-drone/

Democrats’ election platform demands end to ‘forever wars’ — most of which were launched last time Biden held office
rt.com | 2020-08-17
The Democratic Party’s 2020 electoral platform includes a call to end the US’ “forever wars” – which sounds great, except that a Democratic president started many of those wars and the party has stonewalled efforts to end them. | “Democrats know it’s time to bring nearly two decades of unceasing conflict to an end,” the platform, released in draft form on Monday and expected to be approved by Democratic leaders later this week, reads. | It’s a relatively uncontroversial statement in itself: at nearly 19 years and counting, the US war in Afghanistan is the longest conflict in American history. The various satel…
rt.com/usa/498229-democrats-forever-wars…

‘Joe and the Hoe’: Rush Limbaugh’s mockery of Kamala Harris’ sex life triggers outrage & accusations of skewed priorities
rt.com | 2020-08-17
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh’s “sexist” riff on Democratic VP candidate Kamala Harris’ past relationship with a powerful older politician has liberals outraged and conservatives rolling their eyes. | In his Friday broadcast, Limbaugh brought up the NBA’s dismissal of a freelance photographer who had posted a mock campaign ad of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden with Harris captioned ‘Joe and the Hoe’ on Facebook. | Noting the photographer was given the boot over a “sexist Facebook post referencing Kamala Harris,” he explained the ‘Joe and the Hoe’ quip was a reference to Harris’ sexual relat…
rt.com/usa/498249-kamala-harris-sexist-o…

Rolling Stone reporter takes aim at Fox news over Seth Rich murder & gets blasted for failing to get facts right
rt.com | 2020-08-17
Seth Rich ‘truthers,’ including internet rights activist Kim Dotcom, are hounding a journalist for his book about the former DNC staffer’s death. They say he’s profiting from Rich’s death – the very thing he accuses them of. | Seth Rich was 27 years old when he was gunned down near his apartment in Washington, DC, in 2016. The murder of the Democratic National Committee staffer was declared a botched robbery by police, but widespread online speculation at the time suggested that Rich was responsible for leaking a trove of party emails to Wikileaks, and was killed in retaliation. These emails revealed, among ot…
rt.com/usa/498243-seth-rich-conspiracy-d…

The Abyss of Disinformation Gazes Into Its Creators
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-08-17
He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. | Friedrich Nietzsche | The other day the U.S. State Department published ” Pillars of Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem”. The report should have a disclaimer like this: | Everything you read in the NYT or hear Rachel Maddow say about Russia is true: Putin is a murderer, a thief and a thug, he shot down MH17, poisoned the Skripals, elected…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/17/th…

Lights! Camera! Kill! Hollywood, the Pentagon and Imperial Ambitions
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-08-17
Matthew HOH | There’s a sickness that comes with the certainty of those who view the world in so black and white, so good and bad, so us versus them terms, that killing is often a morally defensible act. More so, such killing often goes beyond just simple self defense, to a level of retributive necessity, a preventive act that makes the act of killing practically an act of altruism. “If I hadn’t killed the bad guy, the bad guy would have killed other people” so the reasoning goes. The myth of redemptive violence, is clearly espoused and…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/17/li…

The Russian Interference Report, Without Laughing
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-08-17
Craig MURRAY | Now the madding crowd has moved on, I take a mature look at the report by the Intelligence and Security Committee on Russia. It is so flawed it is tempting simply to mock it. But in fact, it is extremely dangerous. | It calls expressly and repeatedly for the security services to be actively involved in “policing the democratic space” and castigates the security services for their unwillingness to interfere in democratic process. It calls for t…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/17/th…

Northern Ireland GCSE students to be awarded grades predicted by teachers
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
GSCE students in the north of Ireland are to be awarded the grades predicted by their teachers, Stormont’s education minister has announced.Just days before the results are published on Thursday, Peter Weir has scrapped a plan that would have had grades calculated using a mathematical model that took into account the past performance of schools.The major policy shift comes amid a raging controversy in the north of Ireland about the system used to allocate A-level grades.The move affects grades issued by Northern Ireland exams body, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).CCEA accounts f…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/17/northern…

Boris Johnson surveys the wreckage of the exam results scandal then scoots off on holiday
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
A U-turn over the controversial system for awarding A-level results in England appears imminent after Tory MPs heaped pressure on Boris Johnson and education secretary Gavin Williamson to change course. | Downing Street refused to rule out a shift to a Scottish-style system based on teachers’ predicted grades rather than an algorithm aimed at standardising results. | Johnson has gone on holiday to Scotland this week despite the chaos over the A-level results but held talks with Williamson and senior officials on Monday morning. | In an indication that the grades awarded last week may not be the final results, a N…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/17/boris-jo…

‘Considerable gaps’ remain in order to reach a Brexit deal in time for 31 December deadline
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
Fears of a deadlock between the UK and the EU persist ahead of negotiations which begin on Tuesday 18 August. Both sides admitted after the last talks in London in July that they still remained some way off reaching a post-Brexit trade agreement. | Ahead of the latest round of upcoming negotiations in Brussels, a No 10 spokesperson said the government “will continue to plug the gaps where any differences remain”. | However, after last month’s talks, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said a deal looked “at this point unlikely”. This was given the UK position on fishing rights and post-Brexit competition rul…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/08/1…

Morrisons considers ditching plastic ‘bags for life’ for paper alternative
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
Morrisons has said it could ditch plastic “bags for life” from its supermarkets as it looks to move to only using paper bags.The supermarket chain has launched a trial across eight stores, which will see only sturdy paper bags used at checkouts instead.It said it hopes to stop using plastic carrier bags in all 494 of its stores if the trial proves popular with customers.Morrisons said it is looking at phasing out the bags for life, which are intended to be reused multiple times, after seeing evidence that they are sometimes being used only once before being binned.Morrisons started providing paper bags in its sto…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…

Calls for government to support universities after ‘late’ U-turn on A-levels
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
The government must “step up” and support universities now facing further challenges created by its U-turn on the way A-level results are awarded, a leading education body has said. | Universities UK chief executive Alistair Jarvis has called for “urgent clarification” from the government and advice on a number of “crucial issues” following its policy change on Monday 17 August. | He warned that while 70% of students were placed with their first-choice institution, those who aren’t should “think carefully about their next steps” and seek advice from their preferred university. | “The Government will need to s…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/17/calls-fo…

Boris Johnson under pressure to end A-level chaos
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
Boris Johnson is facing a Tory backlash over the deepening A-levels crisis in England as pupils and teachers continued to protest about the results awarded.Senior Conservatives called for the government to resolve the “shambles” which had been “terribly unfair” to students who got lower-than-expected grades after their exams were cancelled as a result of coronavirus.Johnson is expected to go on holiday to Scotland this week, but Labour leader Keir Starmer called on him to take “personal responsibility” in dealing with the situation. | The Conservative former education secretary Kenneth Baker urged ministers to de…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/08/17/boris-jo…

Government urged to let beaver populations expand in England
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
Beavers should be allowed to stay on a number of English rivers where they are already living wild, the government has been urged. | The semi-aquatic mammals, which are making a comeback after being hunted to extinction more than 400 years ago, should also be given legal status as a native species, as part of a national strategy for the animals. | And plans should be drawn up to license the release of beavers to other suitable rivers, including from where they are currently living in enclosures, proposals drawn up by wildlife charity Beaver Trust and other groups say. | The call comes after a population of the da…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…

Wearing a face mask reduces spread of coronavirus through coughing and speaking, new study reveals
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-17
Wearing a face covering lowers the risk of spreading coronavirus (Covid-19) to others through speaking and coughing, new research suggests.Speaking and coughing without face protection exposes people nearby to droplets carrying the virus that could otherwise be stopped by wearing a mask, according to the study.”Wearing a face mask can really make a difference”: Researchers found someone standing two metres from a coughing person with no mask is exposed to 10,000 times more droplets than someone half a metre from a coughing person with a mask on.Lead researcher Dr Ignazio Maria Viola, of the University of E…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…

Children Will Bear the Brunt of a Looming Eviction Crisis
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-17
Mikaela Johnson has a vague notion of a home she’d like to live in with her mother and her younger brother and sister. | “A four-bedroom house,” she said. “A backyard for sure. Maybe a house that has no mold, no pests, no cracks, no floor that sinks.” | She paused. “Maybe I’m asking for too much.” | Mikaela just completed eighth grade. She has lived the kind of transient life that school leaders worry about — especially now. Educators know that moving around disrupts learning. They fear the upheavals crea…
truthout.org/articles/children-will-bear…

The 2020 Democratic Convention Could Be a Tech Debacle or an Ambitious Feat
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-17
What do you suppose the Democrats will be talking about at their “convention” this week? | The U.S. crossed the threshold of 170,000 COVID deaths last night; with more than 5.4 million infections, our country is the most virus-riddled nation on the face of the Earth. In response, the president of the United States has begun pushing “an extract from the oleander plant as a dietary supplement to cure COVID-1…
truthout.org/articles/the-2020-democrati…

Racist Neoliberal Response to Hurricane Katrina Foreshadowed Response to COVID
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-17
We are in the middle of an alternative world struggling to be born while the nastiness of a decaying one adapts to the currents of change. This is evident within the United States as COVID-19 and structural racism coinfect our communities. In a short period of time, the novel coronavirus has mutated in its pursuits to circulate and infect human life. U.S. racial domination has also mutated, albeit over a much longer span of time, adapting from earlier forms of chattel slavery, Jim Crow segr…
truthout.org/articles/racist-neoliberal-…

Rep. Ro Khanna: Democrats Must Support Medicare for All
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-17
As the Democratic National Convention kicks off virtually in Milwaukee, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says he will be voting “no” on the Democratic platform because it does not support Medicare for All. Khanna, who served as national co-chair of Senator Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign, says ensuring universal health care is crucial for the Democratic Party, especially during a pandemic. “I am very enthusiastic about supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to defeat Donald Trump, but…
truthout.org/video/rep-ro-khanna-democra…

PPE Shortage Could Last Years Without Strategic Plan, Experts Warn
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-17
Shortages of personal protective equipment and medical supplies could persist for years without strategic government intervention, officials from health care and manufacturing industries have predicted. | Officials said logistical challenges continue seven months after the coronavirus reached the United States, as the flu season approaches and as some state emergency management agencies prepare for a fall surge in COVID-19 cases. | Although the disarray is not as widespread as it was this spring, hospit…
truthout.org/articles/ppe-shortage-could…

A Sweeping Win for Salmon and Steelhead on the Willamette River
CounterPunch News Service | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Court finds Army Corps’ dam operations harm salmon and violate the Endangered Species Act Today, Chief Judge Hernandez of the District of Oregon ruled in favor of Upper Willamette River wild spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead, finding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) failed to take…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/a-sweeping-w…

Alliance for the Wild Rockies Stops Trump From Logging and Burning Another 85,000 acres of Idaho National Forest
Mike Garrity | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
Two years ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Lost Creek-Boulder Creek Project in Idaho violated the Payette National Forest Plan and the National Forest Management Act. Trump’s lawless Forest Service disregarded the Court’s decision and approved the same project again late last year. The Alliance took the issue back to court and…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/alliance-for…

Eastside Forest Scam: the Proposed Removal of the 21-Inch Rule
George Wuerthner | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-17
The Forest Service has begun a 30 day comment period on its proposal to eliminate the 21-inch rule or what is known as the Eastside screens. The plan would remove a prohibition against cutting trees larger than 21 inches in the drier forests east of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington. The agency suggests that…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/17/eastside-for…