Daily Archives: July 27, 2020

2020-07-27: News Headlines

Joyce Nelson (2020-07-27). Environmental Impacts of Alberta's Vista Coal Mine Project: Waiting for the Decision. globalresearch.ca Environmentalists are watching with great interest to see what Canada's Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson will decide, by July 30, about the Vista coal mine, a massive venture near Hinton, Alberta, owned by Coalspur, which is in turn owned by U.S. …

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-07-27). Pressure for Sanctions Against Turkey Increases as Tensions with Greece Grow. globalresearch.ca Divided on how to deal with Turkey, some European leaders are calling for sanctions and others are calling for a reset in Euro-Turkish relations. French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the European People's …

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-07-27). Mephistopheles of Wall Street: Goldman Sachs, 1MDB and the "Malaysia Settlement" globalresearch.ca Malaysia's politicians were crowing. "We are confident that we are securing more money from Goldman Sachs compared to previous attempts, which were far below expectations,"

Shane Quinn (2020-07-27). The Folly of War, US Militarism Continues Apace. globalresearch.ca The First World War showed plainly that the resort to armed conflict is the most devious and damaging of all policies. Even in the heart of militaristic Europe, the folly of war had long been noted by prominent and shrewd …

Christopher Black (2020-07-27). Hagia Sophia: Religion As Politics. globalresearch.ca Sultan Abdul Hamid II, in the face of a rising secular nationalism in the late 1800s, that culminated in the Young Turk movement, tried to restore the influence of the Ottoman Empire among Islamic nations and the Empire's many …

Stephen Lendman (2020-07-27). Militarizing Space: US Plans What Russia and Most Other Countries Oppose. globalresearch.ca Longstanding US plans call for waging wars from space. | In 1985, the US Space Command (USSPACECOM) was created. | In December 2018, Trump ordered it be made a unified combatant command for war under the US Strategic Command, saying: | "Pursuant to …

Ian Schlegel (2020-07-27). The Pandemic Is Killing Research—So Where Is University Support? thenation.com The Pandemic Is Killing Research—So Where Is University Support?

Stephen Lendman (2020-07-27). "Made In The USA" Economic Collapse: Trump's "Stimulus Plan". Money for the Super-Rich, Crumbs for Ordinary Americans. globalresearch.ca Made-in-the-USA economic collapse is the most diabolical scheme ever concocted by dark forces in the country. | It's all about engineering the largest ever wealth transfer from ordinary people to corporate favorites and the nation's super-rich. | It also aims to consolidate …

Prof. Matthew Flisfeder (2020-07-27). Capitalism Is the Parasite; Capitalism Is the Virus. globalresearch.ca With hindsight, a few years from now, it may well appear to us that the year 2020, the beginning of the third decade of the twenty-first century, marked the dawn of a new parasitic age. We can tell this much …

Dennis Normile (2020-07-27). How Atomic Bomb Survivors Have Transformed Our Understanding of Radiation's Impacts. globalresearch.ca Kunihiko Iida wants the world to know that the atomic bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago next month are still claiming lives and causing suffering. | Iida was 3 years old in August 1945. His …

Zero Hedge (2020-07-27). Overinflated Covid Death Counts: Gunshot Wounds, Parkinson's Disease, Car Accident, Incorrectly Attributed to COVID-19. globalresearch.ca When it comes to overinflated coronavirus death counts, we recently outlined how a fatal motorcycle accident in Florida was

Eric Zuesse (2020-07-27). The U.S. Empire Is Ending? A Turning Point in World History. globalresearch.ca On July 26th, Germany's Die Welt (The World) Sunday newspaper headlined

Martin Berger (2020-07-27). Kennedy Jr. Warns Parents About Danger of Using Largely Untested COVID Vaccines on Kids. globalresearch.ca Environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned Americans on Thursday to be cautious about any new coronavirus vaccine, pointing out that key parts of testing are being skipped. | "The Moderna vaccine, which is the lead candidate, skipped the animal testing …

Rachel Mullin (2020-07-27). July 26, 1950: The No Gun Ri Massacre, South Korea. globalresearch.ca The Korean War is not publicly commemorated like the Civil War or World War II, so it is little wonder that the Korean War massacre,

Prof Susan Babbitt (2020-07-27). Cuba's Nobel Nomination and Baldwin's Call to "Begin Again" globalresearch.ca When an event is unexplained, it can't be repeated. Cuba's astonishing internationalism, the "good news" of the pandemic, is talked about (outside Cuba) as if a miracle, without cause. Support grows for the Nobel Prize nomination but the justification for …

Timothy Alexander Guzman (2020-07-27). Military Escalation in the Middle East: Is Israel Planning a Multi-Front War against Its Arab Neighbors? globalresearch.ca If you watch the US mainstream media's 24 hour news coverage on recent events around the world no matter what time of the day it is, Covid-19 and China dominate the headlines while ignoring recent escalations in the Middle East …

Ricardo Vaz (2020-07-27). Baltasar Garzon to Defend Venezuelan Businessman in Extradition Case. globalresearch.ca The law firm of former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon confirmed this week that it will represent a Venezuelan businessman sanctioned by the Trump administration and facing extradition from Cape Verde. | Alex Saab, 48, was

Robert Fantina (2020-07-27). Boogaloo Movement: USA Far Right is Growing Thanks to Donald Trump. counterpunch.org As of this writing, the United States is rocked with civil unrest due to racism and police violence, and the country continues to break records for the most cases of coronavirus. The unstable and unhinged president Donald Trump makes things far worse domestically and internationally with his inflammatory language and his disdain for science. As

Fight Back (2020-07-27). Bloomington confronts 'Back the Blue' rally and marches for Black lives. fightbacknews.org Bloomington, MN – Over 500 people rallied at Kennedy High School and then marched to Bloomington City Hall, July 25, to confront a 'blue lives matter' demonstration. | The newly-formed Bloomington Antiracist Coalition (BARC), a group of Bloomington high school students and graduates, worked with other community and Black lives matter organizers to plan the Bloomington March for Justice. Their demands were justice for Black lives, an end to police 'unaccountability,' to stand in solidarity with Muslims, demand anti-racist changes to the Bloomington Public Schools, and to call for Isak Aden's case to be reopened. I…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-27). Jordanian govt. shuts down largest teachers' union, detains its leaders. peoplesdispatch.org The Jordanian Teachers Syndicate, the largest union in the country with over 100,000 members, is being persecuted days after it staged a rally demanding that the government implement an agreement signed in October over hiking educators' wages…

WSWS (2020-07-27). White House brands teachers "essential workers" to force reopening of schools. wsws.org With the coronavirus pandemic raging out of control, the Trump administration is escalating its homicidal campaign to reopen schools across the US.

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (2020-07-27). Popular Movements Can Overcome Authoritarian Policing. dissidentvoice.org Portland protests say Go Home Feds as protests grow (by Noah Berger, AP) Today is the 60th day of protests since the murder of George Floyd. This weekend, people marched in cities across the country in solidarity with Portland and in opposition to the US becoming a police state. President Trump sending troops to cities added fuel …

yenisafak (2020-07-27). China: US claims on Houston consulate 'not factual'. yenisafak.com China denied Monday that its staff at the consulate in Houston stole information from American companies doing COVID-19 research."US officials' accusations alleging that the Chinese Consulate General in Houston undertook illegal activities have no factual evidence and are completely slanderous," said China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin addressing a news conference in Beijing.Last week, the US in an abrupt move asked China to shut its consulate in Houston — a decision US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said was taken because China was "stealing American and European intellectual property".In a tit-for-t…

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-27). VIDEO: Prof. stresses 'illegality' of US presence in Syria. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 27 (MNA) — In an interview with Mehr News Agency, Colin S. Cavell, a full professor of political science at Bluefield State College, highlighted that US presence in Syria is a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty.

The Canary (2020-07-27). Lockdown helped restore happiness, research suggests. thecanary.co Happiness fell as the coronavirus pandemic began — but lockdown helped to restore it, research suggests. | The wellbeing inequality gap between wealthy professionals and the unemployed even began to narrow during lockdown, according to the study by Cambridge University's Bennett Institute for Public Policy. | Researchers used a year's worth of data taken from YouGov Weekly Mood Tracker surveys and Google searches to track wellbeing in the British population before and during the pandemic. | They say it is one of the first studies to distinguish the effects of the pandemic from those of lockdown on psycholog…

The Canary (2020-07-27). Schools should consider 'greater flexibility' over GCSE grades for sixth form. thecanary.co Schools have been told to consider offering "greater flexibility" this summer when deciding whether a student with lower GCSE grades should be admitted on to a sixth form course. | England's exams regulator has suggested that headteachers could put "slightly less weight" on a few lower grades that a pupil receives next month if it helps them to progress into sixth form. | Schools have been advised to look at other evidence, such as a student's "potential" rather than grades alone, in their decisions about post-16 study after this summer's exams were cancelled. | In a letter to heads, Sally Collier, Ofqual's chief…

Staff (2020-07-27). "Don't Simply Yoke Him to Dr. King": Eddie Glaude on How Radical Student Activism Shaped John Lewis. democracynow.org Memorials for John Lewis, the civil rights icon and 17-term congressmember, are highlighting the bravery he and others showed in the face of police violence as they fought for the right to vote. We highlight the radical early years of Lewis, when he was chairperson of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. His political upbringing as a youth and student organizer and "the movement that he came out of" can't be ignored, says Princeton professor Eddie Glaude. It's important that people "don't simply yoke him to Dr. King, [and] understand him as a product of this student activism." Glaude is chair of Princet…

Staff (2020-07-27). Make America White Again: Eddie Glaude on Trump and What James Baldwin Still Has to Teach Us. democracynow.org Amid a nationwide reckoning with systemic racism, we speak with Princeton African American studies professor Eddie Glaude, whose new book on James Baldwin offers lessons from the iconic writer for the present. Baldwin, says Glaude, insisted that "we put aside the myths and illusions and understand what white supremacy has done in terms of disfiguring and distorting the character of this nation." The book is titled "Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own."

Staff (2020-07-27). Seattle & Portland Activists: Protest Federal and City Police Crackdowns & Keep Focus on BLM Agenda. democracynow.org As nationwide protests against systemic racism and police violence stretch into their second month, President Trump has sent a team of federal agents to Seattle, following a controversial deployment of federal forces in Portland, Oregon. "We don't know exactly what the federal officers are doing. What we do know is we are in a situation where local police are welcoming those federal agents into our cities," says Seattle community organizer Nikkita Oliver, co-executive director of Creative Justice. We also speak with Pastor E.D. Mondainé, president of the Portland, Oregon, branch of the NAACP.

Global Research News (2020-07-27). Selected Articles: COVID-19 Vaccine Is in the Pipeline. globalresearch.ca If you look to Global Research as a resource for information and understanding, to stay current on world events, or to experience honesty and transparency in your news coverage, please consider making a

Juan Lopez (2020-07-27). Trump threatens democracy with militarized police as polls suggest he's in trouble. peoplesworld.org By sending federal militarized units in fascist-like fashion into major cities to attack peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators, President Donald Trump is assaulting democracy and setting a dangerous precedent less than 100 days before the November elections. Clearly, it is a desperate move to shore up his far-right base and divert public attention away from …

Coco Das (2020-07-27). Three Questions for the "Resistance" counterpunch.org The Trump/Pence regime has sent a federal occupying army into Portland to "quell" ongoing protests. Overseen by the Department of Homeland Security and cobbled from a number of federal agencies, including Customs & Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, these anonymous thugs in camouflage, virtually indistinguishable from right-wing militias, have seized the authority to kidnap

Mike Hastie (2020-07-27). The Heart of Darkness in Portland. counterpunch.org Soon it will be 60 straight nights of demonstrations and ear shattering protests in Portland, Oregon. There is a continuous drum corps that is beating hypnotic rhythms that gives thousands of Portlanders a reason to be alive. The energy is electrifying, as people take turns chanting their built up frustrations of what they see as utter

RT (2020-07-27). Portland Police say Molotov cocktails & rifle magazines found in bag as city reels from violent protests. rt.com A bag discovered in a park frequented by demonstrators contained Molotov cocktails and several loaded magazines, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has reported. Nightly protests in the city have become increasingly violent. | The PPB said they were tipped off about a suspicious bag in Lownsdale Square Park, which is located across the street from the federal courthouse that has been under siege by protesters for nearly two months. The pack reportedly contained loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails. The police force shared a photo of the bag's contents on Twitter. | Tonight Portland Police were near Lowns…

RT (2020-07-27). Where are the fact checkers? Rep. Jerry Nadler claims Antifa violence in Portland is a MYTH (VIDEO). rt.com Congressman Jerry Nadler has been raked across the coals by social media after insisting that there is no protester-instigated violence in Portland. The lawmaker has spearheaded efforts to discredit federal police in the city. | The New York Democrat was approached by pundit and internet personality Austen Fletcher, who asked the House member if he "disavows the violence from Antifa happening in Portland right now." | "That's a myth that's being spread only in Washington, DC," Nadler responded. | Clearly amused by the lawmaker's answer, Fletched clarified: "About Antifa in Portland?" | "Yes," the NY representa…

RT (2020-07-27). US police are wearing imaginary CGI armor to appease Putin, suggests acclaimed Russiagate huckster. rt.com Commentary on Donald Trump's decision to send federal police to riot-stricken cities has taken a creative turn: according to a celebrated Russiagate disciple, Putin has "ordered" US cops to wear cyberpunk armor that doesn't exist. | Cheri Jacobus, a popular #NeverTrump Twitter pundit and Russian collusion peddler, has joined the growing chorus of outrage over the use of federal law enforcement to help maintain order in Portland, Oregon, which has seen two months of increasingly violent demonstrations. | While most critics have focused on allegations that federal officers are too militarized and use excessive f…

RT (2020-07-27). Portland sex worker who stripped in front of cops as 'Naked Athena' says her nakedness was 'POLITICAL'. rt.com The woman dubbed 'Naked Athena' is a sex worker, and her famous confrontation with Portland police, in nothing but a cap and a face mask, happened because she felt offended by the way they stood, she has revealed in an interview.

RT (2020-07-27). Antifa rioters call themselves journalists to avoid federal crackdown. rt.com Federal officers in Portland are forbidden by court order from targeting journalists filming the riots. For 'Antifa' rioters, the order opened up an opportunity: anyone with a camera can call themselves a "journalist." | Riots have raged in downtown Portland for 60 straight nights, and the threat of arrest by federal agents hasn't stopped crowds of rioters from laying siege to the city's Justice Center night after night. With Mayor Ted Wheeler reluctant to order a police crackdown on the violence, federal officers have filled the gap. Unlike their local counterparts, these officers have had no qualms about mak…

George Lakey (2020-07-27). Understanding Trump's game plan in Portland. zcomm.org Because the overwhelming majority of Portlanders have been demonstrating for Black Lives Matter in nonviolent ways, elected officials are mobilizing against Trump's intervention. If the majority had been violent, Trump's intervention would be welcomed by the center…

WSWS (2020-07-27). What is BORTAC and why is it patrolling the streets of Portland? wsws.org The special paramilitary arm of Customs and Border Protection has been deployed to intimidate and terrorize young people and workers amid the greatest health, economic and political crisis in modern American history.

_____ (2020-07-27). More Federal Officers Deploying To Portland. popularresistance.org Several dozen additional out-of-town federal law enforcement officers are deploying to Portland as they look to make additional arrests in the coming days, while also shifting tactics from the use of tear gas, according to multiple federal law enforcement sources. | The federal response has so far sparked four civil rights lawsuits, a Department of Justice inspector general investigation, proposed legislation in Congress limiting the role of federal law enforcement in American cities, and has injured a number of protesters. Rather than quell the protests as was the intent, it's served to reenergize and strengthen…

_____ (2020-07-27). The Militarized Assault On Our Right To Protest. popularresistance.org The Trump Administration sent federal law enforcement, including the paramilitary squad of Customs and Border Patrol, BORTAC, which has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, to the streets of Portland, OR to stop the ongoing demonstrations against racist police violence. Federal law enforcement, working with local police, is also being sent to other cities where anti-racist protests are going on. We speak with constitutional lawyer Mara Verheyden-Hilliard about the legality of this and how activists can fight back to protect the rights of everyone and end police violence and lawless impunity.

sputniknews (2020-07-27). Meet Eddy, 'War Correspondent' for High School Newspaper in US City of Portland. sputniknews.com PORTLAND (Sputnik) – The youngest journalist covering the protests in Portland writes for a high school newspaper. Press badges, slight build, and being 17 years of age has proven insufficient to protect Eddy Binford-Ross from police brutality. Yet, almost every night she ventures back to report from the frontline.

Leon Kunstenaar (2020-07-27). Oakland March In Solidarity With Portland. indybay.org Close to a thousand in Oakland protest for BLM and against hostile Federal occupation of cities.

Commonwealth Club (2020-07-27). Friday 8/7: The Battle for Portland & the Implications Nationwide. indybay.org Online via livestream…

Rise Up Now (2020-07-27). J25 Stand with Portland March, Call and Response. indybay.org One min 15 second video by Micky Souza, Pro Bono Photo. | Please give credit.

Rise Up Now (2020-07-27). J25 Stand with Portland March, Quanah Parker Brightman Address. indybay.org video by Micky Souza, Pro Bono Photo. Please give credit. | 2 min 23 second video…

National Day of Action (2020-07-27). At Solidarity with Portland March, A "Wall of Moms" Ready. indybay.org On July 25, Oakland stood strong with Portland in opposition to Trump's invasion of cities. A recently formed Wall of Moms was ready to take up their place on short notice between police and protesters.

_____ (2020-07-26). Police Budgets Are Ballooning As Social Programs Crumble. popularresistance.org Faced with mass teacher layoffs, deep cuts to education and social services, and a looming eviction crisis, police budgets across the nation remain absurdly high and have been largely insulated from Covid-induced belt-tightening. Worse yet, a number cities have opted to increase police budgets, claiming the funds are needed to pay for reforms. This is despite the fact that racial justice protesters across the country are clearly calling for the defunding of police—a demand that stems from abolitionist principles. Budget cuts are seen as part of a process of dismantling prisons and policing while investing i…

yenisafak (2020-07-26). Education 'key in recognition, justice for Srebrenica'. yenisafak.com The most important thing to receive recognition and justice for Srebrenica is to educate people about the genocide, and Bosnian history in general, according to a Balkans expert.On July 11, 1995, one of the world's most horrific genocides took place in the heart of Europe.As the world remembered Srebrenica genocide on its 25th anniversary on July 11, scholars and genocide survivors discussed what is to be done this year to help survivors find justice.- Relevant education on genocide is keyBosnian Muslims are still burying bodies that are uncovered from mass graves, and they still await justice.The most significan…