2020-07-09: News Headlines

Michael Harris (2020-07-09). California Reparations Bill AB 3121 – Senate Process in flow… indybay.org The signs and symbols surrounding the California State Capitol are coming down and few know the reason they were put in place. Reparative Justice hidden, cloaked in secrecy and does not mention Slavery thoroughout the State of California… limited narrow focus may do additional harm… yet not sure it matters because the Black Lives "in the building" is all that matters.

Ahrar Ahmad (2020-07-09). Racism in America: Police Choke-hold is Not the Issue. counterpunch.org While the abject inhumanity of slavery may have been legally mitigated to some extent, the institutions, practices and values of exclusion, exploitation and devaluation were not. Constitutional guarantees, and Supreme Court decisions, could be cleverly subverted by States. For example, Black people were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, arbitrary registration requirements, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries and so on. In 1940, 70 years after they had received the right to vote, only 3% of Blacks in the South were registered as voters. Less overt voter suppression efforts continue to t…

Ahrar Ahmad (2020-07-09). Racism in America: Police Choke-Holds Are Not the Issue. counterpunch.org While the abject inhumanity of slavery may have been legally mitigated to some extent, the institutions, practices and values of exclusion, exploitation and devaluation were not. Constitutional guarantees, and Supreme Court decisions, could be cleverly subverted by States. For example, Black people were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, arbitrary registration requirements, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries and so on. In 1940, 70 years after they had received the right to vote, only 3% of Blacks in the South were registered as voters. Less overt voter suppression efforts continue to t…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-09). Trumka rips Senate GOP and its leader, McConnell. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has had it up to here with the U.S. Senate's ruling Republicans and specifically with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Listing the three big crises facing the country, Trumka wants the GOP majority to get off its butt and help the nation's workers. "Numbers of coronavirus infections are rising across large …

RT (2020-07-09). 'Pull up your pants & finish school': Would CNN's Don Lemon cancel himself over shockingly unwoke 2013 tips to black community? rt.com A vintage clip of CNN anchor Don Lemon telling black people to act civilized and disregard "street culture" has the woke pundit's detractors' jaws on the floor, wondering what happened to him over the intervening seven years. | In the 2013 clip, Lemon praises Fox News host Bill O'Reilly as the Republican pundit decries the "disintegration of the African-American family," even arguing O'Reilly "doesn't go far enough" when he denounces "street culture." The video was posted to social media by "Panda Tribune" on Wednesday and quickly circulated among conservatives, who had a hard time reconciling this Lemon with…

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-07-09). As Long As Mass Media Propaganda Exists, Democracy Is A Sham. thealtworld.com "A majority of Americans believe that Russia paid the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan last year amid negotiations to end the war, and more than half want to respond with new economic sanctions against Moscow, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday," "Overall, 60% of Americans said they found reports of Russian bounties on American soldiers to be 'very' or 'somewhat' believable, while 21% said they were not credible and the rest were unsure," says Reut…

Peter Koenig (2020-07-09). The Global Reset — Unplugged. "The Deep State" globalresearch.ca Imagine, you are living in a world that you are told is a democracy — and you may even believe it — but in fact your life and fate is in the hands of a few ultra-rich, ultra-powerful and ultra-inhuman oligarchs. They may be called Deep State, or simply the Beast, …

Gary Leupp (2020-07-09). "Pinning Down Putin" Biden, the Democrats and the Next War. counterpunch.org The latest Foreign Affairs features a piece by former Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, "Pinning Down Putin: How a Confidant America Should Deal With Russia." A protege of former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton, she is a notorious "liberal interventionist," married to neocon pundit Robert Kagan. She is perhaps best known

Makasi Motema (2020-07-09). Revolution and proletarian democracy. workers.org A socialist revolution is an uprising of the proletariat — the working class, those who do not own the property necessary to run a business but must instead work for someone else. A socialist revolution is an awakening that causes the mass of workers to resist their oppression. In order . . . |

_____ (2020-07-09). The Impact Of The Economic War On Venezuela. popularresistance.org It would be impossible to count each and every one of the ways in which the war on Venezuela declared by imperialism has harmed the country. The aggressions that we, the Venezuelans, have experienced since 1999 have been not only economic; they have been psychological as well. There is no way to measure the consequences of the hate planted by the anti-democratic opposition, with its anti-socialist propaganda; it has extended to the point of burning people alive for being Chavistas. The outrage felt by the Venezuelan people when they see those who have sold out their native land while calling themselves Venezuelan…

yenisafak (2020-07-09). UN sends 71 truckloads of aid to Idlib, Syria. yenisafak.com The UN on Thursday sent 71 truckloads of humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria, where millions of people are in need of assistance due to internal conflict in the country.The trucks carrying supplies entered Idlib province through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's south.The aid will be distributed among residents of Idlib and nearby rural areas.Syria has been ravaged by civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone…

RT (2020-07-09). Not a 'racist' plan anymore? Democrats rejoice over Biden's $700bn 'Buy American' promise. rt.com Joe Biden unveiled a $700 billion 'Buy American' initiative, drawing praise from both liberals and conservatives on social media, but some noted that similar plans by the Trump administration were previously framed as 'racist.' | Biden's economic pitch includes plans for a $400 billion, four-year increase in government spending on US-made goods and services — topped by a $300 billion investment in research and development for US technology. | "This will be the largest mobilization of public investments in procurement, infrastructure and (research and development) since World War II," Biden's senior advise…

Vigil for Democracy, Raging Grannies, More (2020-07-09). Saturday 7/11: Demand that Palo Alto Open City Park to All. indybay.org Foothills Park, 3300 Page Mill Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022. | See parking directions below.

Staff (2020-07-09). How to Stop the Next Pandemic: U.N. Report Links Outbreaks to Climate Crisis & Industrial Farming. democracynow.org As the unprecedented global health emergency continues to unfold, a new United Nations report says humans must lower stress on the natural environment to prevent the next pandemic. COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has a zoonotic origin, meaning it jumped from animals to humans, and the U.N. report finds that such diseases are spreading with greater frequency due to human activity, including industrial farming and the climate crisis. "Rather than focusing on the symptoms, we were looking at the causes," says Delia Grace, lead author of the report, veterinary epidemiologist at the Internationa…

Staff (2020-07-09). Headlines for July 9, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Posts Another Record Daily High in New Coronavirus Cases, Anthony Fauci Absent from Coronavirus Task Force Briefing After Drawing Criticism from Trump, Trump Attacks CDC Guidance on School Reopenings During Pandemic, Hundreds Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona For-Profit Immigration Jail, Tulsa, OK Health Official Links Explosion of Coronavirus Cases to Trump Rally, HHS Secretary Claims Medical Workers "Don't Get Infected" After 95,000 Test Positive for Coronavirus, COVID-19 Cases Spike in Africa, While Melbourne, Australia, Is Placed Back on Lockdown, Bolivians Buried in Mass Graves as Hospitals "Collaps…

Staff (2020-07-09). Belgian Princess Condemns Her Family's Brutal Colonial History in Congo & Calls For Reparations. democracynow.org Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. have sparked a reckoning about racism and colonialism across the world, including in Belgium, where a growing movement is demanding the country address systemic racism and make amends for its violent colonial legacy. King Philippe issued an unprecedented statement "expressing regret" for Belgium's brutal colonial rule in Congo under Leopold II, who ran the country as his personal fiefdom and under whose command millions of Congolese were enslaved and killed. "It's an erased history," says Belgo-Congolese journalist and activist Gia Abrassart. We also speak with Princess Esm…

Staff (2020-07-09). Viagra? Yes. Birth Control? No. SCOTUS Sides with Trump & Limits Free Contraception Under Obamacare. democracynow.org The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to reproductive rights when it sided with the Trump administration in letting employers deny people access to free birth control based on religious or moral grounds, hollowing out a mandate under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to provide cost-free birth control. "It's a really deeply disappointing ruling," says Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. "These individuals are effectively on their own to find and pay for their contraception."

Leonardo Flores (2020-07-09). Biden's vision for Venezuela is virtually indistinguishable from Trump's. thegrayzone.com A recent Biden campaign event demonstrated that when it comes to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions and a refusal…

Leonardo Flores (2020-07-09). VenezolanosConBiden and MAGAzuela: Two sides of the same coin. peoplesdispatch.org Leonardo Flores discusses how Venezuela plays into the upcoming elections in the US and highlights how there is little difference between Trump and Biden on the Bolivarian Republic…

_____ (2020-07-09). Joe Biden as a Stealthy Bigot. strategic-culture.org The New York Times Sunday Magazine on July 5th headlined its cover-story

RT (2020-07-09). 'Liberating 5th Avenue': New York mayor paints BLACK LIVES MATTER outside Trump Tower. rt.com Signaling where his priorities lie amid an epidemic of coronavirus and violence, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a stretch of 5th Avenue outside Trump Tower to be painted with the words 'Black Lives Matter'. | City workers closed off the street on Thursday morning and began painting the mural, as De Blasio boasted about "liberating 5th Avenue" and finally giving credit to African-Americans for building New York and the US. | | "We are not denigrating anything, we are liberating Fifth Avenue." | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasi…

repost (2020-07-09). Corrupt Pelosi & Here Wealthy Husband Get PPP-Nancy Pelosi's husband among lawmaker-linked. indybay.org Corrupt Nancy Pelosi's wealthy husband received PPP loan funds.

CEWPAPH (2020-07-09). Alternative "Declaration of Independence Day" on July 4. indybay.org On the fourth of July, a CodePink caravan declared independence from racism, war, and climate devastation – all interconnecting systems of death. | Top Photo: Demonstrators use stencils to paint a message on the street in front of Nancy Pelosi's Pacific Heights Home. It reads, Pelosi Defund War $.

Staff (2020-07-08). Headlines for July 8, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Begins Formal U.S. Withdrawal from World Health Organization, Brazil's Official Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 65,000 as Jair Bolsonaro Tests Positive, U.S. Confirms Record 60,000+ Coronavirus Cases as Trump Demands School Reopenings, Houston Mayor Pleads with Republicans to Cancel Texas Convention Amid Coronavirus Surge, Prominent GOP Senators to Skip Republican National Convention Amid Pandemic, Serbian Anti-Lockdown Protesters Storm Parliament; Spanish Study Questions "Herd Immunity", Mexican President to Meet with Trump; Canadian PM Won't Attend over COVID Concerns, Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley…

RT (2020-07-08). US must tear down 'whole system of oppression,' says Democrat Ilhan Omar. Dems have 'given up' on America, Republicans reply. rt.com Ilhan Omar has called on the US "to tear down systems of oppression." But the Minnesota Democratic representative's remarks have outraged Republicans, who say she wants to ruin the whole American system. | Oppression is seen pretty much across the board in the American system, Omar claimed in a speech in Minnesota on Tuesday. | "We are fighting to tear down systems of oppression that exist in housing, in education, in healthcare, in employment, in the air we breathe," she said. | "We cannot stop at the criminal justice system. We must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression wherever we fin…

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-07-08). GOP Has Unhinged Meltdown After Ilhan Omar Makes Simple Call to 'Dismantle All Systems of Oppression'. commondreams.org "Just to be clear, Ilhan Omar is under attack by the rightwing media machine for statements that are utterly normal and totally uncontroversial when they're delivered by white, non-Muslim politicians." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ilhan_omar_3.jpg

Orlando Oramas León (2020-07-08). Cuba helping the world fight COVID-19, despite U.S. government's retaliation efforts. peoplesworld.org HAVANA—While the United States tries to disqualify Cuba's international medical cooperation, the list of brigades sent by the island to fight COVID-19 in different latitudes of the planet grows. They are the members of the Henry Reeve Contingent, created in 2005 by Fidel Castro to face situations of serious epidemics and natural disasters. It is a …

John Bachtell (2020-07-08). Separation of Trump and state: Blocking Republicans' evangelical election strategy. peoplesworld.org On Monday, June 1, President Donald Trump stood in front of St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., awkwardly clutching a Bible. Moments earlier, military police had forcibly cleared peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Park with pepper spray, flash and smoke grenades, truncheons, and rubber bullets. Outraged religious leaders across denominations immediately condemned Trump for his …

RT (2020-07-08). Facebook bans accounts linked to Roger Stone, Proud Boys & Brazil's Bolsonaro in fight against 'coordinated inauthentic behavior'. rt.com Facebook has banned dozens of pages allegedly linked to ex-Trump adviser and Republican operative Roger Stone, as well as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, in its relentless battle against political 'misinformation networks'. | The 100-account network said to be linked to Stone, a Florida resident, was discovered in the course of an investigation into the right-wing group Proud Boys, banned from Facebook years ago, the social media behemoth

Alan Macleod (2020-07-08). Democratic Candidate James Averhart Personally Oversaw Solitary Confinement of Chelsea Manning. mintpressnews.com Alabama congressional candidate James Averhart led a campaign to punish soldiers who deserted the Vietnam war and personally oversaw the brutal imprisonment of whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

WSWS (2020-07-08). New York City Democrats ensure budget protects NYPD and guts social services. wsws.org An examination of the budget makes clear that highly publicized $1 billion "cut" to the New York Police Department is a complete sham.

Thomas Klikauer (2020-07-08). Right-Wing Resentment in Germany. zcomm.org Source: Countercurrents The rise of AfD right-wing extremism may well threaten Germany's democratic society Photo by Corinna Haselmayer The rise of AfD right-wing extremism may well threaten Germany's democratic society. It applies even more since the AfD mutated into Bjà∂rn Hà∂cke's national-revolutionary movement party while also moving [its focus] from the earlier scapegoat (the

Staff (2020-07-08). Trump Threatens to Cut Funding for Schools If They Don't Reopen in the Fall. truthout.org President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday morning to cut federal funding to schools that choose not to reopen their doors this fall in response to concerns about coronavirus. | Trump tweeted his dismay that U.S. schools couldn't reopen the way that other countries in the world were able to do so, and suggested refusing to start classes back up was a ploy by Democrats to hurt him in a political way. | "In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PR…

Staff (2020-07-08). COVID Exposes "Significant Racial Health Inequities" as Black, Brown & Indigenous People Suffer Most. democracynow.org The coronavirus continues to hit communities of color the hardest, with federal data showing African American and Latinx people are nearly three times more likely to be infected and twice as likely to die from the virus compared to their white neighbors. There were "pretty significant racial health disparities" even before COVID-19 ravaged the country, says Dr. Uché Blackstock, emergency medicine physician in New York and founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, a company working to fight racism and bias in health services. "What we saw in the pandemic these first few months is these really significant racial…

Staff (2020-07-08). ICE Threatens to Deport or Bar International Students If Schools Move Classes Online Due to Pandemic. democracynow.org As President Trump pressures states to reopen schools in the fall despite an alarming surge in new coronavirus cases, ICE says international students studying at U.S. universities could face deportation if their schools switch to online-only courses. The U.S. issues more than a million student visas a year, and international students account for as much as a third of the undergraduate student body at many colleges and universities and often constitute the majority of graduate students. "I have yet to see a justification for this," says immigration attorney Fiona McEntee, who notes that international students cont…

Staff (2020-07-08). The New NYC? Houston Hospitals Struggle with "Astonishing" Rise in Coronavirus Cases. democracynow.org As COVID-19 cases rise and hospitalizations are soaring, hospitals in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California are running out of ICU beds. On Tuesday, Texas set a grim new record of 10,000 new cases in a single day. "It's been astonishing," says Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times correspondent Dr. Sheri Fink, who has been reporting from Houston's largest hospital. "They've been adding unit after unit after unit just to care for coronavirus patients."

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-07-08). Patriotism Is Bullshit, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com It is 2021. The Biden administration has launched a full-scale invasion of Syria and the US and Russia are at a nuclear standoff unseen since the Cuban missile crisis. All top Twitter trends relate to the widespread debate over whether or not Sesame Street is guilty of kink shaming. | ~ | A vote for Kanye is a vote for Trump. | A vote for the Green Party is a vote for Trump. | A vote for no one is a vote for Trump. | A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Trump. | Everything is a vote for Trump. | Everything is Trump. | You are Trump. | I am Trump. | Trump is all there is. | There is no escape. | ~ | Leaving aside th…

commondreams (2020-07-08). Sunrise Movement Co-Founder Varshini Prakash Comments on the Biden-Sanders Climate Task Force Final Recommendations. commondreams.org ______________________________…

RT (2020-07-08). New York Times lays out conditions for Biden to debate Trump… or loophole to get Joe out of live sparring. rt.com Joe Biden is a stumbling speaker at the best of times, and Donald Trump is the insult king. With the two set to engage in three televised debates, the New York Times has decided that Biden needs an out. | "I worry about Joe Biden debating Donald Trump," New York Times opinion columnist Thomas Friedman wrote on Tuesday. Friedman is likely not the only liberal pundit sweating at the prospect. Donald Trump, for all his ineloquence, is a brutal debater, well used to ripping his opponents apart with off-the-cuff insults and jibes. Joe Biden, by contrast, mumbles and fumbles his way even through prepared statements,…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-07-08). Biden Defends Undying Allegiance to For-Profit Healthcare During Interview With Dying Medicare for All Advocate Ady Barkan. commondreams.org The question: "What does preserving private insurance really do for people?" Biden's answer: "It depends on the plan. Look…" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ady_barkan_.jpg

Karthik Ganapathy (2020-07-08). Charles Booker Could Have Won. thenation.com Charles Booker Could Have Won…

CP Editor (2020-07-08). Cornel West interview on the Clintons and "Race Matters" (1993). counterpunch.org

yenisafak (2020-07-07). WHO to travellers: keep an eye on 'anywhere and everywhere' COVID-19. yenisafak.com The World Health Organization on Tuesday urged travellers to wear masks on planes and keep themselves informed as COVID-19 cases surge again in some countries, prompting new restrictions in places like Australia.Spokeswoman Margaret Harris urged people not to be caught off-guard by resurgent local epidemics and quarantine measures, saying: "If it's anywhere, it's everywhere and people travelling have to understand that.""This virus is widespread and people have to take that very, very seriously."The WHO said last month that it would update its travel guidelines ahead of the northern hemisphere summer holidays but…

Khubaka, Michael Harris (2020-07-07). US Senate poised to pass National Juneteenth Holiday Bill S.4019. indybay.org Since that final summer military campaign in Texas beginning June 18, 1865, people of Pan African Ancestry throughout the Diaspora have always celebrated Juneteenth in a big way.

David Trujillo (2020-07-07). The continuing evolution of Latinx voting—and voter suppression. peoplesworld.org LOS ANGELES — The Latinx vote in the upcoming November elections is critical. Don't be denied the right to vote. Don't get discouraged if there are attempts to sway you away from voting. One person, one vote is still the golden rule of democracy. Su voto es su voz—Your vote is your voice. Voter suppression …

Dave Lindorff (2020-07-07). Private: Why the High Dudgeon over Alleged Russian Bounties for Taliban Slaying of US Troops. counterpunch.org Democratic politicians like presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and liberal media pundits are all screaming for "action" against Russia based on an article in the New York Times that relies on anonymous sources in the "military" and "US intelligence." The article, picked up by most major media unquestioningly, asserts base on

Massoud Nayeri (2020-07-07). Dishonest Democrats, a Lying President and Fort Hood Crime Base. globalresearch.ca Once again dishonest Democrats have engaged in another embarrassing political food fight against a lying President over an unsubstantiated "Russian bounties" story by the New York Times. Based on a report by an "intelligence operative" in Afghanistan and without any …

WSWS (2020-07-07). Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer pushes unsafe reopening of Michigan schools. wsws.org Last week, Whitmer released dangerous and unfunded mandates on schools reopening, making it clear that she is determined to push ahead even as cases spike across the state.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-07). Dutch socialist youth call for overhaul of student loan system. peoplesdispatch.org Following a recent study on student indebtedness, a political consensus is building around the need to change the student loan scheme. The ruling People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is the only major force advocating the current system…

WSWS (2020-07-07). Democrats' denunciation of America's revolutionary heritage provides an opening for Trump. wsws.org The campaign waged by the Democratic Party to discredit Jefferson, Lincoln and other leaders of America's two revolutions allows Trump to package his extreme right-wing policies as a defense of democratic traditions.

WSWS (2020-07-07). Australian court rejects Murdoch appeal against Geoffrey Rush defamation verdict. wsws.org Last week's Federal Court verdict is another important blow against the anti-democratic #MeToo movement.

WSWS (2020-07-07). Supreme Court rules Electoral College members must follow state vote in presidential elections. wsws.org The 9-0 ruling was driven by mounting fears that the outcome of future presidential elections—including the 2020 election—will be seen as illegitimate and undemocratic.

Andrew Korybko (2020-07-07). Rapper Kanye's Presidential Ambitions Might Doom the Democrats' White House Plans. globalresearch.ca Kanye's decision to officially run for President won't just siphon off African-American votes from the Democrats if he stays in the race long enough to get on some states' ballots as an Independent, but might even direct more of this …

RT (2020-07-07). 'Shameful': Tucker Carlson under fire for claiming senator who lost legs in Iraq 'hates America'. rt.com Fox News host Tucker Carlson is facing fierce backlash on social media after claiming that Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, a war veteran who lost both her legs in Iraq, hates America. | Speaking on his show on Monday night, Carlson noted that Duckworth was a top contender to be Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's pick for vice president. | He took particular issue with her comment to CNN that it was time to have a "national dialogue" about historical statues in the country, including those to slave-owners like Founding Father George Washington. | Here's what Tucker said about Tammy Duckworth toni…

Fight Back (2020-07-07). Philippines: Wage all forms of protest and resistance to junk Duterte's Terror Law. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines. | Wage all forms of protest and resistance to junk Duterte's Terror Law and end the regime of state terrorism | The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) joins the rest of the democracy-loving Filipinos in condemning Rodrigo Duterte for the signing of Republic Act 11479, inappropriately titled Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. Duterte signed the law in contempt of widespread opposition by broad democratic sectors of Philippine society as well as international human rights advocates. | In the guise of figh…

RT (2020-07-07). Where's the money? Election watchers wonder if Bloomberg will follow through on $1 BILLION spend pledge to help Dems defeat Trump. rt.com During his presidential run, Michael Bloomberg promised to spend up to $1 billion to help the Democrats unseat Donald Trump. As the election closes in, even the former mayor's supporters wonder if he's going to pay up. | Bloomberg originally made the pledge back in January, while he was still vying to become the Democratic Party's 2020 candidate. He added that the end sum handed over would depend on "whether the candidate needs help; if they're doing very well, they need less. If they're not, they'll need more." | Although he spent around $1 billion during his short-lived primary campaign, as of May Bloomberg…

Staff (2020-07-07). "A Dream That Comes True": Standing Rock Elder Hails Order to Shut Down DAPL After Years of Protest. democracynow.org Following years of resistance, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Indigenous organizers across the country scored a massive legal victory Monday when a federal judge ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to be shut down and emptied of all oil, pending an environmental review. "You ever have a dream, a dream that comes true? That is what it is," responds LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, an elder of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and founder of Sacred Stone Camp, where resistance in 2016 brought tens of thousands of people to oppose the pipeline's construction on sacred lands. We also speak with Ojibwe lawyer Tara Houska, fou…

Staff (2020-07-07). "They Don't Care About Our Health": Hunger Striker at Otay Mesa ICE Jail Speaks Out as COVID Spreads. democracynow.org As COVID-19 infections continue to rise behind bars, we go inside the Otay Mesa Detention Center in California to speak with Anthony Alexandre, a longtime U.S. resident of Haitian descent, who describes conditions at the for-profit jail, run by private prison company CoreCivic, which has seen a mass outbreak of COVID-19, leading to at least 167 infections and one death. "Basically, CoreCivic is telling us they do not care about our health," says Alexandre. "They do not care about anything else but their bottom line."

Staff (2020-07-07). Headlines for July 7, 2020. democracynow.org Judge Rules Dakota Access Pipeline Be Shut Down Pending Review, Trump Admin Moves to Deport and Bar International Students If Colleges Go Online in Fall, Coronavirus Surges Across Country as Dr. Fauci Warns U.S. Still "Knee-Deep" in First Wave, Jair Bolsonaro Gets Tested for COVID-19; WHO Warns AIDS Deaths in Africa Could Rise Amid Pandemic, Congressmembers, Trump Associates Among Beneficiaries of Coronavirus Stimulus Funds, Anti-Asian American Hate Crimes Have Been Soaring Since the Start of the Pandemic, Indiana Civil Rights Activist Says He Was Victim of Attempted Lynching, Video Shows Police Officers Fatally…

Staff (2020-07-07). How Black & Indigenous Groups Won the Fight to Stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. democracynow.org Anti-pipeline activists are celebrating after Duke Energy and Dominion Energy announced they are dropping plans to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a 600-mile pipeline that would have carried fracked gas from West Virginia to North Carolina and threatened rural Indigenous, Black and Brown communities. "There was an awful lot of opposition to this," says Donna Chavis, senior fossil fuel campaigner for Friends of the Earth and an elder of the Lumbee Nation, whose territory the pipeline would have crossed. She says the communities that would have suffered "irreparable harm" from the pipeline "now have that cloud l…

Max Elbaum (2020-07-07). Socialist Strategy and the Biden Debate. zcomm.org Should anti-capitalists urge a vote for Joe Biden to defeat Donald Trump in November 2020 or not?>

Steve Early (2020-07-06). Will Real-Life "Fighting Dems" Prove Irresistible? zcomm.org Jon Stewart's new Hollywood film, Irresistible, is well worth watching just because of the timeliness and relevance of its other subject matter—the Democratic Party's frantic recruitment of veterans to run for public office…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-06). Greek communists denounce government bill prohibiting demonstrations. peoplesdispatch.org A bill introduced by the New Democracy goverment permits the authorities to impose restrictions on the use of roads and spaces for demonstrations. It also enables authorities to ban demonstrations and penalize the organizers…

Gabriel Furshong (2020-07-06). Can This Montana Governor Deliver the Senate to the Democrats? thenation.com Can This Montana Governor Deliver the Senate to the Democrats?

Mike Whitney (2020-07-06). Are the Democrats a Political Party or a CIA-Backed Fifth Column? globalresearch.ca How do the Democrats benefit from the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests? | While the protests are being used to paint Trump as a race-bating white supremacist, that is not their primary objective. The main goal is to suppress and demonize …

Fight Back (2020-07-06). Tampa students demand increase in Black enrollment, Black faculty. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On July 2, students gathered at the gates of the on-campus residence for the president of the University of South Florida (USF) to demand that the university take measures to increase Black enrollment. Over the past 10 years, the percentage of Black students at the university has been on a steady decline, from a high of 12% a decade ago to the most recent report of 10%. But even the highest percentage is much lower than the demographics of the Tampa Bay area, in which Black people comprise nearly a quarter of the population. | Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led the crowd in chants c…

Melvin Goodman (2020-07-06). Foreign Election Interference: Who is to Blame? counterpunch.org he New York Times has always taken the view that U.S. election interventions have "generally been aimed at helping non-authoritarian candidates" whereas Russia has "more often intervened to disrupt democracy or promote authoritarian rule." Too bad the Times could not interview Iran's Mohammed Mossadegh, Chile's Salvador Allende, or the Congo's Patrice Lumumba, who were targeted by the Central Intelligence Agency and replaced by brutal regimes that ruled for decades.

_____ (2020-07-06). Russia, Afghanistan And The Big Lie. popularresistance.org There is no end to the Russiagate fraud. All major charges have been disproved. No one was convicted of the dreaded "collusion" that was reported endlessly for the last four years. Damning information is now declassified and casts doubt on the veracity of the whole story. CrowdStrike, the Democratic National Committee cybersecurity firm, admitted under oath they had no proof of hacking by Russia or anyone else. Robert Mueller ended his two-year-long, multi-million-dollar investigation with nothing except convictions for process crimes. | Why then did the New York Times print a story with an unnamed intelligence a…

Staff (2020-07-06). Egyptian Activist Laila Soueif on the Jailing of Her Children & the Fight Against Authoritarianism. democracynow.org Egyptian authorities have arrested scores of people, including doctors, medical workers, journalists, lawyers and activists, as the country grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. "Unlike nearly every other country in the Middle East, Egypt has not released thousands of prisoners as a precaution against the coronavirus. Instead, it's arrested more people and cut off communication," says Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous. One of the most high-profile arrests is that of Sanaa Seif, a film editor and the youngest member of one of Egypt's most prominent activist families. Sanaa's brother, Alaa Abd El…

Staff (2020-07-06). "He Wasn't Invited": How Trump's Racist Mt. Rushmore Celebration Violated Indigenous Sovereignty. democracynow.org Amid ongoing protests against systemic racism and state violence, Trump attacked protesters, vowed to defend statues of colonizers and white supremacists, and ignored Indigenous sovereignty over the area, when he held an Independence Day rally at Mount Rushmore, sparking even more protests that led to 15 arrests. "The Black Hills, or what we know as He Sápa, is the cultural center of our universe as Lakota people," says Indigenous scholar and activist Nick Estes, a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and assistant professor of American studies at the University of New Mexico. "More than 50 different Indigenous…

Staff (2020-07-06). Headlines for July 6, 2020. democracynow.org As Coronavirus Surges, States Blame Hasty Reopenings, and Trump Falsely Claims 99% of Cases "Harmless", COVID-19 Spikes Around the World Force Countries to Reimpose Lockdowns, Indigenous Land Defenders Arrested as They Blocked Highway to Mt. Rushmore Ahead of Trump Speech, Antiracist Activist Summer Taylor Killed by Driver Who Targeted Crowd of Protesters, Protesters Topple Columbus Statue in Baltimore, BLM Uprising Continues Over July 4 Weekend, 3 Colorado Officers Fired for Photo Reenacting Killing of Elijah McClain, Pressure Mounting to Change Racist Names of Washington and Cleveland Sports Teams, 160+ People…

RT (2020-07-06). 'Get a noose': Alleged attempted lynching investigated in Indiana (VIDEO). rt.com Officers with Indiana's Department of Natural Resources are investigating an alleged lynching attempt directed at a black man over the weekend, after multiple videos of the incident surfaced online. | Vauhxx Booker from Bloomington claims that on July 4 he was attacked by five white men while walking in a wooded area near Lake Monroe, simply because he's black and they were "looking to provoke a conflict." | "Get a noose," Booker alleges he heard one of them say after the men set upon him. | www.facebook.com/vauhxx/posts/10222147157086001 | At least three eyewitness videos have surfaced of the inciden…

yenisafak (2020-07-06). Wuhan raises flood alert level as rains batter China. yenisafak.com The central Chinese city of Wuhan, epicentre of the new coronavirus pandemic, raised its flood alert level on Monday as torrential rain and thunderstorms battered swathes of the country, including the Yangtze river on which it sits.Wuhan upgraded its emergency flood response to Level II from Level III, the second highest on its four-tier scale, after days of heavy downpours submerged many of its roads.Authorities warned in March that Wuhan and other flood-prone cities on the Yangtze's middle reaches faced higher than usual levels of rainfall this year.Mayor Zhou Xianwang promised that crucial flood defence work w…