Daily Archives: May 13, 2020

2020-05-13: News Headlines

Staff (2020-05-13). Trump Administration Won't Guarantee Universal Access to COVID-19 Vaccine. truthout.org Despite hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars flowing to private drug companies for vaccine development, top health officials coordinating the Trump administration's COVID-19 response indicated to Congress on Wednesday that they cannot guarantee universal access to vaccines for the highly contagious disease once they are developed. | Speaking remotely over videoconference during a widely anticipated Senate health committee hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) pressed the officials to guara…

Gabriel Kuhn (2020-05-13). Who Are You Kidding? The Democratic Party and the Joe Biden Fiasco. counterpunch.org The accusations against the projected Democratic Party presidential nominee, Joe Biden, trouble and confuse U.S. liberals. As a result, they say surprising and, at times, outrageous things. I suppose this is the consequence of deeming Joe Biden to the most likely candidate to oust Donald Trump from office, something so important that you're ready to sacrifice both reason and compassion.

Staff (2020-05-13). Naomi Klein: Healthcare Industry Sees "Potential Bonanza" of Profits in COVID-19 Crisis. democracynow.org As the top infectious disease expert testifies to the Senate that needless death and suffering could result from reopening too quickly, author and journalist Naomi Klein says a "pandemic shock doctrine" is beginning to emerge. "The fact that a large sector of the economy, the healthcare industry, sees a potential bonanza here … that's a win for them."

RT (2020-05-13). Senate votes down anti-surveillance amendment, as both parties back warrantless spying on Americans' browser history. rt.com The US Senate has voted down an amendment that would limit surveillance of Americans' internet records. Apparently, the true divide in Washington is not between Democrat and Republican, but those for or against the police state. | The US Senate met on Wednesday to debate the reauthorization of some provisions of the USA Freedom Act, an expansive domestic surveillance bill that expired in March. As Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought the Act to the floor, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced an amendment that would explicitly bar law enforcement from snooping on Americans' internet browsing and search…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-05-13). Democrats' $3 trillion stimulus includes hazard pay, PPE; Republicans say no. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—House Democrats released a new $3 trillion stimulus bill on May 12, designed to cope with the continuing economic collapse that coronavirus-caused closures have caused. There's money for protective personal equipment (PPE), hazardous duty pay for front-line workers, and a number of other pro-worker provisions. The 1,815-page measure is tentatively scheduled for a May 15 …

RT (2020-05-13). Biden campaign reacts to Flynn unmasking revelations by attacking journalist & denouncing Republicans. rt.com After Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden was named as one of the Obama administration officials who asked for NSA information on General Michael Flynn, his campaign first targeted the messenger, then lashed out at the GOP. | The bombshell list of more than a dozen officials who asked the US spy agency for information about Flynn between the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and his inauguration included President Barack Obama's chief of staff, as well as Biden. It was a troubling disclosure for the candidate who has just denied any knowledge of the Flynn investigation, in a TV interview on Tuesday.

RT (2020-05-13). Tunisia relaxes curfew after 3 days without new coronavirus cases. rt.com Tunisia has announced a reduction of its nightly curfew hours after three consecutive days without recording any new coronavirus cases, state media reported on Wednesday. | The North African democracy imposed the curfew in March in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, combined with a lockdown that shuttered all but key shops and services. President Kais Saied has cut the curfew hours to 11pm to 5am instead of 8pm to 6am, 10 days after the start of a gradual reopening of the bureaucracy and economy. | The government announced that no new coronavirus cases have been recorded for three days in a row, with 1,032…

Staff (2020-05-13). Screen New Deal: Naomi Klein on How Companies Like Google Plan to Profit in High-Tech COVID Dystopia. democracynow.org In her new report for The Intercept on the "Screen New Deal," Naomi Klein looks at how the coronavirus pandemic is more high-tech than previous disasters — and how the future we're being rushed into could transform our lives into a "living laboratory for a permanent — and highly profitable — no-touch future." She joins us to discuss what she found, and says, "I think we're going to see very incomplete so-called solutions … that massively benefit private tech interests."

RT (2020-05-13). Flynn 'unmasking' documents show involvement of senior Obama administration officials, including Joe Biden. rt.com A newly published list of US officials who were interested in National Security Agency (NSA) records on Trump adviser Michael Flynn includes President Barack Obama's chief of staff, as well as Vice President Joe Biden. | Biden is listed as requesting the unmasking on January 12, 2017, the same day the Washington Post published a story claiming that Flynn had misreported his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, based on leaked NSA information. | Flynn unmasking documents f… by

Staff (2020-05-13). Headlines for May 13, 2020. democracynow.org Dr. Anthony Fauci Warns Senators Reopening Too Soon Will Cause "Suffering and Death", House Democratic Leaders Unveil New $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package, Tesla CEO Elon Musk Defies Lockdown Order, Reopens California Auto Plant, L.A. Extends Lockdown for 3 Months as Cal State Cancels In-Person Fall Classes, CDC Estimates 5,000+ More New York City Coronavirus Deaths Than Officially Reported, Progressive Lawmakers Call on World Bank, IMF to Cancel Poor Countries' Debts, Brazil Records Its Highest Daily COVID-19 Death Toll, London Transit Worker Dies After Man Claiming to Have COVID-19 Spits on Her, Aide to R…

WSWS (2020-05-13). New York police brutality continues unabated in midst of pandemic. wsws.org Sections of the Democratic Party and the media in New York City are attempting to portray brutal attacks by the NYPD on workers and youth exclusively in racial terms.

WSWS (2020-05-13). Democrats and unions seek to suppress resistance by Amazon workers. wsws.org Seeking to contain the outrage of workers over deadly working conditions, the Democratic Party and trade unions have embarked on a campaign among "essential" workers.

William Walter Kay (2020-05-13). The Boston-Newark Megalopolis: Death Certification Agencies are Jacking-up their C-19 Body-counts. globalresearch.ca On January 9, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) alerted authorities worldwide of a potential novel coronavirus outbreak. Three weeks of investigations and conferences later (January 30) WHO declared a global public health emergency. Regions which subsequently posted extraordinarily high …

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-13). The Financial Hysteria of America and the Bankruptcy of Western Liberalism. strategic-culture.org Western Liberalism is not only bankrupt: It bankrupts. Nowhere is this clearer than in the hysterical panic with which Republicans and Democrats alike in the United States are printing limitless sums of theoretical money to pump demand into a structurally wildly distorted and dying economic system in utterly futile efforts to fend off a looming super-Depression and world economic crisis. | Yet as becomes more clear every day, far from maintaining the current global structure, created by U.S. bankers and diplomats and dictated to the rest of the world back in 1944, all these efforts are just accelerating the disin…

Staff (2020-05-13). Why Are "Progressive Democrats" Siding With Amazon in Seattle? truthout.org Right now in Seattle, Washington, Amazon — arguably the company positioned to No…

Thomas Knapp (2020-05-13). Republicans Can't Seem to Make Up Their Minds About Mail and Voting. counterpunch.org One laudable side effect of the COVID-19 panic is a nationwide effort to promote "vote by mail" as a universal alternative to standing in line at polling places. One reason that effort is laudable is that it would likely decrease vote fraud. Yes, I said "decrease." And Republicans were saying the same thing until recently.

Azhar Azam (2020-05-13). Trump's Political Hoax Won't Revive US Economy, Retrieve Jobs. globalresearch.ca The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a hardliner Republican before Trump appointed him the head of American premier civilian intelligence service, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and later on to serve as the top US foreign diplomat. | Although …

en.mehrnews (2020-05-13). Trump ally Lindsey Graham seeks China sanctions over coronavirus probe: report. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 13 (MNA) — A leading US Republican senator proposed legislation on Tuesday that would authorise the US president to impose far-reaching sanctions on China if it fails to give a full account of events leading to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Planned Parenthood Action (2020-05-13). Planned Parenthood: What's at Stake in 2020 Talk w/ former Sec. Julian Castro. indybay.org Online…

Eugene E Ruyle (2020-05-12). The Bernie Sanders Movement, Its Historical Antecedents, and Its Legacy. indybay.org Online ZOOM Meeting. | LOG-IN INFORMATION AT OUR WEBSITE | ICSSMARX.ORG | OR EMAIL CUYLERUYLE [at] MAC.COM

WSWS (2020-05-12). Bernie Sanders' interview with the Washington Post: The thin gruel of Democratic Party politics. wsws.org Sanders glossed over the reality of the health and economic catastrophe facing millions of workers and made no mention of the corporate bailouts for which he has voted in the Senate.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (2020-05-12). Lobbying for Burial Costs. zcomm.org "I feel like I'm the cleaning crew for Congress's neglect and mess."

RT (2020-05-12). No HEROES here: Democrats seek tax breaks for rich donors & lobbyists in $3 TRILLION Covid-19 wishlist bill. rt.com House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's proposed $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill contains massive tax breaks for wealthy Democrat donors and lobbyists but precious little for working Americans, and has an odd preoccupation with cannabis. | Dubbed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the

Staff (2020-05-12). "Losing the Fabric of the City": COVID-19 Took Chicago Black Lives First & Exposed Structural Racism. democracynow.org We look at the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate toll on African Americans through the story of Chicago's first 100 recorded deaths. A report by ProPublica found that 70 of the first 100 people to die were African American. Black people account for 30% of Chicago's population and 72% of COVID-19 deaths. We speak with ProPublica reporter Adriana Gallardo, who contributed to the report "COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn't Have To." She says the story paints a picture of "sophisticated structural racism" in Chicago.

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-12). The 'See-No-Evil' Phase of Russiagate. strategic-culture.org The media spinfest following the collapse of this conspiracy theory suggests our troubled republic simply cannot accept its errors, leaving us unable to learn from them. | Patrick LAWRENCE | The long, destructive conspiracy theory known as Russiagate, the mother of them all, at last evaporates into thin air. No shred of it remains as of back-to-back disclosures over the past couple of weeks. Where does this leave us? What is to come of this momentous turn of events? | Among those not inclined toward hysteria or copious quaffs of Democratic Party Kool—Aid, it has long been a question how those who concocted…

RT (2020-05-12). Six big lies you have been told about 'Russiagate'. rt.com Russian 'meddling' in the 2016 US presidential election has become an article of faith, not just among Democrats but many Republicans as well, thanks to the endless repetition of vague talking points, none of which hold water. | It all began with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) claiming in June 2016 that Russia hacked their computers, after

RT (2020-05-12). Six big lies you have been told about Russiagate. rt.com 'Russian meddling' in the 2016 US presidential election has become an article of faith, not just among Democrats but many Republicans as well, thanks to the endless repetition of vague talking points, none of which hold water. | It all began with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) claiming in June 2016 that Russia hacked their computers, after

Staff (2020-05-13). The Health Care Industry Could Profit From the COVID-19 Crisis. truthout.org As the top infectious disease expert testifies to the Senate that needless death and suffering could result from reopening too quickly, author and journalist Naomi Klein says a "pandemic shock doctrine" is beginning to emerge. "The fact that a large sector of the economy, the healthcare industry, sees a potential bonanza here … that's a win for them." | TRANSCRIPT | : | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. | AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quaranti…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-05-13). Vowing to Be 'Fully Accountable' to Movement, Ocasio-Cortez Joins Biden's Climate Crisis Task Force. commondreams.org Following her call for former Vice President Joe Biden to reach out to progressives in order to win the 2020 general election against President Donald Trump, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accepted an invitation to co-chair the Biden campaign's "unity task force" on the climate. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1209895367_1.jpg

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-05-13). 'Major Victory for the Progressive Movement' as Congressional Hopeful Kara Eastman Wins Nebraska Primary. commondreams.org Progressive celebrated after Kara Eastman on Tuesday won a Democratic primary contest for the U.S. House seat representing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which is currently held by the two-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/kara-eastman.jpg

RT (2020-05-12). Biden says 'responsible' journalists have duty to investigate Reade claims… yet will not authorize opening his archives. rt.com "Women should be believed," Joe Biden said in a new interview, while insisting Tara Reade's allegations against him are totally unfounded. He also wants journalists to "investigate" — but refuses to open sought-after archives. | The former vice president joined Good Morning America on Tuesday to once again deny the allegations of sexual assault brought against him by former staff assistant Reade. "I think women should be believed," Biden said. "They should have an opportunity to have their case and state it forthright, what their case is." | The presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party…

Staff (2020-05-12). Los New Yorkers: Essential, Underprotected Undocumented Immigrants Struggle to Survive in Epicenter. democracynow.org As the coronavirus continues to devastate New York City communities, we hear the voices of undocumented New Yorkers about how they are surviving the pandemic. Their stories are told in a new ProPublica story headlined "Los New Yorkers: Essential and Underprotected in the Pandemic's Epicenter." We speak with one of the story's reporters, Adriana Gallardo.

RT (2020-05-12). 'I don't think you are the end-all': Rand Paul calls out Fauci over Covid-19 policy based 'one wrong prediction after another'. rt.com Republican Senator Rand Paul has challenged National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr Anthony Fauci on the nation's Covid-19 policy, suggesting the US is waiting too long to reopen. | Paul, who also has a medical degree, called for "a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what's best for our economy," questioning Fauci's support for a prolonged economic shutdown during a Senate hearing on the government's coronavirus response on Tuesday. | Sen. Paul argues school decisions should be made district by district, tells Dr. Fauci: "I don't think you're the end all." | Fauci: "I'

RT (2020-05-12). 'Humans are not herds': WHO thrashes 'brutal arithmetic' of herd immunity to beat Covid-19 pandemic. rt.com In the absence of a vaccine, the increasingly discussed idea of beating the novel coronavirus pandemic through achieving so-called herd immunity could be a disastrous miscalculation, a senior WHO official has warned. | "This is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation," Michael Ryan, head of the World Health Organization's health emergencies program, This idea that maybe countries that had lax measures and haven't done anything will all of a sudden magically reach some herd i…

Staff (2020-05-12). Headlines for May 12, 2020. democracynow.org Dr. Fauci to Warn Lawmakers of "Needless Suffering and Death" If Lockdowns End Too Soon, European Countries Report New Spikes as They Reopen Economies, Trump Makes False Claim About Testing Capacity, Tells Reporter Weijia Jiang to "Ask China" About Coronavirus, PA Plant Canceled Trump Visit over Concern for Worker Health, New Study Finds Hydroxychloroquine Does Not Help COVID-19, Can Cause Heart Attacks, China Threatens "Countermeasures" for U.S. Journalist Visa Restrictions, Meatpacking Union Condemns Reopening of Factories Amid Pandemic, India Starts to Ease Lockdown as Cases Mount, Coronavirus Cases Mount in W…

Michael K. Smith (2020-05-12). Joe Biden Suffers Massive Stroke! dissidentvoice.org Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden suffered a massive brain hemorrhage today as he practiced reciting the days of the week for upcoming debates with President Trump. Campaign staff members say it will not affect his work, and insist he has no plans to withdraw from the presidential contest, unless "something serious happens." "We've been through …

WSWS (2020-05-12). Biden attacks Trump for "hampering" the reopening of business. wsws.org In an op-ed column by Joe Biden posted on the Washington Post's website on Monday, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate criticizes Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic entirely from the standpoint of disaffected sections of business.

Fight Back (2020-05-12). Jacksonville demands justice for Ahmaud Arbery, justice for all victims of racist terror. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL — A crowd of more than 200 people, practicing social distancing and mostly wearing face masks, gathered in front of the Duval County courthouse, May 8, in response to the brutal murder of Ahmaud Arbery in nearby Brunswick, Georgia. The Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC), Northside Coalition, and the New Florida Majority put the demonstration of solidarity together; UNF Students for A Democratic Society (SDS) was represented as well. Even community members from Brunswick, where Arbery was killed, drove down to attend the demonstration. | Several speakers shared their thoughts, re…

WSWS (2020-05-12). Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf begins unsafe reopening of 37 counties. wsws.org Wolf, presented as a more rational leader than his Republican counterparts, is restarting the economy as the virus is still killing workers across the state in nursing homes, food-processing plants and warehouses.

Staff (2020-05-12). Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail. truthout.org On April 23, during the same week that Kentucky's Republican secretary of state said he was contemplating a "significant expansion" of vote by mail, the Public Interest Legal Foundation emailed one of his employees under the subject line "28 MILLION ballots lost." | "Putting the election in the hands of the United States Postal Service would be a catastrophe," wrote J. Christian Adams, president of PILF, a conservative organization that has long complained about voter fraud. His missive contended…

WSWS (2020-05-12). Trump crony appointed as new head of US Postal Service. wsws.org Louis DeJoy, the recently appointed US postmaster general, has donated millions of dollars to the Republican Party and reaped immense profits from sitting atop private logistics corporations and investment firms.

Roger Harris (2020-05-12). Biden Ridin' the Pandemic to the White House, Trump to Take Hit for Neoliberalism's Failures. counterpunch.org The world is amidst the COVID-19 crisis and in our corner of the planet a presidential campaign is reduced to a single issue: Trump/not Trump. Pick your poison. At a time that calls for national leadership or least debate on the issues, Congress unanimously passed the two-trillion-dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

Ryan Cristián (2020-05-12). Mountains Of Evidence Show COVID-19 Was All Over The World Oct/Nov 2019, Why Is It Being Ignored? thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (5/12/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-05-12). House Democrats Denounced for Covid-19 Relief Bill That Leaves 'Door Wide Open' for Fossil Fuel Bailouts. commondreams.org Climate action advocacy groups on Tuesday blasted Democratic congressional leadership for introducing a 1,815-page, $3 trillion coronavirus relief package that fails to close loopholes for fossil fuel corporations that are lobbying for federal bailouts under the cover of the pandemic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/steny_hoyer_fossil_fuel_bailout.jpg

yenisafak (2020-05-12). Hard to make vaccines for 'tricky' coronavirus: UN body. yenisafak.com "The work to develop the vaccine is moving faster than in the history of science, and we have over 100 candidate vaccines, and the ways in which it's being tested are being accelerated," said Dr. Margaret Harris at an online media briefing."But coronaviruses are very tricky viruses

Alan MacLeod (2020-05-11). New Facial Recognition Software Predicts You're a Criminal Based on your Face. thealtworld.com The latest technological development appears to be an updated, "algorithmic phrenology," repackaging a dangerous idea for the 21st century, all the more noteworthy because they are trying to sell it to law enforcement as an unbiased tool helping society. | MPN— A team from the University of Harrisburg, PA, has developed automated computer facial recognition software that they claim can predict with 80 percent accuracy and "no racial bias" whether a person is likely going to be a criminal, purely by looking at a picture of them. "By automating the identification of potential threats without bias, our aim is t…

Halah Ahmad (2020-05-11). The Fight for the Democratic Platform on Racial Justice, Palestine. commondreams.org While support for Palestinian self-determination represents a departure from the status quo in US politics, it actually mirrors a shift in opinion among the Democratic Party's electorate. (Photo: Stop the War UK) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/palestinian.png

Staff (2020-05-11). "Weaponized and Racialized": Police Departments Use COVID-19 to Target Black & Brown Communities. democracynow.org Viral images have shone a spotlight on uneven policing. Some show police officers distributing masks to White residents in crowded New York City parks — and apparently arresting no one. Meanwhile, videos have emerged of violent crackdowns on social distancing measures in Black and Latinx neighborhoods. We continue our look at how Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City's enforcement measures during the pandemic, and also discuss how officers have ordered protesters to disband, citing executive orders from the mayor and the governor that ban "any non-ess…

RT (2020-05-11). 'He's just not there yet': MSNBC founder says Joe Biden not ready to face Trump in election 'primetime' & has no coherent message. rt.com Joe Biden is woefully unprepared to go up against Donald Trump in the 2020 election, having failed to offer a compelling narrative to voters and missing the mark even in "softball interviews," said the founder of MSNBC and CNBC. | Speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday, Tom Rogers voiced concern that the former VP and presumptive Democratic nominee could be heading for a "crisis," unable to field any "eloquent" or "convincing" critiques of President Trump or his policies, namely his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. | "It pains me to say this, it really does, but his performance in being able to come up wi…

Julie Hollar (2020-05-11). New York State tries to suspend Democracy; NYT and WaPo shrug. mronline.org Blaming health risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York State Board of Elections announced last week that the state would simply cancel its Democratic presidential primary, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden to be proclaimed the victor without a vote. The response from the country's two most prominent newspapers? Meh.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-05-11). Class conflict rages in the fight over next stimulus bill. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Call it class conflict: The fight over the next economic stimulus bill will pit the representatives of the rich against the representatives of the rest of us. And it's playing out on Capitol Hill even before the U.S. House and its pro-worker Democratic majority planned to return to work — if congressional doctors will let …

Staff (2020-05-11). Trump Death Clock: Creator Eugene Jarecki Says "Reckless Mishandling" of COVID-19 Must Be Quantified. democracynow.org As the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpasses 80,000, an unusual new billboard called the Trump Death Clock in New York City's Times Square keeps tally of lives lost to government inaction. "What we found was that there was an amazing and very dark truth underlying the numbers that spoke to reckless mishandling of a pandemic by the president and his team, and we felt that ought to be quantified," says Eugene Jarecki, the award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and activist behind the project.

Staff (2020-05-11). "COVID-19 Has Been Racialized": Black Scholar Jill Nelson Arrested for Chalking "Trump = Plague" democracynow.org Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City's response to the spread of COVID-19. We speak with author and activist Jill Nelson, who was herself arrested by NYPD in April for writing "Trump = Plague" in chalk on an abandoned building in her Washington Heights neighborhood. The 67-year-old scholar was handcuffed, taken to the police station and held for five hours. Now she is speaking out. The president is "telling us that as people of color, and older people, we should just die," says Nelson. "It's ridiculous."

Joe Bernick (2020-05-11). Right wing on the defensive in Arizona elections. peoplesworld.org TUCSON—Arizona's right-wing governor and state legislature are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to defeat progressive change. The Republicans in this state are terrified that Arizona will flip to the Democrats in the 2020 elections. They are scared of the fightback by striking teachers, miners, and all working people, and of the rising militancy …

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-11). New House Documents Sow Further Doubt That Russia Hacked the DNC. strategic-culture.org For two and a half years the House Intelligence Committee knew CrowdStrike didn't have the goods on Russia. Now the public knows too. | Ray McGOVERN | House Intelligence Committee documents released Thursday reveal that the committee was told two and half years ago that the FBI had no concrete evidence that Russia hacked Democratic National Committee computers to filch the DNC emails published by WikiLeaks in July 2016. | The until-now-buried, closed-door testimony came on Dec. 5, 2017 from Shawn Henry, a protege of former FBI Director Robert Mueller (from 2001 to 2012), for whom Henry served as head of the Burea…

RT (2020-05-11). 'Binders full of women' anyone? Biden blasted for 'calendar model' VP search. rt.com Joe Biden is getting put through the ringer on social media for his latest reported blunder, comparing vice presidential picks to calendar models, which looks especially bad considering he wants a female running mate. | The tidbit that set social media ablaze was buried in a friendly New York Times piece about Biden picking a vice presidential nominee for November. | "Mr. Biden has likened running-mate evaluation to deciding among calendar models," The Times

Staff (2020-05-11). Headlines for May 11, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Cases Mount as States Reopen Economies, NY Investigating Deaths of at Least 3 Children Linked to COVID-19, Bronx Hospital Investigating Nurse Who Shared Video of Medical Staff Speaking Out About Lack of PPE, Cheyenne River Sioux Defies South Dakota Order to Remove Coronavirus Checkpoints, Another COVID-19 Case Confirmed at White House as Barack Obama Blasts Trump's "Chaotic" Response, Hunger-Striking Immigrant Women Released from California Prison, U.S. Continues to Deport Haitian Immigrants, Including Those with COVID-19 Infections, WSJ: Trump Planning to Ban H-1B Visas, Three Prisoners Die at Chino Fac…

commondreams (2020-05-11). More Than 50 National Organizations From Progressive, Anti-war, and Faith Communities Urge Presumptive Democratic Nominee Joe Biden and President Trump to Adopt a More Principled Foreign Policy. commondreams.org ______________________________…

teleSUR (2020-05-11). Chomsky, Sanders, Others Launch Progressive International. telesurenglish.net A coalition of left-leaning intellectuals, activists, and political leaders from around the world officially launched Monday the Progressive International with the support of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 and the Sanders Institute. | RELATED: | "Never before has international solidarity been more necessary—and more absent," General Coordinator of the PI David Adler said, adding that "only a common internat…

Michael Arney (2020-05-11). COVID-19 election question: Can absentee voting preserve democracy? peoplesworld.org

teleSUR (2020-05-11). Bahrain Blocks Event Criticizing Normalization With Israel. telesurenglish.net Authorities in Bahrain canceled Saturday an online event on the Gulf state's normalization of relations with Israel, shortly after its transmission began on YouTube. | RELATED: | The event's organizer, the Bahraini Democratic Youth Society, said it had received a phone call from the security authorities ordering them to stop live-streaming the event "without discussions." | The president of Bahrain's chapter o…

Fight Back (2020-05-11). Tampa Bay SDS demands justice for Ahmaud Arbery. fightbacknews.org "Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till. How many Black lives will you kill?" This was one of many chants heard across downtown Tampa on Saturday, May 9, as protesters gathered to demand justice for Ahmaud Arbery. The South Georgia resident was murdered by two white supremacist vigilantes, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, while he out for a jog. | Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), along with members of the community, parked outside the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse to participate in the socially-distanced protest. After the protesters were forced to leave by the building's security, the ral…

Sarah Anderson (2020-05-11). Let's Save the Postal Service. commondreams.org Ordinary Americans of every political stripe, including 90 percent of Republicans and 96 percent of Democrats, support a postal relief package. (Photo: Ron Doke/Flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/postoffcie_1.jpeg

Dan Brook (2020-05-11). Republicans Are On the Wrong Side of History—and Everything Else! commondreams.org Republicans are always destructive and regressive, both aggressively anti-people and anti-planet, if not individually, then certainly as a party. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2017-05-13_at_3.53.50_pm_1.png

Roger D. Harris (2020-05-11). Joe Biden is Ridin' the Pandemic All the Way to the White House. mintpressnews.com A ruling class consensus is coalescing that Trump will be the fall guy, blamed for the increasingly undeniable defects of the neoliberal model.

Ryan Cristián (2020-05-11). Doctors Speak Out About COVID 19 & The Violent Suppression Of Your Rights. thelastamericanvagabond.com The only question, is whether We The People have the courage to stand for what we know to be right, or if we will allow ourselves to be scared into passively accepting the "new normal," a locked down controlled society that was prepped for, planned out, and designed years ago. I for one, will never …

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-05-11). 'Time for a Major Shift': Groups Demand Biden Vow End to Endless Wars and Destructive US Foreign Policy. commondreams.org In a letter Monday to former Vice President Joe Biden, over 50 groups urged the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president to embrace "a principled foreign policy, one that prioritizes diplomacy and multilateralism over militarism." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1192534199.png

RT (2020-05-10). NYC more than doubles number of 'social-distancing ambassadors' after cops' enforcement of Covid-19 rules causes backlash. rt.com Following troubling viral videos of arrests and concerns about racial disparity in enforcing Covid-19-related social distancing, Mayor Bill De Blasio says he is increasing "ambassadors" in the city from 1,000 to 2,300. | "Enforcement has always been the last resort," the mayor said at a press conference Sunday. | His comment comes in the wake of the city having come under increased scrutiny thanks to a viral video, of what some have flagged as police brutality, showing NYPD officers arresting several people suspected of breaking social-distancing rules, and also to statistics showing the last few months have s…

RT (2020-05-09). No options: The choice between Trump & Biden is meaningless & proves US democracy is a 'sham,' Roger Waters tells RT. rt.com With US President Donald Trump preparing to square off with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 race, Americans might as well be choosing between Orwell and Huxley, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters told RT. | Though the current US president is a "failed landlord" who somehow managed to become "the most powerful man in the Western world," Biden, his likely rival, does not present a better option, Waters said in an interview with Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador who now hosts a show on RT Spanish. | "There's no choice to be made by the American people, this is why the idea that t…

Roger D. Harris (2020-05-09). Biden Ridin' the Pandemic to the White House. dissidentvoice.org The world is amidst the COVID-19 crisis and in our corner of the planet a presidential campaign is reduced to a single issue: Trump/not Trump. Pick your poison. At a time that calls for national leadership or least debate on the issues, Congress unanimously passed the two-trillion-dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act …

Ryan Cristián (2020-05-09). "Gene-Edited" Future Justified By COVID-19 & France Admits Athletes Infected At Wuhan Military Games. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (5/8/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

Reese Erlich (2020-05-08). Foreign Correspondent: Biden vs. Trump on Foreign Policy. progressive.org The differences are not as great as you might suspect, but there is a clear winner.

Staff (2020-05-08). Trump Death Clock: Times Square Billboard Tallies Lives Lost to COVID-19 Inaction. democracynow.org A 56-foot billboard called the Trump Death Clock was unveiled in Times Square in New York City. The tally of lives lost to government inaction was created by filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, who says, "On behalf of all of those who needlessly lost their lives to this failed leadership in a pandemic, we need a symbol, a symbol that cries out not only for accountability, but also for more responsible and responsive stewardship, going forward." As of the Friday morning broadcast, the death toll count was nearly 47,000 and growing.

Staff (2020-05-08). "A Lynch Mob": After Months of Inaction, 2 White Men Are Charged with Murder of Ahmaud Arbery in GA. democracynow.org The two white men caught on camera shooting and killing Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old African American man, were arrested and charged Thursday with murder. The arrests came two days after video of the attack in February was shared with the public, sparking widespread outrage. Today would have been Arbery's 26th birthday. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Arbery family and formerly represented Trayvon Martin.

Staff (2020-05-08). As States Loosen Pandemic Restrictions, Dr. Leana Wen Warns "We Are Not Ready for a Safe Reopening" democracynow.org As more than 40 states begin to reopen, President Trump is downplaying the need for mass COVID-19 testing, even as he himself is now being tested every day for the virus. We speak with emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen, who says, "Widespread testing is so critical. … Why shouldn't this testing be available to all Americans?"

Staff (2020-05-08). Headlines for May 8, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Pass 75,000 as Trump Sidelines Top Medical Experts, Trump to Be Tested for Coronavirus Daily After Valet Tests Positive, Vigil at White House Honors 88 Who Died from "Trump's Abhorrent Failure to Protect Nurses", U.S. Unemployment Claims Soar to 33.3 Million Amid Pandemic | , Democrats Promise "Rooseveltian" Coronavirus Relief Bill | , Mitch McConnell Prioritizes Judicial Confirmations as Senate Returns Amid Pandemic | , Data Shows 35 of 40 People Arrested in NY for Social Distancing Violations Are Black | , Texas Stops Jailing Lockdown Violators; Nebraska Ends Reporting on Meat Plant COVI…

Sarah Nesbitt, Sage Carson (2020-05-08). Investigating Tara Reade's Claims Doesn't Violate Due Process. thenation.com Investigating Tara Reade's Claims Doesn't Violate Due Process…

2020-05-13: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

Screen New Deal: Naomi Klein on How Companies Like Google Plan to Profit in High-Tech COVID Dystopia
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-13
In her new report for The Intercept on the "Screen New Deal," Naomi Klein looks at how the coronavirus pandemic is more high-tech than previous disasters

Naomi Klein: Healthcare Industry Sees "Potential Bonanza" of Profits in COVID-19 Crisis
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-13
As the top infectious disease expert testifies to the Senate that needless death and suffering could result from reopening too quickly, author and journalist Naomi Klein says a "pandemic shock doctrine" is beginning to emerge. "The fact that a large sector of the economy, the healthcare industry, sees a potential bonanza here … that's a win for them."
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/13/naomi_klein_coronavirus_healthcare

Trump Administration Won't Guarantee Universal Access to COVID-19 Vaccine
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-13
Despite hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars flowing to private drug companies for vaccine development, top health officials coordinating the Trump administration's COVID-19 response indicated to Congress on Wednesday that they cannot guarantee universal access to vaccines for the highly contagious disease once they are developed. | Speaking remotely over videoconference during a widely anticipated Senate health committee hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) pressed the officials to guara…
truthout.org/articles/trump-administration-wont-guarantee-universal-access-to-covid-19-vaccine/

Democrats' $3 trillion stimulus includes hazard pay, PPE; Republicans say no
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-13
WASHINGTON–House Democrats released a new $3 trillion stimulus bill on May 12, designed to cope with the continuing economic collapse that coronavirus-caused closures have caused. There's money for protective personal equipment (PPE), hazardous duty pay for front-line workers, and a number of other pro-worker provisions. The 1,815-page measure is tentatively scheduled for a May 15 …
peoplesworld.org/article/democrats-3-trillion-stimulus-includes-hazard-pay-ppe-republicans-say-no/

Democrats and unions seek to suppress resistance by Amazon workers
wsws.org | 2020-05-13
Seeking to contain the outrage of workers over deadly working conditions, the Democratic Party and trade unions have embarked on a campaign among "essential" workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/13/amaz-m13.html

Biden campaign reacts to Flynn unmasking revelations by attacking journalist & denouncing Republicans
rt.com | 2020-05-13
After Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden was named as one of the Obama administration officials who asked for NSA information on General Michael Flynn, his campaign first targeted the messenger, then lashed out at the GOP. | The bombshell list of more than a dozen officials who asked the US spy agency for information about Flynn between the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and his inauguration included President Barack Obama's chief of staff, as well as Biden. It was a troubling disclosure for the candidate who has just denied any knowledge of the Flynn investigation, in a TV interview on Tuesday.
rt.com/usa/488588-biden-campaign-flynn-unmasking/

The Boston-Newark Megalopolis: Death Certification Agencies are Jacking-up their C-19 Body-counts
William Walter Kay | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-13
On January 9, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) alerted authorities worldwide of a potential novel coronavirus outbreak. Three weeks of investigations and conferences later (January 30) WHO declared a global public health emergency. Regions which subsequently posted extraordinarily high …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-democratic-boston-newark-megalopolis/5712576

Why Are "Progressive Democrats" Siding With Amazon in Seattle?
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-13
Right now in Seattle, Washington, Amazon

Senate votes down anti-surveillance amendment, as both parties back warrantless spying on Americans' browser history
rt.com | 2020-05-13
The US Senate has voted down an amendment that would limit surveillance of Americans' internet records. Apparently, the true divide in Washington is not between Democrat and Republican, but those for or against the police state. | The US Senate met on Wednesday to debate the reauthorization of some provisions of the USA Freedom Act, an expansive domestic surveillance bill that expired in March. As Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought the Act to the floor, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced an amendment that would explicitly bar law enforcement from snooping on Americans' internet browsing and search…
rt.com/usa/488586-senate-blocks-surveillance-amendment/

Tunisia relaxes curfew after 3 days without new coronavirus cases
rt.com | 2020-05-13
Tunisia has announced a reduction of its nightly curfew hours after three consecutive days without recording any new coronavirus cases, state media reported on Wednesday. | The North African democracy imposed the curfew in March in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, combined with a lockdown that shuttered all but key shops and services. President Kais Saied has cut the curfew hours to 11pm to 5am instead of 8pm to 6am, 10 days after the start of a gradual reopening of the bureaucracy and economy. | The government announced that no new coronavirus cases have been recorded for three days in a row, with 1,032…
rt.com/newsline/488547-tunisia-relaxes-nightly-curfew/

New York police brutality continues unabated in midst of pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-05-13
Sections of the Democratic Party and the media in New York City are attempting to portray brutal attacks by the NYPD on workers and youth exclusively in racial terms.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/13/nypd-m13.html

Who Are You Kidding? The Democratic Party and the Joe Biden Fiasco
Gabriel Kuhn | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-13
The accusations against the projected Democratic Party presidential nominee, Joe Biden, trouble and confuse U.S. liberals. As a result, they say surprising and, at times, outrageous things. I suppose this is the consequence of deeming Joe Biden to the most likely candidate to oust Donald Trump from office, something so important that you're ready to sacrifice both reason and compassion.
counterpunch.org/2020/05/13/who-are-you-kidding-the-democratic-party-and-the-joe-biden-fiasco/

The Financial Hysteria of America and the Bankruptcy of Western Liberalism
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-13
Western Liberalism is not only bankrupt: It bankrupts. Nowhere is this clearer than in the hysterical panic with which Republicans and Democrats alike in the United States are printing limitless sums of theoretical money to pump demand into a structurally wildly distorted and dying economic system in utterly futile efforts to fend off a looming super-Depression and world economic crisis. | Yet as becomes more clear every day, far from maintaining the current global structure, created by U.S. bankers and diplomats and dictated to the rest of the world back in 1944, all these efforts are just accelerating the disin…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/13/financial-hysteria-america-and-bankruptcy-western-liberalism/

Trump ally Lindsey Graham seeks China sanctions over coronavirus probe: report
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-05-13
TEHRAN, May 13 (MNA)

Trump's Political Hoax Won't Revive US Economy, Retrieve Jobs
Azhar Azam | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-13
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a hardliner Republican before Trump appointed him the head of American premier civilian intelligence service, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and later on to serve as the top US foreign diplomat. | Although …
globalresearch.ca/trump-political-hoax-wont-revive-us-economy-retrieve-jobs/5712768

Republicans Can't Seem to Make Up Their Minds About Mail and Voting
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-13
One laudable side effect of the COVID-19 panic is a nationwide effort to promote "vote by mail" as a universal alternative to standing in line at polling places. One reason that effort is laudable is that it would likely decrease vote fraud. Yes, I said "decrease." And Republicans were saying the same thing until recently.
counterpunch.org/2020/05/13/republicans-cant-seem-to-make-up-their-minds-about-mail-and-voting/

Flynn 'unmasking' documents show involvement of senior Obama administration officials, including Joe Biden
rt.com | 2020-05-13
A newly published list of US officials who were interested in National Security Agency (NSA) records on Trump adviser Michael Flynn includes President Barack Obama's chief of staff, as well as Vice President Joe Biden. | Biden is listed as requesting the unmasking on January 12, 2017, the same day the Washington Post published a story claiming that Flynn had misreported his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, based on leaked NSA information. | Flynn unmasking documents f… by
rt.com/usa/488579-flynn-unmasking-obama-administration/

Planned Parenthood: What's at Stake in 2020 Talk w/ former Sec. Julian Castro
Planned Parenthood Action | indybay.org | 2020-05-13
Online…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/10/18832969.php

Lobbying for Burial Costs
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | zcomm.org | 2020-05-12
"I feel like I'm the cleaning crew for Congress's neglect and mess."
zcomm.org/znetarticle/lobbying-for-burial-costs/

"Losing the Fabric of the City": COVID-19 Took Chicago Black Lives First & Exposed Structural Racism
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-12
We look at the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate toll on African Americans through the story of Chicago's first 100 recorded deaths. A report by ProPublica found that 70 of the first 100 people to die were African American. Black people account for 30% of Chicago's population and 72% of COVID-19 deaths. We speak with ProPublica reporter Adriana Gallardo, who contributed to the report "COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn't Have To." She says the story paints a picture of "sophisticated structural racism" in Chicago.
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/12/chicago_70_black_people_dead_first

Los New Yorkers: Essential, Underprotected Undocumented Immigrants Struggle to Survive in Epicenter
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-12
As the coronavirus continues to devastate New York City communities, we hear the voices of undocumented New Yorkers about how they are surviving the pandemic. Their stories are told in a new ProPublica story headlined "Los New Yorkers: Essential and Underprotected in the Pandemic's Epicenter." We speak with one of the story's reporters, Adriana Gallardo.
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/12/los_new_yorkers_essential_undocumented_workers

The Bernie Sanders Movement, Its Historical Antecedents, and Its Legacy
Eugene E Ruyle | indybay.org | 2020-05-12
Online ZOOM Meeting. | LOG-IN INFORMATION AT OUR WEBSITE | ICSSMARX.ORG | OR EMAIL CUYLERUYLE [at] MAC.COM
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/08/18832926.php

Bernie Sanders' interview with the Washington Post: The thin gruel of Democratic Party politics
wsws.org | 2020-05-12
Sanders glossed over the reality of the health and economic catastrophe facing millions of workers and made no mention of the corporate bailouts for which he has voted in the Senate.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/12/sand-m12.html

No HEROES here: Democrats seek tax breaks for rich donors & lobbyists in $3 TRILLION Covid-19 wishlist bill
rt.com | 2020-05-12
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's proposed $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill contains massive tax breaks for wealthy Democrat donors and lobbyists but precious little for working Americans, and has an odd preoccupation with cannabis. | Dubbed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the bill is gargantuan in scope and size

Joe Biden Suffers Massive Stroke!
Michael K. Smith | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-05-12
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden suffered a massive brain hemorrhage today as he practiced reciting the days of the week for upcoming debates with President Trump. Campaign staff members say it will not affect his work, and insist he has no plans to withdraw from the presidential contest, unless "something serious happens." "We've been through …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/05/joe-biden-suffers-massive-stroke/

Six big lies you have been told about 'Russiagate'
rt.com | 2020-05-12
Russian 'meddling' in the 2016 US presidential election has become an article of faith, not just among Democrats but many Republicans as well, thanks to the endless repetition of vague talking points, none of which hold water. | It all began with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) claiming in June 2016 that Russia hacked their computers, after documents were published revealing the party's rigging of the primaries. This was followed by Hillary Clinton accusing her rival for the presidency Donald Trump that he…
rt.com/usa/488488-biggest-lies-of-russiagate/

Jacksonville demands justice for Ahmaud Arbery, justice for all victims of racist terror
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-05-12
Jacksonville, FL

The Health Care Industry Could Profit From the COVID-19 Crisis
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-13
As the top infectious disease expert testifies to the Senate that needless death and suffering could result from reopening too quickly, author and journalist Naomi Klein says a "pandemic shock doctrine" is beginning to emerge. "The fact that a large sector of the economy, the healthcare industry, sees a potential bonanza here … that's a win for them." | TRANSCRIPT | : | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. | AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quaranti…
truthout.org/video/the-health-care-industry-could-profit-from-the-covid-19-crisis/

Vowing to Be 'Fully Accountable' to Movement, Ocasio-Cortez Joins Biden's Climate Crisis Task Force
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-05-13
Following her call for former Vice President Joe Biden to reach out to progressives in order to win the 2020 general election against President Donald Trump, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accepted an invitation to co-chair the Biden campaign's "unity task force" on the climate. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1209895367_1.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/vowing-be-fully-accountable-movement-ocasio-cortez-joins-bidens-climate-crisis-task?cd-origin=rss

'Major Victory for the Progressive Movement' as Congressional Hopeful Kara Eastman Wins Nebraska Primary
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-05-13
Progressive celebrated after Kara Eastman on Tuesday won a Democratic primary contest for the U.S. House seat representing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which is currently held by the two-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/kara-eastman.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/major-victory-progressive-movement-congressional-hopeful-kara-eastman-wins-nebraska?cd-origin=rss

The 'See-No-Evil' Phase of Russiagate
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-12
The media spinfest following the collapse of this conspiracy theory suggests our troubled republic simply cannot accept its errors, leaving us unable to learn from them. | Patrick LAWRENCE | The long, destructive conspiracy theory known as Russiagate, the mother of them all, at last evaporates into thin air. No shred of it remains as of back-to-back disclosures over the past couple of weeks. Where does this leave us? What is to come of this momentous turn of events? | Among those not inclined toward hysteria or copious quaffs of Democratic Party Kool–Aid, it has long been a question how those who concocted…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/12/the-see-no-evil-phase-of-russiagate/

Six big lies you have been told about Russiagate
rt.com | 2020-05-12
'Russian meddling' in the 2016 US presidential election has become an article of faith, not just among Democrats but many Republicans as well, thanks to the endless repetition of vague talking points, none of which hold water. | It all began with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) claiming in June 2016 that Russia hacked their computers, after documents were published revealing the party's rigging of the primaries. This was followed by Hillary Clinton accusing her rival for the presidency, Donald Trump, of "co…
rt.com/usa/488488-biggest-lies-of-russiagate/

Biden attacks Trump for "hampering" the reopening of business
wsws.org | 2020-05-12
In an op-ed column by Joe Biden posted on the Washington Post's website on Monday, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate criticizes Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic entirely from the standpoint of disaffected sections of business.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/12/bide-m12.html

Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf begins unsafe reopening of 37 counties
wsws.org | 2020-05-12
Wolf, presented as a more rational leader than his Republican counterparts, is restarting the economy as the virus is still killing workers across the state in nursing homes, food-processing plants and warehouses.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/12/penn-m12.html

Biden says 'responsible' journalists have duty to investigate Reade claims… yet will not authorize opening his archives
rt.com | 2020-05-12
"Women should be believed," Joe Biden said in a new interview, while insisting Tara Reade's allegations against him are totally unfounded. He also wants journalists to "investigate"

'I don't think you are the end-all': Rand Paul calls out Fauci over Covid-19 policy based 'one wrong prediction after another'
rt.com | 2020-05-12
Republican Senator Rand Paul has challenged National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr Anthony Fauci on the nation's Covid-19 policy, suggesting the US is waiting too long to reopen. | Paul, who also has a medical degree, called for "a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what's best for our economy," questioning Fauci's support for a prolonged economic shutdown during a Senate hearing on the government's coronavirus response on Tuesday. | Sen. Paul argues school decisions should be made district by district, tells Dr. Fauci: "I don't think you're the end all." | Fauci: "I'…
rt.com/usa/488470-fauci-paul-coronavirus-senate-clash/

Trump crony appointed as new head of US Postal Service
wsws.org | 2020-05-12
Louis DeJoy, the recently appointed US postmaster general, has donated millions of dollars to the Republican Party and reaped immense profits from sitting atop private logistics corporations and investment firms.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/12/usps-m12.html

'I don't think you are the end-all': Rand Paul calls out Fauci over Covid-19 policy based 'one wrong prediction after another'
rt.com | 2020-05-12
Republican Senator Rand Paul has challenged National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr Anthony Fauci on the nation's Covid-19 policy, suggesting the US is waiting too long to reopen. | Paul, who also has a medical degree, called for "a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what's best for our economy," questioning Fauci's support for a prolonged economic shutdown during a Senate hearing on the government's coronavirus response on Tuesday. | Sen. Paul argues school decisions should be made district by district, tells Dr. Fauci: "I don't think you're the end all." | Fauci: "I'…
rt.com/usa/488470-fauci-paul-coronavirus-senate-clash/

Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-12
On April 23, during the same week that Kentucky's Republican secretary of state said he was contemplating a "significant expansion" of vote by mail, the Public Interest Legal Foundation emailed one of his employees under the subject line "28 MILLION ballots lost." | "Putting the election in the hands of the United States Postal Service would be a catastrophe," wrote J. Christian Adams, president of PILF, a conservative organization that has long complained about voter fraud. His missive contended…
truthout.org/articles/ignoring-trump-and-right-wing-think-tanks-red-states-expand-vote-by-mail/

Biden attacks Trump for "hampering" the reopening of business
wsws.org | 2020-05-12
In a Washington Post column Joe Biden criticizes Trump's handling of the pandemic from the standpoint of disaffected sections of business.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/12/bide-m12.html

A Love Song
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-12
Ooh girl, you look so fine | you make me wanna sniff your hair from behind | Gonna lay it all out girl, ain't no use hidin' | You make me wanna sniff ya like I'm Joe Biden | Yeah I'm singin' out loud cuz baby I can't sleep | and you make me wanna grab ya like a handsy veep | I need ya like the rivers need the drops of rain | I need ya like Biden needs a brand new brain | Lemme whisper sweet nothings in your sexy ear | Things you never asked for and you don't wanna hear | If love is a horse then giddy-up I'm ridin' | Gonna perv on ya hardcore like I'm Joe Biden | Ooh baby girl, you gone and blown my mind | like a…
thealtworld.com/caitlin_johnston/a-love-song

Biden Ridin' the Pandemic to the White House, Trump to Take Hit for Neoliberalism's Failures
Roger Harris | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-12
The world is amidst the COVID-19 crisis and in our corner of the planet a presidential campaign is reduced to a single issue: Trump/not Trump. Pick your poison. At a time that calls for national leadership or least debate on the issues, Congress unanimously passed the two-trillion-dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/12/biden-ridin-the-pandemic-to-the-white-house-trump-to-take-hit-for-neoliberalisms-failures/

Planned Parenthood: What's at Stake in 2020 Talk w/ former Sec. Julian Castro
Planned Parenthood Action | indybay.org | 2020-05-12
Online…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/10/18832969.php

Mountains Of Evidence Show COVID-19 Was All Over The World Oct/Nov 2019, Why Is It Being Ignored?
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2020-05-12
Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (5/12/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/daily-wrap-up/mountains-evidence-show-covid-19-was-all-over-world-oct-nov-2019-why-being-ignored/

'Humans are not herds': WHO thrashes 'brutal arithmetic' of herd immunity to beat Covid-19 pandemic
rt.com | 2020-05-12
In the absence of a vaccine, the increasingly discussed idea of beating the novel coronavirus pandemic through achieving so-called herd immunity could be a disastrous miscalculation, a senior WHO official has warned. | "This is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation," Michael Ryan, head of the World Health Organization's health emergencies program, said at a briefing on Monday. | This idea that maybe countries that had lax measures and haven't done anything will all of a sudden magically reach some herd i…
rt.com/news/488403-who-herd-immunity-covid-19/

House Democrats Denounced for Covid-19 Relief Bill That Leaves 'Door Wide Open' for Fossil Fuel Bailouts
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-05-12
Climate action advocacy groups on Tuesday blasted Democratic congressional leadership for introducing a 1,815-page, $3 trillion coronavirus relief package that fails to close loopholes for fossil fuel corporations that are lobbying for federal bailouts under the cover of the pandemic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/steny_hoyer_fossil_fuel_bailout.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/05/12/house-democrats-denounced-covid-19-relief-bill-leaves-door-wide-open-fossil-fuel?cd-origin=rss

Hard to make vaccines for 'tricky' coronavirus: UN body
yenisafak.com | 2020-05-12
"The work to develop the vaccine is moving faster than in the history of science, and we have over 100 candidate vaccines, and the ways in which it's being tested are being accelerated," said Dr. Margaret Harris at an online media briefing."But coronaviruses are very tricky viruses

New Facial Recognition Software Predicts You're a Criminal Based on your Face
Alan MacLeod | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-11
The latest technological development appears to be an updated, "algorithmic phrenology," repackaging a dangerous idea for the 21st century, all the more noteworthy because they are trying to sell it to law enforcement as an unbiased tool helping society. | MPN– A team from the University of Harrisburg, PA, has developed automated computer facial recognition software that they claim can predict with 80 percent accuracy and "no racial bias" whether a person is likely going to be a criminal, purely by looking at a picture of them. "By automating the identification of potential threats without bias, our aim is t…
thealtworld.com/alan_macleod/new-facial-recognition-software-predicts-youre-a-criminal-based-on-your-face

Trump Death Clock: Creator Eugene Jarecki Says "Reckless Mishandling" of COVID-19 Must Be Quantified
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-11
As the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpasses 80,000, an unusual new billboard called the Trump Death Clock in New York City's Times Square keeps tally of lives lost to government inaction. "What we found was that there was an amazing and very dark truth underlying the numbers that spoke to reckless mishandling of a pandemic by the president and his team, and we felt that ought to be quantified," says Eugene Jarecki, the award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and activist behind the project.
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/11/eugene_jarecki_trump_death_clock

"COVID-19 Has Been Racialized": Black Scholar Jill Nelson Arrested for Chalking "Trump = Plague"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-11
Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City's response to the spread of COVID-19. We speak with author and activist Jill Nelson, who was herself arrested by NYPD in April for writing "Trump = Plague" in chalk on an abandoned building in her Washington Heights neighborhood. The 67-year-old scholar was handcuffed, taken to the police station and held for five hours. Now she is speaking out. The president is "telling us that as people of color, and older people, we should just die," says Nelson. "It's ridiculous."
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/11/jill_nelson_nypd_arrest_trump_plague

"Weaponized and Racialized": Police Departments Use COVID-19 to Target Black & Brown Communities
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-11
Viral images have shone a spotlight on uneven policing. Some show police officers distributing masks to White residents in crowded New York City parks

The Fight for the Democratic Platform on Racial Justice, Palestine
Halah Ahmad | commondreams.org | 2020-05-11
While support for Palestinian self-determination represents a departure from the status quo in US politics, it actually mirrors a shift in opinion among the Democratic Party's electorate. (Photo: Stop the War UK) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/palestinian.png
commondreams.org/views/2020/05/11/fight-democratic-platform-racial-justice-palestine?cd-origin=rss

Tampa Bay SDS demands justice for Ahmaud Arbery
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-05-11
"Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till. How many Black lives will you kill?" This was one of many chants heard across downtown Tampa on Saturday, May 9, as protesters gathered to demand justice for Ahmaud Arbery. The South Georgia resident was murdered by two white supremacist vigilantes, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, while he out for a jog. | Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), along with members of the community, parked outside the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse to participate in the socially-distanced protest. After the protesters were forced to leave by the building's security, the ral…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/5/11/tampa-bay-sds-demands-justice-ahmaud-arbery

New House Documents Sow Further Doubt That Russia Hacked the DNC
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-11
For two and a half years the House Intelligence Committee knew CrowdStrike didn't have the goods on Russia. Now the public knows too. | Ray McGOVERN | House Intelligence Committee documents released Thursday reveal that the committee was told two and half years ago that the FBI had no concrete evidence that Russia hacked Democratic National Committee computers to filch the DNC emails published by WikiLeaks in July 2016. | The until-now-buried, closed-door testimony came on Dec. 5, 2017 from Shawn Henry, a protege of former FBI Director Robert Mueller (from 2001 to 2012), for whom Henry served as head of the Burea…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/11/new-house-documents-sow-further-doubt-that-russia-hacked-dnc/

Bahrain Blocks Event Criticizing Normalization With Israel
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-11
Authorities in Bahrain canceled Saturday an online event on the Gulf state's normalization of relations with Israel, shortly after its transmission began on YouTube. | RELATED: | Israel Plans Thousands New Illegal Settlements in the West Bank | The event's organizer, the Bahraini Democratic Youth Society, said it had received a phone call from the security authorities ordering them to stop live-streaming the event "without discussions." | The president of Bahrain's chapter o…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bahrain-Blocks-Event-Criticizing-Normalization-With-Israel-20200511-0011.html

COVID-19 election question: Can absentee voting preserve democracy?
Michael Arney | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-11
peoplesworld.org/article/covid-19-election-question-can-absentee-voting-preserve-democracy/

More Than 50 National Organizations From Progressive, Anti-war, and Faith Communities Urge Presumptive Democratic Nominee Joe Biden and President Trump to Adopt a More Principled Foreign Policy
commondreams.org | 2020-05-11
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/11/more-50-national-organizations-progressive-anti-war-and-faith-communities-urge?cd-origin=rss

Right wing on the defensive in Arizona elections
Joe Bernick | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-11
TUCSON–Arizona's right-wing governor and state legislature are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to defeat progressive change. The Republicans in this state are terrified that Arizona will flip to the Democrats in the 2020 elections. They are scared of the fightback by striking teachers, miners, and all working people, and of the rising militancy …
peoplesworld.org/article/right-wing-on-the-defensive-in-arizona-elections/

Chomsky, Sanders, Others Launch Progressive International
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-11
A coalition of left-leaning intellectuals, activists, and political leaders from around the world officially launched Monday the Progressive International with the support of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 and the Sanders Institute. | RELATED: | COVID-19: Seeds of Revolution Grown on Capitalism's Corpse? | "Never before has international solidarity been more necessary–and more absent," General Coordinator of the PI David Adler said, adding that "only a common internat…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chomsky-Sanders-Others-Launch-Progressive-International–20200511-0012.html

'He's just not there yet': MSNBC founder says Joe Biden not ready to face Trump in election 'primetime' & has no coherent message
rt.com | 2020-05-11
Joe Biden is woefully unprepared to go up against Donald Trump in the 2020 election, having failed to offer a compelling narrative to voters and missing the mark even in "softball interviews," said the founder of MSNBC and CNBC. | Speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday, Tom Rogers voiced concern that the former VP and presumptive Democratic nominee could be heading for a "crisis," unable to field any "eloquent" or "convincing" critiques of President Trump or his policies, namely his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. | "It pains me to say this, it really does, but his performance in being able to come up wi…
rt.com/usa/488405-msnbc-founder-biden-not-ready/

Let's Save the Postal Service
Sarah Anderson | commondreams.org | 2020-05-11
Ordinary Americans of every political stripe, including 90 percent of Republicans and 96 percent of Democrats, support a postal relief package. (Photo: Ron Doke/Flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/postoffcie_1.jpeg
commondreams.org/views/2020/05/11/lets-save-postal-service?cd-origin=rss

Class conflict rages in the fight over next stimulus bill
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-11
WASHINGTON–Call it class conflict: The fight over the next economic stimulus bill will pit the representatives of the rich against the representatives of the rest of us. And it's playing out on Capitol Hill even before the U.S. House and its pro-worker Democratic majority planned to return to work

New York State tries to suspend Democracy; NYT and WaPo shrug
Julie Hollar | mronline.org | 2020-05-11
Blaming health risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York State Board of Elections announced last week that the state would simply cancel its Democratic presidential primary, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden to be proclaimed the victor without a vote. The response from the country's two most prominent newspapers? Meh.
mronline.org/2020/05/11/new-york-state-tries-to-suspend-democracy-nyt-and-wapo-shrug/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-york-state-tries-to-suspend-democracy-nyt-and-wapo-shrug

Republicans Are On the Wrong Side of History—and Everything Else!
Dan Brook | commondreams.org | 2020-05-11
Republicans are always destructive and regressive, both aggressively anti-people and anti-planet, if not individually, then certainly as a party. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2017-05-13_at_3.53.50_pm_1.png
commondreams.org/views/2020/05/11/republicans-are-wrong-side-history-and-everything-else?cd-origin=rss

'Binders full of women' anyone? Biden blasted for 'calendar model' VP search
rt.com | 2020-05-11
Joe Biden is getting put through the ringer on social media for his latest reported blunder, comparing vice presidential picks to calendar models, which looks especially bad considering he wants a female running mate. | The tidbit that set social media ablaze was buried in a friendly New York Times piece about Biden picking a vice presidential nominee for November. | "Mr. Biden has likened running-mate evaluation to deciding among calendar models," The Times wrote, going on to describe a three…
rt.com/usa/488402-biden-vp-calendar-models/

Joe Biden is Ridin' the Pandemic All the Way to the White House
Roger D. Harris | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-11
A ruling class consensus is coalescing that Trump will be the fall guy, blamed for the increasingly undeniable defects of the neoliberal model.
mintpressnews.com/opinion-joe-biden-ridin-covid-19-pandemic-to-the-white-house/267372/

Doctors Speak Out About COVID 19 & The Violent Suppression Of Your Rights
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2020-05-11
The only question, is whether We The People have the courage to stand for what we know to be right, or if we will allow ourselves to be scared into passively accepting the "new normal," a locked down controlled society that was prepped for, planned out, and designed years ago. I for one, will never …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/censorship/doctors-speak-out-about-covid-19-violent-suppression-your-rights/

'Time for a Major Shift': Groups Demand Biden Vow End to Endless Wars and Destructive US Foreign Policy
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-05-11
In a letter Monday to former Vice President Joe Biden, over 50 groups urged the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president to embrace "a principled foreign policy, one that prioritizes diplomacy and multilateralism over militarism." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1192534199.png
commondreams.org/news/2020/05/11/time-major-shift-groups-demand-biden-vow-end-endless-wars-and-destructive-us-foreign?cd-origin=rss

What are the underlying transmission patterns of COVID-19 outbreak? An age-specific social contact characterization
Yang Liu, Zhonglei Gu, Shang Xia, Benyun Shi, Xiao-Nong Zhou, Yong Shi, Jiming Liu | thelancet.com | 2020-04-29
With an in-depth characterization of age-specific social contact-based transmission, the retrospective and prospective situations of the disease outbreak, including the past and future transmission risks, the effectiveness of different interventions, and the disease transmission risks of restoring normal social activities, are computationally analyzed and reasonably explained. The conclusions drawn from the study not only provide a comprehensive explanation of the underlying COVID-19 transmission patterns in China, but more importantly, offer the social contact-based risk analysis methods that can readily be appl…
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30098-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Research Paper] A study of type-specific HPV natural history and implications for contemporary cervical cancer screening programs
Maria Demarco, Noorie Hyun, Olivia Carter-Pokras, Tina R. Raine-Bennett, Li Cheung, Xiaojian Chen, Anne Hammer, Nicole Campos, Walter Kinney, Julia C. Gage, Brian Befano, Rebecca B. Perkins, Xin He, Cher Dallal, Jie Chen, Nancy Poitras, Marie-Helene Mayrand, Francois Coutlee, Robert D. Burk, Thomas Lorey, Philip E. Castle, Nicolas Wentzensen, Mark Schiffman | thelancet.com | 2020-04-24
HPV type and persistence are the major predictors of progression to CIN3+; at a minimum, distinguishing HPV16 is clinically important. Dividing the other HPV types into three risk-groups is worth considering.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30037-7/fulltext?rss=yes