(2020-06-08). "Unprecedented" transfer of personal NHS information to shady tech Co's. truepublica.org.uk By Mary Fitzgerald and Corri Crider: Hours before facing court proceedings from openDemocracy over its massive NHS COVID-19 data deal with private tech firms, the UK government has caved to pressure and released all the contracts governing its deals with Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and controversial AI firms Faculty and Palantir. The contracts, released to openDemocracy …
(2020-06-07). WOLA: Media's 'Left' Source for Pro-Coup Propaganda in Venezuela. zcomm.org The US blockade is a naked expression of imperial might, which WOLA and other Western propaganda amplifiers hide behind empty rhetoric about "democracy" and "human rights."
(2020-06-07). A Strategy for Global Democracy and Wealth Sharing. globalresearch.ca It is time for power to the people! | Global capitalist inequality contributes directly to health pandemics, environmental degradation, and mass poverty. Elite-corporate oligarchs control the governments and political parties. They use established militarized police states to protect their vast empires …
(2020-06-07). Police abolition and other revolutionary lessons from Rojava. zcomm.org Democratic confederalism, the ideological framework organizing society in Rojava, outlines the features of a post-revolutionary justice system…
(2020-06-07). Police Attacks on Protesters Are Rooted in a Violent Ideology of Reactionary Grievance. zcomm.org The country is now witnessing what years of militarized conditioning, training, and culture have wrought: a nationwide protest movement running up against a nationwide police riot…
(2020-06-06). Governor Cuomo: Avoid Budget Cuts by Not Rebating Stock Sales Tax to Wall Street. commondreams.org New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during his daily news conference amid the coronavirus outbreak on March 20, 2020. (Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cuomo_1.jpg …
(2020-06-06). Turkish-Russian trade-off in Libya? thealtworld.com Moscow seems to have concluded that Haftar can't win, and opted to cut its losses | The success of forces aligned with Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in taking full control of Tripoli, ending Gen. Khalifa Haftar's year-long siege of the capital, and going on to capture the town of Tarhouna, is a major triumph for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was his decision to give his full military backing to the GNA that turned the tables both in the air and on the ground: crucially the squadrons of Bayrakdar drones he deployed, and the thousands of battle-hardened Islamist fighters he…
(2020-06-06). 10 Things Democrats Could Do If They Actually Wanted to Stop Trump's Power Grab. zcomm.org Democrats have done a miserable job of acting as an opposition party to Trump — but not because they don't have significant power to halt his authoritarianism…
(2020-06-06). Australian governments try to block demonstrations against police violence. wsws.org The bans and police threats are outright attacks on the right to protest, a basic democratic right, aimed at establishing a precedent for suppressing mounting social and political opposition.
(2020-06-06). UNICEF condemns in 'strongest possible terms' killing of children in DR Congo. news.un.org UNICEF denounced on Saturday, an attack that killed 16 people, including five girls under age 15, in north eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
(2020-06-06). Insurgent Candidates Scored Big Victories in Down-Ballot Elections. zcomm.org From New Mexico to Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., progressive challengers to Democratic incumbents scored a series of victories on Tuesday night, continuing to grind out an insurgency that in just a few years has dramatically reshaped the politics of the Democratic Party…
(2020-06-06). Donald Trump Is an Autocrat. It's Up to All of Us to Stop Him. zcomm.org I have a question for American leftists: Do you finally see the difference between the Democrats and Donald Trump?>
(2020-06-05). Grassley blocks Trump nominees over watchdog firings. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley says he is blocking two Trump administration nominees until the White House provides adequate reasons for the termination of two inspectors general. The Iowa senator, a longtime advocate for the watchdog role of inspectors general, pledged to block Senate consideration of Christopher Miller to be director of the …
(2020-06-05). Watch: Police Pepper-Spray Black Filmmaker in Face at Peaceful Protest & Medics Help Him Survive. democracynow.org 
As the nationwide uprising in defense of Black lives continues, demonstrators are recording videos of police brutality on the streets. We speak with Chris Frierson, an African American documentary filmmaker and cameraman who was filming a Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday in Brooklyn, New York, when police moved in on demonstrators. As Frierson filmed, police pepper-sprayed him directly in the face. Chris kept on filming as he struggled to the sidewalk crying in agony from the pain. Within seconds, someone took his arm and guided him to volunteer medics who came to his aid. We air his footage and speak about…
(2020-06-05). Trump Threatens Protests with Troops, But Police Have Already Been Militarized — With Deadly Results. democracynow.org 
The American Civil Liberties Union and Black Lives Matter announced Thursday they are suing President Trump and Attorney General William Barr for authorizing an "unprovoked and frankly criminal attack" on protesters at Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., where the National Guard and officers dressed in riot gear fired tear gas, rubber bullets and flashbangs to disperse peaceful protesters on Monday so Trump could have a photo op with a Bible in front of St. John's Episcopal Church. We look at the increasing militarization of the police with Stuart Schrader, author of "Badges Without Borders: How Global Counterins…
(2020-06-06). Rep. Ilhan Omar Surrenders to Israel Lobby. ahtribune.com 
The nearly complete corruption of the U.S. republican form of government has largely come about due to the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court in January 2010 that basically permitted unlimited donor-spending on political campaigns based on the principle that providing money, normally through a political action committee (PAC), is a form of free speech. The decision paved the way for agenda-driven plutocrats and corporations to largely seize control of the formulation process for certain policies being promoted by the two national parties. | No one has benefited from the new rules more than the state…
(2020-06-06). "The World Cannot Breathe!" Squashed by the U.S. — A Country Built on Genocide and Slavery. ahtribune.com 
More than two centuries of lies are now getting exposed. Bizarre tales about freedom and democracy are collapsing like houses of cards. | One man's death triggers an avalanche of rage in those who for years, decades and centuries, have been humiliated, ruined, and exterminated. | It always happens just like this throughout the history of humankind — one single death, one single "last drop", an occurrence that triggers an entire chain of events, and suddenly nothing is the same, anymore. Nothing can be the same. What seemed to be unimaginable just yesterday, becomes "the new normal" literally overnight.
(2020-06-08). Private prison corporations profit from civil unrest in Washington D.C. indybay.org Letter From Nancy Pelosi To The Impeached President Donald J. Trump:…
(2020-06-07). Top Recipients of Police Money Include Trump and Leading Congressional Democrats. truthout.org Police reform is now a congressional priority following nationwide protests against police violence and systemic racism after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Many of the protests in cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., have been met with militarized force and violence. | Black Lives Matter, one of the main organizing bodies behind the protests, has long fought for transparency and accountability in response to police violence against Black communities. With Fl…
(2020-06-06). Joe Biden secures Democratic presidential nomination. thecanary.co Joe Biden has officially clinched the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, setting him up to meet Donald Trump for the leadership of a country beset by the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest. Biden said in a statement: It was an honour to compete alongside one of the most talented groups of candidates the Democratic party has ever fielded, and I am proud to say that we are going into this general election a united party. | Biden has been his party's presumptive nominee since rival Bernie Sanders ended his campaign in April. But the former vice president's campaign had suffered setbacks with allegations o…
(2020-06-07). NYT opinion editor quits amid fallout from publishing senator's call to deploy military against rioters. rt.com 
The opinion editor of the New York Times has resigned, after his apology for publishing Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton's call for deploying the military to quell unrest in US cities was apparently insufficient to quell editorial unrest. | James Bennet quit on Sunday after what was described as an "open revolt" by staffers offended by the decision to publish the Republican senator's opinion. Deputy opinion editor Jim Dao has also stepped down, demoted to an unspecified "new role in the newsroom" not on the masthead. The changes were announced in a memo from publisher A.G. Sulzberger, who lamented the "significant bre…
(2020-06-07). De Blasio plans to partially DEFUND NYPD, use money for youth and social services. rt.com 
New York will be shifting funds from the police to youth groups as part of reforms, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced, saying the Big Apple's citizens "need to be reached, not policed." | "We committed to move resources from the NYPD to youth and social services as part of our City's budget," de Blasio wrote on Twitter amid ongoing violent protests in New York and many other US cities, provoked by the death of African American man George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota in late May. | "Our people need to be reached, not policed," the mayor said, insisting that it would still be possible to keep N…
(2020-06-06). George Floyd protest is 'for the benefit' of 'democratic struggles' abroad, says US group known for promoting regime change. rt.com 
The National Endowment for Democracy, a soft-power group mostly known for splashing government dollars on pro-US influence campaigns overseas to enforce regime change, has endorsed protests against police brutality at home. | Also on rt.com | | In a statement on Friday, the NED came out in support of the protests against the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd, which, while originally peaceful, spiralled into violence, wreck…
(2020-06-06). George Floyd protest is 'for the benefit' of 'democratic struggles' abroad — US group NED, known for promoting regime change. rt.com The National Endowment for Democracy, a soft-power group mostly known for splashing government dollars on pro-US influence campaigns overseas to enforce regime change, has endorsed protests against police brutality at home. | Also on rt.com | | In a statement on Friday, the NED came out in support of the protests against the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd, which, while originally peaceful, spiralled into violence, wreck…
(2020-06-06). Ilhan Omar takes heat after backing call to disband Minneapolis police & replace with 'non-violent' alternative. rt.com 
Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar has joined a growing call to disband the Minneapolis police force, arguing it is "beyond reform" after the killing of George Floyd. Critics have pilloried the suggestion as dangerous and "asinine." | The congresswoman took to Twitter on Friday to endorse an The Minnea…
(2020-06-06). Biden hits delegate target to cement Democratic nomination after gaffe-prone campaign as protests overshadow election. rt.com 
Former Vice President Joe Biden has become the Democratic presidential nominee for 2020, scoring enough delegates to secure the nomination despite a string of embarrassing gaffes and major distractions from the race. | Also on rt.com | | Though a number of contests remain in this year's primary season, Biden reached the threshold for his party's nomination on Friday night, winning support from 1,993 delegates, according to the Associated Press."
(2020-06-06). 'Can't Stand to See This Punk in Office': Snoop Dogg Says He'll Vote For First Time in 2020. sputniknews.com The US presidential election is scheduled for 3 November 2020, with incumbent President Donald Trump facing Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who has formally cinched the nomination, having secured the necessary number of delegates.
(2020-06-07). US senator Scott says China trying to sabotage vaccine development. yenisafak.com The United States has evidence China is trying to slow down or sabotage the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by Western countries, Republican senator Rick Scott said on Sunday."We have got to get this vaccine done. Unfortunately we have evidence that communist China is trying to sabotage us or slow it down," he said during an interview on BBC TV."China does not want us … to do it first, they have decided to be an adversary to Americans and I think to democracy around the world."Asked what evidence the United States had, Scott declined to give details but said it had come through the intelligence community."Thi…
(2020-06-06). Washington Mayor Bowser, 'unbought and unbossed,' challenges Trump. yenisafak.com Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has drawn a battle line right up to the White House.Bowser, one of seven black female mayors of America's 100 largest cities, on Friday declared a small but symbolic patch of the U.S. capital – a section of 16th Street bounded by a church on one side and Lafayette Square opposite the White House on the other – "Black Lives Matter Plaza."The Democratic mayor then had the District Of Columbia's departments of transportation and public works paint giant yellow letters spelling "Black Lives Matter" followed by the city's flag on the street spanning two city blocks leading to plaza. To f…
(2020-06-06). [Review] Quality of primary health care in China: challenges and recommendations. thelancet.com China has substantially increased financial investment and introduced favourable policies for strengthening its primary health care system with core responsibilities in preventing and managing chronic diseases such as hypertension and emerging infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, widespread gaps in the quality of primary health care still exist. In this Review, we aim to identify the causes for this poor quality, and provide policy recommendations. System challenges include: the suboptimal education and training of primary health-care practitioners, a fee-for-service payment s…
(2020-06-05). Our System Is Corroded: Carol Anderson on Rampant Police Violence and Assault on Voting Rights. democracynow.org 
On Thursday, disturbing new details were revealed in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old Black man who was chased, ambushed and shot dead by a group of white men in Georgia in what many have called a modern-day lynching. In a nearly seven-hour hearing, a state judge concluded all three men — Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan — would stand trial for Arbery's murder, after special agent Richard Dial of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified Travis McMichael said "f—ing n—" after shooting and killing Arbery. We speak with professor Carol Anderson, au…
(2020-06-05). "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks": At Memorial for George Floyd, Mourners Condemn 400 Years of Racism. democracynow.org 
In Minneapolis, members of George Floyd's family, loved ones and supporters gathered for a tribute to his life. During the memorial service, people stood in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck as he pleaded for his life. We hear the voices of Floyd's brother Philonise and Reverend Al Sharpton, who urged those gathered "to stand up in George's name and say, 'Get your knee off our necks!'"
(2020-06-05). The Murder of George Floyd — Just Another Day in the Land of the Free. ahtribune.com 
Whatever it was, over the course of those nine fateful minutes Derek Chauvin was more representative of what America stands for than the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Statue of Liberty, or any of the other baubles deployed in service to the myth of the United States as the land of the free. | Chauvin, at that moment, was the most pristine vision possible to conjure of the white supremacy that defines America far more than democracy ever has. He was the overseer with his knee on the neck of a runaway slave, the slaveowner's whip, the lynch mob's noose, the prison guard's boot. In other words, Chauvin symbolized…
(2020-06-05). More Republicans finding the 'courage' to speak out against Trump. thecanary.co 
Donald Trump's inability to unify the US at a time of grave unrest is testing his uneasy alliance with members of his own Republican party.Some have spoken out against the president, having been emboldened by general James Mattis's plea for a leader who lives up to American ideals of a more perfect union.Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski on Thursday called the rebuke by Trump's first Pentagon chief "necessary and overdue"."Perhaps we're getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally, and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up," Murkowski said.Senator Lisa…
(2020-06-05). 'Basket of deplorables' 2.0? Biden claims up to 50 million Americans are 'not very good' people. rt.com 
Having called for Donald Trump to unify the country amidst George Floyd protests, Joe Biden referred to "10 to 15 percent" of Americans as "not very good people," a quote some have predicted will damage his campaign. | Biden made the comment during a virtual discussion that included 'Avengers' actor Don Cheadle. | "Do we want our kids — do we really think that this is as good as we can be as a nation? I don't think the vast majority of people think that. There are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people. But that's not who we are," the former vic…
(2020-06-05). Shahid Buttar vs. Pelosi + Leslie Lee + Rania Khalek + Eugene Puryear. thealtworld.com Chat about protests and presidents and everything in between with Shahid Buttar: immigrant, constitutional lawyer, DJ, MC & poet running to replace Nancy Pelosi in CA-12; journalist, activist, author, former D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate, and former PSL candidate Eugene Puryear, fresh from reporting in Minneapolis; journalist, video producer, writer and host Rania Khalek; and writer, broadcast journalist and Struggle Session co-host Leslie Lee.
(2020-06-05). Headlines for June 5, 2020. democracynow.org George Floyd Honored at Memorial with Rallying Cry: "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks", Bail Set at $750,000 for Three Officers Charged with Aiding & Abetting George Floyd's Murder , Killer Used Racist Slur as Ahmaud Arbery Lay Dying, Investigator Testifies, New York Judge Will Allow Protesters to Be Jailed for Over 24 Hours, NYC Mayor Booed as 10,000 Honor George Floyd at Brooklyn Memorial Service , Witnesses Say Vallejo, CA Man Killed by Police Was on His Knees with Hands Up, Buffalo Police Assault Leaves 75-Year-Old Protester Hospitalized with Head Trauma, Trump Builds a Wall Around the White House Amid Mass Protes…
(2020-06-05). Dems Introduce Bill to Curb President's Insurrection Act Powers After Trump Threatens to Send Troops to Cities Across US. commondreams.org After President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the U.S. military in response to ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic racism in cities across the country, a group of Democratic senators on Thursday introduced legislation to curb the president's power to do so under the Insurrection Act of 1807. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/blumenthal_0.jpg …
(2020-06-05). If Trump sends the US military into states, it will ignite a peoples' revolution. nationofchange.org Can America and its Democracy withstand the attacks that are being made upon it from forces, not from without, but from within this country? What we desperately need, at this time, is a peoples' revolution.
(2020-06-05). Teachers in Greece gear up for another mobilization against controversial bill on education. peoplesdispatch.org The new bill for education proposed by the conservative New Democracy (ND)-led government in Greece has been opposed by teachers, students and parents across the country…
(2020-06-05). Turkish parliament expels three opposition MPs convicted for dissident acts. peoplesdispatch.org Two of the MPs from the pro-Kurdish HDP have been convicted of belonging to a "terrorist organization" and the other from the Republican People's Party has been persecuted for providing information to a journalist…
(2020-06-05). Because Imperialists Rape: Anarcha-Feminism In the Ashes of the MeToo Era. counterpunch.org The MeToo Movement died last month. It bled out slowly as it limped to the barn. It's hard to say who the triggerman was behind the coup de grace, but it wasn't Joe Biden. That derelict beast is anything but a feminist and this wound was clearly self-inflicted. My guess is the artery was severed
(2020-06-05). De Blasio Staffers Demand `Radical Change from Mayor' in Open Letter. zcomm.org Two-hundred thirty-six current and former staffers for Mayor de Blasio signed an open letter calling on him to live up to the promises of reform that initially drew them to work for him. One demand is to cut the $6 billion police budget by 1/6…
(2020-06-05). The Assumptions of White Privilege and What We Can Do About It. zcomm.org Amy Cooper knew exactly what she was doing. We all do. And that's the problem…
(2020-06-05). New Yorkers Confront de Blasio Over Defense of NYPD Violence as Calls Mount for Mayor's Resignation. commondreams.org New York Mayor Bill de Blasio faced angry New Yorkers who called in to the "Ask the Mayor" segment on WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show" on Friday, demanding answers about the mayor's response to racial justice protests in the city. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1216822870_1.jpg …
(2020-06-05). The Revolution the U.S. Needs Will Not Be Televised. strategic-culture.org When Gil Scott-Heron released the iconic song it was a cry for racial justice. But it was far deeper than that. Because Scott-Heron spoke the truth that media was subordinate to power. | That's why he knew the revolution he spoke of would never be on television, the most powerful form of media in the world at the time. Controlled by very few because technology had not transformed communication, corporate media crafted whatever narratives it and those it was subordinate to wanted. | And those narratives are always sick, divisive and foremost fake. | Today social media companies are supposed to act as democratized…
(2020-06-05). Monterey, California 250th Anniversary. indybay.org Monterey 250 helps open the conversation of 2020 Alta California Juneteenth, Dia De Los Americanos.
(2020-06-05). Law Enforcement Seizes Thousands of Masks Sent to Protect Protesters From COVID. truthout.org In an effort to help protect protesters from Covid-19 and prevent the spread of the virus, an advocacy organization sent thousands of cloth masks that read "Defund Police" and "Stop Killing Black People" to major cities across the U.S. as demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd continue to grow nationwide. | But as HuffPost's Ryan Reilly
(2020-04-16). Should Sanders Have Campaigned Like Warren? peoplespolicyproject.org In the past couple of weeks, supporters of Elizabeth Warren have
(2020-04-14). An Incremental Expansion of Medicare Should Begin With Kids. peoplespolicyproject.org Joe Biden announced on Thursday his intention to When thinking about expanding Medicare, I believe it is useful to start with the below graph, which breaks down insurance status at every age. To produce this graph, I average every ag…