(2020-06-09). What the US protests reveal. thealtworld.com 
Anti-racism protests in the United States have rapidly evolved into a promotion of the ideas championed by the Democratic Party. It was no longer a question of fighting for equality in law for all or challenging the prejudices of certain police officers, but of reopening a cultural conflict at the risk of a new Civil War. | Protests across the West against racism in the United States are masking the evolution of the conflict there. It has evolved from a questioning of the remnants of black slavery to a conflict that could challenge the integrity of the country. | Last week I pointed out that the United States sho…
(2020-06-09). Stephen Smith, progressive W.V. candidate, turns campaign into anti-COVID battalion. peoplesworld.org 
CHARLESTON, W. VA.—Going into the start of this year's West Virginia gubernatorial election campaign, Stephen Smith, director of a grassroots kids and families coalition for the last six years, knew what he had to do. As the progressive in the race, Smith faced two establishment candidates in the state's June 9 Democratic primary: Ben Solango …
(2020-06-09). We're Working to Safeguard Our Democracy and Our Health. aclu.org 
No one should have to choose between their health and their vote, but during the Wisconsin primary, an estimated
(2020-06-09). Sports round-up: Players advance Black Lives Matter message. peoplesworld.org 
The organic, non-violent uprisings nationwide following the murder of George Floyd by a former Minneapolis police officer—coupled with Trump's divisive, inherently racist response to the atrocity and his use of military force against American citizens—have forced the nation to look inwards and firmly draw a line in the sand of what is and isn't acceptable within our democracy …
(2020-06-09). The Democratic Party Exists to Co-Opt and Kill Movements. theantimedia.com Barack Obama made a whole political career out of this.
(2020-06-09). The Democratic Party Exists To Co-Opt And Kill Authentic Change Movements. thealtworld.com ESTRAGON: Well, shall we go? | VLADIMIR: Yes, let's go. | [They do not move.] | Curtain. | So ends both acts of the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot. One of the two main characters suggest leaving, the other agrees, followed by the stage direction that both remain motionless until curtain. | This is also the entire role of the Democratic Party. To enthusiastically agree with American support for movements calling for real changes which benefit ordinary people, while making no actual moves to provide no such changes. The actors read the lines, but remain motionless. | Barack Obama made a whole political caree…
(2020-06-09). James Bennet and a moment of truth. zcomm.org James Bennet is done at the New York Times…
(2020-06-09). We Need a Universal Basic Income Now and After COVID-19. zcomm.org In easing pandemic uncertainty and promoting a post-pandemic recovery, a permanent UBI with large investments in social programs will increase solidarity, ease poverty and stabilize a volatile market that's headed toward depression…
(2020-06-08). Rahm Emanuel, the Worst Man for the Moment. cepr.net The American Prospect See article on original site "The moment has come for our nation to deal with systemic racism. To deal with the growing economic inequity that exists in our nation, to deal with the denial of the promise of this nation." No, that was not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, or Elizabeth Warren speaking—it …
(2020-06-08). Congressional Dems unveil big police reform package. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Responding to the mass movement for comprehensive change in the nation's police departments — which itself is just one facet of the wider movement against racism in the U.S. — congressional Democrats have unveiled a massive package of police reforms. The lawmakers flew into D.C., despite the coronavirus pandemic, to showcase the Justice In Policing …
(2020-06-09). Amid Protests & Pandemic, 200+ Unhoused People Sheltering in Minneapolis Hotel Now Face Eviction. democracynow.org 
We go to Minneapolis, where the community has taken over a Sheraton hotel to provide shelter to more than 200 unhoused people amid protests and the pandemic. Now they face eviction. "Using hotels for emergency housing is an obvious answer," says Rosemary Fister, community organizer. "They are largely vacant as we enter an economic depression in the midst of a global pandemic."
(2020-06-09). Immigration Agents Target People at Police Brutality Protests, Including a U.S. Citizen Military Vet. democracynow.org 
As protests against police brutality continue nationwide, immigrant rights advocates are sounding the alarm over the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at some of the demonstrations. A viral video showed a group of ICE agents working with the New York City Police Department to detain a protester at a George Floyd rally in New York City last week, and advocates say agents held the man on the ground as they pointed three guns at him and handcuffed and searched him. He was reportedly released after agents found a military veteran's ID on him, and is a U.S. citizen of Puerto Rican descent. We spea…
(2020-06-09). DACA Recipients "Want to Be in the Streets Building Solidarity" But ICE Arrests 3 at Phoenix Protest. democracynow.org 
Immigration agents are facing accusations of targeting protesters who are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Police in Phoenix, Arizona, arrested community activist Máxima Guerrero as she was leaving a protest on May 30 with a group of legal observers. She was one of three DACA recipients arrested over that weekend in Phoenix. We get an update from Sandra Castro Solis with the Phoenix-based grassroots immigrant justice group Puente Human Rights Movement, who says that despite the risks, "we're in a moment where people want to be out in the streets building that solidarity."
(2020-06-09). "Essential Labor, Expendable Lives": Mass Transit Workers Worry About Safety as NYC Begins to Reopen. democracynow.org 
As New York City begins to partially reopen, we look at what it means for the nation's largest public transportation system. "It's a very stressful and dangerous situation," says Seth Rosenberg, a subway operator, shop steward with the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and a member of a small coalition of transit workers called Local 100 Fightback. "The safety measures are not in place to protect transit workers or riders."
(2020-06-09). Headlines for June 9, 2020. democracynow.org Thousands Pay Their Respects in Houston as George Floyd Is Remembered by His Family, Chauvin Appears in Court, Bail Set at Over $1 Million, Video Shows Texas Police Killing Black Man After Minor Traffic Violation as He Pleads "I Can't Breathe", New Mexico Officer Charged with Killing Man in Neck Restraint During Traffic Stop, Democrats Unveil Police Reform Legislation, Take Knee to Remember George Floyd, Ramsey Orta, Who Filmed Police Killing Eric Garner, Released from Prison, Peaceful Protesters Injured and Killed Around the Country by Cars Ramming into Crowds, Protesters Establish Autonomous Zone Around Seattle…
(2020-06-08). "The Time Is Now": Tens of Thousands in NYC March for Justice, Peace & an End to Racist Police. democracynow.org 
As hundreds of thousands took to the streets nationwide and around the world to call for police accountability and demand Black lives matter in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, Democracy Now! spoke to some of the people who joined the historic protests Saturday in New York City.
(2020-06-08). Minneapolis City Council Vows to Dismantle Police Dept. After Mass Protests & Grassroots Organizing. democracynow.org 
After nearly two weeks of historic protests, the Minneapolis City Council has announced it will move to dismantle the city's police department in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. "We've got to create a system of public safety that works for everybody," says Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison.
(2020-06-08). Defund the Police: Linda Sarsour & Mychal Denzel Smith on What Meaningful Change Would Look Like. democracynow.org 
Amid growing calls in New York City for police accountability, Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to shift some of the city's funding for police and reallocate it to social services. We get response from Linda Sarsour, longtime Palestinian American Muslim organizer and co-founder of Until Freedom, which along with others has led the push to institute meaningful change. We also speak with author Mychal Denzel Smith, who notes that "one thing that's come of this global pandemic of COVID-19 is an understanding of what constitutes essential, what do we actually need. And police have shown that they are inessential."
(2020-06-08). Headlines for June 8, 2020. democracynow.org Minneapolis City Council Announces It Will Disband Police Department, Uprising Against Racism, Police Brutality Brings Out 100,000s from Coast to Coast, D.C. Mayor, Protesters Paint Black Lives Matter Protest Call on Streets Leading to White House, Protests Mount Across the Globe as Racist and Colonialist Statues Targeted in U.K., Police Violence Against Protesters Results in More Deaths and Severe Injuries, Video Shows ICE Agents Arresting and Pointing Gun at Protester, Calls Mount to Prosecute Officers Who Killed African American Man, Manuel Ellis, in March, Family of Maurice Gordon, a Black Man Killed by NJ St…
(2020-06-08). The End of Policing: Alex Vitale on How Cops & Their Unions Cover Up Inequality, Exploitation. democracynow.org 
Professor Alex Vitale argues the answer to police violence is not "reform." It's defunding. The author of "The End of Policing" says the movement to defund the police is part of "a long story about the use of police and prisons to manage problems of inequality and exploitation." He asks, "Why are we using police to paper over problems of economic exploitation?" He also discusses the role of police unions. "They become, in many cities, the locus, the institutional hub, for a whole set of right-wing 'thin blue line' politics that believe that policing is not only effective but it's the most desirable way to solve o…
(2020-06-09). Liberal Leaders Aiding and Abetting Rioters Just the Latest Campaign Strategy to Usurp Trump. strategic-culture.org In a fractious election year that has already witnessed Russiagate, impeachment and a pandemic, Americans are now forced to contend with the malignant scourge of rioting and looting following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white cop. Now, many Democrats seem content to the let the whole house burn down to achieve some sort of twisted justice . | To get a true sense of the mob mentality that is now leading the United States straight to the abyss, you could do no worse than a visit to the nation's embattled capital. There, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser recently evicted 1,200 members of the…
(2020-06-09). UPRISING: The Democratic Party Exists To Co-Opt & Kill Authentic Change. indybay.org Watch them. Watch Democrats and their allied media and corporate institutions try to sell the public a bunch of words and a smattering of feeble, impotent legislation to mollify the masses, without ever giving the people the real changes that they actually need.
(2020-06-09). Over 200 Unhoused People Sheltering in Minneapolis Hotel Now Face Eviction. truthout.org We go to Minneapolis, where the community has taken over a Sheraton hotel to provide shelter to more than 200 unhoused people amid protests and the pandemic. Now they face eviction. "Using hotels for emergency housing is an obvious answer," says Rosemary Fister, community organizer. "They are largely vacant as we enter an economic depression in the midst of a global pandemic." | TRANSCRIPT: | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. | AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now…
(2020-06-09). Joe Biden and Top Democrats Won't Defund Police — But Our Cities Can. truthout.org Facing attacks from President Trump, Joe Biden's campaign said on Monday that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would not answer the call from hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets to defund local police departments. However, most local police departments are run by city governments, and momentum toward abolishing policing as we know it today is building at the local level. | Instead of slashing federal funding for local cops, Biden and Democrats in Congress have pr…
(2020-06-08). Isn't that racist? Kentucky governor vows to 'prioritize' free healthcare for African Americans. rt.com 
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear intends to 'put dollars' into ensuring all of the state's African-American residents have healthcare, citing 'inequalities' in Covid-19 treatment — which was fully funded by the federal government. | "I believe health care is a basic human right," Beshear, a Democrat, said on Monday at a press conference in Frankfort. While he campaigned on providing it to everyone, "as I've been trying to hear from those who have been giving voice on in inequality… it's time to give prioritization in black and African-American communities, so we are going to do that. | "We are gonna begi…
(2020-06-08). 'Democrats have gone CRAZY,' says Trump, declaring calls to defund police 'unacceptable'. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump stands against defunding or abolishing the police, the White House said, after he tweeted about it and accused "radical left Democrats" of being insane for entertaining the proposal. | "The president is appalled by the defund the police movement," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during the briefing on Monday, naming several Democrats who have called for it in recent days. | | .
(2020-06-08). Virtue signaling or necessary intervention? UK MP calls on govt to 'speed up' removal of all slave-trader statues. rt.com 
An MP has urged the UK government to help local communities "speed up" the process of removing statues of slave merchants across the nation, prompting praise, anger and cynicism by turns online, given the timing of her request. | On Monday, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran published on Twitter the letter she sent to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Oliver Dowden, in which she asked that the UK government allow local councils to involve their communities in assessing and removing the controversial memorials to slave traders. | Statues of slave merchants shouldn't still be standing — end of s…
(2020-06-08). Isn't that racist? Kentucky governor vows to 'prioritize' free healthcare for African-Amerians. rt.com Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear intends to 'put dollars' into ensuring all of the state's African-American residents have healthcare, citing 'inequalities' in Covid-19 treatment — which was fully funded by the federal government. | "I believe health care is a basic human right," Beshear, a Democrat, said on Monday at a press conference in Frankfort. While he campaigned on providing it to everyone, "as I've been trying to hear from those who have been giving voice on in inequality …it's time to give prioritization in black and African-American communities, so we are going to do that." | "We are gonna beg…
(2020-06-09). Mothers' sit-in against PKK continues in SE Turkey. yenisafak.com Dozens of mothers launched the protest on Sept. 3, 2019 in Diyarbakir province, outside the offices of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a party accused by the government of having links to the PKK terror group.Solmaz Ovunc, a mother of a child who was abducted by the terror group when he was just 15, called on her son to surrender to security forces."HDP took away my son and handed it over to PKK. I want my son from HDP," Ovunc said, accusing the HDP of tricking her child into joining the terror group and going to the mountains.Omer Tokay, another protester whose son Mehmet was abducted at the age…
(2020-06-09). The Rest Of The World Sees Uprisings, Not Riots. popularresistance.org U.S. officials, whether Democrat or Republican, pretend that only other countries violate human rights. Every year, the State Department issues a report on worldwide human rights with the heaviest criticism aimed at enemies du jour such as China, Russia, and Iran. | Human rights, as defined by U.S. officials, include freedom of the press, maintaining an independent judiciary, and civil rights. But most of the world, the United Nations included, goes further, saying human rights include the right to a job, health care, and housing, among other things. | Not surprisingly, U.S. leaders never mention authoritative in…
(2020-06-08). North Korea vows to sever ALL communications with Seoul. rt.com 
Pyongyang will cut off inter-Korean hotlines with Seoul, the government has threatened, insisting the South should stop defectors from sending leaflets and other material across the DMZ, North Korean media reported. | Demanding that the South must "pay the price" for tolerating "anti-republican acts," on Tuesday the North Korean government said it would begin severing communications with Seoul, starting with a number of hotlines established between the two sides. | "The direct communication line between the Central Committee headquarters building and the Blue House will be completely blocked and discarded," Py…
(2020-06-08). WHO urges states to press on with efforts to contain pandemic and prevent second peaks. rt.com 
The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries on Monday to press on with efforts to contain the coronovirus, saying the pandemic was worsening globally and has not peaked in Central America. | "More than six months into the pandemic, this is not the time for any country to take its foot off the pedal," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online briefing in Geneva. | The top emergencies expert, Mike Ryan, said cases of infection in Central American countries were still on the rise. He called for international support for the region. | Ryan also said the need now was to focus on prevent…
(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 …
(2020-06-08). Buffalo, New York mayor protects police in attack on 75-year-old. wsws.org The Democratic mayor's comments follow another week of vicious police assaults against peaceful protesters across the country.
(2020-06-08). What Is 'Systemic Racism,' Really? strategic-culture.org Feels like another power grab designed to humiliate white middle and working class 'deplorables' already hunkered down and defensive. | Robert MERRY | Sometimes big political developments arrive in the country like Sandburg's fog, on little cat feet, silent and unnoticed until they envelop the nation. The emergence of Donald Trump four years ago is an example. Though a loud and clamorous candidate, he seemed to many like a kind of political clown destined for defeat. Establishment politicians believed almost to a person that the "blue wall" of Democratic electoral dominance would hold against this guy. The Midwes…
(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:…
(2020-06-08). Thousands in New York City March for Justice, Peace and an End to Racist Police. truthout.org As hundreds of thousands took to the streets nationwide and around the world to call for police accountability and demand Black lives matter in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, Democracy Now! spoke to some of the people who joined the historic protests Saturday in New York City. | TRANSCRIPT: | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. | AMY GOODMAN: We end this broadcast in the streets of New York, where hundreds of…
(2020-06-08). Weekend Protests, Police Dismantling Starts, the Lie of Dem Leadership. sputniknews.com Democrat dinosaurs are trying to talk change while desperately blocking any new blood from joining their ranks. What's new?
(2020-06-08). UN sends 72 truckloads of aid to Idlib, Syria. yenisafak.com The UN on Monday sent 72 truckloads of humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria, where millions of people are in need of assistance due to internal conflict in the country.The trucks carrying supplies entered Idlib, Syria through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province.The aid will be distributed among residents of Idlib and nearby rural areas.Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.Idlib falls within a de-…
(2020-06-08). There's a Much Better Way to Create Forest Jobs Than Ron Wyden's Big Timber Welfare Act, Pass NREPA Instead. counterpunch.org Oregon's Democratic Senator Ron Wyden recently introduced a bill (S.3684) that uses the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to throw another $10.6 billion into the Forest Service budget. That's on top of the $5.7 billion Congress already appropriated to the agency this year and comes out to a whopping $45 million a day, most of which would be
(2020-06-08). Joe Biden Is A Racist Who Loves Police Brutality. popularresistance.org Biden's history of enthusiastic racism stretches back decades. From the moment he entered the U.S. Senate in the early 1970s, he vocally opposed busing to achieve school desegregation. "Opposing busing" has long been racist code for opposing Black and brown children going to school with white children. At a time when "separate but equal" was beginning to become politically unpalatable, Biden's leadership against busing, in the most generous possible interpretation, provided cover for segregationists to continue their work. He has spent his life fighting for policies that make life worse for Black, Indigenous, and…
(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). 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…
(2020-06-07). 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…
(2020-06-07). 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…
(2020-06-07). NYT Opinion Editor Resigns After Op-Ed by Senator Cotton Calls For Using Troops Amid Protests. sputniknews.com The op-ed that raised unrest in the editorial office of the New York Times was written by GOP Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and called for using military force to quell ongoing and widespread protests against police brutality over the death of George Floyd. Earlier, opinion editor James Bennet defended the piece and apologized.
(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). 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…
(2020-06-06). 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). 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). 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). 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). "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.
(2020-06-06). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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?>
(2020-06-06). 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). '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.
(2020-06-06). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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