EU leaders agree to enforce Libya arms embargo with warships, despite fears of spike in migration
rt.com | 2020-02-17
European Union foreign ministers have agreed to launch a naval operation to enforce an arms embargo on Libya, despite warnings from within the bloc that doing so would encourage new flows of migrants to Europe. | The EU ministers agreed to the naval operation at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. Aimed at simmering down the country's ongoing civil war, the operation will also have an air component and the possibility of ground forces, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio was quoted by AFP as saying. | The move was not universally welcome in Europe, and EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell had even predicted…
rt.com/news/481046-eu-naval-embargo-libya/

Netanyahu Boasts That He Destroyed Free Speech in America
Juan Cole | truthdig.com | 2020-02-17
This piece originally appeared on Informed Comment. | Israeli caretaker prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted for corruption and is facing an election soon, just boasted that his ministry of strategic affairs has managed to undermine First Amendment protections for free speech in the United States by lobbying state legislatures to pass laws forbidding the boycott of Israel. | Anti-boycott laws of the Old South were used against Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists in the civil rights movement to keep Africa…
truthdig.com/articles/netanyahu-boasts-he-destroyed-free-speech-in-america/

Major Renovation Project at Negro Bar
California State Parks | indybay.org | 2020-02-17
170 years ago the Gold Mining Town of Negro Bar was established along Historic Rancho Rio De Los Americano, owned by the "African Founding Father of California" Don Guillermo Leidesdorff or William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/16/18830716.php

Buchanan Mall Pop-Up Market
African American Art & Culture Complex | indybay.org | 2020-02-17
African American Art & Culture Complex | 762 Fulton St., San Francisco, CA…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/14/18830679.php

This week in history: February 17-23
wsws.org | 2020-02-17
25 years ago: Algerian regime massacres prisoners after uprisingOn February 21, 1995, an uprising by Islamic political prisoners at the Serkadji prison in the Kasbah neighborhood of Algeria began, resulting in the death of four guards. This was followed by a brutal crackdown in which dozens of inmates were slaughtered. Official reports counted the prisoner death toll at 96, while other sources maintained that up to 110 prisoners were killed in the suppression of the rebellion.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/17/twih-f17.html

The America We Want to Be
Laila Lalami | thenation.com | 2020-02-17
The America We Want to Be…
thenation.com/article/society/travel-ban-trump-nigeria/

Turkey trying to 'CONQUER' Libya, not to bring peace, says top Tripoli govt diplomat visiting Moscow
rt.com | 2020-02-17
While Ankara claims to be supporting Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), its foreign minister on Monday outright rejected the Turkish presence in Libya, blasting it as an "aggression." | Commenting on the role of external players, such as Russia and Turkey, in bringing to an end the protracted Libyan civil war, minister Abdul Hadi Al-Hweij was particularly candid. | "When we talk about peace, we don't have [Turkey's President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan in mind," Al-Hweij said. "Among all the involved political figures, he's the farthest from a peaceful settlement." | Al-Hweij was speaking at the…
rt.com/news/481040-turkey-libya-gna-erdogan/

Toxic dump: First-world electronics scrapyard in Ghana puts THOUSANDS at risk of cancer
rt.com | 2020-02-17
Ghana has become one of the world's largest dumping grounds for electronic waste, creating a deadly industry that has put thousands at risk. RT's Ruptly video agency talked to people living in the epicenter of the catastrophe. | The electronics scrapyard near Ghana's capital, Accra, has left the surrounding region contaminated with hazardous toxins that have polluted the environment and created serious health problems for residents. According to one estimate, around 200,000 tons of the globe's discarded electronics find their way to one slum in Accra

Admire my artwork, not my face, says Pakistani Muslim artist after Islamophobic attacks
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-17
Today the internet and social media have become a prominent tool for many artists to reach a wider audience. This new technology that offers a two-way communication makes it easier for artists to interact and engage with their followers. On the other hand, they are forced to learn how to deal with cyber bullying and hate speech.Mia Malik, a U.K.-based Pakistani artist, is only one of many who has been subjected to Islamophobic attacks in the digital world.The 20-year-old niqab-clad Muslim painter, who only wants to be recognized by her art, expressed her feelings and ideas about how she deals with the social medi…
yenisafak.com/en/life/admire-my-artwork-not-my-face-says-pakistani-muslim-artist-after-islamophobic-attacks-3512191

EU divided over naval mission in Mediterranean
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-17
The EU states are divided over the continuation of a naval mission meant to monitor the arms embargo in Libya, EU's top diplomat said Monday.Josep Borrell was referring to Operation Sophia, whose relaunch was put back on the agenda in January with a focus on Libya.It was initially launched in 2015 to block irregular migration in the Mediterranean Sea but was suspended a year ago when the Italian government refused to embark Operation Sophia's vessels, citing they were offloading refugees in their country.Borrell said the Libyan peace process was still ongoing, but admitted that EU member states have some "discrep…
yenisafak.com/en/news/eu-divided-over-naval-mission-in-mediterranean-3512184

Death toll rises to 24 in Burkina Faso church attack
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-17
At least 24 people were killed and 18 others injured after gunmen attacked a church in northern Burkina Faso, the region's governor said on Monday."The provisional death toll shows 24 people murdered, including the pastor of a Protestant church. We also deplore 18 injured and abducted people," local media quoted Colonel Salfo Kabore, governor of the Sahel region, as saying.Unidentified armed men attacked the church in Yagha province in the Sahel Region during a religious ceremony on Sunday."The injured were evacuated to Sebba and Dori for appropriate care…," Kabore added.Burkina Faso is witnessing a rapidly det…
yenisafak.com/en/world/death-toll-rises-to-24-in-burkina-faso-church-attack-3512185

US-Linked South African "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" Spread Harmful Misinformation
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-16
A senior South African health official has today vowed action as openDemocracy reveals how vulnerable women and girls are being fed misinformation in US-backed "crisis pregnancy centres" across the world. | Supported by US Christian campaigners who claim close links to the Trump White House, around the world these centres appear to offer pregnant women unbiased "advice…
truthout.org/articles/us-linked-south-african-crisis-pregnancy-centers-spread-harmful-misinformation/

Marxism and the Climate Crisis: African Eco-Socialist Alternatives
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-02-16
There is a rich inheritance of emancipatory Marxism in Africa, which includes Frantz Fanon, Ruth First, Samir Amin, Sam Moyo, Harold Wolpe and many others. Today, Satgar argues, the challenge is to defeat carbon capitalism accelerating the climate crisis and fomenting exclusionary nationalisms and for this there has to be a return to Marx. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/16/marxism-and-the-climate-crisis-african-eco-socialist-alternatives/

Marxism and the Climate Crisis: African Eco-Socialist Alternatives
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-02-16
There is a rich inheritance of emancipatory Marxism in Africa, which includes Frantz Fanon, Ruth First, Samir Amin, Sam Moyo, Harold Wolpe and many others. Today, Satgar argues, the challenge is to defeat carbon capitalism accelerating the climate crisis and fomenting exclusionary nationalisms and for this there has to be a return to Marx. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/16/marxism-and-the-climate-crisis-african-eco-socialist-alternatives/

Libya Arms Embargo Has Become a Joke: UN Envoy
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-16
The arms embargo in place to curb the violent war in Libya has become a meaningless "joke," United Nations Deputy Special Representative to Libya Stephanie Williams said Sunday. | RELATED: | UN Secretary-General Says Libya Situation a 'Scandal' | "The arms embargo has become a joke, we all really need to step up here," Williams mentioned at a news conference after meeting with foreign ministers about a follow up on a Berlin summit last month that agreed to uphold the embargo. | As fighti…
telesurenglish.net/news/Libya-Arms-Embargo-Has-Become-a-Joke-UN-Envoy-20200216-0006.html

South Sudan: President Kiir, Opponent Marchar in a New Deadlock
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-16
Former South Sudanese rebel chief Riek Machar said Sunday in a statement that he is not satisfied with a peace offering presented by President Salva Kiir, and aimed at preparing the formation of a transitional government of national unity. | RELATED: | South Sudan's Kiir and Rival Machar Pledge to Form Unity Gov't | Hopes of an end to the South Sudanese deadlock were raised Saturday after Kiir agreed to a key demand from the opposition and reduced the number of states from the…
telesurenglish.net/news/South-Sudan-President-Kiir-Opponent-Marchar-in-a-New-Deadlock–20200216-0010.html

Saudi Airstrikes Kill 31 Civilians in Northern Yemen
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-16
TheSaudi-led Coalition carried out a deadly attack over northern Yemen on Saturday, killing over 30 civlians inside the Al-Jawf province. According to Yemen's Houthi movement, the airstrikes were carried out in retaliation for the downing of a Saudi warplane in the same province. | RELATED: | UAE Withdraws Some Troops From Yemen, Sudan Plans the Same | The United Nations office in Yemen said preliminary field reports indicated that "as many as 31 civilians were killed and 12…
telesurenglish.net/news/Saudi-Airstrikes-Kill-31-Civilians-in-Northern-Yemen-20200216-0001.html

Armed Gang Kills at Least 30 in Northwest Nigeria
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-15
An armed gang on motorbikes killed at least 30 people in attacks on two villages in the northwestern Nigerian state of Katsina, police said on Saturday. | RELATED: | Around 500 Men, Boys Rescued From 'Horror' Camps in Nigeria | Twenty-one people were burnt to death and nine villagers were shot dead on Friday evening in the villages of Dankar and Tsauwa as the assailants made off with food and livestock, the police said. | The ward head of Tsauwa, Salisu Lawal, said residents were preparin…
telesurenglish.net/news/Armed-Gang-Kills-at-Least-30-in-Northwest-Nigeria-20200215-0006.html

Canadian NGO Coalition aligns with Imperialism
Yves Engler | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-15
The Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC) exists primarily to lobby for increased aid. As a result, the NGO umbrella group broadly aligns with Canadian imperialism. When Justin Trudeau recently set off for an African Union Summit to build support for the government's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council the CCIC …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/canadian-ngo-coalition-aligns-with-imperialism/

Painting A True Christ
Edward Curtin | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-15
There's an early scene in Terrence Malik's masterful new film

Over 6,000 Bodies Found in Burundi's Mass Graves
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-15
Burundi's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has found more than 6,000 bodies in six mass graves in Karusi Province, the largest finding since the government launched a nationwide excavation in January. | RELATED: | Colombia Hides Largest Mass Grave in Latin America | The commission chairman Pierre Claver Ndayicariye told journalists on Friday that the remains of 6,032 victims as well as thousands of bullets were recovered. Clothes, glasses and rosaries were used to identify some of the v…
telesurenglish.net/news/-Over-6000-Bodies-Found-in-Burundis-Mass-Graves-20200215-0009.html

Newly licensed vaccine, 'milestone in the fight' against Ebola in Africa, UN health agency
news.un.org | 2020-02-14
Four countries in Africa have licensed an Ebola vaccine to "cement hard-fought progress" in keeping their people safe from the deadly disease, the UN health agency said on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057461

Detroit Overtaxed Residents by $600M, Causing Foreclosure Crisis. Residents Are Now Fighting Back
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-14
In Detroit, a showdown between progressive lawmakers and the city is taking on racist housing policies that robbed African Americans in Detroit of their homes and widened the racial wealth gap. On Thursday, the Coalition for Property Tax Justice announced a class-action lawsuit against the city of Detroit, Wayne County and the state of Michigan in response to unfair property tax foreclosures. One in four Detroit properties have been subject to property tax foreclosure, a level comparable only to tax foreclosure rates during the Great Depression. According to legal experts, many of the foreclosures were caused by…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/14/detroit_class_action_lawsuit_foreclosures

Guinea-Bissau: Swearing-in of new President unlikely to bring stability, says UN representative
news.un.org | 2020-02-14
Political discord in Guinea-Bissau could hamper the first-ever peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected leader, the top UN official in the West African country told the Security Council on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057441

Year-old peace agreement must be implemented for 'lasting peace' in Central African Republic
news.un.org | 2020-02-13
Following a visit to the Central African Republic, a UN independent expert said that everyone must take all measures necessary to effectively implement the peace agreement that was signed in Bangui a year ago.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057371

Catastrophe is upon us–the grim view from Southern Africa
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-02-13
The word catastrophe is being used more and more by institutions reporting on the effects of extreme weather in the two regions of Africa, Southern and South Eastern Africa, and of late Australia. The word means a number of things: tragic; fiasco; utter failure; sudden and violent change in a feature of the Earth. All […] | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/13/catastrophe-is-upon-us-the-grim-view-from-southern-africa/

Did Amy Klobuchar Send an Innocent Teenager to Life in Prison? Questions Mount over Her Record as DA
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-13
After a surprising third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is attempting to gain ground in the national polls. But Klobuchar is also facing mounting scrutiny over her record as a district attorney in Minnesota. The Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and other racial justice groups recently called on Klobuchar to suspend her presidential campaign following a shocking investigation by the Associated Press. The AP report centered on the case of Myon Burrell, an African-American teenager who was sentenced to life in prison over the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tye…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/13/amy_klobuchar_myon_burrell

DR Congo Ebola outbreak still an international public health concern
news.un.org | 2020-02-12
The Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains an international public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva concluded on Wednesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057291

Libya's cities left 're-contaminated' by months of fighting, warn landmine clearance experts
news.un.org | 2020-02-12
Ongoing hostilities in Libya have left numerous cities severely "re-contaminated" with unexploded ordnance, threatening schools, universities and hospitals, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057271

Libya: Security Council demands commitment to 'a lasting ceasefire'
news.un.org | 2020-02-12
After what has reportedly been weeks of diplomatic negotiation, the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday aimed at stemming rising violence across Libya, demanding the warring parties commit to "a lasting ceasefire" according to terms agreed by military representatives from both sides at recent talks in Geneva.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057311

Feminist Scholar Barbara Smith on Identity Politics & Why She Supports Bernie Sanders for President
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-12
We speak with the legendary African-American feminist scholar Barbara Smith. She is a founder of the Combahee River Collective and of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. Barbara Smith recently wrote a column in The Guardian newspaper titled "I helped coin the term 'identity politics'. I'm endorsing Bernie Sanders." Her latest book is "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith."
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/12/barbara_smith_identity_politics_bernie_sanders

South Bend Politician: I Worked with Pete Buttigieg. He Did Not Respect Black Residents' Struggles
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-12
2020 presidential candidate and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg has surprised many with his strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, two of the country's whitest states. But as the race moves on to South Carolina and Nevada, Buttigieg continues to poll extremely low with African-American voters. His own former constituents are condemning his treatment of the black community in South Bend during his time as mayor, calling out systemic racism in the police force. During Buttigieg's tenure, black residents were 4.3 times more likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana than white people. We…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/12/pete_buttigieg_south_bend_black_community

How climate change is driving food insecurity
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-11
Food security Pat BrewerIssue 1253 Australia East Africa desert locustsFebruary 11, 2020Along with extreme fires, a feature of a rapidly changing climate, Australia is experiencing droughts, floods, and…
greenleft.org.au/content/how-climate-change-driving-food-insecurity

"Our Very Existence Is the Resistance": An Hour w/ AOC, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib & Ilhan Omar
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-10
On Friday, Democracy Now! co-host Nermeen Shaikh sat down for a rare joint interview with the Squad, the group of four freshmen Democratic congresswomen who have taken Capitol Hill by storm: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Omar and Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar is a former refugee from Somalia, and Tlaib is the first female Palestinian-American member of Congress. Ayanna Pressley is the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Ocasio-Cortez was just 29 years old w…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/10/democracy_now_the_squad_sotu

Weekend Read: 2020: African Americans and the Vote
splcenter.org | 2020-01-29
Historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926 established "Negro History Week" to celebrate the contributions to our nation made by Black people.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/01/weekend-read-2020-african-americans-and-vote