(2020-02-06). Stop using Russia as chief 'bogeyman', let's normalize relations — Putin spokesman to US politicians. rt.com 
After a few years of 'Russiagate', which bizarrely mutated into a Ukraine-inspired impeachment trial, now that Donald Trump has been declared 'not guilty' by the Senate, the Kremlin would like to move on. | Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, says it's time for American politicians to stop using Russia as the main "bogeyman" in their internal battles. He added that as soon as Russian-American relations are taken off the domestic agenda in Washington, it should be possible to "normalize" relations between the two countries. | Asked to comment on the Senate's verdict, Peskov noted that R…
(2020-02-06). Cocktails, on the house: Kitchen taps in Indian town flow with BOOZE after well contamination mishap. rt.com 
Residents in one Indian town are abuzz after their kitchen taps began gushing with the hard stuff, with an ill-fated attempt by local officials to dispose of confiscated liquor turning one neighborhood into a speakeasy. | Apartment complex owner Joshy Maliyekkal was among the first to notice the strange brown liquid oozing from the taps at his flat in Chalakudy, which he first believed was caused by a rusting pipe. | "I had barely switched on my water pump to fill the overhead tank on Sunday afternoon when the sight of the water got me really scared," Maliyekkal said, adding that the smell was "unmistakable,"
(2020-02-06). Syrian Army's Offensive in Idlib Deepens Rift Between Russia and Turkey. globalresearch.ca Major strains are appearing in Russian-Turkish relations, particularly over the Syrian Army's latest offensive against Turkish-backed jihadists in Idlib and Russia's non-agreeance with Turkey's support for the Muslim Brotherhood government based in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Last week Turkish…
(2020-02-06). Draft UN Resolution Condemns Trump Middle East 'Peace' Plan. globalresearch.ca A draft United Nations Security Council resolution rebuked Tuesday President Donald Trump's pro-Israel Tunisia and Indonesia circulated the draft text to council members. Though it …
(2020-02-06). The Divided States of Trumpistan? counterpunch.org With the end of the Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump the partisan divide is deepened and acquittal a mere formality. Mitch McConnell promised to quickly acquit Trump of the charges, he did so with no witnesses or evidence provided. It leaves me wondering what this leaves of American democracy, the Constitution, and where is the
(2020-02-06). Sudan made no promise to Israeli PM of normalizing ties — transitional cabinet. rt.com 
Sudan's cabinet said on Thursday that the country's leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had made no promise to Israel's prime minister of "normalizing ties" between the two states. | Burhan heads Sudan's ruling sovereign council. He met Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for previously unannounced talks in Entebbe, Uganda on Monday that appeared to signal an end to Sudan's long-standing boycott of the Jewish state. | After their meeting, Netanyahu announced that the two leaders had agreed to cooperate towards normalizing ties, AFP reported. | However, the transitional cabinet in Sudan said on Thursday that meetin…
(2020-02-06). Headlines for February 6, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Senate Acquits Trump of Two Impeachment Charges, Iowa Caucus: Sanders & Buttigieg Virtually Tied with 97% of Precincts Reporting | , Newborn Baby Becomes Youngest Person Diagnosed with Coronavirus as Death Toll in China Hits 560, Human Rights Watch: 138 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed After Being Deported from U.S., DHS: New York Residents Can No Longer Participate in Trusted Traveler Programs | , Jair Bolsonaro Introduces Bill to Clear Way for Mining, Oil Extraction in Brazilian Amazon | , Nicolás Maduro: Trump Taking U.S. Toward "High-Level Conflict with Venezuela" | , Thousands Protest in Algeria for 50t…
(2020-02-05). Libya is being torn apart by outsiders. mronline.org 
Ghassan Salamé is the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. He took over this job in 2017, six years after the catastrophic NATO war on Libya. What Salamé inherited was a country torn into shreds, two governments in place—one in Tripoli and one in Tobruk—and one civil war that had too many […] |
(2020-02-05). FROM THE FIELD: Chad returnees' reluctant homecoming. news.un.org Citizens of Chad who have spent most of their lives as refugees in neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) have been talking to the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, about the challenges they have faced returning to their home country.
(2020-02-05). Africa's Sahel: Act now before the crisis 'becomes unmanageable', urges Grandi. news.un.org The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is stepping up response in Africa's Sahel region where escalating violence has forced a rising number of people to flee their homes.
(2020-02-05). Headlines for February 5, 2020. democracynow.org Partial Results from Iowa Caucus Show Buttigieg Leading in Delegate Count, Democrats Boycott & Walk Out of Trump's State of the Union Address, Death Toll of Coronavirus Approaches 500, Report: Israel Pushes U.S. to Recognize Moroccan Sovereignty over Occupied Western Sahara, Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake Rattles Puerto Rico, Canadian Court Dismisses Indigenous Challenge to Trans Mountain Pipeline, Homelessness Among School-Age Children Hits Decade-Long High, HBO Max Picks Up Documentary "On the Record", Judge Reverses Convictions of No More Deaths Volunteers…
(2020-02-05). Netanyahu-Burhan Meeting Blasted in Sudan. telesurenglish.net News of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's RELATED: | I…
(2020-02-04). State of the union 'boycott': AOC & Ayanna bravely skip, Ilhan & Tlaib bravely go, but either way it's #Resistance. rt.com 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley will skip Trump's State of the Union address, while Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib will attend as an act of "resistance." | It appears the congressional "squad" of freshman Democrats is divided on how best to resist President Donald Trump. | The New York Democrat known as AOC announced she will not be attending Tuesday night's State of the Union address from the president. She says her presence will "legitimize" Trump. | After much deliberation, I have decided that I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump's lawless conduct & subversion of the…
(2020-02-04). FROM THE FIELD: 'A piece of me' was taken. news.un.org "My flesh has been taken away, but I can never give away my heart"; those are the powerful words of resolve from Abida Dawud, one of three women survivors of female genital mutilation, or FGM, from Ethiopia, who have been speaking to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) about their experiences.
(2020-02-04). Both sides in Libya conflict agree need for lasting ceasefire: UN negotiator. news.un.org The UN negotiator leading talks in Geneva to secure an end to fighting in Libya said on Tuesday that high-ranking officials from both sides of the conflict have agreed on the need for a "permanent and lasting" ceasefire to replace an uncertain truce.
(2020-02-04). Anti-Colonialism and anti-Semitism in Harlem. mronline.org 
The strong anti-colonial, anti-Zionist sentiment within the African-American community renders it impossible for organizations such as the Anti-Defamation-League (ADL) to assess its anti-Semitism accurately, as they conflate Judaism with Zionism and Israel, and anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Jews and African-Americans can be natural allies who combat all forms of racism if and only if Jews also […] |
(2020-02-04). South Sudan: UN official welcomes release of women and children abducted by armed group. news.un.org The expert leading UN efforts to stamp out sexual violence committed during wartime has welcomed the release of 78 women and 50 children by an armed group in South Sudan.
(2020-02-03). ACLU: Trump Is Expanding His Racist Travel Ban, This Time Targeting Africans. democracynow.org 
The Trump administration has expanded its contested travel ban to six additional countries — most of which are African nations. Under the new restrictions, nationals of Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan will no longer be able to obtain visas to live and work in the U.S., while Sudan and Tanzania will no longer be able to participate in the diversity visa lottery program. The ban, commonly referred to as the "Muslim ban," already affects citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela and North Korea. The expansion is expected to affect more than 350 million people. Democrats say they will…
(2020-02-02). Generals, Princes, and Black Snakes. dissidentvoice.org Damn The Man, Damn The Empire (January 16th) In 2012 Barack Obama was reelected following the disastrous US-led war on Libya that he began without approval from Congress, and two years after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, without trial, inside a sovereign nation. In 2011 Obama also came out with this progressive chestnut: "Unlike …
(2020-01-30). "Coded Bias": New Film Looks at Fight Against Racial Bias in Facial Recognition & AI Technology. democracynow.org 
A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-American and Asian faces incorrectly 10 to 100 times more than white faces. The film "Coded Bias" begins with Joy B…
(2020-01-29). Headlines for January 29, 2020. democracynow.org McConnell Tries to Secure Votes to Block Impeachment Witnesses, "Our Rights Are Not for Sale": Palestinians Reject Trump's Middle East Plan, Trump Praises Pompeo for Shouting and Cursing at NPR Reporter, WaPo Reinstates Reporter Suspended for Tweeting About Kobe Rape Case, Death Toll from Coronavirus Virus Hits 132, with 6,000 Infected, Over 100,000 Syrian Civilians Flee Regime Offensive in Idlib, Floods Kill 30, Displace 16,000 in Madagascar, Mississippi to Shut Down Unit of Parchman Prison After Deaths of 9 Prisoners, Maryland Cop Charged with Murder for Killing Handcuffed Man in Police Car…
(2020-01-29). Weekend Read: 2020: African Americans and the Vote. splcenter.org Historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926 established "Negro History Week" to celebrate the contributions to our nation made by Black people.