Daily Archives: 2020-06-26

2020-06-26: News Headlines

Ajamu Baraka (2020-06-26). The Responsibility to Protect? Bipartisan Crimes Against Humanity in the U.S. counterpunch.org Hundreds of people are unnecessarily dying every day with African Americans representing a disproportionate number of those deaths. 80 million people are now without health coverage, millions are unemployed, over the next two months evictions will resume with an expected explosion of homelessness. And what is the response from the state that is tasked with

Staff (2020-06-26). In Racial Justice Victory, Johnson & Johnson to Pay $2B to Women in Asbestos-Laced Baby Powder Suit. democracynow.org Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $2.1 billion to a group of women who developed ovarian cancer after using talcum powder contaminated with asbestos. Johnson & Johnson heavily marketed the powder to African American women despite warnings that the products could cause cancer. Six of the plaintiffs in the Johnson & Johnson case died before the trial started. Five more of the women have died since 2018. We get response from M. Isabelle Chaudry, senior policy manager at the National Women's Health Network, who says the company must ban the products globally and do more to address the harm it has caused, part…

Staff (2020-06-26). Headlines for June 26, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Sets Another Daily COVID-19 Record as Infections Surge in 31 States, Supreme Court Ruling Will Deny Asylum Seekers Their Day in Court, Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS to Annul Obamacare Even as Millions Lose Health Coverage, India Nears 500,000 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases as Pandemic Worsens Globally, WHO Declares End to Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo, House Democrats Pass Sweeping Police Reform Bill That Trump Promised to Veto, Activists Demanding $1B Cut to NYPD Budget Occupy City Hall for Third Straight Night, NC Police Dept. Fires Officers Caught on Tape Discussing "Slaughtering" Black Reside…

Lyn Neeley (2020-06-26). U.N. Human Rights Council condemns racist violence. workers.org In the wake of international uprisings due to the lynching of George Floyd, the U.N. Human Rights Council held an emergency hearing on June 19. The council unanimously passed a resolution condemning systemic racism and racist police brutality against people of African descent in all countries, but particularly in the . . . |

Yoav Litvin (2020-06-26). Truth is Our Weapon and Shield — An Interview with Black Panther Party Veteran Billy X Jennings. counterpunch.org Truth and reconciliation commissions attempt to heal divided nations after the injustice has ceased. They rely on a process of education in which a reckoning with hard truths of systemic oppression lead to national accountability, reparations for victims, healing and potential unity. However, truth and reconciliation commissions, such as the one in South Africa, are

Monica Johnson (2020-06-26). How Atlanta community organized after police murdered Rayshard Brooks. liberationnews.org By Monica Johnson The following is based upon a talk given by Monica Johnson, a Party for Socialism and Liberation activist in Atlanta, on a PSL national webinar June 18. She addressed community response to the police murder of Rayshard Brooks. This 27-year-old African-American man was shot twice in the back and killed by police …

Brasil de Fato (2020-06-26). In South Africa, mining workers have double the infection rate for COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org The rate of infection of the novel coronavirus among mining workers in South Africa is 330 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the average registered for the rest of the country's population — 160 per 100,000. From the 1474 positive cases confirmed within South African mines, 907 are still active, 563 patients recovered and four have died. | The information was released Monday (22nd) by the

news.un (2020-06-26). DR Congo: COVID-19 slows pace of reform, exacerbates fragile security situation. news.un.org The head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is asking the Security Council for its continued support as the mission adds the fight against COVID-19 to its to-do list, while also dealing with a fragile security situation in the east of the country.

_____ (2020-06-26). Chicago's Neighborhoods Will Remain "Occupied" Until The City Defunds CPD. popularresistance.org The book Occupied Territory: Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power, published last year, details the history of the Chicago Police Department's quasi-military occupation of the city's Black communities from the race riots of 1919 through the present day. Author Simon Balto, an assistant professor of African American history at the University of Iowa, demonstrates that "there is not a time in Chicago's history where the city was home to large percentages of black people, and in which they had a smoothly functioning relationship with the CPD." While most histories of mass incarceration start around…

Students For Accountability (2020-06-26). Open Letter To CCSF BOT Pres. Shanell Williams & Bd: Do You Know Who Dr. Rajen Vurdien Is? indybay.org San Francisco Community College Board of Trustees President Shanell Williams and her Board have hired a new interim Chancellor Dr. Rajen Vurdien from the same Community College that corrupt former CCSF Chancellor came from Pasadena Community College. He had a record of discrimination against African America staff at the college and was condemned by the NAACP for his actions.

_____ (2020-06-26). Inside The US's Largest Maximum-Security Prison, COVID-19 Raged. popularresistance.org While the novel coronavirus burned through Angola, as the country's largest maximum-security prison is known, officials insisted they were testing all inmates who showed symptoms, isolating those who got sick and transferring more serious cases to the hospital in Baton Rouge, about 60 miles to the south. | But from inside Angola's walls, inmates painted a very different picture — one of widespread illness, dysfunctional care and sometimes inexplicable neglect. They said at least four of the 12 prisoners who have died in the pandemic, including Williams, had been denied needed medical help for days because t…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Mines, mass graves: Haftar's human rights violations. yenisafak.com An Anadolu Agency team in Libya has monitored the evidence of mines, mass graves, and executions left behind by the militias of warlord Khalifa Haftar as they retreated from south of the capital Tripoli as well as the city of Tarhuna, to the southeast. Libya's internationally recognized government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.This March, the Libyan government launched Operation Peace Storm to counter attacks on the capital, and recently retook strategic locations, including Al-Watiya airbase and the city of Tarhuna, Haftar's final stronghol…

Dennis Broe (2020-06-25). Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods': Black Lives Matter meets 'Rambo' [spoilers]. peoplesworld.org Spike Lee's new film for Netflix, Da 5 Bloods, about the aftereffects on African-American soldiers of the Vietnam War, opens spectacularly. A documentary sequence begins with Muhammad Ali detailing why he chooses not to fight: "My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother or some darker people…for big powerful America..for what?..They never lynched me, …

news.un (2020-06-25). FROM THE FIELD: Sudanese women ready to 'break taboos' and run for office. news.un.org Since the 2019 Sudan protests, which ushered in a transitional government, and the promise of more rights, over a thousand women have felt emboldened to enter politics in a bid to enact lasting democratic change.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-25). Egyptian authorities arrest journalist Nora Younis. peoplesdispatch.org Founder and editor-in-chief of al-Manassa news agency, Nora Younis, has been a critic of the Egyptian government's track record on human rights. She is the third woman journalist to be arrested by the Egyptian authorities in recent weeks…

yenisafak (2020-06-25). Turkey says Libya's GNA demands Haftar withdraw from Sirte, Jufra. yenisafak.com Libya's internationally recognised government demands that Khalifa Haftar's forces withdraw from the coastal city of Sirte and Jufra region as pre-conditions for ceasefire talks, Turkey said on Thursday.With Turkish military support, the Government of National Accord (GNA) has reversed a 14-month offensive on Tripoli by Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which is backed by Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told broadcaster CNN Turk that the United States, which Turkey has urged to take a more active role in Libya, was reluctant to play a "decisive role" in t…

news.un (2020-06-25). DR Congo: eastern Ebola outbreak defeated, 'mission impossible' now a 'sign of hope'. news.un.org After nearly two years and 2,280 deaths, the world's second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is finally over, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

yenisafak (2020-06-25). WHO says 10th Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is over. yenisafak.com A World Health Organization official announced Thursday the end of the 10th Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as no new cases were reported for more than 50 days.During a media briefing on COVID-19 and Ebola in Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, commended the "leadership of the DRC president, and the sacrifice and perseverance of 16,000 front line responders and communities … who have brought about the end of this 10th Ebola outbreak in the country!"Moeti also thanked the people, health workers, including WHO experts, who either got ill, were injured or lo…

Abayomi Azikiwe (2020-06-25). The Struggle against Racism in the United States. globalresearch.ca "We beseech independent African states to help us bring our problem before the United Nations, on the grounds that the United States Government is morally incapable of protecting the lives and the property of 22 million African-Americans. And on the …

en.mehrnews (2020-06-25). VIDEO: Locust attack on pistachio gardens on Kerman. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 25 (MNA) — Locust swarms have attacked pistachio gardens in Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, southern Iran. As desert locust infestations in East Africa and South-West Asia have intensified in recent months, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has provided an additional $200,000 to further strengthen Iran's technical capacity to control Desert Locust.

Pavan Kulkarni (2020-06-25). Vote on business rescue plan for South African Airways adjourned on unions' demand. peoplesdispatch.org A meeting of stakeholders was held on June 25 to consider a proposal by the Business Rescue Practitioners to restructure South African Airways. According to this plan, nearly 3,700 of the 4,700 employees may lose their jobs…

_____ (2020-06-25). The Disproportionate Blues. popularresistance.org Here in the year of 2020 of the 21st century, we descendants of the people who created and first started singing the blues set to music, way back in the 19th century, are still singing the blues today. Those people who historically gave us the reasons to write and sing the blues because of our ill treatment and overwhelming oppression could not truly understand, appreciate or relate to our historical or present-day pain and suffering. | We African Americans have often been told that times have changed. We have been told by the powers that be throughout this country's history and our existence to stop crying, to g…

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-06-25). Beyond COVID-19 Aid, Ethiopia Hoists Africa's Flag. globalresearch.ca Ethiopia, by all standards, is a reputable country in East Africa. It gains popularly from different angles. In terms of politics, Ethiopia has been touted as a country with an excellent model of democracy in Africa. For his efforts in …

Herb Mintz (2020-06-25). Thursday 7/2: LaborFest 2020: South Africa & COVID & Class struggle. indybay.org This is a internet Zoom based event. You can be anywhere to participant. Please visit the LaborFest 2020 website URL to register and to receive a Zoom invitation to the event.

sputniknews (2020-06-25). Calls to List Antifa as Terrorist Organisation in Sweden in the Wake of Black Lives Matter Riots. sputniknews.com US President Donald Trump has argued the violent Black Lives Matter rallies that blossomed across the country following the death of African American George Floyd in police custody and which include looting and pillaging, are being led by Antifa, and pledged to designate it as a terrorist organisation, making it illegal on American soil.

sputniknews (2020-06-25). Pre-emptive Strike Against Cancel Culture? Country Group Dixie Chicks Changes Name Amid US Protests. sputniknews.com The protests, which began as a movement in opposition to police brutality and indifference towards the lives of African Americans, later morphed into rampant vandalism, with protesters eventually targeting monuments related to racism or slavery in any form and demanding the removal of statues of even some of the most famous historical figures.

yenisafak (2020-06-25). Top Turkish diplomat attends SE Europe group meeting. yenisafak.com Turkey's foreign minister on Thursday took part in a meeting of a group of southeastern European countries, including the Balkans.Mevlut Cavusoglu met his counterparts from South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) member states via video conference.Cavusoglu said on Twitter that they discussed regional cooperation and opportunities within SEECP during the coronavirus normalization process."Turkey is taking over 2020-21 Chairmanship of SEECP, the broadest regional organization in the Balkans. @TurkishCiOSEECP," he added.Next week, on July 1, Turkey is set to take over the SEECP chairmanship for one year.In…

Staff (2020-06-24). The Next AOC? Progressive Insurgent Jamaal Bowman Takes Big Lead Over Rep. Eliot Engel in NY Primary. democracynow.org In what could be one of the biggest progressive upsets of the year, Jamaal Bowman, an African American former middle school principal, appears headed to victory over 16-term Democratic Congressmember Eliot Engel in Tuesday's New York primary election. The race has not been called, but Bowman has a large lead over Engel, the powerful chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee known for his support of Israel. Bowman supports a Green New Deal, Medicare for All and defunding the police. We air his remarks from a campaign party late Tuesday.

RT (2020-06-24). Republican police reform bill fails in Senate due to Democrat opposition. rt.com A police reform bill proposed by Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) failed on a procedural vote due to opposition from Democrats, who said it does not go far enough. | Wednesday's vote on the cloture motion was 55 in favor and 45 against, with 60 votes needed to move the bill forward. | Scott, who is African-American, pleaded with his colleagues to not think of this as a Republican or Democrat issue, but something that would start addressing the issues that have plagued the country for decades. | Democrats countered that Scott's proposal didn't ban chokeholds or no-knock warrants and failed to hold police ac…

Pavan Kulkarni (2020-06-24). As peace in Sudan remains elusive, protesters mobilize to "correct the revolution" peoplesdispatch.org The repeated delays in peace talks to end the civil war in Sudan have also delayed the formation of the legislative council. This has effectively stalled any progress in meeting the demands of the Sudanese Revolution which overthrew Omar al-Bashir…

Andrew Butler (2020-06-24). Here's why you might not be seeing the systems of oppression that surround us. thecanary.co Sometimes it's hard to see the systems of oppression we're living in. This is especially true when you're not directly subjected to that oppression yourself. I say this as a caution, not as an excuse. Here's why. | I was born in South Africa in 1974. That year John Vorster, a staunch proponent of apartheid, was re-elected president in a ballot in which only white people could vote. Nelson Mandela was in prison and the

Marco Carnelos (2020-06-24). A Tipping Point in Libya's Long-Standing Conflict. thealtworld.com Africa's most oil-rich nation has turned into a battleground for half a dozen foreign states. In the west, is the UN-backed Government of National Accord and NATO. In the east, is warlord Khalifa Haftar. Russia, Egypt, Turkey, the UAE and France are all involved. But why is Washington staying out of it? And what is Moscow's endgame in the war-torn country? | Guests: | Jonathan M Winer | Former US Special Envoy for Libya | Anas El Gomati | Director of the Sadeq Institute | Samuel Ramani | Russian Foreign Policy Researcher at Oxford University | Marco Carnelos | Libya Adviser to former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi…

WSWS (2020-06-24). France backs Egypt's threat to intervene against Turkey in Libyan war. wsws.org Even as COVID-19 threatens millions in Africa, the NATO powers risk escalating their nine-year carve-up of Libya into a major regional or even global conflict.

Environmental Investigation Agency (2020-06-24). Leading Scientists Conclude Elephant Poaching in Africa Has Not Decreased in Past Decade. globalresearch.ca A new The paper, published yesterday (24 June), presents rigorously peer-reviewed analysis showing that while elephant poaching has declined in East Africa, it has not diminished in …

Matthew Ehret-Kump (2020-06-24). NATO 2030: How to Make a Bad Idea Worse. Expanding the "Atlantic Alliance" into the Pacific… globalresearch.ca Just when you thought the leaders of NATO could not push the limits of insanity any further, something like After helping blow up the Middle East and North Africa, dividing the Balkans into zones of war …

Hazel Healy (2020-06-24). First Ebola, then COVID-19. The Plight of West Africa. globalresearch.ca Four years ago, New Internationalist travelled to West Africa to hear the stories of communities in recovery from the deadly Ebola epidemic. Hazel Healy gets back in touch. | *** | In early April, Sierra Leone confirmed its first case of coronavirus, …

Ryan Cristián (2020-06-24). We Are Witnessing A Nightmarish Technocratic Reengineering Of Our Lives Under The Guise Of COVID-19. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (6/24/20). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

yenisafak (2020-06-24). Italy says 28 migrants test positive to COVID-19 on quarantine ship. yenisafak.com Dozens of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean have tested positive for the new coronavirus while held in a quarantine ship off the southern Italian coast, Sicily's regional leader Nello Musumeci said on Wednesday.In April Italy banned migrant rescue ships from docking in its ports until July 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It now transfers all those saved at sea onto large ferries which must wait off its coast.After saving more than 200 people stranded at sea last week, the Sea-Watch 3 charity boat arrived on Sunday in the Sicilian town of Porto Empedocle.The mainly African passengers were immediately moved to…

yenisafak (2020-06-24). Int'l law will determine future of Libya, says Turkey. yenisafak.com The vice president of Turkey on Wednesday underlined that international law would determine Libya's future."Putschists should know that it will be on the legitimate basis of international law that will determine the future of peace in Libya," Fuat Oktay said, adding that with Tripoli's "decisive stance" and Turkey's support, all "games and traps have been thwarted."Oktay said Turkey would back "its Libyan brothers until peace, tranquility and justice are established in the country."He emphasized that those who until now "could not propose any approach towards resolution" to the conflict between the war-torn count…

RT (2020-06-23). British soldiers 'got away with murder' in Iraq, as government sent unqualified officers to investigate war crimes — report. rt.com The British government had no interest in prosecuting its soldiers' war crimes in Iraq and sent untrained investigators to make sure accused troops went free, a group of veterans told South Africa's Daily Maverick. | Nadhem Abdullah was 18 years old when British paratroopers raided his village of al-Ferkah, Iraq, in 2003. Abdullah was collared by the soldiers and beaten, allegedly with fists, rifle butts and helmets, until he was bloodied and dead. Two years later, seven soldiers with the 3rd Battalion ('3 Para') of the Parachute Regiment stood trial in London for the killing, and were acquitted. | The judge a…

Michael Welton (2020-06-23). Hopes Quashed: The Sudan Uprisings. counterpunch.org John Young has lots of guts and stamina to probe every nook, cranny and hidden crevice of the multiplex conflicts, strife, wars and struggle for power in a country, the Sudan, that lacks the necessary ingredients to call itself a viable nation-state. Young provides exacting detail demonstrating the deep fractures that disenable peace processes and

news.un (2020-06-23). UN condemns killing of Indonesian peacekeeper in DR Congo. news.un.org The United Nations has strongly condemned an attack believed to be carried out by rebel militia on peacekeepers serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), which left one Indonesian 'blue helmet' dead, and another injured.

Jonathan Cook (2020-06-23). Why the Assault on a Diplomat in Israel should Come as No Surprise. dissidentvoice.org An Israeli diplomat filed a complaint last week with police after he was pulled to the ground in Jerusalem by four security guards, who knelt on his neck for five minutes as he cried out: "I can't breathe." There are obvious echoes of the treatment of George Floyd, an African-American killed by police in Minneapolis …

_____ (2020-06-23). NATO 2030: How to Make a Bad Idea Worse. strategic-culture.org Just when you thought the leaders of NATO could not push the limits of insanity any further, something like After helping blow up the Middle East and North Africa, dividing the Balkans into zones of war and tension, turning Ukraine upside down using armadas of neo Nazis, and encircling Russia with a ballistic missile shield, the leaders of this Cold War relic have decided that the best way to deal with instability of the world is… more NATO. | In a June 8th online event co-sponsored by the Atlantic Council, NATO…

Bryan Smith (2020-06-23). Evanston's Road to Reparations. zcomm.org Compensating African Americans for the wrongs of history has been a political nonstarter for decades. Then, last November, one Chicago suburb made it a reality…

Richard Falk (2020-06-23). The Politics of Kneeling: A Tribute to Colin Kaepernick. commondreams.org Colin Kaepernick, decided to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem during the 2016 season, his announced intention was to call attention to racial inequality in the United States, and its ugliest manifestations via excessive uses of deadly force by police against African Americans. (Photo: AP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/kaepernick_trump_protest.jpg

FRHKS (2020-06-23). WATCH: Heroes: A Conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King (of the Angola 3). indybay.org Heroes: A Conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King (of the Angola 3) is a short video being released at this time to highlight another dimension of the protests taking place around the world supporting Black Lives Matter and to draw attention to racism in criminal justice systems around the world.

Derrick Broze (2020-06-23). Another New Study Points to the Dangers of Geoengineering the Climate. thelastamericanvagabond.com A recently published study from MIT casts doubt on the safety of the science of geoengineering and outlines potential dangers of the controversial field. A new study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology is adding to the growing list of concerns around the controversial science of geoengineering. Researchers have found that geoengineering techniques could significantly change …

Thierry Meyssan (2020-06-23). How Washington intends to triumph. thealtworld.com During the quarter of Western lockdown, the map of the Middle East was profoundly transformed. Yemen has been divided into two separate countries, Israel is paralysed by two Prime Ministers who hate each other, Iran openly supports NATO in Iraq and Libya, Turkey occupies northern Syria, Saudi Arabia is close to bankruptcy. All alliances are being called into question and new dividing lines are appearing or rather reappearing. | For two decades Washington has been trying to "reshape" the "Greater Middle East", an arbitrarily defined region stretching from Afghanistan to Morocco. However, over the last three years…

WSWS (2020-06-23). Canada presses ahead with final phase of back-to-work drive. wsws.org Contrary to the ruling elite's claim of a return to "normality," everything indicates that the drop in COVID-19 infections in Quebec and across Canada is temporary.