Daily Archives: February 4, 2020

2020-02-04: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-04). China tests Russian anti-viral drug which might treat coronavirus as Moscow warns of possible 'mass outbreak'. rt.com While health chiefs prepare for a potential pandemic, China is testing a Russian anti-viral drug in the hope that it might help control the new coronavirus. It comes as prospects of a vaccine look slim for the foreseeable future. | Triazavirin, developed at Yekaterinburg's Ural Federal University, was originally developed to combat 'Bird Flu' (H5N1), and, given that there are some similarities between the two infections, researchers feel it's worth a punt. The medicine is already known to be effective against 15 types of flu. | Russia's Deputy Health Minister Sergei Kraevoi confirmed the news on Tuesday. He al…

RT (2020-02-04). White Helmets are 'preparing chemical attack false-flag' in Syria's Idlib, Russian military tipped off. rt.com Militants affiliated with al-Qaeda and 'White Helmets' are preparing to stage a chemical attack in Idlib province as Syrian army continues to advance, the Russian Reconciliation Center said citing a tip from local residents. | Members of the self-styled civil defense group, which operates solely in territories controlled by anti-government militants, were noticed arriving at the town of Ma'arat al-Artik, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) northwest of Aleppo. According to the call that came in on the reconciliation center's hotline on Monday evening, they were preparing a "provocation with the use of poisonous agen…

RT (2020-02-04). India's Kerala declares 'state calamity' over 3rd case of coronavirus, will treat China returnees dodging medics as 'criminals'. rt.com A regional health emergency has been declared in the Indian state of Kerala after a third case of a lethal virus gripping China was confirmed there, prompting officials to take harsher action against those evading screenings. | The "state calamity" was announced by Kerala's health minister KK Shailaja, who noted the designation was not meant to "trigger panic," but rather "to create more awareness" about the fast-moving contagion, which has claimed 427 lives and infected over 20,000 worldwide since December. | With three confirmed cases in the country, India has begun to take steps to contain the outbreak, but…

RT (2020-02-04). Chinese coronavirus quarantine now just 100 miles from Shanghai, 4 more cities with 21mn people added. rt.com Chinese authorities have extended the country's internal quarantine to include four additional cities comprising roughly 21 million people in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. | Travel restrictions have been placed on residents in Taizhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou; allowing only one person per household to leave every two days to go and pick up supplies. In addition, residents in Taizhou must present ID every time they leave their homes. | City authorities also have placed rent controls on landlords, expressly forbidding them from renting their properties to people from "severely affected…

RT (2020-02-04). 'Alienate countries around the world': Washington pushes ahead with plan to punish 'currency manipulation'. rt.com The US Department of Commerce has finalized new rules to impose anti-subsidy duties on products from countries that it has determined undervalue their currencies against the dollar. | The rules would target China and allow for new tariffs to be imposed on Beijing, despite the fact that the US Treasury Department last month removed China from its list of currency manipulators as part of the Phase 1 trade deal. | In addition to China, the rules could put goods from other countries at risk of higher duties. Countries which could be affected include Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea,…

RT (2020-02-04). Twitter cites 'Iran & Israel state actors' after suspending researcher who exposed new user-data flaw. rt.com Twitter, in a post so reassuring it's alarming, says it stopped possible state-backed actors in Iran and Israel from exploiting its features. But the only clear 'actor' may be a lone researcher who reported the bug six weeks ago. | "Iran, Israel and Malaysia suspected of exploiting Twitter phone number security flaw," read a headline on Sky News. "Twitter: Israel, Iran may have accessed users' phone numbers," warned the Jerusalem Post. | So what did those bad privacy-violating ayatollahs in Tehran and intrepid privacy-defying IDF hackers do this time? They exploited Twitter's "contact upload" feature to match…

RT (2020-02-04). Netanyahu discusses 'normalization' with Sudan's leader after Uganda talks. rt.com Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met Sudan's leader to discuss normalizing ties, his office said. The talks are seen as a potentially landmark step that was denounced by the Palestinians, AFP reports. The PM's office said he met Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's ruling sovereign council, in the Ugandan city of Entebbe on Monday. | Israel remains technically at war with Sudan, which for years supported hardline Islamist forces. The sovereign council is a transitional body of Sudan's military officials and civilians that is headed by Burhan, an army general. | Israel has improved ties with…

The Canary (2020-02-04). Ban on new petrol and diesel cars brought forward to 2035 as UN talks launched. thecanary.co A ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be brought forward to 2035, under plans outlined as the prime minister launches key UN climate talks in the UK.Boris Johnson is launching the COP26 talks, to take place in November in the UK, with a speech setting out Britain's stall as a leader on tackling climate change.He will urge other countries to follow the UK's lead in setting targets to cut their emissions to net zero — with major cuts to greenhouse gases and any remaining pollution offset by measures such as planting trees.As part of the UK's moves to meet its legal goal to reach net zero by 205…

RT (2020-02-04). Distraught Cristiano Ronaldo fans win court case for 'mental anguish' after star sparks fury by failing to play in Asia friendly. rt.com A court case that heard how two fans suffered "mental anguish" when Cristiano Ronaldo failed to play in a pre-season friendly for Juventus in South Korea last year has ended in both supporters being awarded financial compensation. | Two fans who were left with "mental anguish" when Cristiano Ronaldo sat out a pre-season friendly at the Seoul World Cup Stadium last year have been compensated in a district court case in South Korea. | Event organisers The Fasta had suggested Ronaldo was contracted to play at least 45 minutes in the glamour game against K League All Stars, leaving the sell-out crowd of 65,000 peo…

The Canary (2020-02-04). US deploys new weapon in its nuclear arsenal. thecanary.co The US military has deployed a new addition to its nuclear arsenal, a long-range missile armed with a nuclear warhead of reduced destructive power.The so-called low-yield missile joins other, more powerful weapons aboard stealthy submarines prowling the oceans.The debut deployment aboard long-range submarines, known as boomers, is a landmark in US nuclear weapons policy.It is the first major addition to the strategic nuclear arsenal in recent decades and is a departure from the Obama administration's policy of lessening dependence on nuclear weapons in pursuit of a nuclear-free world.In confirming the missile dep…

Staff (2020-02-04). U.S. Looks to Iowa to Help Clarify Democratic Field. truthdig.com DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Democrats anxious for fundamental political change headed toward caucus centers late Monday to decide the opening contest in the 2020 presidential primary season. It could bring new clarity to a field that still features nearly a dozen White House contenders vying for the chance to take on President Donald Trump. | In the hours before the evening caucuses, candidates gave last-minute pep talks and pitches, while hundreds of volunteers pressed on statewide. By day's end, tens of thousands of Democrats were to have gathered at community centers, high school gyms and more than 1,600 oth…

RT (2020-02-04). Libyan military factions ready to negotiate in Geneva — UN envoy. rt.com The UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, said on Tuesday there was a "genuine will to start negotiating" between rival military factions as they began talks in Geneva. | Forces loyal to eastern based commander Khalifa Haftar have been trying to take control of the capital Tripoli for the past 10 months. | Salame told reporters that the two sides were aiming "to bridge the gaps in their views on how the lasting, sustainable ceasefire can be organized on the ground." However, an arms embargo is being violated by both sides, and new mercenaries were still arriving to Libya, Reuters quoted Salame as saying. | Transf…

RT (2020-02-04). Russia starts production of S-400 missile defense systems for India, 'all commitments being fulfilled' despite US pressure. rt.com Russia has kicked off production for a batch of S-400 missile defense systems with India's name on them, bringing a deal reached in 2018 one step closer to fruition despite fevered protests — as well as threats — from Washington. | "The Almaz-Antey concern has begun manufacturing the S-400 systems for India, and Russia will deliver the S-400s to India within the timeframe stipulated by the contract," said Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, adding that training centers had already been established in India to prepare operators of the missile system. | In general, all commitments und…

RT (2020-02-04). Trump could 'offer Alaska to the Russians' in exchange for 2020 support — impeachment manager Schiff. rt.com California Democrat Adam Schiff painted a doomsday scenario if President Donald Trump is not impeached, including an all-powerful dictator ruling from Mar-a-Lago, letting his son-in-law run America, and trading Alaska to Russia. | Schiff's high fantasy came during the closing arguments of the Senate impeachment trial on Monday, after a series of procedural votes on Friday made it clear that Trump will not actually be convicted on charges brought on by the House of Representatives. | The president's lawyers argued that Trump could not be impeached since he committed no criminal act in his talks with the preside…

RT (2020-02-04). India & Bangladesh hold joint counterterrorism army drill (PHOTOS). rt.com A two-week joint military exercise is underway in India's eastern Meghalaya state, where the host nation's troops are welcoming guests from neighboring Bangladesh. The drill is to culminate in a field exercise. | The ninth installment of the Sampriti exercise is meant to help the militaries of the two countries learn about each other's tactical and organizational peculiarities. The joint field operation will simulate a UN-mandated counterterrorism push conducted by India and Bangladesh in tandem in a difficult mountainous and jungle terrain. | "In addition to understanding each other at tactical level, greater…

RT (2020-02-04). Radicalizing troops? 19yo rookie soldier named suspect in French police station knife attack, after ISIS threat phone call. rt.com A 19-year old serviceman was named a suspect in the attack on a gendarmerie station in France, which took place after police received a threat of a massacre in the name of Islamic State. | The suspect was "a young soldier who was completing his two months of initial training and was on probation," Defense Minister Florence Parly confirmed on Tuesday. She added that the man was not on duty during the attack. | The prosecutor in the northeastern city of Metz Christian Mercuri told reporters that the 19-year-old alleged culprit joined the army in early December. | The knifeman wounded a gendarme in the hand at th…

BayAction2FreeAssange (2020-02-04). The Prosecution of Julian Assange: The War on Journalism, What Is at Stake? indybay.org Sonoma State University- Darwin 102 | 1801 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, CA 94928…

Ben Norton (2020-02-04). HuffPost UK editor works with gov't censorship program while smearing anti-war scholars as tools of Russia. thegrayzone.com HuffPost UK ran yet another hit piece smearing academic critics of the dirty war on Syria as Russian stooges. The…

Max Blumenthal (2020-02-04). Pro-Israel Buttigieg backer Seth Klarman is top funder of group behind Iowa's disastrous voting app. thegrayzone.com Behind the app that delayed Iowa's voting results is a dark money operation funded by anti-Sanders billionaires. Its top donor,…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-02-04). Coronavirus Pandemic: Economic Disruption. China Bashing and Hate Campaign against Chinese-Americans. globalresearch.ca The coronavirus pandemic is being used to smear China and its leadership. | The WHO has set the stage. A Global Emergency after a three hour committee meeting in Geneva was launched on January 30. | At the time this far-reaching WHO …

Fight Back (2020-02-04). Tallahassee residents demand removal of killer cop Police Chief Lawrence Revell. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL – Local activists are calling new attention to the long struggle against terrorism by white supremacist law enforcement through a series of direct actions, the latest of which took place January 30 at a "Meet the Chief" meet and greet at a community center in Tallahassee. | "This action is to protest the appointment of confirmed killer cop Lawrence Revell to chief of police, and to condemn the opaque, nepotistic process employed by City Manager Reese Goad to appoint Revell to this position," said Regina Joseph, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC). | Members of TCAC distr…

Party for Socialism and Liberation (2020-02-04). Forum – Eyewitness Venezuela Report & Analysis of Palestine "Peace Plan" indybay.org 2969 Mission St. near 26th…

Register Peace & Freedom or Green (2020-02-04). 2019 Cal Tax Table and Most Tax Forms Not Online. indybay.org For 2019, unlike all previous years, we have to Email the Franchise Tax Board for the California Tax Table and most tax forms, except the 540, because they are not online. We cannot complete the 540 without this crucial table. The Email cannot be read or downloaded on many computers so one must then look to the email on your cell phone and get the magnifier to highlight the line you need for your tax due. This insanity and inefficiency is brought to us by Democratic Gov Newsom and his supermajority Democratic legislature.

Peter Koenig (2020-02-04). Palestine — "Deal of the Century" — or Fraud of the Century? globalresearch.ca Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas demolished President Trump's "Peace Plan" or, as the Donald called it, "The Deal of the Century", calling out "Jerusalem is not for sale", warning that the "conspiracy deal will not pass. The Palestinian people will reject …

Hayward Political Action Alliance (2020-02-04). Reject the Cover-Up! Protest in Hayward. indybay.org Hayward City Hall Plaza, 777 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541…

RejectTheCoverup (2020-02-04). Reject the Cover-Up! Oakland Protest Against Impeachment Cover-up. indybay.org Grand Lake Theater intersection, 3200 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610…

Paul Street (2020-02-04). How to Not Remove a Fascist. counterpunch.org Danger, danger, there are fascists in the White House, it's up to us to drive them out. A chant heard at Refuse Fascism marches in Chicago, 2019 and 2020 "America[ns] First" As we know from a recently released Hillary Clinton documentary, Barack Obama called Donald Trump a "fascist" in a 2016 conversation with Hillary Clinton's

Robert Fisk (2020-02-04). Trump's Banal "Deal of the Century" is Impossible to Take Seriously. zcomm.org When the two old political fraudsters emerged at the White House this week with the most deranged, farcical tragi-comedy in Middle East history, it was difficult to know whether to laugh or cry…

Vanessa Beeley (2020-02-04). The Syrian Arab Army and Allies are Fighting the "Real War on Terror" globalresearch.ca Probably the most hideous propaganda to be spewed by the establishment media cartel in the West is that which portrays the Syrian Arab Army as some kind of militia, "Assad's gang", disconnecting these defenders of homeland from the people they …

WSWS (2020-02-04). Dozens killed in growing border clashes between Turkey and Syria. wsws.org This fighting threatens to escalate into a direct confrontation between Turkey, a NATO member state, and the Syrian regime's nuclear-armed ally, Russia.

WSWS (2020-02-04). Oil prices plummet as coronavirus epidemic drastically curtails Chinese demand. wsws.org China is the world's top oil importer and uses over 10 million barrels per day.

Labor Video Project (2020-02-04). The War On Whistleblowers, Darrell Whitman & US Inspector General's Obstruction of Justice. indybay.org Former Federal OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program investigator and lawyer Darrell Whitman talks about the fight to protect Federal whistleblowers and private industry whistleblowers and the role of US Inspector Generals who have been allowed to operate without oversight. | He also discusses how this has affected the health and safety of workers and the public. He connects the Boeing 737 Max crashes and the failure to enforce regulations by the FAA and their own. inspector general. | He also talks about the criminal fraud at SF Hunters Point and Treasure Island and how these contaminated radioactive dumpsites a…

Save California Salmon (2020-02-04). Tribal Members and Youth Ask for North State Hearings and River Protection` at Sacramento. indybay.org Sacramento, California Today Northern California Tribal members, supporters, and members of the Hoopa High School water protector club traveled to Sacramento to ask the state of California to protect the Trinity and Sacramento Rivers, and to schedule meetings in Northern California on the Governor's proposed Delta Conveyance Project. The group said the fact that the Delta Tunnel hearings are only occurring in the Southern part of the state and started even before the comment period ended on the water portfolio demonstrates that the governor needs to take more public feedback before moving forward on large, enviro…

Scott Tucker (2020-02-04). DNC Declares War on Sanders…Again. counterpunch.org There's already lots of evidence that the DNC old guard will sabotage Bernie's campaign. Again. For example, take a look through the sources, links and excerpts below this column. The New York Times also ran more op ed slander against Sanders this past Saturday. Among younger people especially, however, predictable dark money ads and redbaiting

Kim C. Domenico (2020-02-04). Sedition or Sedation?: Liberalism and Neuroses. counterpunch.org culture is the act of "replacing what is unconscious with what is conscious." A cult is unconscious. It simply does what it has always done. It follows instructions. Culture, on the other hand, is the bringing to awareness of the damage — the repression, irrationality, violence, ugliness, injustice and tragedy — imposed by the cult.

WSWS (2020-02-04). Students and young people speak out against war. wsws.org The International Youth and Students for Social Equality spoke to young people throughout the US about their experience with war and its consequences.

WSWS (2020-02-04). More than half of the world's millennials fear a nuclear attack will happen in the next decade. wsws.org A recent International Committee of the Red Cross study, which surveyed 16,000 millennials in 16 different countries, found overwhelming hostility to war and militarism among youth.

WSWS (2020-02-04). Democrats double down on anti-Russia war-mongering in impeachment arguments. wsws.org The Democrats' final arguments only underscored the reactionary basis of their impeachment drive.

Gypsy Taub (2020-02-04). NUDE VALENTINE'S DAY PARADE. indybay.org Parade starts at Jane Warner Plaza in San Francisco, loops around a bunch of streets and ends up at Haight and Stanyan. Parade route will be published on www.MyNakedTruth.TV

Julian Borger (2020-02-04). New "Low-Yield" Nuclear Warhead a Dangerous Step. zcomm.org Critics of the warhead say it accelerates a drift towards thinking of nuclear weapons as a means to fight and win wars, rather than as a deterrent of last resort…

Rajan Menon (2020-02-04). Trump's War on the Poor Includes Our Children. thenation.com Trump's War on the Poor Includes Our Children…

Edward Curtin (2020-02-04). The United States of America's Doll House: A Vast Tapestry of Lies and Illusions. dissidentvoice.org This is an updated and revised version of the full cover-story that appeared in the important publication, garrison: The Journal of History and Deep Politics, Issue 003. Issue 004 is due out this week and I urge readers to purchase it. You will read articles there that you will find no place else, brilliant, eye-opening …

WSWS (2020-02-04). Brazilian oil workers strike against mass layoffs, privatization threat. wsws.org The strike at the state-owned giant Petrobras comes amid strikes by other sections of public sector workers against Bolsonaro's privatization program.

WSWS (2020-02-04). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Tens of thousands of teachers in Canada's largest province are continuing their fight against the right wing government of Bill Ford, while workers at Brazil's Petrobras have taken action over the privatization drive by the Bolsonaro administration.

WSWS (2020-02-04). NATO exercise Defender 2020: Germany serves as military base for build-up against Russia. wsws.org For the first time in its history, the alliance is practicing the deployment from the US to eastern Europe of an entire division of 20,000 soldiers.

Marshall Auerback (2020-02-04). Do Davos Billionaires and Bankers Really Believe That There Won't Be Any More Booms and Busts? counterpunch.org Can runaway booms descend into busts absent monetary tightening by the world's central banks? I pose this question in the wake of an extraordinary exchange on January 22 at Davos between Bloomberg editor-at-large Tom Keene and Bob Prince, co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates, in which the latter posited the notion that "we've probably seen the end

Gary Leupp (2020-02-04). NATO and the Impeachment Trial. counterpunch.org Is it not clear? The impeachment trial underway is all about cementing support for the foreign policy most clearly espoused by (the grotesque) Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), an impeachment manager now appearing all too frequently on cable news. His foreign policy—meaning that of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Joe Biden and all the

Juan Cole (2020-02-04). On the Big Issues, Bernie Sanders is the Only one who Can Save America. zcomm.org Bernie Sanders is the only candidate running whose climate action plan is at all equal to the challenge…

Joyce Nelson (2020-02-04). Saugeen Ojibway Nation Has Saved Lake Huron From a Nuclear Waste Dump. counterpunch.org A major victory for Canada's First Nations has just been won in Ontario. On January 31, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) overwhelmingly voted down the proposed deep geological repository (DGR) for storage of low- and intermediate-level radioactive nuclear waste next to Lake Huron. The DGR had long been proposed by Ontario Power Generation (OPG), but

Michael Steinberg (2020-02-04). Europe Leads Way in Nuclear Shutdowns. indybay.org Germany, Sweden and Switzerland are leading the way in creating a nuclear free future.

2020-02-04: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

The Prosecution of Julian Assange: The War on Journalism, What Is at Stake?
BayAction2FreeAssange | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
Sonoma State University- Darwin 102 | 1801 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, CA 94928…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/02/18830326.php

HuffPost UK editor works with gov't censorship program while smearing anti-war scholars as tools of Russia
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-04
HuffPost UK ran yet another hit piece smearing academic critics of the dirty war on Syria as Russian stooges. The…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/03/huffpost-uk-editor-censorship-dsma-russia-jess-brammar/

Pro-Israel Buttigieg backer Seth Klarman is top funder of group behind Iowa's disastrous voting app
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-04
Behind the app that delayed Iowa's voting results is a dark money operation funded by anti-Sanders billionaires. Its top donor,…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/04/pro-israel-buttigieg-seth-klarman-iowas-voting-app/

Coronavirus Pandemic: Economic Disruption. China Bashing and Hate Campaign against Chinese-Americans
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-04
The coronavirus pandemic is being used to smear China and its leadership. | The WHO has set the stage. A Global Emergency after a three hour committee meeting in Geneva was launched on January 30. | At the time this far-reaching WHO …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-pandemic-economic-disruption-china-bashing-and-hate-campaign-against-chinese-americans/5702706

Tallahassee residents demand removal of killer cop Police Chief Lawrence Revell
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-04
Tallahassee, FL – Local activists are calling new attention to the long struggle against terrorism by white supremacist law enforcement through a series of direct actions, the latest of which took place January 30 at a "Meet the Chief" meet and greet at a community center in Tallahassee. | "This action is to protest the appointment of confirmed killer cop Lawrence Revell to chief of police, and to condemn the opaque, nepotistic process employed by City Manager Reese Goad to appoint Revell to this position," said Regina Joseph, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC). | Members of TCAC distr…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/3/tallahassee-residents-demand-removal-killer-cop-police-chief-lawrence-revell

2019 Cal Tax Table and Most Tax Forms Not Online
Register Peace & Freedom or Green | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
For 2019, unlike all previous years, we have to Email the Franchise Tax Board for the California Tax Table and most tax forms, except the 540, because they are not online. We cannot complete the 540 without this crucial table. The Email cannot be read or downloaded on many computers so one must then look to the email on your cell phone and get the magnifier to highlight the line you need for your tax due. This insanity and inefficiency is brought to us by Democratic Gov Newsom and his supermajority Democratic legislature.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/02/18830315.php

Forum – Eyewitness Venezuela Report & Analysis of Palestine "Peace Plan"
Party for Socialism and Liberation | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
2969 Mission St. near 26th…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/02/18830314.php

Reject the Cover-Up! Protest in Hayward
Hayward Political Action Alliance | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
Hayward City Hall Plaza, 777 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/02/18830316.php

Russia starts production of S-400 missile defense systems for India, 'all commitments being fulfilled' despite US pressure
rt.com | 2020-02-04
Russia has kicked off production for a batch of S-400 missile defense systems with India's name on them, bringing a deal reached in 2018 one step closer to fruition despite fevered protests

Reject the Cover-Up! Oakland Protest Against Impeachment Cover-up
RejectTheCoverup | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
Grand Lake Theater intersection, 3200 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/03/18830347.php

How to Not Remove a Fascist
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-04
Danger, danger, there are fascists in the White House, it's up to us to drive them out. A chant heard at Refuse Fascism marches in Chicago, 2019 and 2020 "America[ns] First" As we know from a recently released Hillary Clinton documentary, Barack Obama called Donald Trump a "fascist" in a 2016 conversation with Hillary Clinton's…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/04/how-to-not-remove-a-fascist/

Trump's Banal "Deal of the Century" is Impossible to Take Seriously
Robert Fisk | zcomm.org | 2020-02-04
When the two old political fraudsters emerged at the White House this week with the most deranged, farcical tragi-comedy in Middle East history, it was difficult to know whether to laugh or cry…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/1028790/

The Syrian Arab Army and Allies are Fighting the "Real War on Terror"
Vanessa Beeley | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-04
Probably the most hideous propaganda to be spewed by the establishment media cartel in the West is that which portrays the Syrian Arab Army as some kind of militia, "Assad's gang", disconnecting these defenders of homeland from the people they …
globalresearch.ca/honour-syrian-arab-army-allies-real-war-terror/5702737

Dozens killed in growing border clashes between Turkey and Syria
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
This fighting threatens to escalate into a direct confrontation between Turkey, a NATO member state, and the Syrian regime's nuclear-armed ally, Russia.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/turk-f04.html

White Helmets are 'preparing chemical attack false-flag' in Syria's Idlib, Russian military tipped off
rt.com | 2020-02-04
Militants affiliated with al-Qaeda and 'White Helmets' are preparing to stage a chemical attack in Idlib province as Syrian army continues to advance, the Russian Reconciliation Center said citing a tip from local residents. | Members of the self-styled civil defense group, which operates solely in territories controlled by anti-government militants, were noticed arriving at the town of Ma'arat al-Artik, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) northwest of Aleppo. According to the call that came in on the reconciliation center's hotline on Monday evening, they were preparing a "provocation with the use of poisonous agen…
rt.com/news/480004-syria-chemical-attack-warning/

China tests Russian anti-viral drug which might treat coronavirus as Moscow warns of possible 'mass outbreak'
rt.com | 2020-02-04
While health chiefs prepare for a potential pandemic, China is testing a Russian anti-viral drug in the hope that it might help control the new coronavirus. It comes as prospects of a vaccine look slim for the foreseeable future. | Triazavirin, developed at Yekaterinburg's Ural Federal University, was originally developed to combat 'Bird Flu' (H5N1), and, given that there are some similarities between the two infections, researchers feel it's worth a punt. The medicine is already known to be effective against 15 types of flu. | Russia's Deputy Health Minister Sergei Kraevoi confirmed the news on Tuesday. He al…
rt.com/russia/480037-china-tests-russian-drug-coronavirus/

'Alienate countries around the world': Washington pushes ahead with plan to punish 'currency manipulation'
rt.com | 2020-02-04
The US Department of Commerce has finalized new rules to impose anti-subsidy duties on products from countries that it has determined undervalue their currencies against the dollar. | The rules would target China and allow for new tariffs to be imposed on Beijing, despite the fact that the US Treasury Department last month removed China from its list of currency manipulators as part of the Phase 1 trade deal. | In addition to China, the rules could put goods from other countries at risk of higher duties. Countries which could be affected include Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea,…
rt.com/business/480025-us-duties-currency-manipulations/

India's Kerala declares 'state calamity' over 3rd case of coronavirus, will treat China returnees dodging medics as 'criminals'
rt.com | 2020-02-04
A regional health emergency has been declared in the Indian state of Kerala after a third case of a lethal virus gripping China was confirmed there, prompting officials to take harsher action against those evading screenings. | The "state calamity" was announced by Kerala's health minister KK Shailaja, who noted the designation was not meant to "trigger panic," but rather "to create more awareness" about the fast-moving contagion, which has claimed 427 lives and infected over 20,000 worldwide since December. | With three confirmed cases in the country, India has begun to take steps to contain the outbreak, but…
rt.com/news/480007-india-kerala-coronavirus-calamity/

Chinese coronavirus quarantine now just 100 miles from Shanghai, 4 more cities with 21mn people added
rt.com | 2020-02-04
Chinese authorities have extended the country's internal quarantine to include four additional cities comprising roughly 21 million people in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. | Travel restrictions have been placed on residents in Taizhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou; allowing only one person per household to leave every two days to go and pick up supplies. In addition, residents in Taizhou must present ID every time they leave their homes. | City authorities also have placed rent controls on landlords, expressly forbidding them from renting their properties to people from "severely affected…
rt.com/news/480026-china-extends-coronavirus-quarantine/

Oil prices plummet as coronavirus epidemic drastically curtails Chinese demand
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
China is the world's top oil importer and uses over 10 million barrels per day.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/coro-f04.html

Twitter cites 'Iran & Israel state actors' after suspending researcher who exposed new user-data flaw
rt.com | 2020-02-04
Twitter, in a post so reassuring it's alarming, says it stopped possible state-backed actors in Iran and Israel from exploiting its features. But the only clear 'actor' may be a lone researcher who reported the bug six weeks ago. | "Iran, Israel and Malaysia suspected of exploiting Twitter phone number security flaw," read a headline on Sky News. "Twitter: Israel, Iran may have accessed users' phone numbers," warned the Jerusalem Post. | So what did those bad privacy-violating ayatollahs in Tehran and intrepid privacy-defying IDF hackers do this time? They exploited Twitter's "contact upload" feature to match…
rt.com/news/480041-twitter-bug-iran-israel/

Netanyahu discusses 'normalization' with Sudan's leader after Uganda talks
rt.com | 2020-02-04
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met Sudan's leader to discuss normalizing ties, his office said. The talks are seen as a potentially landmark step that was denounced by the Palestinians, AFP reports. The PM's office said he met Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's ruling sovereign council, in the Ugandan city of Entebbe on Monday. | Israel remains technically at war with Sudan, which for years supported hardline Islamist forces. The sovereign council is a transitional body of Sudan's military officials and civilians that is headed by Burhan, an army general. | Israel has improved ties with…
rt.com/newsline/480017-netanyahu-sudan-uganda-embassy/

Distraught Cristiano Ronaldo fans win court case for 'mental anguish' after star sparks fury by failing to play in Asia friendly
rt.com | 2020-02-04
A court case that heard how two fans suffered "mental anguish" when Cristiano Ronaldo failed to play in a pre-season friendly for Juventus in South Korea last year has ended in both supporters being awarded financial compensation. | Two fans who were left with "mental anguish" when Cristiano Ronaldo sat out a pre-season friendly at the Seoul World Cup Stadium last year have been compensated in a district court case in South Korea. | Event organisers The Fasta had suggested Ronaldo was contracted to play at least 45 minutes in the glamour game against K League All Stars, leaving the sell-out crowd of 65,000 peo…
rt.com/sport/480040-cristiano-ronaldo-south-korea-mental-anguish/

Sedition or Sedation?: Liberalism and Neuroses
Kim C. Domenico | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-04
culture is the act of "replacing what is unconscious with what is conscious." A cult is unconscious. It simply does what it has always done. It follows instructions. Culture, on the other hand, is the bringing to awareness of the damage

Democrats double down on anti-Russia war-mongering in impeachment arguments
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
The Democrats' final arguments only underscored the reactionary basis of their impeachment drive.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/impe-f04.html

Dogs of War
Badri Raina | zcomm.org | 2020-02-04
The women plant themselves, waving The Flag, flaunting The Preamble. In their settled do-or-die, They seem one with the earth they occupy. The chill, the calumny, nor inducement Dent the steel of their immovable intent. Their sentient innocence is more Than the lumbering slouch of the farmer: It is an armour we have not Encountered Read…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/dogs-of-war/

DNC Declares War on Sanders…Again
Scott Tucker | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-04
There's already lots of evidence that the DNC old guard will sabotage Bernie's campaign. Again. For example, take a look through the sources, links and excerpts below this column. The New York Times also ran more op ed slander against Sanders this past Saturday. Among younger people especially, however, predictable dark money ads and redbaiting…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/04/dnc-declares-war-on-sanders-again/

NUDE VALENTINE'S DAY PARADE
Gypsy Taub | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
Parade starts at Jane Warner Plaza in San Francisco, loops around a bunch of streets and ends up at Haight and Stanyan. Parade route will be published on www.MyNakedTruth.TV
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/03/18830327.php

New "Low-Yield" Nuclear Warhead a Dangerous Step
Julian Borger | zcomm.org | 2020-02-04
Critics of the warhead say it accelerates a drift towards thinking of nuclear weapons as a means to fight and win wars, rather than as a deterrent of last resort…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/new-low-yield-nuclear-warhead-a-dangerous-step/

Students and young people speak out against war
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality spoke to young people throughout the US about their experience with war and its consequences.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/vide-f04.html

Tribal Members and Youth Ask for North State Hearings and River Protection` at Sacramento
Save California Salmon | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
Sacramento, California Today Northern California Tribal members, supporters, and members of the Hoopa High School water protector club traveled to Sacramento to ask the state of California to protect the Trinity and Sacramento Rivers, and to schedule meetings in Northern California on the Governor's proposed Delta Conveyance Project. The group said the fact that the Delta Tunnel hearings are only occurring in the Southern part of the state and started even before the comment period ended on the water portfolio demonstrates that the governor needs to take more public feedback before moving forward on large, enviro…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/03/18830346.php

Ban on new petrol and diesel cars brought forward to 2035 as UN talks launched
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-04
A ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be brought forward to 2035, under plans outlined as the prime minister launches key UN climate talks in the UK.Boris Johnson is launching the COP26 talks, to take place in November in the UK, with a speech setting out Britain's stall as a leader on tackling climate change.He will urge other countries to follow the UK's lead in setting targets to cut their emissions to net zero

Trump's War on the Poor Includes Our Children
Rajan Menon | thenation.com | 2020-02-04
Trump's War on the Poor Includes Our Children…
thenation.com/article/economy/child-poverty-trump/

The United States of America's Doll House: A Vast Tapestry of Lies and Illusions
Edward Curtin | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-04
This is an updated and revised version of the full cover-story that appeared in the important publication, garrison: The Journal of History and Deep Politics, Issue 003. Issue 004 is due out this week and I urge readers to purchase it. You will read articles there that you will find no place else, brilliant, eye-opening …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/the-united-states-of-americas-doll-house-a-vast-tapestry-of-lies-and-illusions/

US deploys new weapon in its nuclear arsenal
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-04
The US military has deployed a new addition to its nuclear arsenal, a long-range missile armed with a nuclear warhead of reduced destructive power.The so-called low-yield missile joins other, more powerful weapons aboard stealthy submarines prowling the oceans.The debut deployment aboard long-range submarines, known as boomers, is a landmark in US nuclear weapons policy.It is the first major addition to the strategic nuclear arsenal in recent decades and is a departure from the Obama administration's policy of lessening dependence on nuclear weapons in pursuit of a nuclear-free world.In confirming the missile dep…
thecanary.co/us/us-news-us/2020/02/04/us-deploys-new-weapon-in-its-nuclear-arsenal/

More than half of the world's millennials fear a nuclear attack will happen in the next decade
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
A recent International Committee of the Red Cross study, which surveyed 16,000 millennials in 16 different countries, found overwhelming hostility to war and militarism among youth.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/mill-f04.html

The War On Whistleblowers, Darrell Whitman & US Inspector General's Obstruction of Justice
Labor Video Project | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
Former Federal OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program investigator and lawyer Darrell Whitman talks about the fight to protect Federal whistleblowers and private industry whistleblowers and the role of US Inspector Generals who have been allowed to operate without oversight. | He also discusses how this has affected the health and safety of workers and the public. He connects the Boeing 737 Max crashes and the failure to enforce regulations by the FAA and their own. inspector general. | He also talks about the criminal fraud at SF Hunters Point and Treasure Island and how these contaminated radioactive dumpsites a…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/02/18830317.php

U.S. Looks to Iowa to Help Clarify Democratic Field
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-04
DES MOINES, Iowa

Workers Struggles: The Americas
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
Tens of thousands of teachers in Canada's largest province are continuing their fight against the right wing government of Bill Ford, while workers at Brazil's Petrobras have taken action over the privatization drive by the Bolsonaro administration.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/wrkr-f04.html

Brazilian oil workers strike against mass layoffs, privatization threat
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
The strike at the state-owned giant Petrobras comes amid strikes by other sections of public sector workers against Bolsonaro's privatization program.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/braz-f03.html

NATO exercise Defender 2020: Germany serves as military base for build-up against Russia
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
For the first time in its history, the alliance is practicing the deployment from the US to eastern Europe of an entire division of 20,000 soldiers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/nato-f04.html

Do Davos Billionaires and Bankers Really Believe That There Won't Be Any More Booms and Busts?
Marshall Auerback | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-04
Can runaway booms descend into busts absent monetary tightening by the world's central banks? I pose this question in the wake of an extraordinary exchange on January 22 at Davos between Bloomberg editor-at-large Tom Keene and Bob Prince, co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates, in which the latter posited the notion that…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/04/do-davos-billionaires-and-bankers-really-believe-that-there-wont-be-any-more-booms-and-busts/

NATO and the Impeachment Trial
Gary Leupp | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-04
Is it not clear? The impeachment trial underway is all about cementing support for the foreign policy most clearly espoused by (the grotesque) Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), an impeachment manager now appearing all too frequently on cable news. His foreign policy–meaning that of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Joe Biden and all the…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/04/nato-and-the-impeachment-trial/

On the Big Issues, Bernie Sanders is the Only one who Can Save America
Juan Cole | zcomm.org | 2020-02-04
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate running whose climate action plan is at all equal to the challenge…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/on-the-big-issues-bernie-sanders-is-the-only-one-who-can-save-america/

Saugeen Ojibway Nation Has Saved Lake Huron From a Nuclear Waste Dump
Joyce Nelson | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-04
A major victory for Canada's First Nations has just been won in Ontario. On January 31, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) overwhelmingly voted down the proposed deep geological repository (DGR) for storage of low- and intermediate-level radioactive nuclear waste next to Lake Huron. The DGR had long been proposed by Ontario Power Generation (OPG), but…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/04/saugeen-ojibway-nation-has-saved-lake-huron-from-a-nuclear-waste-dump/

Europe Leads Way in Nuclear Shutdowns
Michael Steinberg | indybay.org | 2020-02-04
Germany, Sweden and Switzerland are leading the way in creating a nuclear free future.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/03/18830343.php

India & Bangladesh hold joint counterterrorism army drill (PHOTOS)
rt.com | 2020-02-04
A two-week joint military exercise is underway in India's eastern Meghalaya state, where the host nation's troops are welcoming guests from neighboring Bangladesh. The drill is to culminate in a field exercise. | The ninth installment of the Sampriti exercise is meant to help the militaries of the two countries learn about each other's tactical and organizational peculiarities. The joint field operation will simulate a UN-mandated counterterrorism push conducted by India and Bangladesh in tandem in a difficult mountainous and jungle terrain. | "In addition to understanding each other at tactical level, greater…
rt.com/news/480024-india-bangladesh-joint-exercise/

Boris Johnson's government uses London terror attack to call for indefinite detention
wsws.org | 2020-02-04
For all the cries of "apologist!" in the corporate media, the roots of terrorist groups in the predatory intrigues of the major powers are widely known.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/lond-f04.html

Most Popular Articles in January
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-04
globalresearch.ca/most-popular?since=30

The Holocaust, the BBC and Antisemitism Smears
Jonathan Cook | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-04
Senior BBC news reporter Orla Guerin has found herself in hot water of an increasingly familiar kind. During a report on preparations for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, she made a | …
globalresearch.ca/holocaust-bbc-antisemitism-smears/5702729