Daily Archives: June 8, 2020

2020-06-08: News Headlines

Don Fitz (2020-06-09). How Che Guevara Taught Cuba to Confront COVID-19. dissidentvoice.org Beginning in December 1951, Ernesto "Che" Guevara took a nine-month break from medical school to travel by motorcycle through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. One of his goals was gaining practical experience with leprosy. On the night of his twenty-fourth birthday, Che was at La Colonia de San Pablo in Peru swimming across the …

Monica Moorehead (2020-06-09). No es un motín — °REBELIàìN! workers.org 1 de junio. Un levantamiento militante liderado por jóvenes, provocado por el terror policial, se extendió por los Estados Unidos como un incendio forestal y ahora está entrando en su segunda semana. Incluso Trump se declara orgulloso como el presidente de "ley y orden" al amenazar con la presencia de . . . |

A Guest Author (2020-06-09). Viral video forces police to back down in Buffalo, N.Y. workers.org By Victor Enrique June 7 — As the uprisings against police brutality throughout the last week have shown, Buffalo, N.Y.'s elected officials can no longer hold together the conflicts embedded within it. During the first weekend of rebellion beginning May 30, riot police teargassed and shot rubber bullets at crowds, . . . |

_____ (2020-06-09). German Pesticide and Chemical Co's gets £1bn UK bailout despite mammoth dividend plan. truepublica.org.uk By Zach Boren: Chemicals manufacturers BASF and Bayer have been given enormous payouts of Covid-19 support cash from the British government just weeks after announcing plans to distribute billions to shareholders in dividends. The world's largest chemicals company BASF, which makes agricultural, industrial and automotive products at its eight UK plants, has received £1 billion …

Martin Empson (2020-06-08). Marx, ecology and industrial agriculture. mronline.org British climate activist and socialist Martin Empson writes on why the fight against climate change must be a fight for system change and for socialism.

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-06-08). Russian Diplomats Expelled from Czechia Because of Likely Fake News Story. globalresearch.ca The secret services of Czechia had first informed its government in April that it had damning evidence against two Russian diplomats in the country that would warrant their expulsion. It was alleged, without any evidence given publicly, that Russian diplomats …

Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo (2020-06-08). What is Next for Palestinian Popular Resistance in Gaza? dissidentvoice.org Wafaa Aludaini is a witness to many of Gaza's recent tragedies and also never-ending resistance. She experienced the violent Israeli occupation, the subsequent blockade on the impoverished Strip, and several wars that resulted in the death and wounding of tens of thousands of Palestinians. But none of Israel's wars impacted Aludaini's life as much as …

Anya Parampil (2020-06-08). Colectivo de Protección de la Embajada de Venezuela logra victoria legal frente a una juez hostil nombrada por Obama y la fiscalía del gobierno. thegrayzone.com La sentencia contra los cuatro miembros del Colectivo de Protección de la Embajada de Venezuela, quienes fueron los últimos ocupantes…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-06-08). Congressional Dems unveil big police reform package. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Responding to the mass movement for comprehensive change in the nation's police departments — which itself is just one facet of the wider movement against racism in the U.S. — congressional Democrats have unveiled a massive package of police reforms. The lawmakers flew into D.C., despite the coronavirus pandemic, to showcase the Justice In Policing …

Albert Bender (2020-06-08). Teen students lead Nashville's largest ever protest against racist police violence. peoplesworld.org NASHVILLE—A huge gathering of protesters—led by students—congregated at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in downtown Nashville the evening of Thursday, June 4, to protest the horrific murder of George Floyd and the overall issue of racist police violence. The Bicentennial Mall Park is composed of 19 mostly grassy acres with plaques commemorating area history from ancient Indigenous times to the 20th Century. By the estimates …

Eds. (2020-06-08). The police murder of George Floyd sparks mass protests throughout the world. mronline.org This weekend, hundreds of thousands of workers and youth will protest the police murder of George Floyd, not only in the United States, but in Australia, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Brazil, South Korea and many other countries.

Eds. (2020-06-08). The U.S. rebellion for black lives. mronline.org As protests rage across America against police brutality and systemic racism, Akunna Eneh, an activist from Boston, argues that the movement sparked by the murder of George Floyd has exposed the true face of American society.

Mathew Tanner (2020-06-08). Protesting in Phoenix for Dion Johnson, another Black man killed by police. peoplesworld.org PHOENIX, Ariz.—People in Phoenix are angry. The situation here may seem identical to the rest of the nation: spontaneous protest and civil unrest in response to the murder of George Floyd. And Arizona officials and local Phoenix leaders have pushed the idea that an amorphous, subversive criminal element of rioters and looters is descending on Phoenix, …

Fréa Lockley (2020-06-08). The BBC just showed utter disregard for Black lives and the UK's racism. thecanary.co On 7 June, Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol "A mass murderer": | Since police in Minneapolis

Gil Netter (2020-06-08). Conn. health workers demand PPE, honor their lost. peoplesworld.org NEW LONDON, Conn. — Over 200 health care workers, family members and supporters rallied across from Lawrence Memorial Hospital May 30, "for safety, protection and respect in the workplace and raising awareness of health care professionals' concerns that without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), communities are at risk." The rally, addressed by Teachers' President Randi …

Jenny Farrell (2020-06-08). Charles Dickens put ordinary people at the heart of the story. peoplesworld.org The English novelist Charles Dickens was born in 1812, during the Napoleonic Wars, into the lower petty bourgeoisie, whose life experience partly overlapped with that of the proletariat. He died on June 9, 1870, at the age of 58. We write this on the 150th anniversary of his death. Although Dickens's authorial perspective always remained …

Combined Sources (2020-06-08). Black Lives Matter movement sweeps the world. peoplesworld.org Hundreds of thousands of people gathered this weekend in cities far from the United States to express anger over the death of George Floyd, a sign that the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality is resonating with wider calls to address racism from Australia to Asia to Europe. In Berlin, where police said 15,000 people rallied …

Staff (2020-06-08). Defund the Police: Linda Sarsour & Mychal Denzel Smith on What Meaningful Change Would Look Like. democracynow.org Amid growing calls in New York City for police accountability, Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to shift some of the city's funding for police and reallocate it to social services. We get response from Linda Sarsour, longtime Palestinian American Muslim organizer and co-founder of Until Freedom, which along with others has led the push to institute meaningful change. We also speak with author Mychal Denzel Smith, who notes that "one thing that's come of this global pandemic of COVID-19 is an understanding of what constitutes essential, what do we actually need. And police have shown that they are inessential."

Staff (2020-06-08). "The Time Is Now": Tens of Thousands in NYC March for Justice, Peace & an End to Racist Police. democracynow.org As hundreds of thousands took to the streets nationwide and around the world to call for police accountability and demand Black lives matter in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, Democracy Now! spoke to some of the people who joined the historic protests Saturday in New York City.

Staff (2020-06-08). Minneapolis City Council Vows to Dismantle Police Dept. After Mass Protests & Grassroots Organizing. democracynow.org After nearly two weeks of historic protests, the Minneapolis City Council has announced it will move to dismantle the city's police department in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. "We've got to create a system of public safety that works for everybody," says Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison.

Staff (2020-06-08). The End of Policing: Alex Vitale on How Cops & Their Unions Cover Up Inequality, Exploitation. democracynow.org Professor Alex Vitale argues the answer to police violence is not "reform." It's defunding. The author of "The End of Policing" says the movement to defund the police is part of "a long story about the use of police and prisons to manage problems of inequality and exploitation." He asks, "Why are we using police to paper over problems of economic exploitation?" He also discusses the role of police unions. "They become, in many cities, the locus, the institutional hub, for a whole set of right-wing 'thin blue line' politics that believe that policing is not only effective but it's the most desirable way to solve o…

Staff (2020-06-08). Headlines for June 8, 2020. democracynow.org Minneapolis City Council Announces It Will Disband Police Department, Uprising Against Racism, Police Brutality Brings Out 100,000s from Coast to Coast, D.C. Mayor, Protesters Paint Black Lives Matter Protest Call on Streets Leading to White House, Protests Mount Across the Globe as Racist and Colonialist Statues Targeted in U.K., Police Violence Against Protesters Results in More Deaths and Severe Injuries, Video Shows ICE Agents Arresting and Pointing Gun at Protester, Calls Mount to Prosecute Officers Who Killed African American Man, Manuel Ellis, in March, Family of Maurice Gordon, a Black Man Killed by NJ St…

Addison Blu (2020-06-08). Syria Sends Advisors to Aid US Rebels. anti-empire.com WASHINGTON — As the United States works through its immense internal challenges with human rights, equality, and government use of force, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad seeks to help the US in the same way the US helped during the recent Syrian civil war. | "We're sending advisors from our elite special operations units to, you know, help foster peace," Assad told reporters while hiding a smirk. "I can't tell you how valuable it was to have a foreign influence stoking the fires during a period of violent unrest. The least we can do is return the favor." | Assad's aides exchanged high fives in a symbol of…

Dan Diamond (2020-06-08). Couldn't Bury Your Father Because of Lockdown? Public Health Experts Have a New Exciting Message for You: "ACAB!" anti-empire.com For months, public health experts have urged Americans to take every precaution to stop the spread of Covid-19—stay at home, steer clear of friends and extended family, and absolutely avoid large gatherings. | Now some of those experts are broadcasting a new message: It's time to get out of the house and join the mass protests against racism. | "We should always evaluate the risks and benefits of efforts to control the virus," Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, tweeted on Tuesday. "In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the ha…

David P. Goldman (2020-06-08). America Is trying to Ban Korea, Taiwan and China (!) From Selling Chips to Huawei If They've Been Made With US-Made Tools. anti-empire.com Editor's note: In the long run why would anyone continue buying American machine tools? |
| South Korea has told Washington that restrictions on semiconductor sales to Huawei and other Chinese companies are "unacceptable," according to industry sources. | Seoul is trying to mediate between Beijing and Washington following the US Commerce Department's May 18 announcement that sales of computer chips to companies on its "entity list" will require a license if they are produced with US technology, even if they are produced overseas by foreign companies. | After the US temporarily banned exports of high-end smar…

John Pilger (2020-06-08). CIA's Forgotten Coup Against 'The Most Loyal Ally'. anti-empire.com The Australian High Court has ruled that correspondence between the Queen and the Governor-General of Australia, her viceroy in the former British colony, is no longer "personal" and the property of Buckingham Palace. Why does this matter? | Secret letters written in 1975 by the Queen and her man in Canberra, Sir John Kerr, can now be released by the National Archives. On November 11, 1975, Kerr infamously sacked the reformist government of prime minister Gough Whitlam, and delivered Australia into the hands of the United States. | Today, Australia is a vassal state bar none: its politics, intelligence agencies,…

ahtribune (2020-06-08). Syria: Will the Great Middle Eastern War Begin in the Levant? ahtribune.com The world is in turmoil. 2020 has already brought major multiple crises, with the Iranian-American clash in Iraq which followed the US assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, and the COVID-19 health pandemic and economic disaster that struck all continents and stole the lives of over 400 thousand people around the world, costing tens of millions of jobs. None of this, however, prevented America from imposing even more sanctions on Iran, Syria and Venezuela. Iran — already under maximum sanctions since 1979 — sent five tankers to Venezuela to break the embargo on components and spare parts…

ahtribune (2020-06-08). COVID-19, Antifa, and Black Lives Matter: The Battle for Control of the Internet. ahtribune.com Many observers have noted that the time through which we are living now seems unprecedented. We are all experiencing an amazing convergence of so many monumental developments that combine into a fast-moving narrative. In recent days the focus suddenly shifted from COVID-19 and compulsory vaccines to insurrection and anarchy from within. Suddenly the vaccine czar, Bill Gates, has been swept from the center stage of current events. Suddenly multi-billionaire Gates has been upstaged by multi-billionaire George Soros. | What is going on? What are the themes of continuity and disjuncture that characterize the stran…

The Canary (2020-06-08). Survey highlights loneliness of young people during lockdown. thecanary.co More than half of young people who said their wellbeing has been affected by the coronavirus lockdown have experienced loneliness, analysis suggests. | An Opinions and Lifestyle Survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 50.8% of those aged 16 to 24 said they were lonely during the lockdown. | By contrast, just under a quarter (24.1%) of people aged 55 to 69 who reported their wellbeing as being affected by the lockdown said they had felt lonely. | The ONS said this echoes previous research exploring chronic loneliness, showing that people in younger age groups were most likely to report lone…

The Canary (2020-06-08). New Zealand eradicates coronavirus. thecanary.co New Zealand has eradicated the coronavirus from its shores after health officials reported on Monday that the final person known to have been infected had recovered.The news swiftly led to the country's government announcing all forms of public events can again take place without limitations or social distancing guidelines.It has been 17 days since the last new case was reported in New Zealand, and Monday also marked the first time since late February there had been no active cases.Health officials caution that new cases could be imported into the country, which has closed its borders to everybody but citizens an…

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-08). What America and the World Need Now: Dismantle Big Money Power, Get Money Out of Politics. End Institutional Racism. globalresearch.ca Mass protests in the US and elsewhere over racist killings of Black men like George Floyd aren't good enough. | They divert attention from an array of core issues ignored by officialdom and establishment media. | Justice won't be served unless they're …

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-08). Challenging Authority, the Only Viable Option for Positive Change. globalresearch.ca State-sponsored class warfare rages. Ongoing for decades, it's all about governance of, by, and for the privileged few at the expense of most others. | What's untenable persists with no end of it in prospect, no plan for improving the lives …

Andrew Korybko (2020-06-08). You Can Be An Anti-Imperialist, Support African-Americans, And Also Oppose Terrorism. thealtworld.com The false narrative that's being propagated in the Alt-Media Community alleging that opposition to Antifa's nationwide spree of urban terrorism disqualifies one from being an anti-imperialist and supporter of African-Americans deserves to be directly debunked because it amounts to nothing more than an attempt to trick people into accepting the selective "normalization" of terrorist means to ideological ends. | Many In The Alt-Media Community Showed Their True Terrorist-Supporting Face | "

Vanessa Beeley (2020-06-08). Dr Bouthaina Shaaban speaks to Vanessa Beeley, Damascus. thealtworld.com Dr Bouthaina Shaaban on the hybrid war strategy being waged by the West, Israel, Turkey, Gulf States against Syria and her allies. | We had a meeting, during which we discussed most aspects of the maximum pressure campaign the sado-barbaric US Coalition is imposing upon Syria and all the nations who would defend her or provide economic support, trade and military collaboration. | Covid19 was discussed and the deliberate westernization of this alleged "pandemic" to further tighten the screws on an already economically devastated country that has endured 10 years of war, plagued by the various terrorist gangs cr…

Lawrence Wittner (2020-06-08). The Subversion of New York City's Official Policy to Curb Police Brutality. dissidentvoice.org In early November 1966, my sister and I‚Äïarmed with a bucket of home-made paste, a wide brush, and a thick roll of "Vote No" posters‚Äïheaded off from my student apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to plaster the surrounding area with the signs. The Patrolman's Benevolent Association (PBA), a very powerful police union, …

The Palestinian News & Info Agency (2020-06-08). WAFA: Israel Committed 27 Violations Against Journalists in May 2020. imemc.org The Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) said in a report, on Sunday, that it has documented 27 violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against journalists and media institutions working in the occupied Palestinian territories during May. The report on Israeli violations against journalists states that these violations included …

Ajamu Baraka (2020-06-08). No Compromise, No Retreat: Defeat the War Against the African/Black People in the U.S. and Abroad. globalresearch.ca The justice for George Floyd mobilizations today reflected the state's worst nightmare — a multi-national and multi-racial action initiated by Black people with Black leadership. | So, we say: Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland; …

Andrey Areshev (2020-06-08). Trump's Path to Historical Ignominy. strategic-culture.org History has always treated harshly those tyrants and strongmen who have been gratuitously violent toward their subjects and citizens and believed in purposely creating misery for their charge. Donald John Trump, the third impeached president of the United States, decided to clear peaceful protesters gathered a full block from the White House, so he could have his photograph taken standing in front of a church. It was not any church, but St. John's Episcopal Church, dubbed the "Church of the Presidents," owing to the several chief executives who have worshiped there over the decades. | To prepare for Trump's photo…

The Canary (2020-06-08). Giving drivers £6,000 to switch to electric car would be 'fantastic move'. thecanary.co Motoring and environmental groups have welcomed the prospect of a new car scrappage scheme encouraging motorists to switch to electric vehicles. | The AA described it as "fantastic" while Greenpeace said it would be "moving in the right direction". | Boris Johnson is considering launching plans to give drivers up to £6,000 to exchange their petrol or diesel car for an electric model, the Daily Telegraph reported. | In March the government reduced the maximum grant available for electric car buyers under the Plug-In Car Grant by £500 to £3,000. | But it has been urged to help manufacturers hit ha…

Ali Salam (2020-06-08). Demolition Notices, Halt Construction Ordered by Israeli Military. imemc.org Israeli forces notified two Palestinian home owners, on Sunday, of the order to demolish their homes in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local activist. Popular committee coordinator in Yatta, Rateb al-Jabour, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that Israeli soldiers notified two …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-08). Progressives in Ireland unite to demand justice for George Floyd. peoplesdispatch.org Marches in solidarity with the anti-racist protests in the US were held, defying police restrictions, in Dublin in the Irish Republic and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Protesters, however, adhered to the COVID-19 safety protocol…

Richard Greeman (2020-06-08). Ten Days that May Have Changed the World. Mass Protests across America. globalresearch.ca Sparked by the police murder of

Rima Najjar (2020-06-08). Camouflage: How the Israeli Left Continues to Hoodwink Us with Corrupted Slogans. globalresearch.ca To reach the hearts and minds of Americans, the Zionist Israeli Left is manipulating the Black Lives Matter movement. The slogans and images of protestors coming out of Tel Aviv continue to hoodwink the world with a sudden and self-serving …

subMedia (2020-06-08). RIP George Floyd and Solidarity with Those Fighting Back. dissidentvoice.org It's been a historic and heavy two weeks in the US, following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. Calls for justice have grown from a mid-sized protest outside a precinct to a nation-wide uprising, leading Donald Trump to run to his bunker and threaten to call in the …

Fight Back (2020-06-08). Houston protests police murder of George Floyd. fightbacknews.org Houston, TX – The police murder of George Floyd, the catalyst of a national and now global wave of mass demonstrations against anti-Black racism and police brutality, took place in Minneapolis. But Floyd was a son of Houston, Texas, a longtime and much beloved neighborhood personality of the Third Ward, one of the city's historic centers of African-American life. Judging by the sheer size of the recent protests in Houston, Floyd's home city will never forget him. | The largest demonstration in Floyd's honor in Houston occurred on Tuesday, June 2, when an estimated 60,000 people came downtown for a march and rally…

Fight Back (2020-06-08). Thousands protest across South Florida against police violence. fightbacknews.org Miami, FL – Thousands took to the streets of Miami June 6, to protest police violence against Black and brown communities in the U.S. and to continue demanding justice for George Floyd. Protesters called for arresting killer cops in all cities, demilitarizing the police, and community control over the police. They took to the streets and marched for miles along Biscayne Avenue, from the Torch of Friendship at Bayside all the way to Wynwood. | There were two different marches happening simultaneously in Miami plus several others in cities like Miramar and Davie in Broward County. | There were also several actions…

Andrey Areshev (2020-06-08). For This to Slip Would Be the 'End of Empire'. strategic-culture.org A hot humid day, but a gentle, warm breeze is blowing. The smoke and tear gas swirl gently to and fro, hanging in the dense, sweaty air, as shafts of dazzling sunlight scythe through the smokiness at sharp angles. A mass protest is forming. Youths are chattering; people moving aimlessly. It still has not solidified into purpose, yet the raw tenseness of the coming conflict hangs, as palpably as does the smoke in the air. It is evident — there will be violence today. | No, this is not America. This is the flashpoint crossroad between the radical Jewish settler outpost of Beit El in the West Bank, and its int…

Labor Video Project (2020-06-08). Black Lives Matter! Labor Rally & March In SF. indybay.org Hundreds of Northern California trade unionists marched and rallied in San Francisco Hunters Point Bay View district to protest the murder of George Floyd and many other Black workers and youth. Some community members also spoke out about the murders.

Downtown Protest (2020-06-08). San Rafael Says "Say Their Names" indybay.org 28 names on a cardboard sign…Black Americans murdered by police. There are many many more, protesters lamented.

WSWS Repost (2020-06-08). Police kill unarmed 22-year-old man in Vallejo, California. indybay.org The Vallejo, California Police Department has a well-established track record of brutality and murder. | On Tuesday, June 2, Vallejo police gunned down an unarmed 22-year old whose last text sent was one asking his sisters to sign a petition protesting the police murder of George Floyd.