(2020-07-09). 'Strike for Black Lives': Planned July 20 walkout unites BLM and unions. peoplesworld.org 
NEW YORK (AP)—A national coalition of labor unions, along with racial and social justice organizations, will stage a mass walkout from work this month, as part of an ongoing reckoning on systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. Dubbed the "Strike for Black Lives," tens of thousands of fast food, ride-share, nursing home, and airport workers …
(2020-07-09). Release San Quentin prisoners immediately! workers.org 
Oakland, Calif. July 5 — After a large prisoner transfer to San Quentin State Prison dramatically increased the COVID infection rate there, prisoners and advocates have stepped up their campaign to win the release of thousands of elderly, ill and vulnerable people inside. COVID-19 infections are spiking at astronomical levels . . . |
(2020-07-09). As coronavirus rages official jobless numbers near 33 million. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The official number of unemployed people neared 33 million in the week ending in the real Independence Day, July 4, as 1,399,699 million more jobless workers sought state benefits and 850,461 asked for federal-only $600 weekly jobless checks. And in the week ending June 20, one of every four Puerto Ricans was jobless, as were …
(2020-07-09). Firm Linked to HHS' Robert Kadlec Poised to Become Exclusive Manufacture of COVID-19 Vaccines. mintpressnews.com 
A pharmaceutical firm with a dark history and questionable ties to serving ASPR Robert Kadlec is poised to become the exclusive manufacturer of the COVID-19 vaccines now being funded through Trump's Operation Warp Speed.
(2020-07-09). Peru ranks oil production over pandemic threat and Indigenous rights. peoplesworld.org 
As of July 7, 10,772 people had died of COVID 19 infection in Peru, which is the 8th most severely affected country in the world. The actual toll is assumed to be far greater, especially in Peru's Amazonian region. Indigenous inhabitants there, isolated from medical care, are vulnerable both to environmental abuses at the hands …
(2020-07-09). COVID-19 Exposes the Weakness of a Major Theory Used to Justify Capitalism. counterpunch.org 
COVID-19 exposes the sham of orthodox economics. It was not profitable for capitalists to produce and stockpile adequate quantities of tests, masks, gloves, beds, etc., to be prepared for the virus. Given the costs to produce these commodities, there was no way of knowing how long they would need to be stockpiled before there would be a demand for and purchase of them. Stockpiling costs. So do monitoring stockpiles for deterioration and replacing deteriorated stocks or insuring against deterioration. There was, in short, no way to know (and thus be able to calculate) the costs in the manner fantasized by orthodox…
(2020-07-09). Looming Eviction Crisis Will Endanger Public Health And Economic Recovery. therealnews.com 
Last week, Baltimore housing advocates held a "Truth Commission" in front of Baltimore City Hall, declaring that elected officials had failed to protect residents from a housing crisis worsened by COVID-19. The group, which included members of Fair Development Roundtable, Housing Our Neighbors, and United Workers, warned of a looming eviction catastrophe if a city moratorium on evictions is allowed to expire on July 25 as currently planned. | Community members said they were putting the housing system on trial, and highlighting how official policy had failed to protect renters and the homeless. | "We're going to…
(2020-07-09). The World Can Show How Pharma Monopolies Aren't the Only Way to Fight COVID-19. counterpunch.org 
The U.S. has bought up almost all of the stock of remdesivir from Gilead, making it nearly impossible for this COVID-19 drug to be available anywhere else in the world. After making America sick again, Trump is trying to compensate for his administration's failure by buying Gilead's production for the next three months for the
(2020-07-09). Cold War with China and the Thucydides Trap: a Conversation with Richard Falk. counterpunch.org 
Should there be a Second Cold War an alleged US concern for human rights would indeed become another ongoing tool of propaganda. In this interview, International Relations scholar Richard Falk breaks down the grave dangers and prospects for a New Cold with China. Falk worries that tensions and rivalries both regionally and economically could result
(2020-07-09). Trumka rips Senate GOP and its leader, McConnell. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has had it up to here with the U.S. Senate's ruling Republicans and specifically with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Listing the three big crises facing the country, Trumka wants the GOP majority to get off its butt and help the nation's workers. "Numbers of coronavirus infections are rising across large …
(2020-07-09). Racism in America: Police Choke-Holds Are Not the Issue. counterpunch.org 
While the abject inhumanity of slavery may have been legally mitigated to some extent, the institutions, practices and values of exclusion, exploitation and devaluation were not. Constitutional guarantees, and Supreme Court decisions, could be cleverly subverted by States. For example, Black people were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, arbitrary registration requirements, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries and so on. In 1940, 70 years after they had received the right to vote, only 3% of Blacks in the South were registered as voters. Less overt voter suppression efforts continue to t…
(2020-07-09). Shrink-Wrapped: Plastic Pollution and the Greatest Economic System Jesus Ever Devised. counterpunch.org 
When exactly I began putting plastic items in a special tub for recycling I don't remember. Probably in the 1980s when I moved to Princeton. Then my wife and I separated plastic items, tin cans and newspapers from the regular garbage and put them in a special can to be recycled. Then too certain plastic
(2020-07-09). Revolution and proletarian democracy. workers.org 
A socialist revolution is an uprising of the proletariat — the working class, those who do not own the property necessary to run a business but must instead work for someone else. A socialist revolution is an awakening that causes the mass of workers to resist their oppression. In order . . . |
(2020-07-09). Guaido representative threatens FBI investigation into journalists exposing her dealings. mronline.org 
Juan Guaido's UK "ambassador" claims that she is working with the FBI in an investigation exposing a "transnational criminal network" of journalists and outlets, including Venezuelanalysis.
(2020-07-09). The U.S. and UK are a wrecking ball crew against the pillars of internationalism. mronline.org 
In both the case of the sanctions against the ICC and the theft of Venezuela's gold, the United States and the UK demonstrate their disregard for international institutions and for international law.
(2020-07-09). Deadly new sanctions on Syria. workers.org 
By Judy Bello This slightly edited guest article was originally published June 12 on the web site of the United National AntiWar Coalition (unac.notowar.net). On May 20, President Trump signed into law the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Embedded in this bill, a housekeeping bill of sorts where yearly . . . |
(2020-07-09). CoronaShock and socialism. mronline.org 
CoronaShock is a term that refers to how a virus struck the world with such gripping force; it refers to how the social order in the bourgeois state crumbled, while the social order in the socialist parts of the world appeared more resilient.
(2020-07-09). SCOTUS decides 5-4 win for abortion rights. workers.org 
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective Executive Director Monica Simpson speaking at reproductive justice rally in Georgia, June 28, 2019. On June 29, the Supreme Court issued a much anticipated decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, the first reproductive justice case since anti-abortion Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and . . . |
(2020-07-09). Protesters say: 'Free Mumia!' in Philadelphia on July 4. workers.org 
July 4, Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA "Y'all are the ones we've been waiting for," Pam Africa from International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal and the MOVE Organization said to a crowd of hundreds outside Philadelphia City Hall on July 4th. "Y'all are the ones we've been waiting for. You're . . . |
(2020-07-09). Who killed Vanessa Guillén? Women of color devalued under capitalism. workers.org 
Houston, July 4. Thousands shout, 'Shut down Fort Hood.' The case of Pfc. Vanessa Guillén has sparked a movement. Since April 23, the family and friends of Guillén had been asking Army officials "Where is Vanessa?" Pfc. Vanessa Guillén went missing on April 22 from Ft. Hood, Texas, the Army . . . |
(2020-07-09). Public housing residents speak out against being scapegoated for COVID-19 spread. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-07-09). Peace network: Increase in military expenditure 'unjustified and destabilising'. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-07-09). The Heat: COVID-19 surges in United States and Brazil. america.cgtn.com 
The United States and Brazil lead the world with the highest number of coronavirus cases. The U.S. now topping three million infections — just what's behind the surge?
(2020-07-09). Not a 'racist' plan anymore? Democrats rejoice over Biden's $700bn 'Buy American' promise. rt.com 
Joe Biden unveiled a $700 billion 'Buy American' initiative, drawing praise from both liberals and conservatives on social media, but some noted that similar plans by the Trump administration were previously framed as 'racist.' | Biden's economic pitch includes plans for a $400 billion, four-year increase in government spending on US-made goods and services — topped by a $300 billion investment in research and development for US technology. | "This will be the largest mobilization of public investments in procurement, infrastructure and (research and development) since World War II," Biden's senior advise…
(2020-07-09). Pokemon Go players spend almost $4bn on app in just 4 YEARS in bid to catch 'em all. rt.com 
Four years after it bamboozled the world with its augmented-reality gameplay, 'Pokemon Go' is still attracting billions of dollars' worth of in-game spending. | The free-to-play app, based on the best-selling original video game title and corresponding film and television series, was met with widespread acclaim upon its release four years ago, and boasted one billion downloads as of March 2019. | Created by Niantic and released in 2016, the game involves users searching the real world to find Pokemon through their smartphones via augmented reality (AR). Since its launch, players have walked a cumulative 23 bil…
(2020-07-09). MADE IN CHINA: Contractor indicted for defrauding US Navy about origin of armor & helmets. rt.com 
A grand jury indictment of a Virginia man whose company allegedly sold Chinese-made helmets and body armor to the government is challenging President Donald Trump's claim the Pentagon gets only the best American-made goods. | Surveillance Equipment Group Inc. (SEG) CEO Arthur Morgan was
(2020-07-09). 'Liberating 5th Avenue': New York mayor paints BLACK LIVES MATTER outside Trump Tower. rt.com 
Signaling where his priorities lie amid an epidemic of coronavirus and violence, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a stretch of 5th Avenue outside Trump Tower to be painted with the words 'Black Lives Matter'. | City workers closed off the street on Thursday morning and began painting the mural, as De Blasio boasted about "liberating 5th Avenue" and finally giving credit to African-Americans for building New York and the US. | | "We are not denigrating anything, we are liberating Fifth Avenue." | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasi…
(2020-07-09). Toyota fires employees for making fun of George Floyd killing with 'that will keep them down' kneeling. rt.com 
Toyota has fired two high-level employees from a plant in Indiana, after they allegedly mocked the killing of George Floyd. Though their jokes got them the sack, Toyota itself has been in the spotlight for racism before. | In a video filmed by his colleagues, supervisor Patrick Talley knelt on a binder full of documents, exclaiming "that will keep them down." The onlooker who filmed the video told Yahoo News that Talley was referencing Floyd's murder, and "everyone who saw him do it was disgusted." | "It was a disgusting gesture Talley made to imply that kneeling on a black man's neck until he dies is a great…
(2020-07-09). Internet witch hunts derive from 'profound' desire for self-purpose, signatory of open letter critical of cancel culture tells RT. rt.com 
Cancel culture attracts people who feel isolated by society and want to be part of a rigid orthodoxy that gives their lives meaning, according to a signatory of a controversial open letter that was also endorsed by J.K. Rowling. | Growing intolerance towards ideas and views deemed impermissible swells from a yearning to belong to something bigger than ourselves, said Roger Berkowitz, a professor of political studies and human rights at Bard College. In an interview with RT, he explained that "widespread mass existential loneliness of our culture" has eroded social traditions to the point where many people feel…
(2020-07-09). India records almost 25,000 new coronavirus cases. thecanary.co 
India has reported nearly 25,000 new coronavirus infections as the disease continues to spread through the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people.The virus is showing no signs of slowing in the worst-affected countries — the United States, Brazil and India.The three nations account for more than 60% of new cases, according to recent tallies from Johns Hopkins University.The US reported nearly 59,000 new daily cases, just short of the record 60,000 cases set a day earlier, as president Donald Trump insisted that schools reopen in the autumn.President Donald Trump said schools should reopen in the autumn (Evan Vu…
(2020-07-09). South African province prepares graves as coronavirus hits 'full speed'. thecanary.co 
The coronavirus pandemic in Africa is reaching "full speed" and it is good to prepare for the worst-case scenario, the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention has said.It comes after a South African official said a single province is preparing 1.5m graves.The number of confirmed virus cases across Africa surpassed the half-million milestone on 8 July, with more than 12,000 deaths.With testing levels low, the real numbers are unknown.South Africa has the most confirmed cases with more than 224,000. | For the first time, Gauteng province — home to Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria — h…
(2020-07-09). Meet the Venezuelan Coup Regime's 'UK Ambassador,' a Pampered U.S. Heiress Who Threatens Journalists. strategic-culture.org 
Juan Guaidó's UK representative, a jet-setting US socialite named Vanessa Neumann, has threatened journalists with FBI investigations for reporting on her unhinged behavior. The coup-plotting heiress made her name spinning out conspiracies at neoconservative think tanks. | Ben NORTON | Since the United States initiated a coup attempt against Venezuela's elected, internationally recognized government in January 2019, the gang of far-right opposition activists the Donald Trump administration recognized as the country's unelected representatives have racked up a series of embarrassing scandals. | Top aides of the
(2020-07-09). How to Stop the Next Pandemic: U.N. Report Links Outbreaks to Climate Crisis & Industrial Farming. democracynow.org 
As the unprecedented global health emergency continues to unfold, a new United Nations report says humans must lower stress on the natural environment to prevent the next pandemic. COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has a zoonotic origin, meaning it jumped from animals to humans, and the U.N. report finds that such diseases are spreading with greater frequency due to human activity, including industrial farming and the climate crisis. "Rather than focusing on the symptoms, we were looking at the causes," says Delia Grace, lead author of the report, veterinary epidemiologist at the Internationa…
(2020-07-09). Belgian Princess Condemns Her Family's Brutal Colonial History in Congo & Calls For Reparations. democracynow.org 
Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. have sparked a reckoning about racism and colonialism across the world, including in Belgium, where a growing movement is demanding the country address systemic racism and make amends for its violent colonial legacy. King Philippe issued an unprecedented statement "expressing regret" for Belgium's brutal colonial rule in Congo under Leopold II, who ran the country as his personal fiefdom and under whose command millions of Congolese were enslaved and killed. "It's an erased history," says Belgo-Congolese journalist and activist Gia Abrassart. We also speak with Princess Esm…
(2020-07-09). Viagra? Yes. Birth Control? No. SCOTUS Sides with Trump & Limits Free Contraception Under Obamacare. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to reproductive rights when it sided with the Trump administration in letting employers deny people access to free birth control based on religious or moral grounds, hollowing out a mandate under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to provide cost-free birth control. "It's a really deeply disappointing ruling," says Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. "These individuals are effectively on their own to find and pay for their contraception."
(2020-07-09). Melbourne towers hard lockdown: How a preventable disaster became a nightmare — and how to stop it happening again. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-07-09). Headlines for July 9, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Posts Another Record Daily High in New Coronavirus Cases, Anthony Fauci Absent from Coronavirus Task Force Briefing After Drawing Criticism from Trump, Trump Attacks CDC Guidance on School Reopenings During Pandemic, Hundreds Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona For-Profit Immigration Jail, Tulsa, OK Health Official Links Explosion of Coronavirus Cases to Trump Rally, HHS Secretary Claims Medical Workers "Don't Get Infected" After 95,000 Test Positive for Coronavirus, COVID-19 Cases Spike in Africa, While Melbourne, Australia, Is Placed Back on Lockdown, Bolivians Buried in Mass Graves as Hospitals "Collaps…
(2020-07-09). "Pinning Down Putin" Biden, the Democrats and the Next War. counterpunch.org The latest Foreign Affairs features a piece by former Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, "Pinning Down Putin: How a Confidant America Should Deal With Russia." A protege of former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton, she is a notorious "liberal interventionist," married to neocon pundit Robert Kagan. She is perhaps best known
(2020-07-09). Why the Bill Gates global health empire promises more empire and less public health. thegrayzone.com Behind a veil of corporate media PR, the Gates Foundation has served as a vehicle for Western capital while exploiting…
(2020-07-09). Bolsonaro Will Politicize His "Alleged" Coronavirus Infection to Regain Lost Popularity. globalresearch.ca It is only natural for many people to think Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro testing positive for COVID-19 is a karma for his insistence on minimizing the risks of the disease and a near non-existent management of the pandemic that has …
(2020-07-09). Racism in America: Police Choke-hold is Not the Issue. counterpunch.org While the abject inhumanity of slavery may have been legally mitigated to some extent, the institutions, practices and values of exclusion, exploitation and devaluation were not. Constitutional guarantees, and Supreme Court decisions, could be cleverly subverted by States. For example, Black people were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, arbitrary registration requirements, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries and so on. In 1940, 70 years after they had received the right to vote, only 3% of Blacks in the South were registered as voters. Less overt voter suppression efforts continue to t…
(2020-07-09). Supreme Court Rejects Effort To Greenlight Keystone XL Construction. popularresistance.org The Supreme Court late Monday upheld a federal judge's rejection of a crucial permit for Keystone XL and blocked the Trump administration's attempt to greenlight construction of the 1,200-mile crude oil project, the third such blow to the fossil fuel industry in a day—coming just hours after the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the court-ordered shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline. | While the ruling was not a total victory for the climate—the high court said other pipeline projects can proceed as environmental reviews are conducted—green groups applauded the delay of Keystone…
(2020-07-09). Meet the Venezuelan coup regime's 'UK ambassador,' a pampered US heiress who threatens journalists. thegrayzone.com Juan Guaidó's UK representative, a jet-setting US socialite named Vanessa Neumann, has threatened journalists with FBI investigations for reporting on…
(2020-07-09). Biden's vision for Venezuela is virtually indistinguishable from Trump's. thegrayzone.com A recent Biden campaign event demonstrated that when it comes to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions and a refusal…
(2020-07-09). UK Commits 'Highway Robbery' of Venezuelan Gold, Says Academic. globalresearch.ca When it comes to Venezuela, Britain is suffering from split personality disorder. While the UK Foreign Office reportedly maintains 'full, normal and reciprocal diplomatic relations' with legitimately elected President Maduro's government, and with Maduro's UK ambassador, the British government has …
(2020-07-09). As Long As Mass Media Propaganda Exists, Democracy Is A Sham. thealtworld.com "A majority of Americans believe that Russia paid the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan last year amid negotiations to end the war, and more than half want to respond with new economic sanctions against Moscow, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday," "Overall, 60% of Americans said they found reports of Russian bounties on American soldiers to be 'very' or 'somewhat' believable, while 21% said they were not credible and the rest were unsure," says Reut…
(2020-07-09). The Latest 'Russiagate' Bombshell Took One Week To Be Exposed As Dud. popularresistance.org Within just one week the recent attempt to revive 'Russiagate' has failed. It was an embarrassing failure for the media who pushed it. Their 'journalists' fell for obvious nonsense. They let their sources abuse them for political purposes. | On June 27 the New York Times and the Washington Post published stories which claimed that Trump was informed about alleged Russian bounty payments to the Taliban for killing U.S. soldiers and did nothing about it: | A Russian military spy unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan, including U.S. and British troops, in a strik…
(2020-07-09). The Global Reset — Unplugged. "The Deep State" globalresearch.ca Imagine, you are living in a world that you are told is a democracy — and you may even believe it — but in fact your life and fate is in the hands of a few ultra-rich, ultra-powerful and ultra-inhuman oligarchs. They may be called Deep State, or simply the Beast, …
(2020-07-09). The Long Goodbye to Organized Religion. counterpunch.org It was the notice of an online meeting of a local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace that made me think of my long and troubled relationship with organized religion. I grew up during a time in the 1950s and 1960s when membership in a temple or synagogue was a given for most Jews. And
(2020-07-09). Trump Is Trying to Hide US and Israeli War Crimes by Attacking the International Criminal Court. globalresearch.ca A war crimes