(2020-08-12). Former McCain Advisor and Iraq War Advocate Niall Ferguson Warns TikTok Is a Chinese Imperial Plot. mintpressnews.com 
Ferguson argued that Tiktok is brainwashing 100 million mostly Generation Z Americans who use the platform into "becoming soldiers of Beijing's new revolution."
(2020-08-12). Lebanon's Leaders Resign over deaths of 200, but Trump refuses Accountability for 163,462 Deaths. zcomm.org Trump by his peculiar combination of narcissism, contrarianism, irrationality, and political guile, has polished off more Americans than died in the entire Vietnam War…
(2020-08-12). Leaked documents reveal what TikTok shares with authorities — In the U.S. mronline.org 
A glimpse at what the social media platform does in the U.S. underscores that data privacy issues extend beyond China.
(2020-08-12). AEP 59: The American Trap sprung on Tiktok and Huawei, with Carl Zha. mronline.org 
Back with Carl Zha of Silk & Steel podcast, who we last saw in our episode on the India-China border conflict.
(2020-08-12). Teaching Palestinian Children to Love Beethoven, Bizet, and Mozart is a Threat to a Depraved Israeli Society. counterpunch.org 
The subject box of a mid-March email from Jerusalemite Palestinian author and scholar read: "Simply Reflecting." Samia Khoury's 16/March/2020 message was a concise and tellingly prescient homily on the pathetically worsening universal condition of humanity as well as the depraved banality to which Israel's Jewish leaders have descended. The topics included the spread of Covid-19,
(2020-08-12). An anti-racist vote for class unity. workers.org 
Rashida Tlaib of Detroit made history on Nov. 7, 2018, when she became the first Palestinian American woman elected to Congress. This year, in the weeks leading up to the Michigan Democratic Party primary on Aug. 4, the capitalist media questioned whether she would get a shot at reelection. "Congressperson . . . |
(2020-08-12). Vietnam donates 10,000 masks to Maryland to fight COVID-19. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The Embassy of Vietnam in the United States presented 10,000 face masks to the state of Maryland at a ceremony held on August 7. At the handover ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Ha Kim Ngoc voiced his hope that the face masks will contribute to containing the spread of COVID-19 in Maryland. He added …
(2020-08-12). Turkey Marks 100 Years Since Treaty of Sèvres. Renewed Hostilities with Greece. globalresearch.ca Yesterday marked the 100-year anniversary from when the Treaty of Sèvres was signed. The Treaty of Sèvres saw the Ottoman Empire dismembered, with Greece, Syria and Armenia gaining old lost lands, an independent Kurdistan established, and France, Britain and Italy …
(2020-08-12). Beirut: A tragedy that threatens the region with war and chaos. thealtworld.com On the 4th August 2020 an apocalyptic event took place in the main port of Lebanon's capital city, Beirut. Two explosions tore the city apart. The first explosion was registered on multiple mobile phone videos. The second ripped through the city with terrifying force, killing an estimated 220 and injuring more than 7000. Many victims are still missing as the search for survivors and bodies continues in the aftermath of thirty seconds that has left Beirut and Lebanon reeling with shock. | Three hundred thousand people are reported to be homeless although it is suspected that all estimated numbers are conservative.
(2020-08-12). Exposing US Color Revolution in Thailand Aimed at China. globalresearch.ca Western media — after claiming recent protests in Thailand were "leaderless" and comprised of "students," decries arrest of US-funded lawyer leading them — never mentions US funding. | *** | The Western media was quick to decry the arrest of 34 year-old …
(2020-08-12). MSM Smear Merchants Target Critics Of Establishment China Narratives. thealtworld.com slow-motion third world war against unabsorbed governments continues to accelerate, narrative management campaigns are getting more and more frenzied. We see this exemplified in two recent smear pieces published by imperial spinmeisters about critics of the establishment-authorized narratives about what's happening in China. | The oligarch-funded Axios has published a new article titled " The American blo…
(2020-08-12). Pushing GMO Crops Into India: Experts Debunk High-Level Claims of Bt Cotton Success. dissidentvoice.org On 6 July 2020, an article extolling the benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops appeared on the BloombergQuint website based on an interview with Dr Ramesh Chand, a member of the key Indian Government think tank Niti Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) . On 17 July, another piece that placed a positive spin on …
(2020-08-12). The Lobby Attacks Left-wing Restaurant. dissidentvoice.org As part of a well-organized, multilayered, Israel nationalist lobby bid to bankrupt a small left-wing restaurant a prominent Toronto interior designer sued Kimberly Hawkins for $800,000. Shai DeLuca is claiming the Foodbenders owner libeled him. The suit was filed by RE-LAW LLP and the US-based Lawfare Project which harasses pro-Palestinian activists. The Lawfare Project, reports …
(2020-08-12). Beirut Blast Aftermath—MES EP.67. thealtworld.com The majority of Lebanese people put the blame squarely on the political elite and the corruption and mismanagement for the Beirut Explosion on August 4rth. However, only the US backed politicians in Lebanon began parroting from the first hour of the blast that Hezbollah is to blame for this disaster and sent in their protestors that same week to start riots in the capital while hundreds were still missing and thousands remain in hospitals getting treated as hundreds were laid for their final rest. To discuss this issue with us from Beirut is Mr. Maan Bachour Former secretary general of the Arab National Congress.
(2020-08-12). Replaying the 'Syria Scenario' in Lebanon. thealtworld.com The US and its clients are trying to exploit the crisis to advance their plans to destroy Hezbollah. They should know better. | Let us start at the end, without getting bogged down in the details and analyses that fill the Lebanese and Arab media these days: The current ferment in Lebanon, which resulted in the resignation of Hassan Diab's government over the Beirut Port explosion, will eventually lead to the demise of Lebanon's corrupt ruling elite and the 1989 Taif Agreement that brought it to power and established the sectarian carve-up system that sustains it. | The Lebanese people want genuine democratic ref…
(2020-08-12). Headlines for August 12, 2020. democracynow.org Joe Biden Taps Kamala Harris as Vice-Presidential Running Mate, Florida, Georgia Record Record Coronavirus Deaths as U.S. Colleges Delay Fall Sports Season, Bodies of COVID-19 Victims Lie Unclaimed Outside Chapel in La Paz, Bolivia, QAnon Conspiracy Theorist Wins Georgia 14th Congressional District GOP Primary, Rep. Ilhan Omar Fends Off Primary Challenger Who Dramatically Outraised Her, Clintons, Obamas Among Top Speakers at Democratic National Convention, Beirut Vigil Marks One Week Since Catastrophic Port Explosion, Thousands of Protesters in Mali Demand President's Ouster, Chicago Man Accused of Firing at Poli…
(2020-08-12). What the Nazis Learned from Jim Crow: Author Isabel Wilkerson on the U.S. Racial Caste System. democracynow.org 
In her extensively researched new book, "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson argues the United States' racial hierarchy should be thought of as a caste system, similar to that in India. In a wide-ranging interview, she describes how she also looks at the ways Nazi Germany borrowed from U.S. Jim Crow laws. "The Nazis needed no one to teach them how to hate," Wilkerson says. "But what they did was they sent researchers to the United States to study Jim Crow laws here in the United States, to study and to research how the United States had managed to subordinate…
(2020-08-12). As Kamala Harris Makes History as VP Pick, Her "Top Cop" Record Faces New Scrutiny Amid BLM Protests. democracynow.org 
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's selection of California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate for the November election makes her the first Black woman and the first Indian American on a major party presidential ticket. "It's hard to overstate how historic, how monumental this is," says Aimee Allison, president of She the People, which works to elevate the political voice and leadership of women of color. But in the midst of the largest protest movement in American history against racist policing, Briahna Joy Gray, the former national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders pres…
(2020-08-12). Meatpacking Workers Continue To Struggle During The Pandemic. popularresistance.org Five thousand plant workers have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nebraska, representing nearly 20 percent of cases statewide, and at least 21 of those workers have died. Plants predominantly employ immigrants and refugees, consisting mostly of Latinos, but also Sudanese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and other groups. Even though workers' pay increased at the plants, so too did their workload. With many still out sick, workers have been expected to keep up with line speeds operating at full capacity. Many workers live in multigenerational homes, and the coronavirus case and death figures cited by Sen. Vargas do not acco…
(2020-08-12). QAnon-supporting, anti-Soros GOP upstart Marjorie Greene on track for Congress after landslide victory in Georgia primary. rt.com 
A GOP congressional candidate who's come under fire for endorsing 'QAnon' conspiracy theories has taken more than half the vote in Georgia's primary runoff race, putting her on track to become the first Q-supporter in Congress. | Businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene prevailed over her fellow Republican John Cowan on Tuesday night, earning more than 57 percent of the vote. Greene ran a victory lap following the final result, celebrating her win despite "the GOP establishment, the media, and the radical left" spending "months and millions of dollars attacking me." | The GOP establishment, the media, & the radic…
(2020-08-12). Cure worse than disease: Ruptly filmed REAL BLM protesters burning a Bible. NY Times tried to 'debunk' it with actual FAKE NEWS. rt.com 
Mainstream media have denounced RT's Ruptly video agency for documenting Portland protesters burning Bibles, dismissing the unaltered footage as 'Russian disinfo' in an attempt at bad-faith 'shoot the messenger' gaslighting. | Protesters gather around a burning Bible, chanting "F*** Trump," as they neatly drape an American flag over the flames. A few of the demonstrators rub their hands over the tiny fire, aping warming themselves as the flames devour the book. The 90-second clip was part of a 4-hour livestream. | It's an incendiary image (no pun intended) — protesters already denounced from some corners…
(2020-08-12). Cure worse than disease: We filmed REAL BLM protesters burning a Bible. NY Times tried to 'debunk' it with actual FAKE NEWS. rt.com Mainstream media have denounced Ruptly video of Portland protesters burning Bibles as 'Russian disinfo', countering the unaltered viral footage with fake news of their own in bad-faith 'shoot the messenger' gaslighting. | Protesters gather around a burning Bible, chanting "F*** Trump" as they neatly drape first an American flag over the flames, in the original video, which clocks in at under 90 seconds. A few of the demonstrators rub their hands over the tiny fire, aping warming themselves as the flames devour the book. | It's an incendiary image (no pun intended) — protesters already denounced from some…
(2020-08-12). Twitter Spreads Paid U.S. Gov't Propaganda While Falsely Claiming It Bans State Media Ads. strategic-culture.org 
Twitter says it bans ads from state-affiliated media outlets. However, US government propaganda organs like Voice of America's VOA Persian pay the social media corporation huge sums of money to spread disinformation against Iran and other foreign adversaries. | Ben NORTON | Twitter has demonstrated a clear, consistent bias in favor of the US government and its geopolitical interests. The social media giant has also repeatedly lied about its policies on state-backed media outlets. | Twitter unveiled a new feature on August 6 that labels government-affiliated media on the platform. Users immediately pointed out…
(2020-08-12). New Report Reveals U.S. Special Forces Active in 22 African Countries. strategic-culture.org 
While there is much talk, (or more accurately, condemnation) in Western media of China's imperialist motives in Africa, there is less discussion of the U.S.' continuing role. While China operates one base in the Horn of Africa and has greatly increased its economic role on the continent, the thousands of American troops operating in dozens of countries are overlooked.
(2020-08-12). Science and politics tied up in global race for a coronavirus vaccine. thecanary.co 
The announcement on Tuesday by Russian president Vladimir Putin that his country was the first to approve a coronavirus vaccine has been met by doubts about the science and safety.But it also underscored how the competition to have the first vaccine is about international rivalries as well as science.The first nation to develop a way to defeat the novel coronavirus will achieve a kind of moonshot victory and the global status that goes along with it.That is valuable to Putin, whose popularity at home has declined amid a stagnant economy and the ravages of the virus outbreak.Russian President Vladimir Putin announ…
(2020-08-12). Brexit, COVID and the continuing ambiguity in Britain. peoplesdispatch.org Vijay Prashad, Executive Director, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, talks to Musician Pandit G of the Asian Dub Foundation speak of the power of music and community in fighting the evils of society.
(2020-08-12). Nationalise aged care homes and mandate staffing levels. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-08-12). Trump's War On Arms Control and Disarmament. counterpunch.org 
Seventy-five years ago, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 200,000 Japanese and injuring another 100,000. The great fires that raged in each city consumed many of the bodies. If ever there was a visceral force for promoting a world free of nuclear arms, it should be the memory
(2020-08-12). The Likud Conspiracy: Israel in the Throes of a Major Political Crisis. counterpunch.org 
Protests against Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have raged on for weeks, turning violent sometimes. Israelis are furious at their government's mediocre response to the coronavirus pandemic, especially as COVID-19 disease is experiencing a massive surge throughout the country. Netanyahu warned protesters, thousands of whom have been rallying outside his residence in Jerusalem, against "anarchy
(2020-08-12). The Politics of War: What is Israel's Endgame in Lebanon and Syria? mintpressnews.com Israel's strategic interests in the Syria conflict go beyond Netanyahu's need for a cheap victory. The outcome of the Syria war has the potential of yielding a nightmare scenario for Israel.
(2020-08-12). Macron Lectures Lebanon: The Condescending Politics of Aid. globalresearch.ca The
(2020-08-12). Podcast: The Beirut Explosion, Economic Terror and the Drumbeat of War Against Hezbollah. mintpressnews.com Lebanese journalists Laith Marouf and Marwa Osman recount their experience living through the recent blast that destroyed much of Beirut, an explosion that not only occurred during a period of rapid economic decline but of increasing public outrage over corruption and Western sanctions that have squeezed Lebanon dry.
(2020-08-12). Russia wants neither 'rethink' nor 'reset' if it means restoring American supremacy & returning to Cold War diplomacy. thealtworld.com Some 136 American "experts" on US-Russian relations recently debated the merits of "rethinking" US policy on Russia. What these specialists failed to consider is that Moscow may not be interested in their plans. | In the span of a week, Politico, a non-partisan global news and information company whose The first, which appeared on August 5, was an "open let…
(2020-08-12). What do we know about the Russian COVID-19 vaccine? peoplesdispatch.org Dr. Satyajit Rath talks to Peoples Dispatch about the recent announcement made by Russian president Vladimir Putin declaring that the country has developed a vaccine for COVID-19.
(2020-08-12). Yemen: State Department Clears Bomb Peddler Pompeo of Wrongdoing in Civilian Deaths Investigation. mintpressnews.com A report issued by the State Department's Inspector General found that US arms sales raise the possibility of civilians getting killed, but also finds that the guy who sells the guns, Mike Pompeo, did nothing wrong.
(2020-08-12). Bomb blast in W Afghanistan kills four policemen. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (MNA) — Four members of local police forces were killed and ten civilians were injured in a bomb blast in the western province of Farah in Afghanistan.
(2020-08-12). Iran symbol of power in region: Brig. Gen. Heidari. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces said that Islamic Republic of Iran is a symbol of power in the region and the Global Arrogance must leave the West Asia.
(2020-08-12). Iran to set up pavilion at Chinese high-tech. fair. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (MNA) — Iranian knowledge-based companies are planning to set up a pavilion at 22nd edition of China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF), which is going to be held on November 11 to 15 at Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China.
(2020-08-12). Iran COVID-19 update: 2,510 cases, 188 deaths. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry announced 2,510 new cases of infection with the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, putting the total number of cases in the country at 333,699.
(2020-08-12). IRGC, Army commanders hold seasonal meeting. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — High-ranking commanders of the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolution Guard Crops held a seasonal meeting on Wednesday.
(2020-08-12). 'Inner Love' goes to Italian film festival's final. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — Iranian short 'Inner Love' has made it into the final stage of the 8th edition of Spi Stories Film Festival in Italy.
(2020-08-12). Zarif says US determines EU's trade partners not Union itself. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — Criticizing the EU's dependency on the US, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that this is the United States Department of the Treasury that determines EU's trade partners, not Europe itself.
(2020-08-12). Qatar says stances of PGCC Sec. Gen. not of council members. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — Qatari special envoy Majed Al-Qahtani said that the stances of the Secretary-General of the PGCC Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf about the extension of Iran's arms embargo can not be generalized to other council members.
(2020-08-12). Police seize 460 kg of narcotics in SE Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — The police force of Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province have seized 460 kg of illicit drugs in Saravan County.
(2020-08-12). US clings personal position of PGCC's SG 'regional consensus'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the United States, in desperation, calls the position of the Secretary General of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) as 'regional consensus'.
(2020-08-12). Police dismantle 3 drug-smuggling bands in Tehran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — According to Tehran's Police Chief, the anti-narcotics police of the province have dismantled three drug-smuggling gangs and seized over 2 tons of illicit drugs in the Iranian capital during separate operations.
(2020-08-12). Iranian documentary wins at Ierapetra filmfest of Greece. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — Mahmoud Reza's documentary 'Kiarostami and His Missing Cane' has won an award at the 2020 edition of Ierapetra International Documentary Film Festival in Greece.
(2020-08-12). Parliament's open session on Wed. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (MNA) — Iranian lawmakers held an open session on Wednesday and did not give the vote of confidence to Hossein Modarres Khiabani as the new industry minister.
(2020-08-12). FAO supplies Iran with more desert locust equipment. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — FAO delivers two more consignments of desert locust control equipment and materials to Iran to further enhance national technical capacity to prevent and decrease the damages caused by this migratory pest.
(2020-08-12). Sidelines of Cabinet meeting. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) — On the sidelines of the Cabinet meeting, some of the Iranian ministers and officials answered reporters' questions on Wednesday.