Daily Archives: November 6, 2020

2020-11-06: News Headlines

Oscar Grenfell (2020-11-06). New Documents Show Mueller Investigation Unable to Concoct Charges Against Assange and WikiLeaks. globalresearch.ca Previously redacted portions of the Mueller report into supposed Russian interference in the US, released this week, have shown that despite every effort, the Justice Department was unable to concoct evidence of any criminal wrongdoing on the part of WikiLeaks …

Greg Palast (2020-11-06). How the Republicans are stealing Georgia. zcomm.org Hundreds of thousands of people of color have had their names erased from the voter list in this vital state…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-11-06). Escalating the demographic war: The strategic goal of Israeli racism in Palestine. mronline.org The discussion on institutional Israeli racism against its own Palestinian Arab population has all but ceased following the final approval of the discriminatory Nation-State Law in July 2018. Indeed, the latest addition to Israel's Basic Law is a mere start of a new government-espoused agenda that is designed to further marginalize over a fifth of …

MEE staff (2020-11-06). Israeli forces stop Palestinians attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa. middleeasteye.net Israeli forces stop Palestinians attending Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa | Worshippers barred from West Bank entry, with makeshift barriers erected at three gates in East Jerusalem's Old City | Fri, 11/06/2020 – 13: 53 | Palestinians, unable to reach the Al-Aqsa mosque compound amid strengthened restriction due to the coronavirus, perform Friday prayers in front of the Lion's Gate on 25 September (AFP) | Israeli f…

_____ (2020-11-06). Campaigners Take Direct Action As Palestinians Remember Balfour's Shameful Declaration. popularresistance.org The Balfour Declaration is the name given to the statement in 1917 by British foreign secretary lord Balfour promising a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. Britain had taken control of Palestine after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. That "national home" was to be created at the expense of the indigenous Palestinian population. According to a press release from campaign group Palestine Action: | This 67-word document presented by Arthur Balfour in 1917 paved the way for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the violent dispossession of 750,000 Palestinians —more than half the indigenous…

Staff (2020-11-06). Headlines for November 6, 2020. democracynow.org Biden Takes Lead in Georgia & Pennsylvania, Moving Him Closer to Presidency, Biden Calls for Counting Every Ballot; Trump Claims Dems Are Stealing Election, Trump Campaign Faces Legal Setbacks in Election-Related Lawsuits, Trump Campaign Adviser: "Hopefully Amy Coney Barrett Will Come Through" to Help Trump Win Election, Sen. Graham: State GOP Lawmakers Should Consider Invalidating Election Results, Philly Police Foil QAnon-Linked Plot to Attack Ballot-Counting Site, Bannon Calls for Beheading of Dr. Fauci & FBI Director Wray, 18 Protesters Arrested in NYC in Demo Against Trump Stealing Election, Georgia May Have…

news.un (2020-11-06). Long-term displacement worries for families hit hard by 'super typhoon' Goni. news.un.org The trail of devastation left by Typhoon Goni in the Philippines, runs straight through some heavily populated areas — including places where COVID-19 cases are high, and where returning migrants are concentrated – UN agencies reported on Friday.

news.un (2020-11-06). Aid agencies call for urgent action to prevent famine in hunger hotspots. news.un.org People in four food insecurity "hotspots" inside Burkina Faso, northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, need help urgently to avoid sliding into famine, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

Vijay Prashad (2020-11-06). Wage war against the philosophy of war. mronline.org In 1965, as India and Pakistan slipped into another war, Sahir Ludhianvi, one of the great Urdu poets of his generation, wrote a poem called Ai Sharif Insano ('O Nobel Souls').

_____ (2020-11-06). Trump's Bid to Stop the Count Risks Turning America Into an 'Illiberal Democracy' like Turkey. strategic-culture.org Patrick COCKBURN | By claiming victory in the presidential election while it is still in the balance, President This approach is a rerun of the strategy employed by several populist national leaders across the world in recent years to stay in power by prematurely claiming a win at the polls, and then manipulating the final result in their favour through their control of state institutions, such as election supervisory boards and th…

Alan Macleod (2020-11-06). Media Silence Marks Ongoing OPCW Cover-Up of Syria Chemical Weapons Scandal. mintpressnews.com "Clearly the U.S. and its allies do not want transparency and open debate about the OPCW Douma investigation, and one can only conclude that this is the case because they know full well that their claims cannot be substantiated. Smears and censorship are the only tactics they have left." – Propaganda Expert Piers Robinson…

Eve Ottenberg (2020-11-06). U.S. Foreign Policy is a Failure, Whoever's President. counterpunch.org The world recognizes what U.S. elites don't: the utter, total American failure to contain Covid-19 has damaged U.S. standing and will do so until the virus is controlled. Meanwhile, regional powers, China and Russia, cooperate and share resources, particularly vaccines. Cuba provides treatments, but the U.S. turns up its nose at Cuban medicine, even if it means more American covid patients die — this, though Cuba's pharmacopeia for this plague appears superior. China sends doctors and medicines across the globe. Russia opts for sane herd immunity — through vaccination. These countries act like adults.

Gordon Duff (2020-11-06). Putting the Pieces Together, an Intel Drop. thealtworld.com I began today setting up my JBL Boombox (Amazon/refurb) playing my running playlist. Normally, I would be roadtripping, visiting friends in the UK or family in Germany, family I miss. | The music is all I have that ties me to myself, Nina, Django, Ella and Vietnam era stuff. So many of us remain in Vietnam. I close my eyes and I am there, beautiful days looking across rice paddies, on landing ships, or sitting up on watch during ambushes. | It is frightening to think a year or so of one's life is defining. I found myself tested there in every way, loyalty to friends, compassion and conquering fear, 'the mind kill…

MEE staff (2020-11-06). US sanctions former Lebanon foreign minister Gebran Bassil. middleeasteye.net US sanctions former Lebanon foreign minister Gebran Bassil | Leader of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement sanctioned for assisting Hezbollah, says US Treasury | Fri, 11/06/2020 – 08: 15 | Gebran Bassil is the son-in-law of Lebanon President Michel Aoun (Reuters) | The United States has imposed sanctions on Gebran Bassil, the leader of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) party founded by President Michel Aou…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-06). US expected to sanction former Lebanon foreign minister Gebran Bassil. middleeasteye.net US expected to sanction former Lebanon foreign minister Gebran Bassil | Leader of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement to be sanctioned for assisting Hezbollah, says US newspaper | Fri, 11/06/2020 – 08: 15 | Gebran Bassil is the son-in-law of Lebanon President Michel Aoun (Reuters) | The United States is planning to sanction Gebran Bassil, the leader of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM)…

Prabhat Patnaik (2020-11-06). India's move toward a de facto unitary state. mronline.org India is being pushed toward a de facto unitary state, with states being kept totally out of the loop in decision-making, as seen in the new agricultural laws, goods and services tax compensation, Jammu and Kashmir bifurcation and new National Education Policy.

MEE staff (2020-11-06). US removes Uighur group from terror list blamed by China for attacks. middleeasteye.net US removes Uighur group from terror list blamed by China for attacks | China frequently blames the East Turkestan Islamic Movement for attacks in Xinjiang, but scholars say Beijing has produced little evidence | Fri, 11/06/2020 – 22: 34 | The decision comes days before 12 November, the 76th and 87th anniversary of two short-lived Uighur republics, known as East Turkestan (AFP/File photo) | The United States ha…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-06). Facebook takes down alleged Muslim Brotherhood accounts sharing 'inauthentic' information. middleeasteye.net Facebook takes down alleged Muslim Brotherhood accounts sharing 'inauthentic' information | The accounts operated from Egypt, Morocco and Turkey and shared 'terrorism-related content' | Fri, 11/06/2020 – 14: 33 | Facebook removed nearly 8,000 pages involved in spreading misinformation in October (AFP) | Facebook has taken down a network of fake accounts operating across the Middle East and…

MEE staff (2020-11-06). Palestinian ends 103-day hunger strike after Israel agrees not to extend detention. middleeasteye.net Palestinian ends 103-day hunger strike after Israel agrees not to extend detention | Maher al-Akhras, set to be released at end of November, has spent nearly four months in detention without charge or trial | Fri, 11/06/2020 – 16: 56 | Palestinians carry placards demanding release of Maher al-Akhras at demonstration in Hebron (AFP) | Palestinian political prisoner Maher al-Akhras, who had been held without cha…

Mohammad Ersan (2020-11-06). Covid tears through Jordan on eve of parliamentary elections. middleeasteye.net Covid tears through Jordan on eve of parliamentary elections | After managing to keep a lid on coronavirus for months, the kingdom's healthcare system is overwhelmed and a senior official is being treated in Jerusalem | Fri, 11/06/2020 – 14: 58 | A man walks past a poster of one of the candidates ahead of parliamentary elections on 10 November, amid a second wave of the coronavirus (Reuters) | O…

Robert Hunziker (2020-11-06). A Troubling Discovery in the Arctic. counterpunch.org A notable satellite-telephonic call to colleagues in late October from Swedish scientist àñrjan Gustafsson of Stockholm University briefly described a haunting discovery. On board the research ship R/V Akademik Keldysh, a 6,240-ton Russian scientific research vessel equipped with 17 on-board laboratories and a library, far off the coast of Russia, Dr. Gustafsson reported: "This East

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-06). 'Silk Road to expand economic ties between Iran, China'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 07 (MNA) — Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in shanghai said that the Silk Road will expand cultural and economic ties between Iran and China.

teleSUR (2020-11-06). Iranian FM Arrives in Cuba After Completing Visit to Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif has arrived in Cuba, the second stop on his Latin American tour, to address mutual interest issues. As informed this Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Persian Diplomacy head is already in Havana, the Cuban capital, after having finished his official visit to Venezuela. | RELATED: | During his trip to Cuba, besides meeting…

Rohollah Faghihi (2020-11-06). Millions of Iranians at risk as US sanctions choke insulin supplies. zcomm.org New penalties have seen the diabetic treatment disappear from Iran's pharmacies and black market…

Ahmad Al-Bazz (2020-11-06). Israel Carries Out Largest West Bank Demolition Operation in a Decade. globalresearch.ca In the

teleSUR (2020-11-06). Biden Leads in Georgia and Gets Closer To Trump in Pennsylvania. telesurenglish.net Democratic candidate Joe Biden reversed the provisional results in the state of Georgia and beat the Republican candidate Donald Trump. | RELATED: | The latest data announced by local media around 4: 30 a.m. gave Biden an advantage over Trump of 917 votes. While it could seem a minor difference, those votes are significant because the U.S. President had a 1,267 vote lead a few hours earlier. | In Pennsylvania, wher…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-06). Israel destroys entire Palestinian village in a massive demolition operation. peoplesdispatch.org The demolition has left close to 80 Palestinians from the Bedouin herding-farming community displaced and homeless. 41 among them are children, according to the United Nations…

Tim Anderson (2020-11-06). Iran's Resistance Economy and Regional Integration. thealtworld.com Journal of World Sociopolitical Studies: | Abstract | Iran's 'resistance economy' is sometimes presented as defensive strategy. Despite Washington's 'New Middle East' wars and the rapid evaporation of expected benefits from the long JCPOA (nuclear deal) process, a certain illusion remains that a general 'normalisation' with the outside powers might still bring economic benefits to the country. Nevertheless, it remains true that, while Iran is a large country, pure self-sufficiency would impose physical limits. Therefore, the question that one may ask is what are the better economic opportunities for the n…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-11-05). The Corona Pandemic and Trump's Trade War against China: America's Dependence on "Made in China". Potential Disruption of the US Economy. globalresearch.ca First published in May 2020, updated June 14, 2020 | What Prospects for trade relations with China, in the wake of the 2020 US November Presidential Election? | Introduction | The US has been threatening China with trade sanctions for several years. At …

Andre Vltchek (2020-11-05). The Uyghur Issue: How Can the U.S. Dare Lecturing China About the Rights of the Muslims? globalresearch.ca This article by the late Andre Vltchek was first published in 2019. | In 2019, I have written a long analysis about "the Uyghur issue"; analysis which will be soon published as a book. | For some time, I have been warning …

Ilan Pappe (2020-11-05). From Balfour to the Nakba: The Settler-Colonial Experience of Palestine. globalresearch.ca The late prominent scholar of settler-colonialism, Patrick Wolfe, reminded us repeatedly that it is not an event, it is a structure. While settler-colonialism in many cases has a historical starting point, its original motivation guides its maintenance in the …

news.un (2020-11-05). Protect Palestine olive harvest from settler violence, Israel urged. news.un.org UN agencies, together with other international NGOs, are calling on Israel to better protect Palestinian farmers from violence by Israeli settlers, as they bring in their traditional olive harvest – crucial to livelihoods – and ensure families can access their land "freely and safely".

David Hearst (2020-11-05). Suspension of Jeremy Corbyn Will Define UK Labour Leader Keith Starmer as Iraq Defined Tony Blair. globalresearch.ca One of the lesser known aspects of Keir Starmer's assault on the left of his party since becoming Labour leader is his growing silence on Palestine. | Silencing the Palestinian lobby in Britain has always been a goal of Israel's …

MEE staff (2020-11-05). Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras passes 100 days on hunger strike. middleeasteye.net Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras passes 100 days on hunger strike | Taghreed, Akhras's wife, says her husband has been in and out of a coma as his health deteriorates | Thu, 11/05/2020 – 12: 01 | Palestinians carry placards demanding the release of administrative detainee in Israeli custody Maher al-Akhras during a demonstration Hebron, 3 November (AFP) | Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras is on the "ver…

Shatha Hammad (2020-11-05). 'I cry for my trees': Israeli settler attacks wreck Palestinian olive harvest. middleeasteye.net 'I cry for my trees': Israeli settler attacks wreck Palestinian olive harvest | Israel's settlers threaten Palestinian farmers all year long, but during harvest season, the attacks increase in intensity and number, with devastating impact | Thu, 11/05/2020 – 16: 46 | Masked Israeli settlers attack Palestinian olive farmers from the village of Hawara on fields near the settlement of Yitzhar in the I…

Akram Al-Waara (2020-11-05). Israel makes 41 Palestinian children homeless as world watches US election. middleeasteye.net Israel makes 41 Palestinian children homeless as world watches US election | Eleven families left searching for shelter after Israeli forces destroyed their village in the Jordan Valley | Thu, 11/05/2020 – 10: 35 | Palestinian children playing next to their demolished home in the Bedouin village of Khirbet Humsa, 4 November (MEE/Akram el-Waara) | On the evening of Wednesday 4 November, a cold, b…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-11-05). Belarusian Protests Are Spilling over into Poland but Warsaw Is Beginning to Blame Russia. globalresearch.ca Polish leaders at all levels continue to speak with enthusiasm about the need to fully support "peaceful protests" in Belarus and to help them morally and financially. However, with widespread protests across Poland now, the same national leaders are angrily …

Ralph Nader — Bruce Fein (2020-11-05). How Trump, Hannity and Limbaugh Violated Election Law. counterpunch.org Conservative media celebrities Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have flagrantly violated the federal election law prohibition of donating anything of value exceeding $2,800 to a presidential candidate. The ongoing strategic collaboration between Trump, Hannity and Limbaugh is obvious and has been widely documented in newspapers and books. Both Hannity and Limbaugh have collaborated with President

teleSUR (2020-11-05). UN Asks to Protect Palestinian Harvesters From Israeli Settlers. telesurenglish.net The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other international NGOs on Thursday call on the Israeli authorities to protect Palestinian olive pickers from violence by Israeli settlers living in the West Bank. | RELATED: | As of October 7, the OCHA has recorded 33 incidents where Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians or damaged their trees or produce. At least 25 Palestinians were i…

news.un (2020-11-05). Dozens displaced in largest demolition in years in the West Bank, reports UN relief office. news.un.org Seventy-three people, including 41 children have been displaced after Israeli authorities demolished their homes and other structures, and destroyed belongings in the Palestinian community of Humsa Al Bqai'a in the West Bank, the UN humanitarian wing has reported.

Anthony Cartalucci (2020-11-05). Why Taking US NED Money is Wrong. thealtworld.com The National Endowment for Democracy has as much to do with promoting "democracy" as the illegal US invasion of Iraq — code name "Operation Iraqi Freedom" had to do with bringing "freedom" to the Iraqi people. And as it turns out the same circle of regime change promoters are/were involved in both. | I cover the US National Endowment for Democracy's (NED) board of directors — pointing out how many of them have been involved in some of the worst crimes against humanity of the 21st century including promoting and even participating in the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. | I also explain why takin…

Vijay Prashad (2020-11-05). U.S. is doing its best to lock out China from Latin America and the Caribbean. mronline.org Regional governments from both right and left see the BRI as lucrative and free of political interference.

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-11-05). With World's Eyes on US Election, Israel Bulldozes West Bank Village in Biggest Single Demolition in 10 Years. commondreams.org The razing of Khirbet Humsa—which left dozens of people homeless—"can only be considered an act of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Palestinian population," said one human rights group. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/razed.jpg

Kathy Fairfax (2020-11-05). Indigenous water defender demands court hearing in Wilcannia. greenleft.org.au Leah Ebsworth, a Barkindji woman from the far-west NSW town of Wilcannia, faced the District Court there on October 21 charged with not moving off a bridge when ordered and assaulting a public officer with water after a Local Court dropped charges of being drunk and disorderly and not obeying a move on order.

South Front (2020-11-05). Video: Presence of Turkish-backed Syrian Militants in Nagorno-Karabakh Gives Armenia Additional Chances in War. globalresearch.ca The Azerbaijani Armed Forces and their allies continue to storm Armenian positions in the mountainous terrain near Shusha and the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh. After making rapid advances, the Azerbaijani forces now appear to be stuck in a kind of …

Eds. (2020-11-05). Climate Crisis and Imperialism: The Unfair Demonization of the East. mronline.org Last week in the presidential debate, Donald Trump said "Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India. It's filthy. The air is filthy," when asked about his decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.

RT (2020-11-05). To have & to hold? Japanese scientists create robot to simulate hand-holding with a girlfriend. rt.com Robotics experts have developed a somewhat creepy-looking device that can simulate the experience of holding hands with a woman, in an effort to combat Japan's loneliness epidemic. | "For some people, finding a girlfriend is very difficult," say the researchers behind the project at Gifu University. With that problem in mind, they decided to create a new way for lonely men to "experience holding their girlfriend's hand more easily" than by actually dating. | Thus, their project was born, a robotic hand called Osampo Kanojo, or the 'Walking Bride'. | At a first glance, the Walking Bride might seem like just…

RT (2020-11-05). Brussels vs. Lukashenko: EU to impose additional sanctions on Minsk, targeting both President and his son, sources tell TASS. rt.com The EU has agreed to impose new sanctions against Belarusian officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, three months after the country's controversial election, which the opposition claims was obviously rigged. | That's according to the sources of Moscow-based news agency TASS, which reported on Wednesday that permanent representatives of the 27 EU member states had agreed on a new set of measures against Minsk. In October, EU leaders announced sanctions on 40 Belarusian officials, but the list did not include Lukashenko. Thus far, they appear to have had little consequence, with the country's leader…

RT (2020-11-05). Kremlin says coronavirus situation 'tense but under control' as Omsk region health chief fired over shortage of beds. rt.com President Vladimir Putin's spokesman sought to reassure Russians on Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic in the country is under control. Meanwhile, a number of cities across the country are bracing for a rise in cases. | Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the president is aware of a number of failings of local healthcare systems, saying that "the epidemic is developing, and it is continuing. The situation is indeed very tense, but it is under control. Unfortunately, in some regions we see disruptions, the president knows about them and there is a system in place to respond to them." | The news comes as Russi…

Sheren Khalel (2020-11-05). US elections 2020: Campa-Najjar holds on with 'measure of hope' as Issa claims victory. middleeasteye.net US elections 2020: Campa-Najjar holds on with 'measure of hope' as Issa claims victory | Palestinian-American Democrat running for House trails amid outrage over Twitter posts praising ex-Israel PM responsible for death of grandparents | Thu, 11/05/2020 – 21: 32 | Now trailing in votes, Campa-Najjar's campaign says it is 'still looking at the returns with a measure of hope' (AFP/File photo) | The r…