Daily Archives: July 29, 2020

2020-07-29: News Headlines

Kenneth Surin (2020-07-29). The UK's Russia Report on the "Londongrad Laundromat" counterpunch.org The UK parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), drawn from MPs and peers of all parties, last week published its report on possible Russian interference in UK politics. The report's release had been delayed by 9 months after it had been blocked by Boris "BoJo" Johnson in the run-up to the December 2019 general election.

Aidan O'Brien (2020-07-29). Has anything changed since 1840? Trade, imperialism, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta megacity. mronline.org In modern times, China has been the ultimate challenge for imperialists: it's independence being an enigma to Europeans and Americans. From Marco Polo to Mike Pompeo, China has been a mystery to Christian crusaders.

The Canary (2020-07-29). US officials claim Russia is behind the spread of virus disinformation. thecanary.co US officials say Russian intelligence services are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.The officials alleged Russian operatives have acted in seeking to exploit a crisis the US is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November.Two Russians who have held senior roles in Moscow's military intelligence service known as the GRU have been identified as responsible for the effort to reach American and western audiences, according to the US government officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.The i…

RT (2020-07-29). White BLM activist tells black doctor at center of Covid-19 controversy: 'I'm more black than you on the inside'. rt.com Dr Stella Immanuel has enough skepticism to deal with regarding her controversial medical theories, but in the eyes of at least one Black Lives Matter activist, even her blackness is something to be challenged. | "You're not black on the inside, I'm more black than you on the inside," a masked white man yelled at Immanuel yesterday on the steps the Supreme Court in Washington, where she was part of a group of doctors staging a press conference to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a coronavirus cure. The man added that Immanuel was "betraying Black Lives Matter" and that "there were people during t…

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-07-29). Julian Assange's Political Indictment: Old Wine in Older Bottles. globalresearch.ca The book of hours on Julian Assange is now being written. But the scribes are far from original. Repeated rituals of administrative hearings that have no common purpose other than to string things out before the axe are being enacted. …

_____ (2020-07-29). Presumptuous Pompeo Pushes Preposterous 'Peking' Policy. popularresistance.org Quick. Somebody tell Mike Pompeo. The secretary of state is not supposed to play the role of court jester — the laughing stock to the world. There was no sign that any of those listening to his "major China policy statement" last Thursday at the Nixon Library turned to their neighbor and said, "He's kidding, right? Richard Nixon meant well but failed miserably to change China's behavior? And now Pompeo is going to put them in their place?" Over the weekend an informal colloquium-by-email took pace, spurred initially by an op-ed article by Richard Haass critiquing Pompeo's speech. Haass's views served as a s…

yenisafak (2020-07-29). Brazil may face 'consequences' if it gives Huawei 5G access, says US ambassador. yenisafak.com The top U.S. diplomat in Brazil said in a newspaper interview that the country may face "consequences" if it allows China's Huawei Technologies into its 5G network, referring to U.S. warnings that China fails to protect intellectual property.The U.S. government has stepped up efforts to limit Huawei's role in rolling out high-speed, fifth-generation technology in Latin America's largest economy. It believes Huawei would hand over data to the Chinese government for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China.U.S. Ambassador Todd Chapman told O Globo that Brazil would not face reprisals for picking Huawei, but could f…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-07-28). VIDEO: Covid-19 and "The Spiderweb of Fear". American Medical Doctors and Health Experts are being Silenced… globalresearch.ca Author's Update. Censorship | Medical doctors at an event in front of the US Supreme Court are accused of making false statements. | The video was removed by Youtube and Facebook. They are accused by the corporate media of spreading "fake science": …

Staff (2020-07-28). Headlines for July 28, 2020. democracynow.org Senate Republicans Unveil Plan to Slash Unemployment Benefits as Pandemic Rages, Moderna Late Stage Vaccine Trial Starts, as Trump's NSA Tests Positive for Coronavirus, WHO: COVID-19 "Most Severe Global Health Emergency" as Global Death Toll Tops 654,000, AG Barr and National Guardsman to Testify Before Congress with Battling Narratives, John Lewis Lies in State in Capitol Rotunda as He Is Honored by Fellow Lawmakers, 100s of DNC Delegates to Oppose a Party Platform Without Medicare for All, DNC Members Vote to Support Israel's Illegal Annexation of West Bank, "Free Them All!": Immigrant Rights Activists Chain Th…

Aidan Jonah (2020-07-28). Who's behind the Canadian Think Tank Pushing for Sanctions against China and Iran? dissidentvoice.org The "independent" think tank, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute recently called for China and Iran to be severely punished for allegedly covering up the original outbreak and failing to respond to COVID-19 in time. This was done in ignorance of both Canada's PM Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump's failure to listen to military intelligence warning …

William Hughes (2020-07-28). Two Rebels Against the Establishment: Oliver Stone and Edward Snowden. counterpunch.org Film director Oliver Stone is in a class by himself. He has dared to go into the political mine fields where only a few other Hollywood-based moviemakers have ventured. Perhaps, the fact that the talented Stone was a Vietnam War U.S. Army veteran (1967-68), toughened him up to take on the Establishment. Earlier in his

RT (2020-07-28). 'Why don't we focus on now?' Pressed over Trump campaign spying, Obama adviser 'recreates' Hillary's infamous Benghazi moment. rt.com Former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was grilled on the Steele Dossier and the FBI spying on the Trump campaign live on TV, but tried to dodge the topic altogether, earning comparisons to Hillary Clinton from conservatives. | Confronted by a Fox Business anchor with mounting

Paul Dobson (2020-07-28). Venezuela Rejects Washington's 'Wild West' Bounty Against Chief Justice Moreno. globalresearch.ca Venezuela's Foreign Ministry hit back at the Trump administration after it offered US $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno last week. | "The Venezuelan government once again rejects the Donald Trump administration's illegal …

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-07-28). In Light of Supreme Court Ruling, ACLU Says Trump's Latest Move to Undermine DACA 'Patently Illegal'. commondreams.org "There is absolutely no reason for this," said immigration rights activist Erika Andiola. "Nothing. Not a legal reason. Not a political reason. Just hate." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1221069325.jpg

WSWS (2020-07-28). Assange appears in court, as lawyers warn case may be delayed by new US indictment. wsws.org As it stands, the UK courts are continuing with Assange's extradition process based on an outdated indictment.

Binoy Kampmark (2020-07-28). Revisions on China: Abandoning the Nixon Legacy. counterpunch.org There is little doubt about it. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the puffed-up hawk of the Trump administration, talons at the ready, beak protruding. While the president coos at the prospect of seeing, or admiring, the next strongman of international relations, Pompeo hovers over selected authoritarian targets. This Jekyll-Hyde appraisal of foreign policy

_____ (2020-07-28). US — China Conflict Puts Allies In Crossfire. popularresistance.org US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is calling for "an alliance of democracies" to confront China. It amounts to a new Cold War in which nations are being forced to side either with Washington or Beijing. | It's a classic tyrannical power-play by Washington. Such polarized demarcation of the planet as designated by Washington is impossible in a global economy which is highly integrated, from consumer and financial markets to supply chains. | A news report this week once again underscores how even the American military is reliant on China for supplies of rare earth metals used in its weapon systems. | Indeed, the en…

_____ (2020-07-28). Human Rights and Washington's Global Britain. strategic-culture.org U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo went to London on July 21 because the British government had bowed the knee to Washington and

The Canary (2020-07-27). Spanish court to examine claims Julian Assange was spied on. thecanary.co Spain's National Court is due to hear evidence in an investigation into whether a Spanish company was hired to spy on Julian Assange during the seven years the WikiLeaks founder spent in Ecuador's embassy in London.The court is investigating whether David Morales, a Spaniard, and his Undercover Global S.L. security agency invaded the privacy of Assange and his visitors at the embassy by secretly recording their meetings.The intelligence that Morales's company collected is suspected of being handed over to third parties, according to court papers.Julian Assange during a press conference inside the Ecuadorian Embas…

_____ (2020-07-27). With Cold War Language, Pompeo Defines Plan For 'Totalitarian' China. popularresistance.org In a major foreign policy speech on U.S.-China relations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cast ratcheted-up tensions with Beijing in Cold War terms, announcing that Washington would seek to change Beijing's behavior and stopping just short of calling for regime change. | He described Beijing — and Chinese President Xi Jinping — as a generational threat to "free democracies around the world," a totalitarian and hegemonic regime that must not be treated like a normal nation. Riffing on President Ronald Reagan's famous "trust but verify" dictum about the Soviet Union, he said that when it comes to Beijing…

Sophia Paslaski (2020-07-27). SCOTUS' Birth Control Decision Favors Medicare for All. counterpunch.org People of the menstruating persuasion: how dare you. The highest court in the land demands to know. On July 8th, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that the President, who does not have a uterus, was quite right to object to Obama-era ACA rules that allowed Americans who do have uteri access

_____ (2020-07-27). First Nations Leaders Speak Out Against Canada's Trans Mountain Pipeline Approval. popularresistance.org Kinder-Morgan's application for approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion (TMX) has been bouncing around in Canada's federal courts like a pinball since 2013. First Nations tribes and environmental groups have valiantly worked the flippers of the judicial pinball machine for years, filing lawsuits and appeals, to keep that shiny ball from rolling down the drain of approval. But on July 2, down it went when the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) denied three First Nations leave to appeal the decision of a lower court.

teleSUR (2020-07-27). Assange Suffers Political Persecution, Lawyer Garzon Says. telesurenglish.net During a hearing at Spain's National Court, Julian Assange's lawyer Baltasar Garzon Monday denounced that his client has suffered "political persecution" from the U.S. government. | RELATED: | Garzon was called to declare over the alleged espionage by the Spanish company UC Global, which was responsible for the security of Ecuador's embassy in London from 2015 and 2018. | During the hearing were displayed rec…

WSWS (2020-07-27). Mounting US pressure on Europe to line up against China. wsws.org Pompeo condemned those that "simply don't have the ability, the courage to stand with us."

yenisafak (2020-07-27). Turkey rescues 23 irregular migrants in Aegean. yenisafak.com Turkey has rescued 23 irregular migrants including children in the Aegean Sea, according to security sources on Monday.Acting upon an intelligence tip off that there was a dinghy stranded off the coast of Tasburun in the Aydin province, the Turkish Coast Guard launched a search operation and rescued the migrants.After routine checks, they were referred to the provincial migration authority.Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.The country earlier this year opened its gates to irregular migrants seeking to c…

yenisafak (2020-07-27). China: US claims on Houston consulate 'not factual'. yenisafak.com China denied Monday that its staff at the consulate in Houston stole information from American companies doing COVID-19 research."US officials' accusations alleging that the Chinese Consulate General in Houston undertook illegal activities have no factual evidence and are completely slanderous," said China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin addressing a news conference in Beijing.Last week, the US in an abrupt move asked China to shut its consulate in Houston — a decision US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said was taken because China was "stealing American and European intellectual property".In a tit-for-t…

_____ (2020-07-27). VIDEO: If Anyone is Involved in Forcing Nations to Pick Sides it is Pompeo and His State Department. strategic-culture.org China is "making" Europe choose between a "free world" and an "authoritarian vision", said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to his European counterparts. But is it really China forcing the world to make moral "choices" at the barrel of a soft power gun? Watch the video and read more in the Editorial article.

Gordon Duff (2020-07-26). Who is doing the killing, the CIA, Barr's former employer, seems to be busy. thealtworld.com Let's talk Austin last night. What we know, our victim was pushing his girl friend who is a quadruple amputee in a wheel chair. Garrett Foster, a USAF veteran was armed, legally carrying an AK type weapon. | Barr's CIA background, where he partnered with Robert Mueller, is outlined here by Chip Tatum in his book, "The Mule." | A car, driven by ? sped past a police blockade and into the protesters. Shooting began and Foster was hit 5 times by gunfire from the car, which was soon surrounded by the same police that allowed it to pass. Someone was removed from the vehicle and the vehicle was then removed.

teleSUR (2020-07-26). Mexico: Supreme Court to Decide on Legal Abortion in Veracruz. telesurenglish.net Mexico's Supreme Court next week will evaluate a bill that claims for decriminalization of abortion on a historic day that may allow the voluntary pregnancy termination to be recognized as a right | RELATED: | If the Supreme Court approves the bill, it would be established, for the first time in the country's history, that criminalising abortion violates women's rights. | "The prohibition of the voluntary interruption of a…

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-07-26). Revisions on China: Abandoning the Nixon Legacy, Pompeo the Puffed-up Hawk. globalresearch.ca There is little doubt about it. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the puffed-up hawk of the Trump administration, talons at the ready, beak protruding. While the president coos at the prospect of seeing, or admiring, the next strongman …

_____ (2020-07-26). Transparency International Silent On Jailed Transparency Journalist Assange. popularresistance.org Berlin, Germany – On a cool July day, the Berlin neighborhood where Transparency International's global headquarters is situated feels a thousand miles away from London's Belmarsh Prison. But it is not just the pleasant setting a few blocks from the Spree River that makes the influential NGO seem so detached from the maximum security penitentiary's most famous inmate, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. | Transparency International has been vocal in defending jailed opposition activists in states like Zimbabwe, Russia, and Venezuela.

_____ (2020-07-26). Julian Assange's Next Hearing On Monday, July 27. popularresistance.org WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said "Julian has not been able to see his lawyers for seventeen weeks. The computer supplied to him after over a year of asking has its keys glued down and the typing function is disabled. The case material consists of tens of thousands of pages, and Julian cannot even type up notes or instructions for his lawyers. Each and every step of the way, the tools Julian should have to be able to put up a fight are being taken away from him. I call on UK prisons minister Robert Buckland to take every step necessary to reverse restrictions that are preventing Julian from being…

yenisafak (2020-07-26). Erdogan: Turkish intelligence conducts global-scale operations. yenisafak.com "Turkish Intelligence Organization conducts works on areas of cryptology, cyber, satellite, signal intelligence all around the world," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the opening ceremony of a new service building of MIT in Istanbul."The activity capacity of terrorist organizations in Istanbul declined considerably thanks to the close cooperation between the organization and other security institutions," he added.Erdogan also stressed that MIT has so far ensured repatriation of over 100 members of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) to Turkey.FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup…

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-26). UK media reveals Pompeo's role in assassinating Iran Gen. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 26 (MNA) — UK-based The Guardian newspaper in an editorial revealed the role of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in assassinating former IRGC Quds Force Commander Martyr Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.