Daily Archives: October 19, 2020

2020-10-19: News Headlines

MEE staff (2020-10-19). Iran hits out at 'fearful' US after UN arms embargo expires. middleeasteye.net Iran hits out at 'fearful' US after UN arms embargo expires | Tehran continues its war of words with Washington after Mike Pompeo threatened to sanction those doing arms deals with Iran now that a UN embargo has ended | Mon, 10/19/2020 – 16: 18 | Iranians visit a weaponry and military equipment exhibition in the capital Tehran in February 2019 (AFP/File photo) | Iran hit out at the United States on Monday afte…

_____ (2020-10-19). Treason in America: An Overview of the FBI, CIA and Matters of 'National Security'. strategic-culture.org "Treason doth never prosper; what is the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason." | — Sir John Harrington. | As Shakespeare would state in his play Hamlet, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," like a fish that rots from head to tail, so do corrupt government systems rot from top to bottom. | This is a reference to the ruling system of Denmark and not just the foul murder that King Claudius has committed against his brother, Hamlet's father. This is showcased in the play by reference to the economy of Denmark being in a state of shambles and that the Danish people are ready to revolt…

RT (2020-10-19). DNI Ratcliffe says 'NO EVIDENCE' of Russian interference in Hunter Biden scandal, accuses Schiff of 'politicizing intelligence'. rt.com US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe has refuted claims that alleged emails detailing Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and China when his father was VP are part of a Russian election interference effort. | "Hunter Biden's laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign," Ratcliffe said during a Monday interview on Fox Business. "The intelligence community doesn't believe that because there is no intelligence that supports that," he added. | pic.twitter.com/49SSjhfQuN— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) RT (2020-10-19). US charges six Russian 'intelligence agents' with hacking Ukraine, Georgia, France and 2018 Olympics. rt.com The US Justice Department has announced charges against six alleged officers of Russian military intelligence, accusing them of cyber attacks against Georgia, France, the UK, the OPCW, Ukraine and the 2018 Winter Olympics. | A grand jury in Pennsylvania indicted the six men for "conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false registration of a domain name," the DOJ announced on Monday, describing them as officers in Unit 74455 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU. | The indictment identifies them as Yuriy Sergeyevich Andrienko, Sergey Vladimirovich Detistov, Pavel…

RT (2020-10-19). US Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump's appeal on border wall funding while reviewing legality of 'stay in Mexico' policy. rt.com The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by Donald Trump's administration over a ruling that he overstepped his constitutional boundaries when funneling military funds to border wall construction. | The legal battle around Trump's 2016 campaign cornerstone — the US-Mexico border wall — continued on Monday when the Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal. | Back in June, a lower court ruled that the Trump administration's decision to shift military money to construction of a border wall, after Congress had refused to appropriate funds for the project, was illegal. Trump took $2.5 billion from…

One America News Network (2020-10-19). Video: "Don't be Afraid of the Virus": American Doctors Speak Out on Misinformation Surrounding the Coronavirus. globalresearch.ca A group of medical experts from around the country are speaking out against misinformation surrounding the coronavirus. | The doctors gathered on the Supreme Court steps in the nation's capitol Saturday October 17, 2020 to inform Americans not to be afraid …

yenisafak (2020-10-19). Palestinian talks not condition for Arab ties: Israel. yenisafak.com A top Israeli intelligence official said on Monday that Israel's normalization with the Arab countries must not be conditioned with advancing negotiations with the Palestinians."The negotiations with the Palestinians must not be a condition or obstacle in front of continuing contacts for normalization with the region's states," Mossad chief Yossi Cohen told the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.Israeli media reported earlier that Cohen was assigned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to conduct secret contacts with heads of Arab states.Israel signed recently two normalization deals with the United Arab Emirates…

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts (2020-10-19). Why Are Fauci, Redfield, and the "Presstitutes" Deceiving Us About the Masks? globalresearch.ca Twitter, the Censor and Explainer Controller for the Deep State, removed a tweet from White House Covid adviser Dr. Scott Atlas who reported accurately that the masks people are wearing do not prevent the transmission of Covid-19. | As I have …

Aaron Maté (2020-10-18). Ex-OPCW chief defends Syria whistleblowers and reveals he was spied on before Iraq war. thegrayzone.com Exclusive: former OPCW chief José Bustani defends the whistleblowers who challenged a cover-up of their Syria probe; reacts to the US and allies recently blocking his UN testimony; and reveals he was spied on before the Bush administration ousted him over the Iraq war. In a Grayzone exclusive, José Bustani, the former head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, speaks out in support of two veteran OPCW inspectors who challenged a US-backed cover-up of their investigation in …

Manlio Dinucci (2020-10-18). Video: Assange Libero Per La Nostra Liberta — Camera Dei Deputati. globalresearch.ca Alla conferenza, tenutasi lo scorso 14 ottobre, hanno partecipato i rappresentanti del Comitato No Guerra No Nato, che sta adesso portando avanti la campagna "Assange Libero per la Nostra Libertà " per il sostegno alla liberazione dell'editore e giornalista perseguitato per …

Marjorie Cohn (2020-10-18). Barrett Is Poised to Become the Most Radical Right-Wing Member of Supreme Court. zcomm.org Barrett's answers — and refusals to answer — confirm that she will be the most radical right-wing member of the Court.

William Cohn (2020-10-18). Amy Coney Barrett: Just Another Pro-Corporate Villain on the Court. commondreams.org Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in on the first day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on October 12, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Edelman-Pool/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/amyconeybarrett.jpg

SpyBuster (2020-10-18). Security Resources for Anarchists and Activists. indybay.org Federal regulations state that government agencies "May not investigate U.S. persons or collect or maintain information about them solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment or the lawful exercise of other rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States". – But the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Anti-Terrorism Office (JBLMATO) is ignoring the law and still spying on you!

The Canary (2020-10-18). Government adviser on Islamophobia calls for unity in the wake of France attack. thecanary.co Everyone should "work together" to counter extremism following an attack on a history teacher in France, the government's Islamophobia adviser has said. | History teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded near Paris on Friday 16 October. Paty had previously been threatened for discussing caricatures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed with his class, according to French police. | The suspect, an 18-year-old Chechen refugee unknown to intelligence services, was shot dead by police. | "We must not play into their hateful rhetoric": | Qari Asim MBE, imam of Makkah Mosque and government adviser on Islamophobia, spoke out agai…

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-10-18). Why Are Fauci, Redfield, and the Presstitutes Deceiving Us About Masks? thealtworld.com Twitter, the Censor and Explainer Controller for the Deep State, removed a tweet from White House Covid adviser Dr. Scott Atlas who reported accurately that the masks people are wearing do not prevent the transmission of Covid-19. | As I have reported to you from the beginning, the only mask available to the public that provides protection against Covid is a N95 mask. Even this mask does not provide 100% protection. The masks people are wearing provide zero protection. | This is simply a fact. Dr. Atlas knows it as does every one familiar with masks, including Fauci at NIH and Redfield at CDC. Indeed, both Fauci…

_____ (2020-10-17). Persecuting Assange Is A Blow To Reporting And Human Rights Advocacy. popularresistance.org If it were not for a tiny handful of journalists—ShadowProof's Kevin Gosztola preeminent among them—Americans might be utterly unaware that a London magistrate, for the last month, has been considering nothing less than whether journalists have a right to publish information the US government doesn't want them to. Not whether outlets can leak classified information, but whether they can publish that information on, as in the case of Wikileaks, US war crimes and torture and assorted malfeasance to do with, for instance, the war on Afghanistan, which just entered its 19th year, with zero US corporate me…

MEE and agencies (2020-10-17). US condemns Turkey over reported test of Russian S-400 missile system. middleeasteye.net US condemns Turkey over reported test of Russian S-400 missile system | Ankara refuses to confirm or deny reports that it has tested the controversial air defence system near the Black Sea | Sat, 10/17/2020 – 10: 32 | Washington fears the S-400 could be used to gain intelligence on US weaponry (Reuters) | The United States condemned Turkey on Friday after reports emerged that Ankara had te…

Thomas Magstadt (2020-10-17). Supreme Court: A superstore for the super-rich? nationofchange.org This is America, after all, where rich white men can buy whatever they want, including members of Congress and Supreme Court justices.

WSWS (2020-10-17). Democrats let Amy Coney Barrett sail through Supreme Court confirmation hearings. wsws.org In the course of the hearings, the Democrats deliberately downplayed the connection between the rush to confirm and install Barrett on the Supreme Court and Trump's conspiracy to carry out an election coup.

_____ (2020-10-17). Members Of Secwépemc Unity Camp Shut Down Trans Mountain Pipeline. popularresistance.org Canada – Several people were arrested on Thursday (Oct. 15) at the Trans Mountain construction site on Mission Flats in Kamloops. | Members of the We, the Secwépemc Unity Camp to Stop the Trans Mountain Pipeline walked across Canadian Pacific Railway tracks and onto the Trans Mountain site. There, at least two protesters sat on an excavator and called for others opposed to the pipeline expansion project to help stop the work being done. | When Trans Mountain employees told protesters they were violating a B.C. Supreme Court injunction prohibiting the obstruction of access to Trans Mountain's worksites and that th…

Staff (2020-10-17). Black Civil Rights Leaders Fear Barrett "Invites a Return to a Racist Past" truthout.org After four days of confirmation hearings, Black leaders of five major civil rights organizations are lining up in opposition to the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme court and the "deeply flawed" process Senate Republicans are using to secure her confirmation just weeks ahead of a contentious presidential election. | Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Kristen Clarke, president of the National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, said Barrett…

Mariah Kreutter (2020-10-17). Dianne Feinstein Was Harder on Preteen Climate Activists Than She Was on Amy Coney Barrett. commondreams.org Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks as the Senate Judiciary Committee hears from legal experts on the final day of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, on October 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/feinstein_1.jpg

_____ (2020-10-16). Scheer Intelligence: How Big Oil Weaponized The Judicial System. popularresistance.org Steve Donziger has dedicated the latter part of his life to fighting oil companies' greedy destruction of indigenous lands and peoples in the Amazon. After a decades-long legal battle against Chevron, which Chris Hedges details in a recent column for Scheerpost, Donziger was charged with misdemeanor civil contempt for refusing New York Judge Lewis A. Kaplan's orders to turn over to Chevron his client communications—which would force him to violate attorney-client privilege— his personal electronics, his passport and to cease trying to collect the $9.5 billion from Chevron for his Indigenous clients.

Raul Diego (2020-10-16). David Price Takes on the CIA Over Its Secret Torture Program, But Is He Asking the Right Questions? mintpressnews.com A Congressman wrote to the CIA looking for answers about his state's role in an illegal program that unlawfully detained and tortured hundreds of Muslims, but his late and limited election-time appeal smacks of political showmanship.

Staff (2020-10-16). Preserving Roe: West Virginia Mom Tells Abortion Story in Heartfelt Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett. democracynow.org The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights. "If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be a fifth vote to eviscerate the important protections that have been afforded by Roe v. Wade," says Kristen Clarke, president…

Staff (2020-10-16). Deeply Troubling: Kristen Clarke on How Rush to Confirm Barrett Endangers Voting & Civil Rights. democracynow.org The Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett ended Thursday with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee scheduling a vote on her nomination for October 22, with a full Senate vote to follow shortly thereafter — less than two weeks before the presidential election, in which the Supreme Court could play a decisive role. The right-wing judge's confirmation looks all but assured, after four rushed days of questioning in which Barrett refused to state her position on abortion rights, gay marriage, the Affordable Care Act, voting rights, climate change, and even if…

Staff (2020-10-16). Dark Money & Barrett Nomination: The Link Between Big Polluters & the War on ACA, Roe & LGBT Rights. democracynow.org During confirmation hearings this week for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island opted not to ask the judge any questions. Instead, he gave a 30-minute presentation on how right-wing groups, including the Federalist Society and Judicial Crisis Network, use dark money to shape the nation's judiciary. We air excerpts from his presentation and get reaction from Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Staff (2020-10-16). Headlines for October 16, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Hospitalizations on the Rise Across U.S. as Confirmed Cases Hit 8 Million, French Police Raid Homes of Government Officials in Probe of Failed Coronavirus Response, WHO Finds Remdesivir Fails to Prevent COVID-19 Deaths, World Health Organization Warns Many Will Have to Wait Until 2022 for Vaccine, Senate on Track to Confirm Far-Right Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 26, Joe Biden Defends 1994 Crime Bill and Calls for More Police Funding, President Trump Refuses to Disavow Far-Right Anti-Semitic QAnon Conspiracy Theory, Trump Celebrates Apparent Extrajudicial Killing by U.S. Marshals Carryi…

RT (2020-10-16). Biden says voters DESERVE to know whether he will pack Supreme Court… but declines to reveal the answer. rt.com Joe Biden said voters deserve to know where he stands on expanding the Supreme Court — reversing a statement he made last week — but he again declined to give a definitive answer on whether he plans to install more liberal judges.

RT (2020-10-16). China 'reserves right to react' if US interferes with Confucius Institute operations. rt.com Beijing has defended its Confucius Institute program after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hopes the Chinese cultural centers on American university campuses would be shut down by the end of this year. | The Confucius Institute operates in the US based on voluntary applications from universities under the principles of mutual respect and benefit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. They contribute to promoting cultural exchanges and have been "widely welcomed by US universities and the American people," spokesperson Zhao Lijian noted. | He accused some US politicians, including Pompeo specif…

Ian Cobain (2020-10-16). British MPs back bill permitting secret agents to commit crimes. middleeasteye.net British MPs back bill permitting secret agents to commit crimes | Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill prompts split in opposition Labour party after leader Keir Starmer orders MPs to abstain | Fri, 10/16/2020 – 11: 54 | UK spy agency MI5's headquarters in London (Reuters) | A controversial new law that would allow agents recruited by the UK's security agency, MI5, to commit crimes has been passed by memb…

Ian Cobain (2020-10-16). 'Don't get yourselves caught': How the British state allowed its secret agents to commit crime. middleeasteye.net 'Don't get yourselves caught': How the British state allowed its secret agents to commit crime | Fri, 10/16/2020 – 22: 39 | The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill marks the UK government's latest attempt to permit its intelligence and security agencies to break the law lawfully | In the early months of 2011, as Muammar Gaddafi and the people around him fought for their lives, significant numbers of youn…

Staff (2020-10-16). Outnumbered on Supreme Court Nomination, Democrats Campaign for ACA. truthout.org Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee know that, barring something unexpected, they lack the votes to block President Donald Trump from installing his third justice in four years on the Supreme Court and creating a 6-3 conservative majority. | They also know that, in a normal year, by mid-October Congress would be out of session and members home campaigning. But 2020 is obviously no normal year. So, while the rest of Congress is home, Democratic Judiciary members are trying something very differe…

Staff (2020-10-16). West Virginia Mom Tells Her Abortion Story in Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett. truthout.org The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights. "If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be a…

Ruth Conniff (2020-10-16). Amy Coney Barrett Is Not Pro-Life. commondreams.org Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. (Photo by Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/amy_1.jpg

WSWS (2020-10-16). Stalinist apologetics and intellectual charlatanry: A response to Teo Marasigan. wsws.org The WSWS is posting Dr. Joseph Scalice's reply to Teo Marasigan, an apologist for the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines and its founder Jose Maria Sison. Sison has slandered Scalice as a CIA agent in response to his lecture detailing the CPP's support for the fascistic Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and explaining its roots in the reactionary politics of Stalinism.

_____ (2020-10-16). Why You Won't Find Us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. strategic-culture.org Dear readers of the Strategic Culture Foundation website, | In September 2020, the Strategic Culture Foundation was banned from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube following unsubstantiated claims that it was connected with Russian intelligence services and interfered in the US presidential elections on their orders. It means that you can't find us on these platforms and, moreover, if you try to post any links leading to SCF on your personal page, you will most likely not be allowed to do that. This case provides a glimpse into the dystopian future of suppressing dissident voices by governments previously known as dem…

yenisafak (2020-10-16). Abraham Accords exclude key players in Mideast: expert. yenisafak.com Washington relied on the success of "autocratic leadership while neglecting the Palestinians," a former CIA officer said Friday, citing US-brokered Israel-United Arab Emirates (UAE)- Bahrain normalization deals, also known as Abraham Accords. Douglas London said in an opinion piece penned for the Atlantic Council that he reacted to the normalization moves with "trepidation more than celebration."London said that it reminded him of the US-backed agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel in 1983, which shattered following the Lebanese government's 1984 collapse, leading "unprecedented acts of terrorism against US Mari…

David Rosen (2020-10-15). How the Christian Right Won the Culture Wars. counterpunch.org The likely appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court may mark the end of this round of the culture wars. For half-a-century, the U.S. has been a battleground over "moral" and sexual values. Key issues like abortion, health care (i.e., the ADA), gay rights and the meaning of "family" have been contested. With Barrett's appointment,

Staff (2020-10-15). Graham Tells Democrats, "Y'all Have a Good Chance of Winning the White House" truthout.org During the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) seemed to acknowledge that President Donald Trump, his own party's nominee, was far from guaranteed to win a second presidential term. | Graham made the comment while speculating on how Americans will vote this year based on judicial nominations to the Supreme Court made by presidents belonging to each party. | "Republicans generally look at people of a disposition like Judg…

LaShawn Warren (2020-10-15). Amy Coney Barrett Hearing Reveals Senate's Misplaced Priorities. commondreams.org Most people in America believe the next president should fill the Supreme Court vacancy. (Photo: Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-10-15_at_9.45.32_am.png

Angela Simmons (2020-10-15). The Supreme Could Put the LGBTQ Community at Risk for Decades. telesurenglish.net With less than 20 days before the election, President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled senate are holding the vote for a second COVID-19 relief package hostage. | RELATED: | This policy tool would also free nearly a billion dollars for countries suffering from the pandemic. Why? So he can rush through a vote on his Supreme Court nominee in time to steal yet another election as the Republicans did in 200…

Nauman Sadiq (2020-10-15). Trump vs Deep State: Will Trump Upend Neocolonial World Order? globalresearch.ca Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released an extraordinary statement on Tuesday, decrying a political scene he said "has moved away from spirited debate to a vile, vituperative, hate-filled morass, that is unbecoming of any free nation." "The world is …

Michael T. Klare (2020-10-15). Command (C2) Systems Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Pentagon's AI 'Ghost Fleet' Is More than Just Scary — It's Unwise. globalresearch.ca In an October

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-15). Iran nuclear scientists ready to face US coercion: AEOI. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 15 (MNA) — In reaction to to Pompeo's new claim about Iran's use of nuclear energy, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said that Iran nuclear scientists are ready to face the coercion and unilateralism of the US government.