Daily Archives: October 26, 2020

2020-10-26: News Headlines

Staff (2020-10-26). "They Wanted to Take My Womb Out": Survivor of Medical Abuse in ICE Jail Deported After Speaking Out. democracynow.org An independent medical review team has submitted a report to Congress on a lack of informed consent and "disturbing pattern" of questionable gynecological surgical procedures at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, after an account from a nurse whistleblower in September prompted congressional and federal investigations. At least 19 women, most of whom are Black and Latina, have come forward to allege they were pressured into "unnecessary" gynecological treatment and surgeries — including procedures that left them sterile — while they were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We s…

Pip Hinman (2020-10-26). Shaoquett Moselmane, Dan Oakes and Julian Assange: What price justice? greenleft.org.au Under the guise of a phenomenon called security, anti-democratic acts designed to instill fear are being committed, argues Stuart Rees.

MEE and agencies (2020-10-26). Iraq's Kurdish region says it foiled PKK plot to attack foreign diplomats. middleeasteye.net Iraq's Kurdish region says it foiled PKK plot to attack foreign diplomats | The statement from KRG intelligence service comes a year after the killing of a Turkish diplomat in Erbil | Mon, 10/26/2020 – 12: 31 | A picture shows a general view of Erbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region on 20 October 2020 (AFP) | Authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said…

Stephen Lendman (2020-10-26). Chileans Vote Up or Down for Constitutional Change. globalresearch.ca Since the CIA elevated Augusto Pinochet to power on an earlier 9/11 day of infamy in 1973 — replacing social democracy with tyrannical fascist rule — Pinochet's ghost still haunts most Chileans. | Billionaire Sebastian Pinera governs the country with an …

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-10-26). 'Prove Him Wrong': Progressives Demand Democrats Accept McConnell's Challenge, Expand Supreme Court If They Win Elections. commondreams.org Bolstered by some apparent support in the Senate Democratic caucus, progressive advocates on Monday demanded that the Democratic Party prove Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrong about their commitment to remaking the judiciary. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1229137686.png

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-10-26). As Senate Dems Hold Talkathon in Protest, Warren Condemns GOP Vote on Barrett as 'Last Gasp of a Desperate Party'. commondreams.org Continuing a protest on the floor of the Senate that had begun late Sunday night, Senate Democrats on Monday morning embarked on a "talkathon" to speak out against the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to go ahead Monday. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/warren_coney_barrett.jpg

Gabriel Arkles (2020-10-26). Don't Let the Supreme Court Open the Door to More Discrimination Against LGBTQ People. aclu.org The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in

Staff (2020-10-26). Amid Staff COVID Outbreak, Democrats Call on Pence to Stop Presiding Over Senate. truthout.org With multiple members of Vice President Mike Pence's senior staff now confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus — and Senate Republicans scheduled to ram through the final confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett as early as Monday afternoon or evening — Democratic leaders in the Senate are calling on Pence to forgo his plans to preside over the chamber in the name of public health and out of concern for all who work there. | With at least five members…

Ray McGovern (2020-10-26). Former CIA: Blaming Moscow for Hunter Biden's Laptop is "Russiagate Disinformation" globalresearch.ca Former intelligence officials, Democratic leaders, and media outlets dismissing the Hunter Biden story as "Russian disinformation" are spreading more Russiagate disinformation, ex-CIA officer Ray McGovern says. | Media outlets are amplifying the claims of former intelligence officials, including John Brennan and …

_____ (2020-10-26). Break in Relations With the EU? — 'If This Is the Way They Want It, So Be It'. strategic-culture.org Wolfgang Munchau of Euro Intelligence has been suggesting recently that the EU is making mistakes born from listening only to its own (like-minded) echo chamber. Munchau was referring to how — when Boris Johnson had sought for a deal "to be in sight" by this month's EU summit, he was met with disdain. The Council said not only was there 'no deal in sight', but that there would be no acceleration of negotiations, and furthermore stuck rigidly to its three red-line, 'non-negotiables'. | Macron haughtily afterwards stated that the UK had to "submit" to the bloc's "conditions" — "We didn't choose Brexit".

Staff (2020-10-26). Survivor Deported After Speaking Out About Medical Abuse in ICE Jails. truthout.org An independent medical review team has submitted a report to Congress on a lack of informed consent and "disturbing pattern" of questionable gynecological surgical procedures at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, after an account from a nurse whistleblower in September prompted congressional and federal investigations. At least 19 women, most of whom are Black and Latina, have come forward to allege they were pressured into "unnecessary" gynecological treatment and surgeries — includin…

_____ (2020-10-25). Blaming Moscow for Hunter Biden's Laptop Is Russiagate Disinformation. strategic-culture.org Aaron MATÉ | Former intelligence officials, Democratic leaders, and media outlets dismissing the Hunter Biden story as "Russian disinformation" are spreading more Russiagate disinformation, ex-CIA officer Ray McGovern says. | Media outlets are amplifying the claims of former intelligence officials, including John Brennan and James Clapper, as well as of top Democrats, including Joe Biden and Adam Schiff, that the Hunter Biden laptop revelations are "Russian disinformation." | They have done so even though no one from the Biden camp has disputed the authenticity of a single leaked email or document, or denied that…

_____ (2020-10-25). Federal Judges Block Efforts To Ease Rules For Mail-In Ballots. popularresistance.org In the final weeks of the 2020 election, Republican-appointed appellate judges have overturned rulings that required states to make mail-in voting easier during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tens of millions of ballots have already been cast, even as federal judges kept changing the rules. | These decisions could be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which will include a 6-3 conservative majority if nominee Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed by the U.S. Senate next week as planned. So far, the court has ruled against voters in nearly every case it has reviewed.

sputniknews (2020-10-25). US Senate Votes to Limit Debate on Amy Coney Barrett's Nomination for Supreme Court Post – Video. sputniknews.com The final vote on 48-year-old Amy Coney Barrett's nomination as a new justice is expected to be held on 26 October.

_____ (2020-10-24). Hmm… America Keeps Getting Attacked by Nations It Hates in Ways Only the CIA Can See. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | Once upon a time there was an Emperor who loved war and military expansionism. He was always searching for new ways to instigate military conflicts without losing the support of the international community or waking up the populace to the fact that they're just propagandized cogs in the machine of a globe-spanning Empire which uses endless military and economic violence to maintain its unipolar hegemony. | One day two men calling themselves Intelligence Experts came into town claiming that they had devised a wondrous new type of enemy threat that is invisible to the common folk. | "Is it as go…

Staff (2020-10-24). Barrett Poised to Be Sixth SCOTUS Justice Hand-Picked by Federalist Society. truthout.org For Americans tearing their hair out about the imminent conservative super-majority on the United States Supreme Court, we have some pointed advice for you. Familiarize yourself with the work of the Federalist Society, a group comprising thousands of very conservative lawyers advocating a so-called "originalist" version of the Constitution, sanctifying private property rights at the expense of workers, consumers, the environment, social justice and the protection of individual rights. | When w…

sputniknews (2020-10-24). New Book Tells Story of Berlin Brothel Madam Who Let Nazis Spy on Guests. sputniknews.com Katharina Zammit, better known Kitty Schmidt, ran the famous Salon Kitty brothel in Berlin during the Nazi era. Senior officers in Hitler's counter-intelligence service blackmailed her into letting them spy on clients by using hidden microphones placed in the bedrooms.

WSWS (2020-10-23). Ten years since WikiLeaks and Julian Assange published the Iraq War Logs. wsws.org The publication was an imperishable contribution to the fight against imperialist militarism, for which the war criminals and their political representatives have never forgiven Assange.

RT (2020-10-23). Israel will not oppose US-UAE deal on 'specific weapons systems,' says Netanyahu, despite previous worry over F-35 jets. rt.com The Israeli government says it will not oppose the US selling "specific weapons systems" to the United Arab Emirates, in an apparent reference to F-35 fighter jets, despite Tel Aviv opposing such a deal less than a fortnight ago. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Benny Gantz This is despite Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen saying less than two weeks ago that the country would oppose the sale of the fifth-generat…

teleSUR (2020-10-23). Bolivia's TSE Declares Luis Arce the Elected President. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Electoral Supreme Court (TSE) declared Luis Arce, the elected president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and David Choquehuanca as vice-president on Friday after the official vote counting showed that Arce's party, the Movement Towards Socialism, reached a landslide victory of 55.10 percent of the votes. | RELATED: | About 6.483.893 Bolivians out of the 7.332.926 registered went to the polls, re…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-10-23). Constitutional Law Experts Endorse Democrats' Bill to Create 18-Year Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices. commondreams.org The called it "a critical piece in prescribing how our country's leaders can work to depoliticize the Supreme Court and its confirmation process." | www.flickr.com/photos/44768401@N07/4122928968/in

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-10-23). 'Another Victory for Voters' as Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Mail-In Ballot Signatures Don't Need to Match Registration Rolls. commondreams.org "The Election Code does not… require county election boards to reject absentee or mail-in ballots during the canvassing process based on an analysis of a voter's signature," the court unanimously ruled. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/vote_5.jpg

ACLU (2020-10-23). The Supreme Court Case That Could Jeopardize LGBTQ Rights. aclu.org In March 2018, the city of Philadelphia learned that two of the agencies it contracted with to provide foster care services would not, based on religious objection, accept same-sex couples as foster parents. The city told the agencies their contracts with the city were in jeopardy unless they complied with basic nondiscrimination requirements., , While one of the agencies agreed to comply, the other — Catholic Social Services (CSS) — refused. Instead, CSS sued the city, claiming the Constitution gives it the right to opt out of the nondiscrimination requirement. After a lower court and a federal ci…

Editor (2020-10-23). Ronald Goldfarb: America's Prized Legal System Only Works for the Rich. scheerpost.com The United States legal system, it turns out, is nothing more than an enabler of greed that has turned American society into a depraved playground for the decrepit rich. That's the devastating lesson found in the pages of attorney and literary agent Ronald Goldfarb's latest book, The Price of Justice: Money, Morals and Ethical Reform in the Law. In the latest installment of Scheer Intelligence… |

sputniknews (2020-10-23). House Intelligence Committee Chair Urges US to Recognize Independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff on Friday called on the United States to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as the Republic of Artsakh.

_____ (2020-10-23). How Russophobia Wrought Death of the United States. strategic-culture.org The irrational obsession among the American political class with allegations of Russia being portrayed as a threat to its national security has been around for a long time. The mentality extends to other designated foreign "enemies" of the U.S. Typically it is a ruling class obsession, not shared innately by most ordinary Americans. | This week saw yet more U.S. intelligence

Kit Klarenberg (2020-10-23). Leaked emails suggest shocking US mercenary plot in Bolivia. thecanary.co Bombshell leaked communications indicate scores of US military and intelligence veterans have been secretly recruited for wide-ranging covert action of an indeterminate nature in Bolivia. | The private correspondence, which has already been

RT (2020-10-22). ISIS-linked stabbing suspect monitored on day of Dresden attack right after he left prison, police chief reveals. rt.com A man suspected of killing one person and seriously injuring another in Dresden this month was under observation by German intelligence at the time of the attack, says the region's head of police. | Law enforcement agents arrested a 20-year-old Syrian man on Tuesday in connection with the double stabbing on October 4, with prosecutors saying he has an Islamist background. | Read more | | The suspect was being monitored by Germany's domestic inte…

commondreams (2020-10-22). America Can't Afford Another Climate Denier on the Supreme Court, Barrett Backers Will Pay a Price with Voters. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Staff (2020-10-22). Supreme Court Upholds Alabama's Ban on Curbside Ballot Drop-Off. truthout.org Offering no explanation for their ruling, the five conservative justices who hold the majority on the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Alabama state officials Wednesday night in a decision banning curbside voting in the state. | The ruling

sputniknews (2020-10-22). US, India Finalizing Military Data Sharing Pact Ahead of Pompeo Visit – State Dept. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States and India are finalizing a military agreement that calls for exchanging geospatial information ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to New Delhi next week, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Dean Thompson told reporters on Thursday.