Monthly Archives: January 2021

2021-01-31: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-02-01). Emmy Butlin and Maxine Walker of the UK Committee to Defend Julian Assange oppose Facebook censorship of the Socialist Equality Party/IYSSE. wsws.org The WSWS has been sent letters from Emmy Butlin and Maxine Walker, of the Committee to Defend Julian Assange (JADC) in opposition to the censorship of the World Socialist Web Site and Socialist Equality Parties by Facebook.

teleSUR (2021-01-31). Ecuador: A Court Admits Claim Against Pollution in the Amazon. telesurenglish.net The Sucumbios Supreme Court accepted an appeal filed by nine indigenous girls who demanded the elimination of over 400 gas flares linked to crude oil production in the Ecuadorean Amazon. | RELATED: | The plaintiffs demanded actions by the State to eliminate the oil industry burners in the Amazon, including the non-authorization of new installations of this kind. | Noting the State's negligence "by not providing or promoting the use of envi…

_____ (2021-01-31). On Contact: Radical As Reality Itself. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Michael Smith about civil rights attorney Michael Ratner's recently published memoir, "Moving the Bar — My Life as A Radical Lawyer". Smith was a close friend and collaborator of Ratner's for over three decades. | Michael Ratner was one of the most important civil rights attorneys in our era. He spent his life fighting on behalf of those who state and empire sought to crush, from the leaders of the prison uprising at Attica to Muslim prisoners held in Guantanamo, to Julian Assange.

_____ (2021-01-31). Julian Assange Deserves A Nobel Peace Prize. popularresistance.org Julian Assange has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. We think he deserves to win. There is an incredibly long list of actions that Julian has taken toward a more peaceful world. As Julian has said, "If wars can be started by lies, peace can be started by truth." | More than one individual can nominate Assange; he's already been nominated this year by people including former Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire and French politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Maguire and four other Peace Prize winners wrote a letter to then-President Trump recounting Assange's contributions toward peace.

Ben Norton (2021-01-30). US and Colombian govts supported botched invasion of Venezuela: Bombshell testimony from coup-plotter. thegrayzone.com A key coup-plotter in the May 2020 botched invasion of Venezuela said she met with FBI and DEA officials. She admitted Colombia's intelligence services were aiding them and "knew everything," adding that President Iván Duque and far-right political kingpin àÅlvaro Uribe helped. A witness at the heart of the botched invasion of Venezuela in May 2020 has stated that the US and Colombian governments were involved in the regime-change operation. Coup-plotter Yacsy àÅlvarez said she met with officials from the …

Jessica Corbett (2021-01-30). 48 Years After Landmark Ruling, Advocates Push to #ReimagineRoe and Build Abortion Justice. indybay.org Nearly a half-century after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that access to safe, legal abortion is a constitutional right, advocates are now pushing the Biden administration and Congress to urgently and aggressively pursue a bold reproductive justice agenda. | Photo: On the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, members of the Raging Grannies mark the day in Menlo Park, California. Photo by Jim Colton, Pro Bono Photo. Please credit the photographer.

Ole Hudowenz, Philipp Klemm, Uwe Lange, Ulf Mueller-Ladner (2021-01-30). [Clinical Picture] Widespread soft tissue calcification in systemic sclerosis, polymyositis, and polyarthritis. thelancet.com A 55-year-old woman was admitted to our department with gradual onset of pain in her hands, hips, and knees, which had progressively limited her mobility over the past 6 years. She also reported feeling tired and feverish.

MEE and agencies (2021-01-29). Islamic State 'deputy caliph' killed in Iraq, PM Kadhimi says. middleeasteye.net Islamic State 'deputy caliph' killed in Iraq, PM Kadhimi says | Intelligence-led operation that killed Abu Yaser al-Issawi comes a week after IS claimed deadliest Iraq attack in three years
| Fri, 01/29/2021 – 10: 15 | A photo circulating online purportedly shows Abu Yaser al-Issawi (Twitter) | Iraqi security forces have killed the country's top Islamic State (IS) commander, who had cl…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-29). Roger Waters on Ecuador and Steven Donziger's fight for justice. peoplesdispatch.org Musician Roger Waters and Vijay Prashad of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research talk about the struggles of the indigenous people of Ecuador against Chevron's Lago Agrio oil field and the persecution of attorney Steven Donziger who fought their case. They also reflect on the struggles of people like Donziger, Julian Assange and others who strive for a better world against those for whom power and profit are more important than anything else.

RT (2021-01-29). No one's above the law? FBI lawyer who altered evidence to enable spying on Trump gets PROBATION instead of jail. rt.com The only FBI official charged in the improper use of FISA warrants to spy on President Donald Trump via campaign aide Carter Page got a slap on the wrist. Kevin Clinesmith's sentence was a year of probation, and community service. | Clinesmith worked at the FBI General Counsel's Office (GCO) and was assigned to Crossfire Hurricane, the probe of Trump's alleged ties with Russia during the 2016 election. In that capacity, he altered an email from the CIA that described Page as a source for the spy agency, to say he was "not" a source — enabling the FBI to request a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FIS…

sputniknews (2021-01-29). Facebook 'Supreme Court' Accepting Public Comment on Whether to Reinstate Trump Account. sputniknews.com The former US president, Donald Trump, was blocked on Facebook earlier this month after being accused of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6. In a statement earlier this month, Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, stated that the risk of allowing Trump to continue to use the platform were "simply too great."

Roger Sollenberger (2021-01-29). Florida man's arrest on 2016 election charges suggests Russia probe may have survived Bill Barr. salon.com Indictment of a Roger Stone-connected operative may signal that Robert Mueller's spinoffs are still bearing fruit…

_____ (2021-01-29). Scheer Intelligence: The FBI's Crusade Against MLK Was Darker Than You Think. popularresistance.org "You are done. There is only one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal fraudulent self is bared to the nation." That's the shocking ending to the infamous letter Civil Rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received in 1964 essentially urging him to commit suicide. The letter and accompanying package containing blackmail were sent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as King quickly caught on. While the full, unredacted letter was finally published by the New York Times in 2014, the audio recordings of an extensive FBI wiretapping operation targeting King have been sealed until 2027…

WSWS (2021-01-28). Bernie Sanders backs Biden's national security cabinet. wsws.org The Vermont senator and self-styled "socialist" voted to confirm Biden's choices to head the Pentagon, State Department and US intelligence apparatus.

RT (2021-01-28). Mega-investors punished with $70 BILLION LOSSES as GameStop and other shorted firms see stock surge — data analysts. rt.com Short-selling investors lost a staggering $70.8 billion this month, according to financial data analytics firm Ortex. Their losses were partly driven by small traders pumping money into stocks like GameStop. | Short-sellers lost $70.87 billion on US companies this year so far, according to analysis from Ortex reported by Reuters on Thursday. To put the loss in perspective, $70.87 billion is half a billion dollars more than the GDP of Slovenia, according to CIA statistics. | In just a few short days, the American people realized their power and took down $70 BILLION in predatory trading. We're not even finished…

Online News Editor (2021-01-28). Pakistan's top court orders release of accused in Daniel Pearl murder case. laprensalatina.com Islamabad, Jan 28 (efe-epa).- The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday ordered the release of the main accused and three other suspects in the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, overturning the authorities' appeal against a lower court's order to commute their sentences. Thursday's decision came in response to appeals filed by the government …

yenisafak (2021-01-28). Re-thinking open-source intelligence in the information age and digital change. yenisafak.com It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us …"Charles Dickens' abovementioned opening lines in his classic "A Tale of Two Cities" masterfully depicts the zeitgeist in the heart of Europe at the time, London and Paris, avalanching en route to the coming French Revolution. Indeed, periods of great changes in long-establis…

2021-01-30: News Headlines

Jessica Corbett (2021-01-30). 48 Years After Landmark Ruling, Advocates Push to #ReimagineRoe and Build Abortion Justice. indybay.org Nearly a half-century after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that access to safe, legal abortion is a constitutional right, advocates are now pushing the Biden administration and Congress to urgently and aggressively pursue a bold reproductive justice agenda. | Photo: On the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, members of the Raging Grannies mark the day in Menlo Park, California. Photo by Jim Colton, Pro Bono Photo. Please credit the photographer.

Ole Hudowenz, Philipp Klemm, Uwe Lange, Ulf Mueller-Ladner (2021-01-30). [Clinical Picture] Widespread soft tissue calcification in systemic sclerosis, polymyositis, and polyarthritis. thelancet.com A 55-year-old woman was admitted to our department with gradual onset of pain in her hands, hips, and knees, which had progressively limited her mobility over the past 6 years. She also reported feeling tired and feverish.

MEE and agencies (2021-01-29). Islamic State 'deputy caliph' killed in Iraq, PM Kadhimi says. middleeasteye.net Islamic State 'deputy caliph' killed in Iraq, PM Kadhimi says | Intelligence-led operation that killed Abu Yaser al-Issawi comes a week after IS claimed deadliest Iraq attack in three years
| Fri, 01/29/2021 – 10: 15 | A photo circulating online purportedly shows Abu Yaser al-Issawi (Twitter) | Iraqi security forces have killed the country's top Islamic State (IS) commander, who had cl…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-29). Roger Waters on Ecuador and Steven Donziger's fight for justice. peoplesdispatch.org Musician Roger Waters and Vijay Prashad of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research talk about the struggles of the indigenous people of Ecuador against Chevron's Lago Agrio oil field and the persecution of attorney Steven Donziger who fought their case. They also reflect on the struggles of people like Donziger, Julian Assange and others who strive for a better world against those for whom power and profit are more important than anything else.

sputniknews (2021-01-29). Facebook 'Supreme Court' Accepting Public Comment on Whether to Reinstate Trump Account. sputniknews.com The former US president, Donald Trump, was blocked on Facebook earlier this month after being accused of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6. In a statement earlier this month, Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, stated that the risk of allowing Trump to continue to use the platform were "simply too great."

RT (2021-01-29). No one's above the law? FBI lawyer who altered evidence to enable spying on Trump gets PROBATION instead of jail. rt.com The only FBI official charged in the improper use of FISA warrants to spy on President Donald Trump via campaign aide Carter Page got a slap on the wrist. Kevin Clinesmith's sentence was a year of probation, and community service. | Clinesmith worked at the FBI General Counsel's Office (GCO) and was assigned to Crossfire Hurricane, the probe of Trump's alleged ties with Russia during the 2016 election. In that capacity, he altered an email from the CIA that described Page as a source for the spy agency, to say he was "not" a source — enabling the FBI to request a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FIS…

Roger Sollenberger (2021-01-29). Florida man's arrest on 2016 election charges suggests Russia probe may have survived Bill Barr. salon.com Indictment of a Roger Stone-connected operative may signal that Robert Mueller's spinoffs are still bearing fruit…

_____ (2021-01-29). Scheer Intelligence: The FBI's Crusade Against MLK Was Darker Than You Think. popularresistance.org "You are done. There is only one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal fraudulent self is bared to the nation." That's the shocking ending to the infamous letter Civil Rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received in 1964 essentially urging him to commit suicide. The letter and accompanying package containing blackmail were sent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as King quickly caught on. While the full, unredacted letter was finally published by the New York Times in 2014, the audio recordings of an extensive FBI wiretapping operation targeting King have been sealed until 2027…

WSWS (2021-01-28). Bernie Sanders backs Biden's national security cabinet. wsws.org The Vermont senator and self-styled "socialist" voted to confirm Biden's choices to head the Pentagon, State Department and US intelligence apparatus.

Beth Brodsky, Daniel A. Hanley (2021-01-28). The FCC Seeks to Hinder Female and Minority Broadcast Ownership for Policies Favoring Concentrated Corporate Ownership. commondreams.org The Supreme Court, hearing a challenge on Tuesday, should reject insufficient regulatory oversight. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/us_supreme_0.jpeg

teleSUR (2021-01-28). Woman Arrested in Colombia Reveals 'Gideon Operation' Details. telesurenglish.net Yacsy Alvarez, a woman captured in Colombia over the Gideon Operation, revealed the complicity of President Ivan Duque's administration in the failed coup attempt against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. | RELATED: | From La Picaleña prison in the Tolima Department, she assured that Colombian intelligence knew all the details of the paramilitary maritime incursion that took place in La Guaira state, Venezuela, on May 3, 2…

Online News Editor (2021-01-28). Pakistan's top court orders release of accused in Daniel Pearl murder case. laprensalatina.com Islamabad, Jan 28 (efe-epa).- The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday ordered the release of the main accused and three other suspects in the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, overturning the authorities' appeal against a lower court's order to commute their sentences. Thursday's decision came in response to appeals filed by the government …

Alexa Kolbi-Molinas (2021-01-28). We're Suing to Restore Abortion Access to People in Guam. aclu.org Last week, we marked Roe Day, the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court Yesterday, we filed a lawsuit in the federal district court in Guam, seeking to restore abortion access to the island. The lawsuit challenges two o…

RT (2021-01-28). Mega-investors punished with $70 BILLION LOSSES as GameStop and other shorted firms see stock surge — data analysts. rt.com Short-selling investors lost a staggering $70.8 billion this month, according to financial data analytics firm Ortex. Their losses were partly driven by small traders pumping money into stocks like GameStop. | Short-sellers lost $70.87 billion on US companies this year so far, according to analysis from Ortex reported by Reuters on Thursday. To put the loss in perspective, $70.87 billion is half a billion dollars more than the GDP of Slovenia, according to CIA statistics. | In just a few short days, the American people realized their power and took down $70 BILLION in predatory trading. We're not even finished…

yenisafak (2021-01-28). Re-thinking open-source intelligence in the information age and digital change. yenisafak.com It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us …"Charles Dickens' abovementioned opening lines in his classic "A Tale of Two Cities" masterfully depicts the zeitgeist in the heart of Europe at the time, London and Paris, avalanching en route to the coming French Revolution. Indeed, periods of great changes in long-establis…