Daily Archives: February 1, 2021

2021-02-01: News Headlines

Mustafa Abu Sneineh (2021-02-01). Chinese investment in Haifa port could compromise US-Israel intelligence sharing: Report. middleeasteye.net Chinese investment in Haifa port could compromise US-Israel intelligence sharing: Report | A pro-Israel think tank expressed concern over Chinese investment in Israel, including proximity of Chinese company to US Sixth Fleet in Haifa | Mon, 02/01/2021 – 14: 15 | A general view of the city of Haifa and an Israeli military ship sailing in the Mediterranean Sea on 17 July 2019 (AFP)…

_____ (2021-02-01). Afghanistan War Exposed: An Imperial Conspiracy. popularresistance.org The perpetual occupation of Afghanistan has become so normalized and mostly serves as background noise to Americans -it's even jokingly referred to as the "forever war" – accepted as just a constant reality. A soldier dies now and again. A couple dozen civilians get killed in another bombing. It's never enough to stir the population to pressure Washington to stop it. The endless war drags on. | Abby Martin covers the whole truth about the Afghanistan War, from the CIA construct of the 80's through today's senseless stalemate. Two decades, three administrations, tens of thousands of lives; it's time to #EndTheFore…

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.

RT (2021-02-01). Top Navalny aide asked alleged British spy for millions in funding, intelligence video released by Russia's FSB claims to reveal. rt.com Surveillance footage, recorded in the early 2010s, appears to show a close associate of Alexey Navalny seeking cash and intelligence from an alleged British spy and suggesting his anti-corruption work may benefit firms in London. | The tape, which was first reported by RT television on Monday, is said to have been filmed by the Federal Security Service (FSB) sometime in 2012 and allegedly shows a meeting between Vladimir Ashurkov and an employee of the British Embassy in Moscow. Ashurkov is the executive director of the FBK, Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption organization. | The person he met at a Moscow cafe wa…

Suadad al-Salhy (2021-02-01). REVEALED: How Kadhimi seized power by accusing Iraq's spymaster of foreign loyalties. middleeasteye.net REVEALED: How Kadhimi seized power by accusing Iraq's spymaster of foreign loyalties | The Falcons Cell is the most feared and respected intelligence unit in Iraq. By taking control, the prime minister now has access to information on all Shia armed factions | Mon, 02/01/2021 – 09: 30 | Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi gestures during a ceremony to mark the Iraqi armed forces century anniver…

Conor Monighan (2021-02-01). General Warrants to Hack Computers Unlawful: Privacy International v IPT. ukhumanrightsblog.com In Privacy International v Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the Divisional Court held that s.5 Intelligence Services Act 1994 does not permit the government to issue general warrants to engage in computer network exploitation ("CNE") — more commonly known as computer hacking. The court also offered valuable guidance on warrants and what is required to make them lawful. …

_____ (2021-02-01). US and Colombian govts supported botched invasion of Venezuela: Bombshell testimony from coup-plotter. strategic-culture.org 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. | By Ben NORTON | Awitness 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 FBI and DEA in Florida and informed them of their plans. | àÅlvarez also r…

yenisafak (2021-02-01). Uganda's presidential election challenged in court. yenisafak.com Recent presidential elections in Uganda, won by President Yoweri Museveni, have been challenged in the country's top court by opposition leader Bobi Wine.Ugandan pop music star Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, Monday challenged the recent presidential elections in Supreme Court.The East African country's Electoral Commission on Jan. 16 announced Yoweri Museveni as the winner in the elections held on Jan. 14 followed by Bobi Wine, who refused to concede defeat.His legal team comprising over 10 lawyers is led by Medard Ssegona and Anthony Wameri.Briefly addressing the media outside the court, Medard…

sputniknews (2021-02-01). Biden Asks US Supreme Court to Suspend Trump Immigration Cases. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Biden administration has asked the US Supreme Court to cancel oral arguments scheduled in the coming weeks on Trump-era cases concerning border wall funding and the so-called "Remain in Mexico" asylum program, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), court documents revealed.

RT (2021-02-01). Putin orders officials to prepare plans for creation of Russian Court of Human Rights as possible alternative to pan-European ECHR. rt.com Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the country's Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice to assess the feasibility of creating a national court of human rights. He first expressed interest in the idea last year. | As things stand, Russia is a party to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), a body that is part of the Council of Europe. Membership of the court has been costly for Moscow, and in 2019 alone, the Ministry of Justice spent more than 1.1 billion rubles ($14 million) on 1,240 judgments. | An order published on the Kremlin website gives the Supreme Court, Russia's highest judicial bo…

_____ (2021-02-01). Why We Must Do More To Recognize The Application Of Indigenous Law. popularresistance.org In the Supreme Court of Canada's 1996 decision in R v Van Der Peet, Justice Beverley McLachlin[1] famously made reference to a "golden thread": | The history of the interface of Europeans and the common law with aboriginal peoples is a long one. As might be expected of such a long history, the principles by which the interface has been governed have not always been consistently applied. Yet running through this history, from its earliest beginnings to the present time is a golden thread — the recognition by the common law of the ancestral laws and customs of the aboriginal peoples who occupied the land prio…

Pepe Escobar (2021-02-01). Why the US Deep State Won't Forgive Russia and Iran. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | In a stunning interview to the Beirut-based al Mayadeen network, Hezbollah's …

WSWS (2021-02-01). Trump's acting secretary of defense disarmed D.C. National Guard 48 hours before the fascist assault. wsws.org Despite ample intelligence and public postings warning of far-right armed violence, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller forbade the use of weapons or riot control measures to safeguard the Capitol.

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.

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.

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…

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…