(2020-07-07). The War on Logic: Contradictions and Absurdities in the House's Military Spending Bill. counterpunch.org The House Armed Services Committee just passed a defense appropriations bill filled with moral contradictions and illogical absurdities. Consider: It removes some racist symbols in the military, but preserves Trump's ability to use the military against anti-racist demonstrators. It abdicates Congress' responsibility to declare war, but prevents the executive branch from moving toward peace.
(2020-07-06). Covid-19 Has Put Algeria's Peaceful Revolution on Hold. thenation.com Abdo Shanan, The Nation, Magnum Foundation Covid-19 Has Put Algeria's Peaceful Revolution on Hold…
(2020-07-06). Seattle protester killed after being struck by car driving wrong way on closed interstate. wsws.org Police blamed protesters after a man drove into a peaceful demonstration early Saturday morning, killing one person and critically injuring another.
(2020-07-06). Greenpeace Celebrates Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-06). To Defeat Systemic Racism, America Must End Endless War. commondreams.org The racism that permeates U.S. foreign policy today, writes Gerami, "is an extension of the belief in white supremacy that shaped the territorial and ideological boundaries of our nation from its inception." (Photo: U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mike Brady, Task Force Cyclone, 38th Infantry Division Public Affairs) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/afghan_peace_0_0_0.jpeg …
(2020-07-06). Shield of the Union: How the Russian Navy Protected America in the Civil War. strategic-culture.org Strange things happen in civil wars: During the Russian Civil War in 1919, 13,000 U.S. troops were dispatched by President Woodrow Wilson to occupy the cities of Archangelsk in the Arctic and Vladivostok on the Pacific. | Half a century earlier, thousands of Imperial Russian Navy sailors and their officers flooded the cities of San Francisco and New York. But the circumstances were very different. They were there to defend the United States from foreign invasion — not to threaten it and they brilliantly succeeded in their tasks. | The incredible story is well told in "Friends in Peace and War: The Russian N…
(2020-07-06). Open Letter On COVID-19 And Humanitarian Disarmament. popularresistance.org The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy human and economic toll and shattered lives in many countries. The pandemic has also underscored that global solutions should be used to address global problems, in the current crisis and after it ends. Now is the moment to reflect on the world as it is and consider a better alternative for the future. A "new normal" should go beyond the field of public health to deal with other matters of ongoing international concern, including the humanitarian consequences of arms and armed conflict as well as peace and security more broadly. | Humanitarian disarmament, an approach to go…
(2020-07-06). Afghan President Ghani to host online conferences, seeking 'global consensus' on Taliban talks. rt.com 
Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani was expected to start pushing on Monday for a global consensus on peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani is hosting three online conferences with representatives of some 20 countries this week, AFP reported. | They aim to "build a consensus" for the peace talks at both a regional and international level, according to the Foreign Ministry in Kabul. | The United States, Russia and the United Nations will take part, officials said. Other participating countries include Pakistan, India, Iran, China, Egypt, and Qatar. | However, just hours ahead of the first online meeting on Monda…
(2020-07-06). Georgia governor declares emergency & deploys National Guard as Atlanta violence skyrockets amid Black Lives Matter protests. rt.com 
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has ordered National Guard troops to deploy in Atlanta, after rioters sacked the state police headquarters. Shootings in the city have doubled in the wake of protests against police brutality. | Some 1,000 soldiers will be deployed to protect the state Capitol, the governor's mansion, and the Department of Public Safety building that was vandalized over the weekend, Kemp announced Monday. | "Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead," Kemp said. "This lawlessness must be stop…
(2020-07-06). Guaido Representative Threatens FBI Investigation Into Journalists Exposing Her Dealings. mintpressnews.com From the Twitter account of her communications firm, Asymmetrica, Vanessa Neumann accused four journalists of a "criminal conspiracy" to support Venezuelan vice-president Delcy Rodriguez. "There is a price on your head," she threatened.
(2020-07-06). The Meaning of the 1811 Independence for Today's Venezuela. counterpunch.org For any country the celebration of independence is of great historical importance and pride. July 5 marks the 209th anniversary of Venezuela's independence. The meaning of the term "independence" has certainly occupied central stage in the last 21 years of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. Former President Hugo Chávez and current President Nicolás Maduro have
(2020-07-06). Venezuela denounces 'absurd decision' of UK to retain its gold reserves. mronline.org 
A British high court ruled on July 2 that because the UK recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president, it does not have to give the government of Nicolás Maduro access to the reserves.
(2020-07-06). Ambassadors Are Not Completely Useless, It Seems. Many Are Getting Their Hands Dirty in New Diplomacy. strategic-culture.org Diplomacy is in a crisis, re-emerging as something else more sinister and darker for its ambassadors. From Venezuela to Lebanon though, their time is up. Their dirty game is no longer a secret and it will be the starving Lebanese who will unseat them. | Diplomacy has been in the news quite a bit in late June. Yet it has still left many of us wondering if there is ever a real role for diplomats to play in this junk-news, social media-obsessed world which has reduced them to mere "waiters who are occasionally allowed to sit down" as Peter Ustinov once put it. | But Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro, who the We…
(2020-07-06). Venezuela Is on a Path to Make Colonialism Obsolete. globalresearch.ca On June 29 the European Union (EU) slapped
(2020-07-06). Venezuela: Arrest Warrants Issued for Guaido's Foreign Commissioner & US, UK Reps. venezuelanalysis.com Eleven people, including the ad-hoc Central Bank board, are charged with "usurpation of office" following the "plunder" of Venezuela's gold in the Bank of England.
(2020-07-05). Israeli Forces Injure Six Palestinians in Nablus. imemc.org Six Palestinians were injured, on Friday, when Israeli forces attacked a peaceful protest, in the village of Asira ash-Shamaliya, north of Nablus, the Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. Dozens of protesters gathered for the Friday prayer, near the northern West Bank village, to protest the Israeli threat of confiscation. Israeli …
(2020-07-05). Trump Regime Wants Legitimate Iranian Fuel Shipments to Venezuela Seized. globalresearch.ca No nation in world history more strongly professes support for democratic values and the rule of law while more egregiously breaching its proclaimed principles than the US. | It's been this way throughout the country's history, fleeting moments alone when positive …
(2020-07-05). Iranian animation to go on screen at Venzuela's film festival. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 06 (MNA) — Iran's animated short title 'I'm not Alice but here is Wonderland' will be screened at Five Continents International Film Festival in Venezuela.
(2020-07-04). Cal Democrats Not Paying Unemployment Claims; Pro-War Feinstein. indybay.org From the home front, with the California Supermajority Democratic Legislature & Governor contracting out to process millions of unemployment claims, many unpaid for months, to California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein voting to continue the blood for oil illegal occupation and war in Afghanistan, the Democratic Party insists with every move it is the same as the Republican Party.
(2020-07-04). Antifa, YPG/PKK ties threaten national peace in West. yenisafak.com Many Western countries support the idea of backing the YPG/PKK in Syria but Turkish officials reject aiding a terror group to beat another, ISIS/Daesh. A recent report released by the Turkish National Police Academy warned that countries of origin might face serious security challenges once foreign fighters in Syria return home.The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group that has the blood of tens of thousands of Turkish citizens on its hands. But warnings by Ankara have fallen on deaf ears and the YPG continues to recruit more and more foreign fighters. The report written by academics Murat Tinas and…
(2020-07-04). Spain participated in failed 2019 US coup in Venezuela. wsws.org New information emerging about the coup exposes Spain's ruling "left populist" party, Podemos, as a tool of imperialism's bloody foreign policy in Latin America.
(2020-07-04). UK Decision On Venezuelan Gold Condemned: 'It's Daylight Robbery!'. popularresistance.org The fact that the UK High Court cites the UK government's recognition of Juan Guaidó as the reason for blocking access to the gold is farcical. The UK government has formally recognised Guaidó as "interim president", but maintains full consular and diplomatic relations with Venezuela and its legitimate government. There is a Venezuelan ambassador in London and a British ambassador in Caracas. | Furthermore, the Venezuelan government had pledged that proceeds from the repatriation of the gold reserves would only be used, under supervision of the UN Human Development Program, in the fight against the COVID-19 pande…
(2020-07-03). Connecting the Dates — US Media Used To Stop The 'Threat' of Peace. counterpunch.org This is not a column defending Donald Trump. Across my career I have said more positive words about the scolex family of intestinal tapeworms than I have said about Donald Trump. (Scolex have been shown to read more.) No, this is a column about context. When The New York Times reports anonymous sources from the intelligence community
(2020-07-03). Taliban Ready For Compromise With Kabul to Reach Peace, US Rep for Afghanistan Says. sputniknews.com Earlier in the week, a video conference including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), Abdullah Abdullah, and US International Development Finance Corporation CEO Adam Boehler took place with a goal to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
(2020-07-03). WATCH: Police 'army' blasts non-lethal rounds at BLM protesters in Portland as riot declared. rt.com 
For the second night in three days, Portland police have declared a riot in the city, opening fire on protesters with non-lethal munitions outside the Multnomah County Justice Center. | The demonstration had remained peaceful throughout the night but then all hell broke loose when, at 11: 45pm local time, a group of protesters set fire to a piece of wood, prompting a police response which escalated as people refused to leave the area and continued protesting. | @PortlandPolice central precinct, police responded and were promptly surrounded by an angry mob. pic.twitter.com/y…
(2020-07-03). Revolutionary Possibilities: Could U.S. Capitalism Turn Nationalist? counterpunch.org The Trump administration has turned sharply toward economic nationalism. It attacks and undermines the World Trade Organization, NATO, and the UN. Trump and other top officials explicitly insult many world leaders. He imposes high tariffs. Official statements renew and sustain Cold War-type attacks on China, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. Trump flirts openly with nationalists who
(2020-07-03). President Maduro Orders Investigation On UK's Gold Verdict. telesurenglish.net President Nicolas Maduro Friday ordered a criminal investigation after the U.K High Court ruled against Venezuela's government in a legal battle over access to this South American country's gold stored in the Bank of England. | RELATED: | The order came hours after a British judge voted in favor of Venezuela's opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido in the litigation for those funds. | The inquiry seeks to determine who withi…
(2020-07-03). UK Denies Venezuela Access To Its Gold For Food And Medicine. popularresistance.org The United Kingdom's High Court Thursday decided that opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido can access 31 tons of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, which prevents President Nicolas Maduro's administration from using those resources to fight the pandemic. | The ruling about this monetary reserve valued at over US $ 1 billion occurs after months of disputes between Venezuela and the Bank of England, which denied the constitutionally constituted government access to its own resources | On May 14, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) sued the Bank of England to obtain and sell the Venezuelan gold bars. | The Sout…
(2020-07-03). US Imposes Additional Economic Sanctions Against Venezuela and Iran. globalresearch.ca The US government is seeking to economically drown Venezuela and Iran by wanting to seize fuel that Tehran is sending to Caracas. This is part of a sustained aggressive and illegal policy against both countries. The US Attorney's Office requested …
(2020-07-03). UK Court Denies Venezuela $1bn in Gold Needed to Fight Virus. globalresearch.ca The United Kingdom's High Court has blocked the Venezuelan government's effort to recover 31 tons of the nation's gold held by the Bank of England (BoE). | In a ruling handed down on Thursday, the court said it "unequivocally recognised opposition …
(2020-07-03). US files to seize Iranian shipments en route to Venezuela. peoplesdispatch.org Federal prosecutors in the United States have appealed for seizure of the four Iranian ships that are supplying petrol to Venezuela. A civil-forfeiture appeal was filed before a federal court in the US capital of Washington D.C. on Wednesday, July 2. The appeal to seize the ships is against an Iranian expatriate businessman in the United Kingdom, with alleged ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for having arranged the shipment. | The IRGC, the official paramilitary forces in Iran, has been named as a "terror" organization by the US, and prosecutors allege that the proceeds of the shipments will…
(2020-07-03). If US attempts to seize Iranian tankers carrying oil to Venezuela now, de-escalation will be more difficult than ever. thealtworld.com To expand its "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign targeting Iranian oil and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command, the …
(2020-07-03). Elections in Bolivia: A Road Towards Stability or Chaos?>. telesurenglish.net Donald Trump's arrival at the White House added significantly more pressure on those Latin American countries in which their leaders tried to construct an independent political agenda from Washington. | RELATED: | Besides trying to destabilize Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, the U.S. intelligence agencies started focusing on Evo Morales' administration in Bolivia, eventually achieving his fall from power. | The U.S. tr…
(2020-07-03). Trump Used Looted Venezuelan Public Money To Build Border Wall. popularresistance.org Since the United States initiated a coup attempt against Venezuela's elected leftist government in January 2019, up to $24 billion worth of Venezuelan public assets have been seized by foreign countries, primarily by Washington and member states of the European Union. | President Donald Trump's administration has used at least $601 million of that looted Venezuelan money to fund construction of its border wall with Mexico, according to government documents first reviewed by Univision. | During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump insisted countless times that he would "make Mexico pay" to build a gargantuan wall…
(2020-07-03). Don't Let the Corruption of the Powerless Bring Down the Democrats. commondreams.org Former National security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence before the start of a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House June 7, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bolton_venezuela_0.jpg …
(2020-07-03). Indigenous leaders angry about coronavirus risk from Brazilian military visit. yenisafak.com Leaders of an isolated indigenous Yanomami community in Brazil have complained that a military mission to protect them from the coronavirus brought greater risk of infection to their people through contact with outsiders including journalists.Federal prosecutors said they were investigating the visit for ignoring the wishes of Yanomami communities to remain isolated from society, violating rules of social distancing and distributing chloroquine to indigenous people.On Tuesday and Wednesday, soldiers brought medical supplies by helicopter to outposts on the border with Venezuela and assembled Yanomami families to…