2020-07-29: News Headlines

Staff (2020-07-29). Headlines for July 29, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Records Highest One-Day Coronavirus Death Toll Since May, Trump Retweets Doctor Who Warned of Sex with Demons and "Alien DNA", Twitter Suspends Donald Trump Jr. for Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation, Progressives Say GOP Coronavirus Bill Would Bring "Mass Poverty and Mass Hunger", Teachers' Union Prepared to Strike If Schools Aren't Made Safe from Coronavirus, World Health Organization Warns Summer Weather Isn't Slowing Coronavirus, Argentina Reports Record COVID-19 Death Toll as Guatemala Reopens Economy, Attorney General Barr Grilled over Police Violence Against Peaceful Protesters, Portland Demonstrators…

Eds. (2020-07-29). In Commune: The Panal 2021 Commune (Part 2). mronline.org In this series, In Commune, Venezuelanalysis will explore different experiences of rural and urban communes to help better understand what these highly controversial bodies mean, how they have been put into practice, and what they could signify for the continuity of the Bolivarian Revolution in the current situation of political and economic imperialist aggression.

RT (2020-07-29). 'They never tell you there WERE people there': Seth Rogen stirs hornet's nest after saying Israel 'makes no sense'. rt.com Jewish actor Seth Rogen has courted controversy after saying that Israel's existence "doesn't make sense," and that young Jews are misled to believe the state was created peacefully, without displacing thousands of Palestinians. | "If it is truly for the preservation of Jewish people, it makes no sense, because again, you don't keep something you're trying to preserve all in one place especially when that place has proven to be… pretty volatile," Rogen told comedian Mark Maron on his 'WTF' podcast on Monday. | Rogen — who has been promoting his upcoming movie, 'An American Pickle,' a comedy-drama which…

_____ (2020-07-29). Imperialist Economic War Costs US Almost $200 Billion. popularresistance.org Quantifying each and every one of the effects of the war that imperialism has declared on the Venezuelan people is impossible. The attacks that Venezuelans have experienced since 1999 have not only been economic, they have also been psychological. There is no way to measure the consequences of the hatred that the undemocratic opposition has sown with its anti-socialist propaganda, to the point of burning people alive if they are suspected Chavistas. The resentment that the Venezuelan people have towards those who claim to be Venezuelans, but who have sold out their homeland, is also unmeasurable. | That said, foc…

Stephen Lendman (2020-07-29). Iranian Military Exercises Prepare to Counter Aggression if Occurs. globalresearch.ca Iran is the leading Middle East proponent of peace, stability, and cooperative relations with other countries. | It hasn't attacked another nation in centuries, threatening none now except in retaliation against aggression by a foreign power if occurs — the right …

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-29). Iran considers three-day Taliban ceasefire positive step. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 29 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that Iran considers the three-day Taliban ceasefire a positive step towards peace in Afghanistan.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-29). Genocide of Colombia's social leaders continues unabated. peoplesdispatch.org On July 27, Colombian organizations including the Institute of Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), the Marcha Patriótica (the Patriotic March) platform of social movements and the Agrarian, Peasant, Ethnic and Popular Summit, a platform of Indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant organizations, held a press conference to denounce the growing violence against Colombian movements. They denounced that almost 1,000 social leaders have been killed since the signing of peace agreements in 2016 between the former government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerril…

yenisafak (2020-07-29). Quo Vadis, Aida? by Bosnian director to vie in Venice. yenisafak.com With Turkey's state broadcaster TRT among co-producers, Bosnian director's film Quo Vadis, Aida? will compete for the grand prize at the Venice Film Festival this year.Set in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995 during the Serbian occupation of Srebrenica, where one of the world's most horrific genocides took place in the heart of Europe, the drama will be among 18 films in the main competition of the festival which will be held between Sept. 2-12.A film by Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic, Quo Vadis, Aida? tells the story of Aida, a translator for the UN peacekeeping task force in Bosnia. It is co-produced by Bosnia, T…

Lucas Koerner (2020-07-28). Venezuela Wins Right to Appeal UK Ruling Barring Access to Gold Reserves. venezuelanalysis.com Lawyers for Venezuela's Central Bank hailed the decision as "incredibly rare."

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-28). Argentina's stance on Venezuela changes with the new government. peoplesdispatch.org Argentine President, Alberto Fernández, recognized Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president and criticized the economic blockades against the Caribbean country, setting up a new scenario in Latin America…

RT (2020-07-28). 'An assault on the US govt': AG Barr says anarchists hijacked 'legitimate protests' to sow chaos & destruction. rt.com US Attorney General Bill Barr said that "violent anarchists" have transformed peaceful anti-police-brutality protests into riots, singling out ongoing demonstrations in Portland as an outright "assault" on the government itself. | The comments came in Barr's "In the wake of George Floyd's death, violent rioters and anarchists h…

RT (2020-07-28). Dems, media allies cry foul after GOP leader 'hijacks' Barr hearing with video showing violent side of protests. rt.com A US House hearing meant by Democrats to excoriate Attorney General William Barr got off to a rocky start Monday as ranking Republican Jim Jordan showed a video montage of violent protests raging across the country. | The video began with clips of more than a dozen media outlets and Democrat leaders describing the wave of anti-racism demonstrations as "peaceful protests," followed by the widow of retired St Louis police captain David Dorn speaking about the murder of her husband by a looter on June 2. Video of rioting, looting and arson then begins to play with the widow's speech continuing. | Immediately a…

Paul Dobson (2020-07-28). Venezuela Rejects Washington's 'Wild West' Bounty Against Chief Justice Moreno. globalresearch.ca Venezuela's Foreign Ministry hit back at the Trump administration after it offered US $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno last week. | "The Venezuelan government once again rejects the Donald Trump administration's illegal …

news.un (2020-07-28). UN-African Union mission condemns recent spate of deadly attacks in Darfur. news.un.org The joint UN-African Union Mission in Darfur, UNAMID, is calling for the Sudanese Government to arrest those responsible for the recent spike in violent attacks against peaceful protestors, civilians and displaced persons in various locations across the province.

Thierry Meyssan (2020-07-28). Jean Castex's first three errors. thealtworld.com

| Without a doubt, Jean Castex is a brilliant senior civil servant. But that does not make him the right man to become Prime Minister of France. He has not thought about how to restore the social pact in the face of financial globalisation and is satisfied with measures to buy social peace in the short term. As soon as he was appointed, he showed that he did not want to reform the political class, that he was content to fight the pandemic by doing as others did, and that he supported the Maastrichian project conceived during the Cold War. | The French administration works very well on its own. In this s…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-07-28). Venezuelan Popular Movements Protest Student Evictions. venezuelanalysis.com Students denounced a "hostile attitude" on the part of authorities.

_____ (2020-07-28). Venezuela Moves Toward Elections: US Seeks To Undermine Them. popularresistance.org Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) has kickstarted proceedings for the upcoming December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections. A number of events have taken place in recent weeks that appear to open the way for a path out of the current political crisis and towards new conditions of stability in the country. | The roadmap has several democratic and electoral elements, which dovetail with decrees handed down by state institutions. | The government's strategy is, in broad strokes, to create a new democratic framework on the basis of several recent developments that we will examine. | While this roadmap is r…

_____ (2020-07-27). State Dept Abandons Families Of Mercenaries Detained In Venezuela. popularresistance.org The Grayzone has confirmed that former US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson traveled to Venezuela on Monday, July 13, following conversations with the families of former Green Beret soldiers Luke Denman and Airan Berry. Venezuelan authorities detained Berry and Denman on May 4, after they participated in a failed mercenary invasion of Venezuela with the stated goal of kidnapping the country's elected president, Nicolas Maduro. | Mark Denman, the younger brother of the detained mercenary Luke Denman, told The Grayzone that Richardson had agreed to help his family after the US Department of State failed to offer…

Juan Lopez (2020-07-27). Trump threatens democracy with militarized police as polls suggest he's in trouble. peoplesworld.org By sending federal militarized units in fascist-like fashion into major cities to attack peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators, President Donald Trump is assaulting democracy and setting a dangerous precedent less than 100 days before the November elections. Clearly, it is a desperate move to shore up his far-right base and divert public attention away from …

yenisafak (2020-07-27). Nearly 30,000 back US campaign seeking Nobel for Cuban doctors. yenisafak.com Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors campaign has been endorsed by prominent intellectuals, artists, politicians, and citizens worldwide, according to the campaign's website.Prominent endorsers include Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa, actors Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo, writers Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, and Nancy Morejon, filmmakers Oliver Stone and Petra Costa, musician Tom Morello, and singer/songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, among numerous others.The campaign launched on June 16 describes its mission "to promote the nomination of the Cuban International M…

teleSUR (2020-07-27). Venezuela Dismantles Drug Camps Near its Border With Colombia. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Interior Minister Nestor Reverol Monday revealed that the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) officials seized 9,173 kilograms of cocaine and dismantled two drug processing camps 900 meters from the border with Colombia. | RELATED: | Reverol said that FANB authorities, along with the Venezuelan National Anti-Drug Office (ONA), founded 25 drug processing laboratories located in two large camps in the Jesus María…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-07-27). Baltasar Garzon to Defend Venezuelan Businessman in Extradition Case. globalresearch.ca The law firm of former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon confirmed this week that it will represent a Venezuelan businessman sanctioned by the Trump administration and facing extradition from Cape Verde. | Alex Saab, 48, was

teleSUR (2020-07-27). Venezuela: Authorities Postpone Electoral Registration Day. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) President Indira Alfonzo Sunday announced that the Special Electoral Registration Day will be postponed due to the radical quarantine applied in several regions of the country. | RELATED: | The COVID-19 local resurgence that has been registered in different communities forced authorities to apply a radical quarantine in the states of Miranda, Zulia, Sucre, La Guaira, Tachira, and Bolivar…

teleSUR (2020-07-27). Caribbean Artist Honors Commander Chavez on His 66th Birthday. telesurenglish.net Barbados' artist Wayne "Onkphra" Wells dedicated a song to Venezuela's Commander Hugo Chavez to honor his 66th birthday anniversary to be commemorated on July 28. | RELATED: | The reggae-style song " We Are All Chavez" is a tribute "to the revolutionary leader's legacy and the Venezuelan people, who have welcomed me in their homeland like a son," Wells said. | With six-and-a-half minutes long, the piece also honors the Latin American heroes Toussaint L'Ouverture, Simon Bolivar, Jose Marti, and Fidel Castro's influences on C…

_____ (2020-07-27). Using Chemical Agents On Peaceful Protesters In A Pandemic. popularresistance.org Remember the protestors with guns walking into statehouses and protesting the stay at home orders? Do you remember a single case where teargas or pepper spray was used against those nearly all white protestors who were protesting in the sense of trying to encourage reopening which is what the Executive has been imprudently pushing? | Fast forward to this last week. Were teargas and pepper spray used on looters? No. It was used on peaceful protestors who were protesting after the murder of George Floyd. | Now, given teargas and pepper spray have the nefarious quality of causing people to cough and sneeze and rub t…

Anya Parampil (2020-07-26). El escándalo de sobornos petroleros expone el doble juego corrupto del 'procurador general' de Guaidó. thegrayzone.com José Ignacio Hernández ha cobrado honorarios lucrativos como mercenario legal para los saqueadores corporativos de la compañía petrolera venezolana PDVSA….

RT (2020-07-26). US claims 'no one' wants to allow Iran to buy & sell weapons as arms embargo set to expire. rt.com No one wants to give Iran the opportunity to buy and sell weapons, Washington has claimed, arguing that regional security would suffer if an arms embargo on Tehran is allowed to expire. | There is no desire to give Iran a chance to enter the arms trade, US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said on Sunday. He supported the rather presumptuous claim by insisting that the conflict in Syria would worsen if the current weapons embargo on Tehran is lifted. The official accused Iran of bypassing international restrictions and warned that Middle East peace would be threatened if the current sanctions were lo…

South Front (2020-07-26). Anti-Armenian Foreign Policy of Armenian Nationalists. globalresearch.ca On July 23, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented Yerevan's position on the tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. | "The co-chairs countries of the OSCE Minsk group have made a great …

Fight Back (2020-07-26). NYC rallies to defend Portland. fightbacknews.org New York, NY – Over 40 people gathered in Union Square in New York City, July 24, to stand in solidarity with Portland against the recent targeting of activists there. The action was called in response to viral videos of protesters in Portland being picked up by unmarked vans and brought to undisclosed locations, all just for speaking out against racist violence. | The action was called by the Workers World Party and included speakers from New York Community Action Project, Code Pink, Peoples Power Assemblies, Veterans for Peace, A Call to Action on Puerto Rico, and The Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum. | The speeches…

_____ (2020-07-26). The Arts And Symbolism In Mexico's Feminist Movement. popularresistance.org Last August, during a press conference with Mexico City's police chief, a group of young women were seen breaking windows and throwing pink glitter in the police chief's face. This was to demand justice for a teenager allegedly raped by four police officers. The episode sparked what became known as the glitter revolution, a new wave of feminist activism in Mexico with connections to other feminist collectives worldwide. | Feminism in Mexico has many internal strands ranging from what some may consider "radical" tactics (such as vandalism) to peaceful demonstrations.

_____ (2020-07-26). Transparency International Silent On Jailed Transparency Journalist Assange. popularresistance.org Berlin, Germany – On a cool July day, the Berlin neighborhood where Transparency International's global headquarters is situated feels a thousand miles away from London's Belmarsh Prison. But it is not just the pleasant setting a few blocks from the Spree River that makes the influential NGO seem so detached from the maximum security penitentiary's most famous inmate, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. | Transparency International has been vocal in defending jailed opposition activists in states like Zimbabwe, Russia, and Venezuela.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-26). US federal agents fire tear gas on peaceful protesters. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 26 (MNA) — US federal troops have used tear gas and flash-bang grenades against Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, on the 59th consecutive day of unrest in the city.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-26). Iran to continue peaceful nuclear program: Deputy FM. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 27 (MNA) — Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said that Iran will continue its peaceful nuclear program in accordance with IAEA regulations.

Animal Liberation Press Office (2020-07-26). Animal Liberation Front Retaliates for the Murder of Activist Regan Russell. indybay.org On the morning of Friday, June 19, Canadian animal rights activist Regan Russell was hit by a truck and murdered whilst peacefully protesting against a slaughterhouse. The truck which killed her was carrying the very pigs whose plight she was attempting to draw attention to. Despite being clearly visible to the driver, who accelerated towards her, and continued to drive even as her body was torn in half, no one has been arrested for the crime.

Monterey Peace & Justice Center (2020-07-26). Saturday 7/25: Race, Police, and Prisons: The American Gulag. indybay.org Online webinar…