Daily Archives: June 19, 2020

2020-06-19: News Headlines

ahtribune (2020-06-19). Do Not Belittle Protesters in U.S. By Calling Their Struggle A "Color Revolution"! ahtribune.com For almost a decade, I have been covering "Color Revolutions" in virtually all parts of the world. While making a film for TeleSur, I was facing Egyptian tanks, risking my life under sniper fire, getting roughed-up in the middle of clashes of the supporters of al-Sisi and Morsi. | Together with Syrian commanders, I was also facing the terrorists in Idlib; challenged the Ukrainian fascists; encountering Bolivian indigenous elders high in the Altiplano, after the revolution of Evo Morales and MAS was crashed by the U.S.-sponsored coup in 2019. I regularly worked in Venezuela, Lebanon, and Iraq. And of course, ag…

_____ (2020-06-19). 'Black Lives Matter' Is International. popularresistance.org Corte Madera, California – The police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th was the spark that ignited the tinder of accrued injustice throughout the US and globally. This injustice has deep antecedents in the US and indeed in much of what is now called the Global South. There is a shared history of colonial conquest of the Indigenous and the abominable institution of the enslavement of African peoples. | What happened has its roots in systemic oppression that has resonated internationally. Just as the police suffocated George Floyd, US unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua,…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Colombia's 21st century social cleaning: saving money on chainsaws. colombiareports.com Colombia's president Ivan Duque must be proud of himself. He enriched his allies by killing countless people without using a single chainsaw. One may argue that killing Colombians for profit…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-19). Taxing large fortunes in Argentina: Who will be affected? peoplesdispatch.org The bill that seeks to charge an extraordinary tax on the richest people in Argentina advances in the Chamber of Deputies. Only a very small percentage of Argentine society will have to pay it.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-19). Bolivians demand freedom for female political prisoners and immediate general elections. peoplesdispatch.org A large group of Bolivians, mostly women, demonstrated in the capital, La Paz, on June 17. They demanded freedom for all female political prisoners, who have been arrested on false charges by the de-facto government led by far-right Jeanine àÅñez, after the coup against President Evo Morales in November 2019. In addition to the liberation of the political prisoners, they also called for immediate general elections in the country. àÅñez has been trying to delay the elections using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext, in pursuit of her imperialist and neoliberal policies. | At around 10 am, wearing face…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Colombia's economic reactivation: 'Black Friday' in midst of pandemic. colombiareports.com A plan of Colombia's President Ivan Duque to reactivate the economy turned into an epidemiological nightmare as crowds gathered at large retailers in the midst of a pandemic on Friday,…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Congress approves controversial bill allowing life imprisonment for child rapists. colombiareports.com Colombia's congress approved a constitutional amendment to sentence convicted child rapists and killers to life in prison amid a major controversy. The constitutional amendment proposed by the government of President…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-19). Colombia's military investigated over arms trafficking for illegal armed groups. colombiareports.com Top officials of Colombia's security forces are suspected of arms trafficking for organized crime groups, weekly Semana reported on Thursday. A network within the 4th Brigade in Medellin, the Arms…

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Bolsonaro in China shop: Spats worsen Brazil's pandemic. yenisafak.com Eleven tons of urgently needed medical equipment donated to combat COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has been stuck in China since the beginning of April due to diplomatic issues, according to Brazilian news outlet Folha De S. Paulo.It is one of the many shipments awaiting bureaucratic clearance, it said, at a time when Brazil desperately needs ventilators and personal protective equipment to fight a skyrocketing number of coronavirus infections and deaths.In a matter of weeks, confirmed cases of infection in the South American nation soared to nearly one million, with the death toll expected to top 50,000 in a day or…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Alleged election fraudster to preside Colombia's senate while in court. colombiareports.com Controversial Senator Arturo Char will have a tough year presiding over Colombia's senate while trying to prevent the Supreme Court from destroying President Ivan Duque's coalition. The conservative Radical Change…

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-06-18). Venezuelan Oil Output Continues Decline as Refinery Resumes Operations. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuelan crude exports on track for 70 year low as Washington continues to target tankers and shipping companies.

A Guest Author (2020-06-18). Bolivia. Morales alerta a comunidad internacional: àÅñez se aferra al poder. workers.org Por Resumen Latinoamericano Según concluyó una investigación independiente, el informe hecho por la misión de observación electoral de la OEA a las elecciones del 20 de octubre de 2019 en Bolivia, y que sirvió a la oposición para generar un golpe de Estado contra el presidente Evo Morales, tenía serias . . . |

Brasil de Fato (2020-06-18). Brazil: Minister of Education announces his departure from Bolsonaro government. peoplesdispatch.org Brazil's Minister of Education, Abraham Weintraub, announced on the afternoon of Thursday June 18 that he is stepping down from the government of Jair Bolsonaro. He made the announcement through His fall comes after the minister participated in a series of anti democracy rallies principally against the Supreme Federal Court (STF). According to sources from the Planalto Palace, his…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Colombia's coronavirus aid used to pay pack election contributions? colombiareports.com Colombia's Inspector General said Tuesday he was investigating $12.5 million (COP47 billion) in coronavirus aid funds ended up in the pockets of elections campaigns sponsors. The granting of government contracts…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Pablo Escobar's involvement in 1985 palace of justice siege another urban myth? colombiareports.com The popular belief that late drug lord Pablo Escobar ordered and financed the 1985 guerrilla attack on Colombia's Palace of Justice increasingly appears to be a far-right urban myth. The…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Colombia's coronavirus aid used to pay back election contributions? colombiareports.com Colombia's Inspector General said Tuesday he was investigating how $12.5 million (COP47 billion) in coronavirus aid funds ended up in the pockets of elections campaigns sponsors. The granting of government…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Open letter to Colombia's press freedom foundation on promoting free press. colombiareports.com Dear Fernando et al, I am writing to express my surprise that the Assembly of the Foundation for the Freedom of the Press (FLIP) has not taken action, i.e. sanctions,…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-18). Colombia's potential cocaine production reached all-time high in 2019: UN. colombiareports.com Colombia's potential cocaine production reached a new high in 2019 despite a drop in registered hectares of coca, the base ingredient of the illicit drug, according to the United Nations….

yenisafak (2020-06-18). NGO sounds alarm on use of wild plants to cure COVID-19. yenisafak.com Wild plant species are under pressure due to its usage to treat COVID-19 and make money, according to the report published by the international wildlife watchdog TRAFFIC on Thursday."Wild plant species used in herbal treatments of COVID-19 are set to come under heightened harvesting pressure, both as a result of increased demand and because of more people turning to wild harvesting as an alternative source of income during times of high unemployment and economic crisis," TRAFFIC said.The report asserted that herbal products containing wild plant ingredients are used to prevent and treat COVID-19 in South America,…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-18). Iran-Venezuela alliance a glorious example for nations to follow: American analyst. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — An American columnist and political author says the Iran-Venezuela alliance against the US is a glorious model for other nations to stand against Washington's hegemonic policies.

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-17). US monitors urge Colombia to accelerate slowed down peace process. colombiareports.com Scholars monitoring Colombia's peace process urged the government of President Ivan Duque to accelerate the country's peace process that has slowed down under his watch. The Kroc Institute of the…

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-06-17). US Rejects Venezuela Legislative Elections as TSJ Intervenes in Two Opposition Parties. venezuelanalysis.com The new leadership of Democratic Action and Justice First confirmed that their parties will contest the National Assembly later this year.

Len Yannielli (2020-06-17). The bitter aftertaste of fascism—and a foretaste. peoplesworld.org Fascism must leave a bitter aftertaste. Like tasting the rotten area of an apple, it shows as eyes narrow and lips squeeze together, as if to prevent any more entering one's body. Punta Arenas is the last city at the end of continental South America, at the very tip. I was on a plane heading …

RT (2020-06-17). Trump saw Venezuela as 'really part of the US,' thought invasion was 'cool' — but backtracked because of Putin, Bolton claims. rt.com US President Donald Trump thought it would be "cool" to invade Venezuela but was persuaded not to by "Soviet-style propaganda" from Moscow, claims former national security adviser John Bolton in book excerpts leaked to the press. | Trump said invading Venezuela would be "cool" and described the South American country as "really part of the United States," according to the Washington Post, one of three publications that were given access to some content from Bolton's memoir, 'The Room Where It Happened.' | | So Bolton says in his boo…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-17). Maudro warns EU not to interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — President Nicolas Maduro has warned the European Union (EU) against interfering in Venezuela's domestic affairs.

Zero Hedge (2020-06-17). IRGC Gears Up For 'Routine' Fuel Shipments To Venezuela, Defying Trump. iranian.com Here we go again — Iran is prepping a round two of major sanctions-busting gas delivery to fuel-starved Venezuela, which is of course rich on heavy crude oil but currently lacks the capacity to refine it based on its derelict and badly in need of repair facilities. Amid continued White House threats of military intervention to uphold a sanctions …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-17). Brazil sees record spike in COVID-19 infections with close to 35,000 new cases on Tuesday. peoplesdispatch.org Brazil recorded its highest daily spike in the number of COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, June 16 with close to 35,000 new cases and more than 1,200 deaths. As of June 17, Brazil has more than 923,180 cases of infection with over 45,240 deaths, second only to the United States. | According to the country's health ministry, within 24 hours on Tuesday Brazil recorded a total of 34,918 fresh cases of infection and 1,282 deaths which is one of the highest in the world since the COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on March 11. | This happened a day after the top official in charge of handling coronavirus in the cou…

WSWS (2020-06-17). Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Brazil's meat processing plants and mines. wsws.org Clusters of coronavirus at large companies across the country threaten the lives of thousands of workers.

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-17). US deports Medellin Cartel founder Carlos Lehder to Germany. colombiareports.com US authorities deported Carlos Lehder, one of the co-founders of the Medellin Cartel, to Germany where he arrived on Tuesday. The 70-year-old Lehder, who has both a Colombian and a…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-17). Colombia projects 41,000 coronavirus deaths before end of 2020. colombiareports.com Colombia's government informed the Constitutional Court that it expects the coronavirus to kill more than 41,500 citizens before the end of the year, local media reported Tuesday. Between March 6…

sputniknews (2020-06-17). Brazilians Forced to Self-Organize While Political Elites Use Pandemic as Chance to Rewrite Rules. sputniknews.com With over 920,000 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus and at least 45,000 related deaths, the highly contagious virus is far from "under control" in Brazil. One expert tells Sputnik that despite this and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's lack of leadership the self-organization of vulnerable Brazilians persists.

Staff (2020-06-16). Climate Crisis: Trump's Regulatory Attack, DNC On Climate, California Fires, And Brazil COVID Chaos. therealnews.com Under the cover of COVID-19 and protests, Trump hacks away at bedrock environmental law. Plus, a Democratic Party committee lays out its climate platform, wildfires erupt in California, and climate chaos engulfs Brazil and the Amazon Rainforest.

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-06-16). Venezuelan Attorney General Orders Arrest of Tupamaro Party Leader, Indicts FAES for Extra-Judicial Killings. venezuelanalysis.com Jose Pinto called the death a "false positive" orchestrated by the party's enemies.

L.A. Pontes (2020-06-16). Brazilian Democracy Hangs by a Thread. dissidentvoice.org It's hard to admit how far off Brazil has strayed. Less than forty years ago, the country was coming out of a military dictatorship, and for more than three decades stood on a steady, and shiny, path to development. Now again, there's a military president ruling the country, with a military as his Vice, several …