Daily Archives: August 8, 2020

2020-08-08: News Headlines

_____ (2020-08-08). CODEPINK Denounces Elliott Abrams' Appointment As US Special Representative For Iran. popularresistance.org The appointment of Elliott Abrams to replace Brian Hook as the next U.S. Special Representative for Iran is another low point for the Trump administration's disastrous policy towards Iran. The dangerous conflict resulting from Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement will be exacerbated by a man committed to Washington's failed policies of regime change, including in his present-day position as Trump's representative for Venezuela. | Elliott Abrams has made a career of lying and committing criminal acts that have led to the death and suffering of innocent people from Guatemala to Iraq.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-08). Brazilian liberation theologist Dom Pedro Casaldáliga passes away. peoplesdispatch.org Dom Pedro Casaldáliga Plá, a Catholic missionary and an iconic voice of liberation theology, died on the morning of August 8, Saturday, at the age of 92. He was the Bishop Emeritus of the Prelature of Sà£o Félix do Araguaia and famous for his defense of the rights of the indigenous people of Brazil. He died of a pulmonary embolism at the Santa Casa de Batatais Hospital in the State of Sà£o Paulo. | Dom Pedro Casaldáliga Plá was admitted to the hospital after complaining of respiratory problems. He had earlier been admitted to the Hospital Sà£o Félix do Araguaia in the State of Mato Grosso. Casal…

Manuela Solé (2020-08-08). Venezuela's Maduro Demands Investigation into Landlord Violence. venezuelanalysis.com The Venezuelan president ordered the armed forces to protect campesinos from landowner attacks.

Vijay Prashad (2020-08-08). How the US failed at its foreign policy toward Venezuela. peoplesdispatch.org US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Venezuela confirmed this week the overt efforts over the last year of the US government to carry out a coup d'état against president Nicolás Maduro…

Yves Engler (2020-08-08). Trudeau government remains silent on corruption and repression in Haiti. mronline.org One way to evaluate the seriousness of the Trudeau government's stated objectives in seeking to oust Venezuela's elected government is to examine their policies elsewhere in the region.

_____ (2020-08-08). Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Under House Arrest. popularresistance.org The Colombian Supreme Court of Justice has ordered the preventive home detention of Senator and former President Alvaro Uribe for the crimes of procedural fraud and bribery. The Latin American right-wing leader became the first former president to receive this type of arrest order, suspected of trying to manipulate the statement of a defendant who linked him to the creation of paramilitary groups. "The deprivation of my freedom causes me deep sadness for my wife, for my family and for the Colombians who still believe that I have done something good for the country," lamented Uribe…

news.un (2020-08-08). Building a green economy, brick by brick. news.un.org In Uruguay, thousands of families earn a precarious livelihood making bricks, using traditional methods that are often inefficient and harmful to the environment. A UN project, in collaboration with the Uruguayan government, aims to make the industry less polluting, whilst preserving jobs for the many artisans who depend on it.

_____ (2020-08-08). Venezuela And Trump's Irrational Electoral Policy. popularresistance.org Caracas, Venezuela – Elections always have an interesting effect on public policy, in particular if the person in charge of designing and implementing a certain policy is up for reelection. In politics, it is logical that an incumbent candidate decides to show successful policies and accomplishments while minimizing failures or shortcomings. However, what is irrational is that a candidate insists on presenting, preserving and deepening a policy that has proven to be a failure and that the candidate himself only supports half-heartedly.

Staff (2020-08-07). Headlines for August 7, 2020. democracynow.org Study Predicts U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Could Reach 300,000 by December, Georgia High Schoolers Suspended for Sharing Images of Unmasked Students in Crowded Halls, India's COVID-19 Cases Top 2 Million as WHO Warns of Worsening Outbreaks in Africa, Peru's Health System in Collapse as COVID-19 Death Toll Reaches 20,000, Congressional Talks on New Coronavirus Stimulus on Brink of Collapse, "Make Billionaires Pay Act" Would Tax Richest 0.001% to Fund Healthcare for Millions, Police Fire Tear Gas at Anti-Government Protesters as Anger Rages over Beirut Blast, New York Attorney General Files Suit to Dissolve NRA over Ex…

teleSUR (2020-08-07). Venezuela Ratifies Commitment Against Drug Trafficking. telesurenglish.net The President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro ratified on Friday Venezuela's commitment in the fight against drug trafficking, on the 15th anniversary of the expulsion of the United States (U.S.) Agency for Drug Control (DEA). | RELATED: | "On a day like today 15 years ago, Commander Hugo Chavez (1954-2013) cut off relations with the largest drug cartel on the continent, the DEA. Since then, we have reinforced th…

Vijay Prashad (2020-08-07). Do not reach for the sky just to surrender. mronline.org The novel coronavirus continues its march through the world, with 18 million confirmed cases and at least 685,000 deaths. Of these, the United States of America, Brazil, and India are the worst-hit, harbouring about half of the world's cases.

Tracy Keeling (2020-08-07). Bolivians start huge mobilisation for the 'return of democracy and sovereignty'. thecanary.co Bolivians are currently engaged in massive protests and a general strike. They are

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-07). National strike continues across Bolivia, demands grow for àÅñez to step down. peoplesdispatch.org Social movements and trade unions stress that their demand is no longer just democratic elections, but also the immediate removal of the entire coup-installed government…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-07). Brazilian movements intensify "Out Bolsonaro" campaign. peoplesdispatch.org The authoritarian nature of the Bolsonaro government has rapidly intensified. Bolsonaro, acting against all public health specialists, as well as international entities and protocols, has denied the pandemic and adopted incorrect and disastrous measures. His grave mismanagement of the virus has made Brazil the global epicenter of COVID-19.

Dan Beeton (2020-08-07). The Political Exile of Ecuador's Rafael Correa. cepr.net CEPR senior policy analyst and Ecuador's former foreign minister Guillaume Long talked to This Is Hell about lawfare, the barring of former president Rafael Correa's party from the ballot, and Ecuador's turn toward austerity and the IMF under Moreno. Ecuador's right-wing and its media were "unhappy with progressive governance and the return of … a …

Nicky Reid (2020-08-07). When the Chickens Came Home to Roost In Portlandistan. counterpunch.org Well folks, it's official, Donald Trump has declared war on America. Probably should have saw that coming. After all, I've long argued that our dayglow duce isn't an isolationist but merely the world's shittiest imperialist. After trying and failing miserably to bring fascism to Nicaragua and Venezuela, Trump has set his sites on targets much

_____ (2020-08-06). CLDC Fighting Corporate-Fueled Legal Persecution Of Human Rights Lawyer. popularresistance.org For several years now, human rights attorney Steven Donziger has been in the fight of his life and career after Chevron vowed to destroy him for winning a $9.5 billion judgment for indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon that had been poisoned by the company's oil drilling. From buying off judges and experts in Ecuador to filing trumped up racketeering charges in the U.S. and getting the inappropriately sympathetic federal judge Kaplan to demand that Mr. Donziger turn over his laptop, cell phone, and attorney-client communications with his extremely vulnerable indigenous clients, Chevron will stop at noth…

teleSUR (2020-08-06). No Extradition: New Documentary On Julian Assange. telesurenglish.net On the eve of the premiere of his documentary about the founder of WikiLeaks, British-Chilean filmmaker Pablo Navarrete said Thursday in London: "I want people to have an idea of the injustice being done to Julian Assange." | RELATED: | The filmmaker and journalist followed John Shipton, Assange's father, over several months as he campaigned to prevent his son from being extradited to the United States (U.S.) and secure his…

Tanya Wadhwa (2020-08-06). Right-wing violence against Mapuche people in Chile widely condemned. peoplesdispatch.org Social movements are demanding that urgent actions be taken against the Carabineros and that the interior ministers be removed from his position for their complicity in the violence against the Mapuche Indigenous community…

teleSUR (2020-08-06). Cuba: President Rejects Lawfare Against Leftist Leaders. telesurenglish.net The President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel highlighted on Thursday the use of the judiciary in politics as a colonizing weapon over the peoples of Latin America. | RELATED: | On his official Twitter account, the president maintained that the case of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, "proves how far the enemies go" in applying those tools. | "The use of the judiciary against left-wing leaders is an imperial m…

RT (2020-08-06). Biden says Latinos are 'incredibly diverse,' UNLIKE BLACK VOTERS. rt.com Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden took time out from a question asked by a Latina reporter to state that while black voters all think alike (with "notable exceptions"), Latino voters are "incredibly diverse" in opinion. | In the midst of answering a question on whether he would extend protected status for Venezuelan immigrants during a Wednesday town hall, Biden veered off on a self-congratulatory tangent touting his supposed knowledge of the Latino community. | What you all know but most people don't know, unlike the African American community with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an i…

Eds. (2020-08-06). Bolivia begins the week with an indefinite general strike and roadblocks. mronline.org In the early hours of this Monday morning, the indefinite general strike and roadblocks began throughout Bolivia, called by the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) and the organizations that constitute the Unity Pact, which demand that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal respect the election date established by law for September 6.

teleSUR (2020-08-06). Bolivia: Senate Legalizes Chlorine Dioxide as COVID Treatment. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Senate has passed a bill that includes chlorine dioxide in the COVID-19 treatment protocol on Wednesday, despite World Health Organization warnings. | RELATED: | The bill allows public and privately owned labs to produce a chlorine dioxide solution, under pharmaceutical quality regulations. | Besides, physicians can administrate the drug with the consent of the patients or sufferer's relatives. According to the no…

Pepe Escobar (2020-08-06). Brazil's Money Laundering Scandal from Hell. globalresearch.ca Two decades after a political earthquake, a powerful aftershock that should be rocking Brazil apart is being met with thunderous silence. | What is now termed "the Banestado leaks" and "CC5gate" is straight out of vintage WikiLeaks: a list, published for …

teleSUR (2020-08-06). Chile: Mapuche Political Prisoners Begin "Dry" Hunger Strike. telesurenglish.net The Communities in Resistance of the Malleco province at Araucania Chilean region and the Relatives of the Mapuche Political Prisoners announced that the hunger strikers in the jail of Angol, capital of Malleco, began an indefinite "dry" hunger strike. | RELATED: | Through a statement issued Wednesday night, they deeply regretted that the Chilean Government persists in its political intransigence, of not establishing…

teleSUR (2020-08-06). Beaches and Airports Ready to Open in Latin America. telesurenglish.net Latin American countries are preparing to open beaches and airports despite the COVID-19 advancing in the region, which has become the world's epicenter of the pandemic with 4.7 million cases and over 160.000 deaths. | RELATED: | Although Ecuador has registered 87,963 COVID-19 cases and 5,808 deaths so far, President Lenin Moreno's administration ordered the opening of beaches in five provinces. | "The reactivation o…

teleSUR (2020-08-06). US Senate Hearing Unveils Trump's Plans Against Venezuela. telesurenglish.net The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday held a hearing to discuss Donald Trump administration's policy towards Venezuela. The U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliot Abrams was summoned to answer questions about it. | RELATED: | At the meeting, Republican Senator Mitt Romney and other Democratic lawmakers referred to the failure of the U.S. actions carried out to prompt a government change i…

sputniknews (2020-08-06). Ex-Venezuelan Official Charged in Bribery, Money Laundering Scheme, US Justice Department Says. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – A former official at Citgo Petroleum Corporation, a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, has been charged with involvement in a bribery and corruption scheme, the US Department of Justice said in a news release on Thursday.

Bryce Greene (2020-08-06). As Bolivian Regime Delays Elections a Third Time, Media Continue to Ignore Coup. commondreams.org Supporters of Evo Morales demonstrate in Cochabamba, Bolivia in November of 2019. (Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/evo_0.jpeg

WSWS (2020-08-05). Brazilian teachers oppose back-to-school drive. wsws.org Amid intense opposition from teachers and parents, private schools were reopened last month in the state of Amazonas and this week in Rio de Janeiro.

Staff (2020-08-05). Headlines for August 5, 2020. democracynow.org Massive Explosion Tears Through Beirut, Leaving Hundreds Missing and Thousands Injured, Lebanon's PM Says 2,700 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate Sparked "National Catastrophe" in Beirut, Mississippi Becomes Biggest U.S. Coronavirus Hot Spot as Governor Mandates Masks, Georgia Prisoners Live-Stream Video from Prison Uprising Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Chicago Schools Cancel September Classes as Union Threatens Strike over Coronavirus Safety, U.N. Warns Coronavirus School Closures Have Impacted Over 1 Billion Students, Brazil COVID-19 Deaths Approach 100,000 as Infections Surge in India, Black Lives Matter & Ferguson Activ…

Makasi Motema (2020-08-05). Brazil: From pandemic to genocide. workers.org Since the pandemic began, Brazilians have suffered 93,000 deaths and 2.7 million infections — the second highest number of infections in the world after the United States. Far from marshaling his country's resources to battle the disease, Bolsonaro has intentionally sabotaged Brazil's COVID-19 response. Like his U.S. analog, the right-wing . . . |

sputniknews (2020-08-05). 'Coup-Plotters for Hire': Unearthed USAID Nicaragua Regime Change Doc Puts 2018 Protests in Context. sputniknews.com An uncovered US Agency for International Development (USAID) document lays out a blueprint for regime change in Nicaragua. An expert told Sputnik the playbook shines a new light on the 2018 protests in Nicaragua as well as similar operations in other countries targeted by the US, such as Venezuela.

WSWS (2020-08-05). Widespread protests in Bolivia oppose postponement of elections. wsws.org Since Monday, a movement of strikes and blockades of main roads by workers and peasants has been spreading in Bolivia.

teleSUR (2020-08-05). Chile: Mapuches Occupy Mayor's Office In Tirúa, Bio-Bio Region. telesurenglish.net A hundred Mapuche community members today occupied the municipality of Tirúa in the Bio-Bio region of southern Chile, amidst persistent tension in Araucania since last weekend. | RELATED: | The occupants of the facility said that their action is in support of 27 political prisoners of that ethnic group who are on hunger strike in prisons in La Araucanía and in repudiation of the weekend incidents in several locations when Ma…

WSWS (2020-08-05). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Some 2,200 workers at Cerrejón mine in Northeastern Colombia rallied against threatened job cuts, while US Foods delivery drivers in Phoenix are angry over lack of safety precautions related to coronavirus.

RT (2020-08-04). Trump RUINED our Venezuela coup and botched 'winning play,' cries Democrat Senator & gets ROASTED online. rt.com The Democratic Party's gripes with President Trump are many, yet the latest may be the most bizarre to date. One Senator argued that Trump's brash personality bungled a perfectly good, American-style coup in Venezuela. | If Senator Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) had his way, opposition leader Juan Guaido would be occupying the Presidential Palace in Caracas right now, after the successful ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Despite the weight the US threw behind Guaido last year, the young upstart's planned coup was a failure, and Murphy blames Trump for that loss. | 2/ In early 2019, an opportunity…

Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner (2020-08-04). Venezuela: US Backs Guaido-led Opposition in Election Boycott. venezuelanalysis.com Elliott Abrams reiterated US support for hardline opposition factions.

Yanis Iqbal (2020-08-04). The Tyranny of Lithium Extraction in Argentina. globalresearch.ca In the middle of a raging Covid-19 pandemic, Argentina has decided to accelerate the lithium mining sector. This intensification is occurring as a part of the larger expansion of Argentinean extractivism wherein the country has