2020-02-14: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-14). Don't believe the hype: MSM plays on coronavirus alarm with fear-mongering stories about everyday viruses. rt.com In the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, mainstream media outlets have pounced on fears of deadly viral outbreaks for easy clickbait headlines. But is there really anything to fear? | The Yaravirus is an up-and-coming media sensation, complete with a tropical home and an evocative name. Found lurking in an artificial lake in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, and named for a mythical mermaid that lures unsuspecting men to their death, Yaravirus has serious potential to generate headlines. The fact that it can only transfer between amoebas, and therefore presents no threat to humans, does not…

RT (2020-02-14). Anti-BDS laws are meant to censor & control speech, journalist Abby Martin tells RT after suing Georgia govt over cancelled talk. rt.com Barred from speaking at a public university over her refusal to sign a pledge of allegiance to Israel, journalist Abby Martin is now suing the state of Georgia, arguing its anti-BDS legislation sets fire to the First Amendment. | Slated to give a keynote talk at a media literacy conference at Georgia Southern University later this month, Martin was asked to sign what amounts to a loyalty oath to the State of Israel, mandated under a 2016 Georgia law barring the government from hiring contractors who boycott Israeli products or associate with the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Martin t…

RT (2020-02-14). Information wars: GOP lawmaker on quest to officially declare CNN and the Washington Post 'fake news'. rt.com In these times of political division, Americans on the far ends of the political spectrum often accuse each other of misinformation — but one GOP lawmaker wants CNN and the Washington Post to be officially declared "fake news." | Micah Van Huss, a Republican state lawmaker from Tennessee, has introduced a

Mike Miller (2020-02-14). Race and Class: Overcoming the Divides. counterpunch.org Preface The forthcoming 2020 election is again highlighting the country's apparently deep divides on race and class. A common formulation is that a hopelessly racist White working class is locked into the new Trump Republican Party which consciously has adopted a divide-and-conquer strategy based on race. The mainstream Democratic Party hope is that an electoral

Tim Libretti (2020-02-14). Don't believe in class struggle? Read J.P. Morgan's report to wealthy clients. peoplesworld.org Mainstream media, largely corporate-owned, loves to avoid addressing the realities of class, and particularly of class struggle, at every turn. While we don't hear the voices of the 99%, we hear plenty from the 1% decrying the slightest reference to class struggle in the United States. The wealthy often complain when sane and reasonable minds …

RT (2020-02-14). India blames Pakistan for ceasefire violation and death of civilian in Kashmir. rt.com A civilian was reportedly killed, and two others injured, during a cross-border shelling in the Poonch district of the India-controlled part of Kashmir. | On Friday the Indian Army accused Pakistan of violating a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between parts of disputed Kashmir. They said shells landed in Shahpur and Kerni sectors in the Poonch district, killing one civilian and inuring two others. | A day earlier Indian security forces reported busting a militant hideout in Poonch and seizing a stockpile of small arms and ammunition. | Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim area, has b…

RT (2020-02-14). Canadian energy giant 'funding' Oregon sheriff's unit to thwart protests against one of its own pipeline projects — report. rt.com A Canadian fossil fuel company "bought" a sheriff's unit in Oregon with the aim of controlling and monitoring the behavior and activities of anti-gas pipeline activists and environmentalists, the Intercept has revealed. | In November 2018, Coos County Sheriff's Office — which has closely monitored local opposition to the Jordan Cove Energy Project — hosted a two-day training event for officers, instructing them on how to deal with battles against protesters. | Yet, the event costs of $26,250 were paid by Pembina Pipeline Corp. — the Canadian energy company that owns the Jordan Cove liquefied nat…

RT (2020-02-14). 'We did not forget, we did not forgive:' India marks 1 year since attack that killed 40 soldiers & led to Kashmir flare-up. rt.com India has unveiled a memorial for the 40 troops killed in a suicide bombing in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir a year ago on Friday. The incident sparked a tense standoff that brought the region to the brink of war. | Tributes to the servicemen that lost their lives in the February 14, 2019 attack in Kashmir's disputed Pulwama district were led by PM Narendra Modi and other top government, as well as military, officials. | "They were exceptional individuals who devoted their lives to serving and protecting our nation. India will never forget their martyrdom," Modi tweeted early Friday morning. | Tributes…

RT (2020-02-14). Houthis drop 'tax' threat that jeopardized Yemen aid — report. rt.com Houthi rebels have dropped a threat to tax aid in Yemen, AFP quoted a UN official as saying on Friday. The move is seen as a significant step towards resolving a crisis that has jeopardized the world's biggest humanitarian operation. | UN leaders and humanitarian groups held talks in Brussels on Thursday to address obstruction by the Houthi militia that has threatened to sever the lifeline to millions at risk of starvation. They heard that vital supplies could be cut off, after humanitarian agencies complained of a deteriorating situation in the Houthi-controlled north where aid workers face arrest and intimid…

WSWS (2020-02-14). Corporate Canada clamours for Trudeau to launch a violent crackdown on anti-pipeline protests. wsws.org The corporate media's response to the protests has become increasingly frantic, with the National Post raging that Canada is being turned into a "mob city," while the Edmonton Journal says, "Chaos has come to Canada."

Mark Angelides (2020-02-14). UK Government Approves Net Censorship — British Free Speech Dies. globalresearch.ca The United Kingdom has become the first Western nation to move ahead with large-scale

Andre Vltchek (2020-02-14). Western Anti-Chinese Propaganda Exaggerates Coronavirus Danger, Creates Panic. globalresearch.ca Now it is becoming obvious who China's friends are, and who her enemies are. In the West, many nations and individuals are celebrating the short-term difficulties that the Chinese nation is facing, pouring salt into the wound, while giving birth …

Meagan Day (2020-02-14). Michael Bloomberg's Campaign Is an Insult to Democracy. zcomm.org When newly released audio of Michael Bloomberg defending his racist policing policies was circulated this week, the mainstream media had his back…

Staff (2020-02-14). Klobuchar Has Pushed Extreme Right-Wing Policy on Israel/Palestine. truthout.org In recent days, much of the mainstream media has been focusing on the rise of centrist Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar as a serious contender in the Democratic presidential primary. Many in the more progressive wing of the party have been criticizing her positions on

yenisafak (2020-02-14). Afghan forces claim killing senior Taliban commander. yenisafak.com In a statement, the ministry said Maulvi Sardar Mohammad, member of the Taliban's "Military Commission" was killed with his companions in an airstrike in the Chamtal district of the Balkh province bordering Uzbekistan.According to the statement, a huge cache of arms and ammunition were also destroyed in the airstrike.The Taliban rejected the claim, calling it a "propaganda by the enemy."In a Twitter post, Zabihullah Mujahid, the group's spokesman, said six Afghan service members were killed by the Taliban in the Khas Balkh district on Friday.This came a day after the U.S. announced negotiating a proposal with the…

sputniknews (2020-02-14). Netanyahu on Nighttime Strikes Against Syria: 'Maybe It Was Belgian Air Force'. sputniknews.com Syrian air defences reported intercepting multiple hostile targets over Damascus on Thursday night, with the missiles said to have come from the direction of the Israeli-controlled Syrian Golan Heights.

Thomas Klikauer (2020-02-14). Cambridge Analytica: a Salesgirl's Report. counterpunch.org Much has been written about the murky world of the UK PR firm Cambridge Analytica — a company acting by stealth which furnished the propaganda behind successes like the election of Donald Trump along with the British vote for Brexit. One of the faces that Alexander Nix, Cambridge Analytica's shadowy boss, liked to push was

Staff (2020-02-14). The Corporate Media Is Directly Profiting from Mike Bloomberg's Rise as He Spends Fortune on TV Ads. democracynow.org Billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is rising in the polls in the wake of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Democracy Now! co-host Juan González speaks with us about Bloomberg's approach to campaign spending, the administration's policies during his three terms as mayor of New York City and the scores of lawsuits filed against Bloomberg and his company. "It's amazing to me that Michael Bloomberg is getting as much attention as he is," González says.

RT (2020-02-13). 'Actually dangerous': Samantha Bee's denunciation of PragerU shows liberals still don't get the allure of the forbidden. rt.com Liberal comedian Samantha Bee has said she fears YouTube powerhouse PragerU is brainwashing kids by disguising right-wing propaganda as educational content — but her fear is the best endorsement the outlet could hope for. | Calling the popular conservative channel "actually dangerous," Bee warned it was "trick[ing] kids into thinking their videos are educational" in a tweet posted on Wednesday night.

Medea Benjamin (2020-02-13). Can the World's Second Superpower Rise From the Ashes of Twenty Years of War. mintpressnews.com While our government's war propaganda has convinced many Americans that we are powerless to stop its catastrophic wars, it has failed to convince most Americans that we are wrong to want to.

Cameron Orr (2020-02-13). U.S. public gets fake news about China's alleged anti-Muslim campaign. peoplesworld.org Editor's Note: The following opinion article was written in response to Hanukkah: A holiday rooted in struggle against imperialism, which was published in People's World on Dec. 23, 2019. That earlier article mentioned the situation for Muslims living in China's Xinjiang region within the context of another topic; this contribution offers a more in-depth perspective …

Louise Richards (2020-02-13). What is really going on in Nicaragua? peoplesworld.org Mainstream media lost no time in seizing yet another opportunity to vilify Nicaragua unfairly in the wake of an attack by armed men on the indigenous community of Alal, near the town of Bonanza in Bosawas on January 29. The BBC published a piece under the headline "Six indigenous people 'massacred' in Nicaragua," reporting uncorroborated …

WSWS (2020-02-13). Petition for Assange's freedom tabled again in Australian parliament. wsws.org Despite the powerful public support and strongly expressed sentiments of the petition, its tabling received virtually no coverage in the corporate media.

Ted Morgan (2020-02-13). Why the Democrats Should Back Bernie Sanders: And Why They Won't, If They Can Possibly Help It. commondreams.org The real hope represented by Bernie Sanders' campaign is that he can pull together these sharply separated populations—in the process shifting the focus to the elite forces whose propaganda has kept them apart. (Photo: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

True Publica (2020-02-13). Johnson's Administration Has Just Dumped an Unexploded Time Bomb in Our Midst. globalresearch.ca The lies keep coming in a propaganda war to keep the Brexit delusion going but reality brings us the truth — and this is exemplified no better than the delivery by the Johnson government of an unexploded economic time bomb….

Global Research News (2020-02-13). Selected Articles: More Lies on Iran. globalresearch.ca A future without independent media leaves us with an upside down reality where according to the corporate media "NATO deserves a Nobel Peace Prize", and where "nuclear weapons and wars make us safer" | . | . | | | If, like us, this is …

RT (2020-02-12). What about stopping endless wars? Trump urges GOP to vote down Iran war resolution because it's a partisan ploy by Democrats. rt.com US President Donald Trump says the resolution that would block him from using force against Iran is a partisan trick by Democrats, even though he campaigned on a peace platform and some of his closest allies support the proposal. | "We are doing very well with Iran and this is not the time to show weakness," Trump tweeted on Wednesday, adding that Tehran would "have a field day" if his hands were tied. | "The Democrats are only doing this as an attempt to embarrass the Republican Party. Don't let it happen!" he urged the GOP majority. ….If my hands were tied, Iran would have a field day. Sends a very bad s…

Hatewatch Staff (2020-02-12). Neo-Confederate Attorney Accused of Mishandling Clients' Money Promoted Online Trolling, Harassment. splcenter.org Harold Ray Crews, attorney and chairman of the North Carolina chapter of the neo-Confederate hate group League of the South, must attend a hearing Feb. 21 to determine whether the state bar association will suspend his law license.

Staff (2020-02-11). Despite Corporate Media's "War on Bernie," Sanders Rides Wave of Support into New Hampshire Primary. democracynow.org Polls have opened in New Hampshire for the first primary of the election season. The vote comes eight days after the still-disputed Iowa caucuses, where both Senator Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg claimed victory. Both candidates have asked for a partial recanvass of the results. We speak with Arnie Arnesen, a longtime radio and TV host in New Hampshire and a former New Hampshire legislator, and Norman Solomon, co-founder and national coordinator of RootsAction.org, which is supporting Bernie Sanders.

Whitney Webb (2020-02-11). Buttigieg Campaign Aggressively Targeting Progressive Activists, Media. mintpressnews.com Between efforts to censor information critical of Buttigieg on social media and harass independent media outlets and their reporters at his rallies, it appears that a concerted effort is underway to control the narrative around the DNC primaries…

Alan Macleod (2020-02-10). Journalist Abby Martin Sues State of Georgia Over Law Requiring Pledge of Allegiance to Israel. mintpressnews.com "This censorship of my talk based on forced compliance to anti-BDS laws in Georgia is just one level of a nationwide campaign to protect Israel from grassroots pressure."

Jim Naureckas (2020-02-06). How Corporate Media Make Pete Look Like He's Winning. fair.org If you turn to the New York Times for an On closer examination, it turns out that that is not a bar chart…

Ben Norton (2020-02-04). HuffPost UK editor works with gov't censorship program while smearing anti-war scholars as tools of Russia. thegrayzone.com HuffPost UK ran yet another hit piece smearing academic critics of the dirty war on Syria as Russian stooges. The…

splcenter (2020-01-30). White Nationalist State Department Official Still Active in Hate Movement. splcenter.org U.S. State Department official Matthew Q. Gebert has been steadily producing white nationalist propaganda in the nearly six months since he was suspended from his job, Hatewatch has learned.

splcenter (2020-01-30). White Nationalist Podcaster Identified as U.S. Army Veteran. splcenter.org White nationalist State Department official Matthew Q. Gebert is regularly producing white supremacist propaganda with a man named Michael McKevitt, formerly of the U.S. Army, Hatewatch has determined.