Daily Archives: May 14, 2020

2020-05-14: News Headlines

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-05-14). Why "Obamagate" Will Never Lead To Anything Of Significance. thealtworld.com thrust into mainstream attention by the concerted efforts of Trump and his surrogates after new details on the early days of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation emerged. These details include Obama officials (including Joe Biden) requesting the Abayomi Azikiwe (2020-05-14). US Government Fails to Prevent a Worsening Economic Downturn. globalresearch.ca As leaders of the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives in the United States attempt to pass new legislation introduced on May 12 costing $3 trillion which is aimed at providing assistance to state and local governments, households and healthcare workers, the …

Tanuke Smith (2020-05-13). If we must die, don't let it be from COVID-19. peoplesworld.org Not much has changed in the Black community. The strategy of controlling wealth, access to healthcare, and the demise of African Americans is still as calculated as ever. The mainstream media reports daily on the death rate in Black communities, stemming from crime, police brutality, or COVID-19. As April arrived, the cruel face of reality …

RT (2020-05-13). Czech Republic could open borders with Austria, Slovakia in June — Prague. rt.com The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria could open their mutual borders as soon as June 8, allowing residents of the three countries to travel between them, PM Andrej Babis said in Prague on Wednesday. | The neighbors are thinking about how to open their borders at the start of the summer tourist season after making similar progress in controlling the coronavirus pandemic, Babis said. | "I think it could somehow work out that on June 8 or 15, our three countries would open together," Babis said in an online interview with the Blesk newspaper website. | The three states are among at least 17 members of the Sch…

Adrien Welsh (2020-05-13). Communists lead class struggle at local level in France's "Red Cities" peoplesworld.org France has a long tradition of electing communists locally. As Georges Marchais noted in his 1980 book L'espoir au present (Hope in the Present), "The French Communist Party has 28,000 elected officials—1,500 mayors, nearly 500 councilors. One in five French people lives in a communist-controlled municipality." Forty years later, the French Communist Party (PCF) has certainly faded, …

Jack Rasmus (2020-05-13). Low-Balling the Unemployed in the Era of the 2020 Great Recession. counterpunch.org This past Friday, May 8, the US Labor Dept. released its latest jobless figures. The official report was 20 million more unemployed and an unemployment rate of 14.7%. Both mainstream and progressive media reported the numbers: 20 million more jobless and 14.7%. But those numbers, as horrendous as they are, represent a gross under-estimation of

Tom Coburg (2020-05-13). Even the mainstream media's now suggesting UK death toll could surpass 50,000. thecanary.co The BBC has published an article suggesting that the number of coronavirus (Covid-19) related deaths in the UK could be "nearly twice as high" as the official figure. This follows similar analysis by the Financial Times (FT). | Both media outlets expose the blatant dishonesty of the daily figures quoted by Boris Johnson's government. | More than 50,000 deaths?: | The government,

Joshua Cho (2020-05-13). Corporate Media don't think Americans paid to invade Venezuela Count as mercenaries. mronline.org When an attempted invasion of Venezuela launched from the shores of Colombia was foiled on May 3, after armed commandos were intercepted at Venezuela's coastline of La Guira, it seemed undeniable that the heavily armed men, possessing satellite phones and uniforms with the U.S. flag emblazoned on them, had been paid to take part in …

South Front (2020-05-13). A Close Look at Efforts of Pro-NATO Propaganda Units Behind the Scenes of South Front Censorship. globalresearch.ca Pro-NATO propaganda units have broadcasted a new episode of their censorship excuse series. | On May 5th, the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), published a new piece designed to label SouthFront as official Russian propaganda. (

teleSUR (2020-05-13). COVID-19 May Never Go Away, WHO Warns. telesurenglish.net Speaking at a briefing Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr. Mike Ryan warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear. | RELATED: | He added that even if a vaccine is found, controlling the virus will require a "massive effort". | Almost 300,000 people worldwide are reported to have died of coronavirus, and more than 4.3m cases recorded. | "It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become ju…

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-13). Authoritarians Using Coronavirus Fear to Destroy America. strategic-culture.org Ron PAUL | A Fresno, California waffle restaurant dared to open its doors for business this weekend to the delight of a long line of customers, who waited up to two hours for the "privilege" of willingly spending their money in a business happy to serve them breakfast on Mother's Day. This freedom of voluntary transaction is the core of what we used to call our free society. But in an America paralyzed by fear — ramped up by a mainstream media that churns out propaganda at a level unparalleled in history — no one is allowed to enjoy themselves. | Thankfully everyone carries a smartphone these days and…

WSWS (2020-05-13). US agencies drum up allegations of Chinese hacking of vaccine research. wsws.org The claims of Chinese hacking of vaccine research are not only part of the Trump's anti-China propaganda war but will be used to justify US cyber warfare against Beijing.

John Whitehead (2020-05-13). Contact Tracing, Immunity Cards and Mass Testing: Are We on The Fast Track to a National ID? mintpressnews.com CHARLOTTESVILLE ( That's the message being broadcast 24/7 with every new piece of government propaganda, every new law that criminalizes otherwise lawful activity, every new policeman on the beat, every new surveillance camera casting a watchful eye, every sensationalist news story that titillates and distracts, every new prison or detention center built to house troublemake…

The Alternative World (2020-05-12). British propaganda efforts in Syria may have broken UK law. thealtworld.com Ian Cobain, Alice Ross- Internal assessment concluded UK government's covert support of 'moderate opposition' was shallow, lacked coherence and cost lives | MEE- The UK's covert propaganda programmes in war-torn Syria were poorly planned, probably illegal and cost lives, according to a scathing internal review of the initiative that has been seen by Middle East Eye. | Using news agencies, social media, poster campaigns and even children's comics, communications companies working under contract to the British government attempted to undermine both the Assad government and the Islamic State group and bolster elemen…

RT (2020-05-12). PROPAGANDA has diminished the Soviet Union's role in victory over fascism — Russian foreign minister. rt.com The White House shocked the internet on May 8 when it posted a now-infamous tweet declaring the USA and the UK as the victors of World War II, omitting the USSR. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov believes propaganda is to blame. | Speaking at a press conference, Lavrov recalled how, at the Holocaust Forum in January, US Vice President Mike Pence forgot that the Soviets liberated Auschwitz. | "To be frank, it doesn't surprise me to hear such things," he said, following an online meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers. "It's not because we suspect that any particular politician is deliberately obscuring hi…

RT (2020-05-12). College forced to apologize after trying to CENSOR professor over 'offensive' questions about 'Islamic terrorism'. rt.com A public college in Arizona has been forced to backtrack on plans to censor a professor's quiz content on 'Islamic terrorism' which had "offended" students, after a legal warning was sent by an academic freedom organization. | The uproar began when Professor Nicholas Damask, who chairs the political science department at Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and teaches a module called 'Islamic Terrorism', included questions on a quiz about how terrorism is justified by some in the Islamic faith — and about where in Islamic doctrine and law they take these justifications from. | The quiz prompted a complaint…

RT (2020-05-12). Facebook paying $52 million settlement to moderators who claim they developed PTSD through work. rt.com Current and former moderators for Facebook will each be receiving $1,000 or more, as part of a settlement in a lawsuit that claimed having to deal with censoring content made them develop post traumatic stress disorder. | The social media giant will be paying out extra to individuals for additional mental health issues stemming from their jobs, such as depression. The settlement, first reported by

Project Censored (2020-05-12). Kent State 50th with Mickey Huff. projectcensored.org 50 years have passed since Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on Kent State University students protesting the Vietnam War. Four students were killed and nine wounded. On this week's…

The Canary (2020-05-12). Empowering local services is key to fighting virus, says public health expert. thecanary.co A leading public health expert has urged the government to drop its top-down "command-and-control" response to coronavirus (Covid-19) to give the UK the best chance to fight future spikes in infections. | Andrew Lee said empowering local services is the key to tackling the further outbreaks he expects as the country learns to live with Covid-19, but said these surges will be geographically specific. | Dr Lee, who is reader in global public health at Sheffield University, said the key to controlling these outbreaks is speed of response and the current centralised system is too slow to react. | He said: "We just ha…

Ian Cobain (2020-05-12). "Operation Volute": Covert UK Propaganda Efforts in Syria May Have Broken UK Law. globalresearch.ca The UK's covert propaganda programmes in war-torn Syria were poorly planned, probably illegal and cost lives, according to a scathing internal review of the initiative that has been seen by Middle East Eye. | Using news agencies, social media, poster campaigns …

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-12). A World Health Crisis? — So Ramp Up Confrontation and Deploy Nuclear Bombers. strategic-culture.org The Pentagon is excelling itself in its enthusiastic march to war. There are countless thousands suffering from the effects of the Covid-19 virus, including hundreds of members of the U.S. armed services, while the world's despots are relishing their freedom to persecute minorities, and the poor and downtrodden are dying in hideous misery because of starvation and lack of medical care. But the propaganda war against China continues, concurrent with ramping up of anti-China confrontation by Washington in its ongoing deployment of nuclear attack warships and bombers to the Western Pacific and the South China Sea.

Project Censored (2020-05-12). The Censorship of Inequality in the Covid-19 Era: How Corporate and Market-Based Metrics Rule the News, and Why it Matters. projectcensored.org By Anthony DiMaggio The old adage that "the more things change the more they stay the same" seems particularly appropriate to media coverage in the Covid-19 crisis. Old patterns of media…

Stephen Lendman (2020-05-11). Reinventing History a US Specialty. The Role of the Soviet Union In Defeating Nazi Germany. globalresearch.ca The power of endlessly repeated propaganda gets most people to believe almost anything — especially when pounded into the public consciousness by press agent establishment media. | In the US, they're mouthpieces for monied interests and the imperial state. Following government …

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-11). How Much Are You Prepared to Pay for Your 'Free' Press? Arab Media Wars Are Driving Us All Towards Twitter. strategic-culture.org In the coming months, it is likely that more Arab media titles in the region will fold following the financial crisis and the vociferous media wars which they conduct which are costly and self-defeating. How do you like your fake news? With or without a media banner? | World Press Day passed like a thief in the night in the Arab world. It's largely seen as something lauded by western countries who use it to chastise what they see as backward countries with authoritarian leaders who only know the one model of journalism in their countries: pay-as-you-go. | Or, if you like, the advanced version of the state dictati…

Ryan Cristián (2020-05-11). Doctors Speak Out About COVID 19 & The Violent Suppression Of Your Rights. thelastamericanvagabond.com The only question, is whether We The People have the courage to stand for what we know to be right, or if we will allow ourselves to be scared into passively accepting the "new normal," a locked down controlled society that was prepped for, planned out, and designed years ago. I for one, will never …

Derrick Broze (2020-05-11). This Is Why You Can't Trust The Fact Checkers. thelastamericanvagabond.com For the last eight years I have worked as a writer, researcher, and investigative reporter for many well-known American independent media outlets. I have spent my time investigating digital surveillance technology, attacks on indigenous communities, and the overall growth of the government and corporate power. As someone working in this field, writing about topics which …

sputniknews (2020-05-12). Russia, Turkey Carry Out 10th Joint Patrolling in Syria's Idlib — MoD. sputniknews.com SARAQIB, Syria (Sputnik) – The Russian and Turkish military on Tuesday conducted the tenth joint patrol along the M4 highway in Syria's northern Idlib de-escalation zone, the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for the reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria said in a statement on Tuesday.

2020-05-14: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

US Government Fails to Prevent a Worsening Economic Downturn
Abayomi Azikiwe | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-14
As leaders of the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives in the United States attempt to pass new legislation introduced on May 12 costing $3 trillion which is aimed at providing assistance to state and local governments, households and healthcare workers, the …
globalresearch.ca/government-fails-preve…

A Close Look at Efforts of Pro-NATO Propaganda Units Behind the Scenes of South Front Censorship
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-13
Pro-NATO propaganda units have broadcasted a new episode of their censorship excuse series. | On May 5th, the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), published a new piece designed to label SouthFront as official Russian propaganda. ( LINK…
globalresearch.ca/efforts-pro-nato-propa…

If we must die, don't let it be from COVID-19
Tanuke Smith | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-13
Not much has changed in the Black community. The strategy of controlling wealth, access to healthcare, and the demise of African Americans is still as calculated as ever. The mainstream media reports daily on the death rate in Black communities, stemming from crime, police brutality, or COVID-19. As April arrived, the cruel face of reality …
peoplesworld.org/article/if-we-must-die-…

COVID-19 May Never Go Away, WHO Warns
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-13
Speaking at a briefing Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr. Mike Ryan warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear. | RELATED: | Three COVID-19 Vaccines Are Under Clinical Testing, WHO confirms | He added that even if a vaccine is found, controlling the virus will require a "massive effort". | Almost 300,000 people worldwide are reported to have died of coronavirus, and more than 4.3m cases recorded. | "It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become ju…
telesurenglish.net/news/COVID-19-May-Nev…

Communists lead class struggle at local level in France's "Red Cities"
Adrien Welsh | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-13
France has a long tradition of electing communists locally. As Georges Marchais noted in his 1980 book L'espoir au present (Hope in the Present), "The French Communist Party has 28,000 elected officials–1,500 mayors, nearly 500 councilors. One in five French people lives in a communist-controlled municipality." Forty years later, the French Communist Party (PCF) has certainly faded, …
peoplesworld.org/article/communists-lead…

Authoritarians Using Coronavirus Fear to Destroy America
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-13
Ron PAUL | A Fresno, California waffle restaurant dared to open its doors for business this weekend to the delight of a long line of customers, who waited up to two hours for the "privilege" of willingly spending their money in a business happy to serve them breakfast on Mother's Day. This freedom of voluntary transaction is the core of what we used to call our free society. But in an America paralyzed by fear

Contact Tracing, Immunity Cards and Mass Testing: Are We on The Fast Track to a National ID?
John Whitehead | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-13
CHARLOTTESVILLE ( Rutherford) —- No one is safe. No one is immune. No one gets spared the anguish, fear and heartache of living under the shadow of an authoritarian police state. | That's the message being broadcast 24/7 with every new piece of government propaganda, every new law that criminalizes otherwise lawful activity, every new policeman on the beat, every new surveillance camera casting a watchful eye, every sensationalist news story that titillates and distracts, every new prison or detention center built to house troublemake…
mintpressnews.com/contact-tracing-immuni…

US agencies drum up allegations of Chinese hacking of vaccine research
wsws.org | 2020-05-13
The claims of Chinese hacking of vaccine research are not only part of the Trump's anti-China propaganda war but will be used to justify US cyber warfare against Beijing.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/13/usch…

Even the mainstream media's now suggesting UK death toll could surpass 50,000
Tom Coburg | thecanary.co | 2020-05-13
The BBC has published an article suggesting that the number of coronavirus (Covid-19) related deaths in the UK could be "nearly twice as high" as the official figure. This follows similar analysis by the Financial Times (FT). | Both media outlets expose the blatant dishonesty of the daily figures quoted by Boris Johnson's government. | More than 50,000 deaths?: | The government, according to the BBC, says there have been just over 28,0…
thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2020/05/13/even-the-mainstream-medias-now-suggesting-uk-death-toll-could-surpass-50000/

Low-Balling the Unemployed in the Era of the 2020 Great Recession
Jack Rasmus | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-13
This past Friday, May 8, the US Labor Dept. released its latest jobless figures. The official report was 20 million more unemployed and an unemployment rate of 14.7%. Both mainstream and progressive media reported the numbers: 20 million more jobless and 14.7%. But those numbers, as horrendous as they are, represent a gross under-estimation of…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/13/low-balling-…

Corporate Media don't think Americans paid to invade Venezuela Count as mercenaries
Joshua Cho | mronline.org | 2020-05-13
When an attempted invasion of Venezuela launched from the shores of Colombia was foiled on May 3, after armed commandos were intercepted at Venezuela's coastline of La Guira, it seemed undeniable that the heavily armed men, possessing satellite phones and uniforms with the U.S. flag emblazoned on them, had been paid to take part in …
mronline.org/2020/05/13/corporate-media-…

Kent State 50th with Mickey Huff
Project Censored | projectcensored.org | 2020-05-12
50 years have passed since Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on Kent State University students protesting the Vietnam War. Four students were killed and nine wounded. On this week's…
projectcensored.org/kent-state-50th-with…

Empowering local services is key to fighting virus, says public health expert
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-05-12
A leading public health expert has urged the government to drop its top-down "command-and-control" response to coronavirus (Covid-19) to give the UK the best chance to fight future spikes in infections. | Andrew Lee said empowering local services is the key to tackling the further outbreaks he expects as the country learns to live with Covid-19, but said these surges will be geographically specific. | Dr Lee, who is reader in global public health at Sheffield University, said the key to controlling these outbreaks is speed of response and the current centralised system is too slow to react. | He said: "We just ha…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/05/12/empowering-local-services-is-key-to-fighting-virus-says-public-health-expert/

"Operation Volute": Covert UK Propaganda Efforts in Syria May Have Broken UK Law
Ian Cobain | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-12
The UK's covert propaganda programmes in war-torn Syria were poorly planned, probably illegal and cost lives, according to a scathing internal review of the initiative that has been seen by Middle East Eye. | Using news agencies, social media, poster campaigns …
globalresearch.ca/british-propaganda-eff…

British propaganda efforts in Syria may have broken UK law
The Alternative World | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-12
Ian Cobain, Alice Ross- Internal assessment concluded UK government's covert support of 'moderate opposition' was shallow, lacked coherence and cost lives | MEE- The UK's covert propaganda programmes in war-torn Syria were poorly planned, probably illegal and cost lives, according to a scathing internal review of the initiative that has been seen by Middle East Eye. | Using news agencies, social media, poster campaigns and even children's comics, communications companies working under contract to the British government attempted to undermine both the Assad government and the Islamic State group and bolster elemen…
thealtworld.com/thealtworld/exclusive-br…

College forced to apologize after trying to CENSOR professor over 'offensive' questions about 'Islamic terrorism'
rt.com | 2020-05-12
A public college in Arizona has been forced to backtrack on plans to censor a professor's quiz content on 'Islamic terrorism' which had "offended" students, after a legal warning was sent by an academic freedom organization. | The uproar began when Professor Nicholas Damask, who chairs the political science department at Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and teaches a module called 'Islamic Terrorism', included questions on a quiz about how terrorism is justified by some in the Islamic faith

The Censorship of Inequality in the Covid-19 Era: How Corporate and Market-Based Metrics Rule the News, and Why it Matters
Project Censored | projectcensored.org | 2020-05-12
By Anthony DiMaggio The old adage that "the more things change the more they stay the same" seems particularly appropriate to media coverage in the Covid-19 crisis. Old patterns of media…
projectcensored.org/the-censorship-of-in…

Facebook paying $52 million settlement to moderators who claim they developed PTSD through work
rt.com | 2020-05-12
Current and former moderators for Facebook will each be receiving $1,000 or more, as part of a settlement in a lawsuit that claimed having to deal with censoring content made them develop post traumatic stress disorder. | The social media giant will be paying out extra to individuals for additional mental health issues stemming from their jobs, such as depression. The settlement, first reported by The Verge, covers 11,250 moderators, while current employees will rec…
rt.com/usa/488483-facebook-settlement-mo…

Low-Balling the Unemployed in the Era of the 2020 Great Recession
Dr. Jack Rasmus | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-12
This past Friday, May 8, the US Labor Dept. released its latest jobless figures. The official report was 20 million more unemployed and an unemployment rate of 14.7%. | Both mainstream and progressive media reported the numbers: 20 million more jobless …
globalresearch.ca/low-balling-unemployed…

This Is Why You Can't Trust The Fact Checkers
Derrick Broze | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2020-05-11
For the last eight years I have worked as a writer, researcher, and investigative reporter for many well-known American independent media outlets. I have spent my time investigating digital surveillance technology, attacks on indigenous communities, and the overall growth of the government and corporate power. As someone working in this field, writing about topics which …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/censorship/t…

Britain's political-media complex in the COVID-19 war
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-05-12
By TruePublica: It is not as if the battle of information warfare has not been going on for some time now. It was amply demonstrated in the runup to Brexit, throughout the three years to last December and is now fully deployed to contain the COVID-19 crisis. The mainstream media frenzy over Prof Neil Ferguson's …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/britains-political-media-complex-in-the-covid-19-war/