Daily Archives: July 25, 2020

2020-07-25: News Headlines

_____ (2020-07-25). Protesters Use 'Midnight Yoga' To Cope With Police Violence. popularresistance.org Saturday night marked another session of "Midnight Yoga" on Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington D.C. | The protesters, who have been out in the streets over 50 days after being initially sparked by the failure to arrest the officers who had murdered George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (still), have turned to the peace that yoga provides to manage their pain, both physical and emotional. | Around the same time federal police were turning Portland into a war zone while violently beating and pepper-spraying citizens, D.C. protesters were stretching out their limbs after giving a touching 100 candle-light tribute to l…

_____ (2020-07-25). Homeland Security Claims Shields And Gas Masks Are Weapons. popularresistance.org Far from restoring order, the arrival of federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Border Patrol in Portland, Oregon has only heightened tensions, with agents attacking and arresting protesters nightly. DHS' Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli took to social media yesterday to share images of items confiscated from demonstrators. | "Here is a shield and a couple of gas masks from a rioter arrested in Portland. Not a sign with a slogan that someone expressing their first amendment rights might carry, but preparations for violence. Peaceful protester? I don't think so," he wrote.

ACLU (2020-07-25). The Portland Police Attack: ACLU Files Lawsuit. Sues Trump and City of Portland. globalresearch.ca PORTLAND, Ore. — Multiple volunteer street medics are suing the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, and the City of Portland for targeting and attacking them at Portland protests against police brutality. The lawsuit was filed in federal court …

WSWS (2020-07-25). Illinois Democrats embrace Trump's law enforcement "surge" wsws.org Illinois Democratic lawmakers have made public statements aimed at assuaging public fears that the federal forces will crack down on anti-police violence protesters in Chicago, just as they have in Portland.

Joyce Chediac (2020-07-25). Trump's federal repression election ploy spurs greater resistance. liberationnews.org Far from being intimidated, Portland residents were outraged when unannounced paramilitary units started grabbing protesters off the street.

Eds. (2020-07-25). Trump orders federal police to more cities. mronline.org The Trump administration is stepping up its unconstitutional moves toward dictatorial rule, tear gassing antipolice violence protesters in Portland, Oregon and announcing the deployment of federal police to three more cities—Detroit, Cleveland and Milwaukee—in addition to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

_____ (2020-07-25). Judge Rejects Oregon's Motion For A Restraining Order Against Federal Police. popularresistance.org A federal judge on Friday afternoon denied a request by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to issue a temporary restraining order against federal officers making arrests of Portland protesters without probable cause. | In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman said Rosenblum had failed to provide sufficient evidence that such arrests were occurring widely in the streets of Portland or were part of a federal policy. (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to the co-owner of WW's parent company.) | He ruled that because the state of Oregon couldn't establish a pattern or policy, it lacked the legal standi…

_____ (2020-07-25). Federal Agents Use Tear Gas To Clear Portland Protest. popularresistance.org Thousands of protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, into the early hours of Saturday shooting fireworks at the building as plumes of tear gas, dispensed by U.S. agents, lingered above. | The demonstration went on for hours until federal agents entered the crowd around 2: 30 a.m. and marched in a line down the street, clearing remaining protesters with tear gas at close range. They also extinguished a large fire in the street outside the courthouse. | The Federal Protective Service had declared the gathering as "an unlawful assembly" and cited that officers had been injured.

The Canary (2020-07-25). Portland protests continue after judge rejects bid to restrict federal agents. thecanary.co Thousands of people joined another night of Black Lives Matter protests on the streets of Portland, hours after a US judge denied the state of Oregon's request to restrict federal police in the city.Demonstrators, most wearing masks and many donning helmets, stood near the fountain on Salmon Street Springs. They then marched to the Hatfield Federal Courthouse and the federal agents there.They chanted and clapped along to the sound of thunderous drums, pausing to listen to speakers. Various organised groups took part, including Healthcare Workers Protest, Teachers against Tyrants, Lawyers for Black Lives and the '

The Lancet (2020-07-25). [Editorial] COVID-19 and China: lessons and the way forward. thelancet.com China has largely controlled COVID-19. A country of 1 ∑4 billion people and a size similar to Europe or the USA now reports only clusters of cases rather than widespread community transmission. China has been widely criticised for its role and responsibilities during the pandemic because of censorship, transparency, and human rights concerns. But the rest of the world can still learn from China's successes in bringing its outbreak under control.

Kenneth H Mayer, Jean-Michel Molina, Melanie A Thompson, Peter L Anderson, Karam C Mounzer, Joss J De Wet, Edwin DeJesus, Heiko Jessen, Robert M Grant, Peter J Ruane, Pamela Wong, Ramin Ebrahimi, Lijie Zhong, Anita Mathias, Christian Callebaut, Sean E Collins, Moupali Das, Scott McCallister, Diana M Brainard, Cynthia Brinson, Amanda Clarke, Pep Coll, Frank A Post, C Bradley Hare (2020-07-25). [Articles] Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide vs emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (DISCOVER): primary results from a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, active-controlled, phase 3, non-inferiority trial. thelancet.com Daily emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide shows non-inferior efficacy to daily emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for HIV prevention, and the number of adverse events for both regimens was low. Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide had more favourable effects on bone mineral density and biomarkers of renal safety than emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

Eric L Simpson, Rodney Sinclair, Seth Forman, Andreas Wollenberg, Roland Aschoff, Michael Cork, Thomas Bieber, Jacob P Thyssen, Gil Yosipovitch, Carsten Flohr, Nina Magnolo, Catherine Maari, Claire Feeney, Pinaki Biswas, Svitlana Tatulych, Hernan Valdez, Ricardo Rojo (2020-07-25). [Articles] Efficacy and safety of abrocitinib in adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (JADE MONO-1): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. thelancet.com Monotherapy with oral abrocitinib once daily was effective and well tolerated in adolescents and adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

Sandra Eades, Francine Eades, Daniel McCaullay, Lesley Nelson, Péta Phelan, Fiona Stanley (2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Australia's First Nations' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com Kaitlin Curtice and Esther Choo1 described the well known risks for infectious diseases among First Nations internationally and the serious concerns that COVID-19 poses for them. These risks include their levels of chronic disease, poverty, poor living conditions, and racism in mainstream services with resulting lack of trust using them. They also highlighted the problem of data not being available specifically for First Nations so that authorities are blind to the situation and hence how best to help them.

William rivers Pitt (2020-07-25). Trump's Reelection Strategy Involves Terrorizing Us With Secret Stormtroopers. zcomm.org Trump's actions in Portland are terrifying by any standard.

Lawrence Tribe (2020-07-25). Why Trump's Paramilitary Force Is Unconstitutional. 'A Profoundly Un-American Attack On Civil Society'. globalresearch.ca We are being confronted in city after city with a nationwide paramilitary force, its troops unidentifiable and its vehicles unmarked, directed in deliberately vague terms to protect property and preserve domestic order. | It began in Portland, Oregon where

_____ (2020-07-25). What Programs A 10% Cut In Military Spending Could Buy. popularresistance.org For millions of Californians, times are tough, and the future looks tougher still. So far, California has seen over 325,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 7,000 deaths. | In the economic fallout, over 6 million of us have applied for unemployment insurance since the start of the pandemic. Many of them have yet to see a dime from the understaffed California Employment Development Department, which has struggled to keep up with the sheer volume of claims. | Meanwhile, a $600-per-week federal unemployment supplement is set to expire at the end of July, and the Republican-controlled Senate appears determined to…

yenisafak (2020-07-25). Tight security outside US Chengdu consulate after China orders closure. yenisafak.com Security was tight outside the U.S. consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday as staff inside prepared to leave, a day after China ordered it to close in response to a U.S. order for China to shut its consulate in Houston.The tit-for-tat consulate closures have brought a sharp deterioration in relations between the world's two largest economies.A consulate emblem inside the compound was removed as staff could be seen pushing trolleys and several consulate vehicles came and went.Police, including many plain clothes officers, gathered outside and closed off the street to traffic.Neither the consulate in…

yenisafak (2020-07-25). Pakistani premier hails reopening of Hagia Sophia. yenisafak.com Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on late Friday hailed the reopening of Turkey's historic Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque after 86 years, following a Turkish court ruling."Felicitations to the Republic of Turkey, and H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on this historic day after the first prayers in 86 years were held at Hagia Sophia [Grand] Mosque," Khan said on Twitter.Apart from the prime minister, several other Pakistani politicians and lawmakers, including the head of mainstream religious party Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq, and Chief Minister of the most populous Punjab province Usman Buzdar also congrat…

ACLU (2020-07-24). Should We Abolish the Police? aclu.org Since the protests decrying the murder of George Floyd began in May, the institution of American policing has taken center stage. Activists are calling for change, and the phrase "defund the police" can be heard in cities across the country. As the concept of slashing police budgets and reinvesting those resources into Black and Brown communities goes increasingly mainstream, a more radical call is also gaining attention: Abolish the Police., , On At Liberty this week, attorney, author, researcher, and organizer Andrea Ritchie and senior staff attorney for the ACLU's Trone Center for Justice, Carl…

RT (2020-07-24). WATCH Portland protesters battling federal police to sound of Star Wars' Imperial March. rt.com Chaotic scenes outside Portland's federal courthouse were given a snarky soundtrack by a demonstrator who showed up to the fracas armed with a stereo. The city has seen nightly clashes between police and protesters. | Footage taken by New York Times correspondent Mike Baker shows activists and federal agents fighting over control of a fence guarding the building in downtown Portland, which has been under siege by demonstrators for nearly two months. | Protesters used projectiles and laser pointers against federal law enforcement tasked with protecting the courthouse, who in turn deployed tear gas to keep the m…

Eds. (2020-07-24). From Portland to the World. mronline.org Since the end of May, demonstrators opposing police violence and white supremacy have thronged the streets of Portland, Oregon, clashing with law enforcement officers. Last week, aspiring autocrat Donald Trump escalated the situation by announcing that he would be sending federal agents around the country to assert his authority through acts of violence against protesters.

David Rosen (2020-07-24). Uprising: Mass Protests Rock the Nation. counterpunch.org In an act of political desperation, President Donald Trump ordered a contingent of federal law-enforcement officers to impose order in Portland, OR. Under the direction of Attorney General Bill Barr, agents from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Bureau of Prisons were deployed to protect

Staff (2020-07-24). Leaked FBI Documents Reveal Secret Program To Criminalize Social Media. therealnews.com Simply posting about your presence at a police brutality protest can be used to incriminate you and lead to your arrest. We speak to Portland residents on the ground about the influx of unmarked federal agents.

James Goodman (2020-07-24). Trump Uses Border Patrol to Implement Police State. progressive.org The same agents arresting protesters in Portland routinely terrorize immigrant communities.

Alan Macleod (2020-07-24). Homeland Security Justifies Invasion of Portland by Claiming Shields and Gas Masks are Weapons. mintpressnews.com DHS' Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli claimed that defensive tools like Shields and Gas Masks were evidence that protesters were making "preparations for violence."

sputniknews (2020-07-24). 18 Arrested for Vandalising Courthouse, Attacking Police in Portland. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The authorities have arrested 18 participants in nightly and often violent anti-police protests in Portland, Oregon, on charges ranging from assaulting federal officers to participating in attacks on a federal courthouse, the US Justice Department said in a press release.

sputniknews (2020-07-24). Three Federal Agents Could Be 'Permanently Blinded' By Laser Attacks From Portland Protestors. sputniknews.com Demonstrations outside the courthouse in Portland have grown increasingly violent as the Trump administration sends in federal officers to crack down on the continuous nightly protests in the city.

RT (2020-07-24). Cheeky protest? Man turns facemask into G-string for walkabout through downtown London (PHOTOS). rt.com Shoppers on London's Oxford Street were stunned to spot a man walking by wearing nothing but a mask, which he had positioned as an undergarment. The stunt came on the same day face coverings became mandatory in shops in England. | The near-naked man strolled nonchalantly down the thoroughfare while onlookers snapped pictures and videos on their phones to record the unexpected sight. His motives for choosing to forgo clothing and sport only a mask to maintain his modesty are currently unknown, but local media have speculated it could be a protest against the new face coverings mandate. | | A man wearing a sur…

RT (2020-07-24). Oregon judge bans feds from arresting or using force against 'journalists & legal observers' at Portland protests. rt.com A judge has issued a temporary restraining order on federal agents deployed in Portland, ruling that they may not arrest, disperse or otherwise use force against reporters and legal observers covering ongoing protests there. | US District Court Judge Michael Simon

RT (2020-07-24). Black protester ATTACKED while trying to stop mob taking down Portland courthouse fence (VIDEO). rt.com Protesters returned to the Justice Center in Portland for another night of orchestrated chaos on Thursday. Eyewitness footage from the scene captured the moment apparent Antifa members attacked a black protester calling for calm. | After repeated criticism of heavy-handed tactics, reportedly no police or federal agents were posted on the streets at the beginning of Thursday evening, instead remaining inside the courthouse and issuing repeated orders that protesters not target the exterior fence. | Despite this, several agitators in the crowd threw trash over and set it on fire at the fence, which quickly desce…

Staff (2020-07-24). Headlines for July 24, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Cancels RNC in Jacksonville as COVID-19 Deaths Soar in Florida, CDC Issues New Guidelines Urging Schools To Reopen, South Africa Closes School For a Second Time as COVID-19 Cases Top 40,000, 1.4 Million File For Employment as Moratorium on Evictions Ends, Whistleblowers Reveal How ICE Used Deception to Deport Immigrants with COVID-19, ICE Attempted to Censor Embedded Journalists Who Filmed Wrongdoing, Judge Bars Federal Agents in Oregon From Targeting Journalists & Legal Observers, 37 Senate Democrats Join GOP in Passing $740 Billion Military Spending Bill, AOC Delivers Moving Response to Rep. Ted Yoho's Se…

CounterSpin (2020-07-24). Marjorie Cohn on Portland Secret Police. fair.org Media…

Workers World Party (2020-07-24). Portland's movement is fighting back! Defend Portland, Ore.! Defend People's Resistance! No Police State! workers.org Workers World Party Statement Despite the brutal attempt of the White House to crush the heroic Black Lives Matter movement by sending camouflaged federal agents — secret police — to Portland, Ore., Chicago and other U.S. cities, the movement and all who support it have been fighting back. The initial . . . |

RT (2020-07-24). Propaganda for kids: UK govt-backed 'news' site teaches children about 'ruthless' Putin & 'shameless' Russia. rt.com Is Vladimir Putin "the most dangerous man in the world?" If you trust the same news sources that some British schoolchildren's teachers do, then yes. Perhaps it's a good thing that the kids aren't listening. | When schools in Britain eventually reopen in September, children filling into the classrooms won't just be learning their reading, writing and arithmetic. On top of these fundamentals, their teachers will spoon-feed them blatant propaganda that would make Herr Goebbels blush. | The propaganda source in question is The Day, a news site founded by a team of established journalists and directed at teens. De…

RT (2020-07-24). Land of the free, home of the brave? Most Americans, especially conservatives, admit they are afraid to say what they think. rt.com A new poll by the Cato Institute shows 62 percent of Americans feel they must censor themselves from openly expressing their political views, in some cases out of fear of losing their jobs or missing career opportunities. | The fear is especially common among conservative respondents, 77 percent of whom agreed that the current political climate prevents them from saying things they believe. This week's

RT (2020-07-24). 'Two down, six to go': Mainstream media begins to pay price for agenda push as Covington kid Sandmann wins WaPo, CNN settlements. rt.com Kentucky's Nicholas Sandmann celebrated his 18th birthday on Friday by notching his second victory against the mainstream media for defaming him, providing pushback in a world where false reporting seems to always go unpunished. | The former Covington Catholic High School student announced a settlement in his $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post on Twitter. As in the January settlement of a similar defamation suit against CNN, the terms weren't disclosed, and Sandmann said he has more work to do. | "The fight isn't over… two down, six to go," he tweeted, referring to lawsuits against six other me…

RT (2020-07-24). Military bases named after Confederate officers WILL NOT be rechristened, despite veto-proof vote — Trump. rt.com Despite passing the Senate with a veto-proof majority, a bill removing the names of Confederate officers from military bases will not take effect, President Donald Trump has tweeted, hinting at Senate opposition to the measure. | Senate Armed Services Committee chair Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) "WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts," Trump tweeted triumphantly on Friday, adding that the GOP senator shared his antipathy toward "Cancel Culture." | I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator

Makia Freeman (2020-07-24). "The Misconception Called Virus". Dr. Stefan Lanka 2020 Article. globalresearch.ca The virus misconception is at the heart of Operation Coronavirus, because without the concept of germ theory and without the horror story of the killer virus, most people would not buy the NWO-directed official narrative of COVID propaganda. In …

WSWS (2020-07-24). Reports on Twitter hack confirm existence of admin tool used for social media censorship. wsws.org The revelations about Twitter's methods for manipulating the account activity of users show that censorship is a top level priority of the social media company.

Daniele Pozzati (2020-07-24). German Official Leaks Ministry of Interior Report Denouncing Corona as 'A Global False Alarm'. globalresearch.ca First published May 29, 2020 | Germany's federal government and mainstream media are engaged in damage control after a
| Wir machen unsere Leser auf die Zusammenfassung dieses …

Derek Royden (2020-07-24). The COIN doctrine comes to Portland? nationofchange.org The president has also promised to deploy similar militarized police to other cities, claiming that those run by Democrats are somehow in the thrall of the 'radical left', despite the latter being among the most strident critics of the former.

Kathleen Wallace (2020-07-24). 2020 Vision Will Show You What is True, if You Can Keep Your Sanity. counterpunch.org We've all been making jokes about how terrible 2020 has played out, but I think even those of us with a bit of an imagination for the absurd and ominous missed the mark as far as this ultimate level of governmental degeneracy we've been able to achieve. Dads backing up moms in Portland with leaf

_____ (2020-07-24). US Capitalism Is In Total Meltdown. popularresistance.org In 2005, when the federal, state, and local governments spectacularly failed the residents of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, there was a sense of shock from both inside and outside of the country. The triumphalist narrative that "There Is No Alternative"—that neoliberal capitalism was the best and indeed the only way to do things—got its first cracks there, when we saw people stuck on rooftops and others sheltering without food and water in the convention center and Superdome. | Somehow reporters could get in, and private security firms like Blackwater patrolled the streets, but the government c…

_____ (2020-07-24). Border Patrol Violently Assaults Civil Rights And Liberties. popularresistance.org In the past week, unidentified federal officers in camouflage fatigues, labeled only "police," abducted people off the streets of Portland in unmarked vehicles and threatened the "Wall of Moms" standing up for our Constitution. The administration later confirmed the unidentified officers were Border Patrol agents. | This blatant demonstration of unconstitutional authoritarianism is demonstrating to the entire country the cruel capabilities of the U.S. Border Patrol. For communities that have historically borne the brunt of Border Patrol's abuses — and still do — seeing these agents pose as a "secret f…

sputniknews (2020-07-24). 'New Low': Twitter Hounds White House's McEnany for Claiming 'PAW Patrol' Was Canceled. sputniknews.com Netizens trolled White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Friday after the staffer falsely claimed earlier in the day during a briefing that "PAW Patrol," a popular cartoon show about first responders, was canceled.

_____ (2020-07-24). Shutdowns for Small Business, Windfall Profits for Megacorporations. strategic-culture.org Restrictions meant to limit coronavirus spread have hit Main Street hard, and left big business booming. | Curtis ELLIS | Corporate media and critics of President Trump—the same thing, actually—debate whether "re-opening the economy too soon caused the virus to rage out of control." While there is ample evidence the virus is not raging out of control, there is even more evidence "the economy" did not shut down. | Major parts of the economy—big business, finance, tech, media government, defense industries—never shut down. Perhaps it was because these virus profiteers didn't want us to no…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-07-24). Polling Shows Trump's Secret Police in Portland—and GOP Lawmaker Complicity—Could Have 2020 Consequences. commondreams.org MoveOn says voters are "fed up" with GOP senators from the battleground states of Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina "carrying water for him as he trundles toward authoritarianism." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Black Alliance for Peace (2020-07-23). Trump Administration Deploys Federal Forces into Major U.S. Cities. globalresearch.ca The repressive U.S. state's chickens have come home to roost with President Donald Trump announcing federal troops will be deployed to several U.S. cities. This comes after federal agents reportedly disappeared protesters last week off the streets of Portland, Oregon….

William Boardman (2020-07-23). Defund the Police State, Before It's Too Late. globalresearch.ca The American police state is currently making its boldest test run to date in Portland, Oregon, escalating violence and lawlessness against the peaceful population of an American city. The people of Portland have responded with increased resistance, but support from …

RT (2020-07-23). MSNBC's Joe Scarborough calls Portland protests 'peaceful'… despite footage of escalating violence. rt.com Joe Scarborough has called protests in Portland "peaceful for the most part," less than a day after the mayor was tear-gassed in the face amid escalating violence following more than two months of demonstrations. | On his Morning Joe show Thursday, Scarborough railed against the deployment of federal agents to the city of Portland, saying they have launched "deeply disturbing attacks" against "peaceful protests, for the most part." | The MSNBC host has no doubt seen footage of federal agents arresting protesters and proceeding to throw them into unmarked vans — but perhaps he missed the videos of demonstr…