Monthly Archives: December 2020

2020-12-06: News Headlines

Dave Markland (2020-12-06). Review of Hensman's 'Indefensible'. zcomm.org Defense of the Easily Defensible By Dave Markland In 2018 Haymarket Books published Rohini Hensman's Indefensible: Democracy, Counter-revolution and Anti-imperialist Rhetoric. Its focus is on left journalists and analysts like John Pilger and the late Edward S. Herman who have committed the inexcusable sin of being overly suspicious of United States foreign policy. Many readers

Ashok Chandrasekaran, Prakash Amboiram, Umamaheswari Balakrishnan, Thangaraj Abiramalatha, Govind Rao, Shaik Mohammad Shafi Jan, Usha Devi Rajendran, Uma Sekar, Gayathri Thiruvengadam, Binu Ninan (2020-12-06). Disposable low-cost cardboard incubator for thermoregulation of stable preterm infant — a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial. thelancet.com Maintenance of skin and axillary temperature of stable preterm infants in LCI along with kangaroo mother care was non-inferior to SSI, but at a higher incubator temperature by 0.7 ∞C. No adverse events occurred and LCI had excellent reliability to maintained set-temperature.

Staff (2020-12-06). Trump Hasn't Held Back US Military Power — He Has Enabled and Escalated It. truthout.org Janine Jackson: Corporate media never want reality to complicate a good

RT (2020-12-05). Russian authorities to investigate after forged negative Covid-19 test certificates found on sale for just $33 each. rt.com A criminal case has been opened in Russia after mass forgeries of negative Covid-19 test certificates were discovered. The documents were found to be on sale online for 2,500 rubles ($33) each. | The Moscow City Prosecutors Office has reported that a criminal investigation is underway to discover who is behind the forgeries. The case comes after a complaint by medical laboratory company Gemotest, which reported that it had appealed to law enforcement after discovering that its certificates were being faked. Alongside the police, Gemotest conducted controlled purchases of the forgeries, leading to the couriers…

_____ (2020-12-05). How Israel Deployed an Intelligence Deception to Justify Killing Scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. strategic-culture.org Gareth PORTER | Israel's Mossad has spent years on a propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the world Iran possessed a nuclear weapons program — and legitimizing its assassinations of Iranian academics. | The Israeli assassination of Iranian defense official Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is being treated as a triumph of Israeli intelligence, with ubiquitous references in the New York Times and other major media outlets to the killing of

Ralph Nader (2020-12-05). The Road to a More Just Society Runs Through Congress. commondreams.org Think about all the dreams for a better world that could come to be realized if our elected officials worked for the big majority of Americans instead of for Big Business interests. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-12-05). So We're Already at the 'Chinese Super Soldiers' Part of the Propaganda Campaign. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | "What we know is that the nation's top intelligence official says that the US has evidence that China is conducting biological experiments on its soldiers to enhance their capabilities," said "I was somewhat skeptical about this claim, but whe…

Gavin Lewis (2020-12-05). A Racist Endeavour: Zionist Israel's Black Jewish Victims of Color. mronline.org Even when reports of its racism escape this ideological censorship, examples of racism in Israel are treated as isolated incidents, rather than systemic characteristics of the entire racist regime.

The Canary (2020-12-05). US House of Representatives votes to decriminalise cannabis at federal level. thecanary.co The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has approved a bill to decriminalise and tax marijuana in the US at the federal level. | HISTORIC MOMENT: The U.S. House of Representatives just passed the MORE Act to comprehensively reform our federal marijuana laws! | — Marijuana Policy Project (@MarijuanaPolicy) Opponents of the bill mocked Democrats for bringing it up at a time when thousands of Americans are dying from the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. But Democrats said they can work…

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2020-12-05). Trump Demands Names of 27 Congressional Republicans Who Acknowledged Biden's Victory. commondreams.org Two right-wing lawmakers insist Trump won the election, while 220 GOP members of the House and Senate—roughly 88 percent of congressional Republicans—refuse to say either way. "Send me a list," Trump tweeted, "of the RINOs" who recognize Biden as the winner. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #24. Silenced in Savannah: Journalist Abby Martin Challenges Georgia's BDS "Gag Law" projectcensored.org Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that aims to end support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians, was scheduled to give a…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #15. Indigenous Trauma and Suicide an Enduring Legacy of Colonialism. projectcensored.org From evidence of neglect at government-run clinics in Canada's northern reserves to the tragic loss of lives in remote villages in Alaska and on reservation lands in Montana, independent news…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #25. Studies Document Links between Education, Incarceration, and Recidivism. projectcensored.org Two research studies document links between education, incarceration, and recidivism, as covered in articles published by ColorLines, Usable Knowledge, and Citizen Truth. In September 2019, ColorLines reported that attending a…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #6. Shadow Network of Conservative Outlets Emerges to Exploit Faith in Local News. projectcensored.org A December 2019 report by the Columbia Journalism Review highlighted how a network of 450 websites operated by five corporate organizations in twelve states "mimic the appearance and output of traditional…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). 4. Congressional Investments and Conflicts of Interest. projectcensored.org In January 2020 the Center for Public Integrity and Vox reported that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which granted corporations a 14 percent reduction in taxes, also helped…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #3. US Military—A Massive, Hidden Contributor to Climate Crisis. projectcensored.org The US military is "one of the largest polluters in history, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more climate-changing gases than most medium-sized countries," Benjamin Neimark, Oliver Belcher, and Patrick…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #11. New Green Scare: Law Enforcement Crackdown on Environmental Activism. projectcensored.org As scientists warn of imminent climate change, environmental welfare activists in the United States are facing growing legal penalties and a crackdown by law enforcement agencies designed to counteract environmental…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #2. Monsanto "Intelligence Center" Targeted Journalists and Activists. projectcensored.org The agricultural giant Monsanto—which the German pharmaceutical corporation Bayer acquired in 2018—created an "intelligence fusion center" in order to "monitor and discredit" journalists and activists, Sam Levin reported for the Guardian…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #22. An Emergency Wealth Tax to Confront Coronavirus Pandemic. projectcensored.org From March 18 to May 14, 2020, more than 36 million US workers lost their jobs, while the wealth of US billionaires increased by more than $368 billion, an increase…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #9. Rising Risks of Nuclear Power Due to Climate Change. projectcensored.org Nuclear power plants are unprepared for climate change. Rising sea levels and warmer waters will impact power plants' infrastructure, posing increased risks of nuclear disasters, according to reports from the…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #7. Underreporting of Missing and Victimized Black Women and Girls. projectcensored.org The rate at which Black women and girls go missing in the United States is higher than that of their white counterparts. As Carma Henry reported for the Westside Gazette, "What's…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #8. The Public Banking Revolution. projectcensored.org In October 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom signed the Public Banking Act, authorizing city and county governments to create or sponsor public banks. As YES! Magazine reported, though establishing the charters for such banks will likely take several years, public banks like the Bank of North Dakota, which was established in 1919, provide a robust alternative to the "big for-profit banks that the government uses to invest public money into Wall Street, rather than local communities." Public banks will provide "public agencies access to loans at interest rates much lower than they could find at private banks,…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #12. Police Officers Implicated in Online Hate Groups as Facebook Profits. projectcensored.org According to an investigation by Reveal, the media platform for the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, hundreds of US police officers are members of misogynistic, homophobic, racist, anti-Muslim, Confederate, or…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #19. Antibiotic Abuse: Pharmaceutical Profiteering Accelerates Superbugs. projectcensored.org Pharmaceutical giants Abbott and Sun Pharma are providing dangerous amounts of antibiotics to unlicensed doctors in India and incentivizing them to overprescribe. In August 2019 the Bureau of Investigative Journalism…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #13. Lessons from Colorado's Voting System. projectcensored.org Colorado boasts "the highest percentage of eligible citizens registered to vote," and its voter participation rates are "often the first or second for the entire nation," Colorado Secretary of State…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #21. The Scourge of Human Trafficking in Yemen. projectcensored.org Owing to the war launched in 2015 by a US-backed coalition of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen now suffers from "a complete absence" of law and order, which has…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #23. "Global Gag Rule" Continues to Compromise Women's Health around World. projectcensored.org The United States's global gag rule continues to put at risk the sexual health of women in developing countries that rely on US aid. This federal rule—formally known as the…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). A Note on Research and Evaluation of Censored News Stories. projectcensored.org How do we at Project Censored identify and evaluate independent news stories, and how do we know that the Top 25 stories that we bring forward each year are not…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #17. International Plasma Market Profits from US and Mexico's Poorest. projectcensored.org US hospitals are currently desperate for blood donors: more than 4000 blood drives were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a March 2020 letter co-signed by the AABB, America's…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #20. A Comprehensive Framework for Transforming the Criminal-Legal System. projectcensored.org Calling for policy solutions to dismantle the US system of criminal punishment and the inequalities and white supremacy that this system promotes and perpetuates, Alec Karakatsanis, the executive director of…

2020-12-05: News Headlines

Gavin Lewis (2020-12-05). A Racist Endeavour: Zionist Israel's Black Jewish Victims of Color. mronline.org Even when reports of its racism escape this ideological censorship, examples of racism in Israel are treated as isolated incidents, rather than systemic characteristics of the entire racist regime.

MEE staff (2020-12-04). Mohammed bin Nayef threatened by social media campaign, say Saudi prince's lawyers. middleeasteye.net Mohammed bin Nayef threatened by social media campaign, say Saudi prince's lawyers | Online trolls trying to paint deposed crown prince as part of a plot to destabilise Saudi Arabia, representatives say | Fri, 12/04/2020 – 15: 35 | Saudi Arabia's former crown prince, Mohammad bin Nayef Abdulaziz, sitting next to the winner's trophy after the final competition of the King's Cup season in the Red Sea city of Jed…

teleSUR (2020-12-04). Colombia Opens a Fiscal Process Over Hidroituango Project. telesurenglish.net Colombia's General Comptroller's Office (GCO) opened a process against 28 defendants for failures in the planning and execution of the Ituango hydroelectric project (Hidroituango), which caused economic losses to the State after the collapse of one of its structures in 2018. | RELATED: | Among the accused are Antioquia's former governor Sergio Fajardo and members of Hidroituango Board of Directors Federico Gutierrez a…

Swiss Propaganda Research (2020-12-04). Facts About COVID-19. globalresearch.ca Fully referenced facts about covid-19, provided by experts in the field, to help our readers make a realistic risk assessment. (Regular updates below). | "The only means to fight the plague is honesty." (Albert Camus, 1947) | *** | Overview: | Lethality: …

_____ (2020-12-04). Book Review: 'The Myth And Propaganda Of Black Buying Power'. popularresistance.org Dr. Jared A. Ball's new book, "The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power" explains the history of the black "buying power" canard. It is a commercial and political propaganda tool for the black political class, a cudgel to blame people for their own poverty, and a means of disappearing any critique of capitalism. | Black Americans are besieged by many facetious notions which claim to bring them progress. One of the most pervasive and insidious is the myth of "buying power." We are told that we have $1 trillion that could be harnessed if only we spent money more wisely or saved more or were better educated abo…

Margaret Kimberley (2020-12-03). Censorship in the Biden Era. globalresearch.ca The corporate media have joined the incoming administration in deciding what we can and cannot see and hear. | Ever since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 the country has been warned about the dangers of fascism. It isn't difficult …

David Ruccio (2020-12-03). Age of capital. mronline.org It was during the "age of capital," as the illustrious British historian Eric Hobsbawm aptly called it, that Marx formulated his critique of political economy.

Jonathan Cook (2020-12-03). The Smearing of Robert Fisk…Now That He Can't Defend Himself. counterpunch.org Something remarkable even by the usually dismal standards of the stenographic media blue-tick brigade has been happening in the past few days. Leading journalists in the corporate media have suddenly felt the urgent need not only to criticise the late, much-respected foreign correspondent Robert Fisk, but to pile in against him, using the most outrageous smears imaginable. He is suddenly a fraud, a fabulist, a fantasist, a liar.

WSWS (2020-12-03). Letter to Boycott Return to Unsafe Schools (BRTUS)/Parents United Against Unsafe Schools. wsws.org Workers and parents must have the right to decide which political programme and perspective they wish to adopt or discuss and debate. Blocking access to this through censorship is a reactionary tool to silence opposition.

Pres. Donald Trump (2020-12-03). Video: President Trump's Unscheduled Speech on the 2020 Election. globalresearch.ca We bring to the attention of our readers, the Video as well as the complete transcript of Donald Trump's Speech. | This is for the purpose of information only, discussion and debate. | The US corporate media has sofar provided a slanted …

Robert Freeman (2020-12-03). The Economy Isn't Working. That's Exactly the Plan. zcomm.org Forty years ago, around 1980, the uber-wealthy decided they wanted to get their money out of the economy. So, they engineered a controlled demolition of the U.S. economy…

Jacob G. Hornberger (2020-12-03). Election Fraud: Where's the Independent Press? The Mainstream Press Has Failed America. globalresearch.ca While President Trump continues to maintain that the presidential election was marred by massive fraud, the mainstream press continues to maintain that Trump's charges are "false" and "baseless" and that his allegations are damaging trust in America's democratic electoral system. …

Gareth Porter (2020-12-02). How Israel deployed an intelligence deception to justify killing Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. thegrayzone.com Israel's Mossad has spent years on a propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the world Iran possessed a nuclear weapons program — and legitimizing its assassinations of Iranian academics. The Israeli assassination of Iranian defense official Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is being treated as a triumph of Israeli intelligence, with ubiquitous references in the New York Times and other major media outlets to the killing of "Iran's top nuclear scientist". In fact, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency eliminated Fakhrizadeh, a defense official, despite the …

Ben Chacko (2020-12-02). Neo-Nazi groups targeted by German police raids. peoplesworld.org Hundreds of police officers raided homes in three German states Tuesday, Dec. 1, after the government banned the far-right Wolfsbrigade 44 organization. The homes of 11 members of the group were searched in Hesse, Mecklenburg West-Pomerania, and North Rhine-Westphalia to seize funds and neo-Nazi propaganda. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer declared: "Whoever fights against the basic …

Ron Forthofer (2020-12-02). Insanity reigns: The US, Israel and Iran. dissidentvoice.org All too often, events occur that make me feel that I am living in 'Bizarro World'. The recent talk and extensive US corporate media coverage about whether or not the US and/or Israel will soon attack Iran is one of these occasions. The alleged rationale for such an attack is the possibility that Iran might …

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #24. Silenced in Savannah: Journalist Abby Martin Challenges Georgia's BDS "Gag Law" projectcensored.org Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that aims to end support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians, was scheduled to give a…

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

RT (2020-12-01). At least two killed, dozens injured by speeding car in pedestrian zone of Trier, Germany (VIDEO). rt.com At least two people were killed and dozens of others injured in an incident in the German town of Trier after a car plowed through a pedestrianized zone Tuesday afternoon. | Authorities have only officially confirmed two fatalities, one of whom was a baby, but German news outlets are reporting that at least four people died during the incident. | Eyewitnesses said the speeding sports utility vehicle (SUV) hit a baby stroller as it plowed through a crowd of people. | Officials have

Prof Mark Crispin Miller (2020-12-01). Petition in Defense of Academic Freedom. "Effectiveness of Face Mask " Banned From Classroom Discussion? globalresearch.ca Dear President Hamilton, | Herewith I am submitting my petition in defense of academic freedom and free speech, prompted by my unfortunate experience at NYU since Sept. 20, when, as you are well aware, a student in my undergraduate propaganda course, …

Miko Peled (2020-11-30). A "Fringe Member" of the Jewish Community: How Hasbara Trolls Reacted to My Campus Appearance. mintpressnews.com Hasbara groups represent a racist, supremacist, and violent ideology. They defend a state that is engaged in the worst type of violence against the Palestinian people, yet they feel that they are in a position to question the motives of organizers, speakers, and activists who call for justice and tolerance.

The Global Research Team (2020-11-30). Global Research: Help Keep Independent Media Alive. globalresearch.ca The situation for independent media has changed significantly over the past year. In the face of large corporations attempting to censor our content and curtail our traffic and revenue, we are still here — largely thanks to you, our core …