2020-07-31: News Headlines

RT (2020-07-31). Tropical storm Isaias moving toward Florida becomes a category-1 hurricane. rt.com Tropical cyclone Isaias, which is moving towards the Florida coast, has morphed into a category-1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center has reported. The storm initially formed south of Puerto Rico. | The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning for the Bahamas, as Isaias continues to move northwest at 18 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. |

Cesar Chelala (2020-07-31). Donald Trump's Misguided Attacks on WHO. counterpunch.org As an international public health consultant, I have carried out several public health missions for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Latin America and the Caribbean. I am aware of WHO's shortcomings, but also of its contribution to world health. President Donald Trump's remarks and

news.un (2020-07-31). Health must come before the economy, insists top UN official for Latin America and the Caribbean. news.un.org In Latin America, where much of the region has dealt with years of sluggish growth, the economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing millions more into poverty, says Alicia Bárcena, the head of the UN regional body for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Nick Pemberton (2020-07-31). Does The Left Stand With Uighurs? counterpunch.org As the American left forces itself to reckon with its neglect of the minority underclass in its central planning of democratic socialism, a similar reckoning should be happening in relation to China and its treatment of the Muslim minority population and its increasing reach in Africa. Under the guise of economic empowerment for the upper

Staff (2020-07-30). Chomsky on Cuba's "Internationalist" Response to Pandemic & Need to Make Vaccine Globally Accessible. democracynow.org As the world races to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, Noam Chomsky says any successful treatment must be accessible to everyone, and he warns that President Trump's withdrawal from the World Health Organization will hamper the international body's efforts to distribute medicine in countries racked by poverty and war. "There's at least one country in the world that is showing genuine internationalism, providing medical aid and support for people that need it," Chomsky says, and that is Cuba.

Staff (2020-07-30). Chomsky on Israel's Hindering of Palestinian Pandemic Response & Threat to Annex Occupied West Bank. democracynow.org Noam Chomsky says Israel's planned annexation of the occupied West Bank "basically formalizes" what has already been official policy over the last half-century, from both left-wing and right-wing parties in Israel. He compares Israel's treatment of Palestinians to anti-immigrant policies in the United States, and says the main goal of annexation is to take over as much territory while excluding its Palestinian inhabitants. "Israel does not want to bring Palestinian populations into the greater Israel they're constructing."

Eds. (2020-07-30). Cuba and the complex relationship between the individual and the collective. mronline.org When a cause is just, it will find a place within the Revolution. Perhaps this is what Fidel meant when he said that there was room for everyone in the Revolution.

Mark Friedman (2020-07-30). Wilmington Protest Meeting Demands Federal Troops Out of Portland, US Troops Out of Cuba. counterpunch.org A successful meeting and street protest in Wilmington, California, a neighborhood near the LA Harbor, highlighted harbor area efforts for Black Lives Matter and efforts to end the US blockade of Cuba. The meeting held at the Wilmington Machinists Union hall was opened by International Association of Machinists Local 1484 President Kevin Kucera saying "It gives

Yves Engler (2020-07-30). Commemorating US Occupation of Haiti. globalresearch.ca While remembering their past has not prevented history from repeating itself, it is not possible for the descendants of the world's first successful large-scale slave revolt to forget the trauma inflicted by their northern neighbours. | One hundred and five years …

Thomas Klikauer — Nadine Campbell (2020-07-30). Big Google and Facebook are Watching You! counterpunch.org Today, the Internet is everywhere. Well over half of the planet's entire population either likes to be on the Internet or has to rely on the web for business, work, and social engagement. People read the news, send notes to loved ones, birthday cards, do their job — increasingly via Skype and Zoom. Others seek

WSWS (2020-07-30). Israeli bus drivers' strike over COVID-19 safety concerns. wsws.org More than a thousand bus drivers have been infected with the disease and hundreds are in quarantine, as the number of cases among Israel's 9 million population has soared.

_____ (2020-07-30). Hiding In Plain Sight: The Poor People's Justice Movement. popularresistance.org PPEHRC, constituted by poor people organizing themselves, has been once again highly visible, in rising up against the radically increased precarity that COVID has visited on vast populations. This crisis is all the more visible in Philadelphia, which already held the dubious honor of being the poorest big city in America, in real terms nearly half the population. How should oppressed peoples respond to a crisis that devastates their communities more than any other? With so many newly impoverished people—and as those who were already poor suffer far more still—PPEHRC has expanded its broad networks of…

Eds. (2020-07-29). In Commune: The Panal 2021 Commune (Part 2). mronline.org In this series, In Commune, Venezuelanalysis will explore different experiences of rural and urban communes to help better understand what these highly controversial bodies mean, how they have been put into practice, and what they could signify for the continuity of the Bolivarian Revolution in the current situation of political and economic imperialist aggression.

_____ (2020-07-29). Imperialist Economic War Costs US Almost $200 Billion. popularresistance.org Quantifying each and every one of the effects of the war that imperialism has declared on the Venezuelan people is impossible. The attacks that Venezuelans have experienced since 1999 have not only been economic, they have also been psychological. There is no way to measure the consequences of the hatred that the undemocratic opposition has sown with its anti-socialist propaganda, to the point of burning people alive if they are suspected Chavistas. The resentment that the Venezuelan people have towards those who claim to be Venezuelans, but who have sold out their homeland, is also unmeasurable. | That said, foc…

_____ (2020-07-29). Land-Based Ethics And Settler Solidarity In A Time Of Corona And Revolution. popularresistance.org Settler colonialism has been defined as a structure, not an event, meaning that settler societies like the U.S., Canada, and Australia endure over time through racist laws and ideologies that naturalize the dispossession of Indigenous populations.1 One of the most effective strategies that settler states rely on to eliminate Indigenous peoples and their power is the idea that their knowledge is primitive and superstitious, examples of failed epistemology.2 This view is rooted in an Enlightenment-born materialism that asserts that legitimate knowledge can only be produced through narrow empirical methods, relegati…

Lucas Koerner (2020-07-28). Venezuela Wins Right to Appeal UK Ruling Barring Access to Gold Reserves. venezuelanalysis.com Lawyers for Venezuela's Central Bank hailed the decision as "incredibly rare."

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-28). Argentina's stance on Venezuela changes with the new government. peoplesdispatch.org Argentine President, Alberto Fernández, recognized Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president and criticized the economic blockades against the Caribbean country, setting up a new scenario in Latin America…

The Canary (2020-07-28). Fears over access to coronavirus guidance for non-English speakers. thecanary.co Concerns have been raised about a government "blind spot" on translating coronavirus guidance for many non-English speakers in the UK. | Charity Doctors of the World said public health messages had only been translated into a limited number of languages and had not been promptly updated when guidance changed. | It has co-ordinated a letter to health secretary Matt Hancock and communities secretary Robert Jenrick calling for a stronger focus on helping "excluded people", according to the BBC. | More than 4.2 million people — or 7.7% of the population in England and Wales — said that English or Welsh wa…

Paul Dobson (2020-07-28). Venezuela Rejects Washington's 'Wild West' Bounty Against Chief Justice Moreno. globalresearch.ca Venezuela's Foreign Ministry hit back at the Trump administration after it offered US $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno last week. | "The Venezuelan government once again rejects the Donald Trump administration's illegal …

Yves Engler (2020-07-28). The US Occupation of Haiti. commondreams.org Protesters, medical professionals, and political opponents take part in a demonstration demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise in the Haitian capital in Port-au-Prince on October 30, 2019. (Photo: Valerie Baeriswyl/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/haiti_0_0.jpg

Yves Engler (2020-07-28). Solidarity Québec Haiti's Protest Against U.S. zcomm.org Solidarity Québec Haiti's sit in is not only about drawing attention to a dark chapter in Haitian history, but Washington retaining significant influence over the country…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-07-28). Venezuelan Popular Movements Protest Student Evictions. venezuelanalysis.com Students denounced a "hostile attitude" on the part of authorities.

_____ (2020-07-28). Venezuela Moves Toward Elections: US Seeks To Undermine Them. popularresistance.org Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) has kickstarted proceedings for the upcoming December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections. A number of events have taken place in recent weeks that appear to open the way for a path out of the current political crisis and towards new conditions of stability in the country. | The roadmap has several democratic and electoral elements, which dovetail with decrees handed down by state institutions. | The government's strategy is, in broad strokes, to create a new democratic framework on the basis of several recent developments that we will examine. | While this roadmap is r…

sputniknews (2020-07-28). Is Europe on Verge of Second Wave of Coronavirus? sputniknews.com BRUSSEL (Sputnik), Luc Rivet – Europe, which has managed to bring the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic down to a trickle of controlled clusters, fears a second wave, as there is a tendency among the population of European countries to relax and stop following restrictions, though the virus is still present.

The Canary (2020-07-28). Australian Outback pub bans messy emus for 'bad behaviour'. thecanary.co An Australian Outback pub has banned emus for "bad behaviour" and erected barriers to prevent the large, flightless birds from creating havoc inside. | Locals and tourists have been bemused by the antics of the emus eager to steal food from people in Yaraka, a remote Queensland state outpost with a permanent population of 18. | But things took an intolerable turn last week when two of the birds, Carol and Kevin, discovered they could climb the front stairs of the Yaraka Hotel, the only pub, publican Chris Gimblett said. | "They've learnt to walk up the front steps of the hotel, which has been causing just a few i…

yenisafak (2020-07-27). Nearly 30,000 back US campaign seeking Nobel for Cuban doctors. yenisafak.com Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors campaign has been endorsed by prominent intellectuals, artists, politicians, and citizens worldwide, according to the campaign's website.Prominent endorsers include Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa, actors Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo, writers Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, and Nancy Morejon, filmmakers Oliver Stone and Petra Costa, musician Tom Morello, and singer/songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, among numerous others.The campaign launched on June 16 describes its mission "to promote the nomination of the Cuban International M…