2020-07-25: News Headlines

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.

yenisafak (2020-07-25). Thousands protest against Kremlin in Russian far east for third weekend. yenisafak.com Thousands of people marched in the Russian far eastern city of Khabarovsk on Saturday for the third weekend in a row, protesting at President Vladimir Putin's handling of a regional political crisis that has sparked demonstrations.Residents of Khabarovsk, around 3,800 miles (6,110 km) and seven time zones east of Moscow, are unhappy about the July 9 detention of the wider region's popular regional governor, Sergei Furgal, who was arrested on murder charges he denies.His detention, which his supporters say was politically motivated, has triggered more than two weeks of street protests, creating a headache for the…

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.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-25). Tehran, Moscow confer on regional, Afghanistan affairs. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 25 (MNA) — In a meeting between the special envoy of the Russian President for Afghanistan affairs Zamir Kabulov and Iran's ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali the two sides discussed regional and Afghanistan affairs.

The Canary (2020-07-25). UN weather agency warns of 'global repercussions' amid Arctic heatwave. thecanary.co The UN weather agency warned that average temperatures in Siberia were 10C (18F) above average last month. It's a spate of exceptional heat that has fanned devastating fires in the Arctic Circle and contributed to a rapid depletion in ice sea off Russia's Arctic coast. | World Meteorological Organisation secretary-general Petteri Taalas said in a statement: The Arctic is heating more than twice as fast as the global average, impacting local populations and ecosystems and with global repercussions | He noted that Earth's poles influence weather conditions far away, where hundreds of millions of people live. | #Sibe…

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…

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.

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."

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.

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.

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

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). 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…

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

Andrew Korybko (2020-07-24). America's Junior Partner: Britain's Post-Brexit Eurasian Balancing Strategy Is Bunk. globalresearch.ca The UK is trying to position itself as the "balancing" partner of choice for countries that are indoctrinated into believing the US' information warfare narrative of Eurasian-wide Chinese and Russian threats to their sovereignty, but this strategy is bunk because …

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

Mike Whitney (2020-07-24). Vote Democrat… and Watch America Burn. globalresearch.ca "…This is the most dangerous time in the history of man. The seriousness of this plot cannot be underestimated. It is not due to any threat of conventional war or nuclear decimation, it is based on the fact that this …

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). 'Diversionary tactics': Moscow dismisses US & UK's 'propagandistic' claims it tested new space weapon. rt.com Russia's Foreign Ministry has slapped down American and British claims that Moscow has been testing a new anti-satellite weapon. It says the pair are simply trying to distract attention from their own attempts to weaponize space. | US Space Force Command Chief General John W. Raymond claimed on Thursday that Moscow had conducted a "non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon," and that Russian "aggression" in space justified the establishment of the US' new space agency. He was promptly backed up in his claims by British officials. | In a statement on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said t…

RT (2020-07-24). Probe into 'novichok' death of Dawn Sturgess can blame Russia, UK judges say, but 'no trial will realistically happen'. rt.com The probe into the 'novichok' death of Dawn Sturgess in Amesbury should be expanded to look at the Russian government, but an actual trial is unlikely to happen, two UK high court judges have admitted in a ruling. | Sturgess, 44, died in Amesbury in July 2018, four months after the alleged chemical attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in nearby Salisbury, which the UK government said Russia was "highly likely" to have been responsible for. While the Wiltshire coroner said the investigation would look into the culpability of two alleged Russian spies, her family pressed to expand it to the Russian government as w…

RT (2020-07-24). Light at the end of coronavirus tunnel? Human trials of second Russian Covid-19 vaccine to start on Monday. rt.com A team of researchers in Siberia's largest city have been granted a permit by the Russian health ministry to conduct a clinical trial of their potential coronavirus vaccine. The first volunteers will be inoculated on July 27. | Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's health watchdog, said the Novosibirsk-based Vektor State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology was given the green light on Friday. The authority's chief Anna Popova announced that her monitors were satisfied with the results of the first stage of development. | Earlier, the Ministry of Defense announced the successful completion of clinical trials of a…

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). Kremlin rubbishes American suggestion that Moscow & Washington form anti-China alliance. rt.com President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has rejected an idea put forward by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that countries should team up against China. Moscow and Bejing have spent years building closer ties. | Speaking on Friday, Dmitry Peskov On July 23, Pompeo call…

_____ (2020-07-24). Pompeo on Ungainly Cold War Mission to Europe. strategic-culture.org American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a flying visit to Europe this week during which he wielded hostile jibes against China and Russia using anachronistic Cold War rhetoric. | It is obvious Washington is trying to divide the world into "us and them" with such polarizing policy. But this ungainly American policy is bound to fail because it does not match the realities of today's world. | Pompeo was in London on Monday and Tuesday, then Copenhagen on Wednesday from where he flew back to California to deliver a "major policy speech" on Thursday. The week's itinerary was dominated by Pompeo urging the "free…

_____ (2020-07-24). Should China be Part of Arms Control Talks? strategic-culture.org In June 2020, Washington and Moscow resumed talks on renewing the New START Treaty limiting long-range nuclear weapons. If the treaty, due to expire in February 2021, is not prolonged or replaced, there are fears of a new global arms race breaking out. | (Click on the image to enlarge)…

South Front (2020-07-24). Video: Failed Show of Power by Libyan National Army Increases Chances of Turkish Attack on Sirte. globalresearch.ca On July 19, the Libyan National Army (LNA) test-fired the Soviet-era P-15 Termit anti-ship missile near Zawiyat Zanzur, on the Libyan coast. | The P-15 Termit is guided by active radar homing and equipped with an inertial navigation system. Missiles of …

Tom Gallagher (2020-07-24). Russia Accused of a Plot to Steal Vaccine Research! commondreams.org What will the vaccine cost the individual and who will get it? Well, as we know, the dense and the bought believe these things are matters to be settled between individuals and their pharmaceutical companies.(Photo: Floris Van Cauwelaert/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/notsale_0.jpeg

news.un (2020-07-24). Dramatic Arctic fires and sea ice melt, show need for urgent climate action. news.un.org "Exceptional and prolonged" temperatures in Siberia, have left parts of the Arctic warmer than sub-tropical Florida, and fuelled "devastating" wildfires for a second consecutive year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday, while warning also of rapidly decreasing sea ice along the Russian polar coast.

Dr Byelongo Elisee Isheloke (2020-07-24). The Moment of Truth for BRICS: Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward. globalresearch.ca As already known, BRICS is an association of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa joined the association in 2010. The BRICS has a significant influence on regional affairs and very active on the …

T.J. Coles (2020-07-24). UK-Russia Report: the Integrity Initiative Strikes Again! counterpunch.org On October 17th, 2019, Britain's Intelligence and Security Committee sent the final draft of its report on Russia to the ruling Tory government. In accordance with the Justice and Security Act 2013, passed by the Tory-Liberal coalition government (2010-15), the incumbent could withhold the report in the name of national security. On 29th, British MPs

Karl Grossman (2020-07-24). Ohio Nuclear Power Scandal. counterpunch.org The U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI this week charged the speaker of the Ohio House of Representative and four others in a $61 million scheme to use $1 billion in ratepayers money to keep two decrepit nuclear power plants operating. And, said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, David DeVillers, at a

Brian Cloughley (2020-07-24). The New Cold War Heats Up. counterpunch.org At this time of all times, when the world is staggering from the shattering effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, it would be sensible for nations to pull together in order to devise policies and practicalities to counter and defeat the devastation that is taking place and seems likely to increase. Now is the time for cooperation, compromise and mutual assistance in all spheres of medical research and in devising protective measures which can be emplaced and enforced with the minimum of dislocation. Internationalism should be the norm, and the best brains in the world should be in harness, from Beijing to Boston a…

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

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.

WSWS (2020-07-24). Trump orders federal police to more cities. wsws.org The Trump administration is stepping up its unconstitutional moves toward dictatorial rule, tear gassing the mayor of Portland, Oregon and announcing the deployment of federal police to additional cities.

_____ (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…

yenisafak (2020-07-24). Russia resuming flights to Turkey. yenisafak.com Russia on Aug. 1 will resume flights to Turkey, officials announced Friday.After flights were suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, service will resume from three Russian cities — the capital Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Rostov-on-Don — Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told a news conference in Moscow.Flights to Turkey will start with the capital Ankara and the metropolis of Istanbul from Aug. 1, and then add the coastal resort destinations of Antalya, Bodrum, and Dalaman on Aug. 10.Flight service to the UK and the East African nation of Tanzania is also restarting.Passengers coming to Rus…

_____ (2020-07-24). Russia Report… A Triumph of Orwellian Bombast. strategic-culture.org The sensational The Daily Mail led with "Damning Russia Dossier" while The Times heralded "MI5 to get more powers" and "Tough new laws will combat threat of Russian spies". The Times also splashed its front page with a large photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly lurking behind a curtain, which just goes to show how much British journalism has descended into cartoonish trivia.

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/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-10518352781.jpg

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…

DLI (2020-07-23). Secret police in Portland violated human rights of peaceful protesters. indybay.org Videos showing U.S. Federal secret police(with no badges and riding in unmarked vehicles)inflicting massive violence on mostly peaceful protesters are running viral across the Globe. Yet the Federal governing regime brazenly avows that this will be the "new normal" in major cities from now on…

Marlee Kokotovic (2020-07-23). U.S. Navy veteran speaks out about being attacked by Trump's secret police in Portland this past weekend. nationofchange.org It isn't about me getting beat up. It's about focusing back on the original intention of all of these protests, which is Black Lives Matter.

Fight Back (2020-07-23). Stand with the resistance in Portland! fightbacknews.org Protesters grabbed off the streets by federal agents who refuse to identify themselves, placed unmarked vehicles, and taken to undisclosed locations. These same agents nearly killed a young man holding part of a sound system at a demonstration. This is the outrageous reality in Portland today, were Trump has deployed a paramilitary police force to carry out a wave of repression. The good news is that the resistance in Portland has been nothing short of heroic, as thousands have taken to the streets in a powerful display of opposition. | The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that it is deploying federal a…

Ken Klippenstein (2020-07-23). The Federal Response to Protests Extends Far Beyond Portland. thenation.com The Federal Response to Protests Extends Far Beyond Portland…

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-07-23). Cities challenge Trump's dispatch of federal law enforcement officers. peoplesworld.org OAKLAND, Calif. — Outrage is growing throughout the country over Donald Trump's use of federal law enforcement against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and his threats to dispatch federal officers to other U.S. cities. On July 20, Trump told reporters he might send federal "law enforcement" to cities he claimed were experiencing heightened violence, naming cities …

_____ (2020-07-23). Federal Agents Retreat To Portland Base As Protesters Control Streets. popularresistance.org The DHS officers dispatched by the president to put down the demonstrations have instead become prisoners of the building they are ostensibly there to defend. | "The feds don't have control of the streets," said a woman holding a sign "100% not a terrorist", who gave her name only as Shannon. "I think they're more scared than us. They're hiding in there. They don't know what they're doing." If the intent was to intimidate the protesters into abandoning the few square blocks of downtown Portland under their control, it backfired spectacularly. | Residents of a city with a long history of radical street protest wer…

_____ (2020-07-23). Portland's Mayor Tear-Gassed By Militarized US Police. popularresistance.org The mayor of Portland, Oregon was tear-gassed by U.S. government agents as he stood outside a federal courthouse during another night of protests against the presence of federal police sent by President Donald Trump to quell the city's ongoing unrest. | Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, appeared slightly dazed and coughed and said Wednesday night it was the first time he'd been tear-gassed. | He put on a pair of goggles someone handed him and drank water but did not leave his spot at the front of the protest and continued to take tear gas as the demonstration raged — with protesters lighting a large fire betwe…