2020-11-09: News Headlines

Staff (2020-11-09). Headlines for November 9, 2020. democracynow.org Joe Biden Elected 46th U.S. President as Pennsylvania Count Seals Victory, Kamala Harris Becomes First Woman, African American, Asian American Vice President, Trump Pursues Baseless Lawsuits as GOP Splits on Their Response to Election, Senate Control Hangs on Georgia Runoffs, Most World Leaders Congratulate Biden and Harris; Brazil, Russia, Mexico and China Hold Off, Biden Unveils Coronavirus Task Force as U.S. Cases Hit 10 Million, with Over 237,000 Recorded Deaths, WH Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and at Least 5 Others Test Positive for COVID-19, ACLU Files Suit over Gov't Handling of Pandemic in Immigrant Jails…

_____ (2020-11-09). Joe Biden's Love Affair With Israel Will Pick Up Where It Left Off. popularresistance.org With Donald Trump still disputing his loss of the US presidential election, there has been a lot of attention to which foreign leaders congratulated the winners after the race was called on Saturday. | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took his time, waiting until well after other world leaders had recognized Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the victors. | But finally, on Sunday, Netanyahu joined the club. | "Joe, we've had a long and warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel," Netanyahu wrote in a tweet addressing President-elect Biden and Vice President-ele…

Dr. Hisako Sakiyama (2020-11-09). Health Effects of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. globalresearch.ca Introduction | Hisako Sakiyama has a PhD in Medicine and is a Member of the Takagi School of Alternative Scientists, a Japanese NGO established in 1998 to study the environment, nuclear issues, human rights, and other issues in modern society from …

_____ (2020-11-08). U.S. Foreign Policy Is a Failure, Whoever's President. strategic-culture.org Eve OTTENBERG | The world recognizes what U.S. elites don't: the utter, total American failure to contain Covid-19 has damaged U.S. standing and will do so until the virus is controlled. Meanwhile, regional powers, China and Russia, cooperate and share resources, particularly vaccines. Cuba provides treatments, but the U.S. turns up its nose at Cuban medicine, even if it means more American covid patients die — this, though Cuba's pharmacopeia for this plague appears superior. China sends doctors and medicines across the globe. Russia opts for sane herd immunity — through vaccination. These countries…

RT (2020-11-07). Almost half of Russians in US have experienced discrimination alongside 'unfair' portrayal of country in media — survey. rt.com A study of Russian-Americans has made clear the shocking extent of Russophobia in the US, today. The news comes after the Kremlin warned that attacks on the country were defining this week's American presidential election. | The report, published by the political lobby group Ru-PAC, found that more than 44 per cent of US-based Russians surveyed had faced discrimination on the basis of their nationality. | Around one in four reported having felt they had to hide their background. The way Russia is portrayed in the media appeared to be a cause of this, with almost 64 per cent of those responding saying coverage…

RT (2020-11-07). Kiev calls for new sanctions against Russia as Kremlin recognizes passports of residents of breakaway East Ukrainian republics. rt.com Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has lodged a diplomatic complaint with Moscow over President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the documents of residents if the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. | In a statement on Friday, Kiev's top diplomats called on its Western supporters to "condemn the actions of the Russian Federation and take the necessary measures to apply pressure, including sanctions." | The new rule change means that residents of the two de facto autonomous regions, which Ukraine claims as part of its own territory, will have documents, such as passports and vehicle registrations, a…

Oscar Grenfell (2020-11-06). New Documents Show Mueller Investigation Unable to Concoct Charges Against Assange and WikiLeaks. globalresearch.ca Previously redacted portions of the Mueller report into supposed Russian interference in the US, released this week, have shown that despite every effort, the Justice Department was unable to concoct evidence of any criminal wrongdoing on the part of WikiLeaks …

Robert Hunziker (2020-11-06). A Troubling Discovery in the Arctic. counterpunch.org A notable satellite-telephonic call to colleagues in late October from Swedish scientist àñrjan Gustafsson of Stockholm University briefly described a haunting discovery. On board the research ship R/V Akademik Keldysh, a 6,240-ton Russian scientific research vessel equipped with 17 on-board laboratories and a library, far off the coast of Russia, Dr. Gustafsson reported: "This East

Andrew Korybko (2020-11-06). Facebook's Censorship Spree Is VK's Time To Finally Shine As A Free Speech Alternative. thealtworld.com The censorship spree that Facebook's been on since the US' contentious elections is the golden opportunity that its Russian competitor VK has been waiting for in order to finally present itself as a credible and easy-to-use free speech alternative, but it can only do so if the awareness and will exist at its leadership level to seize the moment through a clever marketing strategy aimed at Facebook's politically minded audience. | Facebook isn't even hiding the fact that it's censoring its users in the aftermath of the US' contentious elections. It used to just shadow block them, but now it adds a so-called "fact-…

RT (2020-11-06). Budapest & Brussels on potential collision course as Hungary says it will import Russian Covid-19 vaccine despite EU objections. rt.com Hungary announced it will purchase Russia's Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine for research and licensing purposes, in a move that risks creating tensions with EU authorities who insist only formulas made in the bloc should be used. | Foreign Minister Peter Sijarto said on Thursday that Budapest will place an order for the vaccine. "Russia will start supplying small batches in December to complete clinical trials and research here," he told journalists. | Russia became the first country in the world to approve a jab for Covid-19 in September. It drew criticism from some international commentators for the speed of t…

RT (2020-11-06). Russia & Germany call for immediate ceasefire amid fears Nagorno-Karabakh war could become Yugoslavia-like humanitarian crisis. rt.com The capital of the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh is preparing for an assault by Azerbaijani troops, this weekend, while Russia and the European Union work to try to secure at least a temporary pause in hostilities. | Stepanakert, the administrative centre of the de facto Armenian-controlled breakaway region, which Azerbaijan considers part of its territory, is expected to be the next frontier in the war between the two nations. The city is home to around 55,000 people and is the largest conurbation in the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. There are fears that fighting there could precipitate a humani…

Eve Ottenberg (2020-11-06). U.S. Foreign Policy is a Failure, Whoever's President. counterpunch.org The world recognizes what U.S. elites don't: the utter, total American failure to contain Covid-19 has damaged U.S. standing and will do so until the virus is controlled. Meanwhile, regional powers, China and Russia, cooperate and share resources, particularly vaccines. Cuba provides treatments, but the U.S. turns up its nose at Cuban medicine, even if it means more American covid patients die — this, though Cuba's pharmacopeia for this plague appears superior. China sends doctors and medicines across the globe. Russia opts for sane herd immunity — through vaccination. These countries act like adults.

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-11-06). Researchers Thought It Would Be At Least 30 Years Before Arctic Ice Time Capsule Was Found. It Took Just Two. commondreams.org People aboard the Russian icebreaker ship 50 Years of Victory in 2018 believed the time capsule they placed in ice in the Arctic Circle would stay there for at least three decades—and were shocked to learn this week that the container has already been uncovered. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/nasa_1.jpg

Tim Anderson (2020-11-06). Iran's Resistance Economy and Regional Integration. thealtworld.com Journal of World Sociopolitical Studies: | Abstract | Iran's 'resistance economy' is sometimes presented as defensive strategy. Despite Washington's 'New Middle East' wars and the rapid evaporation of expected benefits from the long JCPOA (nuclear deal) process, a certain illusion remains that a general 'normalisation' with the outside powers might still bring economic benefits to the country. Nevertheless, it remains true that, while Iran is a large country, pure self-sufficiency would impose physical limits. Therefore, the question that one may ask is what are the better economic opportunities for the n…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-11-05). Belarusian Protests Are Spilling over into Poland but Warsaw Is Beginning to Blame Russia. globalresearch.ca Polish leaders at all levels continue to speak with enthusiasm about the need to fully support "peaceful protests" in Belarus and to help them morally and financially. However, with widespread protests across Poland now, the same national leaders are angrily …