Daily Archives: August 27, 2020

2020-08-27: News Headlines

_____ (2020-08-27). Nuclear Power In The Green New Deal? popularresistance.org Over the last few years, there has been a growing interest in a Green New Deal and there are many versions proposed in different countries. At the same time, there has also been criticism of these proposals on many counts, including the fact that they typically don't include nuclear energy. | This criticism misses a basic point: a Green New Deal is, by its very definition, much more than an emissions reduction plan. As we argue below, the other attributes that characterize Green New Deals, rule out nuclear energy as an option. | Like the original New Deal of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, all…

South Front (2020-08-27). Video: Russian, Syrian Forces Operation against ISIS Terrorists. globalresearch.ca Russian and Syrian forces eliminated 327 ISIS militants during a joint security operation that took place in the desert areas of Homs and Deir Ezzor from August 18 to August 24. | According to the Russian side, strikes of the Syrian …

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-27). Politicizing Alexey Navalny's Illness. globalresearch.ca Politicized claims that Putin critic Navalny (with scant public support) was poisoned appear greatly exaggerated. | On Tuesday, Moscow's Health Department Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination director Sergey Shigeev explained the following: | "There is a lot of information in the media …

Max Parry (2020-08-27). HBO's 'Welcome to Chechnya' Is Latest Anti-Russian Cold War Propaganda. globalresearch.ca In 2017, explosive allegations first emerged that the authorities of the Chechen Republic were reportedly interning gay men in concentration camps. After a three year period of dormancy, the accusations have resurfaced in a new feature length documentary by HBO …

Max Parry (2020-08-27). HBO's Welcome to Chechnya is Latest Anti-Russian Cold War Propaganda. dissidentvoice.org In 2017, explosive allegations first emerged that the authorities of the Chechen Republic were reportedly interning gay men in concentration camps. After a three year period of dormancy, the accusations have resurfaced in a new feature length documentary by HBO Films entitled Welcome to Chechnya. Shot between mid-2017 and early last year, the film has …

_____ (2020-08-27). Lebanon: Inconvenient Truths About Syria, Iran, Hezbollah And The Shia 'Street'. popularresistance.org There's been a lot of nonsense passing as truth in post-blast Lebanon reporting. Most centers around alarmism about Hezbollah's nefarious influence, the West's "opportunity" to destroy it, and the supposed struggle with Russia, China, and Iran for paternalist-preeminence in a country that isn't ours (or theirs) to preside over in the first place. There's little discussion in most mainstream reporting on the minor matter of why Hezbollah gained influence in the first place. Shia Muslims are difficult to provoke and almost impossible to suppress once aroused. Long led by a more "quietist" strand of conservative, ap…

sputniknews (2020-08-27). Vladimir Putin Reveals His Daughter Developed COVID Antibodies After Taking Russian Vaccine. sputniknews.com Following the announcement of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine on 11 August, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters had been inoculated with it.

sputniknews (2020-08-27). Russian Prosecutors Launch Pre-Trial Probe Over Alexei Navalny's Hospitalisation in Omsk. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Transport police prosecutors in the western Siberian region have launched a pre-trial probe over the hospitalisation of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in the city of Omsk.

sputniknews (2020-08-27). Observers: US Sanctions on Russian Institute Working on Sputnik V Caused by Fear to Lose Leadership. sputniknews.com As Moscow announced the beginning of post-registration trials of anti-COVID vaccine Sputnik V on 26 August, the US added a group of Russian research institutes, including the one testing the anti-coronavirus drug, to its sanctions list. International observers have discussed the US move unveiled amid the global effort to curb the pandemic.

_____ (2020-08-27). UK's Johnson Reprises Skripal Saga for Navalny 'Poisoning'. strategic-culture.org Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the latest Western leader to wildly jump on the bandwagon claiming that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was poisoned, and by implication insinuating the Kremlin had a sinister hand in it. | "The poisoning of Alexei Navalny shocked the world,"

yenisafak (2020-08-27). Putin says alleged mercenaries were lured to Belarus by foreign spy operation. yenisafak.com President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a group of Russians who were detained in Belarus prior to its Aug. 9 election and accused of being mercenaries had been lured to Belarus by a Ukrainan-U.S. intelligence operation.Belarus had accused the men of seeking to destabilise the country ahead of its election, marking an unusual diplomatic row with close ally Russia. At the time, Russia had said the men were private security workers on their way to a third country."These people, I repeat, were travelling for work to a third country. They were lured there, dragged across the border… It was an operation of Ukr…

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-26). Can the US Stop Russia from 'Pulling a Crimea' in Belarus? globalresearch.ca US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is rushing to Moscow from 25-26 August in a desperate attempt to stop Russia from "pulling a Crimea" in Belarus after the ongoing Color Revolution there has thus far failed to depose Lukashenko …

Jamal Rich (2020-08-26). 'We Charge Genocide' petition's call for justice still echoes seven decades later. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The historic We Charge Genocide petition that indicted the anti-Black crimes and violence of U.S. capitalism before the whole world during the Cold War was the topic of a Black August event here on Aug. 13, co-hosted by the Claudia Jones School for Political Education and the Paul Robeson House & Museum. Professor Charisse Burden-Stelly, …

Melvin Goodman (2020-08-26). The USA: Global Leader in Election Interference Abroad and Now at Home. counterpunch.org Putin's impact on the election is modest compared to the damage that Trump and Republican legislators throughout the country can inflict. Voter suppression remains a huge problem, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in 2013 to weaken the Voting Rights Act. The campaign against mail-in voting is creating uncertainty and cynicism throughout the country as is Trump's constant ravings about vote by mail causing a fraudulent election.

RT (2020-08-26). Believe it or not, Russia's Army has completely solved its notorious HAZING problem… or at least the Defense Ministry thinks so. rt.com The Russian Army has almost completely rid itself of the decades-old evil of bullying and "barrack hooliganism," Deputy Defense Minister Andrei Kartapolov has announced, adding that this will motivate more young people to serve. | In Kartapolov's words, the military authorities have "paid special attention to restoring order in the Armed Forces." The "preventive measures" undertaken in recent years have led to a "noticeable decrease" of hazing in the barracks, he said. | As a result, Russian recruits have been increasingly motivated to serve in the Armed Forces, the ministry added. Last September, Army supremo…

RT (2020-08-26). Siberian doctors who treated Moscow protest leader Navalny issue open letter addressing critics of their efforts to save activist. rt.com The Russian doctors who treated Alexey Navalny last week have issued an open letter in response to criticism of their efforts to save his life. They are offended by some commentary, which they believe is politically motivated. | The Siberian medics say they did their best in a high-pressure situation, and that media coverage suggesting otherwise is "unacceptable" and part of what they term a "political diagnosis." Aside from the staff at the Omsk emergency hospital where Navalny was taken after falling ill on a flight to Moscow, other leading Russian health figures have also signed the letter. | They include t…

RT (2020-08-26). Russians overwhelmingly oppose microchipping of humans, fear becoming cyborgs without even knowing it — state-backed poll. rt.com The majority of Russians are opposed to implanting microchips into the human body — a popular idea in sci-fi movies, yet rare in reality — a recent survey has discovered. | While a whopping 77 percent of those surveyed by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center VCIOM (a state-linked outfit) said they are against the idea in principle, 45 percent elaborated that they were afraid of being implanted without even knowing it. | Other hyper-anxious citizens stressed that their fears were based on the presumption that microchips could be hazardous for their health or be used for 24-hour surveillance.

RT (2020-08-26). Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich questioned in Minsk as case opens against Belarus opposition for 'attempt to seize power'. rt.com Many assumed despite playing a prominent role in Belarus' opposition, Svetlana Alexievich's fame made her somewhat 'untouchable.' Nevertheless, the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature winner was summoned for questioning on Wednesday. | The Belarusian Investigative Committee wanted to 'discuss' the case it has opened against the country's opposition for allegedly making "calls to seize state power." The writer, who sits on the movement's 'Coordination Council', arrived at the committee's building accompanied by other council presidium members Pavel Latushko, Maxim Znak and Maria Kolesnikova. | After the meeting ende…

RT (2020-08-26). Russian expert says severity of Covid-19 may increase with 2nd wave, expects virus to stick around until at least summer 2021. rt.com Now for some bad news. If Covid-19 follows historic patterns it will likely come in three waves and normal life won't resume until the summer of next year. That's according to leading Russian virus expert Mikhail Paltsev. | The scientist told the Telegram channel of the Russian anti-coronavirus internet hotline that historically all viral pandemics occur in three waves. The first is rather strong, the second one is even stronger, and the third is less potent due to the formation of herd immunity. | Professor Palstev reiterated that, for example, the Spanish flu occurred in three waves at the beginning of the l…

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-08-26). Catholics Against Nukes: Archbishop Wester, the Church and Nuclear Deterrence. globalresearch.ca In what is a turn-up for the books, a senior voice of the Catholic Church made something of an impression this month that did not incite scandal, hot rage, or the commencement of an investigation. It did, however, agitate a …

news.un (2020-08-26). UN again calls for full ratification of nuclear test-ban treaty. news.un.org Achieving a nuclear-free world is the best way to honour lives devastated by these weapons, the UN disarmament chief told a virtual meeting held on Wednesday to commemorate the International Day against Nuclear Tests, observed annually on 29 August.

Raul Diego (2020-08-26). Cyber Command Gets New Surveillance Powers Under Guise of Battling Election Meddling. mintpressnews.com US Cyber Command and the Pentagon are availing themselves of the Russian meddling narratives and added a few others to justify the creation of a cyberwar army with international and domestic capabilities via the National Guard.

Leonid Savin (2020-08-26). The world is going to multipolarity. thealtworld.com Leonid Savin, a Russian political analyst, is of the opinion that the world is moving in the direction of "multipolarity" as the world is fed up with unipolar moves by Washington. | "The world is going to multipolarity, and humanity is tired of Washington's dominance and unipolar operations," Savin tells the Tehran Times. | Savin also says Moscow is looking to the East as Russians have bitter memories of the West. | "Russian decision-makers started looking to the East more and more. Because historically, we faced serious threats from the West." | Following is the full text of the interview: | Q: Iran and Russia a…

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-26). Iraq continuing anti-ISIL fight with Iran, Syria & Russia. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (MNA) — The spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji informed that the 'quadruple security center' comprised of Iraq, Iran, Russia and Syria, is continuing its fight against the ISIL.

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-26). The world is going to multipolarity: Russian analyst says. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (MNA) — Leonid Savin, a Russian political analyst, is of the opinion that the world is moving in the direction of "multipolarity" as the world is fed up with unipolar moves by Washington.

_____ (2020-08-26). Might Belarus Become The Next Syria? popularresistance.org There are signs that Russia is intervening in the Belarusian crisis (finally!) | First and foremost, we can see a truly radical change in Lukashenko's policies: if his initial instinct was to unleash brutal repression of both the violent rioters and the peaceful demonstrators, now he has made a 180 and the outcome is quite amazing: on Sunday there were large anti-Lukashenko demonstrations yet not a single person was detained. Not one. Even more amazing is this: the Polish-run Nexta Telagram channel (which is the main medium used by the Empire to overthrow Lukashenko) initially called for a peaceful protest, but a…

sputniknews (2020-08-26). US General Milley Holds Phone Talks With Russia's Chief of General Staff. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, held a phone conversation with Russian Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, however, the details of the call will be kept private, a Joint Staff spokesperson, Col. Dede Halfhill, said in a Wednesday statement.

sputniknews (2020-08-26). Russia, Iran, Turkey Issue Joint Statement on Syria Condemning Israeli Attacks, US Theft of Oil. sputniknews.com The statement was formulated on the sidelines of the meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, a United Nations-facilitated negotiating platform aimed at reconciling the Syrian government and the opposition and establishing an enduring peace in the war-torn country.

sputniknews (2020-08-26). Russian COVID Vaccine for Kazakhstan to Be Produced by Partner of Russia's Sovereign Fund. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Wednesday that the production of Russia's coronavirus vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V, for Kazakhstan would be carried out by one of its international partners.

sputniknews (2020-08-26). Russia Ready to Start COVID-19 Vaccine Supplies to Brazil in November, RDIF CEO Says. sputniknews.com BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev said on Wednesday that Russia is ready to start deliveries of the newly registered COVID-19 vaccine to Brazil in November.

_____ (2020-08-26). Trump and Pompeo Craft No-Win Solutions for the World. strategic-culture.org You have to hand it to the sociopaths running U.S. foreign policy, they are very adept at creating no-win scenarios for their opponents. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was just handed a major defeat at the United Nations Security Council, who voted down a resolution to extend the arms embargo against Iran. | That embargo is set to expire in October as part of the U.S. unilaterally pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known colloquially as the Iran Nuclear Deal. | But Pompeo and President Trump only wanted that vote, in my opinion, to force out into the open their ability to impose the 's…

WSWS (2020-08-26). EU denounces Russia over alleged poisoning of oppositionist Alexei Navalny. wsws.org Doctors at Berlin's Charité hospital claimed Monday they had found indications that Alexei Navalny, the head of Russia's pro-NATO liberal opposition, was poisoned.

Joseph Gerson (2020-08-26). Nightmare of an October Surprise. commondreams.org "Several weeks ago, he announced that he would like to host Putin in the United States before the November election," writes Gerson, "Was that just one more of our political clown's outrageous statements? Or, might it have been a negotiating signal?" (Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_vlad_0_0.jpg

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts (2020-08-26). Is the Russian Government as Insouciant as the American People? globalresearch.ca Something is wrong in the Russian government and in the governments of former Soviet Republics. | In 2014, the president of Ukraine stood aside and disarmed his police and Putin went off to the Olympics, while Washington-financed "Maidan protests" overthrew the …

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-08-25). Reports Say the Explosion at Iranian Nuclear Plant Had a Criminal Cause. globalresearch.ca A new focus of tensions and uncertainties appears to be emerging in Iran. Recent reports from the Iranian authorities have concluded that the explosion at the Natanz nuclear plant had a criminal cause, most likely caused by a sabotage operation. …

Richard Falk (2020-08-25). Trumpism, Where Does It Go From Here? counterpunch.org During the height of the Cold War when it was viewed as disloyal and compromising to show a sympathetic interest in Marxism or sympathies with Soviet ideology, someone at the U.S. military base at Frankfurt distributed to the soldiers stationed there, a handwritten version of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments of the

C.J. Atkins (2020-08-25). Republicans' rabid anti-communism is a sign of their political weakness. peoplesworld.org Joe McCarthy would fit right in at this year's Republican National Convention. Denouncing communists—both real and, more often than not, imaginary—was the bread and butter for the 1950s red-baiting senator from Wisconsin. At the dawn of the Cold War, the bogeyman of the Soviet Union was the stick used to beat back a strong labor …

RT (2020-08-25). Russia's Ministry of Education rejects proposed one-month delay to new school year, after appeal from parliamentary opposition MP. rt.com A Russian MP's proposal to start the school year a month later than normal to minimize the risks from the spread of coronavirus has failed to sway the Ministry of Education, meaning the official start date remains September 1. | Vasily Vlasov, of the nationalist LDPR had suggested that this year's summer break, which traditonally ends on the first day of September, should be extended by one month due to the pandemic. | In his letter to the education minister, seen by news agency RIA Novosti, the lawmaker cited Covid-19 statistics which currently show around 5,000 new confirmed cases every day. | "One more mont…

RT (2020-08-25). Poisoning protest leader Navalny 'would not benefit' Moscow, says Russian Foreign Ministry, labels Western allegations 'offensive'. rt.com Moscow does not stand to benefit from the alleged poisoning of anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said, noting the haste with which Western media and governments made the insinuation. | The ministry issued a statement on Tuesday evening, following a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, during which the subject of Navalny was raised, among other issues. | Lavrov pointed out the "suspicious haste" with which the narrative about Navalny's alleged poisoning was picked up in Washington and Brussels and instantl…

RT (2020-08-25). Money for 'dead souls': In echoes of Gogol-era, Russia's pension fund pays out millions of dollars to deceased citizens every year. rt.com What would Nikolai Gogol make of this? The Pension Fund of Russia is paying out billions of rubles in pensions to the dead, enabling their relatives to withdraw and use the funds, according to the National Accounting Chamber. | In the famous 19th century novel, chronicling the wanderings of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, the plot relies on "dead souls" (or deceased serfs) which are still accounted for in property registers. Now almost two centuries on, something similar continues in modern Russia. | The Chamber revealed that the pension fund is often late to receive notice of a citizen's death, leading to payments…

RT (2020-08-25). As Covid-19 drives the planet batsh*t crazy, Russia to study the feces of its own bat population to look for coronaviruses. rt.com With the world in the grip of a pandemic possibly caused by Chinese bats, Russia wants to make sure its own can't start another. Thus, a new study will check the country's bat population for the presence of coronaviruses. | National health watchdog Roszdravnadzor's Institute of Epidemiology will test nocturnal flying mammals from various regions of the country, including Moscow, Volgograd, and the Black Sea coast, enabling the scientists to determine how common coronaviruses are in different species. | The researchers plan to analyze more than 1,500 individuals by checking fecal samples, using a "high-performa…

RT (2020-08-25). Despite Western hysteria over Russian hackers, up to 75% of global cyberattacks originate from US soil — top Moscow security chief. rt.com The lion's share of cyberattacks around the world originate from the US — a fact the West avoids mentioning too often. That's according to a high-ranking Russian official, citing research conducted by cybersecurity companies. | Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Oleg Khramov said in an interview that the majority of hacks are conducted utilizing American IT infrastructure. | From 2016-19, 40 to 75 percent of all attacks were launched from US territory, while Russia was home to no more than two to seven percent of such cases, Khramov told the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty. This "clearly demons…

CP Editor (2020-08-25). Trump's Cold War with China is Heating Up. counterpunch.org

Anthony Cartalucci (2020-08-25). "Poisoned" Kremlin Critic Flown to Germany as German-Russian Nord Stream 2 Nears Completion. thealtworld.com The perfectly timed poisoning of unpopular, ineffective Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny and the involvement of Germany comes as Washington sought to place maximum pressure on Berlin to cancel the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline. | Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny — according to German doctors — was allegedly poisoned but is expected to survive. If Navalny was poisoned and the goal was to assassinate him, it was a poorly conceived, poorly executed, and most of all — poorly timed plan. | Navalny's sudden reappearance across the Western media comes just at the height of US attem…

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-25). Belarus Opposition, Made in the USA. globalresearch.ca Longstanding US plans earmarked Belarus for regime change, wanting pro-Western puppet rule in another nation bordering Russia. | There's nothing spontaneous about mass protests that erupt in nations the US wants transformed into client states. | They're most likely to occur in …

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-25). Belarusian President Lukashenko Reelected by a 61.7% Majority. Reintegration into Russia? globalresearch.ca Despite ruling Belarus with an iron fist, most Belarusians support Alexander Lukashenko. | President since 1994, he was legitimately reelected by a 61.7% majority, according to the pro-Western election monitoring group Golos. | It published "data collected by US-backed civic youth …

Comitato No Nato No Guerra (2020-08-25). Appello Ai Leader Dei Nove Stati Con Armi Nucleari (Cina, Francia, India, Israele, Nord Corea, Pakistan, Regno Unito, Russia, Stati Uniti). globalresearch.ca Noi, persone di buona volontà di tutti i ceti sociali, di tutti i continenti, di credo e religioni diverse, richiamiamo la vostra attenzione sulla minaccia di una guerra nucleare totale che puà≤ scoppiare molto facilmente a causa di azioni deliberate …

WSWS (2020-08-25). US stages military buildup to enforce deal to steal Syria's oil. wsws.org The handing over of Syria's oil fields for exploitation by a US company constitutes a war crime, and has escalated dangerous tensions between American and Russian military forces.

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-25). IAEA vows to fulfill obligations responsibly despite pressure. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (MNA) — The head of the UN nuclear watchdog stressed that his organization will carry out its commitments regrading Iran responsibly and independently, despite some pressures.

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-25). Iran-Russia coop. has wide capacities incl. arms trade. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (MNA) — Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami pointed to the high potential of military cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation.