2020-01-18: News Headlines

RT (2020-01-18). Woodland camo in space, you sure? US Space Force roasted online after it premiers first-ever uniform. rt.com US President Donald Trump's recently inaugurated Space Force has faced a torrent of mockery online after it unveiled its brand new woodland-patterned camouflage uniform, raising quite a few eyebrows. | The US Space Force, Trump's beloved brainchild and now one of the eight uniformed services in the country, has finally got its own gear. | "The first #SpaceForce utility uniform nametapes have touched down in the Pentagon," the newest branch of the US military tweeted, accompanying the message with a photo of what appears to be a standard US Army woodland camo jacket, sporting a US Space Force patch on its sleev…

RT (2020-01-18). At least 4 dead, 20 injured in car bomb attack targeting Turkish contractors in Somalia – reports. rt.com A car bomb attack targeting a group of Turkish contractors has reportedly left four people dead and injured at least 20 others in the town of Afgoye, 30 kilometers outside the Somali capital Mogadishu. | "A speeding suicide car bomb rammed into a place where the Turkish engineers and Somali police were having lunch," a spokesperson for Somali police told the Reuters news agency. | #Turkish contractors and their Somali police guards in #Afgoye town, 30km outside R. Robertson (2020-01-18). Demonstrators Form Giant Human Sign "Truth Matters" in Front of Facebook HQ. indybay.org Facebook continues to refuse to check for accuracy in their political ads. Many bodies made for a huge display of protest.

sputniknews (2020-01-18). Miley Cyrus's New Boyfriend Shares Her Nude Photo in a Hot Bathtub. sputniknews.com The American singer may still be healing from a harsh split from her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, but with their divorce almost finalised, both celebrities appear to have found comfort in someone else's arms.

Peadar O'Cearnaigh (2020-01-18). A hate crime worker rejects James Cleverly's ridiculous comments on racism in Britain. thecanary.co On 15 January, Conservative Party chair James Cleverly told ITV's Robert Peston that Britain isn't becoming more racist and it's an "infinitely, infinitely more open and tolerant country" than when he was growing up. Cleverly insisted that back then there was "casual racism" on the TV and in society. | "Racism is on the rise": | But Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who was a hate crime worker in Nottingham, hit back a…

sputniknews (2020-01-18). Tube-Shaped 'UFO' in Massachusetts Skies Spawns Conspiracy Craze. sputniknews.com The sighting, which viewers deemed to be anything from a weather balloon to a covert operation vehicle, follows a Navy pilot's recollection of a so-called "Tic Tac" alien craft that has been dominating UFO conspiracy YouTube channels ever since the officer's video first emerged in 2004.

sputniknews (2020-01-18). Shut Up #IndiraJaising, Netizens Say After Senior Lawyer's Post About Nirbhaya's Convicts. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik) : Senior lawyer Indira Jaising has requested Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi to forgive her daughter's convicts, who mercilessly raped her in a moving bus in 2012. In a social media post, Jaising also asked her to pardon them from death row just like senior opposition leader Sonia Gandhi.

yenisafak (2020-01-18). Over 1,400 irregular migrants held off Turkey's coasts. yenisafak.com A total of 1,471 irregular migrants were held off Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coasts over the last one week, the Turkish Coast Guard said on Friday."A total of 1,471 irregular migrants and 1 migrant smuggler were captured by the Coast Guard Command in 41 incidents between 10-16 January 2020 within the scope of anti-irregular migration activities," the coast guard said on Twitter.As many as 12 dead bodies were also recovered during the same period, it added.Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began.

yenisafak (2020-01-18). UK says Berlin Conference important for Libya ceasefire. yenisafak.com The Berlin Conference on Sunday is "an important step towards securing a ceasefire" in Libya, Britain's foreign secretary said on Friday.In a Twitter post, Dominic Raab wrote his country is committed to uniting all sides behind peace efforts initiated by the UN."Sunday's Berlin Conference is an important step towards securing a ceasefire and political solution to conflict in Libya," Raab said."Spoken to Libyan PM Serraj to stress UK commitment to uniting international community behind UN's efforts to find lasting peace," he added.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will attend the conference alongside the leader…

RT (2020-01-18). 'Humanity is alive': Villagers in northern India brave snowy slopes to help carry injured policeman 7 kilometers to safety (VIDEO). rt.com Over a dozen villagers in India's mountainous northern region came together to help transport a police officer suffering a medical emergency, traversing seven kilometers of snow-covered inclines with the man on a stretcher. | Situated high up in the Himalayas, a group of villagers from Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul-Spiti district assembled on Friday to come to the officer's aid, making a long-distance hike to bring him to safety. | Humanity is alive…— Deblina Chatterjee (@deblina4u) January 17, 2020 | While it's unc…

RT (2020-01-17). 'Rigging election again': Trump says impeachment all a ploy to… shaft Bernie Sanders. rt.com The impeachment trial against Donald Trump is not just a "witch hunt," but a ploy to "rig" the Democratic nomination against Bernie Sanders and in favor of Joe Biden, the US president has claimed. | "They are rigging the election again against Bernie Sanders, just like last time, only even more obviously," Trump tweeted on Friday. | They are rigging the election again against Bernie Sanders, just like last time, only even more obviously. They are bringing him out of so important Iowa in order that, as a Senator, he sit through the Impeachment Hoax Trial. Crazy Nancy thereby gives the strong edge to Sleepy…[m…

RT (2020-01-17). 'Anti-Catholic bigotry': UK journo slammed online over 'dictated by the Vatican' remarks, in veiled attack on religious Labour MP. rt.com UK journalist Paul Mason has been accused of religious "bigotry" on social media, after insisting he doesn't want Labour's policy on abortion to be decided by the Vatican, in what is seen as an attempted smear on a Catholic MP. | Mason, who has worked for the likes of the BBC and Channel 4, and now writes independently, prompted outrage on Twitter on Friday, in what many are describing as a "smear campaign" against Rebecca Long-Bailey — one of the candidates in the Labour leadership election. | The journalist tweeted that he had signed a letter calling on all candidates in the leadership race to "commit…

RT (2020-01-17). 'Most brazen anti-competitive scheme in a generation': 4 tech firms sue Facebook to force Zuckerberg to sell his stake. rt.com Four tech companies are suing Facebook, accusing the Silicon Valley titan of running the worst "anti-competitive scheme" in a generation and demanding that CEO Mark Zuckerberg give up his stake in the company. | The four companies are Beehive Biometric, an identity-verification website; Cir.cl, an online marketplace and social media platform; Lenddo, a Singapore-based financial services provider; and Reveal Chat, a messaging service. | In a federal lawsuit filed in San Francisco on…

Ted Rall (2020-01-17). America's Long History of Meddling in Russia. counterpunch.org Russia — OK, not the actual Russian government but a private click-farm company located in Russia — bought $100,000 worth of political ads on Facebook designed to change the outcome of the 2016 election. Except that only a small fraction of those ads were political. Also except that that small fraction was divvied up between More

teleSUR (2020-01-17). Abby Martin Banned From Speaking at US University. telesurenglish.net Former teleSUR presenter and creator of The Empire Files Abby Martin was blocked from delivering a keynote speech at Georgia Southern University for refusing to "sign a contractual pledge to not boycott Israel" to comply with the anti-Boycott, Divest and Sanctions state law. | RELATED: | YouTube Censors Empire Files' Abby Martin on Israeli Militarism | "After I was scheduled to give a keynote speech at an upcoming Georgia Southern conference, organizers said I must comply with…

Middle East Eye (2020-01-17). Israel Bombs Gaza Strip in Response to Incendiary Balloons. theantimedia.com (MEE) — The Israeli military said an attack helicopter struck a Hamas target in the northern Gaza Strip late Thursday in response to the launch of incendiary balloons into Israeli territory earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported. 2 milions in Gaza Can not sleep because Israel attacks on Gaza 9: 21 PM pic.twitter.com/JPbOkFBClU — Heba Khaled (@heba_khaled1998) …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-01-17). Bolsonaro's Culture secretary fired after quoting Nazi Goebbels. peoplesdispatch.org Brazil's Culture secretary, Roberto Alvim, was fired on Friday, a day after his office posted a video on social media in which he quoted parts of a speech delivered by the Nazi propaganda boss, Joseph Goebbels. | The video was posted by the Special Culture Office of the Jair Bolsonaro administration to promote a national arts prize. | "Brazilian art in the next decade will be heroic and national," said Alvim, with the Brazilian flag and a portrait of Bolsonaro in the background. The video played to Wagner's Lohengrin, infamously said to be Hitler's favorite opera. | The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, rel…

Kathleen Wallace (2020-01-17). Hijacking the Struggles of Others, Elizabeth Warren Style. counterpunch.org To say Elizabeth Warren is a political opportunist is not giving her enough credit. She has taken the struggles, as well as the identities of others (women, school teachers, Native Americans, public school supporters, people who are able to tweet with humor, actual humans) and has weaponized these categories until the meaning of it all is lost. More

RT (2020-01-16). 'You're a liberal hack!' GOP Senator snubs CNN journo at impeachment trial — then tweets the insult (VIDEO). rt.com With the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump officially underway, not everyone involved is keen to give the liberal media soundbites. Arizona Senator Martha McSally let CNN's Manu Raju know exactly what she thought of him. | Following the delivery of the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Thursday and the swearing-in of Senators, CNN's Manu Raju waited in the halls of the US Capitol to ask Republicans whether the Senate should permit new evidence against Trump to be admitted, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier it should. | "Senator McSally, should the Senate consider new evidence as part…

RT (2020-01-16). Who's this guy? Jeopardy contestants fail to recognize impeachment 'hero' Adam Schiff & Twitter ROFLs. rt.com Rep. Adam Schiff might be leading an impeachment drive in the US, but it seems not everybody is familiar with the 'resistance' hero. At least, his photo did not ring any bells for contestants on the latest Jeopardy episode. | Schiff, a prominent Russiagater whose fame among the anti-Trump resistance camp reached new heights amid the ongoing Ukrainegate saga, might be a household name on Capitol Hill, but the question remains: Is the same true for the rest of the country outside of the Washington political swamp? If the classic trivia game show is any indication, it is not. | Just a reminder we live in a bubble…

Alan MacLeod (2020-01-16). Jeff Bezos donates three minutes' income to help Australia fight wildfires. mronline.org The donation would be equivalent to someone who earned $500 per week announcing on social media that they had just donated five cents to help tackle the blazes. | Source

The Canary (2020-01-16). Twitter apologises for allowing adverts targeted at hate groups. thecanary.co Twitter has apologised for letting adverts on the platform target hate groups including neo-Nazis and homophobes. | The firm allows advertisers to target people using specific keywords based on what they share in tweets, like, or what they search for. | An investigation by the BBC found terms such as "transphobic", "white supremacists" and "anti-gay" were not being excluded during the ad set-up process. | "Neo-Nazi", which also slipped through the net, could reach an estimated audience of between 67,000 and 81,000 people in the UK, the report claims. | Meanwhile, 92,900 to 114,000 accounts were predicted for the…

Fréa Lockley (2020-01-16). David Attenborough warns that we must make 'compelling life or death' decisions now. thecanary.co David Attenborough has issued a vital warning for all governments to take action on the climate crisis now. His warning came as new scientific research revealed that 2019 was the second hottest year on record. | "The moment of crisis has come": | Speaking to BBC News on 16 January, Attenborough warned: We have been putting things off year after year. We've been raising targets and saying: 'Oh, well, if we do it withi…

RT (2020-01-15). Trump deal instead of Iran nuclear deal? I agree! US president gives Twitter nod to BoJo. rt.com Boris Johnson's suggestion that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal be replaced with a new one — named after Donald Trump — received an enthusiastic response from the US president. | "Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, stated, 'We should replace the Iran deal with the Trump deal.' I agree!" Trump proclaimed in a tweet released Wednesday. | Earlier, Johnson said he understands American concerns over the "flawed" 2015 pact with Iran, which saw the Islamic Republic dramatically reducing its nuclear program in exchange for lifting crippling economic sanctions. | Prime Minister of the United Ki…

RT (2020-01-15). 'The answer is no': Twitter users' pleas for an 'edit button' shot down by Jack Dorsey. rt.com Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has admitted that, despite high demand for the feature, the social media platform will "probably never" introduce an edit button allowing people to fix mistakes in their hastily posted tweets. | Cue the gasps from the Twitterati. An edit button has been a highly sought-after feature since the platform's earliest days — but the company has always dodged the issue or placated users by saying it was 'considering' the idea. | In a video Q&A with Wired on Tuesday, however, Dorsey was more direct than ever on the…

RT (2020-01-15). Author & liberal Stephen King tweets that quality trumps diversity… and woke crowds are sharpening the blades. rt.com Stephen King has found himself the target of Twitter's woke army, after having the audacity to argue that quality is more important than diversity when it comes to art. His attempt to clarify the issue only brought more attacks. | The famed author — revered by many on social media for his outspoken liberal views — was barraged by angry messages after weighing in on a debate sparked by this year's Academy Award nominees, who have been criticized for not being adequately diverse. | Noting that as a writer he is allowed to offer nominations in three categories — Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenpla…

RT (2020-01-15). #CNNisTrash unites political rivals after network hammers Sanders in Democratic debate. rt.com It's not just the right who accuse CNN of peddling 'fake news'. After the network's treatment of Bernie Sanders in a recent Iowa debate, the left joined them on Twitter. | With the field of Democratic hopefuls whittled down, six frontrunners took to the stage in Des Moines on Tuesday night, with polls putting four of them as frontrunners: Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Hosted by CNN, the debate was the final Democratic head-to-head before next month's Iowa caucuses. | Tensions between Sanders and Warren were hi…

RT (2020-01-15). 'Even Hillary and Trump shook hands': Warren snubs Sanders handshake after tense Democratic debate (VIDEO). rt.com Tuesday night's Democratic debate was marked by an ever-widening schism between long-time 'friends' turned rivals, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, which culminated in a spurned handshake which has become the talk of Twitter. | The talking match was punctuated by several increasingly tense and bitter exchanges between the pair as the night wore on. Roughly 45 minutes into the discussion, CNN moderator Abby Phillip asked Sanders to respond to reports he told Warren that a woman couldn't win the 2020 election. | Handshake: REJECTED pic.twitter.com/LUA49Z0JCc— Timot…

Josmar Trujillo (2020-01-15). Shining a Spotlight on Anti-Homeless Reporters. fair.org by Josmar Trujillo Breaking news from the New York Post ( 12/30/19): A man is "grabbing food from the trays and shoving it directly into his mouth, wet with drool and framed by a scraggly beard." | With every new year, out come our usual resolutions: Let's quit smoking, give up meat, or maybe we can lose those extra 15 pounds we always say we should. Alas, for some of us, it's hard to change our ways. Case in point, the New York Post cannot and will not give up its obsessive, cruel and deranged fascinat…

Alan Macleod (2020-01-15). CNN, Warren's Sexism Jibe Against Sanders Backfires as #CNNisTrash Trends on Twitter. mintpressnews.com CNN has been widely criticized for its perceived bias in moderating yesterday's Democratic presidential debate in Iowa. With just three weeks before the first primaries, six leading candidates descended upon Des Moines last night to take part. But, as with previous debates, much of the public discussion centered on the organization, framing and bias of the organizers and moderators. | CNN asked Bernie Sanders, the most left-leaning of the candidates, if he thought he "owed voters an explanation" on how much his health plan would cost them…

Alan Macleod (2020-01-15). Keeping with its Crackdown on Alternative Voices, Google Deletes Press TV from YouTube. mintpressnews.com Without warning, tech giant Google "permanently removed" Iranian government-owned media channel Press TV UK's YouTube channel Monday night amid increasing American hostility to Iran. | "This attack on the freedom of speech of Press TV's journalists seems to be part of an anti-Iran purge as the West sets its sights on regime change in Iran," Press TV said. Its content, in its own words, focuses on "anti-imperialis…

Darius Shahtahmasebi (2020-01-14). US Clearing Anti-War Voices Off Social Media. theantimedia.com (TMU) — Instagram and its parent company Facebook are removing posts that appear to be in support of the late Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in order to comply with U.S. sanctions, a company spokesperson recently told CNN. "We operate under U.S. sanctions laws, including those related to the U.S. government's designation of the IRGC and …

Sarah Lahm (2020-01-14). The Montessori Schools Set to Track Students' Every Move. progressive.org At schools that were meant to foster self-paced learning in the natural world, the billionaires behind Facebook and Amazon are funding new data-seeking tech.

Ben Norton (2020-01-13). Under US pressure, social media companies censor critical content and suspend Venezuelan, Iranian, and Syrian accounts. thegrayzone.com As the US escalates its hybrid wars, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are suspending accounts and censoring content that conflicts with…

Max Parry (2020-01-13). Iran's Accidental Downing of a Ukrainian Plane Already Being Used to Smear MH-17 Skeptics. dissidentvoice.org When the Pentagon confirmed the assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media to post a single image of the American flag to the adulation of his followers. Unfortunately, most Americans are ignorant of the other flag synonymous with U.S. foreign policy, that of the 'false flag' utilized …

Ryan Cristián (2020-01-06). More Rockets Fired At US Embassy, US Iranians Detained & Trump Says Twitter Is "Notifying Congress" thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (1/5/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

Ramzy Baroud (2019-12-02). The War on Truth: How Israel's Social Media Trolls Conquered Facebook. zcomm.org Israel may have found a way to circumvent the influence of Facebook on the discussions pertaining to Palestinian rights and the Israeli occupation…