A Circus Then, a Circus Now
Chris Hedges | truthdig.com | 2020-01-20
Chris Hedges has the week off. Here, in this reposted column from Jan. 7, 2019, are his thoughts about the then-nascent presidential election campaign. | It is January 2019. This signals the start of the 2020 election circus. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the first big-name Democrat on stage. But we will soon be deluged with candidates, bizarre antics and endless commentary by fatuous TV and radio pundits. The hyperventilating, the constant polling, the updates on who has the largest campaign war chest, the hypothetical matches between this hopeful and that hopeful, the mocking tweets by Donald Trump, will, as we saw…
truthdig.com/articles/a-circus-then-a-circus-now/

Demonstrators Form Giant Human Sign "Truth Matters" in Front of Facebook HQ
R. Robertson | indybay.org | 2020-01-20
Facebook continues to refuse to check for accuracy in their political ads. Many bodies made for a huge display of protest.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/01/18/18829830.php

Trump Showed Us Who He Was Before He Became President
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-20
The long record of this presidency's transgressions now includes the open dog-wagging assassination

As neo-Nazis head to Richmond, Trump boosts gun-rights rally
wsws.org | 2020-01-20
The president's tweet is a declaration of solidarity with ultra-right forces on the eve of his impeachment trial.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/20/virg-j20.html

Man Runs for His Life as he Gets Chased by Angry Elephant – Video
sputniknews.com | 2020-01-20
New Delhi (Sputnik): Tourists on a safari had expected to have a great time watching wild animals in their natural habitat, but were instead shocked to see an elephant chasing a man who had run afoul of the perturbed pachyderm.
sputniknews.com/viral/202001201078085791-man-runs-for-his-life-as-he-gets-chased-by-angry-elephant—video/

Bumbling Robbers Leave Netizens in Stitches as CCTV Video of Their Antics Hits Internet
sputniknews.com | 2020-01-20
The criminals' desperate attempts to flee from a locked store they found themselves trapped in have reminded some netizens of a certain scene from Guy Ritchie's comedy film "Snatch".
sputniknews.com/viral/202001201078086006-bumbling-robbers-leave-netizens-in-stitches-as-cctv-video-of-their-antics-hits-internet/

Lebanon caretaker PM Hariri: new gov't needed urgently to avoid collapse
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-20
Lebanon needs to urgently form a new government to get out of a cycle of collapse that has repercussions for the country's economic and security situation, caretaker prime minister Saad al-Hariri tweeted on Monday.Hariri said the country was headed to the "unknown" while obstruction has continued and the team responsible for forming a government has taken its time.Lebanon has been without a government since Hariri resigned on Oct. 29 in the face of mass protests.
yenisafak.com/en/world/lebanon-caretaker-pm-hariri-new-govt-needed-urgently-to-avoid-collapse-3510042

Legendary Turkish singer | involuntary rocks music world after Spotify hack
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-20
A renowned Turkish singer shot to global fame when an acclaimed You Tuber's Spotify account was stolen and his playlists saturated with the songs of arabesque singer Ferdi Tayfur. The action caused the Turkish singer, who is more commonly known as Ferdi Baba (Father Ferdi), to skyrocket to the top of the agenda on social media.Casey Neistat, who has over 12 million followers on You Tube, announced on Twitter that his Spotify account had been hacked, saying, "This is not the kind of music I typically listen to." hey @SpotifyUSA HELP! pretty sure some…
yenisafak.com/en/news/legendary-turkish-singerinvoluntary-rocks-music-world-after-spotify-hack-3510052

2019 Year in Review: From Corporate Capture of Social Media to Trump's War Agenda to Climate Change
Michael Welch | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-19
"It just seems like people have really lost their way, severed ties with reality completely, where we're listening to some pied piper online instead of really questioning authority. questioning the power structures like we should be all along!"

Gremlin in the sky: Pentagon contractor shows maiden flight of its new 'swarm' drone
rt.com | 2020-01-19
Swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles overwhelming enemies' defenses with sheer numbers might soon be part of the US combat strategy. Footage of the first flight of one such drone has just been showcased by a Pentagon contractor. | A video published on YouTube by an applied science and IT company, Dynetics, shows a drone, which looks roughly like a large air-to-surface missile, being drop-launched from under the wing of a US transport Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. | The drone designated X-61A then releases small wings and ignites its rocket engine, setting off for an autonomous flight. Media reports sugges…
rt.com/usa/478660-pentagon-gremlins-swarm-drone-test/

Bolivia's Movement to Socialism Party Forms Presidential Plan
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-19
The Movement to Socialism ( MAS ) is choosing this Sunday its presidential formula for the elections, which will be held in Bolivia on May 3, with the "firm commitment" to remain united around single leadership, the democratically elected President Evo Morales said this weekend. | RELATED: | Bolivia's Anti-Imperialist Army School Renamed After Che's Assassins | In a message released on his official Twitter account, Morales said that "the first day of meeting between national leaders of…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bolivias-Movement-to-Socialism-Party-Forms-Presidential-Plan-20200119-0001.html

China Reports 136 New Cases of 'Sars-Type' Virus
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-19
Chinese authorities have confirmed 136 new cases diagnosed with a new form of viral pneumonia in central China that has already killed three people, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. | RELATED: | 'Sars-Type' Virus Claims 2nd Victim in China, 41 Infected So Far | In total, 198 cases of the new coronavirus have been identified in the city of Wuhan, where the virus appears to have originated. At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started sc…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-Reports-17-New-Cases-of-Sars-Type-Virus-20200119-0008.html

Woodland camo in space, you sure? US Space Force roasted online after it premiers first-ever uniform
rt.com | 2020-01-18
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.com/usa/478570-space-force-uniform-mocked/

Bolsonaro's Culture secretary fired after quoting Nazi Goebbels
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-17
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…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/17/bolsonaros-culture-secretary-fired-after-quoting-nazi-goebbels/

Hijacking the Struggles of Others, Elizabeth Warren Style
Kathleen Wallace | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-17
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.
counterpunch.org/2020/01/17/hijacking-the-struggles-of-others-elizabeth-warren-style/

'Rigging election again': Trump says impeachment all a ploy to… shaft Bernie Sanders
rt.com | 2020-01-17
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.com/usa/478551-trump-bernie-sanders-rigging/

Israel Bombs Gaza Strip in Response to Incendiary Balloons
Middle East Eye | theantimedia.com | 2020-01-17
(MEE)

Who's this guy? Jeopardy contestants fail to recognize impeachment 'hero' Adam Schiff & Twitter ROFLs
rt.com | 2020-01-16
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…
rt.com/usa/478389-schiff-jeopardy-impeachment-hero/

Keeping with its Crackdown on Alternative Voices, Google Deletes Press TV from YouTube
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-15
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…
mintpressnews.com/crackdown-alternative-media-google-deletes-press-tv-youtube/264142/

CNN, Warren's Sexism Jibe Against Sanders Backfires as #CNNisTrash Trends on Twitter
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-15
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…
mintpressnews.com/cnn-elizabeth-warren-jibe-bernie-sanders-cnnistrash-trends/264122/

The Montessori Schools Set to Track Students' Every Move
Sarah Lahm | progressive.org | 2020-01-14
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.
progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/the-montessori-schools-set-to-track-students-every-move-lahm-200114/

Under US pressure, social media companies censor critical content and suspend Venezuelan, Iranian, and Syrian accounts
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-13
As the US escalates its hybrid wars, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are suspending accounts and censoring content that conflicts with…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/12/us-pressure-social-media-censoring-suspending-venezuela-iran-syria/

Iran's Accidental Downing of a Ukrainian Plane Already Being Used to Smear MH-17 Skeptics
Max Parry | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-01-13
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 …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/01/irans-accidental-downing-of-a-ukrainian-plane-already-being-used-to-smear-mh-17-skeptics/

More Rockets Fired At US Embassy, US Iranians Detained & Trump Says Twitter Is "Notifying Congress"
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2020-01-06
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 …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/daily-wrap-up/more-rockets-fired-at-us-embassy-us-iranians-detained-trump-says-twitter-is-notifying-congress/