2020-08-02: News Headlines

RT (2020-08-02). Two guards stabbed during Georgia prison riot. Purported footage of violent uprising spreads on social media (VIDEOS). rt.com Two guards have been injured in a riot at Georgia's Ware State Prison, local media reported. Purported videos of the chaotic rebellion show inmates covered in blood, holding tasers, and even frog-marching handcuffed prison staff. | The situation is now under control and the facility, located near Waycross, has been put on lockdown, according to local media, citing a statement from the Georgia Department of Corrections. | "Two staff members received minor, non-life-threatening injuries and there are no reported inmate injuries at this time," the statement read. | Local reports also shared a statement from the W…

RT (2020-08-02). Joe says no: Trader Joe's stands up to outrage mob, proving the impotence of online activism. rt.com Grocery chain Trader Joe's won't be changing its supposedly "racist" product labels. In an era where suspect tweets can ruin careers, the decision is a reminder that online activism doesn't always matter in real life. | According to more than 5,000 signatories of an online petition, some of the chain's branding — which sees its Italian range labeled 'Trader Giotto's', its Mexican range called 'Trader Jose's', and its Chinese food named 'Trader Ming's' — is racist. | The branding "exoticizes other cultures," the petition states. Furthermore, the petition alleges that the company's founder Joe Coulombe…

RT (2020-08-02). 'Socialist Trump?' Trump says 'changes must be made soon' to tackle income disparity in rare dig at 1-percenters. rt.com US President Donald Trump said he agrees that the income gap between billionaires and the rest of Americans has grown too big, vowing to take action "soon" in a tweet that left his detractors puzzled. | "I actually agree with this. Too much income disparity. Changes must be made, and soon!" Trump wrote on Saturday, retweeting a Business Insider clip that cites a recent report by the Institute for Policy Studies, claiming that total US billionaire wealth grew by $637 between March and June, while 40 million Americans lost their jobs. | I actually agree with this. Too much income disparity. Changes must be made,…

RT (2020-08-02). 'Sleepy Joe' Biden 'never leaves his basement' and won't win Texas, Trump says. rt.com President Donald Trump has bashed his basement-dwelling presidential opponent, Joe Biden, and touted his own support for "Oil, Gas, Guns, & God," after a fundraising trip to the Lone Star State. | "Was in the Great State of Texas this week and explained that the Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats, headed up by their great leader, Sleepy Joe Biden (who never leaves his basement), are strongly against 'Oil, Gas, Guns, & God," Trump tweeted on Sunday. | "Must be tough to win Texas on that platform!" he added. | Was in the Great State of Texas this week and explained that the Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats, hea…

RT (2020-08-02). Trump will act on TikTok and other Chinese software companies 'in the coming days' — Pompeo. rt.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has vowed that President Donald Trump will take action "in the coming days" to deal with Chinese software companies that the White House claims are feeding data to Beijing. | Appearing on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' show, Pompeo claimed the practices of the Chinese tech companies currently in the administration's sights, including TikTok and WeChat, pose "true privacy issues for the American people." | "For a long time the US just said 'Well, goodness, if we're having fun with it, or if a company can make money off of it, we're going to permit that to happen,'" he expla…

Newsclick (2020-08-02). 'Titans of tech' face grilling in US Congress. peoplesdispatch.org Newsclick's Prabir Purkayastha talks about the deposition of the heads of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook before the US House of Representatives Committee that deals with anti-trust issues.

_____ (2020-08-02). Law Enforcement Exposed: Massive Blue Leaks, Police Pentagon Papers. popularresistance.org In an email message, Betsy Reed, the editor-in-chief of the Intercept reports, "Hundreds of thousands of files from the FBI and local police departments have been leaked, exposing serious abuses of power by law enforcement." She writes, Blue Leaks "are like the Pentagon Papers for U.S. law enforcement." The leaks show how political activists are targeted and monitored on social media, that there is widespread racial bias by police and that police exaggerate threats by antifa to justify violence against protesters.

yenisafak (2020-08-02). India's interior minister tests positive for coronavirus, hospitalised. yenisafak.com India's Interior Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that he had tested positive for coronavirus and had been admitted to hospital.Amit Shah, a close aide to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and one of the country's most powerful politicians, heads a key ministry that has been at the forefront of managing India's coronavirus outbreak."I request all of you who came in contact with me in the last few days to isolate yourselves and get tested," Shah said in a tweet.

Alan MacLeod (2020-08-01). Media's 'Cancel Culture' Debate Obscures Direct Threats to First Amendment. thealtworld.com The Harper's letter ( A short and rather vaguely worded open letter published in Harper's Magazine (

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-08-01). Who is Behind "Fake News"? Mainstream Media Use Fake Videos and Images. globalresearch.ca The mainstream corporate media is desperate. They want to suppress independent and alternative online media, which they categorize as "fake news". Readers on social media are warned not to go onto certain sites. Our analysis confirms that the mainstream media are routinely involved in distorting the facts and turning realities upside down.

RT (2020-08-01). 'We're here for the long run': TikTok's US general manager dismisses Trump's ban plan. rt.com As the clock runs down on Friday night's vow by President Donald Trump to ban TikTok in the US, the Chinese-owned social media platform has responded by insisting that it's not going anywhere and plans to create more US jobs. | "We've heard your outpouring of support and we want to say thank you, we're not planning on going anywhere," TikTok US General Manager Vanessa Pappas said in a video message on Saturday morning. | She added that TikTok already has 1,500 employees in the US, plans to hire an additional 10,000 over the next three years, and has a billion-dollar fund to support creators on the massively po…

RT (2020-08-01). 'Best gift he can give the Dems': #GenZ trending after Trump announces TikTok ban, sending Twitter into overdrive. rt.com An announcement by US President Donald Trump that he is shutting down video app TikTok has sent netizens into panic mode, with some going as far as predicting that the move, bound to enrage Generation Z, will cost him an election.

RT (2020-08-01). Xenugate: Resurfaced VIDEO of top contender for Biden's VP pick addressing Scientology church in LA goes viral. rt.com California Rep. Karen Bass, thought to be on the shortlist of potential running mates for Joe Biden, has appeared in a resurfaced clip giving a glowing speech to a new Scientology church — a group widely deemed a predatory "cult." | Dated from the 2010

Adam Shah (2020-08-01). The 1 Percent's Attack on Unemployment Benefits is a Sign of Our Broken Democracy. commondreams.org The long-term systemic reason that working people are willing to accept jobs that cannot provide enough income to cover basic needs is because they are unable to organize and demand higher wages. Unionization is clearly tied to higher and more equal wages. (Photo: SEIU via Twitter) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/union_0.jpg

yenisafak (2020-08-01). Turkish beauty who stole hearts | as Halime Sultan becomes face of Pakistan. yenisafak.com Turkish actress Esra Bilgiàß whom we have all come to know and love as Halime Sultan in Turkey's globally-acclaimed TV series Ertugrul: Resurrection announced that she will be collaborating with Pakistani mobile company Jazz.Taking to her social media accounts, Bilgiàß posted a stunning picture of herself in red to her 3.8 million followers and wrote: "I think its time to tell the world #Dunyakobatado #JazzSuper4G," revealing her collaboration with Pakistan's leading telecommunication network.Who is Halime Sultan's No.1?In a separate tweet, Bilgiàß wrote, "I found my no.1 in Pakistan," sending f…

sputniknews (2020-08-01). 'Without a Doubt, an Alien Craft': UFO Gets Spotted by Security Cam, Conspiracy Theorist Claims. sputniknews.com In his blog, Waring argued that the object in the video appears to be way slower than a meteor, and that it even ends up changing its shape during flight.

_____ (2020-08-01). Russophobia is Going Viral… Again. strategic-culture.org The writers at AP and NYT believe beyond a doubt that all Russian media is controlled by the state. They cannot believe that Russians want to have a diverse and free media and have their say in global affairs. Watch the video and

Mark Fiore (2020-07-31). The Twitter Virus Task Force. progressive.org Besides the laughable and fantastical, Trump crew's latest miracle doctor happens to have some pretty horrible anti-LGBTQ views that don't exactly fit the mold of sound science.

RT (2020-07-31). 'Huge finger to the public': Johnson prompts outrage after nominating Russian-born media mogul Evgeny Lebedev for peerage. rt.com Evegeny Lebedev, the Russian-British owner of the Independent and the Evening Standard newspapers, has been nominated for peerage by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, setting off a round of hysteria on social media. | Moscow-born Lebedev is the son of Alexander Lebedev, a former member of the KGB, who was stationed at the Soviet Union's London embassy in the 1980s. | After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the father made his fortune in banking and eventually moved to the UK permanently — and both he and his son are outspoken critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. | But ardent believers in the narrativ…

RT (2020-07-31). #IStandWithRingo: Iowa senator draws ire of dog lovers after criticizing opponent for 'taking selfies' with her pet. rt.com Iowa Senator Joni Ernst provoked a storm of criticism on Twitter after attempting to shame her election opponent for the crime of taking selfies with her dog and ultimately learned the hard way: leave the pets out of it. | The incumbent Republican senator who is seeking re-election in November blasted her opponent, Democrat Theresa Greenfield, for her lack of leadership which was apparently demonstrated by the fact that she takes pictures with her dog. | Speaking during a campaign conference call on Wednesday, Ernst called out Greenfield, saying she "has been hiding in her basement taking selfies with her dog…

The Canary (2020-07-31). Boris Johnson nominates his own brother, Tory grandees and Brexit backers for peerages. thecanary.co The prime minister has nominated his own brother Jo Johnson, his chief strategic adviser Edward Lister and several Tory grandees for peerages, while a suite of Brexiteers are also set for the Lords.Philip May, husband of Theresa May, Boris Johnson's predecessor in Downing Street, is also destined for a knighthood, a list of nominations published on 31 July showed.On social media, a number of people labelled the choices as 'cronyism': | t.co/AjgBpnAtUy | — Lucy Campbell 🌸 (@lucy_campbell_) July 31,…

Matt Sedlar (2020-07-31). The Future of Trust-Busting Is in Joe Biden's Hands. cepr.net The New Republic See article on original site Pigs are flying! Up is down! The public approves of how Congress handled something! After Wednesday's much-anticipated hearing with the chief executive officers of Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple, onlookers in the media and activist community generally thought that the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust members showed …

WSWS (2020-07-31). Hundreds of thousands mobilize on social media to oppose US school reopenings. wsws.org An explosion of opposition to the unsafe reopening of schools has developed on social media, primarily through dozens of Facebook groups with a combined global membership of over 300,000.

teleSUR (2020-07-31). Cuban Historian Eusebio Leal Spengler Dies at 78. telesurenglish.net Cuba's authorities Friday announced the death of Havana's historian Eusebio Leal Spengler's at the age of 78 due to a deadly disease. | RELATED: | Politicians, journalists, and social activists have begun to show their condolences on social networks. | "Let us celebrate his wonderful passage through life, which was too short for those who loved him," Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel tweeted. | The country will…

teleSUR (2020-07-31). Trump Threatens to Deploy National Guard in Portland. telesurenglish.net The U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday threatened to send the National Guard to Portland if the wave of protests provoked by the "terrorist hive" doesn't stop by the end of the week. | RELATED: | "If the protests are not quelled in two days, I will send the National Guard to clean Portland of this terrorist hive," Trump tweeted. | Portland has become the protest's epicenter in the U.S. after several videos and testi…

_____ (2020-07-31). Russophobia Goes Viral Again… And Fatally No Cure. strategic-culture.org This week saw U.S. media Meanwhile, British media

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-07-30). Video: Covid-19 and the Censorship of Medical Doctors. LancetGate and the Suppression of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). globalresearch.ca Medical doctors at an event in front of the US Supreme Court are accused of making false statements. | The video of their press conference was removed by Youtube and Facebook. They are accused by CNN of spreading "fake science" | The …

RT (2020-07-30). Ilhan Omar roasted for idea to replace police at schools with mental care workers; What if there's a shooting? people online ask. rt.com US Democratic Party Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was blasted on Twitter for proposing that police officers be swapped with mental health staff at schools. Many argued online that the idea would make the schools even less safe. | Omar tweeted that "over-policing doesn't make them safer — it criminalizes Black and brown students." Along with fellow Representative Ayanna Pressley, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy, she proposed a bill to replace police officers at schools with mental health professionals. | Over-policing our schools doesn't make them safer — it criminalizes Black and brown student…

RT (2020-07-30). Does Trump want Pelosi for president? Twitter goes wild over his suggestion to delay election. rt.com After Donald Trump seemed to suggest delaying the election, the idea of 'President Pelosi' gained momentum online, as the House of Representatives speaker would theoretically be the next in line to assume the office. | Trump's idea on Thursday to delay the November presidential election due to public concerns around the Covid-19 pandemic and his own distrust of mail-in voting might make the Democrats dream come true, since "delaying" the election doesn't implicitly extend any term limits. | The order of succession of the US highest office is such that if both the president and the vice president's terms end, t…

RT (2020-07-30). Big Tech hearing: Much posturing, no meaningful answers for the American public. rt.com While a much-awaited antitrust hearing was billed as an Inquisition for Big Tech kingpins, the CEOs were largely able to skirt questions and talk circles around lawmakers looking to bring web platforms under partisan control. | Wednesday's House antitrust subcommittee hearing saw representatives face down the billionaire heads of four tech giants — Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Apple's Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai — who fielded questions in nearly six hours of virtual testimony. Though countless empty slogans and assurances were offered in that time, little was actually sa…

RT (2020-07-30). Feds won't leave Portland 'until there is safety': Trump rejects Oregon governor's claim that 'occupying force' is leaving city. rt.com Less than a day after Oregon's governor claimed federal agents would leave Portland and let local officials handle Black Lives Matter protesters, President Donald Trump said they are going nowhere until things are under control. | In a Thursday morning tweet, Trump said Governor Kate Brown "isn't doing her job" and insisted that protesters must be cleared out and "in some cases" arrested. "If she can't do it, the Federal Government will do it for her. We will not be leaving until there is safety!" he wrote. | Kate Brown, Governor of Oregon, isn't doing her job. She must clear out, and in some cases arrest, the…

RT (2020-07-30). Trump can't & shouldn't move election date, head of US election commission says after president muses about delay. rt.com Donald Trump's suggestion of delaying the upcoming presidential election was given short shrift by the head of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), who said the president has no power to do so. | Ellen Weintraub responded to a tweet from Trump on Thursday in which the president floated a possible delay to the vote due to mail-in voting fraud concerns. "No. You don't have the power to move the election. Nor should it be moved," she said. | No, Mr. President. No. You don't have the power to move the election. Nor should it be moved. States and localities are asking you and Congress for funds so they can proper…

RT (2020-07-30). Trump moots delaying 2020 election over mail-in poll concerns 'until people can properly, securely & safely vote'. rt.com Mail-in voting threatens to make the November election the "most inaccurate & fraudulent" in US history, so the nation may be better off simply postponing it, President Donald Trump has suggested in a tweet. | Sharing his ongoing concerns over mail-in voting, Trump raised the possibility of delaying the election "until people can properly, securely and safely vote." | With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely…

RT (2020-07-30). 'Must know results the same night!' Trump attacks mail-voting AGAIN after suggestion to delay 2020 election misfires. rt.com US President Donald Trump has once again taken aim at the notion of having all voters cast mail-in ballots in the 2020 presidential election, suggesting that via that route the outcome may not be known until "even years later." | "Must know Election results on the night of the Election, not days, months, or even years later!" Trump tweeted on Thursday, shortly before arguing that "universal mail-in voting" at the November election will turn it into the "most inaccurate and fraudulent election in history." | Must know Election results on the night of the Election, not days, months, or even years later!— D…

RT (2020-07-30). The Nuremburg defense? Twitterati bust out Nazi comparisons over new docuseries showing troubled ICE agents 'just enforcing laws'. rt.com An upcoming documentary shows how US immigration agents deal with being viewed as the 'bad guys' for enforcing policies they don't necessarily endorse. Twitter's collective reaction to a preview of the show? "They're like Nazis!" | The docuseries 'Immigration Nation', by filmmakers Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau, is the result of three years spent with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which gave them "unprecedented" access to its daily operations. Set to premiere on Netflix next month, the show follows individual agents and shows how they get "chewed up" in a "broken system," according t…

Fight Back (2020-07-30). TCAC hosts first of three local candidate forums. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) held an online candidate forum July 25 to give TCAC members and the wider public a sense of which local candidates for City Commission might unite with TCAC's progressive platform on community control of police and other issues. "TCAC does not endorse candidates," clarified TCAC member and forum moderator Dawn Orocio at the start of the event, hosted on Zoom and broadcast on Facebook Live, "We encourage candidates to endorse our policy platform and our demands." | All active candidates for City Commission Seats 1 and 2 were invited to participate…

Thomas Klikauer — Nadine Campbell (2020-07-30). Big Google and Facebook are Watching You! counterpunch.org Today, the Internet is everywhere. Well over half of the planet's entire population either likes to be on the Internet or has to rely on the web for business, work, and social engagement. People read the news, send notes to loved ones, birthday cards, do their job — increasingly via Skype and Zoom. Others seek

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-30). Turkish parliament approves new social media law raising fears of censorship and harassment. peoplesdispatch.org The Turkish parliament on July 29, Wednesday, passed an amendment to the country's internet law making it compulsory for social media sites to appoint a legal representative in Turkey and implement all court orders on an immediate basis. The law will become effective from October 1. | According to the new law, any social media platform based abroad which has at least a million users must assign at least one legal representative in Turkey, preferably a Turkish citizen. The contents of social media sites such as Facebook, TikTok and others can be scrutinized by the courts and failure to implement court orders would…

commondreams (2020-07-30). ACLU Comment on Trump Tweet About Delaying Election. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-07-30). Trump's Election Disruption Tweet Is Desperate and Wrong. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-07-30). Lawyers' Committee Statement On Trump Tweet Suggesting Delay In November Election. commondreams.org ______________________________…

sputniknews (2020-07-30). Why the Best Thing Twitter, Facebook Can Do is Cash In on the Trump-Biden Political Strife. sputniknews.com Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey have found themselves between a rock and a hard place as the Republican and Democratic camps exert pressure on social media platforms. US observers discuss whether the tech giants will submit.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-30). Ummah, Global community require paradigm shift for survival. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 30 (MNA) — In a tweet on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote that Islamic Ummah and global community require paradigm shift for survival.

Staff (2020-07-30). Trump Suggests Delay in 2020 Elections, Citing Inaccurate Claims on Voter Fraud. truthout.org President Donald Trump floated the idea of delaying the 2020 elections on Thursday morning, as he invoked repeatedly disproven claims that mail-in voting is susceptible to voter fraud. | Trump did not say whether he would seek to postpone the elections, but rather suggested the idea to his Twitter followers. | "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history," Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning. "It will be…

Leon Kunstenaar (2020-07-30). Facebook Protest Billboard Tours San Francisco. indybay.org Billboard reading "Don't Let Facebook ZUCK UP Our Elections" and other messages tours San Francisco and the Peninsula one day before Mark Zuckerberg testifies in Congress…

Staff (2020-07-29). Headlines for July 29, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Records Highest One-Day Coronavirus Death Toll Since May, Trump Retweets Doctor Who Warned of Sex with Demons and "Alien DNA", Twitter Suspends Donald Trump Jr. for Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation, Progressives Say GOP Coronavirus Bill Would Bring "Mass Poverty and Mass Hunger", Teachers' Union Prepared to Strike If Schools Aren't Made Safe from Coronavirus, World Health Organization Warns Summer Weather Isn't Slowing Coronavirus, Argentina Reports Record COVID-19 Death Toll as Guatemala Reopens Economy, Attorney General Barr Grilled over Police Violence Against Peaceful Protesters, Portland Demonstrators…

RT (2020-07-29). Zuckerberg admits Facebook suppresses 'hate speech' BEFORE it's seen by anyone. rt.com Facebook censors almost 90 percent of 'hate speech' before it's allowed to circulate, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress at Wednesday's Big Tech hearing, responding to pressure from Democrats to submit to the advertiser boycott. | "We're able to proactively identify 89 percent of the hate speech that we take down before, I think, it's even seen by other people," Zuckerberg told the Antitrust Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday. | The statement was in response to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) pressuring Facebook to "join the civil rights movement" by submitting to the demands of the Sto…

RT (2020-07-29). WATCH: Fireball lights up night sky during DOUBLE meteor shower, green light triggers inevitable UFO speculation. rt.com A fireball lit up the night skies across Colorado and New Mexico on Tuesday night, video of which has dazzled many online, while others couldn't help but speculate about invading aliens as a fitting addition to the chaos in 2020. | According to the American Meteor Society, there were at least 54 Incredible eyewitness video shared on social media cap…

RT (2020-07-29). Twitter discovers 'Settle for Biden' campaign to lure in Sanders & Warren supporters — and can't tell if it's a joke. rt.com The revelation of a campaign that seeks to persuade leftist Americans to park their progressive reservations about Joe Biden and vote for him in an all-out bid to block Donald Trump's reelection has perplexed many Dems online. | The campaign called

RT (2020-07-29). WATCH: Protesters lay siege to NYPD police commissioner's home after viral van 'kidnapping' incident. rt.com Angry protesters have swarmed the NYPD commissioner's home on West 73rd street in Manhattan, in response to the arrest of a protester who was bundled into an unmarked van on Tuesday. | Furious that one of their own had been arrested in such a way, the protest march, which the 'kidnapped' woman was part of, made its way to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea's home in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as eyewitness video from the scene purports to show. | "This is a raid, Commissioner Shea"