Ireland and Slavery: Debating the 'Irish Slaves Myth'
Brian Kelly | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-06
Over recent months, social media in Ireland and the United States has been saturated with claims and counterclaims about 'Irish slaves' and a broader controversy about Irish complicity in the transatlantic slave trade. The timing of the 'debate' is far from coincidental: a series of false and malicious assertions that the American far Right have…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/06/ireland-and-slavery-debating-the-irish-slaves-myth/

Ebola cases in DR Congo rise to 74 in latest outbreak
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-06
At least 74 Ebola virus cases have been recorded in the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the World Health Organization announced Thursday.So far there are 74 cases, with 70 confirmed and four probable, 32 deaths and 28 recoveries from the 11th Ebola virus outbreak in Mbandaka, Equateur province, the WHO African Region tweeted.For several months, the DRC has been battling with several diseasing including, Cholera, Ebola, Measles.Last month the WHO office in the Central African country said that a total of 12,959 people have been vaccinated since the start of the 11th Ebola outbreak in ear…
yenisafak.com/en/news/ebola-cases-in-dr-congo-rise-to-74-in-latest-outbreak-3536250

The End of Big Tech? Calls Grow to Break Up Facebook, Amazon for "Mob-Like" Behavior, Monopoly Power
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-05
Calls are growing to break up the Big Tech giants, with a handful of companies controlling more and more of the technology industry, crowding out or acquiring would-be competitors and exercising vast power over the U.S. economy. Lawmakers grilled the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook during a hearing last week on whether their companies are guilty of stifling competition, in a scene reminiscent of the 1994 hearing of tobacco executives who claimed cigarettes were not addictive. This came just days after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reportedly made $13 billion in a single day, even as the coronavirus pandemic ha…
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/5/scott_galloway_big_tech

Statewide online workshop on community control of Florida police
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-08-05
Tallahassee, FL -The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) hosted an online training and workshop, July 30, over Facebook Live on the topic of community control of police. The event was led by experienced anti-racism leaders who are active in the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), and also founding members of their local organizations: TCAC and the group that inspired TCAC's own founding, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC). | "NAARPR, JCAC and TCAC all have political repression and police overreach central to their origin stories," noted Tallahassee Communi…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/8/4/statewide-online-workshop-community-control-florida-police

Saturday 8/8: 75th Annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki Remembrance & Virtual Peace Lantern Ceremony
Monterey Peace & Justice Center | indybay.org | 2020-08-05
Online via YouTube livestream or Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/03/18835635.php

Facebook launches TikTok RIVAL as Microsoft in '$30bn' buyout talks
rt.com | 2020-08-05
Instagram, owned by tech giant Facebook, has launched its new 'Reels' short video feature in 50 countries — including the US — in what appears to be a direct challenge to TikTok. Microsoft is currently in talks to buy the latter. | …
rt.com/usa/497190-tiktok-rival-instagram-reels-microsoft/

'Harmful Covid-19 misinformation': Facebook scrubs Trump post stating children 'virtually immune' to coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-08-05
Facebook has removed a post from US President Donald Trump's personal page — a clip from a recent interview in which he suggested Covid-19 poses little risk to children — stating he had made "false claims" about the virus. | "This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from Covid-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful Covid misinformation," Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement on Wednesday. | In the interview segment, which aired on Fox on Wednesday morning, Trump called for a reopening of schools around the country, arguing that Covid-19 would…
rt.com/usa/497216-trump-facebook-covid-misinformation/

UK schools' reopening could see Covid-19 cases multiply rapidly but it's 'not certain,' Professor Lockdown warns
rt.com | 2020-08-05
The UK might need to hold off on easing Covid-19 restrictions if it wants its schools to re-open without triggering a new viral outbreak, epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, who once prompted London to impose a strict lockdown, warns. | Secondary schools throughout the UK could become new centers of infection as soon as the educational facilities fully re-open in September, Ferguson warned in his latest alarming forecast. | "The risk then is that big schools, comprehensives, universities and FE colleges, link lots of households together, reconnecting the social network," the scientist told BBC Radio 4's 'Today' prog…
rt.com/uk/497201-neil-ferguson-schools-covid-lockdown/

Facebook Removes Video Post From Trump Over COVID-19 Misinformation
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-05
Facebook has issued a statement confirming that "harmful COVID misinformation" was the reason a video has been removed from US President Donald Trump's personal page.
sputniknews.com/us/202008051080078952-facebook-removes-video-post-from-trump-over-covid-19-misinformation/

Iranian FM Zarif Snaps at Google for 'Glitch' When Translating Condolences to Lebanese People
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-05
It appears from the video Zarif retweeted that Google Translate changes "condolences" to "congratulations" when Persian speakers want to translate their sympathies for the Lebanese who suffered a massive explosion on Tuesday.
sputniknews.com/world/202008051080078576-iranian-fm-zarif-snaps-at-google-for-glitch-when-translating-condolences-to-lebanese-people/

The Censorship of 'Cancel Culture' May Ultimately Be Most Dangerous for Social Justice Champions
Suzanne Nossel | commondreams.org | 2020-08-05
In 2014, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign community rallied in support of Professor Stephen Salaita, who was terminated from his tenured faculty position for criticizing Israel on social media. (Photo: Jeffrey Putney/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/image_56_0.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/08/05/censorship-cancel-culture-may-ultimately-be-most-dangerous-social-justice-champions?cd-origin=rss

Lithuania's Alleged Involvement in 2014 Ukraine Maidan Coup
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-08-04
New scandalous information about the 2014 Maidan coup d'état in Ukraine has emerged that implicates Lithuania's important role in instigating the violent events. David Zhvania, a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, revealed on his YouTube channel that the …
globalresearch.ca/lithuania-alleged-involvement-maidan-contradicts-supposed-european-values/5720201

HRW chief jumps to blame Hezbollah for devastating Beirut blasts — and backpedals immediately
rt.com | 2020-08-04
Human Rights Watch head Kenneth Roth was quick to join a social media chorus blaming Hezbollah for deadly explosions in Beirut on Tuesday. Perhaps realizing the claim lacked a shred of evidence, he soon deleted it. | Roth rushed to blame Hezbollah for the huge explosions near the port of Beirut, blasts which killed at least 50 people and are believed to have wounded over 3,000 more. "Is this Hezbollah's way of saying don't mess with us for allegedly killing former Lebanese PM Hariri?" he asked in a tweet posted almost immediately after news of the explosions hit social media on Tuesday. | Billionaire-funded re…
rt.com/news/497108-hrw-director-hezbollah-beirut-blast/

Wednesday 8/5: Email and Twitter Storm for Breonna Taylor!
Forbreonna | indybay.org | 2020-08-04
Online via Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/03/18835623.php

Saturday 8/8: 75th Annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki Remembrance & Virtual Peace Lantern Ceremony
Monterey Peace & Justice Center | indybay.org | 2020-08-04
Online via YouTube livestream or Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/08/03/18835635.php

WATCH huge mushroom-like cloud cover Beirut's docks area after 'fireworks depot' explodes
rt.com | 2020-08-04
Terrifying footage has emerged, showing a huge mushroom cloud of fire and smoke covering much of Beirut's port area, blowing out windows and destroying nearby buildings, as a warehouse in the Lebanese capital's docks explodes. | Videos on social media show large plumes of smoke, followed by a fiery blast that created a massive mushroom cloud, towering high above the nearby high-rises. | Photos on social media show many buildings in the area damaged or destroyed, leaving residents covered in glass and blood. | The blasts were initially blamed on a fire at a fireworks warehouse at the port, state-run National…
rt.com/news/497088-beirut-blast-huge-mushroom-cloud/

'Sexually suggestive' or 'get your mind out of the gutter'? Audi banana girl ad yanked after bizarre controversy
rt.com | 2020-08-04
After a social media outcry, Audi has pulled an ad showing a little girl eating a banana while leaning on a car. Those objecting remarked on everything from her pose to the 'phallic' fruit. Others pronounced it perfectly innocent. | The German car company publicly retracted the ad on Monday, after an outbreak of pearl-clutching online, issuing a groveling apology on Twitter and promising to get to the bottom of "how this campaign has been created and if control mechanisms failed." | We hoped we could convey these messages, showing that even for the weakest traffic participants it is possible to relaxingly lean…
rt.com/news/497086-audi-ditches-ad-banana-pedophilia/

Tribute to xenophobia? Anti-Trump activists face backlash for 'statue' in Portland linking Putin to alleged police brutality
rt.com | 2020-08-04
An activist group has unveiled a new 'statue' in Portland, Oregon which appears to connect Vladimir Putin to allegations of police brutality in the city. Isn't that a bit xenophobic? Twitter observers have asked. | The collective, known as the Trump Statue Initiative (TSI), used live actors covered in gold, and standing on top of a large pedestal, to create the impression that a new monument had been installed in the city on Monday. | Their performance art piece showed Donald Trump holding up a selfie-stick and making a thumbs-up sign as men wearing gas masks and riot gear pull a protester holding a 'BLM' plac…
rt.com/usa/497015-trump-putin-portland-statue-protests/

'Erotic mind control community has a racism problem': BLM activists go after hypnotists in latest bizarre witch hunt
rt.com | 2020-08-04
As street battles between murky federal agents, Antifa and various mom'n'pop protest groups over systemic racism continue in Portland, it appears a similar, but more insidious war is underway… in the erotic mind control community. | A seemingly never-ending thread, posted to Twitter by a self-professed 30-something white woman, who is part of the ultra-niche sexual community that some were convinced was made-up, details the sordid sins among hyperactive, horny hypnotists. | "So, I want to address something that will probably surprise no one: The…
rt.com/usa/497022-erotic-mind-control-community-racism/

Ticking time bomb? Explosive stash that devastated Beirut was there since 2014, PM says, vowing to punish those responsible
rt.com | 2020-08-04
As Lebanon's PM Hassan Diab picked through the rubble in his Beirut office, he promised that those responsible for a devastating warehouse explosion that destroyed much of the city would "pay the price." | A devastating explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday evening, killing more than 70 people and injuring at least 2,700. Large swathes of the Lebanese capital were damaged by the blast, including the offices of Prime Minister Hassan Diab. | Pictures of the damage at Lebanon's PM Hassan Diab's office pic.twitter.com/JegCAqYct5– Faytuks News üî¥ (@Fa…
rt.com/news/497112-beirut-warehouse-explosion-chemicals/

Trump Now Says Mail-In Ballots Are Safe, But Only in His Home State of Florida
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-08-04
President Donald Trump, who has for the past several months repeatedly made unverified and dubious claims about fraud associated with mail-in voting, authored a tweet on Tuesday urging voters in his home state of Florida to vote by mail if that's what they wanted to do. | "Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True," Trump said. | The presid…
truthout.org/articles/trump-now-says-mail-in-ballots-are-safe-but-only-in-his-home-state-of-florida/

Public Citizen, Scientists: Gilead and Federal Scientists Have Neglected a Potentially Promising COVID-19 Antiviral Drug
commondreams.org | 2020-08-04
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/08/04/public-citizen-scientists-gilead-and-federal-scientists-have-neglected?cd-origin=rss

Take on the Tech Mob Now or Perish
Laura Flanders | counterpunch.org | 2020-08-03
Six months into a global pandemic, the US economy just took its most grievous hit on record, while Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook only added wealth. In just three months, April through June, so many workers were furloughed, laid off or forced to work and school from home, that the economy shriveled by 32.9% or…
counterpunch.org/2020/08/03/take-on-the-tech-mob-now-or-perish/

What If Trump Refuses to Accept a Biden Victory? A Look at How Electoral Chaos Could Divide Nation
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-03
As President Trump floats the idea of delaying the election, we speak with Nils Gilman, historian and co-founder of Transition Integrity Project, which organized a bipartisan group of experts to game out what a contested November election might look like. "In every scenario except for the one where Biden won in a landslide, we ended up with severe electoral contestation, protests in the streets, crazy stories happening on social media, and the challenges went down to Inauguration Day," Gilman says.
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/3/nils_gilman_2020_election_scenarios

Voting Rights Activist LaTosha Brown: Trump Is Hellbent on Undermining Democracy to Win Reelection
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-08-03
With President Trump trailing in most polls, he tweeted recently that he was floating the idea of delaying the November election — something he cannot legally do — and continued his attacks on mail-in voting. "We have a president who is probably the most fascist president that we've ever had in this country," responds LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and the BVM Capacity Building Institute. "He is hellbent on pushing the boundaries, whatever he needs to do, to undermine and undercut democracy."
www.democracynow.org/2020/8/3/latosha_brown_black_voters_matter

Scandalous #MeToo activist accused of creating FAKE Twitter account of bisexual Native American professor who 'died' of Covid-19
rt.com | 2020-08-03
A controversial #MeToo activist has been accused of operating a Twitter account belonging to a non-existent bisexual Native American professor. Suspicions were raised after she announced that her 'friend' had died from Covid-19. | BethAnn McLaughlin, a neuroscientist who founded the nonprofit group MeTooSTEM, allegedly created a fictional professor at Arizona State University (ASU), and tweeted as the imaginary anthropologist under the handle @Sciencing_Bi. | In an emotional eulogy for her purportedly made-up comrade, McLaughlin waxed poetic about how her friend worked tirelessly to help indigenous women overc…
rt.com/usa/496931-professor-coronavirus-fake-death-metoo/

The clock is TikToking: Trump says he doesn't mind if Microsoft buys TikTok, as long it's done in 6 weeks & Uncle Sam GETS A CUT
rt.com | 2020-08-03
President Donald Trump has said he won't object if US software giant Microsoft purchases social media app TikTok as long as some profits go to the US Treasury, reversing course on his earlier opposition to such a buyout. | Trump broke the news at a White House meeting on Monday, describing a conversation he'd had with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the previous day. | When Microsoft confirmed Sunday that it has been in talks with TikTok's owner — Chinese firm ByteDance — aimed at acquiring the app in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Trump supported the acquisition, but added that Microsoft wou…
rt.com/usa/496993-trump-microsoft-buy-tiktok/

TikTok planning London headquarters, according to reports
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-08-03
TikTok is planning to open a headquarters in London, according to reports, as the social media app continues to try and distance itself from China. | The move could put the UK at odds with US president Donald Trump as the video platform is at the centre of a row in the US over alleged links to the Chinese state and Trump is threatening to ban the app. | But reports suggest the UK is set to give the green light to a new headquarters for the service in London, with key executives relocating to the UK as part of the move. | TikTok declined to comment on its plans. | Last month, the app's head of public policy for Eu…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/08/03/tiktok-planning-london-headquarters-according-to-reports/

Man suspected to be armed takes hostage in Kyiv bank
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-03
A man suspected to be armed took a hostage in a bank office in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday but has made no demands yet, deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko said.Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook that the man came to the bank at midday, told employees there he had a bomb in his backpack and asked them to call police."Employees of the banking institution left the office while the head of the branch remained there (as hostage). Police have begun negotiations with the terrorist and asked him to surrender," Gerashchenko said.Later he told a local television that the man demanded to give interviews to jou…
yenisafak.com/en/world/man-suspected-to-be-armed-takes-hostage-in-kyiv-bank-3535990

Meditations On Yemen
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-08-02
Yemen is the elephant in the room. | Yemen is the black eye on a child that everyone at church pretends to believe is from falling down the stairs again to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation. | Yemen is the incestuous molestation everyone knows has been happening but they just keep eating their Thanksgiving dinner and making small talk. | The mass atrocity that is happening in Yemen is the worst thing that is happening in our world, and it isn't even close. | It is worse than anything the mass media ever talk about. | It is worse than Donald Trump's rude tweets. | It is worse than immigrant kids in cages. | It…
thealtworld.com/caitlin_johnston/meditations-on-yemen

'Socialist Trump?' Trump says 'changes must be made soon' to tackle income disparity in rare dig at 1-percenters
rt.com | 2020-08-02
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.com/usa/496878-trump-socialist-income-disparity/

Law Enforcement Exposed: Massive Blue Leaks, Police Pentagon Papers
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-08-02
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.
popularresistance.org/law-enforcement-exposed-massive-blue-leaks-police-pentagon-papers/

Two guards stabbed during Georgia prison riot. Purported footage of violent uprising spreads on social media (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-08-02
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.com/usa/496884-prison-riot-georgia-ware-videos-stabbings/

Trump will act on TikTok and other Chinese software companies 'in the coming days' — Pompeo
rt.com | 2020-08-02
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…
rt.com/usa/496919-trump-pompeo-chinese-tiktok-apps/

Microsoft to Proceed With Talks Over Possible TikTok Purchase in US After 'Conversation' With Trump
sputniknews.com | 2020-08-02
Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to ban the Chinese-owned viral video platform TikTok in the United States amid allegations that the app "spies" on American citizens and could be used to "meddle" in the US presidential election.
sputniknews.com/us/202008021080041608-microsoft-to-proceed-with-talks-over-possible-tiktok-purchase-in-us/

India's interior minister tests positive for coronavirus, hospitalised
yenisafak.com | 2020-08-02
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.
yenisafak.com/en/world/indias-interior-minister-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-hospitalised-3535932