2020-12-04: News Headlines

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-12-03). 'You Alone Can Save His Life': Edward Snowden Urges Trump to Pardon Julian Assange. commondreams.org "Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency during your time in office, please: free Julian Assange," the NSA whistleblower tweeted. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/julian_assange_1_0.jpg

Nadda Osman (2020-12-03). Labour's Starmer urged to return donations from 'Islamophobic' businessman. middleeasteye.net Labour's Starmer urged to return donations from 'Islamophobic' businessman | A number of Muslim organisations have highlighted comments made by supporter and property developer David Abrahams | Thu, 12/03/2020 – 14: 01 | The businessman has since deleted the social media posts which have been called Islamophobic (Screengrab/BBC) | Labour leader Keir Starmer is facing a backlash for accepting donations fr…

Nadda Osman (2020-12-03). Labour's Starmer urged to return donations from 'Islamophobic' businessman. middleeasteye.net Labour's Starmer urged to return donations from 'Islamophobic' businessman | A number of Muslim organisations have highlighted comments made by supporter and property developer David Abrahams | Thu, 12/03/2020 – 14: 01 | The businessman has since deleted the social media posts which have been called Islamophobic (Screengrab/BBC) | Labour leader Keir Starmer is facing a backlash for accepting donations fr…

WSWS (2020-12-03). Letter from a Bournemouth Hospital frontline nurse sparks broader discussion on conditions facing NHS workers in UK. wsws.org The letter was publicised by NHS FightBack, an initiative of the Socialist Equality Party, and then shared widely on social media, including on a number of National Health Service Facebook campaign groups.

Dean Baker (2020-12-03). Repeal Section 230 and Never Again Have to Worry About What Mark Zuckerberg Thinks About Anything. cepr.net Apparently Donald Trump has gotten into his head that he wants to repeal Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. Apparently he is upset that Facebook and Twitter have pointed out that much of what he posts is not true. It's not clear what Trump thinks he would accomplish by repealing this provision of …

Norman Stockwell (2020-12-03). Facebook's "ad" ban hurts political magazines. progressive.org If Facebook truly wants to "Give people the power to build community" perhaps it should consider allowing fact-based, truth-seeking publications to share content.

RT (2020-12-02). Aliens or just nature at play? Amazing light pillars give Russian city sci-fi movie-like feast of brightness (PHOTOS). rt.com A rare phenomenon was observed by residents of the Siberian city of Tyumen, on the first night of winter, as light pillars colored the pre-dawn skies in blue and orange hues. | Numerous vertical shiny beams remained visible in the sky right up until sunrise, with many people flocking outside and taking pictures to share on social media. | The sight might've resembled an alien invasion to an imaginative witness, with tractor beams lowered into Tyumen to deploy extraterrestrial forces from spaceships to Earth. | But there seems to have been no panic among the locals, as light pillars aren't too uncommon in no…

WSWS (2020-12-02). Australian ruling elite responds to Chinese condemnation of Afghan war crimes with nationalist hysteria. wsws.org Having covered up and downplayed the atrocities against Afghan civilians, Australia's official parties and the corporate media are up in arms about a tweet condemning the war crimes.

Paul Buchheit (2020-12-02). Inequality Gone Viral: The Obscene Numbers. zcomm.org Something has to be done to heal the rupture in the sickened body of our nation…

sputniknews (2020-12-01). Paris Vows to Seek Immediate EU Retaliation if US Sanctions France for New Digital Tax. sputniknews.com Last year, Paris approved a 3 percent revenue tax, dubbed "GAFA" (meaning Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon) on companies with profits of more than €25 million ($28 million) in France and corporations making over €750 million (around $890 million) worldwide, resulting in a harsh reaction from the Trump administration.

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

Nur Ayoubi (2020-12-01). Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot | Latest instance of detentions by Egyptian forces over images of women deemed too 'provocative' has garnered mixed reactions online | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 52 | Model Salma al-Shimi in one of the images taken at the Saqqara site (Screengrab/Twitter) | Photos of an Egyptian model have sparked intense debate online, after both the ph…

RT (2020-12-01). WATCH police arrest driver who plowed through pedestrians in central Trier, Germany. rt.com The moment police arrested a car driver who sped though a pedestrian area in the German town of Trier, killing at least four people and injuring several others, has been allegedly caught on video and shared online. | The clip circulating on social media appears to show three officers pinning the suspect to the ground and handcuffing him as several others secure the perimeter. | The dark grey Range Rover, which was apparently used in the attack, was also captured in the footage. The police allegedly had to ram the vehicle with a car in order to stop it. | WATCH police arrest driver who plowed through pedestrian…

RT (2020-12-01). LGBT activists demand boycott of cosmetics chain Lush over donation to 'anti-trans' group Woman's Place UK. rt.com Activists are calling for cosmetics brand Lush to be 'cancelled' over the discovery that its UK arm donated £3,000 to Woman's Place UK, a women's rights group that has been accused of stoking anti-trans sentiment. | Women's Place UK received the donation for "events organisation," according to a financial filing published by the group over the weekend. All hell broke loose when LGBT outlet Pink News revealed the grant and claimed it came from Lush's "charity pot," despite supposedly violating the company's donation rules. Woke Twitter erupted in a cancellation frenzy. | Will be not buying a single thing…

RT (2020-12-01). LGBT activists demand boycott of cosmetics chain Lush over donation to 'anti-trans' group Woman's Place UK. rt.com Activists are calling for cosmetics brand Lush to be 'cancelled' over the discovery that its UK arm donated £3,000 to Woman's Place UK, a women's rights group that has been accused of stoking anti-trans sentiment. | Women's Place UK received the donation for "events organisation," according to a financial filing published by the group over the weekend. All hell broke loose when LGBT outlet Pink News revealed the grant and claimed it came from Lush's "charity pot," despite supposedly violating the company's donation rules. Woke Twitter erupted in a cancellation frenzy. | Will be not buying a single thing…

Nur Ayoubi (2020-12-01). Egypt: Photographer and model arrested over pyramid photoshoot. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Photographer and model arrested over pyramid photoshoot | Latest instance of detentions by Egyptian forces over images of women deemed too 'provocative' has garnered mixed reactions online | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 52 | Model Salma al-Shimi in one of the images taken at the Saqqara site (Screengrab/Twitter) | Photos of an Egyptian model have sparked intense debate online, after both the photographer an…

Revolution Books (2020-12-01). Friday 12/4: Alec Karakatsani on "Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers…" indybay.org Online event accessible through www.facebook.com/revbooksnyc/live/

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-12-01). After Months of Obstructing Covid Relief, GOP Has Left 'Children Begging Santa for Their Basic Needs'. commondreams.org A collection of letters from American children to Santa Claus, sent through the U.S. Postal Service's Operation Santa program and posted on social media Tuesday, revealed the despair millions of children are facing amid the coronavirus pandemic, months after any federal aid has been offered to the public. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1209343229_1.jpg

teleSUR (2020-12-01). Terrorism Against Cuba Instigated from Abroad on Social Media. telesurenglish.net Frustrated that their votes did not work to keep the "worst government" in U.S. history in power for another four years and that during their term, they could not bring the Cuban Revolution to its knees, the anti-Cuban extremist forces in Miami are once again betting on the tactic of outrights terrorism against Cuba. | RELATED: | Parallel to the attempts at a soft coup that are being rehearsed these days in Havana, under the observation and…

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #12. Police Officers Implicated in Online Hate Groups as Facebook Profits. projectcensored.org According to an investigation by Reveal, the media platform for the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, hundreds of US police officers are members of misogynistic, homophobic, racist, anti-Muslim, Confederate, or…

Kim PS, Read SW, Fauci AS. (2020-12-01). Therapy for Early COVID-19—A Critical Need. jamanetwork.com In this Viewpoint, Fauci and NIAID colleagues review leading candidates for treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to prevent disease progression and longer-term complications, including emerging antiviral drugs, immune-modulating agents, and antibody-based therapies, and the challenges of developing randomized trials to rapidly evaluate the safety and efficacy of each.

teleSUR (2020-12-01). Venezuela Rejects US Harassment Against Chinese Tech Company. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza called harassment the new U.S. sanctions against China Corporation of Electronic Imports and Exports (CEIEC), which provides telecommunications services in the Latin American country. | RELATED: | "We denounce the U.S. government's coercive measures which were imposed to affect projects in favor of the Venezuelan people ahead of the parliamentary elections," Arreaza tweeted. | On Mond…

sputniknews (2020-12-01). 'Integrity of US Electoral System as a Whole is Completely Down in Flames' – Retired US Diplomat. sputniknews.com Matt Braynard, who runs the Voter Integrity Project, has recently taken to Twitter to claim that the FBI was "proactively and directly" requesting files from the initiative's independent probe into allegations of voter fraud in the US presidential election.

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to three rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with E…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to imprison rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with European dip…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to three rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with E…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to imprison rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with European dip…

RT (2020-11-30). UK media runs scare story on Russia & Germany teaming up to conquer Europe… based on YouTube video & 23-year-old book. rt.com Russia is losing the war against NATO, but its leaders have a secret playbook to strike a deal with Germany and carve up continental Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea. That's according to a popular British newspaper. | The Sunday Express published an article that, it claimed, left "Moscow's plan to conquer the world exposed." Citing a video by YouTube channel RealLifeLore, the paper

Alan Macleod (2020-11-30). France's New Security Law May Have Just Sparked a "George Floyd" Moment. mintpressnews.com Sparked by a new bill that would make publishing photos of police illegal and a viral video soon after that shows French police brutally beating a black man, it appears that France may be headed for its own "George Floyd" moment.

teleSUR (2020-11-30). Bolivia: Gov't To Implement New Economic Measures. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's government announced last Sunday that it would take a series of economic measures to reactive the economy to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | President Luis Arce said via Twitter that his cabinet "will define the new measures to boost the domestic economy from next December." Arce also assured that the government "will optimize expenses and reactivate public investment to generate job…

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-11-30). Amnesty International Reveals Extent of Facebook, YouTube Complicity in Vietnamese State Repression. commondreams.org "For millions of Vietnamese netizens, Facebook was the great hope for helping to build a free and open society—and it still has the power to be," said Amnesty's lead regional campaigner. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/viet.jpg

Sophia Purdy-Moore (2020-11-29). Black Friday sales reveal how far we are from an ethical, sustainable future. thecanary.co Black Friday saw flash sales in fashion, beauty, technology, and beyond, in which corporations encouraged consumers to buy products at heavily reduced prices. While many took part in the nationwide spending spree, others highlighted the social and environmental costs of the mass consumption these dramatic sales encouraged. | Some took to social media to share their concerns; the GMB Union staged a protest outside Amazon's London HQ highlighting "dehumanising" working conditions at the company's warehouses. This year's Black Friday highlighted the extent of exploitative corporate behaviour. | Black Friday sale…

Steve Topple (2020-11-29). A Tory MP just took 'tone deaf' to a whole new level. thecanary.co A tweet by a Conservative MP seemed rather tone deaf. Because the seeming ignorance he displayed in just a few characters was quite something to behold — even by Tory standards. But delving deeper, was he actually using the NHS and its staff to make a political point against his own government? | 'Doing a Redwood': | Veteran MP John Redwood is clearly not happy with his government's approach to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Because he