(2021-08-19). Venezuela's Arreaza: Almagro Should be Investigated for Bolivia's 2019 Coup & Massacres. orinocotribune.com On Wednesday, August 18, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, spoke in favor of investigating the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, for his role in the coup against Evo Morales in November 2019, and for supporting the de facto government of Jeanine àÅñez and her human rights violations. | The statement was made by Arreaza in a tweet published this Wednesday that read: "the Interdisciplinary Group of Experts of the IACHR [Inter-American Commission on Human Rights] confirmed serious human rights violations in Bolivia during the de facto governme…
(2021-08-18). Facebook Censorship Police Nix Anything Related To New Taliban Government Of Afghanistan. moguldom.com Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan following the July 6 drawdown of U.S. military troops, social media platforms have been struggling with how to handle content about the new government. Anything Taliban-related is becoming a no-no on Facebook. The Taliban is considered by most other governments to be an oppressive regime, especially toward women. A Facebook executive said the …
(2021-08-18). Talibanned? Social media wrangles with accounts deemed 'terrorist' as Taliban returns to power in Afghanistan. rt.com 
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have come down on opposing sides of the free speech debate, for once unable to agree upon whether to ban the Taliban as a 'controversial' entity, after the Islamic group took over Afghanistan. | Facebook, which claims it has blacklisted Taliban-linked groups under its "dangerous organizations policy" for "years" due to US Treasury Department sanctions, does not plan to alter its approach now, a spokesperson declared on Tuesday. Instead, Facebook will defer to the "authority of the international community." | This policy holds for its subsidiary corporations Instagram and WhatsApp…
(2021-08-18). US Senator's tweet over Taiwan provokes Chinese threats of war. wsws.org The US debacle in Afghanistan has brought forth panicked calls in Washington for the US to shore up its prestige internationally by aggressively backing its allies and confronting its rivals—chiefly China.
(2021-08-18). Belarusian Officers Push Migrants Across Lithuania Border, Briefly Encroach (Video). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On August 17th, Belarusian officers armed with shields and riot gear forcibly pushed a group of 35 irregular migrants into Lithuania, and in the process entered Lithuanian territory. | Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT) shared a video of the incident on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon. It said that Belarus first published the footage, but omitted the part where the officers can be seen in Lithuanian territory. | "Belarusian officers wearing riot gear were the ones…
(2021-08-18). Not notable enough? UN torture rapporteur who defended Assange gets rejected by Twitter for verification. rt.com 
Twitter has apparently never heard of UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer — an outspoken defender of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — since it denied his verification request, saying he wasn't notable enough. | "Seriously?" Melzer tweeted on Wednesday, posting a screenshot of the message he received from Twitter's Verification service saying that "the evidence provided did not meet our criteria for notability." | "I am an official international mandate holder of [UN special procedures experts] appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, with an official webpage @UNHumanRights & countless p…
(2021-08-18). Poland deploys 1,000 troops, seals border with Belarus. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Poland strengthens security on Belarus border "The border is sealed, and the Border Guard has been supported for a week by 1,000 Polish Army soldiers," Deputy Interior Minister Maciej WƒÖsik said in a tweet late on Tuesday. "We act quickly and effectively," he added. **** In a joint statement issued [earlier this month], Polish Prime …
(2021-08-18). Reporter Gets Death Threats After DeSantis Press Sec. Tweets Attacks Against Him. truthout.org 
A journalist said he faced death threats after Christina Pushaw, press secretary to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), responded to an article by him saying she would put him "on blast" unless he changed its content and headline to her liking. | Brendan Farrington, who writes for The Associated Press,
(2021-08-18). Peru's Foreign Minister Resigns over Controversial Statements on Terrorism. orinocotribune.com Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Héctor Béjar submitted his resignation after the scandal caused by his statements about the organization Sendero Luminoso and the role of the Peruvian Navy during the Fujimori dictatorship. | On Tuesday, August 17, Foreign Affairs Minister Héctor Béjar submitted his resignation after a controversial statement on terrorism and the Peruvian Navy became public, reported local Peruvian radio station RPP. | RPP cited sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; however, before that, Prime Minister Guido Bellido had already indicated in a Twitter post that "there will be changes for t…
(2021-08-18). Taliban "Islam" versus the Islam of the Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an. juancole.com 
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — British academic Abdul-Azim Ahmed of Cardiff University, an expert on mosques in the UK, complained on Twitter that he was invited onto television to debate whether the Taliban represent Islam: Just had a call from a journo asking if I could go on live to debate whether the Taliban represent …