2021-02-04: News Headlines

CP Editor (2021-02-04). "Judas and the Black Messiah" Director Shaka King on Fred Hampton, the Black Panthers & COINTELPRO. counterpunch.org

Al Neal (2021-02-04). First week of Black History Month: Stacey Abrams, BLM nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. peoplesworld.org It seems more than fitting that in the first week of Black History Month Stacey Abrams has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Abrams, whose on-the-ground work is credited with boosting voter turnout during the 2020 elections, helping then-presidential candidate Joe Biden secure an historic win in Georgia, was nominated by Lars Haltbrekken, …

Eds. (2021-02-04). Battle over legality of cannabis grow clubs hits high court as cops clamp down on dagga lab. mronline.org A battle by a business that 'privately' grew and prepared cannabis for clients, to have this service declared lawful, landed in the Western Cape high court this week—this as police clamped down on another dagga laboratory.

Suadad al-Salhy (2021-02-04). Islamic State regrouping in northern Iraq and relying on women operatives. middleeasteye.net Islamic State regrouping in northern Iraq and relying on women operatives | Militant group capitalising on breakdown in relations between Baghdad and Erbil to carry out attacks from its base in the Hamrin Basin | Thu, 02/04/2021 – 13: 17 | A policeman stands guard at the Sadriya market in the centre of Iraq's capital Baghdad (AFP) | Islamic State group (IS) militants have been regrouping in n…

Ramzy Baroud (2021-02-04). The Palestinian boycott of Israel is not racist, it is anti-racist. zcomm.org The boycott movement aims to hold the oppressor colonial state of Israel accountable as it places a price tag on its military occupation and apartheid…

Joe Glenton (2021-02-04). Police accused of 'harassment' after Palestine Action co-founder arrested for blackmail. thecanary.co Palestine Action co-founder Richard Goddard was The arrest, which was

MEE and agencies (2021-02-04). Belgium court sentences Iranian envoy to 20 years in jail over Paris bomb plot. middleeasteye.net Belgium court sentences Iranian envoy to 20 years in jail over Paris bomb plot | Antwerp trial was the first of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran's 1979 revolution | Thu, 02/04/2021 – 14: 08 | A heavily armed policeman stands outside the courthouse in Antwerp (AFP) | An Iranian diplomat accused of planning to bomb a meeting of an exiled opposition group was s…

yenisafak (2021-02-04). At least 24 irregular migrants held in Turkey. yenisafak.com At least 24 irregular migrants were held in different parts of Turkey on Thursday, sources said.Nine Iranian nationals were held in the Beyazkoy district of the northwestern Tekirdag province, close to the border with Greece.They were found on a bus stopped for a check by gendarmerie personnel, said the sources, asking not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The vehicle's driver, a Turkish national identified by the initials I.O., was arrested.In the central Nigde province, 15 Syrian nationals were held after police teams stopped and searched a bus on a highway connecting southeast Turkey to…

Online News Editor (2021-02-04). Over 100 arrested in Nepal as vandalism marks anti-government protests. laprensalatina.com Kathmandu, Feb 4 (efe-epa).- Nepal police on Thursday arrested at least 100 protesters after vandalism marked a country-wide general strike against the government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The call to strike was given by the ruling Nepal Communist Party's splinter faction led by former guerrilla commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and former communist …

Richard Falk (2021-02-04). The B'tselem Report On Israeli Apartheid. zcomm.org It is only Palestinian resistance from within and global solidarity from without that can have any prospect of achieving Palestinian rights and a peaceful future for both peoples…

Ashley Curtin (2021-02-04). New report shows persistent racial and ethnic disparities in youth incarcerations. nationofchange.org While youth incarceration has dropped by almost half over the last decade, Back and American Indian youth are more likely to be incarcerated than white youth.

Jon Levy (2021-02-04). Biden Administration Accused of Supporting Apartheid. Chagos Islands and US Military Base in Diego Garcia. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | The United Nations General Assembly, African Union, and International Court of …

Darryl Lorenzo Wellington (2021-02-04). Black Lives Matter Deserves Nobel Prize. progressive.org The organization touched a chord in this land and overseas by making us acknowledge that racism is a scourge on human progress.

Staff (2021-02-03). A Coup in Burma: Did Military Seize Power to Avoid ICC Prosecution for Rohingya Genocide? democracynow.org We speak with a Burmese dissident about the military coup underway in Burma as de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been arrested. The coup unfolded hours before lawmakers were to take their seats in the opening of parliament, following a November election in which Aung San Suu Kyi's party won over 80% of the contested seats in the Burmese parliament and the military made unsubstantiated claims of fraud. Hundreds of lawmakers, activists and human rights defenders have also been detained since the coup, and telecommunications have been cut in parts of Burma, which the military calls Myanmar. "The military decided…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-03). Ethiopia says it foiled attack on UAE embassy in Addis Ababa. middleeasteye.net Ethiopia says it foiled attack on UAE embassy in Addis Ababa | Intelligence and Security Service says 15 people arrested were working at direction of foreigners, local media reports | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 21: 10 | Ethiopian police before inauguration ceremony in Addis Ababa's Sheger park last September (AFP) | Ethiopian authorities arrested 15 people in an alleged plot to attack the United Ar…

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-02-03). The Lesson Of The BLM Protests: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Remember when Americans shook the earth with massive protests demanding an end to the police state and the entire liberal establishment just kept saying "I hear you, I agree with you" and then did absolutely nothing to even reduce police brutality? It's important to remember such lessons. | People would ask me "Why are you supporting Black Lives Matter Caitlin? Don't you see all the corporations and corporate Dems support it? Why would they do that if it didn't serve them?" This is why they did it. Empty words of support can defuse a situation far easier than open opposition. | Imagine if all the plutocrats, pun…

Joe Sims (2021-02-03). Turning point in freedom road. peoplesworld.org This keynote, presented to the CPUSA National Committee on Jan. 23, 2021, has been updated with the input of NC members. It's hard to overstate the importance of last Wednesday's Inauguration. Trump's gone, the coup was averted, and democracy prevailed. The fascist danger experienced a setback — at least for now. For those who believed …

Ralph Nader (2021-02-03). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. commondreams.org Allowing the Trumpian half of his brain to overpower his judgment and vote to acquit Dangerous Donald would spell disaster for the Republican Party (assuming the Democratic Party doesn't go to sleep as it did after Obama's win in 2008). | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

yenisafak (2021-02-03). 'Peaceful future will not arise until Israel dismantles apartheid'. yenisafak.com A former UN human rights rapporteur and international law expert at the US-based Princeton University said a "peaceful future" in the Palestinian issue "will not arise until Israel dismantles apartheid.""A peaceful future will not arise until Israel dismantles apartheid and agrees to treat Palestinians under human rights standards, including respect for the Palestinian right of self-determination," said Richard Falk in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency.A leading Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem, recently published a report labeling Israel as an "apartheid state" over its policy of favoring Jew…

Online News Editor (2021-02-03). Over 1,400 arrested after Putin critic Navalny jailed in Russia. laprensalatina.com Moscow, Feb 3 (efe-epa).- Russian police have arrested more than 1,400 people from various places during overnight protests to support jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, a rights monitoring group said on Wednesday. The OVD-Info that keeps track of political persecutions in Russia said the police detained 1,145 protesters from Moscow streets. Nearly 250 were arrested …

_____ (2021-02-03). Minority Rule Always Destined For Collapse. strategic-culture.org Governments that rely on support from a minority of their nation's population are doomed to fail. | The Republican Party of the United States has reconstructed itself as the party of Donald Trump and, as such, has become no different than the minority rule political parties of Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa. | By seizing de facto control of the Republican Party, once a center-right party, and moving it to the conspiratorial far-right fringe of the political spectrum, Trump and his supporters have established themselves and their revisionist party as representing a minority of Americans. Because the U.S. Sen…

news.un (2021-02-03). Russia: UN rights office 'deeply dismayed' by Navalny sentencing. news.un.org The UN human rights office, OHCHR, expressed dismay on Wednesday over the sentencing of Russian opposition politician and activist Aleksei Navalny, and urged the authorities to release scores of his supporters arrested during rallies protesting his detention.

RT (2021-02-02). 'Waste of taxes!' Sussex police arrest man for serving free soup in local park (VIDEO). rt.com Police in East Sussex have arrested a local man for handing out free soup in a park, insisting the charitable act violated pandemic policy by gathering more than two people outdoors. Meanwhile, real crime in the UK still climbs. | Nick Smith was arrested last Tuesday in an East Sussex park, allegedly for violating Covid-19 regulations while distributing free soup. Smith has distributed soup in the park on a weekly basis, and plans to continue his work "every Monday through lockdown." | Police reportedly invited Smith to the scene on Tuesday based on an anonymous report on Monday of a "regular gathering wher…

George Wuerthner (2021-02-02). Putting Our Public Forests into Carbon Reserves. counterpunch.org The Biden Administration supports protecting 30% of US lands by 2030 or what is termed the 30 x 30 proposal. One of the best ways to meet that 30 by 30 goals would be to put all national forests and BLM lands off-limits to logging. Not only does this help to move the country closer

Monica Moorehead (2021-02-02). NFL union's solidarity with Bessemer Amazon workers right to a union. workers.org Following the May 25, 2020, public murder of 46-year-old George Floyd by Minneapolis police, masses of people took to the streets for almost the entire summer from one coast to another in protest of not only what happened to him, but against racist police brutality and white-supremacist violence in general. . . . |

Staff (2021-02-02). Alexei Navalny Faces "Kafkaesque" Charges in Russia for Breaking Parole While in Poison-Induced Coma. democracynow.org Russian authorities have arrested thousands of people during anti-government protests in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been held in jail since returning to Russia on January 17 after recovering in Germany from an attempt on his life in August using the nerve agent Novichok. Navalny has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the poisoning that nearly killed him. While Navalny has emerged as Russia's leading opposition figure and anti-corruption campaigner, his political roots have links to right-wing nationalist and anti-immigrant causes. Joshua Yaffa, Moscow corresp…

MEE staff (2021-02-02). Biden urged to publicly support rights of citizens to boycott Israel. middleeasteye.net Biden urged to publicly support rights of citizens to boycott Israel | Human Rights Watch calls on Biden administration to renounce Trump-era policy that labelled BDS movement as antisemitic | Tue, 02/02/2021 – 16: 47 | The BDS movement was founded in 2005 and modelled after a similar campaign credited with ending apartheid in South Africa (AFP/File photo) | A leading human rights group has called on US Presid…

RT (2021-02-02). 5 children and 1 man killed in apparent mass shooting in Oklahoma, police say. rt.com Six people, including five small children, were killed in a shooting in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The suspected gunman was arrested after a brief chase, but police are still investigating the circumstances of the hideous crime. | Police responded to a call of a suspected shooting at a residence at 1: 30 a.m. Tuesday. The responding officers said they found an armed suspect and opened fire, but missed and the suspect fled. The alleged assailant was eventually detained after a brief chase and is now in custody. | Police say they found one man and four small children dead inside the house. A fifth child died while being…

lombardi (2021-02-02). NYC cops Keep Rioting; Protesters Resist. dsausa.org In contrast to January 6 in Washington, DC, police in New York on Martin Luther King Jr. Day reverted to type. At least 29 people were arrested and multiple protesters were hospitalized when NYPD broke up a Black Lives Matter march held in honor of MLK Day, the Gothamist reported. As marchers streamed off the…

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2021-02-02). Rep. Jamaal Bowman Calls On Israel to Vaccinate Occupied Palestinians Against Coronavirus. commondreams.org "Israel, as an occupying power, has a responsibility to provide vaccines to the Palestinian people," the first-term congressman asserted in a letter to Israel's acting consul general. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Online News Editor (2021-02-02). Putin critic Navalny sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. laprensalatina.com Moscow, Feb 2 (efe-epa).- Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday, as a judge imposed a suspended sentence from 2014 that the European Court of Human Rights has dismissed as arbitrary. Navalny was arrested on 17 January when he returned to Russia from Germany after months of recovering …

Fight Back (2021-02-02). Tampa activists rally against police brutality and Gov. DeSantis' anti-protest bill. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On January 30, the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC), alongside other local organizations and around two dozen people gathered near city hall to demand that state legislators reject HB1, the repressive bill being proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis. | William Blake, a member of TBCAC, said, "This bill is a huge attack on those fighting for police accountability in Florida. It would legalize running over a protester, something we've seen many times in Tampa, as well as giving felonies to those exercising basic constitutional rights." The bill, which was proposed during the uprisings of the sum…

SJUECP (2021-02-02). Wednesday 2/3: Black Lives Matter At School: California Schools Edition. indybay.org Online event…

WSWS (2021-02-02). Rochester, New York police pepper sprayed handcuffed nine-year-old girl. wsws.org The unending wave of police brutality in the US, directed toward the working class and most vulnerable, was exemplified by the assault by Rochester police officers last week.

Staff (2021-02-01). "Judas and the Black Messiah" Director Shaka King on Fred Hampton, the Black Panthers & COINTELPRO. democracynow.org A highly anticipated new feature film, "Judas and the Black Messiah," tells the story of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and William O'Neal, the FBI informant who infiltrated the Illinois Black Panther Party to collect information that ultimately led to Hampton's killing in 1969 by law enforcement officers. The film is premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and stars Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton, LaKeith Stanfield as O'Neal and Martin Sheen as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Shaka King, the film's director and co-writer, says focusing on Hampton and O'Neal was a way "to make 'The Departed' inside the world of…

Franziska Kleiner (2021-02-01). For the German left, this is a moment of reckoning. peoplesdispatch.org An annual socialist demonstration in Berlin was the target of police brutality. The left must unite against this unwarranted suppression and the practice of banning socialist organizations behind it…

RT (2021-02-01). 12 arrested in SWAT operation after activists armed with KNIVES & AXES briefly occupy hotel in Olympia, WA (VIDEOS). rt.com A dozen people were arrested after armed protesters attempted to forcibly take over the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia, Washington. A SWAT team cleared out the hotel and escorted guests and employees out of the building. | Demonstrators armed with hatchets, batons, and knives stormed the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Olympia on Sunday, reportedly assaulting an employee who tried to lock the establishment's doors. The rest of the staff barricaded themselves in the hotel's basement,

RT (2021-02-01). 'Appalled': Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sends personal message to players vowing support after racist abuse. rt.com Roman Abramovich has vowed to direct more funds to efforts to stamp out racism in football as the billionaire Chelsea owner offered his support following racist abuse directed at Blues defender Reece James. | James, 21, recently shared the vile abuse he has been subjected to online, demanding that "something needs to change." | Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford also spoke out over the weekend against abuse he has received, while teammates Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe were targeted in recent days. | Elsewhere, a man was arrested after a racist message was sent to West Bromwich Albion midfielder…

Fight Back (2021-02-01). Philippines: Mark the 50th anniversary of the Diliman Commune. fightbacknews.org Fight Back New Service is circulating the following February 1 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines. | Today we mark the 50th anniversary of the Diliman Commune, a 9-day uprising of the students of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. The Diliman Commune was part of the widespread strikes and protest actions against oil price increases, imperialist control of the economy and police brutality under the Marcos regime. | The student uprising was part of the continuum of the surging national democratic mass movement of students and workers from the previous decade. It broke out…

sputniknews (2021-02-01). Myanmar's Military Shows NDL, Local Armed Groups That It Harnesses Full Power, Scholars Say. sputniknews.com On 1 February, Myanmar's Tatmadaw declared a year-long state of emergency and arrested National League for Democracy Party (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top government officials over alleged voter fraud. International observers have discussed potential scenarios in the wake of the military's takeover.