2020-10-15: News Headlines

Aaron Maté (2020-10-15). OPCW Syria whistleblower and ex-director attacked by U.S., UK, France at UN. mronline.org Ian Henderson, a veteran OPCW inspector who challenged a cover-up of his organization's investigation of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, recently testified before the United Nations Security Council.

William Hartung (2020-10-15). The Art of the Weapons Deal in the Age of Trump. counterpunch.org The United States has the dubious distinction of being the world's leading arms dealer. It dominates the global trade in a historic fashion and nowhere is that domination more complete than in the endlessly war-torn Middle East. There, believe it or not, the U.S. controls nearly half the arms market. From Yemen to Libya to

MEE and agencies (2020-10-14). Azerbaijan bought $77m worth of arms from Turkey a month before fighting. middleeasteye.net Azerbaijan bought $77m worth of arms from Turkey a month before fighting | Export data shows Turkish arms sales to Azerbaijan rose sixfold in first nine months of 2020 | Wed, 10/14/2020 – 17: 43 | Turkish arms sold to Azerbaijan include drones, rocket launchers, ammunition and other weapons that arrived after July 2020 (Reuters) | Azerbaijan bought $77m worth of arms from Turkey a month be…

Stephen Lendman (2020-10-14). Trump Regime/Russia New START Talks at Impasse. globalresearch.ca As long as nuclear weapons exist, the chance of their use ahead — as once before unjustifiably — is ominously high. | Humanity has a clear choice. Eliminate these weapons entirely or risk their eliminating us. | The history of warfare shows …

news.un (2020-10-14). Continued violence strains Colombia peace process, Security Council hears. news.un.org Enormous challenges remain on the road to lasting peace in Colombia, where despite ongoing attacks and stigmatization, the vast majority of former FARC-EP fighters who laid down their weapons under a 2016 peace agreement with the Government, remain engaged in the reintegration process, the head of the UN mission in the South American country says.

_____ (2020-10-14). Military Bases Never Go Unused. popularresistance.org If, like me, you have the unfortunate habit of pointing out the dishonesty of the cases made for various wars, and you begin to persuade people that the wars are not actually for the eradication of the weapons of mass destruction that they proliferate, or the elimination of the terrorists that they generate, or the spreading of the democracy that they stifle, most people will soon ask "Well, then, what are the wars for?" | At this point, there are two common mistakes. One is to suppose there's a single answer. The other is to suppose that the answers must all make rational sense.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-14). Security situation in world has worsened: Iran UN envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (MNA) — Iran's ambassador to the United Nations warned against return of Cold War-era mentality, stating that threat of weapons of mass destruction and outer space and cybernetic threats have worsened security situation in the world.

Staff (2020-10-13). Headlines for October 13, 2020. democracynow.org Dems Warn of Threat to ACA, Roe v. Wade, as Hearing Begins for Trump SCOTUS Nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Trump Returns to Campaigning as COVID Status Remains Unclear, COVID-19 Cases Soaring in Europe, Russia, as India Becomes Second Country to Hit 7 Million Cases, Johnson & Johnson Halts Vaccine Trials; More Evidence of Reinfection Revealed, GA Early Voters Face Long Lines; CA Officials Warn GOP over Illegal Drop Sites, Pascua Yaqui Tribe Sues in Arizona over Voter Suppression Efforts, WH Moves Forward with Taiwan Weapons Sales as U.S. Officials Tell Taiwan to Ramp Up Defense, Bangladeshi Government Approves Death…

Katie Miernicki (2020-10-13). After summer of violent repression, Philadelphia City Council considers banning "crowd control" weapons. liberationnews.org On October 7, Philadelphia City Council held a virtual hearing regarding police brutality in the city and the violent repression of protests over the summer sparked by the murder of George Floyd. In response to public outrage over the Philadelphia Police Department's abhorrent treatment of protestors and residents during the summer's uprisings, councilmember Helen Gym, …

_____ (2020-10-13). How Azerbaijan Is Lobbying Washington to Sanitize Its War. strategic-culture.org Documents reveal a flurry of activity to convince beltway elites that Armenia is the aggressor and the U.S. should favor Azerbaijan. | Barbara BOLAND | As conflict heats up over Nagorno-Karabakh, a tiny Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, a covert battle is taking place on Capitol Hill to win the hearts and minds of lawmakers in Washington. | Since hostilities began on September 27, hundreds of lives have been lost as Azerbaijani drones have flown within 20 miles of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, and an Armenian strike was carried out on a military base in Azerbaijan's second city, Ganja. | "The next targets could be…

Farooque Chowdhury (2020-10-12). Amidst pandemic, while billions struggle for survival, billionaires' wealth tops $10 trillion. mronline.org Billionaires are "smart" enough. Their wealth now, in this pandemic, tops trillions of dollars.

Michael T. Klare (2020-10-12). The Nuclearization of American Diplomacy. counterpunch.org On August 21st, six nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress bombers, representing approximately one-seventh of the war-ready U.S. B-52H bomber fleet, flew from their home base in North Dakota to Fairford Air Base in England for several weeks of intensive operations over Europe. Although the actual weapons load of those giant bombers was kept secret, each of them is capable of carrying eight AGM-86B nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) in its bomb bay.

sputniknews (2020-10-11). Video: Hooded Youths Launch Fireworks at Cars and Residents in Sheffield. sputniknews.com Bonfire Night in the United Kingdom is known for its extravagant fireworks displays and burning effigies. However, in the days running up to the event, when personal fireworks are sold prolifically, they are often used by gangs as weapons, leading to chaos in the streets in recent years.

Thomas Meisenhelder (2020-10-11). Declining American Hegemony Could Be A Good Thing. commondreams.org We spend more on weapons of war than any other country in the world. Researchers at Brown University have found that since the horror of 9/11, the so-called "war on terrorism" has killed 800,000, displaced 37,000,000, and cost taxpayers $6.4 trillion. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/us-empire-2_0_0.jpeg