Monthly Archives: October 2020

2020-10-31: News Headlines

_____ (2020-10-31). Draft Debacle: Bellingcat Smears OPCW Whistleblower, Journalists With False Letter, Farcical Claims. strategic-culture.org Bellingcat claimed to have uncovered a letter that disproves OPCW inspectors and journalists who challenged the censorship of a Syria chemical weapons probe. But in one of many falsehoods, Bellingcat's "letter" was in fact only a draft that was never sent — and only further exposes the cover-up. | Aaron MATÉ | Bellingcat, the NATO member state-funded website that has participated in a propaganda effort to accuse Syria of a chemical weapons attack in April 2018 and justify the US-led bombing that followed, has published a new falsehood-ridden attack on an OPCW whistleblower whose suppressed findings exposed…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-10-31). Cultivated Lunacy, Nuclear Deterrence and Banning the Nuke. zcomm.org In looking at the debates on nuclear weapons, one tension remains ineradicable. Those who do not possess such weapons, nor put their stake in their murderously reassuring properties, have little interest in seeing them kept…

Virginia Rodino (2020-10-30). Why I'm Voting Green in 2020. globalresearch.ca Author's note: Kevin and I worked on this article together right before his untimely passing on September 6. I met Kevin during Ralph Nader's 2004 presidential campaign. Throughout the years since, I appreciated seeing his anti-imperialist and eco-socialist arguments strengthen …

Serge Halimi (2020-10-30). France: No Change for Thirty Years. counterpunch.org France, which is already facing health, environmental, economic and social woes, has also endured a series of blows in the form of terrorist attacks. Thus the calls to mobilise for war. Again. But destroying an enemy that is often very hard to find always requires more powerful weapons than last time. Not artillery and tanks

Dave Lindorff (2020-10-30). Effective January 1, 2021 Nuclear Weapons Will Be Illegal. zcomm.org The task, going forward, is to use the new UN treaty banning these weapons to pressure the nations of the world to eliminate them for good…

John Krzyzaniak (2020-10-30). The Nuclear Ban Treaty Is Set to Enter Force. Experts Explain What Comes Next. globalresearch.ca Seventy-five years after their destructive power was first unleashed, nuclear weapons are about to be officially and explicitly prohibited by international law. For the average person, it may come as a surprise to know that nuclear weapons, dreadful as they …

_____ (2020-10-30). America's Still Strangelovian Schemes To 'Win' Nuclear Wars. popularresistance.org A full 56 years after Peter Sellers roasted America's nuclear absurdity in Stanley Kubrick's dark comedy classic Dr. Strangelove, Pentagon planners remain dedicated to delusions. That old Pete's three-role — in three nationalities — performative evisceration of the fantasy that nuclear wars can be won didn't stick raises serious questions about human nature, and our species's survival prospects. Don't take my word for it: just six years ago Eric Schlosser, author of Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, penned a piece in the New Yorker titled…

Greg Shupak (2020-10-30). The Weapons Industry Doesn't Care Who's President. thenation.com The Weapons Industry Doesn't Care Who's President…

Dave Lindorff (2020-10-29). Nuclear Weapons Will Soon Be Illegal Under International Law. counterpunch.org Flash! Nuclear bombs and warheads have just joined landmines, germ and chemical bombs and fragmentation bombs as illegal weapons under international law, as on Oct. 24 a 50th nation, the Central American country of Honduras, ratified and signed a UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Of course, the reality is that despite this outlawing of

MEE staff (2020-10-29). US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital. middleeasteye.net US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital | Saudi coalition spokesman said bomb-laden Houthi drones were launched toward the capital 'deliberately and systematically to target civilians' | Thu, 10/29/2020 – 15: 25 | Brian Hook, then-US special representative on Iran, on 21 June 2019 checks what Saudi officials said were Iran-made Houthi missiles and drones intercepted over Saudi territory (A…

Julia Kassem (2020-10-29). Trump and Biden: Cold-War Dinosaurs. counterpunch.org If Americans have a modicum of memory, it is clear that baseless, warmongering accusations have time and time again been the precursor for winning consent over upcoming imperialist hostility. Accusing Iraq of harboring "weapons of mass destruction" in 2003, those that care to remember the administration of former President George W. Bush recalled the widespread condemnation from the left over how a lie cost over 1 million lives.

Carla Stea (2020-10-29). China: "Nuclear 'Sword of Damocles' Jeopardizes the Survival of Humanity". Entry In Force of Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. globalresearch.ca Background: An Auspicious October | October 2, 2020: United Nations High Level Meeting Commemorating and Promoting the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: This Meeting Was Boycotted by United Kingdom, United States and France, AGAIN! | For many years …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-29). China imposes sanctions on US arms companies over Taiwan arms deals. peoplesdispatch.org The announcement of sanctions comes in response to arms deals signed by Taiwan and the US worth billions of dollars. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Space & Security will be among the companies to be sanctioned…

WSWS (2020-10-29). US threatens military strikes against Iran and Venezuela. wsws.org Washington has indicated it is prepared to use armed force to prevent Iran from selling weapons to Venezuela, potentially attacking both countries.

Aaron Maté (2020-10-28). Chomsky: OPCW cover-up of Syria probe is 'shocking'. mronline.org Noam Chomsky says that the OPCW's cover-up, under U.S. pressure, of a Syria chemical weapons probe raises "very severe suspicions."

Adam Khalil (2020-10-28). Israel normalisation with Sudan 'deals blow' to Hamas in Gaza. middleeasteye.net Israel normalisation with Sudan 'deals blow' to Hamas in Gaza | Palestinian sources claim movement's procurement of weapons affected, though others say arms route dried up long ago | Wed, 10/28/2020 – 12: 22 | Ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (R) meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the Nur mosque in Khartoum on 30 December 2011 (AFP) | The normalisation agreement between Israel and Sudan…

2020-10-30: News Headlines

Dave Lindorff (2020-10-30). Effective January 1, 2021 Nuclear Weapons Will Be Illegal. zcomm.org The task, going forward, is to use the new UN treaty banning these weapons to pressure the nations of the world to eliminate them for good…

Serge Halimi (2020-10-30). France: No Change for Thirty Years. counterpunch.org France, which is already facing health, environmental, economic and social woes, has also endured a series of blows in the form of terrorist attacks. Thus the calls to mobilise for war. Again. But destroying an enemy that is often very hard to find always requires more powerful weapons than last time. Not artillery and tanks

Greg Shupak (2020-10-30). The Weapons Industry Doesn't Care Who's President. thenation.com The Weapons Industry Doesn't Care Who's President…

John Krzyzaniak (2020-10-30). The Nuclear Ban Treaty Is Set to Enter Force. Experts Explain What Comes Next. globalresearch.ca Seventy-five years after their destructive power was first unleashed, nuclear weapons are about to be officially and explicitly prohibited by international law. For the average person, it may come as a surprise to know that nuclear weapons, dreadful as they …

_____ (2020-10-30). America's Still Strangelovian Schemes To 'Win' Nuclear Wars. popularresistance.org A full 56 years after Peter Sellers roasted America's nuclear absurdity in Stanley Kubrick's dark comedy classic Dr. Strangelove, Pentagon planners remain dedicated to delusions. That old Pete's three-role — in three nationalities — performative evisceration of the fantasy that nuclear wars can be won didn't stick raises serious questions about human nature, and our species's survival prospects. Don't take my word for it: just six years ago Eric Schlosser, author of Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, penned a piece in the New Yorker titled…

Julia Kassem (2020-10-29). Trump and Biden: Cold-War Dinosaurs. counterpunch.org If Americans have a modicum of memory, it is clear that baseless, warmongering accusations have time and time again been the precursor for winning consent over upcoming imperialist hostility. Accusing Iraq of harboring "weapons of mass destruction" in 2003, those that care to remember the administration of former President George W. Bush recalled the widespread condemnation from the left over how a lie cost over 1 million lives.

MEE staff (2020-10-29). US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital. middleeasteye.net US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital | Saudi coalition spokesman said bomb-laden Houthi drones were launched toward the capital 'deliberately and systematically to target civilians' | Thu, 10/29/2020 – 15: 25 | Brian Hook, then-US special representative on Iran, on 21 June 2019 checks what Saudi officials said were Iran-made Houthi missiles and drones intercepted over Saudi territory (A…

Carla Stea (2020-10-29). China: "Nuclear 'Sword of Damocles' Jeopardizes the Survival of Humanity". Entry In Force of Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. globalresearch.ca Background: An Auspicious October | October 2, 2020: United Nations High Level Meeting Commemorating and Promoting the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: This Meeting Was Boycotted by United Kingdom, United States and France, AGAIN! | For many years …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-29). China imposes sanctions on US arms companies over Taiwan arms deals. peoplesdispatch.org The announcement of sanctions comes in response to arms deals signed by Taiwan and the US worth billions of dollars. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Space & Security will be among the companies to be sanctioned…

WSWS (2020-10-29). US threatens military strikes against Iran and Venezuela. wsws.org Washington has indicated it is prepared to use armed force to prevent Iran from selling weapons to Venezuela, potentially attacking both countries.

Aaron Maté (2020-10-28). Draft debacle: Bellingcat smears OPCW whistleblower, journalists with false letter, farcical claims. thegrayzone.com Bellingcat claimed to have uncovered a letter that disproves OPCW inspectors and journalists who challenged the censorship of a Syria chemical weapons probe. But in one of many falsehoods, Bellingcat's "letter" was in fact only a draft that was never sent — and only further exposes the cover-up. Bellingcat, the NATO member state-funded website that has participated in a propaganda effort to accuse Syria of a chemical weapons attack in April 2018 and justify the US-led bombing that followed, has …

Aaron Maté (2020-10-28). Chomsky: OPCW cover-up of Syria probe is 'shocking'. mronline.org Noam Chomsky says that the OPCW's cover-up, under U.S. pressure, of a Syria chemical weapons probe raises "very severe suspicions."

Adam Khalil (2020-10-28). Israel normalisation with Sudan 'deals blow' to Hamas in Gaza. middleeasteye.net Israel normalisation with Sudan 'deals blow' to Hamas in Gaza | Palestinian sources claim movement's procurement of weapons affected, though others say arms route dried up long ago | Wed, 10/28/2020 – 12: 22 | Ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (R) meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the Nur mosque in Khartoum on 30 December 2011 (AFP) | The normalisation agreement between Israel and Sudan…

Ralph Nader (2020-10-27). Don't Rush to Declare Victory: Implementing a Two-Week Grace Period After November 3rd So All Voters Can Be Counted. commondreams.org With such large stakes for our fragile democracy, we cannot afford to bypass such a course of action that will assure a peaceful transition in accord with the rule of law. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/early.jpg

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-10-27). Treaty banning all nuclear weapons will become international law. peoplesworld.org A historic moment in the decades-long struggle for total nuclear disarmament was reached Oct. 24, United Nations Day, as Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted by 122 members, or nearly two-thirds of the UN General Assembly's then-192 members, in July …

MEE correspondent (2020-10-27). Yemen currency war sees inflation spiral as Saudi-led fuel siege intensifies. middleeasteye.net Yemen currency war sees inflation spiral as Saudi-led fuel siege intensifies | As fighting has lessened in recent months, Yemenis say the economic war being waged is just as devastating | Tue, 10/27/2020 – 13: 03 | Old and new banknotes at a currency exchange in Aden (AFP) | While the violence of the war in Yemen generally captures the headlines, and has lessened in recent months, escal…

_____ (2020-10-27). Britain's Nuclear Weapons: Money for Nothing. strategic-culture.org On 19 October the BBC It must be made clear that there was no possibility this officer or any other single person could in some way commit the submarine to despa…

Staff (2020-10-27). Nuclear Weapons Will Soon Be Banned Under International Law. truthout.org Nuclear weapons will soon be illegal under international law. Seventy-five years to the day after the founding of the United Nations, the UN The milestone was achieved after years of global efforts spearheaded by the