Monthly Archives: August 2020

2020-08-07: News Headlines

Alan Macleod (2020-08-07). Don't Let His New Book Fool You, Bush Laid the Groundwork for Today's Immigration Nightmare. mintpressnews.com George W. Bush drastically increased the militarization of the Mexican border, sending 6,000 national guardsmen to patrol it, greatly increasing detention capacity for immigrants and using drones to patrol the area.

news.un (2020-08-07). Countries urged to target smugglers after 27 migrants die at sea. news.un.org Two UN agencies are calling for greater action to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks following the deaths of 27 migrants off the coast of Mauritania, northwest Africa.

teleSUR (2020-08-07). Migrants Die In The Atlantic Ocean Trying To Reach Spain. telesurenglish.net About 50 migrants Thursday died in the Atlantic Ocean after their barges sank while trying to reach the Canary Islands in Spain. | RELATED: | Spanish outlets revealed that one of the boats broke down off the coast of Mauritania, and at least 40 people died. Also, 10 migrants died after another vessel shipwrecked near to the coast of Western Sahara. The only survivor told AFP that their boat broke down. | "For a l…

Bruce Hobson (2020-08-07). The US Left Needs Humility to Understand Mexican Politics. counterpunch.org The US Left Needs Humility to Understand the Politics of México The recent visit to the US by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) for a meeting with President Trump has stirred a great deal of media reaction in the US and México. Nearly all US media articles about the visit characterize it as

Staff (2020-08-07). Navajo Nation's Shortage of Clean Water Is Impeding Efforts to Control COVID. truthout.org Growing up in Vanderwagen, an arid, mountainous checker-board region of the Navajo Nation near the Arizona-New Mexico border, Sunny Dooley learned from an early age that safe, clean water was as precious as a rare mineral, and just as hard to find. | Because of naturally occurring uranium and arsenic in the groundwater, the nearest clean well was two miles away. Dooley and her family used to make the trip on foot with steel buckets they would drop down the well before lugging them back, a trai…

RT (2020-08-06). Biden says Latinos are 'incredibly diverse,' UNLIKE BLACK VOTERS. rt.com Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden took time out from a question asked by a Latina reporter to state that while black voters all think alike (with "notable exceptions"), Latino voters are "incredibly diverse" in opinion. | In the midst of answering a question on whether he would extend protected status for Venezuelan immigrants during a Wednesday town hall, Biden veered off on a self-congratulatory tangent touting his supposed knowledge of the Latino community. | What you all know but most people don't know, unlike the African American community with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an i…

George Wuerthner (2020-08-06). Trouble in Paradise Valley. counterpunch.org Paradise Valley, Montana, is aptly named. The Yellowstone River flows north to Livingston, Montana, framed by the Absaroka Mountains on the east and the Gallatin Range on the West. It's one of the most stunning landscapes in the entire West. Due to its location immediately adjacent to Yellowstone Park and the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, Paradise

teleSUR (2020-08-06). Mexico: People Demand 'Justice and Memory' for Missing Persons. telesurenglish.net In Mexico, the missing persons' relatives Wednesday performed a "Walk for Memory and Justice", a demonstration that asks President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) for answers on the disappearance of over 73,000 people in the country. | RELATED: | "Victims have the right to be looked for and to be found," Patricia Manzanares said and recalled that she is looking for her son, a federal police officer Juan Hernandez, who disappear…

teleSUR (2020-08-06). Mexican State Bans The Selling Of Junk Food To Children. telesurenglish.net The Mexican state of Oaxaca banned on Thursday the sale of sugary drinks and high-calorie snacks to children, an unprecedented decision aimed at tackling obesity. | RELATED: | The state congress approved the reform to article 20 of the children and adolescents' rights law, with a majority of 31 votes. The decision turns Oaxaca in the first state ever in Mexicos' history to legally prevent the consumption of junk food…

WSWS (2020-08-05). Fascist networks in German police and military issue new death threats. wsws.org A growing number of threatening e-mails and faxes, almost all signed NSU 2.0, have been sent to left-wing artists, immigrants, politicians, journalists and lawyers.

sputniknews (2020-08-05). Explosion Rocks Beirut; Trump Defies SCOTUS, GOP Stimulus Failure. sputniknews.com Lebanon's capital of Beirut is reeling from an explosion on Tuesday that killed more than 135 people, injured thousands more and left the economy crippled. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump continues to push against a Supreme Court ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, making life harder on immigrants.

La Riva 2020 (2020-08-05). Gloria La Riva stands with San Juan County prisoners in their revolt. liberationnews.org Liberation News screenshot of video of San Juan County Adult Detention Center posted by San Juan County Sheriff's Office U.S. presidential candidate Gloria La Riva, who will appear on the ballot in New Mexico and other states on the Party for Socialism and Liberation's ticket, expresses solidarity with the July 13 uprising at San Juan …

Staff (2020-08-04). Headlines for August 4, 2020. democracynow.org Concerns Mount over Politicization of COVID-19 Vaccine, as Trump Lashes Out at "Pathetic" Dr. Birx, WHO Warns There May Never Be a Coronavirus "Silver Bullet", Trump Threatens to Sue Nevada After It Expands Voter Access, Leaked Video Shows George Floyd Pleaded for His Life, Cooperated with Police, Before He Was Killed, Video Shows LAPD Shot Peaceful Protester in the Head as He Held His Arms in the Air, Prosecutor Clears Arkansas Officers Who Pushed Black Man into the Ground for 6.5 Minutes Before He Died, Census Bureau Cuts Short Collection Efforts by One Month, Mexican Man Dies After Falling from Border Wall, Me…

Staff (2020-08-04). "Release Them All": Calls Grow to Stop Jailing Immigrants as Transfers & Deportations Spread COVID. democracynow.org The U.S. government continues to hold tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants in detention centers and jails, ignoring the advice of medical experts as the coronavirus continues to spread. ICE has also continued to transfer and deport people — including those who are infected — making it a global superspreader. We speak with Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, an immigration attorney and co-director of Pangea Legal Services in San Francisco, who himself is undocumented and recently got arrested at a protest outside the mansion of California Governor Gavin Newsom demanding the release of people in sta…

WSWS (2020-08-04). Migrant farmworkers in Spain protest amid COVID-19 surge. wsws.org Low-paid agricultural workers are seen as an entirely dispensable workforce, forced to work back-breaking days in appalling conditions.

Regina Garcia Cano, Michael Casey (2020-08-04). Tsunami of evictions underway as moratoriums end. peoplesworld.org BALTIMORE (AP) — Kelyn Yanez used to clean homes during the day and wait tables at night in the Houston area before the coronavirus. But the mother of three lost both jobs in March because of the pandemic and now is facing eviction. The Honduran immigrant got help from a local church to pay part …

Andrea Flores (2020-08-04). Undocumented Youth Won on DACA, but Trump's a Sore Loser. So What's Next? aclu.org After a rebuke from the Supreme Court, President Trump is again trying to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — a program that protects over 700,000 people from deportation and allows them to work and attend school in the United States, their home. The White House is replacing the full DACA program with a skeleton program that will accept no new applicants and renew protection for only one year, instead of two. , , I served in the Obama administration at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency responsible for creating and launching DACA. It was the resul…

AFP (2020-08-04). Refugees freed from Greek camp 'hell' left homeless. indybay.org When Amir Hussein was finally allowed to leave the horrific migrant camp of Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos, it was supposed to be the end of a year-long odyssey.

Greta Anderson (2020-08-04). Framing Wolves in New Mexico? counterpunch.org Late in May 2020, the Arizona Daily Star ran an article titled, "Advocates question investigations used to target 'problem' wolves," detailing some of the work that Western Watersheds Project has been doing to review and assess Wildlife Services' work on livestock killed by Mexican wolves in New Mexico. Together with my colleague — WWP's Arizona

Pace e Bene and partner (2020-08-04). Thursday 8/6: Virtual 75th Anniversary of Hiroshima & Nagasaki Commemoration from New Mexico. indybay.org Online via livestream…

2020-08-06: News Headlines

George Wuerthner (2020-08-06). Trouble in Paradise Valley. counterpunch.org Paradise Valley, Montana, is aptly named. The Yellowstone River flows north to Livingston, Montana, framed by the Absaroka Mountains on the east and the Gallatin Range on the West. It's one of the most stunning landscapes in the entire West. Due to its location immediately adjacent to Yellowstone Park and the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, Paradise

WSWS (2020-08-05). Fascist networks in German police and military issue new death threats. wsws.org A growing number of threatening e-mails and faxes, almost all signed NSU 2.0, have been sent to left-wing artists, immigrants, politicians, journalists and lawyers.

sputniknews (2020-08-05). Explosion Rocks Beirut; Trump Defies SCOTUS, GOP Stimulus Failure. sputniknews.com Lebanon's capital of Beirut is reeling from an explosion on Tuesday that killed more than 135 people, injured thousands more and left the economy crippled. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump continues to push against a Supreme Court ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, making life harder on immigrants.

La Riva 2020 (2020-08-05). Gloria La Riva stands with San Juan County prisoners in their revolt. liberationnews.org Liberation News screenshot of video of San Juan County Adult Detention Center posted by San Juan County Sheriff's Office U.S. presidential candidate Gloria La Riva, who will appear on the ballot in New Mexico and other states on the Party for Socialism and Liberation's ticket, expresses solidarity with the July 13 uprising at San Juan …

Staff (2020-08-04). Headlines for August 4, 2020. democracynow.org Concerns Mount over Politicization of COVID-19 Vaccine, as Trump Lashes Out at "Pathetic" Dr. Birx, WHO Warns There May Never Be a Coronavirus "Silver Bullet", Trump Threatens to Sue Nevada After It Expands Voter Access, Leaked Video Shows George Floyd Pleaded for His Life, Cooperated with Police, Before He Was Killed, Video Shows LAPD Shot Peaceful Protester in the Head as He Held His Arms in the Air, Prosecutor Clears Arkansas Officers Who Pushed Black Man into the Ground for 6.5 Minutes Before He Died, Census Bureau Cuts Short Collection Efforts by One Month, Mexican Man Dies After Falling from Border Wall, Me…

Staff (2020-08-04). Militarized BORTAC Border Patrol Raids & Ransacks Medical Camp on U.S. Border, Arrests 30 Migrants. democracynow.org In Arizona, heavily armed Border Patrol officers raided the medical camp of humanitarian group No More Deaths and detained 30 migrants whose whereabouts are now unknown. It was the second raid in just two days on the camp, which provides water, food and medical attention to refugees crossing into the United States through the scorching Sonoran Desert. "Immediately after they entered the camp, the first thing they did was round up all of the No More Deaths aid workers and zip-tie them, remove their phones," says Montana Thames, a humanitarian aid worker with No More Deaths. "It was very clear they didn't want any…

Staff (2020-08-04). "Release Them All": Calls Grow to Stop Jailing Immigrants as Transfers & Deportations Spread COVID. democracynow.org The U.S. government continues to hold tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants in detention centers and jails, ignoring the advice of medical experts as the coronavirus continues to spread. ICE has also continued to transfer and deport people — including those who are infected — making it a global superspreader. We speak with Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, an immigration attorney and co-director of Pangea Legal Services in San Francisco, who himself is undocumented and recently got arrested at a protest outside the mansion of California Governor Gavin Newsom demanding the release of people in sta…

WSWS (2020-08-04). Migrant farmworkers in Spain protest amid COVID-19 surge. wsws.org Low-paid agricultural workers are seen as an entirely dispensable workforce, forced to work back-breaking days in appalling conditions.

Andrea Flores (2020-08-04). Undocumented Youth Won on DACA, but Trump's a Sore Loser. So What's Next? aclu.org After a rebuke from the Supreme Court, President Trump is again trying to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — a program that protects over 700,000 people from deportation and allows them to work and attend school in the United States, their home. The White House is replacing the full DACA program with a skeleton program that will accept no new applicants and renew protection for only one year, instead of two. , , I served in the Obama administration at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency responsible for creating and launching DACA. It was the resul…

Regina Garcia Cano, Michael Casey (2020-08-04). Tsunami of evictions underway as moratoriums end. peoplesworld.org BALTIMORE (AP) — Kelyn Yanez used to clean homes during the day and wait tables at night in the Houston area before the coronavirus. But the mother of three lost both jobs in March because of the pandemic and now is facing eviction. The Honduran immigrant got help from a local church to pay part …

AFP (2020-08-04). Refugees freed from Greek camp 'hell' left homeless. indybay.org When Amir Hussein was finally allowed to leave the horrific migrant camp of Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos, it was supposed to be the end of a year-long odyssey.

Greta Anderson (2020-08-04). Framing Wolves in New Mexico? counterpunch.org Late in May 2020, the Arizona Daily Star ran an article titled, "Advocates question investigations used to target 'problem' wolves," detailing some of the work that Western Watersheds Project has been doing to review and assess Wildlife Services' work on livestock killed by Mexican wolves in New Mexico. Together with my colleague — WWP's Arizona

Pace e Bene and partner (2020-08-04). Thursday 8/6: Virtual 75th Anniversary of Hiroshima & Nagasaki Commemoration from New Mexico. indybay.org Online via livestream…

Free Them All Coalition- Bay Area (2020-08-03). Saturday 8/8: Shut Down CA's Concentration Camps: Statewide Day of Action for Immigrant Justice (SF). indybay.org There will be an initial meeting/rally at Justin Herman Plaza and then we will march to the ICE building for another rally. | Please stay tuned for details on a supporting car caravan, led by the SF LowRider Council, which will likely start in the mission and meet up with the march at the ICE building. | Please also stay tuned for actions you can take from home in the days before the action. | Thank you for taking action! #FreeThemAll…

RT (2020-08-03). Former president Medvedev warns Russia set to make it harder for migrants to get work permits as Saudi-style system on cards. rt.com In a surprise move, Russia may tighten visa rules for foreign workers. Former President Dmitry Medvedev says the measure is being considered in response to law and order issues exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. | He told a meeting in Moscow that the possibility of moving to the system favored in Saudi Arabia, where the employer is fully responsible for labor migrants, is being discussed. | "[The expert community] proposes changing the order of entry for migrant workers to Russia," Medvedev explained, the TASS news agency reported. "This means giving such permission to a foreign citizen only in the case of an u…

commondreams (2020-08-03). Victory! Court of Appeals Upholds Decision to Prohibit Offshore Aquaculture in Gulf of Mexico. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Unicorn Riot (2020-08-02). Humanitarian Camp Raided by Border Patrol and BORTAC, 30+ People Arrested. unicornriot.ninja Arivaca, AZ — The government ramped up its efforts to stop humanitarian workers on the U.S.-Mexico border and raided the 'No More Deaths' aid station, Byrd Camp, arresting over 30 people. | The Friday, July 31 raid featured the U.S. Border Patrol, an armored vehicle, two…

_____ (2020-08-02). Border Patrol Agents Raid No More Deaths Migrant Aid Camp. popularresistance.org The humanitarian group No More Deaths said an aid camp it operates for migrants crossing the desert was raided and then surrounded by Border Patrol agents. The group said the move as an escalation of tensions at a time when the aid they provide is vital. | Byrd Camp is located near Arivaca and serves as a medical aid site for people passing through one of the deadliest desert corridors of the borderland. | No More Deaths volunteer Emily Saunders said Border Patrol usually allows activities there to continue. But in late July, agents entered the property and arrested a migrant receiving care.

RT (2020-08-02). Joe says no: Trader Joe's stands up to outrage mob, proving the impotence of online activism. rt.com Grocery chain Trader Joe's won't be changing its supposedly "racist" product labels. In an era where suspect tweets can ruin careers, the decision is a reminder that online activism doesn't always matter in real life. | According to more than 5,000 signatories of an online petition, some of the chain's branding — which sees its Italian range labeled 'Trader Giotto's', its Mexican range called 'Trader Jose's', and its Chinese food named 'Trader Ming's' — is racist. | The branding "exoticizes other cultures," the petition states. Furthermore, the petition alleges that the company's founder Joe Coulombe…