2020-08-03: News Headlines

WSWS (2020-08-03). US Border Patrol raids "No More Deaths" humanitarian aid camp in southern Arizona. wsws.org Last week's operation is presumed to be in retaliation for the organization's recent exposure of the involvement of the paramilitary BORTAC force in a 2017 raid.

Prabir Purkayastha (2020-08-03). Trump's Withdrawal From WHO: a Cover-Up for His Abject Failure on COVID-19. counterpunch.org Microbes do not recognize borders. We are all safe only when everybody is safe. In a pandemic, to attack the only body we have for global cooperation endangers everyone. That is why the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) is dangerous not only for the United States, but for all of the world.

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 (2020-08-02). Yemen's Houthi rebels say they've downed a US-made spy drone. rt.com The Houthi rebels' air defense has shot down a US-made drone over the Jizan Region of Yemen near the border with Saudi Arabia, their spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced. | The small RQ20 Puma hand-launched UAV was hit "by an appropriate weapon," he added. | Saree didn't specify if the drone belonged to Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a US-supported military campaign against the Houthis since 2015, or any other party. | The rebels, who control much of the country, including capital Sanaa, have been shooting down UAVs (unarmed aerial vehicles) quite frequently. The most prominent target they…

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…

Alan MacLeod (2020-08-02). Media's "Cancel Culture" Debate Obscures Direct Threats to First Amendment. commondreams.org A scene from the Netflix documentary Immigration Nation. (Image: screenshot/Netflix) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/immigration-nation.png

_____ (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.

sputniknews (2020-08-02). Israel Thwarts 'Terrorist' Attempt to Place Explosives on Syria-Israeli Border, IDF Says. sputniknews.com The Israeli Defence Forces noted that it "considers [the] Syrian regime responsible for any action taken in its territory", adding that "it will not allow" any violation of the sovereignty of the state of Israel.

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-08-02). 'This Is Terrorism': With No Face Masks and No Warrant, Border Patrol Agents Raid Humanitarian Aid Station in Arizona and Detain 30 Migrants. commondreams.org "As always when humanitarian aid in the borderlands is targeted, those who seek care are the ones that face the brunt of these violent escalations." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/bp_agents.jpeg

WSWS (2020-08-01). Lawsuit exposes massive COVID-19 outbreak at privately-run immigrant detention center in Virginia. wsws.org The Farmville Detention Center has the largest COVID-19 outbreak of all immigrant detainment facilities in the United States.

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-07-31). Federal judge blocks use of public charge rule against immigrants. peoplesworld.org In a new setback to the Trump administration's assault on immigrants, a U.S. district court judge in New York has issued injunctions barring the administration from using its "public charge" rule to deny green cards to immigrants thought likely to use such public benefits as Medicaid, food stamps or housing vouchers. Judge George Daniels of …

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-07-31). Will Hezbollah Seek Revenge Against Israel? globalresearch.ca Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border flared up in recent days due to a confusing July 27 incident near the Sheba'a Farms, a Syrian area occupied by Israel since the 1967 war but is also claimed by Lebanon. Tensions erupted when …

_____ (2020-07-31). As COVID-19 Surges, Farmworkers Are Paying A High Price. popularresistance.org Every day, California farmworkers worry that the pandemic plowing through agricultural hubs will catch them and kill them. They also worry that not working will kill them. | The collapse of food service demands when most businesses and institutions shut down has cut farm jobs statewide by 20 percent, or 100,000. Many farmworkers who are still working have had their hours or days reduced, sometimes without warning. Lockdowns have also cost workers second jobs they needed to make ends meet. They are juggling bills and going hungry. | These are some of the findings in a new survey of 900 farmworkers in 21 farm count…

#WeAllGrow Latina & MomsRising (2020-07-31). Thursday 7/30: #Free The Families: Release the Children, Reunite Families, Close All Border Camps Now. indybay.org Online via Instagram livestream…

Staff (2020-07-30). Chomsky on Israel's Hindering of Palestinian Pandemic Response & Threat to Annex Occupied West Bank. democracynow.org Noam Chomsky says Israel's planned annexation of the occupied West Bank "basically formalizes" what has already been official policy over the last half-century, from both left-wing and right-wing parties in Israel. He compares Israel's treatment of Palestinians to anti-immigrant policies in the United States, and says the main goal of annexation is to take over as much territory while excluding its Palestinian inhabitants. "Israel does not want to bring Palestinian populations into the greater Israel they're constructing."

Staff (2020-07-30). Why You Should Give a F*ck | Ep. 8 | Crime. therealnews.com We discuss the way the U.S. approaches different types of crime and how certain acts arguably shouldn't be considered crimes.

RT (2020-07-30). Call of the Black Sea: Russian jet intercepts US spy planes for FOURTH TIME in just over a week (VIDEO). rt.com With summer heating up, it appears as though the US Air Force finds Russia's Black Sea particularly inviting, as the Russian military has intercepted American jets there for the fourth time in just over one week. | The US Air Force seemingly could not decide who should be next to enjoy the scenic splendors of the Black Sea shoreline, deciding to send two of its surveillance planes to watch over the area at the same time on Thursday. | The jets were promptly intercepted, however, by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet, which was scrambled to escort the "aerial targets" approaching the nation's border. | The planes were…

RT (2020-07-30). The Nuremburg defense? Twitterati bust out Nazi comparisons over new docuseries showing troubled ICE agents 'just enforcing laws'. rt.com An upcoming documentary shows how US immigration agents deal with being viewed as the 'bad guys' for enforcing policies they don't necessarily endorse. Twitter's collective reaction to a preview of the show? "They're like Nazis!" | The docuseries 'Immigration Nation', by filmmakers Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau, is the result of three years spent with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which gave them "unprecedented" access to its daily operations. Set to premiere on Netflix next month, the show follows individual agents and shows how they get "chewed up" in a "broken system," according t…

RT (2020-07-30). Italian senators vote to lift ex-minister Salvini's immunity, open way for trial over migrant ship. rt.com The Italian Senate voted on Thursday to lift right-wing leader Matteo Salvini's immunity. The move clears the way for possible charges against the former interior minister for refusing to allow 164 migrants to get off a ship in Sicily last August. | The case from last August is the third involving a rescue ship standoff in which Italian prosecutors have sought kidnapping charges against Salvini. | During his 14 months as interior minister, Salvini repeatedly denied ships carrying rescued migrants access to Italy's ports. The policy resulted in numerous standoffs, leaving migrants stuck at sea for long weeks.

Ryan Devereaux (2020-07-30). Before Portland, Trump's Shock Troops Went After Border Activists. zcomm.org The purported threat of antifa was long used to justify militarized targeting of immigration activists. Now it's being used against protesters in Portland…

Tom Clifford (2020-07-30). The Gulf War, 30 Years and Counting. counterpunch.org The consequences are still reverberating three decades on, obviously in Iraq and the Middle East but also further afield, after Saddam Hussein became the first Arab leader to invade another Arab nation. On Thursday, August 2, 1990, at about 2am, 100,000 Iraqi troops and 700 tanks smashed through Kuwaiti border posts. Saddam then announced that the emir of Kuwait had been deposed and the emirate was now Iraq's nineteenth province.

John Washington (2020-07-30). 'Even In a Pandemic, We're Still a Minority'. thenation.com 'Even In a Pandemic, We're Still a Minority'

yenisafak (2020-07-30). Greece ready to discuss maritime borders with Turkey. yenisafak.com Greece is seeking to hold talks on delimitation of maritime boundaries with Turkey, an official said Thursday.At a weekly news conference in Athens, government spokesman Stelios Petsas stressed the importance of open communication channels with Turkey, especially when tensions escalated, referring to the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.He went on to say Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a phone talk with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiadis over the arrival of Turkish seismic vessel — Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa to the Turkish Cypriot side of the island.Turkey is a guarantor nation for the Turkish Re…

sputniknews (2020-07-30). Border Tensions: Why India Won't Become Washington's Bulwark Against China. sputniknews.com The US foreign policy establishment is deluding itself if it plans to use the India-China border conflict to pit New Delhi against Beijing while the US State Department is ramping up tensions with the People's Republic, says Suvam Pal, a Beijing-based Indian journalist and author.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-30). Police bust over 1 ton illicit drugs in Iran's Mirjaveh. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 30 (MNA) — The police forces of the Sistan and Baluchestan province have confiscated 1,105 kilograms of illicit drugs in the southeastern borders.