Never alone: Five poems for a time of revolt

People’s World | June 04, 2020

A protester holds a tattered American flag as police stand in formation in front of the old state capitol in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, May 31, 2020. | Allen G. Breed / AP

Poets have a talent for capturing a glance, a mood, a spirit, a moment, an idea in just a few concentrated words that by use of metaphor, rhythm, rhyme and other literary devices stand for much more than the words themselves say. The current wave of protests connected with racist police brutality, the coronavirus crisis, the economic depression, and a growing fascistic governance has reawakened a new passion for social and racial justice throughout the country. We offer these poems today to give our readers pause for thought and inspiration, and for us all to remember we are not, we have never been, and will never be alone.

I Look at the World
Langston Hughes

I look at the world
From awakening eyes in a black face—
And this is what I see:
This fenced-off narrow space
Assigned to me.

I look then at the silly walls
Through dark eyes in a dark face—
And this is what I know:
That all these walls oppression builds
Will have to go!

I look at my own body
With eyes no longer blind—
And I see that my own hands can make
The world that’s in my mind.
Then let us hurry, comrades,
The road to find.

* * * * *

“The World Cannot Breathe!” Squashed by the U.S., a Country Built on Genocide and Slavery

by Andre Vltchek

More than two centuries of lies are now getting exposed. Bizarre tales about freedom and democracy are collapsing like houses of cards.

One man’s death triggers an avalanche of rage in those who for years, decades and centuries, have been humiliated, ruined, and exterminated.

It always happens just like this throughout the history of humankind – one single death, one single “last drop”, an occurrence that triggers an entire chain of events, and suddenly nothing is the same, anymore. Nothing can be the same. What seemed to be unimaginable just yesterday, becomes “the new normal” literally overnight.

Tiananmen’s Tank Man: Setting the Record Straight

by Jeff J. Brown

Every 4 June, a famous photo from 1989 is splashed all over the world, as a symbol against Chinese “totalitarianism” and “bloodthirsty brutality”. You know the one I’m talking about, Tank Man. It is flaunted like a Western talisman to celebrate “freedom” and “rebellion” in the face of “communist-socialist tyranny”.

Nonetheless, like all the disinformation by the Big Lie Propaganda Machine (BLPM), you’ve been blatantly brainwashed for 31 long years. Many media lies are perpetrated by omission. A truth untold is a lie, and Tank Man tops the list.

Let’s first look at the iconic image burned into every brain around the world,

‘Land of the Free’ cracks down on protests demanding justice for George Floyd

Peoples Dispatch | June 04, 2020

Around 40 US cities have seen curfews in the last few days as protests against George Floyd’s deaths have continued. Despite the curfews and the COVID-19 threat, people are continuing to express outrage against racist police violence. Protests have been taking place in almost 400 cities across all 50 US states. Heavy police presence and even the National Guard has been deployed to contain the curfew defying protestors. Use of rubber bullets, tear gas, and other aggressive measures has been widely reported.

U.S: Manipulating the Message: Police Attacks on Free Press and the Fencing in of Humanity

by Raul Diego

MintPress News | June 03, 2020

The evening before President Trump lumbered over to St. John’s Church for his infamous “photo op,” U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr quietly instructed all 56 regional departments of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) to “identify criminal organizers and instigators” in the nationwide protests elicited by George Floyd’s murder. Barr, himself, directed the dispersal of demonstrators outside the White House on Monday to clear the way for the President’s jaunt to the nearby house of worship.

COVID-19: Cuban science continues to launch new lines of research

by Leticia Martínez

Granma | June 05, 2020

Photo: Alberto Borrego

Yesterday, June 4, President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez held his weekly meeting with scientists and experts directly involved in the COVID-19 battle, at the Revolution Palace, a gathering he described as encouraging.

This meeting, he said, shows that Cuban science is efficiently supporting national efforts against the disease and “has not stopped, is not satisfied with results that have proven to be very important, but rather launches new lines of research, while contributions and results continue to be consolidated.”

Taxing large fortunes, a tool of social justice

Peoples Dispatch | June 05, 2020

Several countries around the world are discussing a tax on large fortunes to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question of combating extreme inequality is a political decision that governments have to make.

According to an Oxfam study, since 2015, the richest population, which accounts for 1% of the total, has more wealth than the rest of the planet. Small elites of countries seize an increasing proportion of national income, while hundreds of millions of people still do not have access to potable drinking water or enough food for their families.

The gap between rich and poor people widens each year, causing profound differences in accessing opportunities. It also exacerbates all kinds of social inequalities.

Exposing Canada’s Foreign Policy

Interview with Journalist Yves Engler

acTVism Munich | June 03, 2020

In this episode of Know Your Stuff we speak with author and journalist Yves Engler about Canada’s foreign policy and the impact it has globally. Is Canada’s image as a peaceful actor and force for good a real reflection of its policy or is it just that, an image?https://youtu.be/uIMXE2o3nVk

New U.S. military intervention subverts peace in Colombia and Venezuela

by W. T. Whitney Jr.

People’s World | June 05, 2020

In this Jan. 24, 2020, photo, American and Colombian paratroops rehearse securing an airfield at Tolemaida Air Base in Colombia. | Sarah Blake Morgan / AP

The United States Embassy in Bogotá announced on May 28 that the U.S. is sending 50 or so soldiers of the Army’s 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) to Colombia. They would be carrying out consultations with Colombian Army commanders and providing them with technical assistance, both in order to fight narco-trafficking. The collaboration will play out in rural areas once occupied by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) insurgency, places where Colombian Army units supposedly are establishing a state presence.

They arrived on or about June 1 and will remain for four months. The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Colombia hard, and the soldiers are presently spending 14 days in quarantine before beginning work. The Brigade has served in Afghanistan, Africa, and Europe, and now is in Latin America for the first time.

Venezuela Inaugurates New Fuel System, Increases Local Production

by Paul Dobson

Venezuelanalysis | June 01, 2020

Fuel may now be paid in US dollars in Venezuela. (@RadioAN24 / Twitter)

 

Mérida, June 1, 2020 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Long queues were reported at Venezuela’s gas stations on Monday as a new fuel distribution and pricing regime came into effect.

Government officials hope the policy will stabilise the market and end shortages, while reducing the burden of public subsidies on sanctioned state-run oil firm PDVSA.

Under the new system, Venezuelans are able to purchase up to 120 litres of gasoline or diesel a month for vehicles, or 60 litres for motorbikes, at a subsidised price of 5,000 Bolivars (BsS) per litre (US $0.025). To qualify, customers must have registered their vehicle in the government’s Patria website, entitling them to visit fuel stations one day a week according to their registration plate, for the first thirty days. 1,368 of the country’s 1,568 fuel stations have been designated to supply fuel at this price, which is 75 percent subsidised by the state.