From Toxic Food to Agrarian Disaster: Dirty Deals Done Dirt Cheap

by Colin Todhunter

During the early days of the coronavirus lockdowns, in some quarters there was a certain degree of optimism around. Although millions of people were suffering, the hope was that the Covid-19 crisis would shine light on societal and economic systems across the world, exposing some of the deep-rooted flaws of capitalism. There was a belief that people working together with their respective governments could start building a fairer capitalism and more sustainable economies.

However, we see exactly the opposite taking place. In the UK, we now witness a post-Brexit trade deal being negotiated behind closed doors with the US that could see a lowering of food and environment standards, despite the Conservative government pledge that it would not compromise on standards in these areas. The government now proposes that chlorine-washed chicken, beef treated with growth hormones, pork from ractopamine-injected animals and many other toxic foods produced in the US will be allowed into the UK. Sanctioning the entry of (chemical-resistant) GM crops and GM food are also likely to be part of any deal.

Do Not Belittle Protesters in the U.S. by calling their Struggle a “Color Revolution”

by Andre Vltchek

For almost a decade, I have been covering “Color Revolutions” in virtually all parts of the world. While making a film for TeleSur, I was facing Egyptian tanks, risking my life under sniper fire, getting roughed-up in the middle of clashes of the supporters of al-Sisi and Morsi.

Together with Syrian commanders, I was also facing the terrorists in Idlib; challenged the Ukrainian fascists; encountering Bolivian indigenous elders high in the Altiplano after the revolution of Evo Morales and MAS was crashed by the U.S.-sponsored coup in 2019. I regularly worked in Venezuela, Lebanon, and Iraq. And, of course, again and again, I have been returning to Hong Kong, reporting on systematic Western attempts to radicalize SAR’s youth and to harm China.

I mention all this just in order to establish that I am very well aware of how those “Color Revolutions” are triggered and implemented.

Racism and police violence are not the fault of the system. They are the system!

Cuba participates in UN Human Rights Council meeting on racism, proposed by African nations in the context of massive protests in the United States

Granma | June 18, 2020

Protester confronts a member of the National Guard on a Minnesota street. Photo: AP

 

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned “all manifestations of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia,” in a June 17 tweet.

Reporting that Cuba would join debates of the 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), he called for a fight against discrimination based on skin color or ethnic origin, and noted “In the U.S. 22.2% of COVID-19 fatalities are African Americans, although they are 12.7% of the population.”

The pandemic has exacerbated social inequalities and shown the shortcomings of a system in which the poor and minorities are left unprotected, the Foreign Minister stated.

Caesar Tries to Suffocate 17 Million Syrians

by Rick Sterling

Since 2011, the US and allies have promoted, trained and supplied militants trying to bring about “regime change” in Damascus. Having failed in that effort, they have tried to strangle Syria economically. The goal has always been the same: to force Syria to change politically. This month, June 2020, the aggression reaches a new level with extreme sanctions known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.

The new law is fraudulent on two counts. It is called “Caesar” in reference to a 2014 propaganda stunt involving an anonymous Syrian who was alleged to be a military photographer. He claimed to have 55,000 photos showing about eleven thousand victims of Syrian government torture. As the Christian Science Monitor said at the time, the “Caesar” report was “A well-timed propaganda exercise funded by Qatar.”  A 30 page analysis later confirmed that the “Caesar” report was a fraud with nearly half the photos showing the OPPOSITE of what was claimed: they documented dead Syrian soldiers and civilian victims of  “rebel” car bombs and attacks.

Laundering money for subversion

by Raúl Antonio Capote

Granma | June 18, 2020

Photo: Granma

Something that has taught Cubans to recognize divisive and subversive maneuvers, a key component of hostile U.S. policy toward Cuba, is the shameless way they use, and discard, individuals, whenever it serves their purpose – be it a specific person or a council of several, who take the lead on the ground in their unrelenting attacks.

The best attributes of this “cannon fodder” can usually be found among common criminals or paid traitors, who, as long as they are useful, enjoy a few minutes of fame. High-ranking officials in the imperialist government identify them by name, flatter them, sing their praises, and even award them honors that include a certificate and some hard cash.

Vital Signs: COVID-19 recession is different – and we need more stimulus to deal with it.

by Richard Holden

The Conversation | June 19, 2020

Australia has done well on the public health front during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to decisive action by the National Cabinet in March. Australia has done better than most countries on the economic front, too, thanks to the federal government’s large fiscal measures.

But we are at a crossroads.

By September, we may well have largely dealt with the public health aspects of the pandemic. But the economic recovery will only just be starting. The danger is that misunderstanding the nature of this economic crisis will lead the government to bungle that recovery.

Our comrade, Che

 

Peoples Dispatch | June 15, 2020

 

Peoples Dispatch remembers Che Guevara on his 92nd birthday.

June 14 is the birth anniversary of Che Guevara. At a time when the world is faced with an existential crisis, we remember Che’s revolutionary legacy and his struggles against capitalism, imperialism and exploitation.

Podcast: How the Democratic Party Unleashed Decades of Racial Injustice and Police Brutality on Communities of Color

by Mnar Muhawesh

MintPress News | June 19, 2020

Welcome to MintCast, the official MintPress News podcast hosted by Mnar Muhawesh. MintCast is an interview podcast featuring dissenting voices, independent researchers and journalists the establishment would rather silence.

In this episode, we are joined by Margaret Kimberly and Monique Cullars Doty.

Kimberly is a New York-based writer and activist for peace and justice. You can find her work at the Black Agenda Report where she is a senior columnist. Her book, “Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents,” was published in February.

Africa: 1976 Soweto Uprising: Youth rebellion and the burning desire for freedom

Pan Africanism Today Secretariat | June 16, 2020

June 16 commemorates the Soweto Uprising, the gallant and courageous struggles of students against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction to further culturally subjugate Africans.

June 16 commemorates the gallant and courageous struggles of students against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction to further culturally subjugate Africans. What started as a peaceful demonstration resulted in a massacre where the apartheid regime unleashed the might of the state on unarmed students.

Today, a celebratory and commemorative mood consisting of special events and speeches pacify the class character of the memory of South Africa’s 1976 Soweto Uprising. This erases its combative history and the defining role it played in the struggle against the white supremacist apartheid regime.

The massacre of defenseless students on June 16 sparked the abhorrence of the international community against the regime’s violence. One key moment was Sam Nzima’s photograph of Hector Pieterson in the arms of Mbuyisa Makhubo. For the defiant youth of South Africa, the violence inflicted during the days of the uprising exposed, to them and the world, the ruthless and merciless lengths at which the apartheid forces were prepared to go to maintain a system of domination and exploitation.

U.S.: Juneteenth: A day for national action

by Aaron Morrison and Kat Stafford

People’s World | June 19, 2020

In this June 5, 2020, file photo, protesters raise their fists during a rally in support of Black Lives Matter outside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif. | Chris Pizzello / AP

In just about any other year, Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that all enslaved Black people learned they had been freed from bondage, would be marked by African American families across the nation with a cookout, a parade, a community festival, a soulful rendition of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”

But in 2020, as the coronavirus ravishes Black America disproportionately, as economic uncertainty wrought by the pandemic strains Black pocketbooks, and as police brutality continues to devastate Black families, Juneteenth is a day of protest.

Red velvet cake, barbecued ribs, and fruit punch are optional.