mintpressnews--2020-06-10--The Political Narrative Around the Origins of COVID-19 is Starting to Crumble

Over the last several days , conflicting reports about COVID-19 have sprung from both official and non-official sources .
On Tuesday , Maria Van Kerkhove , Ph.D. of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) caused a firestorm of reactions from health experts across the globe after declaring in a press briefing that transmission of COVID-19 via asymptomatic individuals is “ very rare.
” Less than a day later , Kerkhove was compelled to walk her statements back clarifying that , in essence , no one really knows : “ What I didn ’ t report yesterday ” , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s so many unknowns around this , some modeling groups have tried to estimate the proportion of asymptomatic people that may transmit , and… some estimate around 40 % of transmission may be due to asymptomatic [ transmission ] .
And I didn ’ t include that in my answer yesterday.
” Uncertainty seems to be the guiding principle regarding the mysterious disease almost eight months removed from its discovery in late 2019 .
The harshest criticisms to the WHO ’ s comments came mostly from the mainstream press , while the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in some cases , concurred .
Prof Keith Neal , Emeritus Professor of the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nottingham , conceded that the “ role asymptomatic transmission plays in the total number of new infections remains unclear but symptomatic people are responsible for most of the new infections of COVID-19.
” After months of lockdown and rising social tensions , the pressure to “ reopen ” is mounting everywhere .
At the same time , warnings that doing so too soon will result in a devastating “ second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are keeping anxiety levels high and contradicting narratives by the various health authorities only serves to exacerbate the confusion .
However , the muddled messaging is not limited to questions about the virus ’ pathology but also its very origins .
A recent faux pas at Forbes may afford us some clues about these conflicting reports and a view of the crack in the political narrative surrounding COVID-19 .
On June 7 , Forbes published an article titled “ Norway Scientist Claims Report Proves Coronavirus Was Lab-Made.
” It cited the work done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Quarterly Review of Biophysics ” that mirrored findings made earlier this year by scientists in India in another paper , which was retracted following an outcry from certain sectors of the scientific community .
Birger Sørensen , one of the scientists who conducted the study for the development of a vaccine , stated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus contains properties that have “ never been detected in nature ” and that the virus ’ lack of mutation since its discovery also suggested that it was “ already fully adapted to humans.
” In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that both China and the U.S. could be responsible for the creation of the virus since the two nations have “ collaborated for many years on coronavirus research.
” The original article also carried quotes from controversial MI6 head , Sir Richard Dearlove , infamous for his pivotal role in the WMD narrative leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq when he lent his full support to false intelligence reports blaming Saddam Hussein for the development of biological weapons .
Dearlove made a parallel contribution to the COVID-19 narrative in the aforementioned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wuhan , China specifically as the source of the virus , speculating that its release may have been an “ accident ” and that it raised “ the question of whether China will assume responsibility ” .
Perhaps the editors at Forbes recognized the elephant in the room and realized that Dearlove ’ s claims paled in comparison to the explosive allegations made in the peer-reviewed study cited just a few paragraphs before .
In less than 24 hours , the article was pulled from the website and even snapshots at the Wayback @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morning a new version of the article appeared with the vastly different headline : “ Controversial Coronavirus Lab Origin Claims Dismissed by Experts.
” The new piece version on the article rebukes the findings of the British-Norwegian team of scientists and even drags Sir Dearlove through the mud , bringing up his notorious role in drumming up support for the Iraq war .
Unnamed “ intelligence ” experts were quoted as saying that Sørensen ’ s claims were but “ rumor and conspiracy , ” while other scientists disputed the evidence presented in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these objections is the suggestion that the virus may have had an artificial origin , but not that it originated in China .
As the new article points out the “ international scientific consensus ” states that the coronavirus pandemic originated in Wuhan , but does not include the idea that it was “ artificially engineered.
” The clear political goal of the Atlanticist block is to blame China for the outbreak one way or another , but evidence of an artificially-created virus can prove extremely problematic for any such designs .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been working on “ gain-of-function ” experiments for some time , using certain RNA sequences to boost a virus ’ replication abilities .
It is these “ spike proteins ” which are the tell-tale signs of COVID-19 ’ s unnatural origins and a potential smoking gun leading right to the doorstep of NIAID Director , Anthony Fauci , who personally lifted the ban on such experiments after an outraged scientific community forced policy-makers to put a halt to them .
Feature photo | Employees work in a research and development lab of Beijing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is developing COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test kits in Beijing , May 14 , 2020 .
Mark Schiefelbein | AP

Over the last several days, conflicting reports about COVID-19 have sprung from both official and non-official sources. On Tuesday, Maria Van Kerkhove, Ph.D. of the World Health Organization (WHO) caused a firestorm of reactions from health experts across the globe after declaring in a press briefing that transmission of COVID-19 via asymptomatic individuals is “very rare.”
Less than a day later, Kerkhove was compelled to walk her statements back clarifying that, in essence, no one really knows: “What I didn’t report yesterday”, said Kerkhove, “was that because there’s so many unknowns around this, some modeling groups have tried to estimate the proportion of asymptomatic people that may transmit, and… some estimate around 40% of transmission may be due to asymptomatic [transmission]. And I didn’t include that in my answer yesterday.”
Uncertainty seems to be the guiding principle regarding the mysterious disease almost eight months removed from its discovery in late 2019. The harshest criticisms to the WHO’s comments came mostly from the mainstream press, while the scientific community itself seemed more reserved and, in some cases, concurred. Prof Keith Neal, Emeritus Professor of the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nottingham, conceded that the “role asymptomatic transmission plays in the total number of new infections remains unclear but symptomatic people are responsible for most of the new infections of COVID-19.”
After months of lockdown and rising social tensions, the pressure to “reopen” is mounting everywhere. At the same time, warnings that doing so too soon will result in a devastating “second wave” of infections in the fall are keeping anxiety levels high and contradicting narratives by the various health authorities only serves to exacerbate the confusion.
However, the muddled messaging is not limited to questions about the virus’ pathology but also its very origins. A recent faux pas at Forbes may afford us some clues about these conflicting reports and a view of the crack in the political narrative surrounding COVID-19.
Damage Control
On June 7, Forbes published an article titled “Norway Scientist Claims Report Proves Coronavirus Was Lab-Made.” It cited the work done in a British-Norwegian study published in the “Quarterly Review of Biophysics” that mirrored findings made earlier this year by scientists in India in another paper, which was retracted following an outcry from certain sectors of the scientific community.
Birger Sørensen, one of the scientists who conducted the study for the development of a vaccine, stated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus contains properties that have “never been detected in nature” and that the virus’ lack of mutation since its discovery also suggested that it was “already fully adapted to humans.” In addition, Sørensen hinted on Norwegian television that both China and the U.S. could be responsible for the creation of the virus since the two nations have “collaborated for many years on coronavirus research.”
The original article also carried quotes from controversial MI6 head, Sir Richard Dearlove, infamous for his pivotal role in the WMD narrative leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq when he lent his full support to false intelligence reports blaming Saddam Hussein for the development of biological weapons.
Dearlove made a parallel contribution to the COVID-19 narrative in the aforementioned article, pointing to the laboratory in Wuhan, China specifically as the source of the virus, speculating that its release may have been an “accident” and that it raised “the question of whether China will assume responsibility”.
Perhaps the editors at Forbes recognized the elephant in the room and realized that Dearlove’s claims paled in comparison to the explosive allegations made in the peer-reviewed study cited just a few paragraphs before. In less than 24 hours, the article was pulled from the website and even snapshots at the Wayback Machine became instantly inaccessible. The following morning a new version of the article appeared with the vastly different headline: “Controversial Coronavirus Lab Origin Claims Dismissed by Experts.”
Spiking the Narrative
The new piece version on the article rebukes the findings of the British-Norwegian team of scientists and even drags Sir Dearlove through the mud, bringing up his notorious role in drumming up support for the Iraq war. Unnamed “intelligence” experts were quoted as saying that Sørensen’s claims were but “rumor and conspiracy,” while other scientists disputed the evidence presented in the study.
At the heart of these objections is the suggestion that the virus may have had an artificial origin, but not that it originated in China. As the new article points out the “international scientific consensus” states that the coronavirus pandemic originated in Wuhan, but does not include the idea that it was “artificially engineered.”
The clear political goal of the Atlanticist block is to blame China for the outbreak one way or another, but evidence of an artificially-created virus can prove extremely problematic for any such designs. As Sørensen rightly exposed, the U.S. has been working on “gain-of-function” experiments for some time, using certain RNA sequences to boost a virus’ replication abilities. It is these “spike proteins” which are the tell-tale signs of COVID-19’s unnatural origins and a potential smoking gun leading right to the doorstep of NIAID Director, Anthony Fauci, who personally lifted the ban on such experiments after an outraged scientific community forced policy-makers to put a halt to them.
Feature photo | Employees work in a research and development lab of Beijing Applied Biological Technologies, a firm that is developing COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test kits in Beijing, May 14, 2020. Mark Schiefelbein | AP
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.


mintpressnews--2020-06-10--“By Design” and a “Test Run for November” – Georgia Chaos Is Blueprint for November Election

Chaos and dysfunction ruled yesterday , as Georgians went to the polls amid a pandemic that has already claimed over 2,000 lives in the state .
Within minutes , many of the state ’ s new voting machines had crashed , resulting in massive waits for voters – up to four and a half hours in some localities .
June temperatures topped 90 degrees , with many forced to stand in line until after 11 p.m. to cast their ballot .
Mayor of Atlanta , Keisha Lance Bottoms , issued a plea to voters to persevere through the difficulties .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ PLEASE do not allow your vote to be suppressed .
PLEASE stay in line .
They should offer you a provisional ballot if the machines are not working , ” she wrote , but paper ballots also ran out in some places .
Postal voting had its problems , too .
Even Stacey Abrams , tipped by many to be Joe Biden ’ s running mate in November , could not use her absentee ballot as the envelope arrived sealed shut .
Another problem encountered was the lack of trained staff at stations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worker in Georgia is 70 , and concerns over working in an enclosed public space in the middle of a pandemic that particularly affects the elderly doubtless kept many away .
Or at least that was the situation in many of the poorer neighborhoods of the state , where the population is often predominantly black .
In the affluent white suburbs of Atlanta , reports suggest the day went ahead without major incidents .
Georgians were voting for district , state and national representatives , although the latter is more of a formality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clarke , president of the group the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , described the situation as catastrophic .
“ If we view the primary election as a dry run for November , then Georgia gets an F today , ” she said .
But others saw the situation differently : not as an error , but as a well-planned triumph of election malfeasance .
In response to the scenes of long lines and frustration , Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated that “ Republicans don ’ t want vote by mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do exactly this : target and disenfranchise black voters and people of color .
These scenes are specifically happening in black communities , not white ones , ” she said , “ This is by design and it ’ s their test run for November.
” Pramila Jayapal , co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus agreed , “ This is no accident .
Black and brown people have been kept out of our elections – 100 % on purpose and by design , ” she wrote .
Amid the fiasco , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ General has opened up an investigation , while calls for the United Nations to monitor the elections in November are growing louder .
Georgia was the scene of intense struggle over the right to vote during the Civil Rights era , as racists attempted to block black Americans from going to the polls .
Since the Shelby County vs. Holder decision of 2013 , Southern states have closed over 1,200 polling stations , with Georgia being a particularly bad offender , shuttering 214 .
Perhaps more troubling is the specificity of so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have closed more than half of their polling places , and several have shut down almost 90 percent , according to a 2019 report .
Abrams , who ran for Governor of Georgia herself in 2018 , accused her opponent Brian Kemp of voter suppression after he put on hold more than 53,000 voter registration applications , nearly 70 percent of which belonged to African-Americans .
Basketball legend LeBron James understood the situation well : “ Everyone talking about ‘ how do we fix this ?
’ They say ‘ go out and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how we vote is also structurally racist ?
” he asked .
Georgia is shaping up to be an unlikely battleground state in the November presidential election , and if Trump loses Georgia , his chances of overall victory are slim .
The president ’ s handling of the pandemic , which has officially killed over 114,000 Americans and his heavy-handed response to the George Floyd protests have seen his approval ratings fall .
Despite keeping a very low profile , Biden has increased his lead in polling to over eight points since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to win in November , low turnout , particularly among voters of color , would be beneficial .
What happened yesterday was the best of both worlds for the president ; suppression of the minority vote and enough confusion and chaos to allow him to question the legitimacy of the elections if things do not pan out his way .
Feature photo | Fulton County employee Shaye Moss scans mail-in paper ballots at the Georgia World Congress Center during the Georgia primary elections in Atlanta , June 9 , 2020 .
Alyssa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Chaos and dysfunction ruled yesterday, as Georgians went to the polls amid a pandemic that has already claimed over 2,000 lives in the state. Within minutes, many of the state’s new voting machines had crashed, resulting in massive waits for voters – up to four and a half hours in some localities. June temperatures topped 90 degrees, with many forced to stand in line until after 11 p.m. to cast their ballot. Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, issued a plea to voters to persevere through the difficulties. “If you are in line, PLEASE do not allow your vote to be suppressed. PLEASE stay in line. They should offer you a provisional ballot if the machines are not working,” she wrote, but paper ballots also ran out in some places.
Postal voting had its problems, too. Even Stacey Abrams, tipped by many to be Joe Biden’s running mate in November, could not use her absentee ballot as the envelope arrived sealed shut. Another problem encountered was the lack of trained staff at stations. The average age of a poll worker in Georgia is 70, and concerns over working in an enclosed public space in the middle of a pandemic that particularly affects the elderly doubtless kept many away.
This drone footage shows a long line of voters waiting to cast ballots in Atlanta on Tuesday. Georgia election officials, poll workers and voters have reported major trouble with voting in Atlanta and elsewhere. Read the latest. https://t.co/wRnW8f5tng pic.twitter.com/BVU9J9CF79 — The New York Times (@nytimes) June 9, 2020
Or at least that was the situation in many of the poorer neighborhoods of the state, where the population is often predominantly black. In the affluent white suburbs of Atlanta, reports suggest the day went ahead without major incidents. Georgians were voting for district, state and national representatives, although the latter is more of a formality for both Democrats and Republicans. Kristen Clarke, president of the group the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, described the situation as catastrophic. “If we view the primary election as a dry run for November, then Georgia gets an F today,” she said.
But others saw the situation differently: not as an error, but as a well-planned triumph of election malfeasance. In response to the scenes of long lines and frustration, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated that “Republicans don’t want vote by mail because it chips away at their ability to do exactly this: target and disenfranchise black voters and people of color. These scenes are specifically happening in black communities, not white ones,” she said, “This is by design and it’s their test run for November.” Pramila Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus agreed, “This is no accident. Black and brown people have been kept out of our elections – 100% on purpose and by design,” she wrote. Amid the fiasco, the state’s (Republican) Attorney General has opened up an investigation, while calls for the United Nations to monitor the elections in November are growing louder.
Georgia was the scene of intense struggle over the right to vote during the Civil Rights era, as racists attempted to block black Americans from going to the polls. Since the Shelby County vs. Holder decision of 2013, Southern states have closed over 1,200 polling stations, with Georgia being a particularly bad offender, shuttering 214. Perhaps more troubling is the specificity of so many of the closures. Eighteen Georgian counties have closed more than half of their polling places, and several have shut down almost 90 percent, according to a 2019 report. Abrams, who ran for Governor of Georgia herself in 2018, accused her opponent Brian Kemp of voter suppression after he put on hold more than 53,000 voter registration applications, nearly 70 percent of which belonged to African-Americans. Basketball legend LeBron James understood the situation well: “Everyone talking about ‘how do we fix this?’ They say ‘go out and vote?’ What about asking if how we vote is also structurally racist?” he asked.
Once again, this is at the Sandtown precinct in South Fulton County. Folks are not being allowed to vote. Period. What is going on here? But we will persist and make sure our votes get cast. They appear to be deliberately slowing down the number of folks who will vote today. pic.twitter.com/gqFSVqrUEn — Kasim Reed (@KasimReed) June 9, 2020
Georgia is shaping up to be an unlikely battleground state in the November presidential election, and if Trump loses Georgia, his chances of overall victory are slim. The president’s handling of the pandemic, which has officially killed over 114,000 Americans and his heavy-handed response to the George Floyd protests have seen his approval ratings fall. Despite keeping a very low profile, Biden has increased his lead in polling to over eight points since late May.
Thus, if Trump is to win in November, low turnout, particularly among voters of color, would be beneficial. What happened yesterday was the best of both worlds for the president; suppression of the minority vote and enough confusion and chaos to allow him to question the legitimacy of the elections if things do not pan out his way.
Feature photo | Fulton County employee Shaye Moss scans mail-in paper ballots at the Georgia World Congress Center during the Georgia primary elections in Atlanta, June 9, 2020. Alyssa Pointer | Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-06-10--Rebellion, Confusion and Kente Cloth: The Establishment Can’t Handle Black Lives Matter

New York City ( BAR ) — Everything has changed since the world witnessed George Floyd ’ s murder at the hands of police .
Suddenly , workers are publicly criticizing their bosses .
Politicians are backpedaling and newspapers face revolts when they are caught spreading propaganda .
In Europe and the United States monuments to genocidaires are defaced and pulled down .
But no one should think that the black misleaders have given up allegiance to their overlords among the Democratic Party donor class .
The scoundrels are giving lip service to change but are committed to business as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imagery of the movement to do it .
In addition , the movement itself is sometimes a source of confusion .
While well-meaning , proposals such as defunding the police are highly problematic .
They do nothing to address the foundational nature of state violence and allow budgetary sleight of hand to create new methods of law enforcement .
The demands for community control and abolition must remain at the top of the list .
While people of goodwill sincerely debate , the black political class does everything in its power to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all .
The Congressional Black Caucus pulled out their kente cloth prop and added taking a knee with Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer in one of the worst photo opportunities of all time .
They are proposing reforms that will never be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate or Donald Trump .
They are also keeping their police-empowering Protect and Serve Act in place .
Protect and Serve makes assaulting a police officer a federal offense , and nearly every victim of police violence is again victimized by this spurious charge .
The chicanery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must be acknowledged that changes are far-reaching and events are occurring which no one would have predicted just a few months ago .
Kente cloth charlatans are not only the ones being exposed .
When New York City mayor Bill de Blasio ’ s daughter was arrested at a protest the police union revealed her name to the press in an effort to embarrass him .
In return , de Blasio defended cops who drove vehicles into a crowd , beat protesters and bystanders alike , and even arrested legal observers from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York City employees signed an open letter to the mayor condemning his supine support of a police department that hates him .
They broke every rule of politics and conventional wisdom given to employees anywhere .
The dictum of never criticizing a boss has gone out the window along with everything else .
Corporate media propaganda has also taken a hit .
James Bennet was the editor of the New York Times opinion page but is now without a job after a similar employee revolt .
Staff was rightly angry when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tom Cotton , who advised sending the military to quell nationwide protests .
When Times employees spoke up it was revealed that the newspaper pitched the idea to Cotton , and not the other way around .
Bennet also had to admit that he didn ’ t even read the fascistic screed .
The “ paper of record ” has long been a purveyor of war propaganda and the utterances of conservatives like Cotton .
But the standard operating procedure isn ’ t good enough now and someone a few weeks ago can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under a bus .
In Europe , thousands of people have turned out to protest for Floyd and against the United States .
In Athens , the U.S. embassy was the target of demonstrators .
Europe has its own history of racism and condemnation of this country has inspired people to be brave about their own nations ’ criminality .
Parisians marched but not just for George Floyd .
Adam Traore was killed by French police in 2016 and the anger about his death never disappeared .
That is why a crowd of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ names .
Long dead criminals are also being taken to task .
Belgium ’ s King Leopold presided over one of the world ’ s worst genocides in the Congo where up to 10 million people were killed in quest to maximize rubber production .
In recent days monuments to Leopold have been defaced with graffiti and red paint representing the blood he spilled .
In Britain , the statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and dumped into a river in the city of Bristol .
Colston made a fortune selling 100,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His name is still present in his hometown in recognition of the philanthropy that came from selling people and working them to death .
No one is safe .
New York Times editors , mayors of major cities , and even long-dead criminals are being called to account .
People have lost their fear because they are desperate and angry .
It is harder to convince them that all is well when their suffering was deliberately created and their pleas for redress were ignored .
The reaction to these acts of rebellion has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running scared and dare to do what they would never have considered before .
The Minneapolis city council voted to disband its police department .
But the mayor has already expressed opposition and the state of Minnesota would also have to approve .
Not only can the council not deliver on their vote , but they have done nothing to bring justice to those already killed by police in that city .
The movement would do well not to be taken in by unworkable schemes meant to silence them .
While the well-meaning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the handwriting on the wall and respond with their own kente cloth moments .
The CEO of Chase , Jamie Dimon , photographed himself taking a knee , but outside of a bank vault , just in case anyone didn ’ t know whose side he was on .
Corporations are claiming they will do better in their treatment of black employees and the NFL is making mealy-mouthed apologies to Colin Kaepernick .
Nike says it will donate $ 40 million to as yet unnamed organizations serving black communities .
All of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ determination to see change that benefits the people .
The moment was rife as kleptocracy enriched the already rich and a pandemic decimated already shaky economies .
Now white people have themselves faced the wrath of police goon squads and are now accepting proposals they would have opposed or ignored not too long ago .
There is the possibility of advancement but also of reaction .
The system knows how to defend itself and how to appeal to the public .
This moment requires great vigilance .
The people in movement can bring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cloth wearing rascals will not disappear anytime soon .
Feature photo | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. , Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. , center , and House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C. , right , and top Congressional Democrats , raise their hands during a news conference to unveil policing reform and equal justice legislation on Capitol Hill , June 8 , 2020 , in Washington .
Manuel Balce Ceneta | AP

New York City (BAR) — Everything has changed since the world witnessed George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police. Suddenly, workers are publicly criticizing their bosses. Politicians are backpedaling and newspapers face revolts when they are caught spreading propaganda. In Europe and the United States monuments to genocidaires are defaced and pulled down.
But no one should think that the black misleaders have given up allegiance to their overlords among the Democratic Party donor class. The scoundrels are giving lip service to change but are committed to business as usual and they co-opt the language and imagery of the movement to do it.
In addition, the movement itself is sometimes a source of confusion. While well-meaning, proposals such as defunding the police are highly problematic. They do nothing to address the foundational nature of state violence and allow budgetary sleight of hand to create new methods of law enforcement. The demands for community control and abolition must remain at the top of the list.
While people of goodwill sincerely debate, the black political class does everything in its power to make sure that nothing much is accomplished at all. The Congressional Black Caucus pulled out their kente cloth prop and added taking a knee with Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer in one of the worst photo opportunities of all time.
They are proposing reforms that will never be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate or Donald Trump. They are also keeping their police-empowering Protect and Serve Act in place. Protect and Serve makes assaulting a police officer a federal offense, and nearly every victim of police violence is again victimized by this spurious charge.
The chicanery must be pointed out, yet it must be acknowledged that changes are far-reaching and events are occurring which no one would have predicted just a few months ago. Kente cloth charlatans are not only the ones being exposed. When New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter was arrested at a protest the police union revealed her name to the press in an effort to embarrass him. In return, de Blasio defended cops who drove vehicles into a crowd, beat protesters and bystanders alike, and even arrested legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild.
In response, New York City employees signed an open letter to the mayor condemning his supine support of a police department that hates him. They broke every rule of politics and conventional wisdom given to employees anywhere. The dictum of never criticizing a boss has gone out the window along with everything else.
Corporate media propaganda has also taken a hit. James Bennet was the editor of the New York Times opinion page but is now without a job after a similar employee revolt. Staff was rightly angry when the Times printed an editorial from Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, who advised sending the military to quell nationwide protests. When Times employees spoke up it was revealed that the newspaper pitched the idea to Cotton, and not the other way around. Bennet also had to admit that he didn’t even read the fascistic screed.
The “paper of record” has long been a purveyor of war propaganda and the utterances of conservatives like Cotton. But the standard operating procedure isn’t good enough now and someone a few weeks ago can now be the scapegoat who gets pushed under a bus.
In Europe, thousands of people have turned out to protest for Floyd and against the United States. In Athens, the U.S. embassy was the target of demonstrators. Europe has its own history of racism and condemnation of this country has inspired people to be brave about their own nations’ criminality.
Parisians marched but not just for George Floyd. Adam Traore was killed by French police in 2016 and the anger about his death never disappeared. That is why a crowd of thousands gathered to say both of their names.
Long dead criminals are also being taken to task. Belgium’s King Leopold presided over one of the world’s worst genocides in the Congo where up to 10 million people were killed in quest to maximize rubber production. In recent days monuments to Leopold have been defaced with graffiti and red paint representing the blood he spilled. In Britain, the statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and dumped into a river in the city of Bristol. Colston made a fortune selling 100,000 Africans to colonies in the Caribbean. His name is still present in his hometown in recognition of the philanthropy that came from selling people and working them to death.
No one is safe. New York Times editors, mayors of major cities, and even long-dead criminals are being called to account. People have lost their fear because they are desperate and angry. It is harder to convince them that all is well when their suffering was deliberately created and their pleas for redress were ignored.
The reaction to these acts of rebellion has been all too predictable. Politicians are running scared and dare to do what they would never have considered before. The Minneapolis city council voted to disband its police department. But the mayor has already expressed opposition and the state of Minnesota would also have to approve. Not only can the council not deliver on their vote, but they have done nothing to bring justice to those already killed by police in that city. The movement would do well not to be taken in by unworkable schemes meant to silence them.
While the well-meaning struggle with direction, the powerful see the handwriting on the wall and respond with their own kente cloth moments. The CEO of Chase, Jamie Dimon, photographed himself taking a knee, but outside of a bank vault, just in case anyone didn’t know whose side he was on. Corporations are claiming they will do better in their treatment of black employees and the NFL is making mealy-mouthed apologies to Colin Kaepernick. Nike says it will donate $40 million to as yet unnamed organizations serving black communities.
All of the opportunism is the result of a mass determination to see change that benefits the people. The moment was rife as kleptocracy enriched the already rich and a pandemic decimated already shaky economies. Now white people have themselves faced the wrath of police goon squads and are now accepting proposals they would have opposed or ignored not too long ago.
There is the possibility of advancement but also of reaction. The system knows how to defend itself and how to appeal to the public. This moment requires great vigilance. The people in movement can bring about great changes. But the kente cloth wearing rascals will not disappear anytime soon.
Feature photo | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, and House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., right, and top Congressional Democrats, raise their hands during a news conference to unveil policing reform and equal justice legislation on Capitol Hill, June 8, 2020, in Washington. Manuel Balce Ceneta | AP


mintpressnews--2020-06-11--New Evidence Suggests Turkey Preparing for Libya-Style Military Intervention in Yemen

ADEN , YEMEN — As focus begins to turn to developments in Libya and the foreign interference that plagues the Arab country , it seems that Turkey already has its eye elsewhere , preparing for military involvement in Yemen in a move that has sparked concern among Yemenis already struggling against an intervention led by Saudi Arabia , famine and most recently , COVID-19 .
Informed sources in Aden and Taiz revealed to MintPress that a militia belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated El-Eslah Party , the ideological and political ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan , is already engaged in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s southern provinces , particularly in Abyan and Shabwa .
The Turkish intervention , which extends to Marib – an oil-rich province located 173 kilometers to the northeast of Ansar Allah-controlled Sana ’ a , has so far been led by officers , experts , and training personnel , and has involved the delivery of weapons , including drones , for use by Turkish allies on the ground .
The move paves the way for wider intervention in Yemen that would resemble Turkey ’ s role in Libya in favor of The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently battling General Khalifa Haftar ’ s forces for control over the country .
The Turkish officers and advisors in Yemen are lending comprehensive support to El-Eslah ’ s militants who have been fighting against the Southern Transitional Council ( STC ) in Abyan since April 26 , when the STC imposed emergency rule in Aden and all southern governorates .
Beginning in 2018 and ‘ 19 , dozens of Turkish officers and experts reportedly arrived in many Yemeni areas overlooking the Red Sea and Arabian Sea , particularly in Shabwa , Abyan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Mukha near the Bab al-Mandab Strait as well as to Marib .
The officers reportedly entered Yemen as aid workers under pseudonyms using Yemeni passports issued illegally from the Yemeni passport headquarters in the governorates of Ma ’ rib , Taiz , and Al-Mahrah .
Recently , Ankara trained hundreds of Yemeni fighters in Turkey and in makeshift camps inside of Yemen .
Moreover , Turkey recruited Libyan and Syrian mercenaries to fight in Yemen bty promising them high salaries to fight for the Muslim Brotherhood in the southern regions and along @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sources that spoke to MintPress .
One of those sources said that a group of mercenaries was supposed to enter the country last week in a Turkish plane carrying “ aid and medicine related to coronavirus pandemic ” but the Saudi-led coalition prevented the plane from landing at Aden ’ s airport .
Now , sources say , Turkish intelligence and its allies in Yemen are working on a strategy to enter the country by pushing for eased travel restrictions under the guise of fighting coronavirus .
Yemeni politicians told MintPress that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Balhaf and secure for use as a hub to export gas and oil and to control the open coasts of the Arabian Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait for later use as a gateway for Turkish intervention in the region .
Turkish control in those areas would provide access to support and supply Turkish military bases in Somalia and Qatar .
This information provided to MintPress was confirmed by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Libyan Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Masmari , who is recruiting Syrian and Lybian mercenaries with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brotherhood in Yemen .
At this point , both the Saudi-led Coalition and Turkey have exploited the Yemeni poor , recruiting them to fight in both Libya and Syria .
In Taiz , Turkey has opened training camps , the most important of which is located on the outskirts of the al-Hajariya Mountains near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and is run by Hamoud al-Mikhlafi who resides in Turkey and regularly visits Qatar .
Al-Mikhlafi also established the “ Hamad Camp ” in the Jabal Habashi District .
Shabwah , and Marib have also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boosted its intelligence presence in Yemen through the use of Turkish humanitarian aid organizations .
There are many Turkish “ humanitarian relief organizations ” operating in three coastal Yemeni regions : Shabwa , Socotra , and the al-Mukha region in Taiz governorate .
Among those organizations is the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Agency ( IHH ) which operates in the governorate of Aden , the Turkish Red Crescent , the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency ( TIKA ) , the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation ( Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı ) among dozens of other Turkish organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s El-Eslah Party , founded in 1990 , since before the Saudi-led Coalition launched its offensive in Yemen in 2015 .
Similar to its support for the Government of Accord in Libya , El-Eslah has gained additional momentum in recent years given the power and money it has received from both Turkey and members of the Saudi-led coalition .
In a related event , high-ranking government officials from Turkey have traveled to Yemen to develop strategic interests and conclude agreements which could allow Turkey to resort to military force to protect its interests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Turkey ’ s deputy interior minister , Ismail Catakln traveled to Aden and held a meeting with high-ranking officials from the El-Eslah party , including Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed , who has been appointed “ Prime Minister of Yemen ” by ousted President Abdul Mansour al-Hadi on October 18 , 2018 .
According to a joint official statement , a number of agreements were concluded at the meeting involving humanitarian aid , health and education , economic and service projects , as well as an agreement to activate the joint committee between Yemen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a security and intelligence agreement between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ahmed Al-Misri , a member of El-Eslah party .
This came months after “ former Yemeni Transport Minister ” Saleh al-Jabwani , a Reform Party affiliate , visited Turkey to sign agreements to hand over Yemeni ports , an agreement that was rejected by “ Yemeni government officials ” belonging to the Saudi-led coalition .
Prior to that , El-Eslah party officials and ministers have taken trips to Turkey to lobby AKP officials and encourage them to invest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ports .
It is unlikely that Yemen is currently Turkey ’ s first priority in the region as it has already established a base in Djibouti and has a presence in both Somalia and Sudan , where Ankara has been granted temporary control of Sudan ’ s Suakin Island , providing it an important foothold into the Red Sea .
But Turkey ’ s efforts in Yemen not only grant it expanded influence in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea but also with influence in the Arabian Sea .
From the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arab Emirates , who are already at odds with Turkey , the presence of Turkish forces in Yemen could be a real threat to their interests .
Moreover , a Turkish presence could serve as a very effective trump card for Turkey ’ s close ally Qatar , which has had a hostile relationship with these countries since the UAE , Saudi Arabia , Bahrain and Egypt broke ties with Doha in 2017 .
Furthermore , Turkey ’ s efforts , particularly in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait , are a threat to Egyptian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ odds with Turkey due to Ankara ’ s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and competition for resources in the Eastern Mediterranean .
The Turkish project in Yemen has given new zeal to the Saudi-led Coalition in its efforts to control Yemen ’ s islands .
This week , Eritrean forces supported by the United Arab Emirates launched a military attack to take Yemen ’ s Hanish Islands in the Red Sea on Tuesday .
The attack comes amid renewed tensions that have seen Yemenis that attempt to approach the Islands , even fishermen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proactive move by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerk is no surprise as Afwerk rejected previous Turkish efforts to establish a presence on the Sudanese island of Suakin .
Eritrea briefly occupied the Hanish Islands in 1995 before retreating after the international arbitration court granted Yemen sovereignty over them .
A fiery clash in Yemen between the Saudi-led coalition and Turkey could be inevitable as the coalition seeks to dominate the Yemeni arena and eliminate Turkish interests there .
It is also unlikely Turkey will abandon its allies and geostrategic ambitions in Yemen , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria .
Unfortunately , the biggest losers in this scenario are the Yemeni people and their lands .
Yemenis for their part are concerned about potential Turkish military intervention in their country .
They say any additional foreign interference will complicate the situation and eliminate the hope of ending the conflict for dozens of years .
Indeed , Yemen is already grappling with COVID-19 , a collapsed healthcare system , and an ongoing Saudi-led coalition war and blockade .
However , Ansar Allah and its allies , as well as major parties in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have warned that Turkey ’ s military intervention in the country will be considered blatant aggression ad will be met by fierce military resistance .
They urged the Turks to learn from the coalition ’ s failed experience and their own history which saw the Ottman Turks lose thousands of troops in Yemen during their ancient forays .
Yemeni Hussein al-Qwabari promised an armed struggle against any Turkish involvement in his country .
He got upset when asked if he supports conditional Turkish intervention in Yemen .
Al-Qwabari wons a home in Mathbah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alter.
” Mathbah is so named for a famous incident in which thousands of Turkish soldiers were massacred by Yemeni resistance forces and al-Qwabari says he is enthusiastically prepared to repeat the experience of his grandparents in their armed struggle against the Turks .
In fact , the issue of Turkish interference in Yemen is a sensitive topics which provokes national fervor , especially among those old enough to remember the painful experiences of previous intrusions .
The Ottoman Turkish Empire reduced Yemen , particularly the north , to a poor and backward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Yemen has gained a reputation as a quagmire for would-be invaders .
Yemen was not only conquered by the Ottomans Turks once but twice .
The first time was in the sixteenth century under the pretext of thwarting Portuguese ambitions and saw Ottoman forces unable to capture the whole of Yemen .
The Turks sent more than 80,000 soldiers to suppress local uprisings against foreign intervention but only 7,000 Turks returned home .
The Turks returned in the nineteenth century and were again expelled in the 1910s .
However , many Yemeni @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials in the party as well as journalists , have increased calls to make room for Turkey in Yemen , citing the gains made in Libya by groups supported by Turkey , “ We want Turkish intervention in Yemen , ” Anis Mansour , the former Media attaché at the Yemeni embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a video posted from Turkey in which he spoke in front of the infamous Hagia Sophia .
Mansour runs a network of social media activists and lives in Qatar .
Supporters of Turkish intervention among Yemenis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activities could stem Saudi and Emirati ambitions in the country and end the chaos and tragedy left by the coalition .
They believe that the Turks can end the war and return the former government to Sana ’ a .
Other Yemenis believe that Turkish intervention will be little more than an alternative to Saudi intervention and will do little to change the situation on the ground .
Yemenis collectively have not forgotten their experiences during both British and Turkish intervention .
They are well-acquainted with outside forces that yearn for Yemen for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Today , they are experiencing another intervention , led by the richest countries in the world .
They see neighbors that share a common language and faith do nothing while they are killed by hunger , disease , and incessant bombing .
This has ultimately caused an opening for Turkey as war-weary Yemenis may be amenable to a new foreign invader provided that their rights , sovereignty , and independence are respected .
Feature photo | Fighters of the ‘ Shelba ’ unit , a militia allied with the U.N.-supported Libyan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Salah-addin neighborhood front line in Tripoli , Libya , Aug 31 , 2019 .
Ricard Garcia Vilanova | AP Ahmed AbdulKareem is a Yemeni journalist .
He covers the war in Yemen for MintPress News as well as local Yemeni media .

ADEN, YEMEN — As focus begins to turn to developments in Libya and the foreign interference that plagues the Arab country, it seems that Turkey already has its eye elsewhere, preparing for military involvement in Yemen in a move that has sparked concern among Yemenis already struggling against an intervention led by Saudi Arabia, famine and most recently, COVID-19.
Informed sources in Aden and Taiz revealed to MintPress that a militia belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated El-Eslah Party, the ideological and political ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, is already engaged in the latest round of fighting in Yemen’s southern provinces, particularly in Abyan and Shabwa.
The Turkish intervention, which extends to Marib – an oil-rich province located 173 kilometers to the northeast of Ansar Allah-controlled Sana’a, has so far been led by officers, experts, and training personnel, and has involved the delivery of weapons, including drones, for use by Turkish allies on the ground. The move paves the way for wider intervention in Yemen that would resemble Turkey’s role in Libya in favor of The Government of National Accord, which is currently battling General Khalifa Haftar’s forces for control over the country.
The Turkish officers and advisors in Yemen are lending comprehensive support to El-Eslah’s militants who have been fighting against the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Abyan since April 26, when the STC imposed emergency rule in Aden and all southern governorates.
Beginning in 2018 and ‘19, dozens of Turkish officers and experts reportedly arrived in many Yemeni areas overlooking the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, particularly in Shabwa, Abyan, Socotra, al-Mahra and coastal Directorate of Mukha near the Bab al-Mandab Strait as well as to Marib. The officers reportedly entered Yemen as aid workers under pseudonyms using Yemeni passports issued illegally from the Yemeni passport headquarters in the governorates of Ma’rib, Taiz, and Al-Mahrah.
Recently, Ankara trained hundreds of Yemeni fighters in Turkey and in makeshift camps inside of Yemen. Moreover, Turkey recruited Libyan and Syrian mercenaries to fight in Yemen bty promising them high salaries to fight for the Muslim Brotherhood in the southern regions and along the western coast of Yemen, according to sources that spoke to MintPress.
One of those sources said that a group of mercenaries was supposed to enter the country last week in a Turkish plane carrying “aid and medicine related to coronavirus pandemic” but the Saudi-led coalition prevented the plane from landing at Aden’s airport. Now, sources say, Turkish intelligence and its allies in Yemen are working on a strategy to enter the country by pushing for eased travel restrictions under the guise of fighting coronavirus.
Yemeni politicians told MintPress that Turkey wants to reach the strategic port of Balhaf and secure for use as a hub to export gas and oil and to control the open coasts of the Arabian Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait for later use as a gateway for Turkish intervention in the region. Turkish control in those areas would provide access to support and supply Turkish military bases in Somalia and Qatar.
This information provided to MintPress was confirmed by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Libyan Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Masmari, who is recruiting Syrian and Lybian mercenaries with attractive salaries to fight with the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen. At this point, both the Saudi-led Coalition and Turkey have exploited the Yemeni poor, recruiting them to fight in both Libya and Syria.
In Taiz, Turkey has opened training camps, the most important of which is located on the outskirts of the al-Hajariya Mountains near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and is run by Hamoud al-Mikhlafi who resides in Turkey and regularly visits Qatar. Al-Mikhlafi also established the “Hamad Camp” in the Jabal Habashi District. Shabwah, and Marib have also received Turkish support.
Ankara has successfully boosted its intelligence presence in Yemen through the use of Turkish humanitarian aid organizations. There are many Turkish “humanitarian relief organizations” operating in three coastal Yemeni regions: Shabwa, Socotra, and the al-Mukha region in Taiz governorate. Among those organizations is the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Agency (IHH) which operates in the governorate of Aden, the Turkish Red Crescent, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı) among dozens of other Turkish organizations.
Turkey has been supporting Yemen’s El-Eslah Party, founded in 1990, since before the Saudi-led Coalition launched its offensive in Yemen in 2015. Similar to its support for the Government of Accord in Libya, El-Eslah has gained additional momentum in recent years given the power and money it has received from both Turkey and members of the Saudi-led coalition.
An ally in El-Eslah
In a related event, high-ranking government officials from Turkey have traveled to Yemen to develop strategic interests and conclude agreements which could allow Turkey to resort to military force to protect its interests in the country. ln January 2019, Turkey’s deputy interior minister, Ismail Catakln traveled to Aden and held a meeting with high-ranking officials from the El-Eslah party, including Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who has been appointed “Prime Minister of Yemen” by ousted President Abdul Mansour al-Hadi on October 18, 2018.
According to a joint official statement, a number of agreements were concluded at the meeting involving humanitarian aid, health and education, economic and service projects, as well as an agreement to activate the joint committee between Yemen and Turkey. The most important agreement was a security and intelligence agreement between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ahmed Al-Misri, a member of El-Eslah party.
This came months after “former Yemeni Transport Minister” Saleh al-Jabwani, a Reform Party affiliate, visited Turkey to sign agreements to hand over Yemeni ports, an agreement that was rejected by “Yemeni government officials” belonging to the Saudi-led coalition.
Prior to that, El-Eslah party officials and ministers have taken trips to Turkey to lobby AKP officials and encourage them to invest in Yemen’s transport sector and ports.
Saudi Coalition reels as Turkey ruffles feathers
It is unlikely that Yemen is currently Turkey’s first priority in the region as it has already established a base in Djibouti and has a presence in both Somalia and Sudan, where Ankara has been granted temporary control of Sudan’s Suakin Island, providing it an important foothold into the Red Sea. But Turkey’s efforts in Yemen not only grant it expanded influence in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea but also with influence in the Arabian Sea.
From the perspective of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who are already at odds with Turkey, the presence of Turkish forces in Yemen could be a real threat to their interests. Moreover, a Turkish presence could serve as a very effective trump card for Turkey’s close ally Qatar, which has had a hostile relationship with these countries since the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt broke ties with Doha in 2017. Furthermore, Turkey’s efforts, particularly in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, are a threat to Egyptian national security. Egypt is also at odds with Turkey due to Ankara’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and competition for resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Turkish project in Yemen has given new zeal to the Saudi-led Coalition in its efforts to control Yemen’s islands. This week, Eritrean forces supported by the United Arab Emirates launched a military attack to take Yemen’s Hanish Islands in the Red Sea on Tuesday. The attack comes amid renewed tensions that have seen Yemenis that attempt to approach the Islands, even fishermen, arrested by Eritrean forces.
The proactive move by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerk is no surprise as Afwerk rejected previous Turkish efforts to establish a presence on the Sudanese island of Suakin. Eritrea briefly occupied the Hanish Islands in 1995 before retreating after the international arbitration court granted Yemen sovereignty over them.
A fiery clash in Yemen between the Saudi-led coalition and Turkey could be inevitable as the coalition seeks to dominate the Yemeni arena and eliminate Turkish interests there. It is also unlikely Turkey will abandon its allies and geostrategic ambitions in Yemen, as it refused to do in Libya or Syria. Unfortunately, the biggest losers in this scenario are the Yemeni people and their lands.
A quagmire for the would-be invader
Yemenis for their part are concerned about potential Turkish military intervention in their country. They say any additional foreign interference will complicate the situation and eliminate the hope of ending the conflict for dozens of years. Indeed, Yemen is already grappling with COVID-19, a collapsed healthcare system, and an ongoing Saudi-led coalition war and blockade.
However, Ansar Allah and its allies, as well as major parties in Yemen allied with the Saudi-led Coalition, have warned that Turkey’s military intervention in the country will be considered blatant aggression ad will be met by fierce military resistance. They urged the Turks to learn from the coalition’s failed experience and their own history which saw the Ottman Turks lose thousands of troops in Yemen during their ancient forays.
Yemeni Hussein al-Qwabari promised an armed struggle against any Turkish involvement in his country. He got upset when asked if he supports conditional Turkish intervention in Yemen. Al-Qwabari wons a home in Mathbah, which translates roughly into “The Alter.” Mathbah is so named for a famous incident in which thousands of Turkish soldiers were massacred by Yemeni resistance forces and al-Qwabari says he is enthusiastically prepared to repeat the experience of his grandparents in their armed struggle against the Turks.
In fact, the issue of Turkish interference in Yemen is a sensitive topics which provokes national fervor, especially among those old enough to remember the painful experiences of previous intrusions. The Ottoman Turkish Empire reduced Yemen, particularly the north, to a poor and backward vassal state.
There is good reason that Yemen has gained a reputation as a quagmire for would-be invaders. Yemen was not only conquered by the Ottomans Turks once but twice. The first time was in the sixteenth century under the pretext of thwarting Portuguese ambitions and saw Ottoman forces unable to capture the whole of Yemen. The Turks sent more than 80,000 soldiers to suppress local uprisings against foreign intervention but only 7,000 Turks returned home. The Turks returned in the nineteenth century and were again expelled in the 1910s.
However, many Yemeni activists belong to El-Eslah, including high-ranking officials in the party as well as journalists, have increased calls to make room for Turkey in Yemen, citing the gains made in Libya by groups supported by Turkey,
“We want Turkish intervention in Yemen,” Anis Mansour, the former Media attaché at the Yemeni embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a video posted from Turkey in which he spoke in front of the infamous Hagia Sophia. Mansour runs a network of social media activists and lives in Qatar. Supporters of Turkish intervention among Yemenis stems from the hope that Turkish military activities could stem Saudi and Emirati ambitions in the country and end the chaos and tragedy left by the coalition. They believe that the Turks can end the war and return the former government to Sana’a. Other Yemenis believe that Turkish intervention will be little more than an alternative to Saudi intervention and will do little to change the situation on the ground.
Yemenis collectively have not forgotten their experiences during both British and Turkish intervention. They are well-acquainted with outside forces that yearn for Yemen for its geographic location more than for its people. Today, they are experiencing another intervention, led by the richest countries in the world. They see neighbors that share a common language and faith do nothing while they are killed by hunger, disease, and incessant bombing.
This has ultimately caused an opening for Turkey as war-weary Yemenis may be amenable to a new foreign invader provided that their rights, sovereignty, and independence are respected.
Feature photo | Fighters of the ‘Shelba’ unit, a militia allied with the U.N.-supported Libyan government, aim at enemy positions at the Salah-addin neighborhood front line in Tripoli, Libya, Aug 31, 2019. Ricard Garcia Vilanova | AP
Ahmed AbdulKareem is a Yemeni journalist. He covers the war in Yemen for MintPress News as well as local Yemeni media.


mintpressnews--2020-06-11--The Eugenicist’s Playbook: Politicized Science Is Making a Comeback in the Age of COVID-19

Science has emerged as the new religion of contemporary Western civilization , raising the status of its practitioners to the level of secular sainthood and its findings increasingly taken as the voice of God .
Never in history has such a patently unscientific approach to science been so prevalent as it is today in the midst of this global health crisis , where people with a Ph.D. or MD after their names are looked to for their decrees and proclamations about what is and isn ’ t acceptable in the face of a mysterious virus , which ironically enough , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failure of modern science to date .
Nothing more than a methodology , the political uses of science are not new .
Pseudo-scientific assertions were rampant during Victorian times when Charles Darwin ’ s theory of evolution was bastardized and used to rationalize racism and the pillaging of resources in far off lands populated by brown-skinned people .
Skull sizes , finger length , and many other arbitrary measurement devices were employed to build bogus narratives that helped the colonizer ’ s mind validate his own inhumanity and racism .
Science , after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pose a question .
But , if the question itself is dishonest science – as such – loses all of its value .
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected communities of color in the United States , with some estimates calculating infections among African Americans to be 2.4 times higher than White Americans .
The explanations put forward by such renowned institutions as the Lancet for this disparity follows the same pseudo-scientific designs prevalent in the waning days of the British Empire and exported to the thirteen colonies of the burgeoning American state .
Despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to no data to support or refute ” the idea that ethnicity plays any part in the lopsided rate of infections , the prestigious British institution nevertheless calls for policy-makers to “ ensure ” that ethnicity forms a part of minimum datasets to “ permit identification of potential outcome risk factors , ” and urges that these unproven hypotheses “ directly [ … ] inform public health interventions globally.
” The core of the problem rests on the attribution of the statistical realities of a higher incidence of COVID-19 in minority populations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inherent genetic factor instead of the actual reasons driving the vulnerabilities of these communities .
Blaming a set of co-morbidity factors like diabetes and hypertension on genetic predisposition promulgates a racist paradigm that uses “ science ” to effectively cast a majority of the world ’ s population as genetically inferior species who must be saved by the mythical White knight and his miracle medicines .
The very question of whether racism was at the root of the African American community ’ s greater risk to COVID-19 was recently posed to Republican Senator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with an egregious track record of health-related issues in its most marginalized areas and one of the clearest examples of the direct relationship between socio-economic oppression and fatal disease .
When Cassidy was asked directly whether he thought the claim made by fellow Congressman Cedric Richmond ( D-LA ) that higher COVID-19 hospitalization rates among the state ’ s African American population were due to the deleterious health consequences brought on by systemic racism , the Senator immediately pulled out his medical credentials and dismissed any such accusations as nothing but rhetoric .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stated , “ I ’ m looking at the science.
” Pressed by the interviewer , the Senator dug deeper into the pseudo-scientific playbook and used all of his political savvy to double down on the tacit superiority afforded to scientists over mere mortals by laying down the ostensibly unassailable argument embedded in our genetic make-up .
“ The physiology , ” he continued , “ is that if you have an ACE inhibitor – excuse me , an ACE receptor , that ’ s where the virus hits.
” Science thus allows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and focus on the symptoms of a problem , as Aspirin manufacturer would prefer people to keep treating the headache instead of the tumor that might be causing it .
One of the most salient examples of the endemic racism that runs in certain scientific circles can be grasped by the debate surrounding widespread assumptions within the scientific community that hypertension among African Americans is the result of genetic factors .
A 2003 study titled “ The Slavery Hypertension Hypothesis : Dissemination and Appeal of a Modern Race Theory ” takes a deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the findings that African Americans suffered from nearly twice the level of hypertension of White Americans .
The authors examine a plethora of scientific literature that “ presumed racial equivalence between Africans and African-Americans ” despite all evidence to the contrary .
Peer-reviewed articles with titles such as “ Is the Pathogenesis of Hypertension Different in Black Patients ?
, ” “ Hypertension in Blacks .
Is it a Different Disease ?
” and “ Hypertension in African-Americans : A Paradigm of Metabolic Disarray ” are dissected in the study to reveal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and rightly exposed as “ ideology ” and not science .
Nevertheless , examples like these abound in the broader scientific community and its pernicious influence on a society , which is increasingly conditioned to accept the declarations of scientists as gospel poses a risk as serious as that effectuated over feudal societies at the height of the Catholic Church ’ s power when only monks and priests were permitted the luxury of literacy and a monopoly over the interpretation of biblical scripture .
In a recent editorial for Scientific American , Medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between racism and modern-day scientific inquiry as it relates to current ratios of COVID-19 infections between Black and White populations in America .
Gravlee traces the roots of White supremacist ideology to the medical frontiers of Atlantic slave societies and the medical experimentation colonial physicians engaged in to “ improve plantation labor efficiency , safeguard colonial and civic interests , and enhance control over black bodies “ .
The racial-genetic component touted in so many so-called scientific papers is not limited to COVID-19 or hypertension but stretches across a number of other health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other chronic diseases .
When taken together , what emerges is nothing less than another form of what is known as structural racism and , perhaps , its most dangerous manifestation .
The endemic levels of poverty , malnutrition , and marginalization demanded by capitalist models of production are being subtly obfuscated by a pseudo-scientific narrative , which attributes the dire health consequences of this unsustainable economic paradigm to fallacious claims of genetic weaknesses of the most vulnerable populations .
The perpetuation of racist ideologies cloaked behind a veneer of science could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human beings at this particular moment in history .
If we allow the systems of oppression and exploitation to spread under the guise of science , convincing us that it is not the destructive momentum of unbridled consumerism that is killing us and the planet , but rather our own genetic misfortune , no amount of rioting and protests will keep our demise at bay .
Feature photo | People wait for a distribution of masks and food from the Rev .
Al Sharpton in the Harlem neighborhood of New York , after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents to wear face coverings in public due to COVID-19 , April 18 , 2020 .
Bebeto Matthews | AP

Science has emerged as the new religion of contemporary Western civilization, raising the status of its practitioners to the level of secular sainthood and its findings increasingly taken as the voice of God. Never in history has such a patently unscientific approach to science been so prevalent as it is today in the midst of this global health crisis, where people with a Ph.D. or MD after their names are looked to for their decrees and proclamations about what is and isn’t acceptable in the face of a mysterious virus, which ironically enough, might turn out to be the biggest failure of modern science to date.
Nothing more than a methodology, the political uses of science are not new. Pseudo-scientific assertions were rampant during Victorian times when Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was bastardized and used to rationalize racism and the pillaging of resources in far off lands populated by brown-skinned people. Skull sizes, finger length, and many other arbitrary measurement devices were employed to build bogus narratives that helped the colonizer’s mind validate his own inhumanity and racism. Science, after all, is simply a way to pose a question. But, if the question itself is dishonest science – as such – loses all of its value.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected communities of color in the United States, with some estimates calculating infections among African Americans to be 2.4 times higher than White Americans. The explanations put forward by such renowned institutions as the Lancet for this disparity follows the same pseudo-scientific designs prevalent in the waning days of the British Empire and exported to the thirteen colonies of the burgeoning American state.
Despite admitting outright that there is “little to no data to support or refute” the idea that ethnicity plays any part in the lopsided rate of infections, the prestigious British institution nevertheless calls for policy-makers to “ensure” that ethnicity forms a part of minimum datasets to “permit identification of potential outcome risk factors,” and urges that these unproven hypotheses “directly […] inform public health interventions globally.”
The core of the problem rests on the attribution of the statistical realities of a higher incidence of COVID-19 in minority populations of color as being the result of some inherent genetic factor instead of the actual reasons driving the vulnerabilities of these communities. Blaming a set of co-morbidity factors like diabetes and hypertension on genetic predisposition promulgates a racist paradigm that uses “science” to effectively cast a majority of the world’s population as genetically inferior species who must be saved by the mythical White knight and his miracle medicines.
Dismissing the truth with science
The very question of whether racism was at the root of the African American community’s greater risk to COVID-19 was recently posed to Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana – a state with an egregious track record of health-related issues in its most marginalized areas and one of the clearest examples of the direct relationship between socio-economic oppression and fatal disease.
When Cassidy was asked directly whether he thought the claim made by fellow Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA) that higher COVID-19 hospitalization rates among the state’s African American population were due to the deleterious health consequences brought on by systemic racism, the Senator immediately pulled out his medical credentials and dismissed any such accusations as nothing but rhetoric. “As a physician,” Cassidy stated, “I’m looking at the science.”
Pressed by the interviewer, the Senator dug deeper into the pseudo-scientific playbook and used all of his political savvy to double down on the tacit superiority afforded to scientists over mere mortals by laying down the ostensibly unassailable argument embedded in our genetic make-up. “The physiology,” he continued, “is that if you have an ACE inhibitor – excuse me, an ACE receptor, that’s where the virus hits.”
Science thus allows politicians like Cassidy to ignore underlying realities and focus on the symptoms of a problem, as Aspirin manufacturer would prefer people to keep treating the headache instead of the tumor that might be causing it.
Neo-feudal lords in white coats
One of the most salient examples of the endemic racism that runs in certain scientific circles can be grasped by the debate surrounding widespread assumptions within the scientific community that hypertension among African Americans is the result of genetic factors.
A 2003 study titled “The Slavery Hypertension Hypothesis: Dissemination and Appeal of a Modern Race Theory” takes a deep dive into the pseudo-scientific narratives developed out of the findings that African Americans suffered from nearly twice the level of hypertension of White Americans. The authors examine a plethora of scientific literature that “presumed racial equivalence between Africans and African-Americans” despite all evidence to the contrary.
Peer-reviewed articles with titles such as “Is the Pathogenesis of Hypertension Different in Black Patients?,” “Hypertension in Blacks. Is it a Different Disease?” and “Hypertension in African-Americans: A Paradigm of Metabolic Disarray” are dissected in the study to reveal the inherent racism of these insidious claims and rightly exposed as “ideology” and not science.
Nevertheless, examples like these abound in the broader scientific community and its pernicious influence on a society, which is increasingly conditioned to accept the declarations of scientists as gospel poses a risk as serious as that effectuated over feudal societies at the height of the Catholic Church’s power when only monks and priests were permitted the luxury of literacy and a monopoly over the interpretation of biblical scripture.
The science of slavery
In a recent editorial for Scientific American, Medical Anthropologist Clarence Gravlee effectively exposes the links between racism and modern-day scientific inquiry as it relates to current ratios of COVID-19 infections between Black and White populations in America. Gravlee traces the roots of White supremacist ideology to the medical frontiers of Atlantic slave societies and the medical experimentation colonial physicians engaged in to “improve plantation labor efficiency, safeguard colonial and civic interests, and enhance control over black bodies“.
The racial-genetic component touted in so many so-called scientific papers is not limited to COVID-19 or hypertension but stretches across a number of other health problems like obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. When taken together, what emerges is nothing less than another form of what is known as structural racism and, perhaps, its most dangerous manifestation.
The endemic levels of poverty, malnutrition, and marginalization demanded by capitalist models of production are being subtly obfuscated by a pseudo-scientific narrative, which attributes the dire health consequences of this unsustainable economic paradigm to fallacious claims of genetic weaknesses of the most vulnerable populations.
The perpetuation of racist ideologies cloaked behind a veneer of science could be the most perilous threat we face as human beings at this particular moment in history. If we allow the systems of oppression and exploitation to spread under the guise of science, convincing us that it is not the destructive momentum of unbridled consumerism that is killing us and the planet, but rather our own genetic misfortune, no amount of rioting and protests will keep our demise at bay.
Feature photo | People wait for a distribution of masks and food from the Rev. Al Sharpton in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, after a new state mandate was issued requiring residents to wear face coverings in public due to COVID-19, April 18, 2020. Bebeto Matthews | AP
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.


mintpressnews--2020-06-12--Project Venezuela: Right-Wing Activists Push Wikipedia to Blacklist MintPress, other Alternative Med

Project Venezuela: Right-Wing Activists Push Wikipedia to Blacklist MintPress, other Alternative Media

Still unable to convince a sufficient number of their countryfolk to support them , the Venezuelan opposition has turned their efforts towards convincing an international audience – primarily Americans – to support their cause .
Part of that is spending inordinate amounts of time online , arguing in English on social media , creating bot networks , and editing Wikipedia articles .
Many Wikipedia articles on Venezuela are particularly biased towards the opposition , containing numerous inaccuracies , falsehoods and non-sequiturs .
Now , according to The Grayzone , a group of right-wing Venezuelans has managed to ban the use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that do not comport with their views .
These include MintPress ( already blackballed by Wikipedia ) , The Grayzone , and the much-lauded independent news site Venezuelanalysis , the most extensive English-language resource on the country available .
One user in particular , ZiaLater , a member of a group called “ Project Venezuela ” who control and moderate content related to the country , was the catalyst for the banning of the sites taking an anti-imperialist stance .
Some members of Project Venezuela spend long hours changing Venezuela-related pages so they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sympathetic to the opposition .
Wikipedia suggests using corporate-funded mainstream sources who they feel are “ generally reliable.
” However , on Venezuela , these same outlets closely resemble and parrot U.S. regime change propaganda .
For example , CNN , the BBC , and the Daily Telegraph all reported the blatant falsehood that the Venezuelan government burned aid trucks trying to enter the country last year .
In reality , it was the opposition themselves that burned their own trucks , as immediately reported by The Grayzone , MintPress News , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Multiple well-circulated live streams also showed the event in real-time .
However , that was all ignored .
The New York Times , a site recommended by Wikipedia for citation , currently employs a journalist covering Venezuela who openly admitted to me on tape that he considers himself a “ mercenary ” and deliberately plants outrageously exaggerated stories into Western media to push his goals .
Other journalists told me that their colleagues consider it their number one mission to overthrow the Maduro government .
In 2017 , The Washington Post published an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the country , and currently employs a Venezuelan journalist who resigned from The New York Times , saying , “ Too much of my lifestyle is bound up with opposition activism ” that he “ can ’ t possibly be neutral.
” Meanwhile , The Guardian described Oscar Perez , a local ex-soldier who hijacked a helicopter and used it to bomb parliament buildings as a “ patriot , ” and even pushing the debunked conspiracy theory that Perez was a “ government plant.
” They have not retracted it , nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sampling of the opposition propaganda disguised as objective reporting pumped out constantly by corporate media .
“ The media coverage of Venezuela is about as terrible as for any country in the world , except possibly for Palestine .
It is utterly biased , misleading and distorted , ” said Dan Beeton , an economist and Latin America specialist from the Center for Economic Policy Research .
“ The gap between the image and the reality of Venezuela , ” said professor William I. Robinson of the University of California , Santa Barbara @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is unfathomable.
” In contrast , MintPress has a number of experienced contributors based in Latin America , including Camila Escalante and Ollie Vargas .
I myself have published a Ph.D. , book , and five peer-reviewed studies in academic journals on the country and find myself in the mainstream of academic thought .
Yet the chasm between how specialists see the country and how it is reported in media is so large that we appear ultra-partisan in comparison to the corporate monolith .
A tool to propagate the biases of the ruling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that it is a collective public undertaking that anyone and everyone can add to , in reality , the online encyclopedia has come to mirror the inequalities present in society .
The more edits you do , the more power , prestige and influence you accrue , allowing individuals to wield unreasonable power over the world ’ s 13th most visited website .
A class of powerful editors has emerged , who spend hours every day editing and changing content how they see fit .
There are strong suspicions that governments and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or teams of people using the same account – to moderate the site full-time , and these power users openly advertise their services to corporations or other groups who want to sanitize or promote their image by changing their pages .
Because these users have climbed the Wikipedia hierarchy , their edits become law and are very difficult to overrule .
The CIA has been exposed changing the pages of politically sensitive topics , such as the U.S. invasion of Iraq , Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon , an FBI computer was spotted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while the NYPD amended Eric Garner ’ s page and even tried to remove pages focussing on police brutality .
Israeli groups are also active on the site , conducting an information war , trying to improve the country ’ s image .
The Guardian revealed they even gave out awards and prizes like free balloon rides for those selected as the “ best Zionist editor.
” Thus , the site has effectively been turned into “ a tool to propagate the reigning ideology and biases of the ruling elites , ” in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalist Chris Hedges .
As Wikipedia has shown little interest in opposing the site being slowly taken over by organized groups , it is unlikely that the mass blacklisting will be overturned .
Feature photo | A demonstrator marches with a placard that reads : “ Censorship ” during a protest in Madrid .
Andres Kudacki | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Still unable to convince a sufficient number of their countryfolk to support them, the Venezuelan opposition has turned their efforts towards convincing an international audience – primarily Americans – to support their cause. Part of that is spending inordinate amounts of time online, arguing in English on social media, creating bot networks, and editing Wikipedia articles. Many Wikipedia articles on Venezuela are particularly biased towards the opposition, containing numerous inaccuracies, falsehoods and non-sequiturs.
Now, according to The Grayzone, a group of right-wing Venezuelans has managed to ban the use of a range of alternative media outlets that do not comport with their views. These include MintPress (already blackballed by Wikipedia), The Grayzone, and the much-lauded independent news site Venezuelanalysis, the most extensive English-language resource on the country available. One user in particular, ZiaLater, a member of a group called “Project Venezuela” who control and moderate content related to the country, was the catalyst for the banning of the sites taking an anti-imperialist stance. Some members of Project Venezuela spend long hours changing Venezuela-related pages so they are more critical of the government and sympathetic to the opposition.
Policing the narrative
Wikipedia suggests using corporate-funded mainstream sources who they feel are “generally reliable.” However, on Venezuela, these same outlets closely resemble and parrot U.S. regime change propaganda. For example, CNN, the BBC, and the Daily Telegraph all reported the blatant falsehood that the Venezuelan government burned aid trucks trying to enter the country last year. In reality, it was the opposition themselves that burned their own trucks, as immediately reported by The Grayzone, MintPress News, and other outlets who were actually there. Multiple well-circulated live streams also showed the event in real-time. However, that was all ignored. The New York Times, a site recommended by Wikipedia for citation, currently employs a journalist covering Venezuela who openly admitted to me on tape that he considers himself a “mercenary” and deliberately plants outrageously exaggerated stories into Western media to push his goals. Other journalists told me that their colleagues consider it their number one mission to overthrow the Maduro government.
In 2017, The Washington Post published an article openly calling for a violent coup in the country, and currently employs a Venezuelan journalist who resigned from The New York Times, saying, “Too much of my lifestyle is bound up with opposition activism” that he “can’t possibly be neutral.” Meanwhile, The Guardian described Oscar Perez, a local ex-soldier who hijacked a helicopter and used it to bomb parliament buildings as a “patriot,” and even pushing the debunked conspiracy theory that Perez was a “government plant.” They have not retracted it, nor apologized. This is just a minor sampling of the opposition propaganda disguised as objective reporting pumped out constantly by corporate media.
“The media coverage of Venezuela is about as terrible as for any country in the world, except possibly for Palestine. It is utterly biased, misleading and distorted,” said Dan Beeton, an economist and Latin America specialist from the Center for Economic Policy Research. “The gap between the image and the reality of Venezuela,” said professor William I. Robinson of the University of California, Santa Barbara, “is so enormous that it is unfathomable.”
In contrast, MintPress has a number of experienced contributors based in Latin America, including Camila Escalante and Ollie Vargas. I myself have published a Ph.D., book, and five peer-reviewed studies in academic journals on the country and find myself in the mainstream of academic thought. Yet the chasm between how specialists see the country and how it is reported in media is so large that we appear ultra-partisan in comparison to the corporate monolith.
A tool to propagate the biases of the ruling elite
While the popular view of Wikipedia is that it is a collective public undertaking that anyone and everyone can add to, in reality, the online encyclopedia has come to mirror the inequalities present in society. The more edits you do, the more power, prestige and influence you accrue, allowing individuals to wield unreasonable power over the world’s 13th most visited website. A class of powerful editors has emerged, who spend hours every day editing and changing content how they see fit. There are strong suspicions that governments and other wealthy organizations are paying people – or teams of people using the same account – to moderate the site full-time, and these power users openly advertise their services to corporations or other groups who want to sanitize or promote their image by changing their pages. Because these users have climbed the Wikipedia hierarchy, their edits become law and are very difficult to overrule.
The CIA has been exposed changing the pages of politically sensitive topics, such as the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, an FBI computer was spotted editing the entry on Guantanamo Bay, while the NYPD amended Eric Garner’s page and even tried to remove pages focussing on police brutality. Israeli groups are also active on the site, conducting an information war, trying to improve the country’s image. The Guardian revealed they even gave out awards and prizes like free balloon rides for those selected as the “best Zionist editor.”
Thus, the site has effectively been turned into “a tool to propagate the reigning ideology and biases of the ruling elites,” in the words of former New York Times journalist Chris Hedges. As Wikipedia has shown little interest in opposing the site being slowly taken over by organized groups, it is unlikely that the mass blacklisting will be overturned.
Feature photo | A demonstrator marches with a placard that reads: “Censorship” during a protest in Madrid. Andres Kudacki | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.