mintpressnews--2020-03-23--Jeff Bezos, World’s Richest Man, Wants Your Donations To Help Amazon Employees

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos , the world ’ s first centibillionaire , a man who vies with Bill Gates for the title of the planet ’ s richest individual , is asking the public for donations to provide basic support to his 800,000 employees who are suffering in poverty in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic .
Bezos announced : “ We are establishing the Amazon Relief Fund with a $ 25 million initial contribution focused on supporting our independent delivery service partners and their drivers , Amazon Flex participants , and seasonal employees under financial distress during this challenging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both employees and contractors around the world that face economic hardship due to natural disasters or unforeseen personal circumstances .
Those who qualify can apply for a grant of up to $ 5,000 .
“ I ’ ve never been more proud of our teams around the world .
People are supporting one another , taking care of themselves and others while also doing what we do best , which is serving customers , ” said Beth Galetti , Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Amazon .
A man worth over $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average , $ 230,000 per minute calling on the public to help his own impoverished employees was not met well by many .
Amazon itself is worth over $ 1 trillion , and some felt Bezos himself was in a better position than others , especially members of the public also economically hit by the COVID-19 pandemic , to help his own staff .
Furthermore , the company is notorious as a bad employer .
Forced to forego bathroom breaks , many company warehouse workers are effectively compelled to wear diapers during their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unsafe environments and being punished for injuries sustained on the job .
The company also does not provide its employees with regular access to clean water .
Amazon workers are poor .
Really poor .
In Arizona , for example , the company ’ s own data suggests that one in three employees depend upon food stamps to put food on the table .
It is the twenty-eighth largest employer in the state .
However , it ranked fifth on the list for most employees enrolled in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it is a similar story .
In Pennsylvania , for instance , Amazon is the nineteenth largest employer but is in fifth place on the SNAP employees list of corporations .
And amidst the deadly COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe , the job is one of the more dangerous around , as workers are constantly on the move , handling a great number of packages and in close proximity to others .
Despite its poor pay , the job is considered essential to the upkeep of society .
Bezos ’ charitable donations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media .
His donation of one million Australian dollars to aid the bushfires in January generated headlines proclaiming his generosity .
But as MintPress reported , that was equivalent to just three minutes ’ income , as generous as a person making $ 20,000 per year donating a dime .
Linsey McGoey , Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex , UK , told MintPress that , “ philanthropy can and is being used deliberately to divert attention away from different forms of economic exploitation that underpin global inequality today.
” In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced yesterday that , through collective action , they had forced the company to agree to paid time off for all U.S. warehouse workers , something that will be especially useful in the current circumstances .
“ Almost a year ago , in the summer of 2019 , a small crew of us got fed up with Amazon ’ s bullshit and met up outside of work because we felt we had to do something , ” they said , proclaiming victory .
In the U.S. , the company is currently increasing recruitment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sales .
On the other hand , the government of France has suspended all non-essential Amazon deliveries in a bid to cut down on contagion rates .
The company has also been forced to halt price gouging on its website of key products like hand sanitizer .
While Bezos asks for donations , he appears to genuinely not have considered using his own wealth to help those in need .
In 2018 he lamented that “ the only way that I can see to deploy this much financial resource is by converting my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is basically it.
” His employees might have other ideas about how he could use his fortune .
Feature photo | Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during the JFK Space Summit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston , June 19 , 2019 .
Charles Krupa | 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 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s first centibillionaire, a man who vies with Bill Gates for the title of the planet’s richest individual, is asking the public for donations to provide basic support to his 800,000 employees who are suffering in poverty in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bezos announced:
“We are establishing the Amazon Relief Fund with a $25 million initial contribution focused on supporting our independent delivery service partners and their drivers, Amazon Flex participants, and seasonal employees under financial distress during this challenging time.”
The fund will also support both employees and contractors around the world that face economic hardship due to natural disasters or unforeseen personal circumstances. Those who qualify can apply for a grant of up to $5,000.
“I’ve never been more proud of our teams around the world. People are supporting one another, taking care of themselves and others while also doing what we do best, which is serving customers,” said Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Amazon.
Amazon set up a relief fund for its employees and is asking us to donate. Amazon is worth nearly $1 trillion. Amazon paid a negative federal income tax rate in 2018. They paid nothing but got millions in government subsidies. How is this real. https://t.co/MiLArAnTdA — Rob Hart (@robwhart) March 21, 2020
A man worth over $100 billion, who makes, on average, $230,000 per minute calling on the public to help his own impoverished employees was not met well by many. Amazon itself is worth over $1 trillion, and some felt Bezos himself was in a better position than others, especially members of the public also economically hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, to help his own staff. Furthermore, the company is notorious as a bad employer. Forced to forego bathroom breaks, many company warehouse workers are effectively compelled to wear diapers during their shifts. Other employees report working in unsafe environments and being punished for injuries sustained on the job. The company also does not provide its employees with regular access to clean water.
Amazon workers are poor. Really poor. In Arizona, for example, the company’s own data suggests that one in three employees depend upon food stamps to put food on the table. It is the twenty-eighth largest employer in the state. However, it ranked fifth on the list for most employees enrolled in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). Across the United States, it is a similar story. In Pennsylvania, for instance, Amazon is the nineteenth largest employer but is in fifth place on the SNAP employees list of corporations. And amidst the deadly COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, the job is one of the more dangerous around, as workers are constantly on the move, handling a great number of packages and in close proximity to others. Despite its poor pay, the job is considered essential to the upkeep of society.
I can’t even process this… Amazon — you know, the one run by the richest man, the one whose sales have shot up during a pandemic — is doing an online fundraiser. Asking all of us to donate to support its warehouse temps & flex drivers hit by Covid.
https://t.co/QWd851eXBk — Stacy Mitchell (@stacyfmitchell) March 20, 2020
Bezos’ charitable donations often garner him considerable praise in the media. His donation of one million Australian dollars to aid the bushfires in January generated headlines proclaiming his generosity. But as MintPress reported, that was equivalent to just three minutes’ income, as generous as a person making $20,000 per year donating a dime. Linsey McGoey, Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex, UK, told MintPress that, “philanthropy can and is being used deliberately to divert attention away from different forms of economic exploitation that underpin global inequality today.”
In other news, Amazon employees in Chicago announced yesterday that, through collective action, they had forced the company to agree to paid time off for all U.S. warehouse workers, something that will be especially useful in the current circumstances. “Almost a year ago, in the summer of 2019, a small crew of us got fed up with Amazon’s bullshit and met up outside of work because we felt we had to do something,” they said, proclaiming victory.
In the U.S., the company is currently increasing recruitment to deal with a sharp surge in sales. On the other hand, the government of France has suspended all non-essential Amazon deliveries in a bid to cut down on contagion rates. The company has also been forced to halt price gouging on its website of key products like hand sanitizer.
While Bezos asks for donations, he appears to genuinely not have considered using his own wealth to help those in need. In 2018 he lamented that “the only way that I can see to deploy this much financial resource is by converting my Amazon winnings into space travel. That is basically it.” His employees might have other ideas about how he could use his fortune.
Feature photo | Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during the JFK Space Summit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, June 19, 2019. Charles Krupa | 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--2020-03-23--Coronavirus: What Newsweek Failed to Mention About “Continuity of Government”

WASHINGTON DC ( The Last American Vagabond ) — Last week , Newsweek published a report entitled “ Inside The Military ’ s Top Secret Plans If Coronavirus Cripples the Government , ” which offers vague descriptions of different military plans that could be put into effect if the civilian government were to be largely incapacitated , with a focus on the potential of the current novel coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic to result in such a scenario .
The article ’ s author , William Arkin , largely frames these plans as new , though — buried deep within @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such contingency plans can be traced back to the Eisenhower administration ( though they were in place before ) and have since been developed and updated by most subsequent administrations , largely through the issuance of executive orders .
Arkin also points out that some of these “ Continuity of Government ” , or COG , plans include the “ devolution ” of leadership and Constitutional authority , which he notes “ could circumvent the normal Constitutional provisions for government succession , and military commanders could be placed in control around America.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COG and its development that Arkin leaves out .
For instance , in his timeline on how such plans have developed in the post-World War II era , he conveniently fails to mention any of the Reagan administration ’ s major changes to COG , including the Reagan-era Executive Order on which all current COG programs are based .
Indeed , many of the “ extra-Constitutional ” aspects of COG that Arkin mentions began during the Reagan administration , when these plans were redrafted to largely exclude members of Congress , including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plans and even moved to essentially eliminate Congress in the event of COG being implemented , with near total power instead being given to the executive branch and the military .
It was also during this time that the “ devolution ” aspect of COG was hammered out , as it created three president-cabinet “ teams ” to be stationed in different parts of the country outside of the nation ’ s capital .
Arkin ’ s decision to not mention how COG was a major focus of the Reagan administration is striking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions of dollars annually into COG planning and development and also conducted COG drills on a regular basis .
Furthermore , the Miami Herald revealed in 1987 , that the COG programs of that era were deeply connected to what the Herald termed “ a virtual parallel government outside the traditional cabinet departments and agencies ” that began operating “ almost from the day Reagan took office ” and included military and intelligence operatives as well as many of Reagan ’ s closest advisers , including then-CIA Director William Casey .
The Herald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” had been responsible for the Iran-Contra scandal ( i.e .
“ involved in arming the Nicaraguan rebels ” ) as well as “ the drafting of martial law plans for national emergencies , ” i.e .
COG , as well as “ the monitoring of U.S. citizens considered potential security risks.
” This “ parallel government ” planned to use COG to install itself as the ruling power of the country and to detain potential opponents of a U.S. war with Nicaragua in the event that the Reagan administration moved to invade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those Reagan-era COG developments , such as former Vice President Dick Cheney , former CIA Director James Woosley and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld , are also left unmentioned in Arkin ’ s article .
Not mentioning Cheney and Rumsfeld are particularly glaring omissions given that they were involved in the implementation of aspects of those COG plans that went live in the wake of the September 11 attacks , when both men were serving in key posts in the George W. Bush administration .
While Arkin ’ s omission of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neoconservatives in the development and use of COG is significant , arguably more significant is his failure to mention one of COG ’ s major components , one that has gone essentially unmentioned by well-known media outlets for well over a decade – Main Core .
When Reagan issued Executive Order 12656 , he created COG plans that could be implemented during “ any national security emergency , ” which the E.O .
loosely defines as “ any occurrence , including natural disaster , military attack , technological emergency , or other emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the national security of the United States.
” E.O .
12656 also put the National Security Council ( NSC ) in charge of developing and administering COG policies .
The NSC official placed in charge of this “ secret ” COG program was Oliver North , whose name would later become infamous for the key role he played in the Iran-Contra Scandal .
During the Iran-Contra hearings in the late 1980s , then-Representative Jack Brooks ( D-TX ) attempted to ask the following question to North : “ Colonel North , in your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not assigned at one time to work on plans for the continuity of government in the event of a major disaster ?
” Brooks , however was immediately cut off by Senator Daniel Inouye ( D-HI ) , who stated ” I believe that question touches upon a highly sensitive and classified area , so may I request that you not touch upon that , sir.
” Brooks protested , but North was ultimately not required to give an answer .
As the de facto leader of COG development and planning during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a controversial database that later became known simply as “ Main Core.
” The Main Core database , first built using the stolen PROMIS software ( more information on PROMIS here and here ) , was essentially a list of American dissidents and “ potential troublemakers.
” A senior government official with a high-ranking security clearance and service in five presidential administrations described the database to journalist Chris Ketcham in 2008 as follows : Main Core is the aspect of COG that is most often ignored in reporting on these types of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being just a more recent example .
While most of the rare mentions of COG in the mainstream touch on how those plans would result in the implementation of martial law and the suspension of the Constitution , they even more rarely — if ever — mention Main Core .
Indeed , the last “ mainstream ” reports on Main Core were written over a decade ago — all in 2008 — by Chris Ketcham in Radar , by Scott Horton in Harper ’ s and by Tim Shorrock in Salon .
Given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mainstream reporting , revisiting Main Core is essential as the database still exists and has grown considerably since Oliver North first oversaw its creation in the early 1980s .
In Ketcham ’ s 2008 article on the subject , he quotes then-senior government officials who said that , at the time , the number of “ unfriendly ” Americans on that database was approximately 8 million .
Ketcham further notes that , in the event COG is implemented , these individuals could be subject to anything ranging from “ heightened surveillance and tracking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Tim Shorrock , in his coverage of Main Core , noted that the database was seen in use at the White House following the September 11 attacks and there is strong evidence pointing to it having been used by the George W. Bush administration to guide its domestic surveillance activities in the post-9/11 era .
A government official who had told a reporter about having seen the database operational at the White House following September 11th “ turned white as a sheet ” when the reporter mentioned the name “ Main Core @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also details how Main Core includes vast amounts of information on those “ unfriendly ” Americans , including the fruits of the vast domestic surveillance programs of the NSA and other U.S. federal agencies that continue today and are now set to be expanded due to the current coronavirus crisis .
In a report written last year on the involvement of U.S. and Israeli intelligence and their private sector allies in pushing for new , troubling pre-crime programs , I noted that Main Core is not only available to U.S. intelligence but also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israeli intelligence was involved in the creation and expansion of Main Core .
That report also detailed how Main Core was used by members of Reagan ’ s NSC to blackmail members of Congress , a practice that is likely to have continued under subsequent administrations .
It also noted how Main Core today likely involves the same software now used by every U.S. intelligence agency and numerous other federal agencies that is marketed by Palantir , a company created and owned by Trump ally Peter Thiel .
Palantir ’ s software boasts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a category of person using the label “ subversive , ” very much in keeping with the spirit of Main Core .
Though Main Core was reportedly in use after September 11 to target “ unfriendly ” individuals for increased domestic surveillance , concern that COG plans in the age of coronavirus could take a more drastic turn and involve the detention of Americans included in that database now seems more plausible than ever .
On Saturday , Politico reported that the Department of Justice has demanded new “ emergency powers ” during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being able to indefinitely detain Americans without trial .
Politico also noted that the DOJ ’ s controversial new requests “ span several stages of the legal process , from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated.
” Per the DOJ ’ s requests , indefinite detention would emerge through a new ability whereby the Attorney General or a judge could pause court proceedings whenever courts are “ fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster , civil disobedience , or other emergency situation.
” What Politico did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Attorney General William Barr has spent the past several months fine-tuning and implementing a “ pre-crime ” program .
Officially known as the “ National Disruption and Early Engagement Program ” ( DEEP ) , it aims to “ identify , assess and engage ” potentially violent individuals “ before they strike.
” Barr first announced this program last October in an official memorandum and therein stated that the program was to be implemented sometime over the course of 2020 and would involve “ an efficient , effective and programmatic strategy to disrupt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by all lawful means.
” A training conference for that program took place this past December and involved members of the Department of Justice , Federal Bureau of Investigation and “ private sector partners.
” One recent DOJ statement regarding an arrest made last year in Nevada , claimed that that specific case was part of the DOJ ’ s “ National Disruption and Early Engagement Program , ” suggesting that this program is already in use — at least in some parts of the country .
In his memorandum , Barr further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early engagement tactics ” were “ born of the posture we adopted with respect to terrorist threats ” following the September 11 attacks , essentially stating that this pre-crime program will utilize methods from the “ War on Terror ” domestically and on a massive scale .
Given the context of the current coronavirus crisis , the DOJ ’ s recent request for sweeping new powers and the role of Main Core in COG plans , one part of Barr ’ s pre-crime memorandum stands out .
In the part of the document @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken once an individual is deemed potentially violent or threatening , he writes that those individuals will be subject to detention , court-ordered mental health treatment and electronic monitoring , among other measures .
The possibility of pre-crime detention was also present in the DOJ ’ s recent request for new “ emergency powers ” in light of the coronavirus crisis , as it specifically asks that those new powers apply to “ any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest , post-arrest , pre-trial , trial , and post-trial procedures in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process and proceedings.
” Norman L. Reimer , executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers , told Politico that the inclusion of the term “ pre-arrest ” likely means that “ you could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over .
I find it absolutely terrifying.
” Thus , if DOJ is granted these new powers it has requested , the William Barr-led Department of Justice will not only be authorized to indefinitely detain Americans without trial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them without any proof of those detainees having committed a crime or even having plans or the intent to commit a crime .
Instead , the DOJ only needs to argue that the individual was “ mobilizing towards violence , ” an extremely vague phrase that could potentially be used against anyone who expresses discontent with the government or government policy .
Furthermore , with the FBI having recently flagged “ conspiracy theorists ” ( and by extension those who distrust or question government narratives of both past and present ) as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DOJ could even make the case that failure to blindly trust government narratives presents a threat to the public order .
Given that the Main Core database in its current form contains bulk surveillance gathered from social media , phone conversations/messaging apps and even financial information ( i.e .
purchasing history , etc . )
on Americans deemed unfriendly “ often for the slightest and most trivial reason , ” this unprecedented power grab by the DOJ has an authoritarian and Orwellian potential to target legitimate dissent like never before .
With the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into mainstream discourse during the coronavirus crisis , it is essential that Americans stay vigilant , as these Orwellian and dystopian “ solutions ” to allegedly protect us from the current pandemic have been in place long before COVID-19 made its appearance on the world stage or landed on U.S. shores .
It is also essential to remember that COG , Main Core and the DOJ ’ s pre-crime program were all created and are currently controlled by extremely corrupt and fundamentally untrustworthy individuals who have not only been involved in innumerable scandals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ installed and supported some of the most authoritarian , savage and horrific dictators the world has ever seen .
To trust them with such unprecedented and dangerous powers in a period of national confusion and panic is tantamount to beckoning the horrors of those dictatorships — past and present — to come home to roost .
Feature photo | A biosafety suit hangs in front of Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy , right , and Gen. James McConville , Chief of Staff of the Army , center left , as they get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lab training facility at U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command at Fort Detrick in Frederick , Md.
, March 19 , 2020 , where scientists are working to help develop solutions to prevent , detect and treat the coronavirus .
Andrew Harnik | AP Whitney Webb is a MintPress News contributing journalist based in Chile .
She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research , EcoWatch , the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire , among others .
She has made several radio and television appearances and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism .

WASHINGTON DC (The Last American Vagabond) — Last week, Newsweek published a report entitled “Inside The Military’s Top Secret Plans If Coronavirus Cripples the Government,” which offers vague descriptions of different military plans that could be put into effect if the civilian government were to be largely incapacitated, with a focus on the potential of the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to result in such a scenario.
The article’s author, William Arkin, largely frames these plans as new, though — buried deep within the article — he eventually mentions that such contingency plans can be traced back to the Eisenhower administration (though they were in place before) and have since been developed and updated by most subsequent administrations, largely through the issuance of executive orders. Arkin also points out that some of these “Continuity of Government”, or COG, plans include the “devolution” of leadership and Constitutional authority, which he notes “could circumvent the normal Constitutional provisions for government succession, and military commanders could be placed in control around America.”
Yet, there are key aspects of COG and its development that Arkin leaves out. For instance, in his timeline on how such plans have developed in the post-World War II era, he conveniently fails to mention any of the Reagan administration’s major changes to COG, including the Reagan-era Executive Order on which all current COG programs are based. Indeed, many of the “extra-Constitutional” aspects of COG that Arkin mentions began during the Reagan administration, when these plans were redrafted to largely exclude members of Congress, including the Speaker of the House, from succession plans and even moved to essentially eliminate Congress in the event of COG being implemented, with near total power instead being given to the executive branch and the military. It was also during this time that the “devolution” aspect of COG was hammered out, as it created three president-cabinet “teams” to be stationed in different parts of the country outside of the nation’s capital. Arkin’s decision to not mention how COG was a major focus of the Reagan administration is striking given that that administration poured hundreds of millions of dollars annually into COG planning and development and also conducted COG drills on a regular basis.
Furthermore, the Miami Herald revealed in 1987, that the COG programs of that era were deeply connected to what the Herald termed “a virtual parallel government outside the traditional cabinet departments and agencies” that began operating “almost from the day Reagan took office” and included military and intelligence operatives as well as many of Reagan’s closest advisers, including then-CIA Director William Casey. The Herald further claimed that this “parallel government” had been responsible for the Iran-Contra scandal (i.e. “involved in arming the Nicaraguan rebels”) as well as “the drafting of martial law plans for national emergencies,” i.e. COG, as well as “the monitoring of U.S. citizens considered potential security risks.” This “parallel government” planned to use COG to install itself as the ruling power of the country and to detain potential opponents of a U.S. war with Nicaragua in the event that the Reagan administration moved to invade the country.
Other key players in those Reagan-era COG developments, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, former CIA Director James Woosley and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, are also left unmentioned in Arkin’s article. Not mentioning Cheney and Rumsfeld are particularly glaring omissions given that they were involved in the implementation of aspects of those COG plans that went live in the wake of the September 11 attacks, when both men were serving in key posts in the George W. Bush administration.
While Arkin’s omission of the role of the Reagan administration and leading neoconservatives in the development and use of COG is significant, arguably more significant is his failure to mention one of COG’s major components, one that has gone essentially unmentioned by well-known media outlets for well over a decade – Main Core.
The government’s database of “potential troublemakers”
When Reagan issued Executive Order 12656, he created COG plans that could be implemented during “any national security emergency,” which the E.O. loosely defines as “any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States.” E.O. 12656 also put the National Security Council (NSC) in charge of developing and administering COG policies. The NSC official placed in charge of this “secret” COG program was Oliver North, whose name would later become infamous for the key role he played in the Iran-Contra Scandal. During the Iran-Contra hearings in the late 1980s, then-Representative Jack Brooks (D-TX) attempted to ask the following question to North: “Colonel North, in your work at the NSC, were you not assigned at one time to work on plans for the continuity of government in the event of a major disaster?” Brooks, however was immediately cut off by Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), who stated ” I believe that question touches upon a highly sensitive and classified area, so may I request that you not touch upon that, sir.” Brooks protested, but North was ultimately not required to give an answer.
As the de facto leader of COG development and planning during the Reagan administration, North oversaw the creation of a controversial database that later became known simply as “Main Core.” The Main Core database, first built using the stolen PROMIS software (more information on PROMIS here and here), was essentially a list of American dissidents and “potential troublemakers.” A senior government official with a high-ranking security clearance and service in five presidential administrations described the database to journalist Chris Ketcham in 2008 as follows:
A database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived ‘enemies of the state’ almost instantaneously.”
In 1993, Wired magazine stated that:
Using PROMIS, sources point out, North could have drawn up lists of anyone ever arrested for a political protest, for example, or anyone who had ever refused to pay their taxes. Compared to PROMIS, Richard Nixon’s enemies list or Sen. Joe McCarthy’s blacklist look downright crude.”
Main Core is the aspect of COG that is most often ignored in reporting on these types of plans, with Arkin’s article being just a more recent example. While most of the rare mentions of COG in the mainstream touch on how those plans would result in the implementation of martial law and the suspension of the Constitution, they even more rarely — if ever — mention Main Core. Indeed, the last “mainstream” reports on Main Core were written over a decade ago — all in 2008 — by Chris Ketcham in Radar, by Scott Horton in Harper’s and by Tim Shorrock in Salon.
Given that COG is now creeping back into mainstream reporting, revisiting Main Core is essential as the database still exists and has grown considerably since Oliver North first oversaw its creation in the early 1980s. In Ketcham’s 2008 article on the subject, he quotes then-senior government officials who said that, at the time, the number of “unfriendly” Americans on that database was approximately 8 million. Ketcham further notes that, in the event COG is implemented, these individuals could be subject to anything ranging from “heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.”
Tim Shorrock, in his coverage of Main Core, noted that the database was seen in use at the White House following the September 11 attacks and there is strong evidence pointing to it having been used by the George W. Bush administration to guide its domestic surveillance activities in the post-9/11 era. A government official who had told a reporter about having seen the database operational at the White House following September 11th “turned white as a sheet” when the reporter mentioned the name “Main Core” specifically. Shorrock’s reporting also details how Main Core includes vast amounts of information on those “unfriendly” Americans, including the fruits of the vast domestic surveillance programs of the NSA and other U.S. federal agencies that continue today and are now set to be expanded due to the current coronavirus crisis.
In a report written last year on the involvement of U.S. and Israeli intelligence and their private sector allies in pushing for new, troubling pre-crime programs, I noted that Main Core is not only available to U.S. intelligence but also Israel’s intelligence apparatus and that Israeli intelligence was involved in the creation and expansion of Main Core. That report also detailed how Main Core was used by members of Reagan’s NSC to blackmail members of Congress, a practice that is likely to have continued under subsequent administrations. It also noted how Main Core today likely involves the same software now used by every U.S. intelligence agency and numerous other federal agencies that is marketed by Palantir, a company created and owned by Trump ally Peter Thiel. Palantir’s software boasts “predictive policing” capabilities and tracks a category of person using the label “subversive,” very much in keeping with the spirit of Main Core.
Main Core and Bill Barr’s Power Grab
Though Main Core was reportedly in use after September 11 to target “unfriendly” individuals for increased domestic surveillance, concern that COG plans in the age of coronavirus could take a more drastic turn and involve the detention of Americans included in that database now seems more plausible than ever. On Saturday, Politico reported that the Department of Justice has demanded new “emergency powers” during the current pandemic and these powers include being able to indefinitely detain Americans without trial. Politico also noted that the DOJ’s controversial new requests “span several stages of the legal process, from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated.” Per the DOJ’s requests, indefinite detention would emerge through a new ability whereby the Attorney General or a judge could pause court proceedings whenever courts are “fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation.”
What Politico did not include in its report is that current Attorney General William Barr has spent the past several months fine-tuning and implementing a “pre-crime” program. Officially known as the “National Disruption and Early Engagement Program” (DEEP), it aims to “identify, assess and engage” potentially violent individuals “before they strike.” Barr first announced this program last October in an official memorandum and therein stated that the program was to be implemented sometime over the course of 2020 and would involve “an efficient, effective and programmatic strategy to disrupt individuals who are mobilizing towards violence, by all lawful means.”
A training conference for that program took place this past December and involved members of the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and “private sector partners.” One recent DOJ statement regarding an arrest made last year in Nevada, claimed that that specific case was part of the DOJ’s “National Disruption and Early Engagement Program,” suggesting that this program is already in use — at least in some parts of the country.
In his memorandum, Barr further notes that the program’s “early engagement tactics” were “born of the posture we adopted with respect to terrorist threats” following the September 11 attacks, essentially stating that this pre-crime program will utilize methods from the “War on Terror” domestically and on a massive scale.
Given the context of the current coronavirus crisis, the DOJ’s recent request for sweeping new powers and the role of Main Core in COG plans, one part of Barr’s pre-crime memorandum stands out. In the part of the document where Barr outlines what actions will be taken once an individual is deemed potentially violent or threatening, he writes that those individuals will be subject to detention, court-ordered mental health treatment and electronic monitoring, among other measures.
The possibility of pre-crime detention was also present in the DOJ’s recent request for new “emergency powers” in light of the coronavirus crisis, as it specifically asks that those new powers apply to “any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil process and proceedings.” Norman L. Reimer, executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told Politico that the inclusion of the term “pre-arrest” likely means that “you could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over. I find it absolutely terrifying.”
Thus, if DOJ is granted these new powers it has requested, the William Barr-led Department of Justice will not only be authorized to indefinitely detain Americans without trial, it will be able to detain them without any proof of those detainees having committed a crime or even having plans or the intent to commit a crime. Instead, the DOJ only needs to argue that the individual was “mobilizing towards violence,” an extremely vague phrase that could potentially be used against anyone who expresses discontent with the government or government policy.
Furthermore, with the FBI having recently flagged “conspiracy theorists” (and by extension those who distrust or question government narratives of both past and present) as a “domestic terror threat,” the DOJ could even make the case that failure to blindly trust government narratives presents a threat to the public order. Given that the Main Core database in its current form contains bulk surveillance gathered from social media, phone conversations/messaging apps and even financial information (i.e. purchasing history, etc.) on Americans deemed unfriendly “often for the slightest and most trivial reason,” this unprecedented power grab by the DOJ has an authoritarian and Orwellian potential to target legitimate dissent like never before.
With the specter of COG now snaking its way into mainstream discourse during the coronavirus crisis, it is essential that Americans stay vigilant, as these Orwellian and dystopian “solutions” to allegedly protect us from the current pandemic have been in place long before COVID-19 made its appearance on the world stage or landed on U.S. shores.
It is also essential to remember that COG, Main Core and the DOJ’s pre-crime program were all created and are currently controlled by extremely corrupt and fundamentally untrustworthy individuals who have not only been involved in innumerable scandals over the years, but have also installed and supported some of the most authoritarian, savage and horrific dictators the world has ever seen. To trust them with such unprecedented and dangerous powers in a period of national confusion and panic is tantamount to beckoning the horrors of those dictatorships — past and present — to come home to roost.
Feature photo | A biosafety suit hangs in front of Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, right, and Gen. James McConville, Chief of Staff of the Army, center left, as they get a tour of a biosafety level 4 lab training facility at U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., March 19, 2020, where scientists are working to help develop solutions to prevent, detect and treat the coronavirus. Andrew Harnik | AP


mintpressnews--2020-03-23--The Butcher of Khiam: How Trump Brought Home Notorious War Criminal Amer Fakhoury

Beirut , Lebanon ( Mideast Discourse ) — Amer Fakhoury escaped from Beirut , Lebanon on a US military helicopter on March 19 .
He had been arrested in September , betting his American passport would save him from justice , and it did .
He had been charged and convicted of torture , kidnapping , and collaborating with the enemy in Lebanon , and had received a sentence in absentia of 15 years in prison .
He never did the time , thinking that once he defected to ‘ Israel ’ in 2000 , and then from ‘ Israel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hampshire , he would be untouchable .
The 56-year-old Fakhoury was remembered in Lebanon as “ The Butcher of Khiam , ” and though he is back in the US now , his name and crimes will never be forgotten in the land of his birth .
“ Today we are bringing home another American citizen , Amer Fakhoury , ” President Trump said in a briefing with reporters .
“ It ’ s hard to put into words how grateful and relieved we are to finally be returning to the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family said in a statement .
“ We have been through a nightmare that we would never wish on anyone.
” However , there are thousands of Lebanese families who have lived through a nightmare at the hands of Fakhoury .
Senator Jeanne Shaheen , Democratic of New Hampshire , is the only woman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , and her website claims she “ is a champion for women at home and around the globe.
” She has worked on legislation to “ investigate and prosecute violent crimes against women.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is wrongfully detained by a foreign government , we must use every tool at our disposal to free them , ” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen , as Mr. Fakhoury flew back to the United States on a military aircraft .
“ No family should have to go through what the Fakhoury family has gone through.
” Indeed , no family , or woman , or child should have to endure kidnap , wrongful imprisonment , and torture in Khaim Prison under the command of Amer Fakhoury .
The dead and the survivors of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Lebanese people are humiliated knowing that the US Embassy in Beirut can rescue the most reviled criminal in their recent history , leaving Lebanese families with the realization that ‘ might makes right ’ , and international justice means nothing to the US State Department .
‘ Human Rights Watch ’ published a chilling report on October 27 , 1999 , titled ‘ Torture in Khiam Prison : Responsibility and Accountability ’ .
The reports proved what Lebanese and international activists had claimed for years : that ‘ Israeli ’ intelligence agents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ torture at the Khiam Prison in southern Lebanon for almost 20 years .
The prison was administered , maintained and guarded by the ‘ South Lebanon Army ’ ( SLA ) , which was ‘ Israel ’ s ’ proxy militia that it financed and armed .
The commander of the SLA was General Antoine Lahd , and Amer Fakhoury was an officer under Lahd and was appointed as Warden of Khiam Prison , where thousands of Lebanese men , women , and children were held , tortured , abused and many murdered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ torture occurred in Khiam .
And the continuing partnership between Israel and the SLA on matters related to this prison implicates Lebanese and Israelis with legal responsibility for criminal actions.
” The report continues , “ Israel is obligated under international law to hold accountable and prosecute its own citizens and Lebanese nationals who participated in or condoned acts of torture at Khiam.
” I first toured Khiam Prison in summer 2005 , when the prison was a ‘ museum ’ , comparable to Auschwitz ; presenting the facts so that the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The very next summer of 2006 the ‘ Israeli ’ air force bombed the site , in an attempt to erase the evidence .
Trump asks for Austin Tice to be sent home from Syria “ Recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority for my administration , ” Trump said .
“ We have one young gentleman , Austin Tice , and we ’ re working very hard with Syria to get him out .
We hope the Syrian government will do that .
We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Austin Tice of Texas was a former US Marine officer , who traveled to the south of Syria , entering from Jordan .
He claimed to be a journalist for US media , but most Americans who have entered Syria during the war , 2011 to present , have done so illegally and as guests of the terrorists , usually , as journalists who will report on the Syrian war from the biased perspective of the terrorists , who are often described as ‘ rebels ’ and ‘ freedom fighters ’ .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kidnapped by terrorists who were fighting the Syrian government for ‘ regime change ’ , which was a US-EU-NATO mission supported by the Obama administration , and run out of the US military base in Jordan , and the CIA office in Adana , Turkey .
The kidnappers were following Radical Islam , which is a political ideology , and not a religion nor a sect .
His captors made a video of Tice blindfolded and forced to recite an Islamic passage .
In 2017 , Pres .
Trump , cut off the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his administration continues to defend the terrorists in Idlib , who are Al Qaeda and are following the same ideology as those who kidnapped Tice .
“ So Syria , please work with us , ” Trump said .
“ And we would appreciate you letting him out .
If you think about what we ’ ve done , we ’ ve gotten rid of the Isis caliphate for Syria .
We ’ ve done a lot for Syria.
” Debra Tice , the mother of Austin Tice , told Fox News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is someone at a senior level within the Trump administration who is opposed to continuing negotiations with the Syrian government to secure his release .
“ And who would want to do that ?
” Debra asked incredulously .
In June 2017 , the New York Times reported that then-CIA Director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had contacted a Syrian government official concerning Tice .
The backchannel negotiations broke down after Trump ordered a missile strike on Syria , in response to a fabricated gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun , carried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US respond militarily against the Syrian government .
In 2018 , national security adviser Robert O ’ Brien , who was then the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs , said that he believed Tice was still alive , and the state department said in August 2018 that it believed he was still alive and in Syrian government custody .
US Secretary of Defense , James Mattis , reiterated that the Pentagon still has no independent evidence to confirm that there was a chemical weapons attack in Syria in 2017 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the green light when he gave his ‘ red-line ’ speech .
He promised them he would attack Syria militarily if chemical weapons were used .
The terrorists under the support of US-NATO began a long line of chemical attacks on the Syrian people , always when they were losing ground on the battlefield , knowing that ‘ Uncle Sam ’ would attack their enemy .
Obama knew the sarin used in Damascus was not from Syrian sources , and this is why he declined a planned full military attack on Syria .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fakhoury with Donald Trump on Nov. 9 , 2016 , the day after Trump was elected .
The photo was posted on Fakhoury ’ s Facebook page .
Steven Sahouni is an independent Syrian political analyst and writer based in Lebanon ; he has been covering the Syrian crisis since it ’ s onset in 2011 and has published several articles in numerous media outlets – He is regularly interviewed by US , Canadian and German media .

Beirut, Lebanon (Mideast Discourse) — Amer Fakhoury escaped from Beirut, Lebanon on a US military helicopter on March 19. He had been arrested in September, betting his American passport would save him from justice, and it did. He had been charged and convicted of torture, kidnapping, and collaborating with the enemy in Lebanon, and had received a sentence in absentia of 15 years in prison. He never did the time, thinking that once he defected to ‘Israel’ in 2000, and then from ‘Israel’ had obtained US citizenship in New Hampshire, he would be untouchable. The 56-year-old Fakhoury was remembered in Lebanon as “The Butcher of Khiam,” and though he is back in the US now, his name and crimes will never be forgotten in the land of his birth.
“Today we are bringing home another American citizen, Amer Fakhoury,” President Trump said in a briefing with reporters. “It’s hard to put into words how grateful and relieved we are to finally be returning to the United States with Amer,” Fakhoury’s family said in a statement. “We have been through a nightmare that we would never wish on anyone.” However, there are thousands of Lebanese families who have lived through a nightmare at the hands of Fakhoury.
Senator Shaheen to the rescue
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democratic of New Hampshire, is the only woman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and her website claims she “is a champion for women at home and around the globe.” She has worked on legislation to “investigate and prosecute violent crimes against women.”
“Any time a US citizen is wrongfully detained by a foreign government, we must use every tool at our disposal to free them,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, as Mr. Fakhoury flew back to the United States on a military aircraft. “No family should have to go through what the Fakhoury family has gone through.”
Indeed, no family, or woman, or child should have to endure kidnap, wrongful imprisonment, and torture in Khaim Prison under the command of Amer Fakhoury. The dead and the survivors of Khaim will see no justice, and the Lebanese people are humiliated knowing that the US Embassy in Beirut can rescue the most reviled criminal in their recent history, leaving Lebanese families with the realization that ‘might makes right’, and international justice means nothing to the US State Department.
Khiam Prison history of torture
‘Human Rights Watch’ published a chilling report on October 27, 1999, titled ‘Torture in Khiam Prison: Responsibility and Accountability’. The reports proved what Lebanese and international activists had claimed for years: that ‘Israeli’ intelligence agents were directly involved in systematic acts of torture at the Khiam Prison in southern Lebanon for almost 20 years. The prison was administered, maintained and guarded by the ‘South Lebanon Army’ (SLA), which was ‘Israel’s’ proxy militia that it financed and armed. The commander of the SLA was General Antoine Lahd, and Amer Fakhoury was an officer under Lahd and was appointed as Warden of Khiam Prison, where thousands of Lebanese men, women, and children were held, tortured, abused and many murdered.
“It is indisputable that systematic torture occurred in Khiam. And the continuing partnership between Israel and the SLA on matters related to this prison implicates Lebanese and Israelis with legal responsibility for criminal actions.” The report continues, “Israel is obligated under international law to hold accountable and prosecute its own citizens and Lebanese nationals who participated in or condoned acts of torture at Khiam.”
I first toured Khiam Prison in summer 2005, when the prison was a ‘museum’, comparable to Auschwitz; presenting the facts so that the world will never forget, or repeat. The very next summer of 2006 the ‘Israeli’ air force bombed the site, in an attempt to erase the evidence.
Trump asks for Austin Tice to be sent home from Syria
“Recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority for my administration,” Trump said. “We have one young gentleman, Austin Tice, and we’re working very hard with Syria to get him out. We hope the Syrian government will do that. We’re counting on them to do that.”
Austin Tice of Texas was a former US Marine officer, who traveled to the south of Syria, entering from Jordan. He claimed to be a journalist for US media, but most Americans who have entered Syria during the war, 2011 to present, have done so illegally and as guests of the terrorists, usually, as journalists who will report on the Syrian war from the biased perspective of the terrorists, who are often described as ‘rebels’ and ‘freedom fighters’. On August 14, 2012, he was kidnapped by terrorists who were fighting the Syrian government for ‘regime change’, which was a US-EU-NATO mission supported by the Obama administration, and run out of the US military base in Jordan, and the CIA office in Adana, Turkey. The kidnappers were following Radical Islam, which is a political ideology, and not a religion nor a sect. His captors made a video of Tice blindfolded and forced to recite an Islamic passage. In 2017, Pres. Trump, cut off the CIA support of the terrorists; however, his administration continues to defend the terrorists in Idlib, who are Al Qaeda and are following the same ideology as those who kidnapped Tice.
“So Syria, please work with us,” Trump said. “And we would appreciate you letting him out. If you think about what we’ve done, we’ve gotten rid of the Isis caliphate for Syria. We’ve done a lot for Syria.”
Debra Tice, the mother of Austin Tice, told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that she feels there is someone at a senior level within the Trump administration who is opposed to continuing negotiations with the Syrian government to secure his release. “And who would want to do that?” Debra asked incredulously.
In June 2017, the New York Times reported that then-CIA Director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had contacted a Syrian government official concerning Tice. The backchannel negotiations broke down after Trump ordered a missile strike on Syria, in response to a fabricated gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun, carried out masterfully by the terrorists to have the US respond militarily against the Syrian government.
In 2018, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, who was then the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, said that he believed Tice was still alive, and the state department said in August 2018 that it believed he was still alive and in Syrian government custody.
US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, reiterated that the Pentagon still has no independent evidence to confirm that there was a chemical weapons attack in Syria in 2017.
President Obama gave the terrorists in Syria the green light when he gave his ‘red-line’ speech. He promised them he would attack Syria militarily if chemical weapons were used. The terrorists under the support of US-NATO began a long line of chemical attacks on the Syrian people, always when they were losing ground on the battlefield, knowing that ‘Uncle Sam’ would attack their enemy. Obama knew the sarin used in Damascus was not from Syrian sources, and this is why he declined a planned full military attack on Syria.
Feature photo | A photo of Amer Fakhoury with Donald Trump on Nov. 9, 2016, the day after Trump was elected. The photo was posted on Fakhoury’s Facebook page.
Steven Sahouni is an independent Syrian political analyst and writer based in Lebanon; he has been covering the Syrian crisis since it’s onset in 2011 and has published several articles in numerous media outlets – He is regularly interviewed by US, Canadian and German media.


mintpressnews--2020-03-23--Images of Cuban Doctors Helping Italy Go Viral, Burst Media Narrative

Only one week ago Joe Biden was excoriating Bernie Sanders for his praise of Cuba ’ s medical system .
“ These are flat-out dictators , period , and they should be called for it , straight-up , ” the former vice-president stated during the Democratic debate in Miami .
But as the world applauded 140 Cuban medical personnel arriving in Northern Italy last night , that view appeared already antiquated .
Almost 5,500 people on the Italian peninsula have already died , including 651 yesterday .
Yet the videos of Cuban doctors volunteering to travel halfway across the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the good of people they have never met stirred the heartstrings of even the most cynical observer , going viral all over social media .
As the doctors left the departure lounge in Havana , they were given a standing ovation from their countrymen and led to positive press even from the avowedly anti-communist New York Times .
In contrast to the United States , who reportedly attempted to bribe a German pharmaceutical company to give it exclusive control over a coronavirus vaccine it is working on , ensuring it would only be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has primarily received help from countries like Cuba , China and Vietnam ; states that have not bought into the neoliberal method of organizing society .
China has also sent tons of medical equipment , including lifesaving ventilators , to Italy , while Vietnam has sent locally made test swabs .
In comparison , 500,000 COVID-19 test kits made by an Italian company in Lombardy – the epicenter of the outbreak – mysteriously found their way to the U.S. aboard a military plane last week .
Despite facing an uncertain future , Cuba @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Venezuela , Suriname and Jamaica over the past weeks , but to less fanfare .
Upon greeting 140 Cuban professionals at Kingston International Airport Saturday , Jamaican Health Minister Christopher Tufton lauded their neighbor ’ s generosity ; “ In a time of crisis , the Cuban government , the Cuban people … have risen to the occasion , they have heard our appeal and they have responded , ” he said .
Prime Minister Andrew Holness was equally thankful ; “ Jamaica is grateful for the support of Cuba as we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote .
The United Kingdom also thanked the Caribbean island for its welcoming of the British cruise liner M.S .
Braemar into a Cuban port .
The ship had multiple confirmed COVID-19 cases aboard and had been refused entry by many other countries .
The doctors putting themselves in harm ’ s way were far from blind to the risks .
“ Obviously I am scared .
But when we went to fight Ebola in West Africa in 2014 we were scared too .
But we fulfilled our mission there and we all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fernandez , speaking to journalists in Havana .
“ He who says he is not afraid is a superhero , but we are not superheroes , we are revolutionary doctors.
” For many decades , medical internationalism has been at the heart of Cuban ideology .
There are currently tens of thousands of Cuban doctors in over 100 countries around the world .
MintPress spoke recently with Sarpoma Sefa-Boakye , a doctor practicing in San Diego , CA .
Dr. Sefa-Boakye is one of many Americans paid by the Cuban government to train @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the U.S .
Most of those applying for the program are from poor backgrounds themselves and would not be able to otherwise study .
“ You don ’ t hear of Cuba ’ s health contributions in the United States , ” she said , noting that , remarkably , more African doctors have trained in Cuba than all African states put together .
She first came across Cuban doctors while studying in her parents ’ home country of Ghana .
She also said that , “ You can not talk about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Cuba .
They are in these countries and in the Caribbean islands as well.
” With the aid of Cuba , states with leftist presidents like Venezuela and Bolivia have managed to construct comprehensive nationalized healthcare systems .
The Cuban government has confirmed 35 cases of COVID-19 , including one death and two full recoveries so far .
Dr. Sefa-Boakye believes the island is better placed than its neighbors because of its culture of regular quarantining .
“ The only way to really tackle a virus that you don ’ t know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even how this virus came to be , quarantining has to be the only way that we can get a hold of transmission ” she said .
“ The science will tell you , you talk to any biologist or anyone who has taken a basic science class : viruses replicate .
That is how they move .
They need a host and a source .
I learned that in Cuba… We don ’ t have options .
You can ’ t go against science.
” The images of Cubans marching to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the decades-long policy of sanctions .
Perhaps the greatest danger to the island currently is serious difficulties with food production , owing to a tightening of the blockade under the Trump administration , who described Cuba as belonging to a “ troika of tyranny.
” Despite price controls , staples like black beans are in short supply .
More worryingly , so is soap .
But the Trump administration has been using the pandemic to ramp up sanctions against enemy states , hoping for regime change .
Public opinion might be changing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote during the Florida primary , with many Miamians who criticize the communist government are quietly returning to their ancestral homeland for medical treatment .
Regardless of the sanctions , medical personnel will continue to fight disease around the world , according to Carlos Armando Garcia Hernandez , a nurse traveling to Italy ; “ This is a global battle and we have to fight it together.
” Feature photo | Medics and paramedics from Cuba pose upon arrival at the Malpensa airport of Milan , Italy , March 22 , 2020 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .

Only one week ago Joe Biden was excoriating Bernie Sanders for his praise of Cuba’s medical system. “These are flat-out dictators, period, and they should be called for it, straight-up,” the former vice-president stated during the Democratic debate in Miami. But as the world applauded 140 Cuban medical personnel arriving in Northern Italy last night, that view appeared already antiquated.
Almost 5,500 people on the Italian peninsula have already died, including 651 yesterday. Yet the videos of Cuban doctors volunteering to travel halfway across the world to put themselves in mortal danger for the good of people they have never met stirred the heartstrings of even the most cynical observer, going viral all over social media. As the doctors left the departure lounge in Havana, they were given a standing ovation from their countrymen and led to positive press even from the avowedly anti-communist New York Times.
Watch: Cubans doctors arriving in Italy to help combat the coronavirus in Lombardy where scores have died. pic.twitter.com/MXQ14bWTU2 — Patrick Oppmann CNN (@CNN_Oppmann) March 22, 2020
In contrast to the United States, who reportedly attempted to bribe a German pharmaceutical company to give it exclusive control over a coronavirus vaccine it is working on, ensuring it would only be available on a for-profit basis, Europe has primarily received help from countries like Cuba, China and Vietnam; states that have not bought into the neoliberal method of organizing society. China has also sent tons of medical equipment, including lifesaving ventilators, to Italy, while Vietnam has sent locally made test swabs. In comparison, 500,000 COVID-19 test kits made by an Italian company in Lombardy – the epicenter of the outbreak – mysteriously found their way to the U.S. aboard a military plane last week.
In one of Italy’s darkest hours, they find they are not alone. Cuban doctors arrive in Italy with one mission, to save as many lives as they can. pic.twitter.com/K7r3DWqy8r — P KELLY (@7815PWK) March 22, 2020
Despite facing an uncertain future, Cuba has also sent medical workers to Nicaragua, Venezuela, Suriname and Jamaica over the past weeks, but to less fanfare. Upon greeting 140 Cuban professionals at Kingston International Airport Saturday, Jamaican Health Minister Christopher Tufton lauded their neighbor’s generosity; “In a time of crisis, the Cuban government, the Cuban people … have risen to the occasion, they have heard our appeal and they have responded,” he said. Prime Minister Andrew Holness was equally thankful; “Jamaica is grateful for the support of Cuba as we fight this COVID-19 pandemic,” he wrote. The United Kingdom also thanked the Caribbean island for its welcoming of the British cruise liner M.S. Braemar into a Cuban port. The ship had multiple confirmed COVID-19 cases aboard and had been refused entry by many other countries.
Yesterday, Minister @christufton welcomed the Cuban medical team, consisting of 90 specialist nurses, 46 doctors and 4 therapists, to Jamaica. Jamaica is grateful for the support of Cuba as we fight this Covid-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/1yigbCcyhd — Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) March 22, 2020
The doctors putting themselves in harm’s way were far from blind to the risks. “Obviously I am scared. But when we went to fight Ebola in West Africa in 2014 we were scared too. But we fulfilled our mission there and we all came back,” said Dr. Leonardo Fernandez, speaking to journalists in Havana. “He who says he is not afraid is a superhero, but we are not superheroes, we are revolutionary doctors.”
For many decades, medical internationalism has been at the heart of Cuban ideology. There are currently tens of thousands of Cuban doctors in over 100 countries around the world. MintPress spoke recently with Sarpoma Sefa-Boakye, a doctor practicing in San Diego, CA. Dr. Sefa-Boakye is one of many Americans paid by the Cuban government to train as a doctor and serve underprivileged communities in the U.S. Most of those applying for the program are from poor backgrounds themselves and would not be able to otherwise study.
“You don’t hear of Cuba’s health contributions in the United States,” she said, noting that, remarkably, more African doctors have trained in Cuba than all African states put together. She first came across Cuban doctors while studying in her parents’ home country of Ghana. She also said that, “You cannot talk about Latin America’s healthcare without talking about Cuba. They are in these countries and in the Caribbean islands as well.” With the aid of Cuba, states with leftist presidents like Venezuela and Bolivia have managed to construct comprehensive nationalized healthcare systems.
The Cuban government has confirmed 35 cases of COVID-19, including one death and two full recoveries so far. Dr. Sefa-Boakye believes the island is better placed than its neighbors because of its culture of regular quarantining. “The only way to really tackle a virus that you don’t know, where transmission is questionable, or even how this virus came to be, quarantining has to be the only way that we can get a hold of transmission” she said. “The science will tell you, you talk to any biologist or anyone who has taken a basic science class: viruses replicate. That is how they move. They need a host and a source. I learned that in Cuba… We don’t have options. You can’t go against science.”
The images of Cubans marching to their possible deaths might stir public sentiment against the decades-long policy of sanctions. Perhaps the greatest danger to the island currently is serious difficulties with food production, owing to a tightening of the blockade under the Trump administration, who described Cuba as belonging to a “troika of tyranny.” Despite price controls, staples like black beans are in short supply. More worryingly, so is soap. But the Trump administration has been using the pandemic to ramp up sanctions against enemy states, hoping for regime change.
Public opinion might be changing, however. Sanders actually won the Cuban-American vote during the Florida primary, with many Miamians who criticize the communist government are quietly returning to their ancestral homeland for medical treatment. Regardless of the sanctions, medical personnel will continue to fight disease around the world, according to Carlos Armando Garcia Hernandez, a nurse traveling to Italy; “This is a global battle and we have to fight it together.”
Feature photo | Medics and paramedics from Cuba pose upon arrival at the Malpensa airport of Milan, Italy, March 22, 2020. Antonio Calanni | 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--2020-03-24--King David’s Ancient Road: How Israeli Archaeologists Are Aiding the Theft of Silwan

Jerusalem , Palestine — Wadi Hilweh , also known as Silwan , is a lovely , ancient town that sits in the valley directly below the Al-Aqsa compound , just outside the Old City of Jerusalem .
Sadly , on any given day in this ancient valley , one can see ongoing ethnic cleansing , violence incited by Israeli settlers and the erasure of history , all at the same time and in broad daylight .
Because of its proximity to the Old City , Silwan has been subjected to a brutal assault by the Israeli government , the municipality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations Elad and Ateret Cohanim , which subsidize the violence , the destruction of Palestinian heritage and finance the building of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem .
Throughout its long history , Silwan has seen many cultures and conquerors come and go , leaving their marks and making this valley unique .
Since the Zionist occupation of East Jerusalem began , the valley has become an excavation site , but not for the preservation or discovery of the wealth of history and archeology it contains , but rather for what it does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to validate their narrative , ignoring and even destroying everything else .
They claim that there was a Hebrew King by the name of David who ruled in ancient Jerusalem and that the ancient city where he ruled sits under the homes of the people of Silwan .
Although no historical proof exists that King David ever lived , the homes of the people of the valley are being destroyed because Israel wants the world to believe that he did .
Claiming “ science ” as their reason , and in total disregard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tunnels are dug under the homes in Silwan , destroying their foundations and forcing people to leave their homes .
One particular tunnel was made famous when the U.S .
Ambassador David Friedman , participated in the digging and destruction .
The excavation is funded mostly through the Elad Foundation , whose money , according to Ha ’ aretz , “ came from companies registered in global tax shelters like the Bahamas , the Virgin Islands and the Seychelles , and it is unclear who controls them.
” A recent piece published by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Institute for Near East Policy , described Silwan as “ small , hilly , poor , and densely packed.
” However , this description is deceptive .
Silwan is not small , with over fifty-thousand residents .
Starting just below the Al-Aqsa sanctuary in the Old City , it stretches down the valley and up the opposite hill to Jabel Mukaber , offering stunning views of the valley and the Old City .
If Silwan is poor , it is largely due to the fact that tour guides are instructed to warn tourists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Furthermore , since the establishment of the “ The City of David ” archaeological park , tourists , some 400,000 of them each year according to Silwan Information Center , stop at the Israeli site which perpetuates the false narrative but never venture down into the town itself to see the countless historical and cultural treasures within it .
According to the Silwan Information Center , Silwan suffers from the negligence of the Jerusalem municipality concerning the village ’ s needs , “ The village remains without infrastructure – residential , educational @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Jerusalem the occupying forces have not granted any building permits for apartments or residential buildings in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood.
” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy goes on to say that Silwan , “ has at times been a flashpoint of Jewish and Palestinian activism and tension.
” I visit Silwan often .
It is uniquely placed and beautiful and the Wadi Hilweh Information center with its many activities is a good place to visit and talk to people who live in the valley .
However , though tension clearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Jewish and Palestinian activism .
It is because Israeli settlers have spread throughout the valley bringing violence and hostility towards the native residents .
The Israeli settlers , the police , and the private militia that work for the settlers create fully justified resentment among the people of Silwan , resentment that often erupts in the form of protests and often results in the arrest and killing of young Palestinians .
Add to that the ongoing destruction of Palestinian homes by the Israeli authorities and you have yourself a real disaster area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ above , Palestinians are prevented from burying their dead at the ancient Muslim cemetery just above Silwan .
The Bab al-Rahmah Islamic cemetery sits outside of the eastern walls of the Old City and Palestinian residents of Silwan have buried their dead there for over 1000 years .
Israeli authorities confiscated the graveyard by integrating it into the “ Jerusalem Walls ( City of David ) National Park.
” According to the International Middle East Center , “ The Jerusalem municipality is well known for classifying Palestinian areas as national parks to wrest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The area of Bab al-Rahmah is crucial to Israeli settlement plans , which aim to link four concentric circles of settlements , starting with the Old City , followed by the “ Holy Basin ” ( Silwan , Sheikh Jarrah , a-Tur , Mount Zion , and the Kidron Valley ) , Jerusalem ’ s annexation border , and finally the West Bank.
” In 1881 , some thirty Jewish families left Yemen for the Holy Land .
For several years , these impoverished Jews had no permanent residence , until , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new stone houses at the south end of Silwan .
The homes were built for them by a Jewish charity called “ Ezrat Nidahim.
” There they remained until in 1936 when the Palestinian uprising began , at which time they were moved by the Zionist authorities into the Jewish Quarter of the Old City .
During the 1948 Zionist campaign of ethnic cleansing of Palestine , all Palestinians residing in West Jerusalem were forced to leave , their homes and properties were taken by the Zionists and their private belongings looted by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took place over the Old City , the Arab Legion of the Transjordan defeated the Zionist forces and all the Jews who resided there were evacuated .
For many years , Ateret Cohanim had been trying to evict Palestinians who lived in the part of Silwan where the Jewish Yemeni community resided .
According to a report by Silwan Information Center , in January of 2020 an Israeli court “ issued a decision to evict the building of Naser Rajabi family in Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan , in favor of “ Ateret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pretext that Jews owned the land on which the building was built in 1948.
” The report further states that this is part of a plan by Ateret Cohanim to control 5,200 square meters of the Central Neighborhood called Batn Al-Hawa , claiming that “ Jews from Yemen owned the land since 1881.
” The residents of Silwan pointed out to the court that they had “ lived in the neighborhood for decades , and possess proof of purchase for the land and property.
” The court decided in favor of the Jewish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ East Policy claims that “ attitudes in Silwan are exceptionally militant.
” It cites as an example , that locals were asked if they agree with the sentence : “ I hope someday we can be friends with Israelis , since we are all human beings after all.
” “ In Silwan , ” the report declares , “ a mere 4 % agree , compared with 90 % who “ strongly ” disagree.
” Considering what Israel does to the people of Silwan , those figures are hardly shocking .
But contrary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Institute for Near East Policy , the militancy has been overwhelmingly on the Israeli side .
Feature photo | U.S .
Ambassador to Israel David Friedman talks during the opening of an “ ancient road ” that cuts through the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan .
Tsafrir Abayov | AP Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem .
He is the author of “ The General ’ s Son .
Journey of an Israeli in Palestine , ” and “ Injustice , the Story of the Holy Land Foundation @ @ @

Jerusalem, Palestine — Wadi Hilweh, also known as Silwan, is a lovely, ancient town that sits in the valley directly below the Al-Aqsa compound, just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. Sadly, on any given day in this ancient valley, one can see ongoing ethnic cleansing, violence incited by Israeli settlers and the erasure of history, all at the same time and in broad daylight.
Because of its proximity to the Old City, Silwan has been subjected to a brutal assault by the Israeli government, the municipality of Jerusalem, and particularly the non-profit organizations Elad and Ateret Cohanim, which subsidize the violence, the destruction of Palestinian heritage and finance the building of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.
Zionist Conquest and Destruction
Throughout its long history, Silwan has seen many cultures and conquerors come and go, leaving their marks and making this valley unique. Since the Zionist occupation of East Jerusalem began, the valley has become an excavation site, but not for the preservation or discovery of the wealth of history and archeology it contains, but rather for what it does not.
Zionist archeologists dig in Wadi Hilwe to validate their narrative, ignoring and even destroying everything else. They claim that there was a Hebrew King by the name of David who ruled in ancient Jerusalem and that the ancient city where he ruled sits under the homes of the people of Silwan. Although no historical proof exists that King David ever lived, the homes of the people of the valley are being destroyed because Israel wants the world to believe that he did.
Claiming “science” as their reason, and in total disregard for the wellbeing of the population, tunnels are dug under the homes in Silwan, destroying their foundations and forcing people to leave their homes. One particular tunnel was made famous when the U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, participated in the digging and destruction.
The excavation is funded mostly through the Elad Foundation, whose money, according to Ha’aretz, “came from companies registered in global tax shelters like the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and the Seychelles, and it is unclear who controls them.”
A Zionist Perspective
A recent piece published by the pro-Israeli think tank, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, described Silwan as “small, hilly, poor, and densely packed.” However, this description is deceptive. Silwan is not small, with over fifty-thousand residents. Starting just below the Al-Aqsa sanctuary in the Old City, it stretches down the valley and up the opposite hill to Jabel Mukaber, offering stunning views of the valley and the Old City.
If Silwan is poor, it is largely due to the fact that tour guides are instructed to warn tourists not to purchase from the “Arabs.” Furthermore, since the establishment of the “The City of David” archaeological park, tourists, some 400,000 of them each year according to Silwan Information Center, stop at the Israeli site which perpetuates the false narrative but never venture down into the town itself to see the countless historical and cultural treasures within it.
According to the Silwan Information Center, Silwan suffers from the negligence of the Jerusalem municipality concerning the village’s needs, “The village remains without infrastructure – residential, educational or economic – and since the occupation of Jerusalem the occupying forces have not granted any building permits for apartments or residential buildings in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood.”
Tensions
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy goes on to say that Silwan, “has at times been a flashpoint of Jewish and Palestinian activism and tension.” I visit Silwan often. It is uniquely placed and beautiful and the Wadi Hilweh Information center with its many activities is a good place to visit and talk to people who live in the valley. However, though tension clearly exists, it is not due to “Jewish and Palestinian activism. It is because Israeli settlers have spread throughout the valley bringing violence and hostility towards the native residents.
The Israeli settlers, the police, and the private militia that work for the settlers create fully justified resentment among the people of Silwan, resentment that often erupts in the form of protests and often results in the arrest and killing of young Palestinians. Add to that the ongoing destruction of Palestinian homes by the Israeli authorities and you have yourself a real disaster area.
In addition to all of the above, Palestinians are prevented from burying their dead at the ancient Muslim cemetery just above Silwan. The Bab al-Rahmah Islamic cemetery sits outside of the eastern walls of the Old City and Palestinian residents of Silwan have buried their dead there for over 1000 years. Israeli authorities confiscated the graveyard by integrating it into the “Jerusalem Walls (City of David) National Park.”
According to the International Middle East Center, “The Jerusalem municipality is well known for classifying Palestinian areas as national parks to wrest control over more territory.” Furthermore, “The area of Bab al-Rahmah is crucial to Israeli settlement plans, which aim to link four concentric circles of settlements, starting with the Old City, followed by the “Holy Basin” (Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, a-Tur, Mount Zion, and the Kidron Valley), Jerusalem’s annexation border, and finally the West Bank.”
A Historic Injustice
In 1881, some thirty Jewish families left Yemen for the Holy Land. For several years, these impoverished Jews had no permanent residence, until, in 1884, they had settled into new stone houses at the south end of Silwan. The homes were built for them by a Jewish charity called “Ezrat Nidahim.” There they remained until in 1936 when the Palestinian uprising began, at which time they were moved by the Zionist authorities into the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.
During the 1948 Zionist campaign of ethnic cleansing of Palestine, all Palestinians residing in West Jerusalem were forced to leave, their homes and properties were taken by the Zionists and their private belongings looted by Zionist soldiers. In a battle that took place over the Old City, the Arab Legion of the Transjordan defeated the Zionist forces and all the Jews who resided there were evacuated.
For many years, Ateret Cohanim had been trying to evict Palestinians who lived in the part of Silwan where the Jewish Yemeni community resided. According to a report by Silwan Information Center, in January of 2020 an Israeli court “issued a decision to evict the building of Naser Rajabi family in Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan, in favor of “Ateret Cohanim” settlement association, on the pretext that Jews owned the land on which the building was built in 1948.”
The report further states that this is part of a plan by Ateret Cohanim to control 5,200 square meters of the Central Neighborhood called Batn Al-Hawa, claiming that “Jews from Yemen owned the land since 1881.” The residents of Silwan pointed out to the court that they had “lived in the neighborhood for decades, and possess proof of purchase for the land and property.” The court decided in favor of the Jewish settlers.
Militant Attitudes
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy claims that “attitudes in Silwan are exceptionally militant.” It cites as an example, that locals were asked if they agree with the sentence: “I hope someday we can be friends with Israelis, since we are all human beings after all.” “In Silwan,” the report declares, “a mere 4% agree, compared with 90% who “strongly” disagree.”
Considering what Israel does to the people of Silwan, those figures are hardly shocking. But contrary to the point made by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the militancy has been overwhelmingly on the Israeli side.
Feature photo | U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman talks during the opening of an “ancient road” that cuts through the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan. Tsafrir Abayov | AP
Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem. He is the author of “The General’s Son. Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and “Injustice, the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”