2020-10-29: News Headlines

MEE staff (2020-10-29). US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital. middleeasteye.net US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital | Saudi coalition spokesman said bomb-laden Houthi drones were launched toward the capital 'deliberately and systematically to target civilians' | Thu, 10/29/2020 – 15: 25 | Brian Hook, then-US special representative on Iran, on 21 June 2019 checks what Saudi officials said were Iran-made Houthi missiles and drones intercepted over Saudi territory (A…

Aaron Maté (2020-10-28). Draft debacle: Bellingcat smears OPCW whistleblower, journalists with false letter, farcical claims. thegrayzone.com Bellingcat claimed to have uncovered a letter that disproves OPCW inspectors and journalists who challenged the censorship of a Syria chemical weapons probe. But in one of many falsehoods, Bellingcat's "letter" was in fact only a draft that was never sent — and only further exposes the cover-up. Bellingcat, the NATO member state-funded website that has participated in a propaganda effort to accuse Syria of a chemical weapons attack in April 2018 and justify the US-led bombing that followed, has …

Ian Cobain (2020-10-28). UK bill shielding soldiers from prosecution slammed by parliamentary committee. middleeasteye.net UK bill shielding soldiers from prosecution slammed by parliamentary committee | Law to stop prosecutions over torture, murder and war crimes would damage Britain's reputation, human rights body warns | Wed, 10/28/2020 – 17: 15 | UK Houses of Parliament. There are fears that the Conservative government's large majority could allow it to press ahead with controversial new law (Reuters) | A proposed new law t…

_____ (2020-10-28). Whistleblower Sues EPA Over Retaliation. popularresistance.org An Environmental Protection Agency whistleblower, whose disclosures ultimately led to former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's resignation, filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging his free speech and due process rights were violated. | The lawsuit [PDF] says Kevin Chmielewski was a political appointee and worked as Pruitt's deputy chief of staff for operations. He faced a retaliatory investigation from the EPA's Office of the Inspector General that "falsely accused" him of "not having a security clearance and covering up a past arrest."

Ralph Nader (2020-10-27). Don't Rush to Declare Victory: Implementing a Two-Week Grace Period After November 3rd So All Voters Can Be Counted. commondreams.org With such large stakes for our fragile democracy, we cannot afford to bypass such a course of action that will assure a peaceful transition in accord with the rule of law. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/early.jpg

Joanna Frew (2020-10-27). New Report: Crowded Sky, Contested Sea: Drones over the South and East China Seas. globalresearch.ca Amid naval patrols, live military drills, island building, trade wars and diplomatic breakdown, drones are making an increasing impact on the security situation in the South China Sea and the relationship between China and the US. Smaller nations in the …

Max Blumenthal (2020-10-26). How Bolivia's new socialist senator resisted coup terror: Meet MAS party leader Patricia Arce. thegrayzone.com The Grayzone traveled to rural Bolivia to meet Patricia Arce, a former mayor who was publicly tortured during a US-backed coup in November 2019, and is now a senator-elect from the indigenous-led Movement Toward Socialism party, which won in a historic landslide election on October 18. By Max Blumenthal Video and translation by Ben Norton Puede leer esto en español aquí. Transcript MAX BLUMENTHAL: Just a few days after the dramatic landslide victory on October 18 of the Movement Toward …

Ed Lehman (2020-10-26). Pan-Canadian Day of Action Opposes Plan to Buy Fighter Jets, Drones. globalresearch.ca On October 2 Canadian peace activists held their second pan-Canadian Day of Action against the purchase of 88 new fighter jets. At some locations activists also underscored their objections to the purchase of 12 armed drones at a projected cost …

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2020-10-26). 'Let This Echo Around the World': Nearly 50 Years After US-Backed Coup, Chile Votes to Rewrite Pinochet Era Constitution. commondreams.org "This historic day belongs to those who have struggled for decades, to those who have given their lives, to the tortured, to the mutilated, and especially to those who remain imprisoned." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/chile_referendum.jpg

WSWS (2020-10-26). ICE uses torture to pressure African asylum seekers to agree to deportation. wsws.org In a blatant violation of international law and the US constitution, ICE officials in the privately run detention center in Mississippi have been forcing asylum seekers from Cameroon to sign their own deportation forms and quickly shipping them back on secret flights.