”At the moment the future is up for grabs, but can only be seized with a strategy capable of winning the allegiance of the broader public and stunting the growth of a now-toddling fascism”.

by Shamus Cooke ON COUNTERPUNCH shared with thanks. Illustrations added.

The Politics of Portland’s Protests

Portland entered the 100th straight day of protests connected to the Black Lives Matter movement this month, and finally Portland’s mayor joined hands with the governor to solve the crisis. Not by taking action to address the widely-shared grievances against law enforcement, but to deliver a movement deathblow aimed at protestors.

The quietly coordinated move allowed Oregon State Troopers to be federally deputized, essentially making them Trump’s Troopers. Such a bold move by Oregon’s liberal executives—in arguably one of the bluest states in the country—is comparable to treason.

Oregon State Troopers are back..Federally Deputized in Portland

Weeks earlier, when thousands of protestors confronted Trump’s feds at the ‘Battle of Portland’, the mayor and governor won much public acclaim by decrying Trump’s tactics. And when a “ceasefire” was negotiated between Oregon’s politicians and the president, the public wasn’t told of a key provision— the bait and switch that substituted Trump’s feds for Oregon’s federally deputized state troopers.

Continue reading “Politics of Portland’s Protests: Crucial Battles Against barbaric Trumpism affect Elections”

Farmers from the Brazilian Reforma Agraria Popular distributed about six tons of food to indigenous peoples during the pandemic. Photo credit: Vinícius Braga/Fotos Publicas (CC BY 3.0) How indigenous peoples resist COVID-19 in South America

In Latin America, indigenous people are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection due to lack of data and historical political neglect, according to indigenous communities and human rights organizations.

Malnutrition, anemia, and obesity rates are high and resources to build nearby hospitals are low. In Bolivia, for example, the Bolivian Center for Legal Studies and Social Research (CEJIS for its initials in Spanish) also warned about the risk of the “ethnocide” of indigenous groups in the context of COVID-19. Similar concerns have spread throughout the continent.

This map outlines all indigenous territories in the South American Amazon and highlights communities featured in this story. The shapes were created by Global Voices based on a database compiled by Amazonia Socioambiental, filtered using QGIS and edited on Photoshop and Illustrator.

Continue reading “How Indigenous Peoples are resisting COVID-19 in South America”

Old World Garden Farms

Gardening, Cooking & DIY Living

There is no better way to get ready to power up your garden next year than by building a great fall compost pile now. And with so many incredible materials at the ready throughout autumn, it couldn’t be easier!

Having ready-made compost in the spring is the key to getting vegetable plants and flowers off to a fast start. Compost really is the perfect all-purpose fertilizer.

It provides a balanced set of nutrients to plants, all while adding valuable structure to your soil. That structure aids in retaining moisture, helping plant’s roots to grow quick and strong.

Continue reading “How To Create An Incredible Fall Compost Pile Now To Power Next Year’s Garden!”

 @Writes_Sweeney23 Sep, 2020 17:47 at .rt.com/ photos added

Boris Johnson wants to make British Armed Forces untouchable by offering them immunity for war crimes

A controversial bill is passing through the House of Commons which will make it virtually impossible to prosecute soldiers but, at the same time, will strip away their own legal rights and health benefits.

–The government knows what it’s doing, this is the first step in refashioning the armed forces into a rabble-rousing pack of jackals with Union Jacks tattooed on their arms. It’s also a free pass to allow Boris and his cabal of advisers to enter into conflicts with limited blowback domestically.–

It’s avoided a great deal of attention, mainly due to the EU face-off and, of course, the resumption of Covid-19 lockdown in the UK. Ministers must be praising their luck as the bill is an unthinkable betrayal of what Britain stands for.

The first part insulates soldiers from alleged offences while on duty. It does this via a ‘triple lock’ of a five-year statute of limitations, a presumption against prosecution, and the requirement of explicit consent from the attorney general.

UK troops to be shielded from torture prosecution

Continue reading “Boris Johnson offers British Army immunity for multiple War Crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan”

14th September 2020

The UK’s economic and political life revolves around corruption.

Rotten to the Core – by George Monbiot

Sept 2020. Illustrations added

Fear, shame, embarrassment: these brakes no longer apply. The government has discovered that it can bluster through any scandal. No minister need resign. No one need apologise. No one need explain.

As public outrage grows over the billions of pounds of coronavirus contracts issued by the government without competition, it seems determined only to award more of them.

Never mind that the consulting company Deloitte, whose personnel circulate in and out of government, has been strongly criticised for the disastrous system it devised to supply protective equipment to the NHS. It has now been granted a massive new contract to test the population for Covid-19.

Never mind that untendered contracts with firms that had no previous experience in supplying medical equipment have left us with vast piles of substandard PPE that can’t be used.

Never mind that, Byline Times has reported, one of these contracts has cost taxpayers £800 for every medical gown it has delivered.

Continue reading “The Great UK Ruling Class Robbery: Rotten to their Stinking Core”

Posted on 16/09/2020 by anarchistsworldwide

[Prisiones chilenas] Dibujo de la compañera anarquista Mónica Caballero

The prison and I are old acquaintances, on more than one occasion I have sat at their table, over the years we have changed and we have both learned from each other…but no matter how much time passes essentially the prison and I remain the same.

Prison is still the power-sucking monster that grows and spreads submission and repentance, and I continue to have the same seditious desires as before.

Mónica Caballero, anarchist prisoner