July 29 2020 — Beyond GM
In its last meeting before the summer recess, the House of Lords finally debated Amendment 275 of the Agriculture Bill, which proposed to deregulate products of gene editing in UK agriculture.
The debate, which lasted nearly two hours, saw Lords raising numerous issues, though only a few stepped off the well-trodden path of the decades-long, adversarial debate about genetic engineering in food and farming.
31 July 2020 — London Renters Union
What: Rent debt and evictions solidarity meeting
When: Wednesday 12th August 2020 6pm-8pm
Location: Via Zoom. Register here
30 July 2020 — American Herald Tribune
Back in 1919, when the “Spanish Flu” pandemic was cutting down millions of young men who had survived the Great War, similar measures were taken in many countries to those being used now to try to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including “social distancing” and mandatory mask wearing. Despite minimal technical abilities at the time, their understanding of the nature of this deadly virus was comparable with ours in practical terms, and without the enveloping fog of political and commercial agendas. The resonance with the current drive towards mask wearing, and imposition of mandatory masking in many countries, is beautifully illustrated by a research study at the time, published in a scientific journal in 1920 and now available in pdf form.
30 July 2020 — MRonline
Originally published: Granma English by Karima Oliva Bello (July 23, 2020)
Just recently, the 59th anniversary of Fidel’s quintessential words to Cuban intellectuals was commemorated. One passage in the speech is particularly noteworthy. Fidel said, and I quote:
The Revolution… must act in such a way that the entire gamut of artists and intellectuals who are not genuinely revolutionary, find that within the Revolution they have an arena in which to work and to create; and that their creative spirit, even if they are not revolutionary writers or artists, has the opportunity and freedom to be expressed. That is, within the Revolution.
30 July 2020 — Off Guardian
Demonstrators supporting Julian Assange hold banners outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The book of hours on Julian Assange is now being written. But the scribes are far from original. Repeated rituals of administrative hearings that have no common purpose other than to string things out before the axe are being enacted.
19 March, 2020 — Netpol
[I missed this. WB]
PHOTO: Brian A Jackson | Shutterstock
While everyone is currently very anxious about the future, it is important that any emergency response the government plans to adopt and implement to contain the coronavirus is fair and proportionate.
The New Dark Age 