Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein officially filed for a vote recount in the state of Michigan today. The news comes a day after Stein sued the state of Wisconsin following a refusal by a judge there order a recount of the 2016 vote by hand. Stein told Democracy Now that there were too many flaws in electronic voting systems for the election results to go unchecked. Dr Stein is also saying that she was unofficially informed of preparations for a state-wide vote recount by hand in the state of Michigan. On Monday, Stein filed for a review of the tally in Pennsylvania. Election lawyer Bob Fitrakis, who has advised Dr. Stein in the past, spoke to the Real News last week about the problems with computerized voting systems.
A new decision by India’s Supreme Court will require movie theaters to play the national anthem and project the national flag on its screens before each feature film. The ruling also requires audience members to stand for the duration of the anthem, resurrecting an old custom from the 60s and 70s. This comes as right-wing prime minister Narenda Modi continues to enact increasingly nationalistic policies since being elected in 2014. Modi has also pushed for a rapid buildup of India’s armament and also enacted currency reform earlier this month. The currency reform was justified as a means to fight terrorism, but has mainly impacted impoverished households without bank accounts.
Syrian state TV says the Israeli air force fire two missiles at an arms convoy in Damascus this morning that was headed for Hezbollah. The attack came from within Lebanese airspace. Israeli incursions into Syria have nonetheless declined after Russia intervened in the war torn nation in September 2015. Meanwhile, the Red Cross reports that over 20,000 people are fleeing from Eastern Aleppo, with many of them escaping into Kurdish-controlled area as the Syrian loyalist military pushes forward. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson recently told The Real News that US President Barack Obama has made a major mistake over the last couple years by insisting on Assad’s removal from power.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is blaming yesterday’s disappearance of two of his social posts on a system error related to Facebook’s new strategy of targeting so-called fake News. The deletion of his posts has raised concerns over the ability of social media platforms to censor whatever it deems illegitimate. It also comes at a time when the issue of fake news has become a major controversy in the mainstream media. Empire Files host and creator Abby Martin recently told Real News CEO Paul Jay that fake news is a problem. But she also said corporate media is a major source of disinformation, and legitimate sites being targeted.
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