2019-12-12: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these ‘POSTEES’ on social media!

Trump signs executive order aimed at suppressing criticism of Israel
wsws.org | 2019-12-12
The purpose of the order signed Wednesday is to squelch free speech at publicly funded universities, targeting in particular the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/12/anti…

The U.S. Government Lied about the Afghanistan War, They Couldn’t Have Done It Without Media Lapdogs
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
“In ten years or so, we’ll leak the truth,” the Dead Kennedys sang. “But by then it’s only so much paper.” But it might just score you a Pulitzer Prize. Award bait and bragging rights are no doubt the principal goals of The Washington Post’s self-congratulatory data dump, “The Afghanistan Papers.” As the headline implies,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/the-u-s-gove…

The Warfare State Lied About Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. They Will Lie Again
Tho Bishop | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
Today the Washington Post published a bombshell report titled “The Afghanistan Papers,” highlighting the degree to which the American government lied to the public about the ongoing status of the war in Afghanistan. Within the thousands of pages, consisting …
globalresearch.ca/warfare-state-lied-abo…

Award-Winning Journalist Vanessa Beeley Faces “Deplatforming” at Six Canadian Venues
Michael Welch | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
Vanessa Beeley, the award-winning journalist who has gained notoriety for her on the ground reporting on the Syrian conflict has faced opposition in her efforts to speak to Canadian audiences at the invitation of local anti war activists. | According …
globalresearch.ca/award-winning-journali…

Paper Genocide: The Barriers to an Accurate Count of Native People in 2020
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
As the country prepares for the 2020 census, many tribal governments and communities are still awaiting an accurate count of the most undercounted group in the United States: American Indians (AI) and Alaska Natives (AN). Though the 2020 census is the first to offer an online response form, that will have little impact in increasing AI and AN participation given existing barriers. At the same time, the undercounting of AI and AN people wreaks havoc on tribal communities today, and it will for ge…
truthout.org/articles/paper-genocide-the…

Thursday’s Daily Brief: South Sudan floods, Somalis leave Yemen, LATAM economic slowdown
news.un.org | 2019-12-12
In today’s Daily Brief: Flooding could push millions in South Sudan into humanitarian crisis, Somalis return home from war-torn Yemen; historically low growth in Latin American and Caribbean economies; UN’s top court will deliberate on Myanmar genocide accusations; and alpinism’s classified a “cultural treasure”.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…

Chilean Lawmakers Reject Move To Impeach President Pinera
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
Chilean lawmakers on Thursday rejected a bid to impeach conservative President Sebastian Pinera over accusations he failed to guarantee human rights during weeks of deadly riots despite mounting evidence about the alleged abuses. | RELATED: , Chile: Senate Approves Indictment of Former Interior Minister | After hours of debate, the Chamber of Deputies tossed the impeachment motion out 79-73 on grounds that it did not meet the Constitutional threshold for impeaching a sitting presid…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chilean-Lawmaker…

Pride Goeth Before the Fall
George Ochenski | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
The hammer of impeachment is finally falling on Donald Trump’s occupancy of the White House. For many, it’s taken far too long to get to the point where an obviously corrupt individual with a very long record of shady dealings, illicit financial transactions and bankruptcies now faces a process in which he has no control.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/pride-goeth-…

Judiciary Panel Takes First Steps Toward Impeachment Vote
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-12
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee took the first steps Wednesday evening toward voting on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, beginning a marathon two-day session to consider the historic charges. | The Judiciary meeting is to mark up, or amend, the two articles of impeachment that Democrats introduced Tuesday. Those articles charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to his dealings with Ukraine. | The articles aren’t expected to be changed, though, as Democrats are unlikely to accept any amendments proposed by Republicans unified against Trump’s impea…
truthdig.com/articles/judiciary-panel-ta…

Is the Democrats’ impeachment effort too narrowly focused?
C.J. Atkins | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-12
Among liberals, many centrists, and almost everyone on the left, there is agreement that Donald Trump has committed acts that merit impeachment and removal from the presidency. Given his conduct in life as a corrupt businessman, crooked real estate tycoon, serial womanizer, and outspoken racist, it was almost pre-ordained that as president he would abuse …
peoplesworld.org/article/is-the-democrat…

The impeachment crisis and its political consequences
wsws.org | 2019-12-12
Regardless of the its final outcome in the House and Senate, the impeachment proceedings will have reactionary and dangerous repercussions.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/12/pers…

Collapse of US charges against journalist raises serious questions about politically motivated prosecutions
Mohamed Elmaazi | thecanary.co | 2019-12-12
Washington DC police have dropped criminal charges against award-winning journalist Max Blumenthal, in a press-freedom story which has received scant media attention. | Blumenthal: The police “threatened to break down my door”: | On 25 October 2019, Blumenthal was arrested in a morning raid by police who threatened to “break down” his door. Blumenthal, who co-founded independent media outlet t…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2019/…

Bolivia: The 21st Century Coup d’État and Its Crimes Against Humanity
Alex Anfruns | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
After the coup d’état, repression is advancing by leaps and bounds in Bolivia. The dictatorship persecutes the “narco-traffickers”, “vandals” and “terrorists”, that is to say: the social movements, former members of the government, peasants and indigenous people who demonstrate and …
globalresearch.ca/bolivia-21st-century-c…

Evo Morales Arrived in Argentina to Request Political Asylum
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales, who was forced to resign after the mutiny of his country’s security forces, arrived in Argentina as a refugee. | RELATED: | Bolivia One Month After the Coup: A Recount of Pivotal Events | “He comes to stay in Argentina because he arrives as an asylee and then he will have refugee status,” Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Minister F…
telesurenglish.net/news/Evo-Morales-Arri…

Renouncing Israel on Principle
Steven Salaita | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
When anti-Zionists discuss the Middle East, the topic of Israel’s existence rarely arises. It’s almost exclusively a pro-Israel talking point. We’re focused on national liberation, on surviving repression, on strategies of resistance, on recovering subjugated histories, on the complex (and sometimes touchy) relationships among an Indigenous population disaggregated by decades of aggression. That a colonial state–or any state, really–possesses no ontological rights is an unspoken assumption.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/renouncing-i…

Libya Is Likely to Become a Proxy Battlefront Between Greece and Turkey
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoƒüan has certainly opened up pandora’s box in Libya that is now difficult for him to close after he made a series of gross miscalculations and aggression against Greece. This has triggered a crisis all across …
globalresearch.ca/libya-likely-become-pr…

Colombian Police to be Investigated for Excessive Use of Force
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
The Attorney General of Colombia stated on Wednesday that it will conduct an investigation into what happened on Tuesday when agents of the questioned Mobile Riot Squadron ( Esmad ) of the National Police detained two young men and transported them in private vehicles. | RELATED: | Colombia: Medellin Will Host a Concert Pro National Strike | The Public Ministry indicated that it will open the preliminary inquiry without determining the agents subject to prosecution because the name…
telesurenglish.net/news/Colombian-Police…

Latin America says ‘No to neoliberalism’: Ecuador’s ex-foreign minister talks uprisings and Assange
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-12
The Grayzone premieres its new show Red Lines with Anya Parampil with an interview with the former foreign minister of…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/12/latin-america…

US Senate Committee Approves Sanctions Against Turkey
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
A U.S. Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in Syria and purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system, the latest move in the chamber to push Republican President Donald Trump to take a harder line against Ankara. | RELATED: | US Military Finishes Pullback From Northeast Syria | The Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted by 18-4 to send the “Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act of 2019” for a vote in the full Senate. | “Now’s the time for the Senate to come together and take this opportunit…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Senate-Commit…

Greta Thunberg Slams Response to Climate Crisis at COP25 as “Creative PR”
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
At the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed world leaders Wednesday, hours after she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Thunberg came to the talks after a trip to meet with climate leaders across North America in anticipation of the scheduled climate conference in Santiago, Chile, before the talks were abruptly moved to the Spanish capital. In her address, Thunberg warned that the planet’s carbon budget is down to just eight years, an…
truthout.org/video/greta-thunberg-slams-…

Zealots in High Office
James A Haught | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
Back in 2003, in a top-secret international phone call, President George W. Bush urged French President Jacques Chirac to join America in invading Iraq on grounds that Christian nations must thwart the Satanic forces of Gog and Magog. Chirac was baffled by such crackpottery. A few French newspapers wrote derisive sneers about the born-again U.S.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/zealots-in-h…

Uganda’s First Fridays for Future Climate Striker Joins COP25 Protests in Madrid
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
As we broadcast from the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, Spain, we speak with climate activist Vanessa Nakate, who was Uganda’s first Fridays for Future climate striker. “I wanted to do something that would cause change to the lives of the people in my community and my country,” she says. “My country heavily depends on agriculture, therefore most of the people depend on agriculture. If our farms are destroyed by floods, if the farms are destroyed by droughts and crop production is less, that m…
truthout.org/video/ugandas-first-fridays…

Indian Government Strips Naturalization Rights From Muslims, Sparking Protests
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
Critics condemned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government Tuesday after the Lok Sabha, the lower chamber of the country’s parliament, passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, stripping naturalization rights granted to other groups from the nation’s 200 million Muslims living in the world’s largest democracy. | “We are now moving closer to Modi’s dream of an India where a Muslim will have to walk the streets of his country with his gaze lowered, where democracy will be a privilege some…
truthout.org/articles/indian-government-…

Algeria: Presidential Elections Close With Very Low Attendance
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
Algeria’s presidential elections, which the opposition has billed as a farce, were marked by massive protests and empty polling stations on Thursday. | RELATED: | Algerian Gov’t Paves the Way for Foreign Financial Institutions | Polling stations closed their doors with little attendance from citizens after a day marked by massive demonstrations and the boycott of elections, especially in the northern region of Kabylia. | In Algiers, polls closed at 7: 00 p.m. (local time) with…
telesurenglish.net/news/Algeria-Presiden…

From London to Beirut, From Santiago to New Delhi: Protesters Need to Build Solidarity Networks
Catherine Rottenberg — Neve Gordon | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
On Friday, December 1, two protest marches met in central London in what felt like a magical moment. A few thousand striking university lecturers had just reached the British Parliament at Westminster after marching from the Bloomsbury neighbourhood, when close to a thousand Extinction Rebellion teenagers came pouring down a parallel street and the two protests united. The…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/from-london-…

MN withstands -10 windchill to demand human rights at home and abroad
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-12
Minneapolis, MN – On December 10, 25 protesters rallied outside of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to mark International Human Rights Day. After chanting outside the senator’s office, Brad Sigal from the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee addressed the crowd to draw attention to Trump’s record of human rights abuses against immigrants. The protesters then marched in -10 degrees windchill to the legendary May Day Books in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. | Tracy Molm of the Anti-War Committee spoke at the closing rally inside the bookstore. “On Human Rights Day we come together to call attention to human rights…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/11/mn-with…

Money, Power and Turf: Winning the Middle East Media War at Any Cost
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
It is hardly surprising to see Middle Eastern countries at the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index, as the worst violators of freedom of the press. But equally alarming is the complete polarization of public opinion as a result of self-serving media and, bankrolled by rich Arab countries, whose only goal is to serve their specific, often sinister, agendas.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/money-power-…

When You Follow the Gun Trail, You Can End Up in Expected Places
Robert Fisk | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
I’ve always wanted to find out where the guns came from. Who were the ‘willing accomplices’ to the wars I witnessed? In 1996, I traced to its Boeing makers in the deep south of the US a missile fired by the Israelis at a Lebanese ambulance. It killed two women and four children. I even…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/when-you-fol…

NATO Summit — and 2020 Planned Aggression
Peter Koenig | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
A recent article ” NATO is Brain Dead” described the obsolescence Of NATO and NATO’s defense mechanisms against non-existence enemies. Amazing — with pretense of protection and security in Europe and the world, against Russia and China and fighting | …
globalresearch.ca/nato-summit-2020-plann…

New doping provocation against Russia prior to 2020 Olympics
wsws.org | 2019-12-12
A four-year ban has been imposed on Russian athletes participating in international competition, including the upcoming Summer Olympics in 2020 and Winter Olympics in 2022.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/12/dope…

Most Americans Support Phasing-Out Fossil Fuels…Isn’t That Worth a Headline?
Basav Sen | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
Last month, The Washington Post reported on the results of a poll it conducted with the Kaiser Family Foundation earlier this year. The poll had remarkable finding: nearly half — 46 percent — of American adults believe the U.S. needs to “drastically reduce” fossil fuel use in the near future to address the climate crisis, while another 41…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/most-america…

‘Embrace the transformation’ to a carbon-neutral world by 2050, UN chief tells COP25
news.un.org | 2019-12-12
With millions of workers increasingly affected by the climate crisis the route to securing livelihoods in the future lies in a wholesale transformation of how we power the planet and manage our resources, the UN chief said on Thursday, at a COP25 climate action event focused on greener jobs.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…

Unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Mali revealed in new report
news.un.org | 2019-12-12
Escalating violence and insecurity in Mali have sparked an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, rendering 3.9 million people in need of assistance and protection — an increase of 700,000 since the beginning of the year, the UN said on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…

Progressives Rebel as House Hands Trump War Spending Package
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
The House voted 377-48 to advance a $738 billion military spending authorization package on Wednesday despite a rebellion among progressive Democrats angered by the loss of provisions that would have curtailed endless wars and put President Trump’s most violent foreign policy ambitions in check. | The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is often described by the dominant media as a “must-pass” piece of legislation glowing with bipartisanship, but this year negotiations were different. Democrats clashed…
truthout.org/articles/progressives-rebel…

Polluting Companies Are Sponsoring COP25 Talks in Exchange for Tax Breaks
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
Big polluters are to blame for slow progress in the annual UN climate negotiations in Madrid, Spain, according to activists — with several companies sponsoring the talks in exchange for tax breaks. | Sponsors of the talks, known as COP25, include the electrical utilities company Iberdrola, which produced 24.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 20…
truthout.org/articles/polluting-companie…

Environmental Activists Target Exxon’s Lead Attorney in Climate Liability Case, a Prominent Democratic Donor
Rachel M. Cohen | theintercept.com | 2019-12-12
Ted Wells Jr., who defended Exxon against a lawsuit by New York’s attorney general, has given half a million dollars to Democrats in recent decades.
theintercept.com/2019/12/12/exxon-climat…

We Can’t Do It Ourselves
Kris De Decker | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
How to live a more sustainable life? This question generates a lot of debate that is focused on what individuals can do in order to address problems like climate change. For example, people are encouraged to shop locally, to buy organic food, to install home insulation, or to cycle more often. But how effective is individual…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/we-cant-do-i…

Small steps against climate change
Michael T. Hertz | nationofchange.org | 2019-12-12
Let’s start thinking about ways such as this to stop necessary waste.
nationofchange.org/2019/12/12/small-step…

Trump attacks climate activist Thunberg after Time honor
Associated Press | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-12
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump lashed out at 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg on Thursday, a day after she was named by Time as its Person of the Year, calling her selection “ridiculous.” The Swedish teenager has become a symbol of a growing movement of young climate activists after leading weekly school strikes in her country …
peoplesworld.org/article/trump-attacks-c…

The Bloomberg Factor: Authoritarianism, Money and US Presidential Politics
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
Political rottenness may be bottomless. Consider the following description of a political aspirant for the White House, this person being from the Democratic Party. His “liabilities as a political candidate are so glaringly obvious that it’s easy to dismiss his …
globalresearch.ca/bloomberg-factor-autho…

Sudanese Transitional Government Faces Profound Challenges
Abayomi Azikiwe | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
Interim Prime Abdallah Hamdok of the Republic of Sudan visited the United States during early December seeking to have sanctions lifted against his newly-created administration. | In meetings with members of Congress and the National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, who …
globalresearch.ca/sudanese-transitional-…

Ukraine Might Finally See Peace, Unless the US ‘Deep State’ Sabotages It First
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
The intense diplomatic efforts undertaken by Presidents Putin and Zelensky finally yielded credible hope that peace might eventually return to Ukraine following their first-ever face-to-face meeting during this week’s Normandy Summit in Paris, but the greatest obstacle that both leaders …
globalresearch.ca/ukraine-might-finally-…

No Israeli Peace, Joy or Goodwill at Christmastime for Palestinians
Jerome Irwin | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
Peace, Good Will and Joy on Earth at Christmas! But what does that mean for Palestine and Palestinians? Every year, on the 11th day of the 11th hour of the 11th month, the human spirit pauses to pay tribute to world peace, good will and joy towards all and commemorate that dark moment in modern…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/no-israeli-p…

US Reaches Deal in Principle on Trade With China
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
After months of uncertainty, there is some certainty that the U.S and China reached a “phase-one” trade deal in principle, and therefore, a statement from the White House is expected soon. | RELATED: | China Orders Removal of U.S. Computers from Government Offices | Trump was scheduled to huddle with his top trade advisers this Thursday. Ahead of the meeting, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told senators that announcements were possibly “imminent” on U.S. tariffs, seni…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-reaches-deal-…

NATO Secretary General Targets ‘Rising China’: Why Cold War Newspeak Never Went Away
Cynthia Chung | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
On December 3rd, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO must address the “security implications” of China’s rise as a “military power”, and in true Orwellian doublespeak, insisted that he did not want to make an adversary …
globalresearch.ca/nato-secretary-general…

Anti-Arab Spraypainted on Mosque in Northern Israel
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-12
In the village of Manshiet Zibdeh, located in what is now Israel, a mosque was defaced with racist graffiti on Thursday morning, and cars parked at the mosque had their tires punctured. Israeli police were called in by the Imam of the Mosque when the graffiti was found, but they …
imemc.org/article/anti-muslim-spraypaint…

Soldiers Shoot A Medic, Abduct Thirteen Palestinians In West Bank
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-12
Israeli soldiers shot, on Thursday at dawn, a medic and abducted thirteen other Palestinians, including a university student, in several parts of the occupied West Bank. In Ramallah, in central West Bank, the soldiers invaded Ein Misbah neighborhood and Surda Junction, and resorted to the excessive use of force against …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-shoot-a-medic…

Army Abducts A Woman, Invade Many Homes, Near Jerusalem
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-12
Israeli soldiers abducted, Wednesday, a Palestinian woman from Beit Doqqo village, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem; her detention comes just a few days after the soldiers abducted her husband. Local sources in Beit Doqqo said the soldiers abducted Zakiyya Ali Hussein, 30, when she headed to an interrogation center after …
imemc.org/article/army-abducts-a-woman-i…

Betsy DeVos Forced Students Defrauded by For-Profit Colleges to Repay Loans
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos overruled career staff at the department’s Borrower Defense Unit, deciding to force student borrowers to partially pay back their loans even though they had been defrauded by for-profit colleges, according to documents obtained by NPR. | More than 200,000 borrowers called for the U.S. Department of Educatio…
truthout.org/articles/betsy-devos-forced…

A Rising Movement Is Challenging Mexico’s Corporatized Unions
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
After lying dormant for decades, in January this year the Mexican labor movement erupted. A presidential decree in December raising the minimum wage to 102 pesos (US$5) per day and 176 pesos (US$9) in zones close to the US, was the spark that led to tens of thousands of workers undertaking the most important industrial action Mexico has witnessed in the entire 21st century. | It all began in early January in the town of Matamoros, in the border state of Tamaulipas, when tens of thousands of workers from the…
truthout.org/articles/a-rising-movement-…

In California Care Homes, Residents Are Neglected and Workers Are Exploited
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
This story was produced by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization. Get their investigations emailed to you directly by signing up at revealnews.org/newsletter. | In her final months, Elaine Geslicki, a bedridden dementia resident at a home for seniors in the Los Angeles area, had difficulty communicating. But by the time the owner of Court Yard Estates sent her to the hospital in an ambulance, the severe pressure so…
truthout.org/articles/in-california-care…

Bolsonaro Says He’s Open To Meeting Argentina’s Fernandez
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has changed his aggressive tone towards Argentina’s new left-leaning government on Wednesday and said he was open to a visit from incoming President Alberto Fernandez, who he previously branded a “red bandit.” | RELATED: | Brazil: Bolsonaro’s Hate Speech Attacks Greta Thunberg Again | Bolsonaro said he hoped neighboring Argentina will do well under its new administration because it is Brazil’s largest trade partner in Latin America. “We w…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bolsonaro-Says-H…

Turkey’s Erdoƒüan threatens to send troops into Libya
wsws.org | 2019-12-12
With Ankara and Moscow backing rival regimes in the ravaged country, any escalation threatens to spill over into a far wider and more dangerous war.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/12/liby…

Glyphosate and Roundup Proven to Disrupt Gut Microbiome by Inhibiting Shikimate Pathway
GMWatch | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
Fatty liver disease and death of liver tissue were also confirmed in rats fed regulatory permitted and thus presumed safe doses of the weedkiller | The primary mechanism of how glyphosate herbicides kill plants is by inhibiting an enzyme called EPSPS, …
globalresearch.ca/glyphosate-roundup-pro…

“Booming” US Economy Means More Bad Jobs and Faster Race to the Bottom
Glen Ford | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
For the past 30 years, no matter which party has been in power, the US economy has produced more and more “bad” jobs — because the Race to the Bottom is ruling class policy. | “Whole sectors have become precarity zones.”…
globalresearch.ca/booming-economy-means-…

British Elections: The Cause of Labour is the Hope of the World
Dilma Rousseff | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
Former presidents, ministers, members of parliament, trade unionists, and political leaders from four continents sign an open letter explaining why the world needs a Labour government. | *** | We, the undersigned, express our solidarity with the Labour Party for today’s election …
globalresearch.ca/british-elections-caus…

Mexico Passes Amnesty Law To Release People For Minor Offenses
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
The Chamber of Deputies of Mexico approved on Wednesday a new amnesty law that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ( AMLO ) called for and whose objective is to benefit people from vulnerable groups. | RELATED: | Mexico’s Ex-Head Of Public Security Took Bribes From Cartel | In a message posted on Twitter, the lower house of the Mexican legislative branch said that “with 306 votes in favor, 129 against and 4 abstentions, it was generally endorsed to issue the Amnesty Law.”
telesurenglish.net/news/Mexico-Passes-Am…

Spain’s Sanchez to Form Government Amid Fragmented Parliament
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
The Spanish Socialist Party leader, Pedro Sanchez, confirmed that he accepted a mandate from the king to try and form a government, and would contact other parties starting next week to drum up support amid a deeply fragmented parliament. | RELATED: | Spain: ERC Ratifies Abstention to Sanchez Investiture | “Spaniards are fed up with anger and clashes, they want to believe in politics again,” Sanchez told the press but the process is still likely to take several weeks before anyth…
telesurenglish.net/news/sanchez-accepts-…

How Does One of the Most Hated Industries Stay Profitable?
Martha Rosenberg | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
Pharma promotes fake patient advocacy groups to lobby for its interests. These front groups often push the FDA to approve an expensive drug that has acceptable, cheaper alternatives. Or, they’ll try to prevent Medicaid from switching to the less pricey drug. One of the largest faux groups, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), was investigated by Sen. Charles Grassley for undisclosed Pharma links. He found that three fourths of the group’s donation came from Pharma.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/how-does-one…

Goat Grazing is No Solution to Wildfires
George Wuerthner | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
The recent commentary by Mark Nelson in the San Francisco Chronicle, who works for the Ag industry, suggesting that grazing by goats and other livestock can help reduce wildfire losses in California deserves qualification. As a landscape response to large fires, grazing is no solution. In many ecosystems, particularly in the parts of the state…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/goat-grazing…

How Working Class Atomization and the Mohawk Valley Formula Gave Us Centrist Democrats
Daniel Falcone | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
The Mohawk Valley Formula, the propaganda model of “scientific strikebreaking” originated in 1937. Since that time, forms of non-violent worker control have been updated into much more sophisticated measures of strike-breaking. At this stage in American history, strike breaking is a major profession and by destroying unions and atomizing people, the business-run class war continues…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/how-working-…

A Boss is a Boss: Nurses Battle for Their First Union Contract at Albany Medical Center
Lawrence Wittner | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-12
A nonprofit employer is not necessarily a better boss than a profit-making one. That sad truth is reinforced by the experience of some 2,200 nurses at Albany Medical Center, who have been fighting for a contract since April 2018, when they voted for union representation. Even that union recognition struggle proved exceptionally difficult. The management…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/12/a-boss-is-a-…

Economist Dean Baker: Systemic Change Needed to Fight Big Pharma Price Gouging
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-12
“We give companies patent monopolies that allow them to sell drugs at mark-ups of several thousand percent above their production costs. How can we be surprised when they lie or conceal information to push their drugs as widely as possible?”
mintpressnews.com/dean-baker-gilead-hiv-…

Letting Our Values Out Of Their Cage
Robert C. Koehler | commondreams.org | 2019-12-12
Where do we find the awareness we need to save the planet and save ourselves? (Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/12/lettin…

New York City transit workers denounce union-backed tentative agreement
wsws.org | 2019-12-12
The newly published Memorandum of Agreement between the TWU and the MTA seeks to incorporate the union into management, increase the transit agency’s exploitation of workers and financially reward the union bureaucracy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/12/tran…

South Sudan famine threat: UN food security agency in ‘race against time’
news.un.org | 2019-12-12
The World Food Programme (WFP) is warning against potential famine in South Sudan as hunger deepens due to drought, floods and an uncertain political future.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…

Economist calls Corbyn’s plans ‘an enormous step forward’
Slava Zilber | thecanary.co | 2019-12-12
The 2019 Labour Party manifesto has the backing of numerous economic experts. 163 economists, for example, signed an open letter on 25 November saying the “UK economy needs reform” and that Labour “deserves to form the next government” because it has “serious proposals for dealing with” Britain’s “deep problems”. | Now, US economist Richard D Wolf…
thecanary.co/feature/2019/12/12/economis…

Papers Owned By Oligarchs Unsurprisingly Oppose a Wealth Tax
Joshua Cho | commondreams.org | 2019-12-12
It’s no surprise that the Journal’s editorial board published an obtuse “open letter” mocking “patriotic billionaires” who support a wealth tax, implying that they’re hypocrites for not voluntarily “writing checks” to the government instead of “waiting for legislation.” (Photo: Screenshot) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/12/papers…

US renews insults and threats against North Korea
wsws.org | 2019-12-12
The Trump administration has made clear that it has no intention of meeting North Korea’s end-of-year deadline for meaningful talks, thus setting the stage for confrontation and conflict.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/12/nkor…

The video of Labour legend Tony Benn that captures the spirit we all need to have right now
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2019-12-12
There’s one hard-hitting speech from left-wing Labour legend Tony Benn that we all need to rewatch right now. Because it captures the spirit that we so badly need, both today and every day from here on out. | The struggle continues: | Benn gave the speech years after leaving parliament. And making an impassioned case for the need to keep up the fight for social protections and access to public services at all times, he stressed that: every single generation has to fight the same battles again…
thecanary.co/trending/2019/12/12/video-l…

“We Want People Power Solutions”: Activists Ousted from COP25 for Protesting Corporations at Summit
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
Inside the halls of the U.N. climate summit, hundreds of activists gathered Wednesday to demand rich countries step up their efforts to finance climate action. The protest began just as Democracy Now! was finishing our live broadcast, and we spoke to some of the people there from around the world, including Rita Iyke-Uwaka of Friends of the Earth Nigeria; Angela Valenzuela of Fridays for Future in Santiago, Chile; Sandra Tukup of CONFENIAE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon); Amalen Sathananthar of Artivist Network; Brandon Wu of ActionAid USA; and Nina Gualinga, an indigenous lea…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/cop25_pr…

The Kids Know Another World Is Possible
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-12
MADRID–This year’s United Nations climate summit, dubbed “COP 25” for the 25th annual “conference of the parties” to the climate negotiations, heated up Wednesday as grassroots activists, youth and indigenous leaders protested en masse outside the main plenary hall. As the “Democracy Now!” news hour broadcast live from the convention center, chants rang out: “Shame! Shame!” and “The people, united, will never be defeated,” in Spanish and English, and “What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!” The protest was one of many here in Madrid, challenging the lack of progress in finalizing rules f…
truthdig.com/articles/the-kids-know-anot…

Greta Thunberg Slams COP25, Says Response to Climate Crisis Is “Clever Accounting and Creative PR”
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
At the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed world leaders Wednesday, hours after she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Thunberg came to the talks after a trip to meet with climate leaders across North America in anticipation of the scheduled climate conference in Santiago, Chile, before the talks were abruptly moved to the Spanish capital. In her address, Thunberg warned that the planet’s carbon budget is down to just eight years, and urged bold action. “I still believe that the biggest danger is not inaction. The real danger is when politicians…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/greta_th…

Uganda’s First Fridays for Future Climate Striker, Vanessa Nakate, Joins COP25 Protests in Madrid
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
As we broadcast from the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, Spain, we speak with climate activist Vanessa Nakate, who was Uganda’s first Fridays for Future climate striker. “I wanted to do something that would cause change to the lives of the people in my community and my country,” she says. “My country heavily depends on agriculture, therefore most of the people depend on agriculture. If our farms are destroyed by floods, if the farms are destroyed by droughts and crop production is less, that means that the price of food is going to go high. So it will only be the most privileged who will be able to buy food.”
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/cop25_va…

Marshall Islands Climate Activist Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner Shares a Poem for Survival as Sea Levels Rise
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
Located in the central Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines, the Marshall Islands are one of the world’s lowest-lying island nations and declared a national climate crisis emergency in October. “We’re looking at changing the entire physical landscape of our island so we can stay above water,” says Marshall Islands poet and climate activist Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner. She joins us to describe the impact on her country and read her newest poem.
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/marshall…

‘Many unanswered questions’: Swedish church removes LGBT-themed altarpiece… but NOT for the reason you may think
rt.com | 2019-12-12
After two weeks of deliberation, a church in Sweden decided that a newly-acquired LGBT-friendly painting was too problematic to serve as its altarpiece. Its depiction of Adam and Eve as two same-sex couples was not the issue. | The St. Paul’s Church in the southern city of Malmo accepted the painting as its altarpiece on the first day of Advent two weeks ago. The artwork by Swedish photographer and artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin was meant to symbolize inclusivity. It predictably generated a lot of buzz, attra…
rt.com/news/475697-church-sweden-lgbt-al…

Decrying EU Proposal to Address Climate Crisis by 2050 as ‘Too Little Too Late,’ Greenpeace Activists Stage #HouseOnFire Demonstration
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-12
“The world is on fire and our governments are letting it burn.” | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/12/decryin…

Move Over, Peak Oil. Scientists Say ‘Peak Livestock’ Must Arrive This Decade to Limit Global Heating
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-12
In an open letter to The Lancet Planetary Health journal Wednesday, a group of scientists called for reaching “peak livestock” production and pursuing dramatic efforts to restore vegetation in the next decade to curb planet-heating emissions, increase natural carbon sequestration, and avert climate catastrophe. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/12/move-ov…

How the Prosecution of Animal Rights Activists As Terrorists Foretold Today’s Criminalization of Dissent
Natasha Lennard | theintercept.com | 2019-12-12
A new documentary “The Animal People” tells the story of the SHAC 7, who were sentenced to prison on terrorism charges over their protest activity.
theintercept.com/2019/12/12/animal-peopl…

‘Brexitquake, not Youthquake’: Stunning UK vote proves those who ignore traditional supporters are doomed — George Galloway
rt.com | 2019-12-12
Exit polls suggesting a decisive victory for Boris Johnson’s Conservatives are an indication that Britain witnessed a ‘Brexitquake’ and that Labour turned its back on its traditional voting base, ex-MP George Galloway tells RT. | Galloway, a former Labour MP, told RT that the “stunning” result for the Tories proved that the Twitter bubble — where activists warned of a coming Labour “Youthquake” — proved that it was indeed just a “bubble.” | While Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will likely bear the brunt of the blame, Galloway believes the defeat is not entirely his fault, as he found himself “boxed in…
rt.com/uk/475739-uk-election-brexitquake…

Brits Prepare to Take to the Polls in the ‘Brexit’ Election
Johanna Ross | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
It has been termed the ‘Brexit’ election, but in fact what is arguably the most important election of our lifetime has opened a can of worms when it comes to exposing the ails in our society. Not that the Conservative …
globalresearch.ca/brits-prepare-take-pol…

Deutsche Bank Breaks Down How Tomorrow’s Election Will Impact UK Markets
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
A team of Deutsche Bank macro analysts led by Oliver Harvey has produced its latest note economic note about Brexit expounding on the bank’s near-to-medium-term view on the outlook for British markets. | The bulk of the note is an examination …
globalresearch.ca/deutsche-bank-breaks-d…

Outrage as UN Climate Talks Kick Out Civil Society, Not the Polluters
Andy Rowell | commondreams.org | 2019-12-12
The statement highlighted that this had never happened before in 25 years of negotiations, but yet, there “could be no better symbol of this crisis we face. People around the world are crying out for justice, and fighting oppression, while those in power attempt to shut us out.” (Photo: Theo C. Mouze via Twitter) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/12/outrag…

President of India gives assent to bill that fast-tracks citizenship to illegal immigrants from neighboring countries
rt.com | 2019-12-12
India’s President Nath Kovind has signed a new hotly debated bill giving fast-track citizenship to non-Muslims. Earlier, the legislation sparked protests in some parts of India and drew condemnation from the US. | The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) grants citizenship to all members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities that came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014 fleeing from religious persecution. | It also states that refugees from these six groups should not be treated as illegal immigrants and charges brought against them over such status…
rt.com/news/475727-india-citizenship-bil…

US tests ground-launched ballistic missile that would’ve been banned by INF treaty
rt.com | 2019-12-12
The Pentagon has conducted a second test of a missile that would have been banned under the INF treaty with Russia, which the US abandoned earlier this year. A ground-based ballistic missile flew for over 500 kilometers. | The conventionally configured test missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Thursday, the US Department of Defense confirmed in a statement, giving no further details. | “Data collected and lessons learned from this test will inform the Department of Defense’s development of future intermediate-range capabilities,” the statement said. | Thursday’s test follows the…
rt.com/usa/475724-inf-treaty-banned-miss…

US Senate passes resolution recognizing Armenian genocide, ignoring Trump & Turkey’s objections
rt.com | 2019-12-12
The US Senate has unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the Ottoman Empire-era massacre of Armenians as genocide. The move is likely to further strain US ties with Ankara, which has opposed such a designation for decades. | The landmark resolution was passed by the Senate on Thursday. It was the fourth attempt to adopt it, as the previous efforts were blocked by three GOP senators. | “We have just passed the Armenian genocide resolution…and it is fitting and appropriate that the Senate stands on the right side of history in doing so. It commemorates the truth of the Armenian genocide,” the resolution’s…
rt.com/usa/475725-us-senate-armenian-gen…

Pink sombrero & aroused horse: Painting of naked national hero of Mexico triggers violent protests (PHOTOS)
rt.com | 2019-12-12
What does it take to spark protests, lawsuits, mass meme-making, and even prompt the president to react? In Mexico, a painting re-imagining the country’s national hero was enough to do the trick. | The painting of revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata wearing nothing but a pink sombrero and high heels while riding a visibly aroused white stallion was put on display at an art museum in Mexico City for an exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of his assassination. | Zapata was one of the key leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He led the peasantry in the fight for land rights and is especially revered in…
rt.com/news/475708-mexico-zapata-art-sca…

‘Chill Greta, Chill!’ Trump blasts Thunberg on Twitter after she’s named TIME Person of the Year
rt.com | 2019-12-12
US President Donald Trump suggested that famed 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg has anger issues and advised her to chill out after TIME magazine named her Person of the Year. | “So ridiculous,” Trump tweeted on Thursday while commenting on a tweet by actress and producer Roma Downey, in which she congratulated Thunberg on topping the TIME list of most influential people for 2019. | “Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” | So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashion…
rt.com/news/475692-trump-thunberg-anger-…

Greta Thunberg responds to Trump’s advice to ‘chill out’ with Twitter bio change again
rt.com | 2019-12-12
Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has hit back and sarcastically changed her Twitter bio after US President Donald Trump told her to “chill out” and work on her “anger management problem.” | Trump offered the unsolicited advice to Thunberg on Twitter after she was named TIME magazine’s Person of the Year — a decision which he slammed as “ridiculous.” In the tweet, Trump said the teen activist “must work on her Anger Management problem” and “then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend!” | “Chill Greta, Chill!” he added. | The Swedish teen acknowledged Trump’s tweet indirectly by changing her…
rt.com/news/475717-thunberg-trump-anger-…

Eastern European states demand funds for new EU climate push
rt.com | 2019-12-12
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic set out demands on Thursday that could block agreement on the EU’s new push for climate neutrality by 2050, saying the poor should not have to bear the cost. | At a summit in Brussels, the majority of 27 EU leaders are expected to offer financial incentives to the eastern member states to win their support for the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, Reuters reports. | “We cannot allow Brussels bureaucrats to have poor people and poor countries to pay the costs of the fight against climate change,” Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said ahead of the meeting.
rt.com/newsline/475673-eu-funds-climate-…

US stocks rise on Trump’s tweets & rumors of China trade deal reached ‘in principle’
rt.com | 2019-12-12
The US markets have enjoyed a rise after US President Donald Trump teased an impending trade deal with China and media reported the US administration reached an agreement in principle with Beijing, citing sources. | Stocks jumped on Thursday close to the end of trading after Bloomberg reported that US negotiators had agreed the terms of a phase-one trade deal with China, now due to be approved by Trump. Earlier in the day, the President himself teased an impending “VERY BIG” deal with China after a bitter trade war raged for months between the two countries. | Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They…
rt.com/business/475728-china-trade-deal-…

Head of Libya’s eastern-based parliament opposes Turkey’s maritime deal with Tripoli govt
rt.com | 2019-12-12
The head of Libya’s eastern-based parliament said on Thursday he disagreed with an accord between Libya and Turkey establishing maritime boundaries which has infuriated Athens. | Greece expelled the Libyan ambassador last week over the November 27 accord establishing a sea corridor between Libya and Turkey and in areas where Greece considers it has maritime rights. | “We are here to stress that this specific agreement is rejected,” Reuters quoted Aguila Saleh Issa, speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, as saying. “Those that signed it do not have any legal authority to do so, since the government its…
rt.com/newsline/475664-libya-parliament-…

Cultural life & general election locked in tug-of-war over Brits’ attention & location, location, location
rt.com | 2019-12-12
Organizing a general election in the UK is never easy. But throw in carol concerts, Christmas shopping, family pantomimes and school nativities and the result is complete chaos! | Chichester Village Hall is normally a quaint spot in Witley, Surrey. The spotlight is on the historic building as it is currently being used by the BBC for their prime time television programme ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. | Or it was, until dancers Anton du Beke and Emma Barton were told to cha cha cha out of the rehearsal studio. The reason? Its new use as a polling station. Samba-ring off to another location, the BBC is said to unders…
rt.com/uk/475700-election-culture-locati…

UK: Conservatives Headed for Majority According to Exit Poll
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-12
The exit poll was produced by three broadcasters – the BBC, ITV and Sky – who teamed up to jointly produce similar surveys in the last three elections, held in 2010, 2015 and 2017. | In 2010 and 2017, their exit polls accurately predicted the overall outcome and were close to forecasting the correct number of seats for the two main parties. However, in 2015, it predicted a hung parliament when in fact the Conservatives won a majority, taking 14 more seats than forecast. | According to the exit poll the numbers are as follow: | Conservatives 368 (+50) | Labour 191 (-71) | Lib Dem 13 (+1) | SNP 55 (+20)…
telesurenglish.net/news/UK-Conservatives…

Video: Militants Push Syrian Army Back in Southern Idlib
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-12
On December 11, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Army and the special forces unit, known as the “Red Bands”, attacked and captured the area of al-Katibat al-Mahjura in southeastern Idlib. Units of the Syrian Army deployed there were caught …
globalresearch.ca/video-militants-push-s…

World Bank economist warns of worsening crisis in Sri Lanka
wsws.org | 2019-12-12
International finance capital is demanding the new regime in Colombo fully implement the IMF’s austerity measures.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/12/econ…

Trump’s Executive Order Is No Favor to US Jews. Just Look at Algeria
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
This week President Trump signed an executive order explicitly naming Jews as a protected class under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VI does not currently include religion status as a protected identity. This significant change carves out the protection of Jews as separate and different from the protection of all other religious groups in the Uni…
truthout.org/articles/trumps-executive-o…

Donald Trump’s Big Abuses of Power Demand a Big Impeachment
Ralph Nader, Bruce Fein | thenation.com | 2019-12-12
Donald Trump’s Big Abuses of Power Demand a Big Impeachment…
thenation.com/article/impeachment-consti…

Military Officials Sent Us to Fight, Kill, and Die in an Unwinnable War
Maggie Seymour | thenation.com | 2019-12-12
Military Officials Sent Us to Fight, Kill, and Die in an Unwinnable War…
thenation.com/article/war-afghanistan-wa…

Colombia’s Peace Deal Paved the Way for Its Historic Protests
Miguel Salazar | thenation.com | 2019-12-12
Colombia’s Peace Deal Paved the Way for Its Historic Protests…
thenation.com/article/colombia-strikes-d…