Actions planned to ‘Abolish sanctions!’
John Catalinotto | workers.org | 2019-12-17
New York Organizers from New York-based anti-war, anti-racist and anti-imperialist organizations and defenders of human rights gathered at the Solidarity Center Dec. 14 to plan an ongoing campaign against Washington’s use of economic sanctions, calling such sanctions the “equivalent of war.” The planning meeting of about 40 organizers showed what . . . | Continue reading Actions planned to ‘Abolish sanctions!’ at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/44924/
Over 100 doctors demand Australian government act to save the life of Julian Assange “before it is too late”
wsws.org | 2019-12-17
Addressing Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, the doctors write: “Should Mr Assange die in a British prison, people will want to know what you, Minister, did to prevent his death.”
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/17/doct…
Climate Change Accounting: The Failure of COP25
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
Prior to the UN Convention on Climate Change talks held in Madrid, the sense that tradition would assert itself was hard to buck. Weariness and frustration came in the wake of initial high minded optimism. Delegates spent an extra two days and nights attempting to reach a deal covering carbon reduction measures before the Glasgow…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/climate-chan…
US Venezuelan embassy protectors denied right to fair trial
The Grayzone | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-17
Four US activists protecting Venezuela’s embassy in Washington, DC face prison time after the Trump administration illegally arrested them. And now…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/16/venezuelan-em…
Nine children killed or maimed in Afghanistan every day: UN Children’s Fund
news.un.org | 2019-12-17
An average of nine children have been killed or maimed every day in Afghanistan so far this year, according to a new report from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which describes the country as “the world’s most lethal warzone”.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Troop “Reduction” in Afghanistan!
W.J. Astore | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
Trump was elected president in 2016 partly because he railed against America’s wasteful wars. So, what did his advisers talk him into? A mini-surge of troops to Afghanistan. I still recall the odd news of Trump being shown photos of …
globalresearch.ca/troop-reduction-afghan…
Pentagon Dismisses Afghanistan Papers: Look Forward, Not Back
Jason Ditz | theantimedia.com | 2019-12-17
Analysts say they don’t believe the Pentagon sees any upside to addressing the complaints, and so they are just ignoring it.
Pentagon Dismisses Afghanistan Papers: Look Forward, Not Back
Corbyn’s Defeat has Slain the Left’s Last Illusion
Jonathan Cook | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
This was an election of two illusions. The first helped persuade much of the British public to vote last week for the very epitome of an Eton toff, a man who not only has shown utter contempt for most of those who voted for him but has spent a lifetime barely bothering to conceal that…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/corbyns-defe…
After Corbyn goes, the aspiration for public ownership must remain
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2019-12-17
Following the devastating loss for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party in the 12 December election, the Labour right has already been crowing about how the result ‘proves’ that Corbyn and “the far-left” were “toxic”. As the recriminat…
thecanary.co/opinion/2019/12/17/after-co…
The 15-Year-Long American War You’ve Never Heard Of
Maj. Danny Sjursen | truthdig.com | 2019-12-17
This piece originally appeared on TomDispatch. | For a decade and a half, the U.S. Army waged war on fierce tribal Muslims in a remote land. Sound familiar? | As it happens, that war unfolded half a world away from the Greater Middle East and more than a century ago in the southernmost islands of the Philippines. Back then, American soldiers fought not the Taliban, but the Moros, intensely independent Islamic tribesmen with a similarly storied record of resisting foreign invaders. Precious few today have ever heard of America’s Moro War, fought from 1899 to 1…
truthdig.com/articles/the-15-year-long-a…
Five Years After Obama’s Cuba Opening, Cubans Are Reeling From the “Trump Effect”
Medea Benjamin | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-17
CODEPINK Cuba Delegation in Havana December 17, 2019, Havana, Cuba: Gloria Minor had been preparing her AirBnB in Havana for years, investing every penny her sister sent her from Miami in repairing and refurbishing her apartment. With President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro re-establishing relations five years ago, Minor was sure the expected flood of …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/five-years-af…
Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Burmese Genocide of Rohingya at The Hague
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-17
Burma’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has asked the U.N. International Court of Justice to drop the genocide case against Myanmar, formerly Burma. Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize winner who spent over a decade fighting against the Burmese military, which she is now defending. Last week, Suu Kyi appeared in person at the court to dispute the charges and called the allegations of genocide against Rohingya Muslims “incomplete and misleading.” The Burmese military killed and raped thousands of Rohingya and f…
truthout.org/video/aung-san-suu-kyi-deni…
Turkey Threatens Retaliation Against Proposed US Sanctions
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
Intervention by one nation in the internal affairs of others breaches the UN Charter and other international law. | Non-intervention is a core Charter principle, calling for disputes to be settled “by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace …
globalresearch.ca/turkey-threatens-retal…
‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚ÄãThe issue-less impeachment: the corporate democrats stand for nothing, so they impeach for nothing
Glen Ford | mronline.org | 2019-12-17
The corporate Democrats are effectively exonerating themselves and their Republican brethren of the full spectrum of lawlessness that is everyday politics in the belly of the racist, imperial beast. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/17/%e2%80%8b%e2%80%…
McConnell Rejects Democrats’ Push on Impeachment Trial Witnesses
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-17
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is rejecting the Democrats’ push for fresh impeachment testimony against President Donald Trump and making a last-ditch plea for them to “turn back from the cliff” of Wednesday’s expected vote to send the case to the Senate for trial. | McConnell’s remarks Tuesday effectively slapped the door shut on negotiations for a deal proposed by the Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, who wants to call top White House officials for the Senate trial, which is set to start next year if the House impeaches Trump this week. | “If House Democrats’ case is this deficie…
truthdig.com/articles/mcconnell-rejects-…
CIA Democrats back CIA-led impeachment
wsws.org | 2019-12-17
Ten out of eleven newly elected representatives with military-intelligence backgrounds have publicly backed impeachment.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/17/impe…
Nationwide rallies call for Trump’s ouster on the eve of impeachment
Mark Gruenberg, John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-17
WASHINGTON–From Anchorage to Honolulu, from San Diego to Miami, millions of people are taking to the streets at 5: 30 p.m. local time nationwide to demand lawmakers impeach, convict, and oust President Trump from office. The “Impeach and Remove” non-violent rallies in 632 cities and towns and counting have spread so far that the farthest east …
peoplesworld.org/article/nationwide-rall…
Trump Decries ‘Attempted Coup’ as Impeachment Highly Likely
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
United States President Donald Trump accused Democrats of pursuing an “illegal, partisan attempted coup” Tuesday and declaring war on “democracy” as they seek to remove him from office for pressing Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden. | RELATED: | U.S. House Committee Approves Charges For Trump Impeachment | “This is nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will be based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth,” Trump’s let…
telesurenglish.net/news/Trump-Decries-At…
Common Cause Calls for Impeachment of Attorney General William Barr
commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/17/com…
TODAY: 600 ‘Nobody Is Above the Law’ Rallies to Impeach Trump
commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/17/tod…
Progressives need a united front for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren
Norman Solomon | nationofchange.org | 2019-12-17
The need for a Sanders-Warren united front should be clear — as clear as the imperative of rolling back the monstrous right-wing power that has controlled the presidency during the last three years.
nationofchange.org/2019/12/17/progressiv…
Video: Douma ‘Chemical Attack’ Narrative Collapses, Russia Trains New Militia in Hasakah
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
Russia has started creating a local force that will operate in northeastern Syria areas abandoned by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, several Syrian media outlets claim. | According to reports, the Russian military will train and equip a new pro-government militia …
globalresearch.ca/video-douma-chemical-a…
Bolivian trade union confederation enters far-right coup regime
wsws.org | 2019-12-17
Following massacres of workers and peasants and amid the continued hunting down of protest leaders and indigenous people, the COB’s decision is a criminal betrayal of the working class.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/17/boli…
Reuters Shields OAS Over False Claims That Sparked Bolivia Coup
Joe Emersberger | fair.org | 2019-12-17
by Joe Emersberger Reuters ( 12/4/19) highlights the findings of the Organization of American States–while omitting the criticism of those findings. | Organization of American States (OAS) election monitors published a “final report” on December 4– 22 days later than promised–on Bolivia’s October 20 presidential election, won by President Evo Morales. The tardy…
fair.org/home/reuters-shields-oas-over-f…
One month of fascist coup in Bolivia
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-17
The civic-military, right-wing, US-backed coup d’état against the democratically elected Bolivian President Evo Morales, which installed a fascist and racist dictatorship of the right-wing usurper Jeanine Añez, completed a month on December 10. In this video, we explain the developments that have occurred in Bolivia after the coup.
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/17/one-month…
Two indigenous languages are dying every month: UN Assembly President
news.un.org | 2019-12-17
Despite UN efforts throughout this International Year of Indigenous Languages to highlight the daily disappearance of mother tongues across the world, the President of the General Assembly (PGA) warned on Tuesday that “challenges persist nonetheless”.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
New Minimum Wage Increase is Mexico’s Highest in 44 Years
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
The Mexican government announced Monday that it had decided to increase the minimum wage by at least 20 percent, according to the National Commission on Wage Minimum ( Conasami ). | RELATED: | Mexican Indigenous Communities Consent to Mayan Train Project | After negotiations between workers and the business sector, the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) announced that the minimum wage in the center of the country will go from 102.68 to 123.22 pesos per-day…
telesurenglish.net/news/New-Minimum-Wage…
Tuesday’s Daily Brief: Refugees, indigenous languages, Niger, Syria and Kyrgyzstan
news.un.org | 2019-12-17
Our top stories for Tuesday include: UN chief at refugee forum; eyes of the world need to be on Niger; International Year of Indigenous Languages closes; Strengthening minority rights in Kyrgyzstan; hostilities in Syria’s Idlib.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Nestlé and the Privatization of Water: A Tale of Many Cities
Franklin Frederick | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
On November 14th the Canadian group Wellington Water Watchers organized the “All Eyes on Nestlé” conference in the city of Guelph, Ontario, bringing together indigenous’ peoples and citizens’ movements fighting Nestlé’s water takings from Canada, the US, France and Brazil. …
globalresearch.ca/water-new-colonial-pow…
Bulgaria’s Willingness to Host NATO Naval Center Is Aimed at Containing Russia in the Black Sea
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
In a joint statement between NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the latter announced last Thursday that the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna is a willing new home of NATO’s Naval Force Coordination …
globalresearch.ca/bulgaria-host-nato-nav…
Indian Ex-Lawmaker from Modi’s Party Guilty of Raping Teenager
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
A former lawmaker from the ruling far-right Bharatiya Janata Party was found guilty Tuesday by a court in India’s capital of raping a teenager in June 2017, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. | RELATED: | Another Brutal Gang Rape and Murder Shakes India | The rape, which occurred in the Unnao district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, gripped the nation when it became kn…
telesurenglish.net/news/Indian-Ex-Lawmak…
Defendamos levantamientos populares de América Latina
Editor | workers.org | 2019-12-17
Las manifestaciones y huelgas populares y masivas contra el gobierno han desafiado a los regímenes corruptos y antipopulares que gobiernan varios países de América Latina, comenzando en diferentes momentos durante los últimos seis meses. Estos países incluyen Puerto Rico, Haití, Ecuador, Chile y Colombia. Cómo los regímenes locales y sus . . . | Continue reading Defendamos levantamientos populares de América Latina at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/44921/
Colombian Ambassador to US Admits He Tried to Overthrow Maduro
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
The Colombian Ambassador to the United States, Francisco Santos, said on Monday that he ‘underestimated’ the Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, and his ability to stay in power, and acknowledged that they miscalculated his departure from the government. | RELATED: | Colombians Launch National Cacerolazo Against Tax Reform | While at the Colombian Embassy in Washington,, among a small group of journalists, Santos said that “we underestimated the ability of Maduro to stay in power a…
telesurenglish.net/news/Colombian-Ambass…
Colombia and the Revolutionary Process
Nino Pagliccia | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
In order to have a revolutionary process, it is necessary to go through revolutionary stages. First, what’s needed is a raised consciousness that may trigger some outrage by a sector of society which may subsequently grow into sustained protests. The protests might gather a critical mass with the support of the general population and turn…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/colombia-and…
Video: Syria’s President Assad Discusses Syria’s Reconstruction, China’s “Belt and Road” and US Aggression
Bashar al Assad | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
In the third of recent international interviews, Syria’s President Bashar al Assad met with Phoenix Television, to discuss Belt and Road development projects with China’s Phoenix Television. | Given that Syria and China are both part of the original Silk Road …
globalresearch.ca/assad-discusses-belt-r…
Chile: Piñera May Face 20 Years for Crimes Against Humanity
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
The 7th Court of Guarantees of Santiago Tuesday admitted a complaint about crimes against humanity presented by the Upper House’s Human Rights Commission president Alejandro Navarro against Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera. | RELATED: | Chilean NGO Detects Caustic Soda in Water Used by Riot Police | “He will be punished with imprisonment in any of its g…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-Pinera-May…
We Need to Support Every Workers’ Struggle, Including the Fight at Google
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-17
The progressive movement in this country owes thanks to the new generation of workplace organizers, who are carrying our movement forward. Among them are four activists we should recognize and support: Laurence Berland, Rebecca Rivers, Paul Duke and Sophie Waldman, who were fired from Google for organizing their fellow workers. | Workers at Google have been protesting many of the company’s actions over the last two years. A year ago, Google’s decision to pay a reported $90 million in severance to…
truthout.org/articles/we-need-to-support…
France: Workers Start 13th Day of Strike Against Pension Reform
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
Through demonstrations and the stoppage of public transport, French unions Tuesday carry out the thirteenth consecutive day of a national strike against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. | RELATED: | France: Unions Keep Pressure Against Macron’s Pension Reform | Their protests, which happen on the eve of a Christmas holiday, will measure the…
telesurenglish.net/news/France-Workers-S…
Indian students unite in solidarity against police brutality
Pavan Kulkarni | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-17
On Sunday December 15, police brutally attacked two Muslim institutions (Jamia Millia Islamia University in the New Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh) where students were protesting the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). At least 125 people were injured in the police attacks and 50 were detained. In response to the barbaric violence, students from across India have taken to the streets against police brutality and the ‘unconstitutional’ CAA. | The university campus and the surrounding areas remain besieged by the police. Despite the imminent risk of further violent repression by t…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/17/indian-st…
A People’s Guide to Revolution: How Leaderless Revolts Lose the Battle Before it Even Begins
Laith Marouf | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-17
Reflections on how mass media and leaderless movements have affected the success of popular protests from Quebec in 2012 to Lebanon today.
mintpressnews.com/peoples-guide-revoluti…
A People’s Guide to Revolution: How Leaderless Revolts Lose the Battle Before it Even Begins
Laith Maruf | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-17
Reflections on how mass media and leaderless movements have affected the success of popular protests from Quebec in 2012 to Lebanon today.
mintpressnews.com/peoples-guide-revoluti…
Powerful response to call for stepped-up fight to free Assange and Manning at SEP (Australia) meeting
wsws.org | 2019-12-17
The speakers stressed that the upsurge of support for Assange and Manning was inseparable from the growth of the class struggle internationally.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/17/meet…
Doctors issue open letter to the Australian government: Julian Assange at risk of death in prison
wsws.org | 2019-12-17
The following open letter has been issued to the Australian government by Doctors4Assange on behalf of more than 100 signatories.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/17/open…
Moms Reclaim Vacant Home Amid National Attacks on Homeless People
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-17
Despite working full time and playing by all the rules, Dominique Walker still found herself homeless in Oakland, one of several California cities where the housing affordability crisis is most dire. | She fled an abusive relationship in Mississippi, moving back to her hometown in April. Since then, she and her two children have stayed with relatives or bounced from hotel to hotel. “I go back to my same neighborhood and nobody’s there; everybody is displaced…. To grow up somewhere and come…
truthout.org/articles/as-trump-administr…
Female Journalist Placed Under Administrative Detention for Four Months
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-17
According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said that, on Monday, the Israeli authorities issued an administrative detention order for a period of four months against female Palestinian journalist Bushra al-Tawil, 26, who was detained last week at her family home in al-Bireh, the Palestinian News and Info Agency reported. …
imemc.org/article/female-journalist-plac…
The Free College Battle
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
The prospect of free public college is shaping up as one of the major divides between the more progressive candidates (Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren) and the more centrist candidates (Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg). Buttigieg in particular has been especially vocal in his opposition to making college free for everyone. He has argued that…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/the-free-col…
Cuba: US Blockade Will Not Stop the Growth of Tourism in 2020
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
Cuba’s Economy Minister Alejandro Gil Tuesday reported that his country will offer 4,000 new hotel rooms and receive about 4.5 million tourists in 2020, which represents an increase of about 200,000 visitors compared to 2019. | RELATED: | Cuba Ready If US Breaks off Diplomatic Relations: Top Official | Over the past two decades, tourism became an important activity on the Caribbean island, which received a greater incentive when Barack Obama’s administration allowed flights to Cuba in…
telesurenglish.net/news/Cuba-US-Blockade…
Israeli Blockade of Gaza Causing Contaminated Water, 25% of Illnesses and 12% of Infant Deaths
Juan Cole | commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
Pro-Israeli flacks have painted all 2 million Palestinians in Gaza as “terrorists” because Hamas dominates the politics of the Strip. (Photo: Tijen Erol) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/17/israel…
Melting Greenland Could Displace 400M People; UN Climate Deal Does Little to Help
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-17
A new study says that Greenland is melting at a pace far faster than previously estimated and could displace 400 million people due to global sea-level rise.
therealnews.com/stories/melting-greenlan…
Trump’s North America Trade Deal Is Poised to Worsen Climate Change
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-17
While Congressional Democrats made clear that they would not bring the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to a vote until it had the backing of the AFL-CIO, support they finally secured last week, Democrats appear comfortable voting on the replacement trade deal that has virtually no support from leading environmental groups. | A House vote could come in the next few days and on…
truthout.org/articles/trumps-north-ameri…
Huge Climate Victory! Denmark Mandates Global Warming Cure…By Law!
Brett Redmayne-Titley | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
Friday, Dec 6, 2019, saw the most important victory to date in the battle against Global Warming. Denmark’s “Climate Act” will entirely revamp Denmark’s climate policy — by law- and thrust it onto the world’s centre stage by showcasing the …
globalresearch.ca/huge-climate-victory-d…
Democrats’ Drilling Bill Insufficient to Meeting Climate Challenge
commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/17/dem…
Northeast States Take Critical Step to Tackling Climate Change, Modernizing Transportation
commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/17/nor…
Is Growth Passé?
Joseph Stiglitz | commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
There is ample room to change the quality of growth, to reduce its environmental impact significantly. (Photo: via Earth Island Journal) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/17/growth…
NIAC Commends Reps. Grijalva, Omar and Lee for Calling on Trump Administration to Protect Humanitarian Trade with Iran
commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/17/nia…
Our Vanishing World: Birds
Robert J. Burrowes | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is estimated that the total number of passenger pigeons in the United States was about three billion birds. The bird was immensely abundant, as illustrated by this passage written by the famous …
globalresearch.ca/vanishing-world-birds/…
Missing Kashmiri Teenager Picked up by Army, Alleges Family
Newsclick | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-17
A testimonial from Kashmir sheds light on 19-year-old Naseer Ahmad Wani from Doompora village, Shopian district. Naseer’s family alleged that he was picked up from the house by Army personnel on November 30, 2019. Even after two weeks, they have not been given any information about his whereabouts. The family is inconsolable and are fearing for his safety. Is Naseer Ahmad Wani another statistic in the history of enforced disappearances in Kashmir?
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/17/missing-k…
UK’s PM Johnson to Ban Boycott Campaigns in Anti-BDS Bid
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to ban the country’s public bodies from taking part in the boycott and divestment campaigns of any products coming from foreign countries including Israel. | RELATED: | Trump Redefines Anti-Semitism in Bid Against Critics of Israel | The move is seen as a way to target the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), meaning the new legislation will bar national bodies and universities from endorsing a movement meant to f…
telesurenglish.net/news/UKs-PM-Johnson-t…
In the Midst of Trump’s Attacks, Offshoots of Progress in Congress for Immigrants’ Rights
Madhuri Grewal | aclu.org | 2019-12-17
From the continued separation of families, to attacks on asylum-seekers, to the largest immigration raid ever in a state, to an unprecedented number of immigrants jailed by ICE, this year was filled with new lows for the…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/in-the-m…
Dublin’s anti-racist march for peace emphasizes ‘no room for hate’ in Ireland
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-17
The Irish government launched a public consultation earlier in October to strengthen the country’s existing laws regulating hate speech and hate crimes, and the right wing forces have opposed the move.
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/17/dublins-a…
Black Alliance for Peace: The War over Meaning
Black Alliance for Peace | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
The struggle over interpretation or meaning has emerged as a critical terrain of struggle as the ruling class desperately attempts to maintain the dominance of the liberal capitalist/democratic discourse as the only legitimate interpretative framework. | The ruling elite’s efforts to …
globalresearch.ca/war-over-meaning/56979…
AOC bill: Federal contractors must obey labor law and allow unions–or lose
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-17
WASHINGTON (PAI)–Every year, the federal government hands out billions of dollars–$500 billion last year–to corporate contractors and, through them, subcontractors. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to ensure those dollars go to union members, union shops, or firms that will let workers unionize. If they don’t, the first-year Democratic Socialist U.S. representative from New York City says …
peoplesworld.org/article/aoc-bill-federa…
Soldiers Abduct A Palestinian At Erez Terminal
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-17
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday evening, a Palestinian man at Beit Hanoun (Erez) terminal, while leaving the Gaza Strip. Media sources said the Palestinian, Ahmad Emad Odah, was granted a permit from the Israeli side to leave Gaza and head to the West Bank on his way to Jordan, however, …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-abduct-a-pale…
Why Are Democrats So Afraid of Medicare for All?
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-17
We might expect that corporate billionaires and Koch-funded Republican right-wingers would be howl-at-the-moon opponents of a wealth tax, Medicare-for-All, and other big progressive ideas to help improve the circumstances of America’s workaday majority. | But Democrats, too? Unfortunately, yes. Not grassroots activists, but a gaggle of don’t-rock-the-corporate-boat, fraidy-cat elected Democrats. | These naysayers are the party’s old-line politicians, lobbyists, and other insider elites who are now screeching that Democratic candidates must back off those big proposals. | Why? Because, they squawk, being so bold,…
truthdig.com/articles/why-are-democrats-…
Plastics Chemicals Are Disrupting Our Hormones, and the FDA Is Dragging Its Feet
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-17
Bisphenol A is likely coursing through your body right now. Every day, you’re inadvertently consuming and absorbing trace amounts as it migrates from can and bottle linings into your food and drink, and from thermal paper receipts onto your skin. | Scientists have found BPA in more than 90 percent of Americans tested. Yet whether exposures to such small amounts of the common chemical…
truthout.org/articles/plastics-chemicals…
Democratic 2020 Candidates Focus on Public Education at Historic Forum
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-17
Ahead of the last Democratic presidential debate of the year this Thursday, seven candidates appeared Saturday at the historic Democratic Presidential Forum on Public Education in Pittsburgh, an event organized by public education organizations, unions, civil rights organizations and community groups. We play highlights from the forum and get response from Keron Blair, director of the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools in Atlanta; Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance; and Car…
truthout.org/video/democratic-2020-candi…
The So-called “China Threat”: NATO and America’s “New Cold War” on China
Jenny Clegg | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
The powers that be in the US are now viewing China as a deadly rival in a duel for global supremacy. Their aim at the summit was to draw their European allies into their China containment strategy. This was made …
globalresearch.ca/nato-us-new-cold-war-c…
American Values, Chinese Values: The New Global Order and the Cultural Dimension of the US-China Conflict
Prof. Joseph H. Chung | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
The Sino-American hegemonic conflict has several dimensions including political and economic issues. But we cannot overlook the cultural aspect of the conflict, for the cultural factors affect the nature of socio-economic relations as well as the unfolding New Global Order….
globalresearch.ca/american-values-chines…
Patents, Theft of Intellectual Property (IP), Product Piracy and US-China Relations
Larry Romanoff | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
There is one factor that contributed heavily to the wealth of America today that US history books seem to neglect. The US government and corporations today produce volumes of propaganda accusing China of copying American products or ideas, of having …
globalresearch.ca/winner-copying-olympic…
Remembering America’s First (and Longest) Forgotten War on Tribal Islamists
Danny Sjursen | commondreams.org | 2019-12-17
A U.S. Army poster shows a romanticized view of the four-day battle of Bagsak Mountain on Jolo Island in the Philippines, June 11-15, 1913. (Photo: Wikipedia) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/17/rememb…
What Snowden Wrought
Fred Gardner | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
When Edward Snowden was a tyke in North Carolina in the mid-1980s, his father, an engineer in the Coast Guard, got a Commodore 64. One night little Ed saw him playing a rudimentary game in the den and he was instantly enthralled. After the family moved to the Beltway, his father set up a Compaq…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/what-snowden…
5G Cell Phone Radiation: How the Telecom Companies Are Losing the Battle to Impose 5G Against the Will of the People
Claire Edwards | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
The telecommunications companies and the mainstream media would have you believe that the race to roll out 5G is unstoppable. That you are nothing and no one in the face of a lethal multi-trillion-dollar agenda imposed by some of the most powerful entities on the planet.
globalresearch.ca/telcos-losing-battle-i…
Former Tory chair condemns a right-wing columnist’s ‘bigoted’ article that calls Islamophobia ‘bogus’
Tracy Keeling | thecanary.co | 2019-12-17
Ex-Conservative chair Sayeeda Warsi has condemned an article by Times columnist Melanie Phillips. Warsi urged Jewish people in Britain to join her in criticising the piece, which featured in the Jewish Chronicle. The former Tory chair said she was saddened by what she called the “bigotry” and “rank hypocrisy” in the article, asking where is the “solidarity”. | Islamophobia is a myth?: | Warsi — who has been at the forefront of trying to g…
thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2019/12/17/form…
The Moment the Military-Industrial Complex Became Uncontrollable
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-17
The underlying trend of the Pentagon’s budget has been ever onward and upward. We need to understand why if we’re ever going to rein it in.
truthdig.com/articles/the-moment-the-mil…
Around 9,000 nurses to take strike action in the north of Ireland
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-17
A last-ditch meeting is aiming to prevent around 9,000 nurses from taking the UK’s first 12-hour strike action over pay on Wednesday.The unprecedented walkout in the north of Ireland will see them leave wards with the solidarity of thousands of other healthcare workers.Stormont’s political parties are expected to meet the head of the civil service at Stormont in an appeal for more cash.Unison union regional secretary Patricia McKeown said: “As we enter this significant period in the industrial struggle the consequences lay firmly on the shoulders of the UK government, our elected politicians and the leadership of…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…
Robert Reich Makes the Case for Sanders and Warren
Robert Reich | truthdig.com | 2019-12-17
If Democrats have any hope of defeating Donald Trump in 2020, it is incumbent that they nominate one of their two progressive candidates.
truthdig.com/articles/robert-reich-makes…
How Britain dresses up Crimes in Israel as “Charitable Acts”
Jonathan Cook | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-17
When is a war crime not a war crime? When, according to British officials, that war crime has been given a makeover as a “charitable act”. The British state is being asked to account for its financial and moral support for a UK organisation accused of complicity in the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/how-britain-d…
Popular Theatre as Cultural Resistance: Engaging Audiences Worldwide
Caoimhghin àì Croidheáin | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-17
Theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy. Mosaic, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE. Capitoline Museums, Rome When the play ends, what begins? Seeking conscientization: awareness leading to action. — Sarah Thornton Introduction The importance of theatre is demonstrated by the prevalence and variety of forms it takes both locally and globally in society today. Indeed, over …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/popular-theat…
Sturgeon urges unity on new independence referendum
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-17
Nicola Sturgeon has called for a “coming together” of political parties in the Scottish parliament to deliver a second independence referendum.The first minister said she plans to publish the “detailed democratic case” this week for powers to be transferred to the Scottish parliament to hold another vote on the issue.The SNP claims it has a mandate for another vote on the issue following last week’s General Election results, when it won the majority of seats in Scotland. | It’s straight-forward to me: democracy must be at the core of all we do. Recently it has become fragile and we must strengthen it again. We ca…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/12/17/sturgeon…
But Mr. Trump, Is Israel Lovable?
Sheldon Richman | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
Speaking before Sheldon Adelson’s Israeli-American Council the other day, Trump took a shot at Jewish Americans who he says don’t “love Israel enough.” “We have to get the people of our country, of this country, to love Israel more,” Trump said.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/but-mr-trump…
Are the Wealthiest Americans Tired of Winning Yet?
Sam Pizzigati | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
The obituaries for Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chair who died last Sunday at age 92, have been consistently echoing a truly heroic narrative. Between 1979 and 1987, as one prominent obit pronounced, Volcker’s bold and sweeping interest rate hikes shocked…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/are-the-weal…
The Possible Removal of a Beauty Mark
Clark T. Scott | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
There have been a great deal of emotional energies and complicit psychic delusions recently causing great tumultuousness in the Palaces of the Corporetum Exceptionalis around the world. The causes of this tumult are often unseen and simultaneously assumed to be clearly distinguished by the overwhelming numbers of the courtiers. The single most assumed cause and…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/the-possible…
The 2020 Elections and the Coming of the Post Baby Boomer Era of American Politics
David Schultz | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
The 2020 elections are significant for many reasons. But perhaps most importantly this could be the last hurrah for the Silent Generation, those born between 1924 and 1944, and it is also the beginning of the end of the Baby Boomer era of politics. What the passing of these two generations may mean for American…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/the-2020-ele…
Forensic Architecture’s First Exhibition in Palestine: Problematic Language and Non-Daring Positions
Rana Anani | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-17
What strikes me most in the first exhibition of Forensic Architecture in Palestine, is neither the cases investigated, nor the findings, but the sophisticated technology used in the work, its aesthetic, and above all the problematic use of language. Installed at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah, Violence, Fast and Slow occupied three halls on…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/17/forensic-arc…
Netanyahu’s Rival Announces Candidacy to Oust Israeli PM
teleSUR, jg-la | telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
Veteran Israeli politician Gideon Saar has officially launched his candidacy to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as head of the Likud Party amid growing support. | RELATED: | UN Renews Agency Helping Palestinian Refugees in Defiance of US | Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving leader, but has been weakened by accusations of corruption t…
telesurenglish.net/news/booming-netanyah…
Argentina to Freeze Gas and Electricity Rates
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
The Government of Alberto Fernández sent the draft law on Social Solidarity and Productive Reactivation to Congress on Tuesday morning, which, among other matters, plans to freeze gas and electricity rates for six months. | RELATED: | Argentina New Gov’t Presents 1st Major Set of Economic Measures | The bill also contemplates a “reduction of the real tariff burden on households and businesses by the year 2020”, a policy that will reverse the tariffs imposed since the Mauricio M…
telesurenglish.net/news/Argentina-to-Fre…
Ex-Pakistani President Musharraf Sentenced to Death in Absentia
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
A Pakistani court sentenced former military dictator Pervez Musharraf to death in absentia on Tuesday on treason charges stemming from his imposition of a state of emergency in 2000. | RELATED: | Pakistani Officials Alarmed Over Smog Covering Lahore | Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and later ruled as president until 2008, is out of the country and did not comment on a ruling widely seen as part of a standoff between the judiciary and military over the rule of law. | “Perve…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ex-Pakistani-Pre…
Finland-Estonia Relations: Estonian Interior Minister Was Kinda Right but Also Kinda Wrong About Finland
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
The Estonian Interior Minister was correct in calling out the new Finnish government’s extreme Europhilia which he fears is destined to turn the country into a so-called “euro-province” at the expense of its national sovereignty, but his invocation of Lenin …
globalresearch.ca/estonian-interior-mini…
The Child that Christmas Forgot: How Would Jesus Fare in the American Police State?
John W. Whitehead | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
“Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, …
globalresearch.ca/child-christmas-forgot…
The Real Interest of the U.S. in Latin America and the Caribbean. Preserve Imperialism
Enrique Moreno Gimeranez | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
What are the real interests of the U.S. and corporations in the region? Freedom, democracy, human rights? No. Their goal is to preserve imperialist domination of our natural resources | *** | Our America is again suffering escalating aggression by U.S. imperialism …
globalresearch.ca/real-interest-united-s…
Cruising Pamir Highway, the Heart of the Heartland. The New Silk Roads and Greater Eurasia
Pepe Escobar | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-17
Read part 1 here. | Traveling the Pamir Highway, we’re not only facing a geological marvel and a magic trip into ancient history and customs. It’s also a privileged window on a trade revival that will be at the heart of …
globalresearch.ca/cruising-pamir-highway…
Palestinian Foreign Ministry: Settlers Involved in Attacks Against Palestinians Must be Added to Terrorist List
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-17
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, on Monday, called on world governments to place Israeli settlers involved in attacking and terrorizing the Palestinian civilian population in the occupied territories on their terrorist lists and ban them entry into their countries, the Palestinian News and Info Agency reported. In a statement, it said …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-foreign-mi…
Sà£o Paulo Ford plant closure exposes Brazilian union as agent of capitalist “restructuring”
wsws.org | 2019-12-17
The Ford plant closure follows a series of similar union-imposed defeats that have radically changed the Brazilian auto industry.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/17/ford…
Palestinian Car Repair Shop for Second Time in Three Months
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-17
Israeli forces, on Monday, demolished a cave in the village of Deir Razih, southwest of the city of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported. Soldiers also razed the flooring for a car repair shop, and in the process destroyed several vehicles …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-car-repair…
Israel Demolishes Family Home Near Bethlehem
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-17
Israeli forces, on Monday, demolished a Palestinian-owned house in the town of al-Khader, south of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, under the pretext it was built without a permit, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported. Hasan Breijieh, from the anti-wall, anti-settlement committee in Bethlehem, said that …
imemc.org/article/israel-demolishes-fami…
Soldiers Shoot A Palestinian Teen Near Bethlehem
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-17
Israeli soldiers shot, on Tuesday evening, a Palestinian teenage boy near Beit Jala city, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. Media sources said the soldiers shot Hamza Khaled al-Hreimi, 16, in the thigh, before abducting him, and took him to an unknown destination. They added that a Palestinian …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-shoot-a-pales…
999 Britain’s billionaires and Labour’s election debacle
wsws.org | 2019-12-17
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/17/ineq…
Smart Ass Cripple: Who Needs Wheelchair-Accessible Cabs?
Mike Ervin | progressive.org | 2019-12-17
Efforts to force the issue caused some incredibly stupid comments to issue from the New York City Billionaire.
progressive.org/dispatches/smart-ass-cri…
Mexico’s President AMLO Is Delivering the Change He Promised
Rick Sterling | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-17
Mexico is in a period of profound change and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his Morena Party are charting a dramatically new path for the country.
mintpressnews.com/mexico-president-amlo-…
Pope Ends ‘Pontifical Secrecy’ Over Sex Abuse Investigations
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-17
Pope Francis on Tuesday announced sweeping changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of sexual abuse of minors, abolishing the rule of “pontifical secrecy” that previously covered them. | RELATED: | Pope To Reconsider Female Diaconate, Ordination of Married Men | Advocates for the victims of a sex abuse scandal that has rocked the church for nearly two decades applauded the move as being long overdue but said it had to be applied broadly. | Two documents i…
telesurenglish.net/news/Pope-Ends-Pontif…