History Will Judge Republicans for Protecting an Impeached President
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
Last night, Donald Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Two hundred and thirty members of Congress voted to impeach on abuse of power; 229 on the obstruction of Congress question. | A president who has built his entire business and political career on hyperbole, on bluster, on unfounded claims of being the best or…
truthout.org/articles/history-will-judge…
Just Because Republicans Are Spewing Nonsense on Impeachment Doesn’t Mean the “Big Lie” Won’t Work
John Atcheson | commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
Protester holding a sign at a “Nobody Is Above the Law” rally in Times Square on Tuesday, December 17, 2019. Hundreds of thousands of Americans joined the coalition at more than 500 rallies planned around the country the day before Trump was officially impeached on Wednesday but the U.S. House of Representatives. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/19/just-b…
Dem Controlled House Impeaches Trump
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
On Wednesday, House members impeached Trump on two counts as expected, politicized voting almost entirely along party lines — 230 — 197 for alleged abuse of power, 229 — 198 for alleged obstruction of Congress. | No Republicans supported the scam, …
globalresearch.ca/dem-controlled-house-i…
Amid impeachment vote, Congress passes record military budget and funds Trump’s border wall
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
The right-wing basis on which the Democrats have impeached Trump is underscored by the bipartisan support for the fascistic president’s political agenda demonstrated in the budget measures approved by Congress.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/budg…
Charged with abuse of power and obstruction of congress, Trump impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives
Jon Queally | nationofchange.org | 2019-12-19
“Every single Republican in the House of Representatives became an accomplice to Trump’s subversion of our democracy. By failing to impeach Donald Trump, GOP lawmakers showed their blind loyalty to their party and to a corrupt president–and history will remember them for the cowards they are.”
nationofchange.org/2019/12/19/charged-wi…
Trump impeached–The people’s verdict will come on Election Day 2020
C.J. Atkins | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-19
President Donald J. Trump’s legacy as a corrupt and lawless president is now permanently recorded for all of history. By a near party-line vote, he stands formally indicted of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, making him only the third president in the history of the United States to be impeached. Attention now shifts …
peoplesworld.org/article/trump-impeached…
President Trump Is Impeached
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-19
WASHINGTON–President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. | The historic vote split along party lines, much the way it has divided the nation, over the charges that the 45th president abused the power of his office by enlisting a foreign government to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election. Then a majority of the House approved a second charge, that he obstructed Congress in its investigation. | The ar…
truthdig.com/articles/president-trump-is…
After House Impeachment Vote, Trump’s Case Headed for Possible “Kangaroo Court”
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
The trial to impeach President Trump could soon head to the Republican-controlled Senate, which requires a two-thirds supermajority vote to convict. Senate Majority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell has said he is not an “impartial juror” and that he would closely coordinate a Senate impeachment trial with the White House Counsel’s Office, leading Democrats to accuse McConnell of trying to preside over a sham trial. We speak with John Bonifaz, who spearheaded the push for impeachment with his gro…
truthout.org/video/after-house-impeachme…
Across America Thousands March To Support Trump’s Impeachment
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-19
People turned out in over 600 communities all over the United States calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. David Siever of MoveOn talks about what this means and what happens next.
therealnews.com/stories/across-america-t…
Spending bill gives Trump border wall money, but workers make some gains
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-19
WASHINGTON (PAI)– On the eve of impeachment, the House rushed through two “minibus” spending bills that give Trump some money for his border wall, though not as much as he had demanded, and score some wins for particular segments of the workforce. Those were the key takeaways as Congress enacted one bill covering national security …
peoplesworld.org/article/spending-bill-g…
A plague on both political parties
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
Despite the ferocity of conflict over impeachment, the Democrats and Republicans represent the twin imperatives of American imperialism: the drive toward war and fascistic authoritarianism.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/pers…
Archives 1974: Communist leader Gus Hall on the Nixon impeachment and resignation
Gus Hall | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-19
Editor’s Note: President Richard Nixon resigned from office on Aug. 9, 1974, just hours before the House of Representatives was to consider and approve formal articles of impeachment against him for his Watergate conspiracy. The article below was written by Gus Hall, the General Secretary of the Communist Party USA, and appeared in Daily World …
peoplesworld.org/article/archives-1974-c…
How War Targets the Young
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
One day in October 2001, shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, I stood at the front of a private high school classroom. As a new social studies teacher, I had been tasked with describing violence against women in that country. I showed the students an article from the front page of the New York Times featuring Afghan women casting off their burqas as they bathed in a stream near Kabul. | The implication of the piece was that the U.S. would liberate — had already, in fact, begun to liberate — such women. I soon realized, thou…
truthout.org/articles/how-war-targets-th…
Pentagon chief says US troops in Afghanistan to be redeployed against China
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
The remark by Mike Esper came amid reports that some 4,000 of the roughly 13,000 US troops now deployed in the war-ravaged country may be pulled out within weeks.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/afgh…
Propaganda in the War on Yugoslavia
Swiss Propaganda Research | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
The war on Yugoslavia in the 1990s was a classic imperial war to reorder South Eastern Europe. To achieve its goals, the US even deployed the “jihadist” mercenaries with which it had previously fought the USSR in Afghanistan and which …
globalresearch.ca/propaganda-war-yugosla…
US Hardliners Want Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning Crucified
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
Mass incarceration in the US is a national disgrace, a crime against humanity, including countless numbers of political prisoners — pesecuted behind bars for their beliefs and activism, for resisting the dirty system, judged guilty by accusation. | Julian Assange and …
globalresearch.ca/us-hardliners-want-jul…
Growing demands for Australian government to intervene in defence of Assange
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
Labor and the Coalition have not responded to calls that they defend Assange, in keeping with their nine-year involvement in his persecution.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/asau…
Julian Assange lawyers will challenge the ‘political’ framing of charges against him
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-19
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s legal team will argue he should not be extradited to the US because his alleged offences are being framed as “political” in nature, a court heard. | His lawyers believe that a 2007 extradition treaty agreed between the UK and US offers the 48-year-old protection. | Assange appeared via video-link at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 19 November for a case management hearing to set the timetable leading up to a full extradition hearing in February. | He’s being…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/12/19/julian-a…
Trump’s order on ‘anti-Semitism’ aimed at pro-Palestinian movement
Kathy Durkin | workers.org | 2019-12-19
Photo credit: BDS Movement President Donald Trump’s executive order issued Dec.11 would deny federal funds from schools that allow “anti-Semitism” on their campuses, including some anti-Israel activities. It is intended to squelch defense of — or even discussion about — Palestinian rights, and is the result of intense reactionary efforts . . . | Continue reading Trump’s order on ‘anti-Semitism’ aimed at pro-Palestinian movement at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/44972/
A Musing on Climate Change
Michael Doliner | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
Stefan-Boltzmann law, is the statement that the total radiant heat power emitted from a surface is proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature. As an equation this is written E = œÉT4, E is energy, œÉ is a constant and T is temperature. The amount of energy emitted increases with the fourth power of temperature. Such radiant…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/a-musing-on-…
Thursday’s Daily Brief: tobacco burn-out, cholera cases down, ‘shifting the needle’ on climate
news.un.org | 2019-12-19
Among today’s stories: more men are quitting nicotine than ever before, a big drop in cholera cases was recorded between 2017 and 2018, and the UN calls on developed countries to raise their climate ambitions, following the disappointment of COP25.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Newsweek reporter quits after editors block coverage of OPCW Syria scandal
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-19
Journalist Tareq Haddad explains his decision to resign from Newsweek over its refusal to cover the OPCW’s unfolding Syria scandal….
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/19/newsweek-repo…
UN Peacekeepers Fathered Hundreds of Babies With Girls in Haiti as Young as 11
The Mind Unleashed | theantimedia.com | 2019-12-19
Girls as young as 11 were impregnated by peacekeepers and left “in misery” to raise their children alone.
UN Peacekeepers Fathered Hundreds of Babies With Girls in Haiti as Young as 11
Indo-Pak Nuclear Confrontation: First Use Policy and the Race Towards Armageddon
N.D. Jayaprakash | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
PART ONE There are several indications that India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) are obsessed with the perverse urge to wipe out Pakistan with nuclear weapons by unleashing a first or a second strike. Through similar means, their counterparts on the Pakistani side are…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/indo-pak-nuc…
The Indo-‘Israeli’ Trans-Arabian Corridor Will Push Russia Closer to Pakistan
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
India’s participation in “Israel’s” Trans-Arabian Corridor for connecting the Eastern Mediterranean and Afro-Asian (“Indian”) Ocean will render New Delhi’s North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) with Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia economically redundant, consequently pushing Russia closer to Pakistan as Moscow seeks to …
globalresearch.ca/indo-israeli-trans-ara…
Iran and US both undermining nuclear deal says UN political affairs chief
news.un.org | 2019-12-19
Both Iran and the United States have been putting strain on the groundbreaking 2015 deal to monitor Iran’s nuclear programme, which remains a “cornerstone of international peace and security”, said the UN’s political affairs chief on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Terrified refugee child found wandering alone on M6 central reservation at night
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-19
A young child refugee has been rescued by police after being found wandering along the central reservation of the M6 motorway near Birmingham. | The Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) said the boy had become separated from his parents, adding in a statement: “It’s impossible to imagine how scared someone would be, not knowing where they are, not knowing where their parents are, unable to speak the language.” | Officers were alerted at around 10pm on 18 December after a driver spotted the boy, who is thought to be from Iraq, walking along the central reservation towards junction 7, the Great Barr interchange.
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/12/19/terrifie…
Cash-Strapped NRA Discloses Spending on Foreign Fundraising for the First Time
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
The National Rifle Association disclosed spending on foreign fundraising for the first time in the gun rights group’s history as it faced a multimillion-dollar shortfall for a third consecutive year, new tax returns reveal. | Despite that foreign fundraising, federal government grants and millions of dollars siphoned from its charities, the…
truthout.org/articles/cash-strapped-nra-…
A Scorched Earth Christmas is No Gift
George Ochenski | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
For millennia, humans have celebrated the end of the year under any number of names, from Saturnalia to Christmas. Those in the northern hemisphere see the long, dark days begin to lengthen and brighten, lifting spirits as the New Year approaches. But this year, the idea of peace on Earth, good will toward all seems…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/a-scorched-e…
With ceasefire deal, Sudan is one step closer to peace
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-19
On Tuesday, December 17, the transitional government of Sudan agreed to cease hostilities in the States of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, in a deal reached with the Malik Agar-led faction of the armed rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). The government also agreed to open corridors for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the populations of the two States. | The development comes as a welcome step towards accomplishing one of the most important tasks set before the transitional government — to put an end to the civil war ongoing in the two States since 2011, which has left over 1…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/19/with-ceas…
Soldiers Abduct A Young Man, Injure Dozens, Near Hebron
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
Israeli soldiers abducted, Thursday, a young Palestinian man, and caused dozens of residents to suffer the severe effects of teargas inhalation, in the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank. Media sources said the soldiers attacked many Palestinians, protesting the invasion near …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-abduct-a-youn…
Boeing’s Perilous Bungling Requires New Leadership
Ralph Nader | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
The Boeing executives and marketeers responsible for over-ruling Boeing engineers on the 737 MAX are still in charge of this very troubled aerospace company. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the rubber-stamp Board of Directors, with two trophy ambassadors, are still …
globalresearch.ca/boeing-requires-new-le…
From a Blessing to a Curse: How UN Resolution 2334 Accelerated Israel’s West Bank Colonization
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-19
UN Resolution 2334, although externally supportive of Palestinian rights, turned out to be one of the most costly decisions ever made by the international institution.
mintpressnews.com/un-resolution-2334-isr…
All Massacres Will Become “Alleged Massacres” If We Don’t Pay Attention
Robert Fisk | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
Not that long ago, I spotted a report in an American newspaper which referred to the “alleged Sabra and Chatila massacre”. Up to 1,700 civilians, most of them Palestinians, were slaughtered in the two refugee camps in Beirut in just three days in 1982. They were killed by Israel’s Lebanese Christian Phalangist allies. The Israelis…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/all-massacre…
Russia, Ukraine to resume talks on energy following Paris summit
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
The talks have resumed just after the US announced sanctions against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/ukra…
Behind the U.S. anti-China campaign
Sara Flounders | workers.org | 2019-12-19
In order to evaluate the claims of massive human rights violations of the Uyghurs, an ethnic and religious minority in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, it is important to know a few facts. Xinjiang Province in the far western region of China is an arid, mountainous and still . . . | Continue reading Behind the U.S. anti-China campaign at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/44963/
Video: Military Intervention in Libya and Turkey’s Grand Game in the Eastern Mediterranean
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
During the past week, the situation significantly escalated in Libya, with Turkey expanding its military involvement in the conflict. | In late November, Turkey signed with the Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls only a small part of northern Libya, …
globalresearch.ca/video-military-interve…
Remembering America’s First (and Longest) Forgotten War on Tribal Islamists
Danny Sjursen | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
More than a century after the U.S. Army disengaged from Moroland, Islamist and other regional insurgencies continue to plague the southern Philippines. Indeed,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/remembering-…
The 12 Strongest Arguments That Douma Was a False Flag
Caitlin Johnstone | theantimedia.com | 2019-12-19
There is a large body of evidence that we’ve been lied to about Syria to an extent and sophistication that may be historically unprecedented.
Testimonies from People Living in Syria. “What does the American Government have Against Us?”
Janice Kortkamp | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
Rania “if death will come in 5 years or 7 or 10 I would urge it to come now because they have ripped us up of all hopes for any foreseen future…‚ÄØthey have killed us while we are still …
globalresearch.ca/testimonies-people-liv…
Life for civilians in Syria ‘worse than when the year began’
news.un.org | 2019-12-19
The humanitarian situation facing civilians in many parts of Syria is “worse than when the year began”, the UN deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Updated: Israeli Missile Kills A Palestinain In Gaza
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
An Israeli warplane fired, on Tuesday at night, a missile at a Palestinian youth in the southern Gaza Strip, killing him, before the soldiers took his body away. Armored Israeli military bulldozers advanced towards the perimeter fence, east of Khan Younis, before the soldiers snatched his corpse and took it …
imemc.org/article/israeli-drone-shoots-p…
Israel Unilaterally Decreases Gaza’s Fishing Zone
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
The Israeli Navy unilaterally decreased, on Thursday morning, the fishing zone allotted to the Palestinian fishermen in the besieged Gaza strip. The Palestinian Fishermen’s Syndicate has reported that the fishing zone was reduced to six nautical miles from the port area in Gaza city all the way to the northern …
imemc.org/article/israeli-unilaterally-d…
On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, disabled activists, allies demand elevators, not more subway cops
Edward Yudelovich | workers.org | 2019-12-19
Dec. 3, inside Macy’s. The United Nations established the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3, 1992, in a victory for the worldwide struggle of people with disabilities. IDPD has been celebrated around the planet to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, . . . | Continue reading On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, disabled activists, allies demand elevators, not more subway cops at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/44981/
Militarism Has Become Enormously Popular and Nearly Universally Accepted
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
I watch The Real News regularly. Marc Steiner seems to have taken over the role that one of the program’s founders, Paul Jay, once had before he disappeared from the program at the beginning of last summer. Jay disappeared along with one of the lead reporters at The Real News with no official explanation ever given. Recently the comment…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/militarism-h…
With support from Governor Newsom, California utility PG&E finalizes settlement with fire victims
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
The revised settlement retains the incredibly inadequate $13.5 billion payout, a pittance compared to the immense destruction wrought by the company’s criminally negligent practices.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/pgae…
Senate approves $738 billion for war budget
Marlee Kokotovic | nationofchange.org | 2019-12-19
This defense bill is the most expensive in U.S. history and gives President Trump everything he would ever want.
nationofchange.org/2019/12/19/senate-app…
Fiat Chrysler merger with PSA signals new attacks on autoworkers’ jobs and conditions
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
The $47 billion deal will create the world’s fourth largest automaker by sales, trailing only Volkswagen Group, Toyota Motor and the Renault-Nissan alliance.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/auto…
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Portion of Affordable Care Act
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans dealt another blow to the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, agreeing with a lower-court judge that the portion of the health law requiring most people to have coverage is unconstitutional now that Congress has eliminated the tax penalty that was intended to enforce it. | But it is sending the case back to the lower court to decide how much of the rest of the law can stand in light of that ruling. | That most likely means the fate of the law will not be settle…
truthout.org/articles/federal-appeals-co…
FBI Surveillance of Trump Aide Reflects Flaws in Secretive FISA System
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Wednesday the FBI should have considered halting its surveillance of Trump’s campaign aide Carter Page months before it did, after it was revealed that accusations against him may not be credible. Horowitz made the comments while testifying to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, saying the FBI used false information to obtain approval to wiretap Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and raising wider concerns about th…
truthout.org/video/fbi-surveillance-of-t…
Unmasking the Secret Landlords Buying Up US Properties
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
This story was originally published by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at revealnews.org. | America’s cities are being bought up, bit by bit, by anonymous shell companies using piles of cash. Modest single-family homes, owned for generations by families, now are held by corporate vehicles with names that appear to be little more than j…
truthout.org/articles/unmasking-the-secr…
Democrats Are Shifting on Foreign Policy — But Not Far Enough to End War
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
After months of debate, the crowded Democratic primaries have begun to narrow. Major candidates have largely avoided foreign policy discussions, instead focusing on issues like health care, trade, immigration and gun control, which are seen as more important to the U.S. electorate. Although they have clear differences in vision, it is obvious that both progressives and traditionalists on the ticket see foreign policy as a secondary concern. This is standard for U.S. politics. Often, campaign staff…
truthout.org/articles/democrats-are-shif…
Boston One Step Closer to a Luxury Real Estate Transfer Tax
Chuck Collins | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
Last week, the Boston City Council voted 10-3 in favor of a home rule petition to the Massachusetts legislature to levy a real estate transfer tax on high-end sales. A few days later, on December 16th 2019, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh signed the petition in a signing ceremony in Chinatown with housing advocates and lead…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/boston-one-s…
The Grizzly Cost of Coexistence: Funding the Great Bear’s Future
Louisa Willcox | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
In part one of this essay, I laid out the ingredients for successful coexistence with grizzly bears, and why we need more resources. Here I delve into the costs and some ideas for meeting funding needs. Now more than ever, we need to be innovative in thinking about how to meet the need for…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/the-grizzly-…
Trade Deals Are About Increasing Protectionist Barriers
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
The NYT had a piece describing the departure of the UK from the EU as the end of an era:…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/trade-deals-…
Wilderness and the Fear of Fire
Sam Hitt | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
The roar of chain saws was noticeably absent this fall in the forests near where I live in Santa Fe. We can thank the Mexican spotted owl, a courageous federal judge who exposed Forest Service misdeeds and decades of advocacy by WildEarth Guardians, successor to the scrappy advocacy group I founded 30 years ago. The…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/wilderness-a…
Tories seem to backtrack as far-right leader receives welcome email from them
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-19
The convicted leader of far-right group Britain First has said he applied to join the Conservative Party to show support for controversial comments made by Boris Johnson about Islam.Paul Golding — who has received a welcome email from the Tories following his application — told the PA news agency he liked the “cut of the cloth” of Johnson after he described Muslim women who wear the all-covering burqa as looking like “letterboxes”.But the Tories said Golding’s application had “not been approved”, and a party source suggested his membership would be revoked.Britain First, an anti-Islam party, said a numb…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/12/19/tories-s…
Victimhood and the Nigerian Civil War
Adeyinka Makinde | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
The concatenation of violence in Nigeria from 1966 to 1970, a train of events which involved communal fighting, army mutinies and a civil war, is correctly viewed as a period during which the ethnic Igbos of the country’s south east …
globalresearch.ca/victimhood-nigerian-ci…
How Britain Dresses Up Crimes in Israel as ‘Charitable Acts’
Jonathan Cook | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
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 …
globalresearch.ca/how-britain-dresses-up…
You Don’t Own Me?
Philip A Farruggio | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
Leslie Gore’s 1963 hit song ‘You Don’t Own Me’ started off with the line “You don’t own me, I’m not just one of your toys”. So it is with the overwhelming number of our population who, despite NOT knowing it, …
globalresearch.ca/you-dont-own-me/569822…
To Corporate Media, an Exercise Bike Ad Is More Newsworthy Than 3/4 of a Trillion for the Pentagon
Matthew Kimball | fair.org | 2019-12-19
What little coverage there was of the National Defense Authorization Act tended to stress the family-friendly aspect of a bill mainly intended to increase the ability of the United States to make war (USA Today, 12/12/19). | What is more newsworthy–a decision to give the Pentagon three-quarters of a trillion dollars, or an ad for an exercise bike? If you picked the Pentagon spending, you may not have a future in corporate media. | The House of Representatives vot…
fair.org/home/to-corporate-media-an-exer…
The growing threat of water wars
Jayati Ghosh | mronline.org | 2019-12-19
In 2015, United Nations member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, which include an imperative to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Yet, in the last four years, matters have deteriorated significantly. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/19/the-growing-thre…
Queen’s Speech takes ‘wrecking ball’ to Scotland’s foundations, SNP claims
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-19
The SNP has accused Boris Johnson and the UK Government of “taking a wrecking ball” to Scotland with its plans in the Queen’s Speech. | SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford spoke out after a speech that did not mention Scotland by name — although the queen said the “integrity and prosperity” of the United Kingdom was of “the utmost importance” to the UK Government. | Blackford argued the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that ministers will bring forward will hurt Scotland’s economy and cost thousands of jobs north of the border. | He was also critical of plans on immigration and said the UK Government was failing…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/12/19/queens-s…
Nicola Sturgeon warns ‘democracy will prevail’ as she demands indyref2
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-19
Nicola Sturgeon has insisted “democracy must and will prevail” as she confirmed she has now written to Boris Johnson formally requesting the power for Holyrood to hold a second independence referendum.The SNP leader and Scottish first minister said that following last week’s election victory in which her party took 47 of the 59 Scottish seats at Westminster, the case for another referendum is “unarguable”.Speaking at Bute House, her official residence in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said: “The alternative is a future that we have rejected being imposed upon us.Nicola Sturgeon has written to the PM to request the right to…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/12/19/nicola-s…
Queen’s Speech unveils Boris Johnson’s hardline plans to curtail Britain’s democracy
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-19
Boris Johnson has unveiled a Queen’s Speech with measures to toughen up criminal justice, limit parliamentary democracy and potentially weaken the scrutiny of government. | The government will look at whether the Official Secrets Act needs overhauling, which determines what protections and punishments whistleblowers are given. Whistleblowers are a critical check on power. It will also consider whether there is a case for updating the treason laws. | Work will be taken forward to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act — a move which would enable the prime minister to call an election without the consent of pa…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2019/12/19/queens-s…
From the Old City to Tel Rumeida Hill: Israel’s Takeover of Hebron Forges Ahead
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-19
It often seems that Israel’s actions in the West Bank are spurred by little more than a desire to compensate for lost opportunities and settle old scores, and Hebron is no exception writes Miko Peled.
mintpressnews.com/old-city-tel-rumeida-i…
After NFL Players Union win, Jaguars’ Coughlin removed from front office
Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-19
In a single day, two executives were held to account for their failures and actions: The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday night to impeach Donald J. Trump on two articles (abuse of power, obstruction of Congress); and the Jacksonville Jaguars fired Executive Vice President Tom Coughlin almost two days after the NFL Players union …
peoplesworld.org/article/after-nfl-playe…
Israel Places 15 Year Old Under Administrative Detention
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
Israeli forces, on Wednesday, placed a Palestinian minor under detention at the Ofer Detention Center, west of Ramallah, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported. The Prisoners’ Affairs Commission said in a statement that Hamza al-Hreimi, 15, was shot and injured in the thigh, by the Israeli soldiers, on …
imemc.org/article/israel-places-15-year-…
Updated: Soldiers Abduct Five Palestinians In Hebron And Jenin
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday at dawn, five Palestinians from their homes, in the West Bank governorates of Hebron and Jenin, in the southern and northern parts of the occupied territory. The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said many army jeeps invaded Beit Kahil town, west of Hebron, before the soldiers …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-abduct-two-pa…
Army Searches Many Homes In Northern Plains
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
Israeli soldiers invaded, late on Wednesday at night, Ein al-Baida’ village in the Northern Plains of the occupied West Bank, before storming and ransacking many homes. Media sources said dozens of soldiers invaded the village, before searching dozens of homes while interrogating the residents. They added that the soldiers collected …
imemc.org/article/army-searches-many-hom…
Israeli Soldiers Assault A Palestinian And Abduct Him, In Occupied Jerusalem
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
Israeli soldiers assaulted, on Wednesday at night, a young Palestinian man from the al-‘Isawiya town, in occupied East Jerusalem, and abducted him. Eyewitnesses said the soldiers invaded Oleyyan neighborhood in the town, and stopped a young man, identified as Ahmad Abu Roumi, while he was walking to his home. They …
imemc.org/article/108916/
Army Abducts Seven Palestinians In Ramallah
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-19
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday at dawn, seven Palestinians from their homes in the Ramallah and al-Biereh Governorate, in central West Bank. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers invaded Abu Shkeidim village, northwest of Ramallah, and abducted a young man, identified as Kamal Faisal Qindah, from …
imemc.org/article/army-abducts-seven-pal…
Samsung executives sentenced in South Korea for union-busting
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-19
26 senior executives and former employees of the Samsung Group have been sentenced to jail, while the company has been charged a minor fine for violating the country’s labor laws…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/19/samsung-e…
Brexit Could See the Return of the Falkland Islands to Argentina
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
The Islas Malvinas, or more commonly known as the Falkland Islands, archipelago was invaded by the United Kingdom in 1833 and its occupation has continued to date. Argentina’s claim for sovereignty through diplomatic means has been a state policy since …
globalresearch.ca/brexit-could-see-retur…
A New Brexit Settlement?
Radhika Desai | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
Boris Johnson has Trumped Britain. Widely reviled as an untrustworthy bumbler, he has won the biggest Tory majority in decades with a three-word campaign: ‘Get Brexit Done!’ There is much to be said. The first-past-the-post electoral system rewarded Johnson with 47 more seats for little over 1 percent more in the popular vote. The media…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/a-new-brexit…
Betsy DeVos’s Family Foundation Funnels Money to Her Right-Wing Supporters
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
The family foundation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her billionaire husband, Dick, gave more than $1 million to purportedly “independent” right-wing groups that have helped boost her assault on public education, according to a recent tax filing obtained by the government watchdog group Allied Progress and shared with Salon. | The 2018 filing shows that the couple put $5 million into the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation while doling out more than $11.6 million in contributions and…
truthout.org/articles/betsy-devoss-famil…
“We Have to Hold This President Accountable”: In Historic Vote, House Impeaches President Trump
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-19
President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in a historic vote Wednesday, making him only the third president to be formally charged with high crimes and misdemeanors under the Constitution. By a vote of 230 to 197, the House passed the first article of impeachment, which accuses President Trump of abuse of power. The House also approved the second article, which charges him with obstructing Congress by refusing to cooperate with the impeachment investigation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now says she will hold the articles back from being sent to the Republican-controlled Senate for a tria…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/19/donald_t…
After House Impeachment Vote, Trump’s Case Headed for Possible “Kangaroo Court” in Senate
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-19
The trial to impeach President Trump could soon head to the Republican-controlled Senate, which requires a two-thirds supermajority vote to convict. Senate Majority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell has said he is not an “impartial juror” and that he would closely coordinate a Senate impeachment trial with the White House Counsel’s Office, leading Democrats to accuse McConnell of trying to preside over a sham trial. We speak with John Bonifaz, who spearheaded the push for impeachment with his group, Free Speech for People. Bonifaz says that despite the low chance of conviction in the Senate, Wednesday’s impeachme…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/19/donald_t…
McConnell Openly Signals GOP’s Future Willingness for ‘Endless Parade’ of Meaningless Impeachment Efforts
Jon Queally, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
Did the Senate Majority Leader just issue a warning, or was it a threat? | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/19/mcconne…
‘Red Lights Flashing’: Australia Smashes Heat Record Just a Day After Previous Record Hit
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
Calls for immediate and ambitious action to tackle the climate emergency piled up Thursday in response to preliminary analysis from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology that Wednesday smashed the nation’s temperature record by a full 1 ∞C just one day after the previous all-time record. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/19/red-lig…
‘They Are Turning India Into Kashmir’: Government Crackdown Intensifies as Protest Movement Grows Across Subcontinent
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
Security forces shutting down internet access and detaining demonstrators as dissidents swept up and at least three people killed. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/19/they-ar…
This Story on Cellphone Tracking ‘Is the Most Important Article You Should Read Today. Period.’
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
The New York Times’ on Thursday sparked widespread concerns and calls for congressional action by publishing the first article in its “One Nation, Tracked” series, an investigation into smartphone tracking based on a data set with over 50 billion location pings from the devices of more than 12 million people in the United States. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/19/story-c…
Just Two Days After Product Warning Issued for Amazon Ring, Reporting Reveals Data of 3,000 Users Leaked
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
“This gives a potential attacker access to view cameras in somebody’s home in some of these cases—that’s a real serious potential invasion of privacy right there.” | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/19/just-tw…
If Current Trends Hold, Women Around the World Will Have to Wait 257 More Years for Gender Pay Gap to Close
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
The World Economic Forum warned Wednesday that women around the world face “centuries of inequality ahead” with the current rate at which the gender pay gap is being closed. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/19/if-curr…
Impeachment and the Democrat/Progressive United Front
Ted Glick | zcomm.org | 2019-12-19
Let’s do all in our power to turn the Republican Party’s unanimous kissing of Mafioso Don’s ring in the House yesterday into a massive wave of popular revulsion and a progressive political landslide next November…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/impeachment-and-th…
Indian govt going to war against its own people
Vijay Prashad | zcomm.org | 2019-12-19
What the IMF proposes is what the BJP government wants to do: push a much deeper austerity agenda in India. This is precisely what students and workers, farmers and youth have argued against in protest upon protest…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/indian-govt-going-…
Tolerance key to tackling violent extremism: UN counter-terrorism chief
news.un.org | 2019-12-19
The head of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office (UNOCT) has highlighted the importance of tolerance in combating the “corrosive spread” of violent extremism.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
There should be Hikiwake: Putin describes solution for Russia-Japan island dispute in Judo terms
rt.com | 2019-12-19
Absence of a peace treaty after WWII remains the major issue in Russian-Japanese relations. While there’s no solution for it, Moscow would prefer a “draw,” President Vladimir Putin said using a Judo term for the possible outcome. | “Is there a decision? So far, no. But, what’s the most important, we desire to find it,” Putin told reporters on Thursday, during his end-of-year press conference. | “And it might come in very different forms. I’ve said it once — and the Japanese liked it — it should be a ‘hikiwake,’ a draw, if we can speak in Judo terms.” | The Russian president is an avid practitioner of…
rt.com/news/476440-putin-judo-japan-hiki…
FERC Order Props Up Fossil Fuels, Dooms Climate Efforts
commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/19/fer…
Immigrant Rights Advocates in New York File First Federal Lawsuit to Jointly Block Three Interrelated “Public Charge” Immigration Rules
commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/19/imm…
Common Cause Hails $425 Million Election Security Funding but Warns Much More Is Needed
commondreams.org | 2019-12-19
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/19/com…
House Democrats IMPEACH President Donald Trump, case now goes to US Senate
rt.com | 2019-12-19
The US House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.” The Republican-majority Senate will now take up the president’s trial. | The outcome of Wednesday’s vote came as little surprise, with the Democrat-controlled House voting along party lines in what their GOP opponents perceive as a partisan attack on a sitting US leader. | Trump thus becomes the third-ever US president to be impeached by the House, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Both were acquitted in the Senate, and remained in office till the end of their ter…
rt.com/usa/476182-trump-impeachment-vote…
Trump taunts ‘do-nothing’ Democrats for stalling on sending impeachment articles to Senate
rt.com | 2019-12-19
President Donald Trump slammed the “do-nothing” Democrats after party leaders said they would delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate until they could guarantee a “fair trial” in the Republican-controlled chamber. | “Now the Do Nothing Party want to Do Nothing with the Articles & not deliver them to the Senate,” Trump tweeted a day after being impeached by the House of Representatives for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.” | I got Impeached last night without one Republican vote being cast with the Do Nothing Dems on their continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American histor…
rt.com/usa/476418-trump-do-nothing-democ…
Tulsi Gabbard votes ‘present’ on both impeachment articles, stoking liberal ire on Twitter
rt.com | 2019-12-19
Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard broke ranks with her party and voted “present” on two articles of impeachment, slamming the process as “partisan.” The vote drew swift condemnation from Twitter’s more progressive quarters. | Voting “present” instead of “yes” or “no” in Wednesday’s full House vote for two impeachment articles passed in committee last week, Gabbard became one of only a tiny minority of Democrats to swim against the current in her own party. | “I could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting President must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by triba…
rt.com/usa/476241-tulsi-votes-present-im…
‘Most rushed, least thorough & most unfair’ impeachment vote in history sets ‘toxic’ precedent — Sen. McConnell
rt.com | 2019-12-19
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell addressed the House voting to impeach President Donald Trump from the Senate floor and said the effort is “rushed” and unlike any other in history. | Speaking from the Senate floor on Thursday morning, McConnell blasted the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump as “the most rushed, least thorough and most unfair” in American history. | House Dems were celebratory on Wednesday night after passing articles of impeachment against Trump. The charges are abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. McConnell said the standard for the charges are based on a “pandora’s…
rt.com/usa/476420-mitch-mcconnell-impeac…
House approves Trump’s flagship US-Mexico-–°anada trade deal, day after impeachment vote
rt.com | 2019-12-19
The US House of Representatives has given the green light to a trade deal between the US, Canada and Mexico that would replace NAFTA, known as the USMCA, passing the bill on to the Senate for another vote. | The sweeping trade deal was passed in the House on Thursday 385-41 and is set for a Senate vote sometime after the new year. If signed into law, the deal would establish new rules for commerce between the three countries, supplanting the longstanding North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. | Effectively an update to the prior three-way agreement, which came into force in 1994, the USMCA looks to sla…
rt.com/usa/476441-house-approves-us-mexi…
‘Political suicide march for Democratic Party’: Trump chides House Dems after they vote to impeach him
rt.com | 2019-12-19
US President Donald Trump came down hard on the Democrats after the House voted, mostly along party lines, to approve articles of impeachment, saying that with the vote they have declared their “disdain” for the American voters. | Also on rt.com | | By impeaching Trump, Democrats have made him more powerful than they could ever imagine | The House voted to impeach Trump for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” Wednesday evening, paving the way for a formal trial in the Republican-majority Senate, which is expected to throw the case…
rt.com/usa/476242-trump-suicide-march-de…
Pelosi indefinitely delaying turnover of impeachment docs to Senate kicks trial up a notch in absurdity
rt.com | 2019-12-19
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refused to say when she will turn over the articles of impeachment to the Senate, hinting it could be a while — at least until the Senate’s “process” looks “fair” — and infuriating Republicans. | Pelosi declined to say when — or even if — she would deliver the articles the House approved on Wednesday night to the Senate, explaining after the vote that Democrats needed to “see what the process is on the Senate side” before they could even think of parting with the documents or naming the impeachment managers required to prosecute the case. | Also on rt.com…
rt.com/usa/476429-pelosi-stalls-articles…
‘Fifty Shades’ dominated the #MeToo era & became top-selling book trilogy of the decade
rt.com | 2019-12-19
The controversial books about a BDSM relationship dominated in the #MeToo era, while mostly female authors took the other spots in the top 10 best-selling books of the decade. | Author EL James has reason to celebrate. Though she already has multiple blockbuster films and best-selling books under her belt, she can now be crowned the best-selling author of the decade with her ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy claiming the first, second and third spots on the list of best-selling books of the last 10 years. | The ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy, which was released between 2011 and 2012, has sold 35 million copies, according to NPD…
rt.com/usa/476439-fifty-shades-best-sell…
Ukraine, China & 2024 retirement plans: Key takeaways from Putin’s 15th annual press chat
rt.com | 2019-12-19
At his annual year-end press conference, Vladimir Putin addressed his presumed retirement in 2024, the situation in Ukraine, domestic issues around healthcare and demographics, and relations with China, among many other topics. | Thursday’s Moscow event was the 15th in as many years of Putin’s presidency, and finished up as one of the longest. The Russian president sat for four hours and 18 minutes, taking around 80 questions from 57 journalists, of which he answered about 77. Some 1,895 reporters representing Russian and foreign media received accreditation for the conference, with many more watching online.
rt.com/news/476437-putin-press-conferenc…