Afghanistan Papers Confirm That the Longest War Is a Lie
Sonali Kolhatkar | commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
U.S. Marines in Afghanistan, 2001. (Photo: Sergeant Joseph R. Chenelly / United States Marine Corps) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/13/afghan…
Judiciary Committee sends 2 articles of impeachment to the full House
Mark Gruenberg, John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-13
WASHINGTON — A massive coalition of progressive groups, led by MoveOn.org, and including sponsors such as the Service Employees, United We Dream, Indivisible and its Chicago affiliate, the Women’s March, NOW, Democracy 21 and Credo, plan mass rallies in more than 440 cities nationwide on the eve of the upcoming U.S. House vote to impeach …
peoplesworld.org/article/judiciary-commi…
The Perils of Embedded Journalism: ‘Afghan Papers’ Wouldn’t Be Needed If We Had a Real Independent News Media
Dave Lindorff | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
In 1966, during the early years of the America’s war against Vietnam, Congress passed and President Johnson signed into law a Freedom of Information Act. It wasn’t all that great at the time, though. Indeed, it took the courageous act of two men, Daniel Ellsberg and his co-conspirator, Anthony Russo, to steal and then copy…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/the-perils-o…
Human Rights and Humbug in Washington
Brian Cloughley | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
It has recently been announced that “a confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.” Fascinating, of course, but the underlying message…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/human-rights…
Human Rights and Humbug in Washington
Brian Cloughley | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
It has recently been announced that “a confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.” Fascinating, of course, but the underlying message…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/human-rights…
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn to Step Down After UK Election Catastrophe
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-13
Corbyn easily won his own seat, but many of his party members did not share the same fortune, as Labour’s heartlands were lost on a dark day for the British left.
mintpressnews.com/labour-jeremy-corbyn-r…
Corbyn’s Defeat has slain the Left’s Last Illusion
Jonathan Cook | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-13
This was an election of two illusions. The first helped persuade much of the British public to vote 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 contempt. For …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/corbyns-defea…
The anti-Semitism accusations against Corbyn: A witch-hunt in the service of imperialism
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
The witch-hunt centres on a concerted attempt to equate opposition to Zionism and the colonial policies of the Israeli state with hatred of the Jewish people in general and the infamous and reactionary anti-Semitism of the Nazis in particular.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/semi…
Indigenous Bolivia Ready to Go to War Against Fascism
Andre Vltchek | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Bolivia, December 2019, three weeks after the fascist coup. It is devilishly cold. My comrade’s car is carefully navigating through the deep mud tracks. Enormous snow-covered mountain peaks are clearly visible in the distance. | The Bolivian Altiplano; beloved, yet always …
globalresearch.ca/indigenous-bolivia-rea…
New York Becomes Third State To Ban Brain-Damaging Pesticide
EWG | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Beginning next year, a neurotoxic pesticide that at low doses can trigger brain and behavioral damage in children will be banned from use by agricultural operations in New York State. | Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed the state’s Department of Environmental …
globalresearch.ca/new-york-becomes-third…
If you want peace, you get war; if you want war, you get rich
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2019-12-13
A quarter century ago, Victoria Sandino Palmera joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army (FARC-EP). She had previously been a militant in the Communist Party and–when FARC-EP was above ground in the 1990s–joined the Patriotic Pole. But the repression of what she calls the ‘traditional oligarchy’ sent her back to the jungle over and […] | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/13/if-you-want-peac…
Trump Wants Criticism of Israel Equated with Anti-Semitism
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Trump wants anti-Semitism redefined. An executive order perhaps already signed is all about stifling legitimate criticism of Israel. | It’s about wanting the Jewish state absolved of occupation, colonialism, and apartheid crimes against humanity. | The International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed …
globalresearch.ca/trump-wants-criticism-…
Conservative Landslide: Boris Johnson’s Tories Triumph Over Progressive Change in UK Elections
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
With ballot counting nearly completed, Boris Johnson-led Tories appear to have won a near 80-seat House of Commons majority — 364 seats to Labor’s 203, Sottish National Party’s 48, Liberal Dems 11, DUP 8, Sinn Fein 7, other small parties | …
globalresearch.ca/conservative-landslide…
The Politics of Impeachment
Donald Monaco | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
The decision by Democrats sitting on the House Judiciary Committee to approve Articles of Impeachment that will be affirmed in a full vote of the House of Representatives just handed Donald Trump a probable victory in the 2020 election barring …
globalresearch.ca/the-politics-of-impeac…
Stand Up America Implores Lawmakers to Impeach Donald Trump
commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/13/sta…
Common Cause Presses House to Impeach and McConnell to Recuse from Senate Trial
commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/13/com…
Judiciary Committee Sends 2 Articles of Impeachment to Full House
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-13
The vote on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress splits along party lines, with 23 Democrats in favor and 17 Republicans opposed.
truthdig.com/articles/judiciary-committe…
Midnight Ramble: A Fascist Rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
At one of his permanent fascist-style campaign rallies on December 10, 2019, the day the U.S. House of Representatives rolled out Articles of Impeachment, United States President Donald J. Trump told an adoring Pennsylvania crowd that U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren “has a fresh mouth.” The meaning of this insult was understood by his audience. It…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/midnight-ram…
Equally Determined: To Impeach/To Support
Joseph Natoli | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
“A federal appeals court on Wednesday evening stayed a lower-court ruling that former Trump White House counsel Donald McGahn must comply with a House subpoena after the administration appealed, arguing the battle poses great consequences for the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches”. — Washington Post, Nov. 27, 2019 There are three obvious reasons…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/equally-dete…
Midnight Ramble: A Fascist Rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
At one of his permanent fascist-style campaign rallies on December 10, 2019, the day the U.S. House of Representatives rolled out Articles of Impeachment, United States President Donald J. Trump told an adoring Pennsylvania crowd that U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren “has a fresh mouth.” The meaning of this insult was understood by his audience. It…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/midnight-ram…
Equally Determined: To Impeach/To Support
Joseph Natoli | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
“A federal appeals court on Wednesday evening stayed a lower-court ruling that former Trump White House counsel Donald McGahn must comply with a House subpoena after the administration appealed, arguing the battle poses great consequences for the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches”. — Washington Post, Nov. 27, 2019 There are three obvious reasons…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/equally-dete…
“Deep State” or Quid pro Coup?
Todd Smith | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-13
Whether seen as a shadowy, villainous presence or, possibly, a heretofore tight-lipped benefactor, the “Deep State” has recently risen from the far-fringed depths of obscure conspiracies to seize the public discourse with a Leviathan-like tentacle. On the surface, President Trump, the quid pro quo’ster boy of impeachable note, either looks like a paid clown of …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/deep-state-or…
House Judiciary Committee nears vote to approve articles of impeachment against Trump
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
The debate has underscored the right-wing basis of the Democrats’ impeachment drive.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/impe…
Turkey Boosts Military Presence in Northeast Syria. Al Qaeda Fighters “Protected” by Turkish Forces?
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Members of al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham repelled a Syrian Army attack on the area of al-Katibat al-Mahjura in southern Idlib on December 12. A day earlier militants captured this area and repelled a first Syrian Army attempt to regain it. …
globalresearch.ca/turkey-boosts-military…
Turkey Boosts Military Presence in Northeast Syria. Al Qaeda Fighters “Protected” by Turkish Forces?
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Members of al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham repelled a Syrian Army attack on the area of al-Katibat al-Mahjura in southern Idlib on December 12. A day earlier militants captured this area and repelled a first Syrian Army attempt to regain it. …
globalresearch.ca/turkey-boosts-military…
ACLU intervenes in police lawsuit against Black Lives Matter’s DeRay Mckesson
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
The US Supreme Court is being asked to hear an appeal in a case seeking to hold Mckesson liable for injuries caused during a protest after a police killing in Louisiana.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/aclu…
Abstract Leftism Leaves Bolivia and Global South in Crosshairs of Imperialism
Nefta Freeman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
“Progressive leftists” in the U.S., also known as liberals who claim to oppose U.S. Empire but tolerate all of its crimes, cannot be described as anything less than nauseating. Anything short of outright U.S. military invasion or bombing of a | …
globalresearch.ca/abstract-leftism-leave…
OAS Final Audit Report on Bolivia Elections Raises More Questions About Its Own Work Than It Answers, CEPR Analysis Concludes
commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/13/oas…
Evo Morales on prohibition to wear Indigenous garments in Ministry HQ
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-13
Bolivia ‘s leader Evo Morales reacted to an internal memo from the foreign ministry of the de facto government in Bolivia, prohibiting personal use of traditional Indian attire inside the headquarters of the ministry during the workday. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/13/evo-morales-on-p…
Washington’s Proposed New Sanctions Against Turkey also Aimed Against Russia
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
With the world fixated on Turkish actions against Syria, Greece and Libya at the moment, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Senate of the United States Congress approved a bill, “Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of …
globalresearch.ca/washingtons-proposed-n…
Colombia and The Revolutionary Process
Nino Pagliccia | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
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 …
globalresearch.ca/colombia-revolutionary…
Colombians Protest Against Tax Reform in Front of Congress
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-13
Colombia’s Congress Thursday began to debate President Ivan Duque’s “Economic Growth” bill, a policy package that aims at benefiting big companies, which mobilized hundreds of people to protest at the Bolivar Square in Bogota.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã | RELATED: | Colombian Police to be Investigated for Excessive Use of Force | Through this economic reform, Duque seeks to establ…
telesurenglish.net/news/colombians-prote…
Pentagon chiefs say US troops to stay in Syria for years
Bill Van Auken | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Barely two months after US President Donald Trump’s demagogic announcement that he was pulling US troops out of northeastern Syria to fulfill his campaign promise to bring a halt to Washington’s “endless wars,” the senior civilian and uniformed Pentagon chiefs …
globalresearch.ca/pentagon-chiefs-say-us…
Pentagon chiefs say US troops to stay in Syria for years
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
Less than two months after Trump’s demagogic announcement of a full withdrawal from Syria, the US military has made clear that it has no plans to leave.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/syri…
UN human rights report cites ‘multiple root causes’ of deadly Chile protests
news.un.org | 2019-12-13
During the recent mass protests which led Chile to declare a state of emergency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a report published on Friday that international human rights norms had been violated by both police and army personnel, which should be prosecuted.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Algeria: Former PM Elected With the Greatest Abstention Ever
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-13
Algeria’s Independent National Electoral Authority (ANIE) Friday declared former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune as the winner of the presidential election, which was held amid massive protests and with the greatest abstention in the history of the country. | RELATED: | Algeria: Presidential Elections Close With Very Low Attendance | According to the ANIE, the 74-year-old candidate won 58.15 percent of the vote, which prevented a second round. In the electoral process, howev…
telesurenglish.net/news/Algeria-Former-P…
Australia: Thousands attend climate change rally in Sydney
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
While bushfires ravaged the state, workers and students gathered to protest government inaction on climate change.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/clim…
Warrant targeting Assange supporter reveals scope of US government campaign against WikiLeaks
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
As part of the FBI probe into supposed Russian interference in the 2016 US election, the entire contents of a Google account belonging to Somerset Bean, a WikiLeaks supporter and graphic designer, was subpoenaed by the American government.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/bean…
Someone Interfered in the UK Election, and It Wasn’t Russia
Caitlin Johnstone | theantimedia.com | 2019-12-13
Hardly anyone will care because this election interference has been happening right out in the open, and was perfectly legal.
US to impose sanctions on companies involved in European Nord Stream 2 pipeline
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
The sanctions against the joint Russian-Western Europe energy project underscores just how conflict-riven the relations between the members of the world’s largest military alliance are.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/nord…
Beyond Changing Light Bulbs: 21 Ways You Can Stop the Climate Crisis
Rivera Sun | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Here’s the good news: The debate is over. 75% of US citizens believe climate change is human-caused; more than half say we have to do something and fast. Here’s even better news: A new report shows that more than 200 cities and counties, and 12 states have committed to or already achieved 100 percent clean electricity. This means that…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/beyond-chang…
Pakistan Must Face Its Past
Saad Hafiz | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
I have often wondered if Pakistan would have been a better country and South Asia a more peaceful region if the crisis that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 had been handled differently. As we know that did not happen when Pakistani forces went to war to prevent the secession of East Pakistan.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/pakistan-mus…
Pakistan Must Face Its Past
Saad Hafiz | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
I have often wondered if Pakistan would have been a better country and South Asia a more peaceful region if the crisis that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 had been handled differently. As we know that did not happen when Pakistani forces went to war to prevent the secession of East Pakistan.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/pakistan-mus…
A year on from Yemen talks breakthrough, top UN Envoy hails ‘shift’ towards peace, despite setbacks
news.un.org | 2019-12-13
When warring parties in Yemen met in a renovated castle outside the Swedish capital last December for UN-brokered talks, they showed that perhaps there could be a way out of brutal conflict and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the UN Special Envoy for the country said this week.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Who’s to Blame for an American Dream Deferred?
Robert Scheer | truthdig.com | 2019-12-13
The 2008 housing meltdown that effectively busted the American dream of homeownership has morphed into a new heist based on corporate rental empires with all the same culprits. The answer to the question of who these profiteers are is written out in the title of journalist Aaron Glantz’s book “Homewreckers: How a Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks, and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream.” In the latest installment of Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer’s podcast, Glantz explains why he wanted to look at the root of the housin…
truthdig.com/articles/whos-to-blame-for-…
I Have ‘Some of the Best’ Health Insurance a Union Member Can Get, But I Would Trade It Today for Medicare for All
Marcie Wells | commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks while introducing the Medicare for All Act of 2019 with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) during a news conference on Capitol Hill, on April 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/13/i-have…
Winning the Green New Deal on the road toward socialism
Donald Donato | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-13
This is the second part of a 2-article series. Read Part 1 here. In this second of two articles on the Green New Deal and the problem of profit, we will explore the remaining major policy areas targeted by the Green New Deal resolution put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and …
peoplesworld.org/article/winning-the-gre…
The sordid deal between former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and his accusers
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
Weinstein and his bankrupt company have reached a $25 million settlement with dozens of women who charged him with sexual misconduct, various media outlets reported on Wednesday.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/wein…
COP25: Climate Talks ‘Out of Touch With Reality’ As Rich Countries Seek to Gut Paris Agreement, Says Friends of the Earth International
commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/13/cop…
Deteriorating Climates: Home and Abroad
Lawrence Davidson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Here in the United States, the socio-political climate has never been pristine. Normally, it amounts to maintaining an environment wherein the rich stay rich and all others stay hopeful–except for the segregated and downtrodden. Therefore, it is notable that between the 1960s and early 2000s, the social environment did improve: it got more equalitarian–the social…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/deterioratin…
Deteriorating Climates: Home and Abroad
Lawrence Davidson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Here in the United States, the socio-political climate has never been pristine. Normally, it amounts to maintaining an environment wherein the rich stay rich and all others stay hopeful–except for the segregated and downtrodden. Therefore, it is notable that between the 1960s and early 2000s, the social environment did improve: it got more equalitarian–the social…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/deterioratin…
Limits of the Green New Deal
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-13
The Green New Deal is an exciting social program generating a great deal of interest on the left. Like its predecessor, the New Deal of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the GND holds out the promise of preventing the worst effects of anthropogenic climate change, and guaranteeing a better standard of living for its participants. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/13/limits-of-the-gr…
JEDI Mind Tricks: Amazon Versus the Pentagon and Trump
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world, boasting revenues of more than $230 billion last year. But last month the company sued the US Department of Defense over a paltry potential $10 billion spread over ten years. Amazon lost out to Microsoft in bidding for the Pentagon’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (yes,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/jedi-mind-tr…
JEDI Mind Tricks: Amazon Versus the Pentagon and Trump
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world, boasting revenues of more than $230 billion last year. But last month the company sued the US Department of Defense over a paltry potential $10 billion spread over ten years. Amazon lost out to Microsoft in bidding for the Pentagon’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (yes,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/jedi-mind-tr…
D.C. Judge to Hear Legal Challenge to Trump’s Border-wall Emergency
The Center for Biological Diversity will defend its lawsuit Monday challenging President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to pay for his border wall. The Trump administration is asking a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, filed in February with Defenders | …
globalresearch.ca/d-c-judge-to-hear-lega…
The Tory War on Truth — and How to Fight Back
Adam Ramsay | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
“There’s all these facts flying around on social media — you don’t know what to believe”. | Wes lost his job as a builder in the crash and these days works as a receptionist at a major employer in Crewe. He …
globalresearch.ca/the-tory-war-on-truth-…
Three Ring Circus
Philip A Farruggio | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Remember when we all were kids and the circus came to town? Inside the ‘Big Tent’ or arena we would sit and view all the many goings on from the three rings in front of us. It was highly entertaining… …
globalresearch.ca/three-ring-circus/5697…
Paul Volcker’s Long Shadow. History of the Federal Reserve. Eliminating the Gold Standard
Ellen Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-13
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan called Paul Volcker ” the most effective chairman in the history of the Federal Reserve.” But while Volcker, who passed away Dec. 8 at age 92, probably did have the greatest historical impact of …
globalresearch.ca/paul-volckers-long-sha…
The Recent Natural Gas Blowout in South Texas Highlights the Need for Strong Regulation
Hasan Seede | commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
In the first two decades after its release, methane traps over 85 times more heat in our atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2). (Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/13/recent…
The Six Ways the NFL Groomed Us for President Trump
Robert Lipsyte | commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
Attempts to create rules to avoid, say, crippling blocks and tackles have generally been met by howls of anguish from chickenhawk fans who cried out: don’t sissify football. (Photo: Joe Robbins/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/13/six-wa…
For Corporate Media, Voters Are Obstacle to Buttigieg’s Centrist Rise
Joshua Cho | commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
Such outlets, after all, don’t care as much about winning elections as they do about blocking the threat of a progressive political movement. (Photo: FAIR) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/13/corpor…
Shareholders Call for #RebootFacebook to Put Company on Path to Democracy, Decency, and Disclosure
commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/13/sha…
Trump’s Hunger Games
Greg Kaufmann | commondreams.org | 2019-12-13
“What happens if a movement is able to help people see how they’re being played against each other?” he asked. “You could reset the entire political calculus.” (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/13/trumps…
Pete Buttigieg’s Progressive Early Backers Demand a Refund
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-13
Though they initially viewed South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg as an intriguing and progressive newcomer when he began his presidential campaign early this year, the #RefundPete hashtag began trending Thursday morning on social media as a growing number of former donors started requesting their donations back in the wake of recent revelations about the 2020 Democratic candidate. | Kristen Hill, a volunteer community leader for the presidential primary campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in North Carolina, was one of the first voters to kick off the viral hashtag #RefundPete. | “If Pete Buttigieg fo…
truthdig.com/articles/pete-buttigiegs-pr…
Politicians Stand in the Way of a Global Green Energy Revolution
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-13
It should be a no-brainer to implement cheap renewable energies worldwide, but there’s a major reason political leaders are hesitating.
truthdig.com/articles/politicians-stand-…
William F. Buckley Never Fooled James Baldwin
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-13
The following is an excerpt from “The Fire Is Upon Us.” | By mid-1968, James Baldwin’s hope was in a precarious state. Just three months earlier, Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down by a white supremacist in Memphis, Tennessee. “Since Martin’s death,” Baldwin explained later, “something has altered in me, something has gone away.” That “something,” he confessed, was his faith that people can be better than they are. King’s death “forced me,” Baldwin wrote, “into a judgment concerning human life and human beings which I…
truthdig.com/articles/william-f-buckley-…
Mortality Rising: Trump and the Death of the “American Dream”
David Rosen | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral slogan was “Make America Great Again” and it was supposed to foreshadow his promise — if elected — to recapture the promise that…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/mortality-ri…
Kafka Down Under: the Threat to Whistleblowers and Press Freedom in Australia
Thomas Drake | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
It was the head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre who finally admitted before an Australian Parliament committee that she had unilaterally directed and pressured CyberCon to drop myself and an academic research professor (an Australian citizen) from the University of Melbourne as speakers. I viewed the extraordinary pressure exerted by the Australian Cyber Security Centre…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/kafka-down-u…
The Science of Lethality
Joan Roelofs | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
While the Pentagon’s preeminent mission is to increase lethality of the forces, DARPA notes that its cyborg technology is also used to “augment the loss of functionality from injury or disease,” such as implants controlling the use of prosthetics. Nevertheless, it sees a great need for social research to dispel resistance to cyborgs or robots (synthetic autonomous agents) on ethical grounds.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/the-science-…
The End of the Era: Nineteen Nineteen
Cal Winslow | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
“To be a red in the summer of 1919 was worse than being a Hun in the summer of 1917,” reckoned Dos Passos, in Nineteen Nineteen, his novel of the war years. The nation was war weary as the year began, still reeling from the deadly influenza– the “Spanish Flu.” It yearned, and deserved, politicians…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/the-end-of-t…
Trump’s War on the Poor
Jesse Jackson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Donald Trump is famed for his head-snapping reversals. One day he’s taking troops out of the Middle East; the next he’s sending more in. One day he’s on the verge of an agreement with China on trade; the next he’s tweeting about holding off until after the election. On one thing, however, Trump and his…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/trumps-war-o…
Trump’s War on the Poor
Jesse Jackson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Donald Trump is famed for his head-snapping reversals. One day he’s taking troops out of the Middle East; the next he’s sending more in. One day he’s on the verge of an agreement with China on trade; the next he’s tweeting about holding off until after the election. On one thing, however, Trump and his…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/trumps-war-o…
The Wind That Shook the Barley: the Politics of the IRA
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
When I lived in the Bronx in 1973 and early 1974, I used to go to a bar up Fordham Road. I was attending Fordham University at the time and it was the custodian who cleaned our dorm hallways and bathrooms who first took me there. He was IRA through and through. So was the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/the-wind-tha…
Donald Trump Jr., Mongolian Sheep Killer
Lee Hall | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Mongolian dignitaries made an Eastertime pilgrimage to see the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago. And whoosh…. By September, Donald Trump Jr. had a Mongolian permit to kill one of the world’s few remaining argali sheep. ProPublica uncovered the trip. Reporters Jake Pearson and Anand Tumurtogoo described Mongolia’s trophy hunt permit system as “an insider’s game” and reported that Trump Jr.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/donald-trump…
Mortality Rising: Trump and the Death of the “American Dream”
David Rosen | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral slogan was “Make America Great Again” and it was supposed to foreshadow his promise — if elected — to recapture the promise that…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/mortality-ri…
The End of the Era: Nineteen Nineteen
Cal Winslow | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
“To be a red in the summer of 1919 was worse than being a Hun in the summer of 1917,” reckoned Dos Passos, in Nineteen Nineteen, his novel of the war years. The nation was war weary as the year began, still reeling from the deadly influenza– the “Spanish Flu.” It yearned, and deserved, politicians…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/the-end-of-t…
Seeing the World Without Shadows: the Enlightenment Dream
Michael Welton | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
The scientific revolution of the seventeenth century (c. 1500-1700) in Europe–beginning with Copernicus (1493-1543) and ending with Isaac Newton (1642-1727)–precipitated a momentous transformative learning moment for humankind. What a revolution that was! Sixteenth century intellectuals in the grip of Aristotle still imagined that nature consisted of four qualities (earth, water, fire and air) and the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/seeing-the-w…
If Time Magazine Celebrates Greta Thunberg, Why Should We?
Louis Proyect | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
In just over 6,500 words, Time Magazine makes the case for Greta Thunberg being 2019’s Person of the Year. For much of the left, this confirms that she is a corporate tool. Founded in 1923 by Henry Luce, Time was the flagship of the Luce empire. Print newsmagazines have gone into a steep decline with…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/if-time-maga…
Seeing the World Without Shadows: the Enlightenment Dream
Michael Welton | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
The scientific revolution of the seventeenth century (c. 1500-1700) in Europe–beginning with Copernicus (1493-1543) and ending with Isaac Newton (1642-1727)–precipitated a momentous transformative learning moment for humankind. What a revolution that was! Sixteenth century intellectuals in the grip of Aristotle still imagined that nature consisted of four qualities (earth, water, fire and air) and the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/seeing-the-w…
The Wind That Shook the Barley: the Politics of the IRA
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
When I lived in the Bronx in 1973 and early 1974, I used to go to a bar up Fordham Road. I was attending Fordham University at the time and it was the custodian who cleaned our dorm hallways and bathrooms who first took me there. He was IRA through and through. So was the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/the-wind-tha…
Buttigieg and McKinsey
Joyce Nelson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Major questions have been raised about presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s work for global consulting firm McKinsey, with even the New York Times editorial board demanding that he release the information. After Buttigieg issued a sparse and vague overview on December 7, questions remain unanswered about his work for McKinsey from 2007 to 2010. My recent…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/buttigieg-mc…
Buttigieg and McKinsey
Joyce Nelson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
Major questions have been raised about presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s work for global consulting firm McKinsey, with even the New York Times editorial board demanding that he release the information. After Buttigieg issued a sparse and vague overview on December 7, questions remain unanswered about his work for McKinsey from 2007 to 2010. My recent…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/buttigieg-mc…
The Science of Lethality
Joan Roelofs | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
While the Pentagon’s preeminent mission is to increase lethality of the forces, DARPA notes that its cyborg technology is also used to “augment the loss of functionality from injury or disease,” such as implants controlling the use of prosthetics. Nevertheless, it sees a great need for social research to dispel resistance to cyborgs or robots (synthetic autonomous agents) on ethical grounds.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/the-science-…
Sharon Lerner on Plastic Recycling
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2019-12-13
Media…
fair.org/home/sharon-lerner-on-plastic-r…
Anakbayan-USA holds 3rd congress
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-13
Los Angeles, CA – On November 30, Anakbayan-USA had their Third Congress, with more than 200 members from 12 chapters across the country in attendance. They learned lessons on solidarity, talked about the economic situation in the United States and reported back on the progress being made on a national and local level. | Anakbayan-USA had three national organizations they invited to speak on their “International Solidarity” panel: the Palestinian Youth Movement, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, and National Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). | CISPES and PYM spoke on bridging the gap…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/13/anakbay…
‘Air bridge’ vaccination operation begins for Ebola-hit communities in DR Congo
news.un.org | 2019-12-13
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen an increase in the number of reported cases of the deadly haemorrhagic virus Ebola linked to ongoing violence by armed groups targeting remote communities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Three historic TV features on radical composer Marc Blitzstein now available for viewing
Kurt Weill Foundation | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-13
peoplesworld.org/article/three-historic-…
Blind man dies by electric chair in Tennessee, Texas inmate executed amid claims of false testimony
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
The final two executions of 2019 involved cases in which juries were not told about defendants’ mental health struggles and violent upbringing, and trials involving false testimony and faulty jury selection.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/exec…
India adopts Hindu supremacist citizenship law
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
In the face of widespread popular opposition and warnings that India is rending its “secular” political-constitutional order, the BJP government has rammed through legislation that redefines Indian citizenship in Hindu supremacist terms .
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/inci…
Wave of teachers strikes confront attacks on pensions and working conditions in Brazil
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
Bolsonaro’s government and its Economy Minister Paulo Guedes have made it clear that they aim to privatize all public services, including schools.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/braz…
Catastrophic conditions for refugees on Croatian border as authorities close camp
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
The catastrophic conditions in the Vucjak camp once again highlight the inhumane refugee policies of the European Union.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/croa…
US announces “in principle” agreement on “phase one” US-China trade deal
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
Any reduction in US tariffs, will be accompanied by a so-called “snapback” provision under which they would be immediately re-imposed if it is determined that China is not abiding by its side of the deal…
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/ustr…
New Zealand: Warnings about danger of White Island eruption were ignored
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
There is growing anger among relatives of those killed and injured that warnings of a volcanic eruption were ignored by tourism companies and government regulators.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/volc…
Boeing executives must be held to account
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
It has become clear that Boeing executives and government officials repeatedly disregarded warnings by employees of potentially deadly safety lapses that led to the deaths of over 300 people.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/pers…
Johnson wins majority in UK election after collapse of Labour vote
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
Johnson’s return consolidates the most right-wing government in post-war British history, with devastating consequences for the working class.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/elec…
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
Workers in Algeria carried out a four-day general strike while Palestinians in Hebron struck and doctors in Zimbabwe are continuing their months-long struggle.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/labo…
US trucking firm Celadon goes bankrupt leaving thousands of drivers stranded
wsws.org | 2019-12-13
The major logistics company closed without warning, leaving thousands of drivers stranded across the country and without jobs just before the holidays.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/13/cela…
Roaming Charges: That’s Neoliberalism for You
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-13
For four years, Jeremy Corbyn was smeared in a relentless and savage campaign of vilification and outrageous slander by the British press, much of it orchestrated by liberal outlets like The Guardian and the New York Times, using a kind of berserker Zionism as truncheon. And so, the dreadful result was predictable: the worst showing of Labour since 1935. But it’s the poor and the immigrant communities that will bear the brunt of what they have wrought.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/13/roaming-char…
“Dark Day for Everyone Who Believes in Justice”: U.K. Tories Defeat Labour in Landslide Election
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-13
The British Conservative Party has won a decisive majority in Thursday’s general election, winning seats in Labour Party strongholds and paving the way for Britain’s exit from the European Union by January 31. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is projected to have 364 seats in the House of Commons compared to Labour’s 203 seats. That would give the Conservatives about a 75-seat majority, the largest since Margaret Thatcher’s landslide in the 1987 election. Johnson’s message throughout the campaign was focused on “getting Brexit done,” reflecting public exhaustion with the issue that has paralyzed British politics ever…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/13/uk_elect…
COP25: Developing Countries Charge Ahead with Bold Climate Plans as Rich Countries Drag Their Feet
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-13
As this year’s United Nations climate summit wraps up in Madrid, Spain, many activists, scientists, indigenous and grassroots climate leaders say that rich countries most responsible for the climate emergency have spent the talks dialing back ambition and blocking progress. This comes as deadly droughts, flooding, cyclones and wildfires rage around the world. This week, more than 70 developing countries have announced they will accelerate their climate plans, and 72 countries have signed onto goals to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But major emitters Australia, China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia have…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/13/cop25_de…