Daily Archives: December 24, 2019

2019-12-24: News Headlines

Thomas Knapp (2019-12-24). The Christmas Truce of 1914: Proof that Peace is Possible. counterpunch.org As 1914 drew to a close, Europe had been at war for months. On the Western Front, opposing armies faced each other across a stalemated front line running from the North Sea to the Swiss border. On December 24, 100,000 soldiers from both sides of that line decided to create some peace on Earth. They More

UPWA (2019-12-24). Ukraine, Privatization, Corruption And The Republicrats. indybay.org San Francisco Main Library | Latino-Hispanic Community Room | 100 Larkin St. At Market St. | San Francisco…

WSWS (2019-12-24). Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life: An Austrian farmer's lonely defiance of the Nazis. wsws.org An important subject is treated with the generally mystical-religious outlook for which Terrence Malick has become known.

WSWS (2019-12-24). Workers in Germany support French workers' strike against Macron. wsws.org Opel workers near Frankfurt and Siemens workers in Berlin spoke out to support the strike movement in France and explain what they believe should be done.

WSWS (2019-12-24). Saudi Arabia sentences hit men to death, shields organizers of Jamal Khashoggi murder. wsws.org The announcement by Saudi Arabia of death sentences for five members of the death squad that brutally assassinated the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018 is part of a cover-up to protect the role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Staff (2019-12-24). House Committee Raises Prospect of More Impeachment Articles. truthdig.com WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee held open the possibility Monday of recommending additional articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as it pressed anew for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn. | The committee wants a federal appeals court to order McGahn to testify as it examines potential obstruction of justice by the president during special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. The committee says McGahn's testimony could also be useful for any Senate impeachment trial. | A judge last month directed McGahn to comply with the House Judiciary Committee su…

yenisafak (2019-12-24). German student says he's told to leave India after joining protests. yenisafak.com A German exchange student said on Tuesday that Indian authorities had ordered him to leave the country after he took part in protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new citizenship law.Jakob Lindenthal, a 24-year-old pursuing a master's degree in physics, said he took part in two rallies in the southern city of Chennai against the law, which critics say discriminates against India's minority Muslims.A photo circulated on Twitter shows Lindenthal holding a sign that reads: "1933-1945 We have been there," a reference to Nazi Germany.Lindenthal said he was summoned to a meeting with India's immigration autho…

yenisafak (2019-12-24). President Erdogan, UK's Johnson discuss bilateral, regional issues. yenisafak.com The Turkish president and British prime minister in a phone call discussed bilateral ties and regional issues, according to an official statement on Tuesday.Turkey's Directorate of Communications said Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Boris Johnson also discussed recent developments in Libya and Syria.

yenisafak (2019-12-24). Russian, Turkish diplomats discuss Libyan crisis. yenisafak.com Moscow hosted expert consultations of Russian and Turkish diplomats on Libya on Dec. 23, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.The talks were held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Russia's Mikhail Bogdanov and Turkey's Sedat Onal headed the delegations, the ministry said in a statement published on its official website.As a result of "mindful exchange of views," the two countries agreed to continue contacts on Libyan issues, including "possible assistance to the early settlement of the crisis in the country," the ministry said.On Nov. 27, Ankara and Tripoli signed two separate memorandums of understa…

yenisafak (2019-12-24). Russian airstrikes kill 8 civilians in Syria's Idlib. yenisafak.com Syrian opposition aircraft monitors said Russian warplanes struck the city of Saraqib and towns of Maar Shoreen, Babeela and Jawbas.The attacks on Jawbas left eight people, including five children, dead, sources with the White Helmets civil defense agency said.Over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the Idlib de-escalation zone despite a deal reached by Ankara and Moscow in September 2018.Over a million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border following intense attacks.Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in over 3.6 million Syrians who fled their country, making Turkey…

yenisafak (2019-12-24). YPG/PKK forcibly recruits orphan kids against soldiers. yenisafak.com Terror group YPG/PKK recruits foreign national orphan children held hostage in a camp in northern Syria and trains them to fight against Turkish and Syrian soldiers, according to security sources on Tuesday.A terrorist who surrendered to security forces in Turkey's southeastern Mardin province revealed the YPG/PKK's malice once again, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.Identified by initials H.A., the terrorist said the orphan children held hostage in al-Hol Camp in northern Syria's Hasakah city were being forcibly trained to use weapons.Over 100 children, age…

yenisafak (2019-12-24). YPG/PKK terrorist surrenders to Turkish forces. yenisafak.com A YPG/PKK terrorist surrendered to border security forces in southeastern Turkey, said a security source on Tuesday.Identified only with initials M.K., the terrorist, codenamed Diyar, surrendered in Nusaybin, a border district of Mardin province near Syria, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The security forces' efforts to convince the terrorists to surrender bore fruit, and their investigation revealed that many terrorists have been active within the PKK for years.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organiz…

yenisafak (2019-12-24). Turkey not given up on Khashoggi murder case: Experts. yenisafak.com Evaluating Monday verdict of a Saudi court over slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish experts said the decision does not bind Turkey and called for carrying out legal process in Istanbul, where the incident took place.Criminal lawyer Ersan Sen told Anadolu Agency that only Turkey has the judiciary rights on the Khashoggi case in the world.Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post and a U.S. resident, was murdered after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 of last year on a visit to pick up paperwork for his forthcoming marriage."The UN, U.S., or Saudi Arabia, no matter who says what, it doe…

yenisafak (2019-12-24). Syrian regime, allies capture 35 residential areas in Idlib. yenisafak.com Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime backed by Russia and Iran has captured 35 residential areas in the past four days in the northwestern Idlib province, which has been designated a de-escalation zone.Since the offensive began on Dec. 20, the regime and its allies have launched a military campaign mainly in the cities of Maarat Al-Numan and Saraqib as well as the surrounding rural areas.Despite being a de-escalation zone, the regime and its allies on Monday night took control of nine more areas, including Jarjnaz, Khirbet Marata, Abu Dafna, al-Hadisa, Kafr Yasin, al-Salihiyah, Dar al-Salam, al-Falul, and Babulin, bri…

RT (2019-12-24). 'Role play'? Swedish schoolkids made to kneel in gender-segregated MUSLIM prayer & told to listen to Koran in Arabic. rt.com A Swedish school decided to familiarize its fifth-graders with Islamic worshipping by having a teacher recite Koranic verse to them and having them pray facing Mecca, in a bizarre set-up the educators called "role play." | An offbeat "religion lesson" was taught at the Bjurbäck school situated in the south of Sweden, according to Samhallsnytt news outlet. An outraged parent said pupils were told to face the Kaaba and kneel on prayer mats, while the whole class was divided by gender, with girls forced to the back of the room. | His daughters "did not even want to be there because they could not understand…

RT (2019-12-24). Russia's 5th-gen Su-57 fighter jet crashes during factory trials — pilot ejects. rt.com One of Russia's cutting-edge Su-57 fighter jets has crashed during routine factory test flights near the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft plant in the Far East. The pilot ejected safely and was picked up by a Mi-8 rescue helicopter. | The aircraft involved in the incident belonged to the manufacturer and was undergoing a series of flight tests some 110 kilometers off Dzyomgi air base in Russia's Khabarovsk region. | There were no casualties or major damage on the ground, the manufacturer confirmed, in a brief statement. The crashed jet's black boxes were in the process of being recovered. | Also on rt.com | | …

RT (2019-12-24). US steps up campaign to urge Europe to drop Huawei, says Chinese tech firm threatens British intelligence services. rt.com US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien has cautioned Britain against allowing Huawei to operate 5G networks in the UK, claiming that the move would endanger the country's intelligence services. | Inviting the Chinese firm to help develop 5G in the UK risks handing Beijing access to the "most intimate" details of British citizens, as well as sensitive intelligence and national secrets, the senior White House official told the Financial Times. | "They are just going to steal wholesale state secrets, whether they are the UK's nuclear secrets or secrets from MI6 or MI5," O'Brien claimed. He said that it was "

WSWS (2019-12-24). Germany: Former secret service boss agitates against refugees and plays down right-wing terrorism. wsws.org One year after his removal as head of Germany's domestic secret service, Hans-Georg Maassen (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) has become one of the spokesmen for the extreme right.

Eric A. Gordon (2019-12-23). A revelatory performance of Erich Korngold's opera 'Der Ring des Polykrates'. peoplesworld.org LOS ANGELES—The recently formed Numi Opera's second production in its inaugural season was the rarely performed Der Ring des Polykrates (The Ring of Polycrates) by composer Erich Korngold (born in Brno, Austria-Hungary, 1897, died in Los Angeles, 1957). The 1914 one-act opera, composed when the precocious Korngold was but 17 years old, is in a …

Lawrence Wittner (2019-12-23). Americans Are Ready for a Different Approach to Nuclear Weapons. dissidentvoice.org Although today's public protests against nuclear weapons can't compare to the major antinuclear upheavals of past decades, there are clear indications that most Americans reject the Trump administration's nuclear weapons policies. Since entering office in 2017, the Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the nuclear agreement with Iran, scrapped the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, and …

Staff (2019-12-23). Headlines for December 23, 2019. democracynow.org White House Halted Ukraine Aid 91 Minutes After Trump & Zelensky Phone Call, U.S. Considering Plan to Deport Mexican Asylum Seekers to Guatemala, WaPo: White House Pushes to Use Migrant Children to Ensnare Parents, Saudi Arabia Sentences 5 People to Death for Khashoggi's Murder, ICC Takes Step to Investigating Israel for War Crimes, India: Protests Continue as Modi Defends "Anti-Muslim" Citizenship Law, Iraq: Thousands Demand Appointment of Independent Prime Minister, Reuters: Up to 1,500 Dead in Iran's Bloody Crackdown Against Nov. Protests, Pentagon: U.S. Soldier Killed in Afghanistan, French Unions Continue St…

Tony Cartalucci (2019-12-23). The Russia-Germany Pipeline Nord Stream 2: Washington to "Free" Europe from Freedom to Decide for Itself. globalresearch.ca Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline project extending from Russia to Germany that — when completed — will provide a secure means of exporting Russian natural gas to Western Europe — circumventing a now volatile Ukraine all while tying Russia …

teleSUR (2019-12-23). French Union Workers Agree to Halt Production at Oil Facility. telesurenglish.net French union workers from the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) voted Monday to halt production at a key oil facility that supplies Paris and the surrounding region, joining other petroleum industry shutdowns in a nationwide strike against Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms. | RELATED: | France: Workers Start 13th Day of Strike Against Pension Reform | "The decision has been taken to halt Grandpuits but with a slight majority. The management has asked for an hour of reflecti…

Abdul Rahman (2019-12-23). As the war in Libya escalates, external powers compete over its resources. peoplesdispatch.org The proxy war being waged in Libya for almost a decade has heated up with regional and international powers, including Turkey, competing for greater control over the region's resources…

Carla Stea (2019-12-23). Classic Orwellian Obfuscation: U.S. States Condemns DPRK, Syria, China, Zimbabwe, Iran, Venezuela, Russia for Human Rights Abuses. globalresearch.ca The gloves came off, revealing the iron fist in the velvet glove of U.S. obfuscation condemning innumerable countries for abuse of human rights; a recorded vote was required on December 18, exposing which countries actually vote in support of UN …

WSWS (2019-12-23). EU court rules jailed Catalan nationalist Junqueras had immunity. wsws.org Madrid nevertheless kept Junqueras in jail over his role in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum and did not allow him to take his European parliament seat.

WSWS (2019-12-23). German government condemns US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 pipeline. wsws.org The temporary halt to construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has dramatically intensified tensions between the United States and the European powers.

Peoples Dispatch (2019-12-23). Portuguese call center workers intensify strike. peoplesdispatch.org The strike call given by the National Union of Telecommunications and Audiovisual Workers in Portugal will see work stoppages in three shifts from December 22-31. The workers are demanding an increase in wages and better working conditions…

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2019-12-23). Latest Bid by France's Macron to Quell Protests Over Neoliberal Pension Scheme Fails as Strikes Continue. commondreams.org The French president's approach has generated a resistance movement with protesters blockading streets and engaging in a general strike. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/france_strikes.jpg

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2019-12-23). 'Antithesis of Justice': Five Saudi Kill Squad Members Sentenced to Death for Khashoggi Murder While Crown Prince Untouched. commondreams.org Human rights advocates criticized Saudi Arabia Monday following an announcement from the nation's public prosecutor that five people were sentenced to death and three others given various prison terms in connection with the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last year. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-11732487971.jpg

RT (2019-12-23). Holiday lights: 200 motorists unite to create a massive New Year tree replica in southern Russia (VIDEO). rt.com Many regions in Russia are going through an abnormal winter with no snow, so all means are good to create a holiday mood. These drivers parked their cars in the shape of a New Year tree and filmed their flashmob with a drone.

RT (2019-12-23). NATO states call shots at WADA & use doping claims to contain Russia — Lavrov. rt.com The persecution of Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is politically motivated as the body remains in the hands of NATO member states who won't shy away from any means to harm Moscow, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov has said. | The decisions at WADA are made by just over a dozen people, Lavrov pointed out, specifying that they represent "11 NATO members, Australia and Japan; as well as one African country and one from Latin America." | When the whole pathos of fighting against doping is used to support the voice of those who want to restrain Russia by all means and from all directions, there are probably g…

Karin Leukefeld (2019-12-23). Another kind of war: Unilateral economic sanctions damage Syria. workers.org First published in the German daily newspaper Junge Welt on Dec. 16. Translation by John Catalinotto. At the beginning of December, the Conference of Germany's State Interior Ministers extended the ban on deportations to Syria without restrictions until at least June 2020. Originally, the interior ministers at their autumn meeting . . . | Continue reading Another kind of war: Unilateral economic sanctions damage Syria at Workers.org

teleSUR (2019-12-22). Erdogan Says Turkey Cannot Handle New Wave of Syrian Migrants. telesurenglish.net Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during Sunday that more than 80,000 people were currently making their way from Idlib (northwestern Syria) to Turkey, and added his country cannot handle another wave of migrants, warning that Europe will feel the impact of such an influx. | RELATED: | Erdogan Threatens to Close 2 US Military Bases in Turkey | Syria and its ally Russia intensified this week their bombardment of targets in Idlib, prompting a new wave of refugees toward Turk…

teleSUR (2019-12-22). Child Labor Behind Chocolate Ferrero Rocher: UK Rights Group. telesurenglish.net The hazelnuts used by the chocolate company Ferrero in its products, including the famous Ferrero Rocher, and sold across the world for Christmas, may have been harvested by children working in the agricultural sector in Turkey, human rights campaigners denounced Friday. | RELATED: | Outrage as 2 McDonald's Employees Found Electrocuted in Peru | The Guardian reported that interviews with child workers filmed by United Kingdom campaigning group WeMove Europe and the Centre for C…

Peoples Dispatch (2019-12-22). Around The World 74: Chile uprising, Algeria protests. peoplesdispatch.org It's been over two months since the momentous uprising in Chile. It began with a protest about a hike in metro fares and ended up as the largest protest in the country since the end of the civic-military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The people of Chile made it clear that it was structural change they wanted. In this episode of Around the World in 8 minutes, we look at the situation in Chile now, as well as protests in Algeria and Poland.

Muhammed Shabeer (2019-12-22). "We want Belgium out of NATO and NATO out of Belgium" peoplesdispatch.org The Workers' Party of Belgium has been in the forefront of resisting the far-right in the country, as well as promoting internationalism and battling for a just solution to climate change…

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-22). Seemingly Coordinated ISIS/al-Qaeda Attacks On Syrian Oil/Gas Fields & US' Russia/Libya Hypocrisy. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/21/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

teleSUR (2019-12-22). Nord Stream 2 Construction to Press on Despite US Sanctions. telesurenglish.net The construction of the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline will go ahead despite the introduction of United States sanctions, the group behind the pipeline project announced Saturday. | RELATED: | Trump Blasts Congress Over 'Unfair' Impeachment | "Completing the project is essential for European security of supply. We, together with the companies supporting the project, will work to complete the pipeline as soon as possible," said the authorities in charge of the project. | Meanwhile, the Russian Fore…

Staff (2019-12-20). Democrats Invoke Russiagate to Advance Bill Lobbied for by Big Oil. therealnews.com Two bills that would allow the United States to expand its fossil fuel infrastructure in the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries have advanced to the the Senate—and Democrats backing them have invoked "Russiagate" to push them through.

Carl Boggs (2019-12-20). Capitalism and the Limits of Greening. counterpunch.org The idea of a Green New Deal, including the one proposed by a group of Democrats led by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is hardly novel on the world scene, though potentially consequential for American politics. European Green parties, for example, introduced far-reaching policies in support of an ecological (sustainable) model of development as early as 1980. A few other European leftist parties later arrived at their own "greening" initiatives to mitigate climate disruption. The much-smaller U.S. Greens followed suit. Even the authoritarian Chinese government has introduced its own program to curb green…

Fight Back (2019-12-20). Two tactics in the fight against Trump and the right. fightbacknews.org On December 18 the U.S. House of Representatives voted by a 230-197 margin to impeach President Donald Trump. The day before, thousands of people turned out at hundreds of protests across the country to support the impeachment effort. | Trump was impeached by a party-line vote on two counts: first, for abuse of power after he withheld military aid from the Ukraine in an effort to get the government there to investigate Joe Biden's son for corruption; and second, for obstruction of justice because of his campaign to cover up his actions. | What was not voted on were Trump's many other crimes against the people, in…

Madeline Woker (2019-12-20). Global Taxation Is a Mess. Here's How to Start Fixing It. thenation.com Global Taxation Is a Mess. Here's How to Start Fixing It.

RT (2019-12-20). Hard truth to spit out: Yang tells Dems to stop obsessing over impeachment & deal with issues that helped Trump get elected. rt.com Breaking away from his Democratic peers, Andrew Yang called on the party to get over impeachment and stop pretending like President Donald Trump or Russia — not their own policy failures — caused their 2016 election loss. | In his opening remarks at the last Democratic presidential debate of the year on Thursday, Yang attempted to give his colleagues, still gloating over Trump's impeachment in the House, a rare reality check, urging them to stop putting all their eggs in a basket that nobody cares about in the first place. | "We have to stop being obsessed over impeachment, which unfortunately stri…

The Canary (2019-12-19). Queen's Speech takes 'wrecking ball' to Scotland's foundations, SNP claims. thecanary.co 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…

Staff (2019-12-18). "Not the End of It": If GOP Senate Saves Trump, Rep. Al Green Says He Can Face Impeachment Again. democracynow.org President Donald Trump is on the cusp of being impeached by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, with a historic vote set today on whether to formally accuse him of abusing his power in dealing with Ukraine to help himself politically, and then obstructing Congress by blocking their investigation. Trump lashed out directly at the vote on Tuesday, calling the proceedings to remove him from office an "attempted coup." Should the House approve either of the articles of impeachment, the Republican-controlled Senate will hold a trial with all 100 senators acting as jurors, with a two-thirds supermajority…

Tarek Ismail (2019-12-18). A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing. aclu.org U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…

Staff (2019-12-18). Headlines for December 18, 2019. democracynow.org House to Hold Historic Impeachment Vote Today, Top U.S. Diplomat to Ukraine William Taylor to Step Down, Rick Gates Sentenced to 45 Days in Jail and $20,000 Fine, FISA Court Orders FBI to Change National Security Wiretaps After DOJ Report, Democratic Primary Debate to Go Forward After Labor Dispute Resolved, Senate Approves One of the Most Expensive Military Spending Bills in U.S. History, Trump Meets with Outgoing Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, Indian Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Controversial Citizenship Law, Strikes Continue Nationwide in France over Pension Overhaul, Bolivia's Evo Morales Names Two…

Staff (2019-12-16). Ralph Nader on Impeachment: Democrats Should Go After Trump's Full Corruption, Not Just Ukraine. democracynow.org Donald Trump is set to become the third president to be impeached when the Democrat-controlled House votes Wednesday on two charges related to his attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden. The vote will send the charges to the Republican-controlled Senate, which will then hold a trial on whether to remove Trump from office. Witnesses who could be called to testify include former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Early Monday, the House Judiciary Committee released its full report on Trump's impeachment that is nearly 700 pag…

Staff (2019-12-16). COP25 Was a Failure, But Activists' Collective Organizing at the Talks Was Unprecedented. democracynow.org The COP25 United Nations climate summit ended in failure Sunday, after negotiators failed to agree to a deal that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — a key goal of the Paris Agreement. Scores of civil society groups condemned governments in the European Union, Australia, Canada and the U.S. for a deal that requires far less action than needed to avert catastrophic climate change. Indigenous leaders and environmentalists blasted the United Nations for marginalizing civil society groups over two weeks of negotiations at the climate summit, while welcoming polluters.

2019-12-24: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

The Christmas Truce of 1914: Proof that Peace is Possible
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
As 1914 drew to a close, Europe had been at war for months. On the Western Front, opposing armies faced each other across a stalemated front line running from the North Sea to the Swiss border. On December 24, 100,000 soldiers from both sides of that line decided to create some peace on Earth. They…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/the-christmas-truce-of-1914-proof-that-peace-is-possible/

Ukraine, Privatization, Corruption And The Republicrats
UPWA | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
San Francisco Main Library | Latino-Hispanic Community Room | 100 Larkin St. At Market St. | San Francisco…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/22/18829081.php

Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life: An Austrian farmer's lonely defiance of the Nazis
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
An important subject is treated with the generally mystical-religious outlook for which Terrence Malick has become known.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/hidd-d24.html

Workers in Germany support French workers' strike against Macron
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
Opel workers near Frankfurt and Siemens workers in Berlin spoke out to support the strike movement in France and explain what they believe should be done.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/germ-d24.html

Saudi Arabia sentences hit men to death, shields organizers of Jamal Khashoggi murder
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
The announcement by Saudi Arabia of death sentences for five members of the death squad that brutally assassinated the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018 is part of a cover-up to protect the role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/khas-d24.html

House Committee Raises Prospect of More Impeachment Articles
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-24
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee held open the possibility Monday of recommending additional articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as it pressed anew for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn. | The committee wants a federal appeals court to order McGahn to testify as it examines potential obstruction of justice by the president during special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. The committee says McGahn's testimony could also be useful for any Senate impeachment trial. | A judge last month directed McGahn to comply with the House Judiciary Committee su…
truthdig.com/articles/house-committee-raises-prospect-of-more-impeachment-articles/

German student says he's told to leave India after joining protests
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
A German exchange student said on Tuesday that Indian authorities had ordered him to leave the country after he took part in protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new citizenship law.Jakob Lindenthal, a 24-year-old pursuing a master's degree in physics, said he took part in two rallies in the southern city of Chennai against the law, which critics say discriminates against India's minority Muslims.A photo circulated on Twitter shows Lindenthal holding a sign that reads: "1933-1945 We have been there," a reference to Nazi Germany.Lindenthal said he was summoned to a meeting with India's immigration autho…
yenisafak.com/en/world/german-student-says-hes-told-to-leave-india-after-joining-protests-3508149

YPG/PKK forcibly recruits orphan kids against soldiers
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Terror group YPG/PKK recruits foreign national orphan children held hostage in a camp in northern Syria and trains them to fight against Turkish and Syrian soldiers, according to security sources on Tuesday.A terrorist who surrendered to security forces in Turkey's southeastern Mardin province revealed the YPG/PKK's malice once again, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.Identified by initials H.A., the terrorist said the orphan children held hostage in al-Hol Camp in northern Syria's Hasakah city were being forcibly trained to use weapons.Over 100 children, age…
yenisafak.com/en/news/ypg-pkk-forcibly-recruits-orphan-kids-against-soldiers-3508151

Russian airstrikes kill 8 civilians in Syria's Idlib
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Syrian opposition aircraft monitors said Russian warplanes struck the city of Saraqib and towns of Maar Shoreen, Babeela and Jawbas.The attacks on Jawbas left eight people, including five children, dead, sources with the White Helmets civil defense agency said.Over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the Idlib de-escalation zone despite a deal reached by Ankara and Moscow in September 2018.Over a million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border following intense attacks.Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in over 3.6 million Syrians who fled their country, making Turkey…
yenisafak.com/en/world/russian-airstrikes-kill-8-civilians-in-syrias-idlib-3508153

Turkey not given up on Khashoggi murder case: Experts
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Evaluating Monday verdict of a Saudi court over slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish experts said the decision does not bind Turkey and called for carrying out legal process in Istanbul, where the incident took place.Criminal lawyer Ersan Sen told Anadolu Agency that only Turkey has the judiciary rights on the Khashoggi case in the world.Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post and a U.S. resident, was murdered after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 of last year on a visit to pick up paperwork for his forthcoming marriage."The UN, U.S., or Saudi Arabia, no matter who says what, it doe…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkey-not-given-up-on-khashoggi-murder-case-experts-3508147

President Erdogan, UK's Johnson discuss bilateral, regional issues
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
The Turkish president and British prime minister in a phone call discussed bilateral ties and regional issues, according to an official statement on Tuesday.Turkey's Directorate of Communications said Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Boris Johnson also discussed recent developments in Libya and Syria.
yenisafak.com/en/news/president-erdogan-uks-johnson-discuss-bilateral-regional-issues-3508150

Russian, Turkish diplomats discuss Libyan crisis
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Moscow hosted expert consultations of Russian and Turkish diplomats on Libya on Dec. 23, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.The talks were held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Russia's Mikhail Bogdanov and Turkey's Sedat Onal headed the delegations, the ministry said in a statement published on its official website.As a result of "mindful exchange of views," the two countries agreed to continue contacts on Libyan issues, including "possible assistance to the early settlement of the crisis in the country," the ministry said.On Nov. 27, Ankara and Tripoli signed two separate memorandums of understa…
yenisafak.com/en/news/russian-turkish-diplomats-discuss-libyan-crisis-3508139

YPG/PKK terrorist surrenders to Turkish forces
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
A YPG/PKK terrorist surrendered to border security forces in southeastern Turkey, said a security source on Tuesday.Identified only with initials M.K., the terrorist, codenamed Diyar, surrendered in Nusaybin, a border district of Mardin province near Syria, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The security forces' efforts to convince the terrorists to surrender bore fruit, and their investigation revealed that many terrorists have been active within the PKK for years.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organiz…
yenisafak.com/en/world/ypg-pkk-terrorist-surrenders-to-turkish-forces-3508144

Syrian regime, allies capture 35 residential areas in Idlib
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime backed by Russia and Iran has captured 35 residential areas in the past four days in the northwestern Idlib province, which has been designated a de-escalation zone.Since the offensive began on Dec. 20, the regime and its allies have launched a military campaign mainly in the cities of Maarat Al-Numan and Saraqib as well as the surrounding rural areas.Despite being a de-escalation zone, the regime and its allies on Monday night took control of nine more areas, including Jarjnaz, Khirbet Marata, Abu Dafna, al-Hadisa, Kafr Yasin, al-Salihiyah, Dar al-Salam, al-Falul, and Babulin, bri…
yenisafak.com/en/world/syrian-regime-allies-capture-35-residential-areas-in-idlib-3508142

'Role play'? Swedish schoolkids made to kneel in gender-segregated MUSLIM prayer & told to listen to Koran in Arabic
rt.com | 2019-12-24
A Swedish school decided to familiarize its fifth-graders with Islamic worshipping by having a teacher recite Koranic verse to them and having them pray facing Mecca, in a bizarre set-up the educators called "role play." | An offbeat "religion lesson" was taught at the Bjurbäck school situated in the south of Sweden, according to Samhallsnytt news outlet. An outraged parent said pupils were told to face the Kaaba and kneel on prayer mats, while the whole class was divided by gender, with girls forced to the back of the room. | His daughters "did not even want to be there because they could not understand…
rt.com/news/476711-sweden-pupils-muslim-prayer/

Russia's 5th-gen Su-57 fighter jet crashes during factory trials — pilot ejects
rt.com | 2019-12-24
One of Russia's cutting-edge Su-57 fighter jets has crashed during routine factory test flights near the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft plant in the Far East. The pilot ejected safely and was picked up by a Mi-8 rescue helicopter. | The aircraft involved in the incident belonged to the manufacturer and was undergoing a series of flight tests some 110 kilometers off Dzyomgi air base in Russia's Khabarovsk region. | There were no casualties or major damage on the ground, the manufacturer confirmed, in a brief statement. The crashed jet's black boxes were in the process of being recovered. | Also on rt.com | |
rt.com/russia/476709-russia-su-57-fighter-jet-crash/

US steps up campaign to urge Europe to drop Huawei, says Chinese tech firm threatens British intelligence services
rt.com | 2019-12-24
US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien has cautioned Britain against allowing Huawei to operate 5G networks in the UK, claiming that the move would endanger the country's intelligence services. | Inviting the Chinese firm to help develop 5G in the UK risks handing Beijing access to the "most intimate" details of British citizens, as well as sensitive intelligence and national secrets, the senior White House official told the Financial Times. | "They are just going to steal wholesale state secrets, whether they are the UK's nuclear secrets or secrets from MI6 or MI5," O'Brien claimed. He said that it was "
rt.com/news/476727-us-huawei-uk-china-spying/

Germany: Former secret service boss agitates against refugees and plays down right-wing terrorism
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
One year after his removal as head of Germany's domestic secret service, Hans-Georg Maassen (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) has become one of the spokesmen for the extreme right.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/mass-d24.html

Americans Are Ready for a Different Approach to Nuclear Weapons
Lawrence Wittner | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-23
Although today's public protests against nuclear weapons can't compare to the major antinuclear upheavals of past decades, there are clear indications that most Americans reject the Trump administration's nuclear weapons policies. Since entering office in 2017, the Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the nuclear agreement with Iran, scrapped the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, and …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/americans-are-ready-for-a-different-approach-to-nuclear-weapons/

The Russia-Germany Pipeline Nord Stream 2: Washington to "Free" Europe from Freedom to Decide for Itself
Tony Cartalucci | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-23
Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline project extending from Russia to Germany that — when completed — will provide a secure means of exporting Russian natural gas to Western Europe — circumventing a now volatile Ukraine all while tying Russia …
globalresearch.ca/nord-stream-2-washington-free-europe-freedom-decide/5698501

A revelatory performance of Erich Korngold's opera 'Der Ring des Polykrates'
Eric A. Gordon | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-23
LOS ANGELES–The recently formed Numi Opera's second production in its inaugural season was the rarely performed Der Ring des Polykrates (The Ring of Polycrates) by composer Erich Korngold (born in Brno, Austria-Hungary, 1897, died in Los Angeles, 1957). The 1914 one-act opera, composed when the precocious Korngold was but 17 years old, is in a …
peoplesworld.org/article/a-revelatory-performance-of-erich-korngolds-opera-der-ring-des-polykrates/

French Union Workers Agree to Halt Production at Oil Facility
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-23
French union workers from the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) voted Monday to halt production at a key oil facility that supplies Paris and the surrounding region, joining other petroleum industry shutdowns in a nationwide strike against Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms. | RELATED: | France: Workers Start 13th Day of Strike Against Pension Reform | "The decision has been taken to halt Grandpuits but with a slight majority. The management has asked for an hour of reflecti…
telesurenglish.net/news/French-Union-Workers-Agree-to-Halt-Production-at-Oil-Facility-20191223-0010.html

As the war in Libya escalates, external powers compete over its resources
Abdul Rahman | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-23
The proxy war being waged in Libya for almost a decade has heated up with regional and international powers, including Turkey, competing for greater control over the region's resources…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/23/as-the-war-in-libya-escalates-external-powers-compete-over-its-resources/

Classic Orwellian Obfuscation: U.S. States Condemns DPRK, Syria, China, Zimbabwe, Iran, Venezuela, Russia for Human Rights Abuses
Carla Stea | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-23
The gloves came off, revealing the iron fist in the velvet glove of U.S. obfuscation condemning innumerable countries for abuse of human rights; a recorded vote was required on December 18, exposing which countries actually vote in support of UN …
globalresearch.ca/classic-orwellian-obfuscation-united-states-condemns-dprk-syria-china-zimbabwe-iran-venezuela-russia-human-rights-abuses/5698487

Another kind of war: Unilateral economic sanctions damage Syria
Karin Leukefeld | workers.org | 2019-12-23
First published in the German daily newspaper Junge Welt on Dec. 16. Translation by John Catalinotto. At the beginning of December, the Conference of Germany's State Interior Ministers extended the ban on deportations to Syria without restrictions until at least June 2020. Originally, the interior ministers at their autumn meeting . . . | Continue reading Another kind of war: Unilateral economic sanctions damage Syria at Workers.org
workers.org/2019/12/45046/

German government condemns US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 pipeline
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
The temporary halt to construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has dramatically intensified tensions between the United States and the European powers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/nord-d23.html

EU court rules jailed Catalan nationalist Junqueras had immunity
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
Madrid nevertheless kept Junqueras in jail over his role in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum and did not allow him to take his European parliament seat.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/cata-d23.html

Portuguese call center workers intensify strike
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-23
The strike call given by the National Union of Telecommunications and Audiovisual Workers in Portugal will see work stoppages in three shifts from December 22-31. The workers are demanding an increase in wages and better working conditions…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/23/portuguese-call-center-workers-intensify-strike/

Latest Bid by France's Macron to Quell Protests Over Neoliberal Pension Scheme Fails as Strikes Continue
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-23
The French president's approach has generated a resistance movement with protesters blockading streets and engaging in a general strike. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/france_strikes.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/23/latest-bid-frances-macron-quell-protests-over-neoliberal-pension-scheme-fails?cd-origin=rss

'Antithesis of Justice': Five Saudi Kill Squad Members Sentenced to Death for Khashoggi Murder While Crown Prince Untouched
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-23
Human rights advocates criticized Saudi Arabia Monday following an announcement from the nation's public prosecutor that five people were sentenced to death and three others given various prison terms in connection with the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last year. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-11732487971.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/23/antithesis-justice-five-saudi-kill-squad-members-sentenced-death-khashoggi-murder?cd-origin=rss

'Surveillance Valley' author Yasha Levine's Twitter frozen after post objecting to US pushing for war with Russia in Ukraine
rt.com | 2019-12-23
Yasha Levine, a journalist who exposed the US government surveillance origins of the internet and its symbiotic relationship with Big Tech, was locked out of Twitter after criticizing Washington's Ukraine policy with clear satire. | "We gotta kill Russians in Ukraine or they'll come and kill us here!" Levine tweeted on Saturday, mocking what he described as the US' policy of using Ukraine as a "forward operating base" — a policy expressed in only slightly more euphemistic terms during the impeachment hearings earlier this month. The journalist even included a link to an article he'd written excoriating th…
rt.com/usa/476687-yasha-levine-twitter-censored-ukraine/

Holiday lights: 200 motorists unite to create a massive New Year tree replica in southern Russia (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2019-12-23
Many regions in Russia are going through an abnormal winter with no snow, so all means are good to create a holiday mood. These drivers parked their cars in the shape of a New Year tree and filmed their flashmob with a drone. | …
rt.com/russia/476680-cars-new-year-tree-stavropol/

NATO states call shots at WADA & use doping claims to contain Russia — Lavrov
rt.com | 2019-12-23
The persecution of Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is politically motivated as the body remains in the hands of NATO member states who won't shy away from any means to harm Moscow, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov has said. | The decisions at WADA are made by just over a dozen people, Lavrov pointed out, specifying that they represent "11 NATO members, Australia and Japan; as well as one African country and one from Latin America." | When the whole pathos of fighting against doping is used to support the voice of those who want to restrain Russia by all means and from all directions, there are probably g…
rt.com/news/476700-lavrov-wada-nato-russia/

Erdogan Says Turkey Cannot Handle New Wave of Syrian Migrants
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-22
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during Sunday that more than 80,000 people were currently making their way from Idlib (northwestern Syria) to Turkey, and added his country cannot handle another wave of migrants, warning that Europe will feel the impact of such an influx. | RELATED: | Erdogan Threatens to Close 2 US Military Bases in Turkey | Syria and its ally Russia intensified this week their bombardment of targets in Idlib, prompting a new wave of refugees toward Turk…
telesurenglish.net/news/Erdogan-Says-Turkey-Cannot-Address-New-Wave-of-Syrian-Migrants–20191222-0007.html

Child Labor Behind Chocolate Ferrero Rocher: UK Rights Group
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-22
The hazelnuts used by the chocolate company Ferrero in its products, including the famous Ferrero Rocher, and sold across the world for Christmas, may have been harvested by children working in the agricultural sector in Turkey, human rights campaigners denounced Friday. | RELATED: | Outrage as 2 McDonald's Employees Found Electrocuted in Peru | The Guardian reported that interviews with child workers filmed by United Kingdom campaigning group WeMove Europe and the Centre for C…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chocolate-Company-Ferrero-May-Use-Child-Labour-Rights-Activists–20191222-0009.html

Around The World 74: Chile uprising, Algeria protests
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-22
It's been over two months since the momentous uprising in Chile. It began with a protest about a hike in metro fares and ended up as the largest protest in the country since the end of the civic-military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The people of Chile made it clear that it was structural change they wanted. In this episode of Around the World in 8 minutes, we look at the situation in Chile now, as well as protests in Algeria and Poland.
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/22/around-the-world-74-chile-uprising-algeria-protests/

"We want Belgium out of NATO and NATO out of Belgium"
Muhammed Shabeer | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-22
The Workers' Party of Belgium has been in the forefront of resisting the far-right in the country, as well as promoting internationalism and battling for a just solution to climate change…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/22/we-want-belgium-out-of-nato-and-nato-out-of-belgium/

Nord Stream 2 Construction to Press on Despite US Sanctions
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-22
The construction of the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline will go ahead despite the introduction of United States sanctions, the group behind the pipeline project announced Saturday. | RELATED: | Trump Blasts Congress Over 'Unfair' Impeachment | "Completing the project is essential for European security of supply. We, together with the companies supporting the project, will work to complete the pipeline as soon as possible," said the authorities in charge of the project. | Meanwhile, the Russian Fore…
telesurenglish.net/news/nord-stream-2-construction-to-press-on-despite-us-sanctions-20191222-0008.html

Seemingly Coordinated ISIS/al-Qaeda Attacks On Syrian Oil/Gas Fields & US' Russia/Libya Hypocrisy
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-22
Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/21/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/daily-wrap-up/seemingly-coordinated-isis-al-qaeda-attacks-on-syrian-oil-gas-fields-us-russia-libya-hypocrisy/

Capitalism and the Limits of Greening
Carl Boggs | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-20
The idea of a Green New Deal, including the one proposed by a group of Democrats led by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is hardly novel on the world scene, though potentially consequential for American politics. European Green parties, for example, introduced far-reaching policies in support of an ecological (sustainable) model of development as early as 1980. A few other European leftist parties later arrived at their own "greening" initiatives to mitigate climate disruption. The much-smaller U.S. Greens followed suit. Even the authoritarian Chinese government has introduced its own program to curb green…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/20/capitalism-and-the-limits-of-greening/

Two tactics in the fight against Trump and the right
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-20
On December 18 the U.S. House of Representatives voted by a 230-197 margin to impeach President Donald Trump. The day before, thousands of people turned out at hundreds of protests across the country to support the impeachment effort. | Trump was impeached by a party-line vote on two counts: first, for abuse of power after he withheld military aid from the Ukraine in an effort to get the government there to investigate Joe Biden's son for corruption; and second, for obstruction of justice because of his campaign to cover up his actions. | What was not voted on were Trump's many other crimes against the people, in…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/20/two-tactics-fight-against-trump-and-right

Global Taxation Is a Mess. Here's How to Start Fixing It
Madeline Woker | thenation.com | 2019-12-20
Global Taxation Is a Mess. Here's How to Start Fixing It.
thenation.com/article/france-tax-wine-tariff/

Democrats Invoke Russiagate to Advance Bill Lobbied for by Big Oil
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-20
Two bills that would allow the United States to expand its fossil fuel infrastructure in the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries have advanced to the the Senate–and Democrats backing them have invoked "Russiagate" to push them through.
therealnews.com/columns/democrats-invoke-russiagate-to-advance-bill-lobbied-for-by-big-oil

Hard truth to spit out: Yang tells Dems to stop obsessing over impeachment & deal with issues that helped Trump get elected
rt.com | 2019-12-20
Breaking away from his Democratic peers, Andrew Yang called on the party to get over impeachment and stop pretending like President Donald Trump or Russia — not their own policy failures — caused their 2016 election loss. | In his opening remarks at the last Democratic presidential debate of the year on Thursday, Yang attempted to give his colleagues, still gloating over Trump's impeachment in the House, a rare reality check, urging them to stop putting all their eggs in a basket that nobody cares about in the first place. | "We have to stop being obsessed over impeachment, which unfortunately stri…
rt.com/usa/476452-yang-impeachement-obsession-trump/

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-speech-takes-wrecking-ball-to-scotlands-foundations-snp-claims/

A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing
Tarek Ismail | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/a-secret-cbp-team-is-targeting-and-detaining-innocent-travelers-were-suing

"Not the End of It": If GOP Senate Saves Trump, Rep. Al Green Says He Can Face Impeachment Again
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-18
President Donald Trump is on the cusp of being impeached by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, with a historic vote set today on whether to formally accuse him of abusing his power in dealing with Ukraine to help himself politically, and then obstructing Congress by blocking their investigation. Trump lashed out directly at the vote on Tuesday, calling the proceedings to remove him from office an "attempted coup." Should the House approve either of the articles of impeachment, the Republican-controlled Senate will hold a trial with all 100 senators acting as jurors, with a two-thirds supermajority…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/18/not_the_end_of_it_if

IG report exposes FBI, Congressional, and media deceit in Russia probe
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-16
A new report from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz confirms that the FBI relied on the Steele dossier — a…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/16/ig-report-exposes-fbi-congressional-and-media-deceit-in-russia-probe/

COP25 Was a Failure, But Activists' Collective Organizing at the Talks Was Unprecedented
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-16
The COP25 United Nations climate summit ended in failure Sunday, after negotiators failed to agree to a deal that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — a key goal of the Paris Agreement. Scores of civil society groups condemned governments in the European Union, Australia, Canada and the U.S. for a deal that requires far less action than needed to avert catastrophic climate change. Indigenous leaders and environmentalists blasted the United Nations for marginalizing civil society groups over two weeks of negotiations at the climate summit, while welcoming polluters.
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/16/cop25_failure_asad_rehman_tasneem_essop

Ralph Nader on Impeachment: Democrats Should Go After Trump's Full Corruption, Not Just Ukraine
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-16
Donald Trump is set to become the third president to be impeached when the Democrat-controlled House votes Wednesday on two charges related to his attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden. The vote will send the charges to the Republican-controlled Senate, which will then hold a trial on whether to remove Trump from office. Witnesses who could be called to testify include former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Early Monday, the House Judiciary Committee released its full report on Trump's impeachment that is nearly 700 pag…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/16/ralph_nader_trump_impeachment_trial_senate