2020-12-27: News Headlines

yenisafak (2020-12-27). German pilot makes point with syringe in the sky. yenisafak.com German pilot Samy Kramer has traced a giant syringe in the sky, flying 200 kilometers to remind people about the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Europe.The 20-year-old pilot mapped out the route he would need to take on a GPS device before taking to the skies near Lake Constance in southern Germany. The syringe-shaped route showed up on internet site flightradar24."There are still relatively many people opposing the vaccination and my action may be a reminder for them to think about the topic, to get things moving", Kramer told Reuters TV on Sunday, adding that his flight should not be understood as…

Online News Editor (2020-12-27). Older people and health staff first in line as EU rolls out Covid-19 vaccine. laprensalatina.com (Update 1: Adds France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria) Madrid Desk, Dec 27 (efe-epa).- The European Union on Sunday began its coordinated rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 with nations giving priority to older people and healthcare staff. Araceli Hidalgo, a 96-year-old resident of Los Olmos care home in Guadalajara, became the first person in …

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-12-27). Europe's Lack of Confidence Hampers Signing of Trade Agreement with China. globalresearch.ca After seven years of tough negotiations, the European Union and China were close to signing an investment agreement. However, at the last moment, it hit a road block as it faced pressure from those wanting Washington's involvement, or those wanting …

Daniel Raventós, Julie Wark (2020-12-27). The European Citizens' Initiative for a Basic Income. counterpunch.org There are no precedents that can serve as a reference for Europe's economic and social situation right now. The 2020 European Commission indicators show a drop of 8.3% for GDP growth, while the OECD sets the figure at about 9% for the eurozone. The country-by-country forecasts showing considerable inequality within the EU are calamitous and,

MEE and agencies (2020-12-27). Turkey warns 'thug Haftar' against attacking its forces in Libya. middleeasteye.net Turkey warns 'thug Haftar' against attacking its forces in Libya | Defence minister says renegade general's forces will be 'legitimate targets' in such an event during visit to Tripoli | Sun, 12/27/2020 – 13: 05 | Turkish Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar, right, is pictured with his Libyan counterpart Salah Eddine Namrouchin, left, during a visit to Turkish troops in Tripoli (AFP) | Turkish…

Alena Peryshkina (2020-12-27). Multicultural Cooperation between BRICS Member States: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. globalresearch.ca In this interview, Alena Peryshkina, Co-Chair of the BRICS Civil Forum, Director of the AIDS Infoshare Foundation, Co-Chair of the BRICS and G20 CSOs Working Group, discusses some aspects of multicultural dimensions, especially the need to institutionalize cultural ties and …

Chris Jones (2020-12-27). Samos Dreaming: Reflecting on the Life, History and Social Injustice on Greece's Samos Island. globalresearch.ca There is a tragic lack of attention given to the achievements and activities of people and communities in tackling the problems they confront. It is tragic because people need hope and inspiration in these dark times and the thousands upon …

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-12-27). Multicultural Cooperation between BRICS Member States: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. globalresearch.ca In this interview, Alena Peryshkina, Co-Chair of the BRICS Civil Forum, Director of the AIDS Infoshare Foundation, Co-Chair of the BRICS and G20 CSOs Working Group, discusses some aspects of multicultural dimensions, especially the need to institutionalize cultural ties and …

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-27). A growing number of countries find cases of UK virus variant. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 27 (MNA) — Japan, France, Spain, Sweden, and Canada are the latest countries to discover infections with the potentially more transmissible variant first reported in Britain.

_____ (2020-12-27). The Fall of Dominic Cummings: Boris Johnson's "Genius" as Raskolnikov. strategic-culture.org Dominic Cummings has gone from the British government after an epic year and a half, that deserve to be remembered, though not for the reasons he would like. | The Master Hypnotist behind Boris Johnson's bumbling bumptious rise to power and his catastrophic performance as prime minister self-destructed after running the British economy into the ground, criminally, isolating his country from its traditional allies in the Untied States and Western Europe and failing to have the wit to realize that it would have paid well to have at least treated Russia and China with courtesy. | To quote Isaac Asimov's character Sa…

Deirdre Jonese Austin (2020-12-27). In the Georgia runoffs, 'poll chaplains' continue King's legacy. zcomm.org "I want people to go to the polls knowing that they have nothing to fear — that their right to have their voice heard will be encouraged, uplifted, and defended by people of hope"

RT (2020-12-26). When in Russia… Get yourself a dose of Sputnik V, Foreign Ministry tells US envoy who asked Santa for VACCINE. rt.com US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan has asked for a hockey stick, running shoes, and a Covid-19 vaccine in his letter to Santa — and Russia's Foreign Ministry was there to suggest Russian-made goods to satisfy all his wishes. | Earlier this week, Sullivan shared a photo on Facebook of his handwritten letter to Santa Claus. The ambassador insisted he had been "very nice" in 2020 and had followed all the coronavirus precautions. For his good behavior, he asked St Nick to bring him a new hockey stick and running shoes plus a coronavirus vaccine as presents. | It's unclear whether Santa saw the letter,…

sputniknews (2020-12-26). Putin Says Russia Always Ready to Provide Humanitarian Assistance to Other Countries. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Providing humanitarian aid is one of the key areas covered by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and Russia will always provide the necessary assistance to other countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Seamus Mullen (2020-12-26). Seamus Mullen's love affair with tortilla española: Find beauty in the simplicity of this dish. salon.com The former chef at Boqueria and Tertulia in New York City explores the most emblematic dish from Spain…

Poor People's Campaign (2020-12-26). Tuesday 12/29: Jump-Off for the Run-Off: Zoom Rally Supporting Georgia Voters w/ Poor People's Campaign. indybay.org Online via Zoom…

HTFIVP (2020-12-26). Saturday 12/26: Georgia Comes Alive! Virtual Music Festival to Support Georgia Voters & Equal Voter Rights. indybay.org Virutal music festival…

Dean Baker (2020-12-26). The New York Times Hasn't Heard About China's Vaccines. cepr.net That is the implication of a major piece on how the coronavirus vaccines are leading to greater worldwide inequality, since the rich countries have reserved the vast majority of the 2021 supplies of vaccines of the leading U.S.-European vaccines. While this is in fact a serious problem, as my co-authors and I have noted, China …

Ralph Nader (2020-12-25). Recidivist Criminal and Constitutional Outlaw Trump Rushes to Pardon Criminal Lawbreakers. commondreams.org Trump and future presidents cannot be allowed to brazenly dishonor justice and undermine the rule of law. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/roger_stone_0_1.jpg

teleSUR (2020-12-25). 14 Female Migrants Sue US Immigration Services for Abuses. telesurenglish.net A class-action lawsuit was filed by 14 women against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), and Georgia's Irwin Immigration Detention Center (ICDC) for "non-consensual and invasive gynecological abuse". | RELATED: | A complaint was also submitted to Georgia's Medical Council in order to request the license revocation of gynecologist Mahendra Amin who is accused of performing surger…

Workers World Party (2020-12-25). PDF of December 24 issue. workers.org Download the 12-page PDF. Georgia Senate runoff Redbaiting derails people's needs Youth in vanguard; Russell Maroon Shoatz; The real 2020 heroes; Amazon union drive in Ala.; Five hottest years; Vaccine chaos; Editorial: Too little, too late GLOBAL: Amauta in Peru; 'Soft coup' attempt in Cuba; BLM in France. TEAR DOWN . . . |

Evaggelos Vallianatos (2020-12-25). Thebes of Myth and History. counterpunch.org Thebes was one of about 1,000 poleis (city-states) spread all over the mainland of classical Greece, the islands of the Aegean and Ionian seas, the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor, north Africa, southern France, eastern Spain and southern Italy and Sicily. There were so many Greeks and Greek city-states in Italy and Sicily the Romans

Amanda Mills (2020-12-25). EU bans plastic waste exports to poorer countries. nationofchange.org "This is an important milestone in fighting plastic pollution, transitioning shifting to a circular economy, and achieving the aims of the European Green Deal."

Ashlie D. Stevens (2020-12-25). Dickens, refrigeration and New World turkey: Behind the decline of the traditional Christmas goose. salon.com The bird that used to dominate holiday tables became a ghost of Christmas past, but some say that is changing…

prasanth1584 (2020-12-25). UK and EU reach trade agreement but questions remain. peoplesdispatch.org The deal will now have to be ratified not only by the British Parliament, but also by all the 27 member nations of the EU and the European Parliament, before December 31 to avoid major trade uncertainty…

WSWS (2020-12-24). Deadliest week in Germany since COVID-19 pandemic began. wsws.org Last week was by far the worst in the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, with officially 175,314 infections and over 4,300 deaths (against 3,050 the previous week). Across Europe, the death toll exceeded the catastrophic half-million mark on Tuesday.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-24). Migrants face uncertainty after fire in camp in Bosnia. peoplesdispatch.org A large fire broke out in the Lipa refugee camp, in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina which hosts close to 1,200 migrants on December 23. There are no injuries or casualties but most of the infrastructure has been destroyed.

news.un (2020-12-24). Bosnia and Herzegovina: Thousands of migrants lose shelter, after camp destroyed in fire. news.un.org The closure and subsequent fire, on Wednesday, at a migrant camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina has left thousands of migrants without shelter and protection, amid plummeting winter temperatures, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported.

Eds. (2020-12-24). Why is the Guardian promoting more Pentagon propaganda? mronline.org Recent reporting reinforces the false impression that the United States is threatened by Chinese and Russian expansionism.

Mira Oklobdzija (2020-12-24). Right-Wing Soap Opera in the Netherlands: the Second Act of Thierry Baudet? counterpunch.org Europe has its fair share of right-wingers. Some are members of rather visible and socially active parties such as the National Rally in France, Austria's Freedom Party, and the Sweden Democrats. Others prefer the label of a street-focused or intellectual movement like Pegida in Germany, the English Defence League, the various transnational anti-Islam networks online,

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-12-24). Civil Rights Groups Denounce Georgia Officials For Closing Early Voting Sites Ahead of Senate Runoffs. commondreams.org Voting rights groups on Wednesday accused officials in at least two Georgia counties of voter suppression, pointing to the closures of several early voting locations in majority-Black and Latino communities ahead of two key runoff Senate elections. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1230129827_1.jpg

Elsa Rassbach, Nick Mottern (2020-12-24). Activists and Parliamentarians Join Together to Prevent Armed Drones in Germany. commondreams.org "People are saying they cannot think of any peace movement struggle in recent years that has won such a striking victory. This brings hope to the whole peace movement." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/ban_drones_germany.jpg

John Kendall Hawkins (2020-12-23). Ralph Nader: He's a Cookbook! counterpunch.org "We can all sit down and have a few beers together while we wait." — Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart), The Petrified Forest (1936) Call before, you dig? — Utility notification for unmarked Internet cables from hippy who finally got a job The other day, minding my own business, and getting lots of unwanted help doing

Project Censored (2020-12-23). Sharyl Attkisson and Rachael Jolley. projectcensored.org In the first half of the show, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Sharyl Attkisson shares ideas from her new book "Slanted. " She contends that in recent years corporate and government forces have dramatically expanded their intervention into the conduct of journalism, to the extent that some types of investigative stories can no longer be reported. | Then Rachael Jolley, former editor-in-chief for the Index on Censorship, joins the program from the UK to explain how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the work of reporters — in Europe and elsewhere. She notes that even while the pandemic has…

Arielle Robinson (2020-12-23). With racism, red-baiting/Georgia run-off elections fail to focus on people's needs. workers.org By Arielle Robinson and Dianne Mathiowetz Atlanta, Georgia So what's it like living in the political circus of the Jan. 5, 2021, run-off in Georgia for U.S. Senate—while the deadly scourge of the pandemic rages, fear of mass evictions and the rise of poverty and unemployment grow, and incessant charges . . . |

G. Dunkel (2020-12-23). Black Lives Matter and France's Global Security Law. workers.org It is sometimes hard to realize the worldwide impact of the Black Lives Matter movement. Language, culture and media indifference can all get in the way. Some countries just don't have the type of events — protests, marches, rallies — for a variety of reasons, where the influence of BLM . . . |

South Front (2020-12-23). Video: US Navy Deploys Nuclear Submarine to Persian Gulf Amid Heightened Tensions with Iran. globalresearch.ca The Ohio-class nuclear submarine USS Georgia along with the guided-missile cruisers USS Port Royal and USS Philippine Sea transited the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Persian Gulf, the US Navy announced on December 21. | The guided-missile submarine USS Georgia …

commondreams (2020-12-23). The Lobby Behind Italy's Opening To GMOS. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Andrew Young, Nancy J. Altman (2020-12-23). The Future of Social Security Is on the Line in Georgia. commondreams.org Ossoff and Warnock understand that Americans of all political backgrounds rely on our earned Social Security benefits, and support protecting and expanding them. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/senior-ballot.jpeg