(2021-12-10). Extradiction of Assange Darkens Human Rights Day: Russia Says. telesurenglish.net On Friday, Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova harshly criticized the decision of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales to approve the extradition of WikiLeaks Julian Assange to the United States. | RELATED: | "The U.K. High Court has authorized Julian Assange's extradition to the United States. This shameful verdict as part of the political case is yet another manifestation of the Anglo-Saxon t…
(2021-12-10). NATO's Projectile Dysfunction: Deterring Russia and Ukrainian Bluffs. moderndiplomacy.eu The shrill lamentations over Ukraine are reaching fever pitch here in the United States: The New York Times discusses how Ukrainian commanders say a Russian invasion would overwhelm them. CNN reports that Biden promises withering sanctions if Russia invades. Military.com is devoting first page space on its site to how the US military could mobilize …
(2021-12-10). Russia-Ukraine Coverage Continues to Lack Insight. strategic-culture.org By Michael AVERKO | With the likes of CNN regularly giving puff segment to Kiev regime officials and other anti-Russian leaning sources, there's considerable room for Anglo-American mass media improvement in the analysis of Russian-Ukrainian issues. One of a limited exception of good analytical journalism on the subject, is the John Batch…
(2021-12-10). The Chief Outcome From the Two-Hour Biden-Putin Summit. strategic-culture.org By Eric ZUESSE | The two-hour December 7th Biden-Putin conversation (via video-conference) focused mainly on the conflict between Ukraine and its breakaway former Donbass region, which is in Ukraine's far east and borders on Russia. | In order to understand the conversation, some basic history that produced the current situation there needs to be stated, because this is the point-of-reference behind the summit-conversation that occurred on December 7th: | The 5 September 2014 Minsk Protocol, and its followup 12 February 2015 Minsk II Agreement, established the agreements between Ukraine and the Donbass breakaway…
(2021-12-10). The Fierce Determination of Ordinary People to Build an Extraordinary World. popularresistance.org United States President Joe Biden has suborned 111 countries to attend his Summit for Democracy on December 9—10, ending on Human Rights Day. 'We welcome all countries, organizations, and individuals to support the goals of the Summit', the US State Department wrote. However, there are 82 countries that have not been invited, including two large countries that are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the People's Republic of China and Russia) and two small countries from the Caribbean (Cuba and Haiti). In the name of democracy, the US government is pushing its own agenda to consolidate…
(2021-12-10). The "Summit for Democracy": Biden gathers anti-democratic forces against Russia and China. wsws.org The function of Biden's summit is to escalate global pressure on Russia and China while dressing this up as a defense of "democracy" against "autocracy."
(2021-12-10). Super serious news reporting: notes from the Edge of The Narrative Matrix. mronline.org 
Hi I'm a very serious news reporter. The Russians are controlling our thoughts with Facebook memes and scrambling our brains with invisible ray gun attacks. In other news, capitalism is working fine and our wars defend freedom and democracy. The government never lies. Here's Bob with the weather.
(2021-12-10). Parisian "Wheeling and Dealing" in the Persian Gulf. journal-neo.org 
The first official European assessment of the recent round of talks in Vienna between the representatives of Iran and those of the E3 (Great Britain, France, and Germany), Russia, China, and the US came, oddly enough, from Dubai, where the quick-witted French president Emmanuel Macron announced what he called the failure of the foregoing phase …
(2021-12-10). Between China and the AUKUS: The Future of Indonesia-France Strategic Partnership. moderndiplomacy.eu The regional tension between Indonesia and China was reaching a new stage. On December 1, 2021, some Chinese diplomats told Indonesia to halt the oil and gas exploration in Northern Natuna. Believing that the drilling was taking place in the Chinese territory, the Chinese authorities sent a protest letter towards the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign …
(2021-12-10). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Workers' strikes spread at Tiger Brands and Clover food manufacturers, South Africa as Sibanye-Stillwater gold miners close to strike over pay and work fatalities; national strike over three days by healthcare workers in Turkey over pay; sailors begin 48-hour pay strike in Greek ports; health and social care workers strike and demonstrate throughout France against exclusion from pay review…
(2021-12-10). Spanish Sculptor Charged For Putting Graffiti On Franco's Tomb. telesurenglish.net Spanish sculptor Eduardo Tenreiro faces up to two years in prison for having made graffiti on the tomb of the dictator Francisco Franco, which is located in the basilica of the Valley of the Fallen in Madrid. | RELATED: | In Oct. 2018, Tenreiro used red paint to drew a dove and write "For Freedom" above the headstone of the genocide who ruled Spain between 1939 and 1975. A photographer who accompanied him posted his…
(2021-12-10). Vienna Talks: Iran Says no Interactive, Flexible Attitude Seen on Other Side. orinocotribune.com The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry has said that while Iran entered talks in Vienna on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with an interactive and flexible attitude, "this was not the case for the other side." | Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks at a weekly presser on Monday, adding that the Vienna talks have not been halted and that the next round will kick off later this week. | The exact date will be determined by Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and the European Union's Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora soon, the spokesman said. | The seventh round of high-level talks between Iran and…
(2021-12-10). Internet Governance Forum promotes inclusive digital future for all. moderndiplomacy.eu Leveraging the power of the Internet while tackling the risks of cyberspace is the focus of a UN meeting underway in Katowice, Poland, this week. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) brings together more than 7,000 innovators, big tech executives, young people, ministers and parliamentarians to spur efforts to build an open, secure and free digital …
(2021-12-10). Assad, Syria and China's new Silk Road. orinocotribune.com 
By Matthew Ehret — Dec, 07 2021 | Count on Syria becoming an important West Asian hub in China's Belt and Road Initiative | Ever since Russia and China began challenging the Anglo-American scorched Earth doctrine in 2011 with their first vetoes against US intervention into Syria, the Gordian knots that have tied up the Arab world in chaos, division and ignorance for decades have finally begun to unravel. | Where just one decade ago the unipolar vision of the 'new American century' reigned unchallenged, by 2013 the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) had sprung into life, and the largest purges of China's deep sta…
(2021-12-10). The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union — Lessons for Socialists. liberationnews.org 
The Russian Revolution in 1917 brought the Bolsheviks to power. For the first time in history the working class seized and held state power. What was the experience of the Soviet Union? How did it change global politics in the 20th century? What did socialism achieve and what caused the Soviet Union to fall in 1991?>
(2021-12-10). "Hold the Line": Watch Filipina Journalist Maria Ressa's Full Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech. democracynow.org 
Filipina journalist Maria Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov accepted the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression." "There are so many more journalists persecuted in the shadows with neither exposure nor support, and governments are doubling down with impunity," said Ressa in her acceptance speech at Friday's Nobel ceremony, which we play in full.
(2021-12-10). Why Thousands Of Serbians Have Been Rallying Against Rio Tinto And The Government. popularresistance.org For two weekends in a row, thousands of demonstrators across Serbia have blocked major roads and brought the country to a standstill, concerned their land, water and air risk being exploited. They're angry over what they're calling a looming ecological disaster, and accusing the government of attempting to pass laws that would allow foreign investors to seize land, and disregard environmental regulations.
(2021-12-09). Biden's Empty Warning Over Putin's Straw Man "Invasion" dissidentvoice.org 
© Sputnik / Sergey Guneev As we enter the Christmas season that's just pantomime on Pennsylvania Avenue. The private video call which lasted two hours on Tuesday was eagerly anticipated around the world amid mounting tensions and fears of a military confrontation over Ukraine. The next day headlines in Western media outlets were laden with …
(2021-12-09). Ukraine: The Danger is NATO. libya360.wordpress.com Fabrizio Casari Putin-Biden summit focuses on Ukraine. Image: TASS The West had better abandon the war it has opened against Russia, China, India, Iran and others for absolute domination of the planet by a superpower that loses wars, markets and leadership every day. To think that the world will stand by while a decadent empire…
(2021-12-09). Biden-Putin Teleconference: Putin Rejects Biden's Demand That U.S. Take Control Over Negotiations Between Ukraine and Its Former Donbass Region. covertactionmagazine.com The two-hour December 7th Biden-Putin conversation (via video-conference) focused mainly on the conflict between Ukraine and its breakaway former Donbass …
(2021-12-09). Ukrainian Crisis: Are We on the Verge of WWIII or Pax Multipolarity? strategic-culture.org 
The highpoint in the Ukrainian crisis and the big visits by Nuland to Moscow and Austin to Kiev might actually be attempts by Washington to make lemons out of lemonade, Tim Kirby writes. | The Mainstream Media Eye of Sauron has turned its horrid gaze to the Ukraine. This is always cause for concern because it indicates that this is what the elites want America to be focusing on. This would not be so much of a problem if this growing game of chicken in the Donbass did not resemble a Cuban Missile Crisis for the 21st century. The Mainstream Media's headlines read of warnings to Russia not to attack, and move their…
(2021-12-09). China Winter Olympics: US Boycott. dissidentvoice.org 
President Biden, in full mood of marking "red lines" against Russia and Ukraine in a virtual meeting with Vladimir Putin, does not forget the importance of boycotting China's Winter Olympic Games. It's a diplomatic boycott only, so says Madame Jen Psaki, White House press secretary. Nevertheless, she and Biden are wishing the US sport-participants best …
(2021-12-09). China, Russia: 'Summit For Democracy' Is US Propaganda As Usual. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, China and Russia denounced that President Joe Biden's "Summit for Democracy" is a propaganda event that only serves the U.S. own interests. | RELATED: | China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin slammed the virtual meeting, saying that it has nothing to do with international justice or democracy, but rather about serving the U.S. own selfish gains and maintaining its hegemony. | "This is another example…
(2021-12-09). Does the Deepening Crisis in Turkey Manifest an End to the Erdogan Era? journal-neo.org 
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is experiencing his worst moments as head of state today. Social and political tensions in the country are becoming increasingly evident. The economy is collapsing, the value of the national currency is relentlessly falling, and the number of poor people is skyrocketing. According to recently published data, the nation's citizens …
(2021-12-09). Talks Resume in Vienna With Iran on the Nuclear Deal. telesurenglish.net After a few days of pause, negotiations resume in Vienna between Iran and the world powers with the aim of saving the nuclear agreement of 2015. The diplomatic representatives of the signatory countries insisted that Tehran return with "more realistic proposals," calling the previous ones unacceptable. | Enrique Mora, European Union legislator arrives for a Joint Commission Iran talks meeting in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 29, 2021.
(2021-12-09). EU Seeks To Offer Legal Protection to Digital Platform Workers. telesurenglish.net The European Union presented a program proposal to clarify the legal status of digital workers, which represent a significant portion of the population. | RELATED: | The Commission says it aims to establish a solid status for that percentage of the population who work as delivery drivers, chauffeurs and couriers, which European companies consider to be self-employed in the provision of services. | The Commission will use…
(2021-12-09). How Europe's "Shadow Immigration System" Pays Libyan Militias to Jail Migrants in Brutal Conditions. democracynow.org 
An explosive new investigation details how the European Union has created a shadow immigration system that captures migrants arriving from Africa before they reach Europe and sends them to brutal militia-run detention centers in Libya. "This is a climate migration story," says Ian Urbina, investigative journalist and director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, who authored the report for The New Yorker magazine. "The policy of the EU of outsourcing migration control to a failed state in Libya … is a really doomed strategy, and it's only going to get more perilous as more waves of people start trying to reach safer pl…
(2021-12-09). EU has Launched its Own Quasi-BRI, Where Should Russia Stand? journal-neo.org 
This year on 1 December the European Commission — that is, the de facto government of the EU — launched a project which, if successful, may raise the Union to an entirely new level of significance in the international arena, making it one of the leading players in the modern "Great Game" of world politics. …
(2021-12-09). "An Outrage": House Passes Largest Military Budget in Generations Despite End of Afghanistan War. democracynow.org 
President Biden may soon approve the largest military spending bill since World War II, which ramps up spending to counter China and Russia. Separately, the Senate voted down a bipartisan bid by Senators Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul and Mike Lee to halt $650 million in U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid the devastating ongoing war in Yemen. "The last thing we need to do is be throwing more money at the Pentagon," says William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy. "This whole idea that China and Russia are military threats to the United States has primarily been…
(2021-12-09). Palestine Action Acquitted In First Trial. popularresistance.org United Kingdom – Three activists who defaced an Israeli drone engines factory in the UK were found not guilty of criminal damage on Monday. | The two-day trial took place at Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates Court, near Stoke-on-Trent in central England. | Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori told The Electronic Intifada that the victory showed they were on the right track. | "We're going to continue to take direct action in order to shut down and undermine Israel's arms trade," she said. | It was reassuring to have court backing for taking action against Israeli arms makers, she added, and that "to disrupt the…