(2021-12-11). Much More Than Just Ukraine. moderndiplomacy.eu A war scare in Ukraine is a pivotal moment for the West. It tests transatlantic resolve, unity, and the very foundations of NATO. Failure to prevent potential Russian military advances or an unwillingness to respond if such a move occurs will likely cause an accentuation of internal divisions within NATO and the European Union (EU.) …
(2021-12-11). The Maidan massacre in Ukraine: revelations from trials and investigations. mronline.org 
The Maidan massacre trial and investigation produced overwhelming evidence that Maidan protesters were massacred by snipers at Maidan-controlled buildings, rather than by government snipers or Berkut policemen—who were nevertheless charged with the crime.
(2021-12-11). The U.S. national security establishment needs a paradigm shift. Now. moderndiplomacy.eu If you can sense one trend over the past weeks is that war is in the air, both on the Ukraine and the Taiwan fronts. That brings the world to a brink of war, and it seems like the US military establishment is interested in connecting the dots. They have been waiting for this for …
(2021-12-11). Erdogan's Bayraktar Bonanza. journal-neo.org 
On December 3, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Russian President Vladimir Putin. The heads of the two states spoke about Libya, Ukraine, and what is happening in Transcaucasia. While discussing the Ukrainian conflict, the Russian President stressed the importance of full and strict compliance with the Implementation of the 2015 Minsk Package of Measures …
(2021-12-11). 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…
(2021-12-11). [Comment] Offline: The origin story. thelancet.com The relationship between humans and animals is deep and ancient. The spread of our Early Bronze Age (3300—2500 BCE) ancestors from central Eurasia westwards into Europe and eastwards towards Mongolia depended on the domestication of horses, sheep, goats, and cattle. Migration is a defining characteristic of who we are as a species. But the extent of our migration has long been entwined with the fate of animals. These relationships are only growing more complex over time. One aspect of our association with animals has recently provoked a controversy of momentous geopolitical importance—the origin of SA…
(2021-12-11). Meeting of the Network of Action Committees for Safe Education in Germany: "We are at the beginning of great mass struggles of the working class" wsws.org At the meeting, nurses, educators, workers and students presented a terrible picture of the consequences of the official coronavirus policies.
(2021-12-11). Poland's Flagship Program Aimed at Improving Air Quality and Energy Efficiency. moderndiplomacy.eu The World Bank will lend EUR 250 million to Poland to help the country improve its air quality and energy efficiency. This financing was approved on Wednesday by the World Bank Group's Board of Executive Directors, who represent the institution's shareholders. In this new project, the World Bank will support the scale-up of the Clean …
(2021-12-11). Biden backs Ukrainian president's militarist policies in phone conversation. wsws.org With the backing of the Biden administration, the government of Voldymyr Zelensky continues to make a series of hostile decisions leading his country to war with Russia.
(2021-12-11). Western Militaries on the Doorsteps of Russia and China. zcomm.org Wild-eyed speculation about the Kremlin's intentions has so far run aground on Russia's apparent reluctance to engage in a shooting war that could spiral into a full-on nuclear holocaust…
(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). 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). 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). 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). Israel Pushes Hardline in Iran Nuclear Talks. dissidentvoice.org 
After a 5-month hiatus, indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran resumed last week in Vienna in an attempt to revise the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). The outlook isn't good. Less than a week into negotiations, Britain, France, and Germany accused Iran of "walking …
(2021-12-10). 60 Years After His Death, Fanon's Ideas Remain The Weapons Of The Oppressed. popularresistance.org Born and raised in what is still France's Caribbean island colony of Martinique, Fanon was exposed to and shaped by the everyday class and race relations that characterized the island in the early 20th century. Forced to join a segregated column of Black troops, he fought in World War II. Upon continuing his studies in post-war France, he came face to face with the racism that dominates the European world. In his first book, Black Skin, White Masks (1952), Fanon reflects on coming of age in a world, where, "For the black man there is only one destiny. And it is white." At the time of publication, Fanon had just t…
(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). 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). 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). Why Thousands Of Serbians Have Been Rallying Against Rio Tinto. 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. | The most famous name among those investors is Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto, which plans to build Europe's largest lithium mine in the Jadar Valley near the western city of Loznica. | The Serbian govern…
(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.