2019-12-05: News Headlines

Staff (2019-12-05). U.S. Considers Sending Several Thousand More Troops to Mideast. truthdig.com The news comes amid reports of escalating violence in Iran and meddling by Tehran in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the region.

John Wojcik (2019-12-05). Pelosi calls upon House Judiciary Committee to write articles of impeachment. peoplesworld.org In an historic address to the nation this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that the Congress of the United States is moving forward for the fourth time in the nation's history to impeach the president of the United States. Her announcement was a rejection of the argument mounted yesterday before the Judiciary Committee by …

Joan Walsh (2019-12-05). The GOP Grievance Machine's Desperate Attempt to Upstage the Case for Impeachment. thenation.com The faux outrage was triggered when an impeachment witness used the name of the president's teenage son to make a point. It didn't work.

John Bachtell (2019-12-05). Ukraine scandal involves a trifecta of unconstitutional Trump abuses. peoplesworld.org The impeachment of a U.S. president for the fourth time in history is more serious than any of the three that have gone before it. This time there is before the American people proof that Donald Trump is guilty of a trifecta of "high crimes and misdemeanors" stipulated in the Constitution as impeachable offenses. He …

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2019-12-05). When imperialism targets Cuban doctors, it targets human solidarity. peoplesworld.org News item: Three right-wing Latin American governments have forced out Cuban doctors working in their countries. Over 8,000 of them departed from Brazil in late 2018 and 382 doctors left Ecuador in mid-November 2019. Some 700 Cuban doctors exited Bolivia after the coup there on Nov. 10. Brazilian President Bolsonaro alleged that Cuban doctors were …

Staff (2019-12-05). Tufts University Severs Ties with Family Behind OxyContin. truthdig.com BOSTON — Tufts University is cutting ties with the billionaire family that owns OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, saying it will strip the Sackler name from its campus and accept no further donations amid concerns over the family's role in the opioid crisis. | University officials announced the decision Thursday, ending a relationship that has spanned nearly four decades and brought $15 million to the school's science and medical programs. Tufts leaders said they considered the issue for more than a year before concluding it is inconsistent with the school's values to display the family's name. | "We had to de…

Janine Jackson (2019-12-05). 'Giuliani Did All the Wrong Things on That Day' – CounterSpin interview with Wayne Barrett on Rudy Giuliani and 9/11. fair.org Janine Jackson interviewed the Village Voice's Wayne Barrett about Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 for the August 17, 2007, episode of CounterSpin; that conversation was rebroadcast for the November 29, 2019, show. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…

Janine Jackson (2019-12-05). 'It's This Culture of Secrecy That's Pervading the Courts' – CounterSpin interview with Melissa Goodman on the PATRIOT Act. fair.org Janine Jackson interviewed the ACLU's Melissa Goodman about the PATRIOT Act for the September 30, 2005, episode of CounterSpin—a conversation that was reaired on the November 29, 2019, show. This is a lightly edited transcript of the rebroadcast. | Media…

George Ochenski (2019-12-05). Another Utility Disaster Headed Our Way. counterpunch.org Twenty years ago Montana's Republicans enacted the worst and most costly public policy decision in the state's history. Overwhelming Republican majorities in the state legislature and Republican Gov. Marc Racicot colluded to launch a very complex bill hundreds of pages long near the very end of the legislative session that would overturn the historic regulation More

Dean Baker (2019-12-05). The Big Deal in Warren's Prescription Drug Plan. counterpunch.org Earlier this month, Senator Warren put out a set of steps that she would put forward as president as part of a transition to Medicare for All. The items that got the most attention were including everyone over age 50 and under age 18 in Medicare, and providing people of all ages with the option More

Nick Pemberton (2019-12-05). Gen Z and Free Speech. counterpunch.org Women and people of color feel more socially empowered than past generations even as economic prospects become slimmer and slimmer. This has led to a reactionary boomer weaponization against the marginalized and their allies that takes its form in a myriad of ways. One of these ways, perhaps not the most harmful and certainly one of the more legally acceptable is the use of free speech as a weapon of oppression. More

Bob Lord (2019-12-05). The U-Turn That Made America Staggeringly Unequal. counterpunch.org Wealth in America has concentrated — and dramatically so — over the past four decades. Since 1980, note wealth researchers Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, the top 0.1 percent share of the nation's total wealth has more than doubled, from under 10 percent in 1980 to over 20 percent today. In a nation of over More

Colin Todhunter (2019-12-05). Don't Look, Don't See: Time for Honest Media Reporting on Impacts of Pesticides. counterpunch.org The UK-based Independent online newspaper recently published an article about a potential link between air pollution from vehicles and glaucoma. It stated that according to a new study air pollution is linked to the eye condition that causes blindness. The report explained that researchers had looked at vision tests carried out on more than 111,000 people across Britain between 2006 and 2010 and cross-referenced results against levels of air pollution in their neighbourhoods. Those living in areas with higher amounts of fine particulate matter were at least 6% more likely to have glaucoma than those in the least…

The Canary (2019-12-05). Harry Dunn's parents write to Dominic Raab seeking an 'urgent' meeting to 'find a way forward'. thecanary.co The parents of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have written to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in a bid to reach "common ground".The 19-year-old's mother Charlotte Charles and father Tim Dunn have requested a further meeting with Mr Raab "urgently" and would attend in "good faith".In the letter, Harry's family have said their position is that the Foreign Secretary should be approaching them for a meeting, but they have reached out to "find a way forward" after their recent public exchanges.Last month, Harry's father travelled to Raab's constituency in Esher and Walton in order to confront him over his handling of…

Ben Chacko (2019-12-05). Indian Communists fighting against Modi government's racist citizenship bill. peoplesworld.org The Narendra Modi government's approval of a racist citizenship law shows that it has "no idea about the history and the sacrifices of our freedom struggle," leading Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politician Brinda Karat has charged. Karat denounced the ruling BJP's Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), which the cabinet approved on Wednesday, and warned the …

Doctors for Assange (2019-12-05). Medical Doctors Protest Failure of UK Home Secretary to Act on Mr Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca Medical doctors who wrote to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel last month calling for urgent action to protect the life of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have today issued a further urgent appeal. | Despite worldwide media coverage of their open …

Binoy Kampmark (2019-12-05). Spying on Assange: the Spanish Case Takes a Turn. counterpunch.org Judge José de la Mata of Spain's High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, had been facing a good deal of stonewalling on the part of his British colleagues. He is overseeing an investigation into the surveillance activities of a Spanish security firm aimed at WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, during his stay at the Ecuadorean embassy in More

WSWS (2019-12-05). Doctors condemn failure of British government to answer letter demanding medical care for Julian Assange. wsws.org The doctors state that "the UK government's refusal to take the required measures to protect Mr Assange's rights, health and dignity appears…unlawfully and unnecessarily exposes Mr Assange to potentially irreversible medical risks."

WSWS (2019-12-05). Australian teenagers call for support for Julian Assange. wsws.org "The only way to help Assange is a mass of people having his back and supporting him so that they have to release him because the people are against it."

WSWS (2019-12-05). Mueller probe accessed the Google account of Assange supporter Somerset Bean. wsws.org Somerset Bean, an artist and political activist, who has been a staunch supporter of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, revealed on Monday that Google was compelled by court order to provide the US authorities access to his online account.

Ben Norton (2019-12-05). Operation Condor 2.0: After Bolivia Coup, Trump Dubs Nicaragua 'National Security Threat' and Targets Mexico. globalresearch.ca Note from The Grayzone's editor: This article was updated on November 29 with more information about US sanctions against Nicaragua. | After presiding over a far-right coup in Bolivia, the US dubbed Nicaragua a "national security threat" and announced new sanctions, …

Wyatt Reed (2019-12-05). How middle class Bolivia learned to stop worrying and love the coup. thegrayzone.com In and around La Paz, middle class Bolivians have fallen under the spell of the junta's propaganda campaign against Evo…

Staff (2019-12-05). Mexican Immigration Officials Destroy Asylum Seekers' Tents. truthout.org Mexican immigration officials arrived at a refugee camp in Matamoros, Mexico early Tuesday morning bearing machetes used to destroy unoccupied tents left behind by Mexican asylum seekers, according to multiple camp residents who witnessed the event. | Both refugees and volunteers said that an estimated 60 families, all Mexican nationals, were granted permission by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to cross the bridge and begin processing in the middle of the night on Monday. | Guidelines provided by CBP ind…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-12-05). Global Warming and the Ozone Layer: What's More Dangerous, CO2 or Nuclear War? globalresearch.ca Prof. Max Gluckman (1911-1975) showed how ritualized forms of rebellion against those in power "through a controlled expression of hostility" ultimately leads to the reinforcement of the established structures of authority. Is that not what is happening today? The movement against capitalism is funded and supported by capitalism.

Staff (2019-12-05). Edward Snowden: In the US, I Would Likely Die in Prison for Telling the Truth. truthout.org The Right Livelihood Awards celebrated their 40th anniversary Wednesday at the historic Cirkus Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, where more than a thousand people gathered to celebrate this year's four laureates: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; Chinese women's rights lawyer Guo Jianmei, Brazilian indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa and the organization he co-founded, the Yanomami Hutukara Association; and Sahrawi human rights leader Aminatou Haidar, who has challenged the Moroccan occupation of We…

Susie Day (2019-12-05). The Mad Activist Impeaches Western Culture. counterpunch.org Dear Hot-to-Impeach Congressional Democrats, I thought of you when I read "Why the Ukraine Scheme Matters," the November 25 editorial in the New York Times. As usual, Times syntax and grammar are superb and the editors' argumentation skills fully justify the current high tuition rates at name universities. So, congrats, Impeacho-crats! The Times delivered your More

IMEMC News (2019-12-05). Army Demolishes A Garage, Carwash Structure, Near Bethlehem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers invaded, Thursday, the village of al-Walaja, west of Bethlehem, south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank, before demolishing a garage, and a carwash facility. Nonviolent activist, Ibrahim Awad, said the two demolished structures are owned by a local man, identified as Husam Khalifa. He added that the …

Ann Garrison (2019-12-05). Congo: Millions Die While the "UN Keeps the Peace" globalresearch.ca In its most recent report to the UN Security Council, the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) blandly recounted "progress" in service to their mission, but what is their mission? Up until 2013, MONUSCO had …

S. Brian Willson (2019-12-05). The Grotesque Immorality of the US War Against Vietnam. Veterans For Peace Brian Willson. globalresearch.ca First published in May 2016 | Celebration of Memorial Day in the US, originally Decoration Day, commenced shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War. This is a national holiday to remember the people who died while serving in the armed …

Jason Ditz (2019-12-05). Trump Seeks Another $250 Million in Lethal Aid for Ukraine. theantimedia.com With other nations trying to help Ukraine negotiate a deal to end that situation peacefully, the US keeps pouring weapons into the country.

DARIN (2019-12-05). Chuck Herrick Peace and Freedom Memorial Park. indybay.org Clearly Indybay media should also topic Anarcho-Geography* as well as Anarcho-Urban Studies**. Berkeley, California. Consider this to be under the topical influence of Urban Direct Action within a their-storical contemplative premise. [*For more on this topic see Prof. Simon Springer.] [**On this topic I would personally field any inquiry.]…

Andrew Korybko (2019-12-05). Biased Media Coverage of Iranian Unrest and Protest Movement. globalresearch.ca The Mainstream Media is pushing forth the weaponized narrative that the Iranian government is carrying out a cover-up of mass killings that supposedly occurred during its recent unrest, though this is nothing more than an infowar conspiracy designed to make …

IMEMC & Agencies (2019-12-05). Great March of Return to Resume Next Friday. imemc.org The High National Committee for the March of Return and Breaking the Siege in the Gaza Strip has announced that the border protests will resume next Friday, Days of Palestine reported. In a meeting held on Monday, members of the National Committee discussed several important issues and affirmed in a …

IMEMC News (2019-12-05). Soldiers Abduct One Palestinian, Injure Many Schoolgirls, In Jerusalem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday afternoon, one Palestinian and injured many schoolgirls in Anata Palestinian town, northeast of occupied Jerusalem. Najwa Refa'ey, the principal of Anata H School for Girls, said many army jeeps invaded the street in front of the school, and attacked many young men who protested the …

Staff (2019-12-05). ALEC-Crafted Laws Could Send Me to Prison for a Decade for My Activism. truthout.org This week, corporate executives and legislators from around the country are gathering in Scottsdale, Arizona, for the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) annual States and Nation Policy Summit, where they will craft policies to introduce into state legislatures. More than a dozen groups have protested outside the meeting. ALEC is a shadowy group — meeting in secret, hiding its membership, and prohibiting journalists and the public from observing its activities. Various watchdogs ha…

Sara Flounders (2019-12-05). Crimes against Humanity: US Sanctions Harm One Third of World's People. globalresearch.ca The most insidious and pervasive form of modern warfare by Wall Street and the Pentagon, acting in coordination, is passing largely unnoticed and unchallenged. This calculated attack is rolling back decades of progress in health care, sanitation, housing, essential infrastructure …

Jason Ditz (2019-12-05). Trump Considers 14,000 Troop Deployment to Middle East to 'Counter Iran'. globalresearch.ca In the past six months, the US has been playing up the idea of threats posed by Iran, and has been steadily announcing new deployments into the Middle East, mostly to Saudi Arabia and the vicinity, and very publicly aimed …

Pepe Escobar (2019-12-05). New Silk Roads in Action at China-Kazakh Border. globalresearch.ca We are cruising on a pristine, 380 km-long four-lane superhighway from Almaty to Khorgos — finished in 2016 for $1.25 billion, 85% of the cost covered by a World Bank loan. And then, suddenly, riding parallel to us, there's the …

Microwave News (2019-12-05). The Relationship between Cell Phones and Cancer? The Health Impacts of RF Radiation. WHO Report. globalresearch.ca After eight years of work, the World Health Organization ( WHO) is reopening its review of the health effects of RF radiation for a summary report intended to serve as a benchmark for its more than 150 member countries. …

Douglas Valentine (2019-12-05). Inside the CIA: An Interview with Douglas Valentine. globalresearch.ca In the following interview, Valentine reflects on a variety of issues including the Phoenix Program, plausible deniability, paramilitary wars, drug trafficking, sabotage, blackmail, propaganda, Operation GLADIO, class interests of the CIA establishment, Trump, the Mueller Report and the Bidens. | Heidi …

Abayomi Azikiwe (2019-12-05). Harriet Tubman Film Highlights the Leading Role of Africans in Their Own Liberation. globalresearch.ca Title: Harriet | Director: Kasi Lemmons | Producers: Gregory Allen Howard, Debra Martin Chase, Daniela Taplin Lundberg | Screenplay: Gregory Allen Howard, Kasi Lemmons | Starring: Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman along with Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn and Janelle Monáe | Since the conclusion …

Western Values Project (2019-12-05). Grand Canyon Under Threat as Trump's Nuclear Working Group Considers Allowing Uranium Mining. globalresearch.ca Right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation have previously recommended revoking the mineral withdrawal area, which would again allow dangerous uranium mining around Grand Canyon National Park. Meanwhile, the White House Nuclear Fuel Working Group — a working group reviewing how …

Abayomi Azikiwe (2019-12-05). Detroit Demolition Bond Proposal Defeated Amid Mass Discontent. globalresearch.ca On November 19, the Detroit City Council voted down a bond proposal advanced by corporate-imposed Mayor Mike Duggan ostensibly designed to eliminate blighted residential properties in this overwhelmingly impoverished African American municipality. | The latest bond initiative came to the city's …

Larry Romanoff (2019-12-05). China's High-Speed Trains. globalresearch.ca One of the great advantages of train travel compared to flying is the saving in wasted time. A flight in most any country normally involves a one-hour trip to the airport with a requirement to arrive at least 1.5 hours …

Prof. John McMurtry (2019-12-05). Global Poverty: How the Rich Eat the Poor and the World. globalresearch.ca 62 individuals — 388 in 2010 — now own more wealth than 50% of the world's population. More shockingly, this share of wealth by half of the world's people has collapsed by over 40% in the last five years.

Equipe Phonegate (2019-12-05). Increased Incidence of Brain Cancer. Caused by Exposure to Pesticides and Electromagnetic Fields? globalresearch.ca In July 2019 (updated in September 2019), the French Public Health Agency " Santé Publique France", together with the Francim cancer registries, the Hospices Civils de Lyon and the Institut National du Cancer, published national estimates of cancer incidence …

Larry Romanoff (2019-12-05). Arbitrary Law Enforcement in the US. globalresearch.ca Glenn Greenwald wrote that "the most extremist power any political leader can assert is the power to target his own citizens for execution without any charges or due process, far from any battlefield. The US administration has not only asserted …

Staff (2019-12-05). Wealthy Nations Are Condemning Hundreds of Millions to Suffer. truthdig.com Only by sharing technologies and giving trillions to the U.N. can the West protect developing countries from the effects of climate change.

Staff (2019-12-05). DeVos Accused of Scheming to Stop Next President From Canceling Student Debt. truthout.org Billionaire Education Secretary Betsy DeVos this week proposed handing over the federal government's $1.5 trillion student loan portfolio to a "stand-alone government corporation," a move observers condemned as a corrupt ploy to strip the next president of the ability to cancel student loan debt. | "This very much appears to be a Betsy DeVos scheme to block the next president from unilaterally forgiving f…

Hank Edson (2019-12-05). Professor Turley Is Dead Wrong on Impeachment and Here's Why. commondreams.org Professor Jonathan Turley testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about Impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol December 4, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/turley.jpg