The People of India Are Taking It to the Streets to Challenge Modi's Bigoted and Dishonest Government
Vijay Prashad | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
Every day and in every part of India, hundreds of thousands of people–mainly young people–gather on the streets to express their anger at the government. Their protests, like those of the protests in Chile, emerged out of one particular grievance but then have cascaded outward. They are angry at the government's attempt to define citizenship…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/the-people-of-india-are-taking-it-to-the-streets-to-challenge-modis-bigoted-and-dishonest-government/
Space Warriors: Democrats Give Trump His Space Force for Xmas
Karl Grossman | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
President Trump last week signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020 that establishes a U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces–despite the Outer Space Treaty designating space as a global commons to be used for peaceful purposes. Reported Space News:…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/space-warriors-democrats-give-trump-his-space-force-for-xmas/
Six social leaders assassinated in past week in Colombia
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-27
The humanitarian tragedy in Colombia continues. In the past five days, too many families and communities have been shaken by the loss of loved ones who were targeted because of their commitment to fighting for peace and justice in the country. | Despite constant demands from movements to the government to take measures to protect the lives of social leaders, assassinations continue to occur with impunity. | Reinaldo Carrillo Vera: | Early on Christmas morning, while Reinaldo Carrillo Vera was celebrating with his family, three armed men came to his home on motorcycles and shot at him. He was immediately t…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/27/six-social-leaders-assassinated-in-past-week-in-colombia/
"Get Up, Stand Up for Your Rights" at Demo: Justice for Killed Protesters in Iran
R. Robertson | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
13 second video. | Photos and full text at | www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/26/18829250.php…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/27/18829259.php
Iranian Americans in Palo Alto Join Day Honoring Iran's Deceased Demonstrators
R. Robertson | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
On December 26, Iranian government security forces deployed en masse to keep people off the streets across Iran. Despite this, protesters gathered in small groups, at cemeteries but also on the streets in many cities in the Islamic Republic. In Palo Alto, California, protesters in solidarity with Iranian demonstrators gathered in a downtown plaza.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/26/18829250.php
Housing Justice Village Arrestees Respond to Jailing by City of Oakland
Dave Id | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
In a political show of force, the city of Oakland directed a small army of police to mass arrest and jail 22 housing rights demonstrators on November 24, for nothing more than setting up tents in front of city hall to protest the city's never ending war against the homeless. Most arrestees spent at least 24 hours in Santa Rita, and some remained jailed for over two days, on what would otherwise be a citable infraction. On December 2, arrestees held a press conference to address the city's attack and why they protested in the first place.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/26/18829176.php
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Orders Mass Arrest of Housing Justice Village Protesters
Dave Id | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
An inspirational day of solidarity with unhoused Oaklanders turned into a traumatic night after mayor Libby Schaaf directed a small army of police and DPW workers to smash a housing rights protest held on the doorstep of City Hall. For daring to challenge the Oakland's never ending war against the homeless — the city's encampment demolitions and evictions, the towing of residential vehicles, and a lack of earnestness and urgency in addressing the housing crisis — twenty-two people were arrested and sent to Santa Rita jail, some for over two days.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/23/18829113.php
On the Road to Gaza: The Freedom Flotilla Will Sail Again
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
What is Gaza to us but an Israeli missile, a rudimentary rocket, a demolished home, an injured child being whisked away by his peers under a hail of bullets? On a daily basis, Gaza is conveyed to us as a bloody image or a dramatic video, none of which can truly capture the everyday reality…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/on-the-road-to-gaza-the-freedom-flotilla-will-sail-again/
From a Blessing to a Curse: How UN Resolution 2334 Accelerated Israel's Colonization in the West Bank
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
Three years ago, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334. With fourteen members voting in favor and one abstention, the Resolution was the equivalent of a political earthquake. Indeed, it was the first time in many years that Israel was roundly condemned by the international body for its illegal settlement policies in the Occupied…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/from-a-blessing-to-a-curse-how-un-resolution-2334-accelerated-israels-colonization-in-the-west-bank/
Israel Bombs Gaza For Xmas, Israel Threatens To Attack All Helping Iran & Saudis Bomb Yemen Market
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-27
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 (12/26/19). 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/israel-bombs-gaza-for-xmas-israel-threatens-attack-all-helping-iran-saudis-bomb-yemen-market/
The Fascinating History and Political Lives of Jews in Iran
Ariel Gold | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
On December 14, 2019, a white male entered the Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills, vandalizing the sanctuary. He unrolled Torah scrolls, strewed them across the floor, and tore prayer books. Four days later, police arrested 24-year-old Anton Nathaniel Redding of Millersville, Pennsylvania, and charged him with vandalism of religious property, commercial burglary, and committing a…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/the-fascinating-history-and-political-lives-of-jews-in-iran/
Fast Food Nations and Global Nutrition
Colin Todhunter | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
Daniel Maingi works with small farmers in Kenya and belongs to the organisation Growth Partners for Africa. He remembers a time when his family would grow and eat a diversity of crops, such as mung beans, green grams, pigeon peas and a variety of fruits now considered 'wild'. Following the Structural Adjustment Programmes of the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/fast-food-nations-and-global-nutrition/
The Looming U.S. Water Crisis
Andreea Sterea | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
According to the World Economic Forum, the global water crisis is the fourth major threat of our civilization. In fact, studies warn that two-thirds of the global population could be living in water-stressed countries by 2025 — just a few short years away. When we think about water scarcity, many Americans may immediately call to…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/the-looming-u-s-water-crisis/
Greedy Old Plutocrats
William Manson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
In his book Totem and Taboo, Sigmund Freud indulged in a speculative scenario for the origins of society. Everyone, young and old alike, once lived together in a "primal horde"– ruled by an aging, domineering father-figure, who selfishly monopolized the women for his own satisfaction. But one day (so to speak), the deprived "sons" defiantly…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/greedy-old-plutocrats/
Boris Johnson, the Moral Runaway
Brian Cloughley | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
In CounterPunch in July 2016 I noted that the then British foreign minister, Boris Johnson, "is a twofaced, devious, posturing piece of slime who can't be trusted to tell the time of day" who began his career as a journalist and was sacked by The Times newspaper for fabricating a quotation to back up a story. Then in 2004 he told an outrageous lie concerning his…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/boris-johnson-the-moral-runaway/
Los Angeles Roars for "Azadi!" Reflections on an Indian Solidarity Action in Southern California
Sarang Narasimhaiah | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
For two full hours yesterday afternoon, Los Angeles' Grand Park reverberated with the simultaneously furious and joyous roars of "Azadi!" ("Freedom!") and "Inquilab Zindabad!" ("Love Live the Revolution!"). Indians, South Asians, and Americans from various backgrounds came together to demonstrate their opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/los-angeles-roars-for-azadi-reflections-on-an-indian-solidarity-action-in-southern-california/
What's Wrong With Malthus
Louis Proyect | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
In the recently published "Limits: Why Malthus Was Wrong and Why Environmentalists Should Care," Giorgos Kallis tackles weighty and expansive topics in merely 156 pages. One cannot help but wonder if his brevity (the soul of wit, after all) was in keeping with the book's theme–how humanity can live an abundant life within material limits.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/whats-wrong-with-malthus/
The Right to a Good NIght's Sleep
Lori Teresa Yearwood | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
I barely slept during the full two years I was homeless. One night, at around 3 a.m., after hours of searching for a spot, I curled up on a portion of soft, thick grass. An hour later, automatic sprinklers drenched me. I sloshed to the edges of a wilderness park in Salt Lake City, where…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/the-right-to-a-good-nights-sleep/
The UK Election: a Postmortem
Kenneth Surin | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
The various statistical analyses of the UK general election result have been coming in, and they allow some interesting and perhaps important observations to be made. The perception that it was Leave voters switching from Labour to Tory en masse who cost Labour the election has to be qualified by the fact that Labour lost…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/the-uk-election-a-postmortem/
The MEK in Albania
Robert Fantina | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
The following is an interview I conducted via email with Osli Jazexhi, an Albanian-based, Canadian-Albanian historian who specializes in the history of Islam, nationalism and religious reformation in Southeastern Europe. His interest covers nationalism, radicalism, religious and ethnic identities in the Balkans. The interview was conducted between December 17 and 19. How popular is MEK…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/the-mek-in-albania/
Kurt Vonnegut: Anarchist and Social Critic
Gaither Stewart | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
After my early enthusiasm about the writer Kurt Vonnegut, I became skeptical. Was he a phony? After I met him, his lifestyle in his sumptuous Manhattan East Side town house bothered me and seemed to belie his satires of that same life. Even the adoration for him in Europe at the time sharpened my suspicions…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/kurt-vonnegut-anarchist-and-social-critic/
Big City, Small Farmers, and a Dying River
Shalini Singh | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
"Insaan ab na jhagde se marega na ragade se marega tho bhook aur pyas se." "Humankind will now die not of conflict or stress But of hunger and thirst." So, it's not just science ringing alarm bells about climate change then. India's literary epics had it nailed down ages ago, asserts 75-year-old Delhi farmer Shiv…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/big-city-small-farmers-and-a-dying-river/
COP25: Never Have so Many Governments Done So Little for So Many
Pete Dolack | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
It's said that it is better to laugh than cry. But what do we do when a situation has become so beyond parody that laughter is impossible? As Australia burns, the world is about to finish its second hottest year ever, the seas rise, polar melting is worse than previously modeled and the sixth mass…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/cop25-never-have-so-many-governments-done-so-little-for-so-many/
Sanders After Corbyn: The Jewish Question
Andrew Levine | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
The hordes of Democratic Party pundits, anti-Trump Republicans, and former national security state functionaries who supply CNN and MSNBC with endless streams of jibber-jabber, along with their counterparts at The New York Times and Washington Post, are pulling out all the stops — trying to convince Democrats that only a "moderate" can defeat Donald Trump. They speak for the dead center, and they are dead wrong.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/sanders-after-corbyn-the-jewish-question/
On Those Questionable US Wage Stats…Again
Jack Rasmus | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
In recent months, various independent business and research sources have been raising questions about the accuracy of US official job and wage statistics. Several more sources have joined the discussion, questioning the oft-cited official–and widespread mainstream press reported–3.1% annual rise in US wages the past year. As many have indicated, the 3.1% grossly over-estimates recent…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/on-those-questionable-us-wage-statsagain/
Across the Balkans: Srebrenica
Matthew Stevenson | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
An account of a journey from Croatia to Kosovo, by way of Bosnia-Hercegovina and Serbia, and with a detour into Montenegro. This is part VI of a series. While I was in Sarajevo–hiding from the snow in Austrian cafés and reading Tim Butcher's book about Gavrilo Princip–I spent a lot of time planning how I…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/across-the-balkans-srebrenica/
The Military and Climate Change/Justice
Judith Deutsch | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-27
The world situation is much worse than generally acknowledged. This last December, the coinciding meetings of NATO and of the climate change Congress of Parties (COP25) were barely reported, much less analyzed, even though the delegates held the fate of humanity in their hands. To some degree, their unelected delegates are not accountable to the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/27/the-military-and-climate-change-justice/
Venezuela's Economy Will Grow in 2020 Despite US Blockade
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-27
In an interview with the international news agency Xinhua, the Venezuelan economist, Jesus Faria said that economic recovery is the number one issue on the country's agenda for 2020. | RELATED: | Venezuelan Oil Production Sets Historical Record in November | The also former Minister of Foreign Trade and International Investment of Venezuela (2016-2017) stated that "there is a perceived activation of trade and some productive activities as well as a stabilization of the oil activi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuelas-Economy-Will-Grow-in-2020-Despite-US-Blockade-20191226-0019.html
Criminal War Monger Pelosi & Demos Appropriate Millions For War On Venezuela
repost | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
Criminal war monger Demo leader Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats joined Trump in supporting tens of millions of dollars to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/24/18829164.php
Turkey announces troop deployment in Libya
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-27
The move is being seen as part of Turkey's attempts to consolidate its position as a regional hegemon. The actual deployment of troops will take place once the Turkish parliament ratifies the decision…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/27/turkey-announces-troop-deployment-in-libya/
Erdogan vows to send Turkish troops into Libya
wsws.org | 2019-12-27
The Turkish deployment in Libya will escalate increasing tensions involving Washington, Moscow and NATO.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/27/turk-d27.html
Lula To Fight Neoliberalism to Restore Democracy in Brazil
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-27
The former president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said Thursday that he has the will to fight to restore democracy in his country and to fight against the current situation of people under the government of Jair Bolsonaro. | RELATED: | Brazil's Senate Advances Bill That May Send Lula Back to Prison | In an exclusive interview for teleSUR, the Workers Party leader reiterated that the South American nation has "all the conditions to recover a democratic debate … and co…
telesurenglish.net/news/lula-to-fight-neoliberalism-and-restore-democracy-in-brazil–20191226-0020.html
'I'm still scared' – Asia remembers tsunami that killed 230,000
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-27
Communities across Asia commemorated the more than 230,000 victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Thursday, the 15th anniversary of one of the world's most deadly disasters. | On the morning after Christmas Day in 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off northern Sumatra island triggered a tsunami with waves as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet) that swept over vulnerable coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries. | "It still haunts me … I can remember it all the time," said Suwannee Maliwan, 28, who lost both parents and five other relatives when the tsunami hit the Thai province of…
telesurenglish.net/news/Im-still-scared—Asia-remembers-tsunami-that-killed-230000-20191226-0011.html
Bloomberg, Steyer spend $200 million on Democratic nomination fight
wsws.org | 2019-12-27
The two billionaires combined have outspent the rest of the Democrat field three times over.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/27/dems-d27.html
Kwanzaa our "California Grown" Global Celebration, "Matunda ya Kwanza"
2019 Dr. Maulana Karenga Message | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
Imani (Faith) reminds us of the indispensable foundation of confident, righteous and rewarding belief, calling on us "to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our leaders, our teachers and the righteousness and victory of our struggle." In remembrance of Khalid Al Mansour…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/24/18829156.php
In Mountain View, Seasonal and Humorous Signs at Eve of Impeachment Demo on Four Corners
Text: RR Photos: Jack Owicki, Pro Bono Photo | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
Demonstrators leaned in toward passing traffic to show off their creative signs on Impeachment Eve at a major intersection in the heart of Silicon Valley.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/23/18829094.php
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker–All the gimmicks to rake in the revenue
wsws.org | 2019-12-27
December 2019 saw the end of the "Skywalker Saga" with the latest entry in the Star Wars franchise of films.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/27/skyw-d27.html
'Bombshell' Glosses Over the Horrors of Fox News
Ilana Novick | truthdig.com | 2019-12-27
"You will be muzzled," the lawyer for Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) warns her at the end of "Bombshell," as the former Fox News anchor signs a $20 million settlement of a sexual harassment suit against her former boss, ex-Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. The lawyer could have been speaking about the movie. | Carlson sued Ailes in 2016, which led other women, including fellow anchor Megyn Kelly, to reveal that he assaulted them too. "Bombshell" unfolds over late 2015, in the…
truthdig.com/articles/bombshell-glosses-over-the-horrors-of-fox-news/
Tenant screening companies wage war on tenants with blacklists
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
Tenant screening companies and landlords depend on Experian, Equinox, and TransUnion to get the information they depend on to be able to blacklist tenants all across the nation, resulting in tenants becoming homeless and living in tent cities!
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/25/18829174.php
Brazilian Workers Party joins Bolsonaro in imposing austerity, repressing strikes
wsws.org | 2019-12-27
Relying on police brutality, Brazilian state governments, led by the PT, are imposing pension "reforms" that all but prevent workers from retiring.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/27/braz-d27.html
Bolivia's free territory of Chapare has ousted the coup regime and is bracing for a bloody re-invasion
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-27
Spending time with the union members of Chapare, who run society in a collective fashion, offers special insights into the resistance to the coup. They succeeded in expelling the police, but now fear a bloodbath in retaliation. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/27/bolivias-free-territory-of-chapare-has-ousted-the-coup-regime-and-is-bracing-for-a-bloody-re-invasion/
'No one is coming to save us, except us' — Sydney demands action on the environment
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-27
In the face of climate crisis megafires and an air quality health crisis, 40,000 people rallied and marched in Sydney to demand action on Wednesday night. The city is choking, and New South Wales is on fire. In Randwick on Tuesday, the air pollution was 11 times higher than "hazardous". | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/26/no-one-is-coming-to-save-us-except-us-sydney-demands-action-on-the-environment/
Climate Disruption, Migration, and the Rise of Walls
Speak Out Now | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
South Berkeley Senior Center | 2939 Ellis St. | Berkeley (near Ashby BART)…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/25/18829172.php
The 2010 — 2020 UN News Decade in Review, part three
news.un.org | 2019-12-27
The final part of our look back over the past decade takes in the launch of the 2030 Agenda, the UN's blueprint for a better future for all; the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugee crisis; the successful end to the mandate of the UN Liberia Mission; and fresh momentum in the fight against the climate crisis, despite disappointment over the COP25 climate conference in Madrid.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1053761
Killing of two Indonesian journalists points to criminality in palm oil industry
wsws.org | 2019-12-27
According to police, the two men were allegedly murdered by hired killers paid by a plantation owner.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/27/indo-d27.html
India 'will conduct some action' in Pakistani-held part of Kashmir to get spotlight off citizenship law protests — Imran Khan
rt.com | 2019-12-27
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, wants to shift global attention away from ongoing protests against the citizenship law by conducting an operation in Pakistani-held territory. | "I have been telling the world for the past five months that Modi-RSS government, in order to divert the world attention away from Kashmir and the protests against the [citizenship] laws, will definitely conduct some sort of action in Azad Kashmir," Khan told the crowd in the Punjab Province on Thursday, according to local media reports, referring to the part of disputed Kashmir con…
rt.com/news/476937-khan-modi-kashmir-comment/
Europe must wean itself off US 'dictate' or it will 'lose', Iran supreme leader's adviser tells RT
rt.com | 2019-12-27
Europe's total dependence on Washington would lead it nowhere other than to its own demise, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has alleged, calling on Europeans to break free from America's grip. | Europe is a major political force on the international arena, yet it prefers to "quietly follow the policy imposed" by Washington, Ali Akbar Velayati told RT Arabic. | Velayati, a former Iranian foreign minister, suggested that if Europe truly wishes to distinguish itself as a major player in world politics and improve its relations with the Islamic Republic and its allies, it should pursue an in…
rt.com/news/476896-iran-europe-us-dictate-rt/
5.1 quake strikes 50km off Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant — USGS
rt.com | 2019-12-27
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake rocked Iran's southern coast, centered just 53 kilometers east of Bushehr nuclear plant, the US Geological Survey reports. | The relatively shallow quake, which could potentially cause considerable damage, struck around 5: 23am local time. There were no immediate reports of casualties. | Felt #earthquake ( #ÿ≤ŸÑÿ≤ŸÑŸá) M5.1 strikes 58 km E of Bandar B&a…
rt.com/news/476905-iran-bushehr-earthquake-usgs/
Japan to send helicopter-carrying destroyer & spy planes to ensure 'safe passage' of oil from increasingly crowded Middle East
rt.com | 2019-12-27
The Japanese PM's cabinet approved a plan to send warship and surveillance planes to the Middle East, framing the controversial mission as "study and research activities" separate from the US' initiative to contain Iran. | Tokyo is expected to send a destroyer with 200 crew members and carrying up to two patrol helicopters alongside two P-3C anti-submarine patrol airplanes to the Gulf of Oman sometime in February for a year-long mission. | The deployment is styled as a "study and research" mission to ensure "safe passage" for Japanese vessels through the region from which Tokyo receives 90 percent of its oil i…
rt.com/news/476904-japan-destroyer-iran-oil/
Assad plans to sue the US over 'stealing' Syria's oil
rt.com | 2019-12-27
Syria's government is considering suing the United States in an international court over what a senior advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad referred to as the 'stealing' of Syria's oil. | "Syria is looking into the possibility of filing an international lawsuit against the United States, due to the fact that they steal Syrian oil," Bouthaina Shaaban, Syrian Presidential Adviser, told Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV in an interview, carried by Iran's Fars news agency. | After a surprise announcement of pulling the…
rt.com/business/476931-syria-assad-oil-lawsuit-us/