Daily Archives: December 18, 2019

2019-12-18: News Headlines

Vijay Prashad (2019-12-18). India's Government is going to war against its own people. mronline.org On December 13, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights released a powerful statement that criticized India's new citizenship law. This "fundamentally discriminatory" Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 would expedite citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from India's neighboring countries. But in the list of those minorities, it names only Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, […] | Source

William Hartung (2019-12-18). The Stubborn Persistence of the Military-Industrial State. counterpunch.org I've been writing critiques of the Pentagon, the national security state, and America's never-ending military overreach since at least 1979 — in other words, virtually my entire working life. In those decades, there were moments when positive changes did occur. They ranged from ending the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994 and halting U.S. More

Deirdre Griswold (2019-12-18). Capitalist growth and social change — a WW commentary. workers.org Growth. Atlanta climate crisis protest, Sept. 27. Every day, the price of stocks on Wall Street go up and down depending on the growth of the economy. Growth of mineral extraction, growth of agriculture, growth of manufacturing and especially growth of sales and growth of capital. When growth slows down, . . . | Continue reading Capitalist growth and social change — a WW commentary at Workers.org

WSWS (2019-12-18). Brisbane forum calls for broad support for Assange and Manning. wsws.org The resolution adopted by the forum focussed on the need to take the defence of the WikiLeaks founder out to the working class globally.

Norman Solomon (2019-12-18). Progressives Need a United Front for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. indybay.org Clear differences and a nonaggression pact…

Max Blumenthal (2019-12-18). The insider: How national security mandarins groomed Pete Buttigieg and managed his future. thegrayzone.com Pledging to "end endless wars," Pete Buttigieg claims he has "never been part of the Washington establishment." But years before…

yenisafak (2019-12-18). China postpones UN Security Council discussion on Kashmir. yenisafak.com China has postponed a discussion by the U.N. Security Council planned for Tuesday about the situation in the disputed Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir because the U.N. peacekeeping mission there was not ready to provide a brief, diplomats said.The Himalayan region has long been a flashpoint in ties between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, with both claiming Kashmir in full but ruling it in part. U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed since 1949 to observe a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.China's U.N. mission had on Monday requested the closed door briefing, after Pakistan'

Ralph Nader (2019-12-18). Boeing's Perilous Bungling Requires New Leadership. counterpunch.org The Boeing executives and marketeers responsible for over-ruling Boeing engineers on the 737 MAX are still in charge of this very troubled aerospace company. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the rubber-stamp Board of Directors, with two trophy ambassadors, are still running Boeing — thirteen months after the deadly 737 MAX crash in Indonesia and nine More

Rep. Ron Paul (2019-12-18). Afghanistan War — The Crime of the Century. globalresearch.ca "We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan. We didn't know what we were doing." So said Gen. Douglas Lute, who oversaw the US war on Afghanistan under Presidents Bush and Obama. Eighteen years into the longest war …

Robert Fisk (2019-12-18). How Skewed Polling and Media Bias are Warping American Attitudes About the Green New Deal. counterpunch.org What are opinion polls and what exactly do their outcomes signify? Their results are predicated on two things: 1) The level of information the respondents have been exposed to. 2) The framing of the questions on the poll. What is missing, when the media report the results of these polls, is their own failure to More

Lynda Carson (2019-12-18). Impeachment Day: The Yacht Sequoia and the Trump v. Nixon fiasco. indybay.org The Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificate that has spent many years hanging on the wall of my apartment is dated around 2 months before former disgraced President Richard Nixon resigned from office. Facing imminent impeachment, Nixon resigned from office on August 9th, 1974, barely a few days after his fateful trip into history aboard the Yacht Sequoia on August 5, 1974, where he learned that a Court had ordered him to release the transcript of an incriminating tape recording that revealed he had indeed approved the cover-up of the notorious Watergate-breakin. I enjoy keeping this little piece of history around to rem…

LDGTHH (2019-12-18). Impeachment (and removal): Good for public health. nationofchange.org We need to save American lives now. The best remedy would be to annul an illegitimate election. At the very least, impeach.

WSWS (2019-12-18). Trump makes fascistic appeal in impeachment letter. wsws.org While Trump is seeking to exploit the impeachment to rally a right-wing movement, the Democratic Party is fearful of and hostile to mobilizing mass popular opposition to Trump.

Peter Maiden (2019-12-18). Large Pro-Impeachment Rally Held in Clovis, CA. indybay.org Around 350 demonstrators turned out for a pro-impeachment rally in Clovis, adjacent to Fresno. It was one of over 600 demonstrations nationwide that were organized by MoveOn.org.

Jim Kavanagh (2019-12-18). Impeachment: What Lies Beneath? counterpunch.org The Democrats have now revealed the hand they're going to play for impeachment. I have been vehemently arguing against playing this game and pointing out how futile it is, but, seeing the two cards actually laid out on the table, even I am gobsmacked at what a loser of a hand they've got. More

Thomas Knapp (2019-12-18). A Modest Proposal for Improving Senate Impeachment Trials. counterpunch.org US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) makes no bones about his position on the likely upcoming impeachment trial of US president Donald Trump. "I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind," he tells CNN International's Becky Anderson. "I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here." Well, More

Text: RR Photos: Wesley Chang, Pro Bono Photo (2019-12-18). Chicken Trump Balloon Effigy Makes an Appearance on Impeachment Eve. indybay.org December 17 rallies came one day ahead of a vote planned by the U.S. House of Representatives on impeachment. In Palo Alto, CA, hundreds gathered in Lytton Plaza downtown.

Telesur (2019-12-18). De-Facto Bolivian President to Issue Arrest Warrant for Morales. globalresearch.ca The self-proclaimed president of Bolivia, Jeanine àÅñez, said on Saturday that an arrest warrant could be issued for the democratically elected President, Evo Morales, in the coming days. | "If he has to come to Bolivia, he knows that …

yenisafak (2019-12-18). Istanbul Photo Awards 2019 exhibition opens at UN. yenisafak.com Anadolu Agency on Tuesday launched an exhibition at United Nations headquarters in New York featuring the works of award-winning photojournalists who competed in the international Istanbul Photo Awards 2019.The event, hosted by high-level Anadolu Agency executives, opened with the attendance of Turkey's UN Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu.Addressing the opening ceremony, Sinirlioglu said: "We are very pleased to see the growing interest that Anadolu Agency's annual photo awards have enjoyed over the years."Some 15,000 people from over 100 countries applied for this year's competition, he called, and congratulated t…

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-18). Mexico Finds "World's Largest Lithium Deposit" Just Before US Focus & $1.4 Trillion War-Aimed NDAA. thelastamericanvagabond.com 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 (12/17/19). 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 …

Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi (2019-12-18). Expanding California Trade with the African Continental Free Trade Area. indybay.org Technology and innovative cultural exchange toward expanding California Pan African Trade builds upon coherent understanding of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The first day of Kwanzaa the sun, earth and moon are aligned in a good way, Habari Gani.

Nyla Ali Khan (2019-12-18). India is Gradually Leaning Toward a Dangerous Unitarianism. counterpunch.org One of the unfortunate calamities of India's historical past is that today religio-cultural tensions continue to sharpen divisions along communal lines in the country. The Citizenship Amendment Bill and National Register of Citizens of India have increased the impetuousness and insanity that the rhetoric of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), More

WSWS (2019-12-18). GM Oshawa auto assembly ends production, eliminating 5,000 jobs. wsws.org The Unifor union suppressed all opposition to the closure of the factory while stoking animosity toward Mexican autoworkers.

Binoy Kampmark (2019-12-18). A Mined History: The Bougainville Referendum. counterpunch.org It would be an understatement to claim that Bougainville, that blighted piece of autonomous territory in Papua New Guinea, had been through a lot. Companies have preyed upon its environment with extractive hunger. Wars and civil strife have beset its infrastructure and economy. Some 900 kilometres from the PNG mainland, it has been what might More

Danny Sjursen (2019-12-18). America's First 'Endless War' Was Fought in the Philippines. thenation.com America's First 'Endless War' Was Fought in the Philippines…

Erin Schwartz (2019-12-18). Every Generation Gets Its Own 'Little Women'. thenation.com Every Generation Gets Its Own 'Little Women'

yenisafak (2019-12-18). A Minute With: the 'Star Wars' actors behind C-3PO and Chewbacca. yenisafak.com "Star Wars" actor Anthony Daniels has portrayed the fretful droid C-3PO in ten movies over 42 years. His next appearance hits global theaters on Thursday in "The Rise of Skywalker."Fellow star Joonas Suotamo stepped into the furry Chewbacca costume in 2015 for "The Force Awakens" and plays the towering Wookiee on the big screen for the fourth time in the new film.Daniels and Suotamo spoke with reporters about their characters, their costumes and trying to wow former co-star Harrison Ford. The following are edited excerpts.Q: When this whole thing started, when you read the first script for "Star Wars,"

WSWS (2019-12-18). US Army XVIII Airborne Corp posts sympathetic portrayal of Nazi war criminal on Facebook. wsws.org The publication of a glowing portrayal of Nazi war criminal Joachim Peiper by the Army's XVIII Airborne Corp's Facebook page exposes a constituency within the military for fascism.

yenisafak (2019-12-18). Turkey's Operation Kƒ±ran neutralizes 139 PKK terrorists. yenisafak.com total of 139 terrorists have been neutralized and over 300 caves, shelters, and warehouses destroyed in the last four months during Operation Kiran, according to Turkey's Interior Ministry.On Aug. 17, Turkey launched Operation Kiran in the country's southeast against YPG/PKK terrorists in the Van, Hakkari and Sirnak provinces, followed by the launch of Operation Kiran-2 on Aug. 27 in the Mardin, Sirnak and Batman provinces. Six more iterations of the operation followed, including Operation Kiran-8 which is underway in rural areas of the eastern Bitlis and Siirt provinces.With Turkey ramping up its fight against…

Alan MacLeod (2019-12-18). Getting away with murder: 'clash' as media euphemism for 'massacre'. mronline.org After deposing Evo Morales in a U.S.-backed coup November 11, Bolivia's military selected Jeanine Añez as president. Añez immediately signed a decree pre-exonerating security forces of all crimes during their "re-establishment of order," understood by all sides as a license to kill. Those same forces have now conducted massacres of Morales supporters near the cities […] | Source

yenisafak (2019-12-18). Indian Kashmir sees more than $2.4 billion losses since lockdown. yenisafak.com A lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir has cost its economy more than $2.4 billion since the government stripped it of its special status, officials of the Himalayan region's main trade organisation said on Wednesday."In the last 120 days we have witnessed how each and every sector has bled … we fear this crisis will further intensify in 2020," Sheikh Ashiq Ahmed, president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), told Reuters.The government in August revoked the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, splitting it into two federal territories in a bid…

yenisafak (2019-12-18). McDonald's shuts all Peru restaurants to mourn dead workers. yenisafak.com McDonald's has shut all its restaurants in Peru for two days of mourning after two of its employees died, the burger chain said on Twitter.The two teenaged employees were electrocuted while cleaning the kitchen of a McDonalds in Pueblo Libre, a district in the capital Lima, Peruvian daily La Republica reported."In response to the terrible loss of our two colleagues Carlos Gabriel Edgardo Campos Zapata and Alexandra Antonella Porras Inga, we wish to announce that we have declared two days of mourning from this morning, during which all our restaurants nationwide will remain closed," McDonald's Peru said on Twitter…

Dan Corjescu (2019-12-18). A Totalitarian Republic? . counterpunch.org Faction: A number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community —James Madison The executive of the modern state is but More

John W. Whitehead (2019-12-18). Sin Taxes & Other Orwellian Methods of Compliance That Feed the Government's Greed. counterpunch.org "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own More

Quincy Saul (2019-12-18). The Threat to Life as We Know It: The View from Sri Lanka. counterpunch.org Ranil Senanayake is the originator of the science and art of Analog Forestry, and founder of the Belipola Arboretum and the International Analog Forestry Network. He is respected as the foremost systems ecologist in Sri Lanka, and has lectured and worked throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In addition to scientific papers, he also writes More

Orion Thornton (2019-12-18). Revving the Solar Engine to Support Local Jobs, Clean Energy. counterpunch.org Of all the federal government programs struggling out there, there's one that's actually working — the federal investment tax credit (ITC) for renewable energy systems. The ITC is a federal incentive for homeowners, businesses, farmers and ranchers that is reducing the cost of going solar and helping increase the amount of clean energy installed around the More

Karl Grossman (2019-12-18). The Very Bad Space Force Deal. counterpunch.org Unless grassroots action somehow stops it, it looks likely that the Trump scheme for a Space Force, a sixth branch of United States armed forces, will happen. The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the $738 billion military policy bill that gives Trump his sought-for Space Force as he moves for what he terms More

teleSUR, jg, JF (2019-12-18). US Senate: Republicans Pass Bill Creating Trump's 'Space Force'. telesurenglish.net The U.S. Senate Tuesday approved to pass a US$738 billion defense policy bill that creates President Donald Trump's "Space Force" and gives federal employees 12 weeks of paid paternity leave. | RELATED: | US Congress Rejects $175m Funding for Middle East 'Deal of the Century' | The Republican-controlled Senate voted 86-8 in favor of th…

yenisafak (2019-12-18). Merkel opposes US sanctions against Nord Stream 2. yenisafak.com The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to slap sanctions on companies building the massive underwater pipeline to bring Russian natural gas to Germany, but it was uncertain whether the measures would slow completion of the project.

yenisafak (2019-12-18). At least 12,000 people flee Idlib amid regime, Russian attacks. yenisafak.com Fleeing attacks by the al-Assad regime and its allies, at least 12,000 civilians have been forced to abandon what is supposed to be a cease-fire zone in northwestern Syria and headed for the Turkish border. | Mohamed al-Hallaj, director of the Response Coordinators Team, told Anadolu Agency that the regime, Russia, and Iranian-backed foreign terror groups have struck civilian settlements in the past 24 hours.The southern Marratinnuman district, located east of Idlib city, faced the highest migration rates, and fleeing families are in dire need of items such as shelter, blankets, beds and tents, he added.A total o…

WSWS (2019-12-18). North Korean-US tensions rise as end-of-year deadline approaches. wsws.org In the absence of any US sanctions' relief or meaningful talks, North Korea has threatened to resume its nuclear- and missile-testing program.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2019-12-18). Boris Johnson's Britain. globalresearch.ca Britain is looking drenched at the moment; colours blue and yellow seem to be streaking through the country. The Scottish Nationalists have re-asserted control lost to the Conservatives in 2016. In the rest of the country, seats never touched by …

yenisafak (2019-12-18). Erdoğan meets Malaysian king ahead of summit. yenisafak.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday met with Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Riayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the presidential complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital.The two leaders spoke behind closed doors for half an hour.Erdoğan is currently in Malaysia to attend a summit of Muslim leaders to discuss issues facing the Islamic world, including development, administration, identity and culture, justice and freedom, and Islamophobia.

yenisafak (2019-12-18). Turkey's education spending goes up in 2018. yenisafak.com Turkey's education expenditures increased nearly 22% year-on-year in 2018, the country's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.The country spent 214.6 billion Turkish liras ($44.5 billion) last year, up from 176.5 billion Turkish liras ($48.3 billion) in 2017, the Turkish Statistical Institute said.The figure rose most for pre-primary education by 27.3% and upper secondary education with 24.3% during the same period.The share of education spending on Turkey's GDP stood at 5.8% in 2018, compared to 5.7% a year earlier.Public sources financed 72.9% of the education expenditure in Turkey last year. The larges…

MoveOn (2019-12-18). Impeach & Remove Demonstration in Redwood City. indybay.org Sequoia Station (outside the shopping center), intersection of Jefferson Ave and El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063…

Indivisible Orchard City (2019-12-18). Impeach & Remove Demonstration in Silicon Valley. indybay.org Intersection of Stevens Creek Blvd & Winchester Blvd, at the border of Santa Clara 95050 and San Jose 95128.

MoveOn (2019-12-18). Impeach & Remove Rally in Livermore (Tri Valley). indybay.org Flagpole Plaza, intersection of First St and S. Livermore Ave., Livermore, CA 94550…

MoveOn.org, Indivisible Santa Cruz, others (2019-12-18). Impeach & Remove: Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Monterey. indybay.org Impeach & Remove events in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Monterey…

MoveOn (2019-12-18). Impeach & Remove Demonstration in Pacifica. indybay.org Intersection of Hwy 1 & Reina Del Mar, Pacifica, CA 94044…

RT (2019-12-18). Poetic revenge: GOP's impeachment-themed Christmas POEM has Twitter spitting out its eggnog. rt.com Spreading some Christmas spirit, the GOP House Oversight Committee has posted a lengthy impeachment-themed holiday poem. While the verses may not pass muster with Yeats or Milton, Twitter received the gift with glee — mostly. | Written along the lines of Clement Clarke Moore's "Twas the Night Before Christmas,' the Republican committee shared the satirical poem to Twitter on Tuesday night in nine parts, poking fun at members of the Democratic "Coastal Impeachment Squad," and taking special pleasure in mocking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. | "'Twas the night before #impeachment and all through the House, P…

2019-12-18: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Brisbane forum calls for broad support for Assange and Manning
wsws.org | 2019-12-18
The resolution adopted by the forum focussed on the need to take the defence of the WikiLeaks founder out to the working class globally.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/18/foru-d18.html

Progressives Need a United Front for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Clear differences and a nonaggression pact…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/15/18828927.php

The insider: How national security mandarins groomed Pete Buttigieg and managed his future
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-18
Pledging to "end endless wars," Pete Buttigieg claims he has "never been part of the Washington establishment." But years before…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/17/national-security-mandarins-groomed-pete-buttigieg/

India's Government is going to war against its own people
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2019-12-18
On December 13, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights released a powerful statement that criticized India's new citizenship law. This "fundamentally discriminatory" Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 would expedite citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from India's neighboring countries. But in the list of those minorities, it names only Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, […] | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/17/indias-government-is-going-to-war-against-its-own-people/

China postpones UN Security Council discussion on Kashmir
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
China has postponed a discussion by the U.N. Security Council planned for Tuesday about the situation in the disputed Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir because the U.N. peacekeeping mission there was not ready to provide a brief, diplomats said.The Himalayan region has long been a flashpoint in ties between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, with both claiming Kashmir in full but ruling it in part. U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed since 1949 to observe a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.China's U.N. mission had on Monday requested the closed door briefing, after Pakistan'…
yenisafak.com/en/world/china-postpones-un-security-council-discussion-on-kashmir-3507717

Capitalist growth and social change — a WW commentary
Deirdre Griswold | workers.org | 2019-12-18
Growth. Atlanta climate crisis protest, Sept. 27. Every day, the price of stocks on Wall Street go up and down depending on the growth of the economy. Growth of mineral extraction, growth of agriculture, growth of manufacturing and especially growth of sales and growth of capital. When growth slows down, . . . | Continue reading Capitalist growth and social change — a WW commentary at Workers.org
workers.org/2019/12/44941/

Boeing's Perilous Bungling Requires New Leadership
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
The Boeing executives and marketeers responsible for over-ruling Boeing engineers on the 737 MAX are still in charge of this very troubled aerospace company. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the rubber-stamp Board of Directors, with two trophy ambassadors, are still running Boeing — thirteen months after the deadly 737 MAX crash in Indonesia and nine…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/boeings-perilous-bungling-requires-new-leadership/

Afghanistan War — The Crime of the Century
Rep. Ron Paul | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-18
"We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan. We didn't know what we were doing." So said Gen. Douglas Lute, who oversaw the US war on Afghanistan under Presidents Bush and Obama. Eighteen years into the longest war …
globalresearch.ca/afghanistan-war-crime-century/5698096

How Skewed Polling and Media Bias are Warping American Attitudes About the Green New Deal
Robert Fisk | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
What are opinion polls and what exactly do their outcomes signify? Their results are predicated on two things: 1) The level of information the respondents have been exposed to. 2) The framing of the questions on the poll. What is missing, when the media report the results of these polls, is their own failure to…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/how-skewed-polling-and-media-bias-are-warping-american-attitudes-about-the-green-new-deal/

Chicken Trump Balloon Effigy Makes an Appearance on Impeachment Eve
Text: RR Photos: Wesley Chang, Pro Bono Photo | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
December 17 rallies came one day ahead of a vote planned by the U.S. House of Representatives on impeachment. In Palo Alto, CA, hundreds gathered in Lytton Plaza downtown.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/18/18828981.php

Impeachment (and removal): Good for public health
LDGTHH | nationofchange.org | 2019-12-18
We need to save American lives now. The best remedy would be to annul an illegitimate election. At the very least, impeach.
nationofchange.org/2019/12/17/impeachment-and-removal-good-for-public-health/

Impeachment Day: The Yacht Sequoia and the Trump v. Nixon fiasco
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
The Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificate that has spent many years hanging on the wall of my apartment is dated around 2 months before former disgraced President Richard Nixon resigned from office. Facing imminent impeachment, Nixon resigned from office on August 9th, 1974, barely a few days after his fateful trip into history aboard the Yacht Sequoia on August 5, 1974, where he learned that a Court had ordered him to release the transcript of an incriminating tape recording that revealed he had indeed approved the cover-up of the notorious Watergate-breakin. I enjoy keeping this little piece of history around to rem…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/18/18828979.php

Impeachment: What Lies Beneath?
Jim Kavanagh | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
The Democrats have now revealed the hand they're going to play for impeachment. I have been vehemently arguing against playing this game and pointing out how futile it is, but, seeing the two cards actually laid out on the table, even I am gobsmacked at what a loser of a hand they've got.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/impeachment-what-lies-beneath/

A Modest Proposal for Improving Senate Impeachment Trials
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) makes no bones about his position on the likely upcoming impeachment trial of US president Donald Trump. "I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind," he tells CNN International's Becky Anderson. "I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here." Well,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/a-modest-proposal-for-improving-senate-impeachment-trials/

Large Pro-Impeachment Rally Held in Clovis, CA
Peter Maiden | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Around 350 demonstrators turned out for a pro-impeachment rally in Clovis, adjacent to Fresno. It was one of over 600 demonstrations nationwide that were organized by MoveOn.org.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/18/18828974.php

Trump makes fascistic appeal in impeachment letter
wsws.org | 2019-12-18
While Trump is seeking to exploit the impeachment to rally a right-wing movement, the Democratic Party is fearful of and hostile to mobilizing mass popular opposition to Trump.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/18/trum-d18.html

Every Generation Gets Its Own 'Little Women'
Erin Schwartz | thenation.com | 2019-12-18
Every Generation Gets Its Own 'Little Women'…
thenation.com/article/little-women-film-review/

GM Oshawa auto assembly ends production, eliminating 5,000 jobs
wsws.org | 2019-12-18
The Unifor union suppressed all opposition to the closure of the factory while stoking animosity toward Mexican autoworkers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/18/osha-d18.html

Istanbul Photo Awards 2019 exhibition opens at UN
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
Anadolu Agency on Tuesday launched an exhibition at United Nations headquarters in New York featuring the works of award-winning photojournalists who competed in the international Istanbul Photo Awards 2019.The event, hosted by high-level Anadolu Agency executives, opened with the attendance of Turkey's UN Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu.Addressing the opening ceremony, Sinirlioglu said: "We are very pleased to see the growing interest that Anadolu Agency's annual photo awards have enjoyed over the years."Some 15,000 people from over 100 countries applied for this year's competition, he called, and congratulated t…
yenisafak.com/en/life/istanbul-photo-awards-2019-exhibition-opens-at-un-3507721

De-Facto Bolivian President to Issue Arrest Warrant for Morales
Telesur | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-18
The self-proclaimed president of Bolivia, Jeanine àÅñez, said on Saturday that an arrest warrant could be issued for the democratically elected President, Evo Morales, in the coming days. | "If he has to come to Bolivia, he knows that | …
globalresearch.ca/de-facto-bolivian-president-issue-arrest-warrant-morales/5698107

Expanding California Trade with the African Continental Free Trade Area
Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Technology and innovative cultural exchange toward expanding California Pan African Trade builds upon coherent understanding of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The first day of Kwanzaa the sun, earth and moon are aligned in a good way, Habari Gani.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/17/18828967.php

WW editorial: Fight for socialism enters new decade
Minnie Bruce Pratt | workers.org | 2019-12-18
We are coming to the end of another year, another decade. What are the significant events to consider? The U.S. war on Afghanistan, begun in 2001, continued, while the bankruptcy of U.S. imperialism was recently revealed by the Washington Post in "The Afghanistan Papers." This review of internal U.S. government . . . | Continue reading WW editorial: Fight for socialism enters new decade at Workers.org
workers.org/2019/12/44953/

Mexico Finds "World's Largest Lithium Deposit" Just Before US Focus & $1.4 Trillion War-Aimed NDAA
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-18
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 (12/17/19). 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/mexico-finds-worlds-largest-lithium-deposit-just-before-us-focus-1-4-trillion-war-aimed-ndaa/

Turkey's Operation Kıran neutralizes 139 PKK terrorists
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
total of 139 terrorists have been neutralized and over 300 caves, shelters, and warehouses destroyed in the last four months during Operation Kiran, according to Turkey's Interior Ministry.On Aug. 17, Turkey launched Operation Kiran in the country's southeast against YPG/PKK terrorists in the Van, Hakkari and Sirnak provinces, followed by the launch of Operation Kiran-2 on Aug. 27 in the Mardin, Sirnak and Batman provinces. Six more iterations of the operation followed, including Operation Kiran-8 which is underway in rural areas of the eastern Bitlis and Siirt provinces.With Turkey ramping up its fight against…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkeys-operation-kiran-neutralizes-139-pkk-terrorists-3507714

India is Gradually Leaning Toward a Dangerous Unitarianism
Nyla Ali Khan | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
One of the unfortunate calamities of India's historical past is that today religio-cultural tensions continue to sharpen divisions along communal lines in the country. The Citizenship Amendment Bill and National Register of Citizens of India have increased the impetuousness and insanity that the rhetoric of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/india-is-gradually-leaning-toward-a-dangerous-unitarianism/

US Army XVIII Airborne Corp posts sympathetic portrayal of Nazi war criminal on Facebook
wsws.org | 2019-12-18
The publication of a glowing portrayal of Nazi war criminal Joachim Peiper by the Army's XVIII Airborne Corp's Facebook page exposes a constituency within the military for fascism.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/18/face-d18.html

A Mined History: The Bougainville Referendum
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
It would be an understatement to claim that Bougainville, that blighted piece of autonomous territory in Papua New Guinea, had been through a lot. Companies have preyed upon its environment with extractive hunger. Wars and civil strife have beset its infrastructure and economy. Some 900 kilometres from the PNG mainland, it has been what might…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/a-mined-history-the-bougainville-referendum/

America's First 'Endless War' Was Fought in the Philippines
Danny Sjursen | thenation.com | 2019-12-18
America's First 'Endless War' Was Fought in the Philippines…
thenation.com/article/moro-war-tomdispatch/

A Minute With: the 'Star Wars' actors behind C-3PO and Chewbacca
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
"Star Wars" actor Anthony Daniels has portrayed the fretful droid C-3PO in ten movies over 42 years. His next appearance hits global theaters on Thursday in "The Rise of Skywalker."Fellow star Joonas Suotamo stepped into the furry Chewbacca costume in 2015 for "The Force Awakens" and plays the towering Wookiee on the big screen for the fourth time in the new film.Daniels and Suotamo spoke with reporters about their characters, their costumes and trying to wow former co-star Harrison Ford. The following are edited excerpts.Q: When this whole thing started, when you read the first script for "Star Wars,"
yenisafak.com/en/life/a-minute-with-the-star-wars-actors-behind-c-3po-and-chewbacca-3507715

Getting away with murder: 'clash' as media euphemism for 'massacre'
Alan MacLeod | mronline.org | 2019-12-18
After deposing Evo Morales in a U.S.-backed coup November 11, Bolivia's military selected Jeanine Añez as president. Añez immediately signed a decree pre-exonerating security forces of all crimes during their "re-establishment of order," understood by all sides as a license to kill. Those same forces have now conducted massacres of Morales supporters near the cities […] | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/18/getting-away-with-murder-clash-as-media-euphemism-for-massacre/

Indian Kashmir sees more than $2.4 billion losses since lockdown
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
A lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir has cost its economy more than $2.4 billion since the government stripped it of its special status, officials of the Himalayan region's main trade organisation said on Wednesday."In the last 120 days we have witnessed how each and every sector has bled … we fear this crisis will further intensify in 2020," Sheikh Ashiq Ahmed, president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), told Reuters.The government in August revoked the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, splitting it into two federal territories in a bid…
yenisafak.com/en/world/indian-kashmir-sees-more-than-24-billion-losses-since-lockdown-3507713

McDonald's shuts all Peru restaurants to mourn dead workers
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
McDonald's has shut all its restaurants in Peru for two days of mourning after two of its employees died, the burger chain said on Twitter.The two teenaged employees were electrocuted while cleaning the kitchen of a McDonalds in Pueblo Libre, a district in the capital Lima, Peruvian daily La Republica reported."In response to the terrible loss of our two colleagues Carlos Gabriel Edgardo Campos Zapata and Alexandra Antonella Porras Inga, we wish to announce that we have declared two days of mourning from this morning, during which all our restaurants nationwide will remain closed," McDonald's Peru said on Twitter…
yenisafak.com/en/news/mcdonalds-shuts-all-peru-restaurants-to-mourn-dead-workers-3507726

The Stubborn Persistence of the Military-Industrial State
William Hartung | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
I've been writing critiques of the Pentagon, the national security state, and America's never-ending military overreach since at least 1979 — in other words, virtually my entire working life. In those decades, there were moments when positive changes did occur. They ranged from ending the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994 and halting U.S.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/the-stubborn-persistence-of-the-military-industrial-state/

Sin Taxes & Other Orwellian Methods of Compliance That Feed the Government's Greed
John W. Whitehead | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/sin-taxes-other-orwellian-methods-of-compliance-that-feed-the-governments-greed/

The Very Bad Space Force Deal
Karl Grossman | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
Unless grassroots action somehow stops it, it looks likely that the Trump scheme for a Space Force, a sixth branch of United States armed forces, will happen. The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the $738 billion military policy bill that gives Trump his sought-for Space Force as he moves for what he terms…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/the-very-bad-space-force-deal/

A Totalitarian Republic?
Dan Corjescu | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
Faction: A number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community –James Madison The executive of the modern state is but…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/a-totalitarian-republic/

Revving the Solar Engine to Support Local Jobs, Clean Energy
Orion Thornton | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
Of all the federal government programs struggling out there, there's one that's actually working — the federal investment tax credit (ITC) for renewable energy systems. The ITC is a federal incentive for homeowners, businesses, farmers and ranchers that is reducing the cost of going solar and helping increase the amount of clean energy installed around the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/revving-the-solar-engine-to-support-local-jobs-clean-energy/

The Threat to Life as We Know It: The View from Sri Lanka
Quincy Saul | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-18
Ranil Senanayake is the originator of the science and art of Analog Forestry, and founder of the Belipola Arboretum and the International Analog Forestry Network. He is respected as the foremost systems ecologist in Sri Lanka, and has lectured and worked throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In addition to scientific papers, he also writes…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/18/the-threat-to-life-as-we-know-it-the-view-from-sri-lanka/

US Senate: Republicans Pass Bill Creating Trump's 'Space Force'
teleSUR, jg, JF | telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-18
The U.S. Senate Tuesday approved to pass a US$738 billion defense policy bill that creates President Donald Trump's "Space Force" and gives federal employees 12 weeks of paid paternity leave. | RELATED: | US Congress Rejects $175m Funding for Middle East 'Deal of the Century' | The Republican-controlled Senate voted 86-8 in favor of th…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-senate-passed-2020-ndaa-bill-wide-majority-20191217-0021.html

Merkel opposes US sanctions against Nord Stream 2
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to slap sanctions on companies building the massive underwater pipeline to bring Russian natural gas to Germany, but it was uncertain whether the measures would slow completion of the project.
yenisafak.com/en/news/merkel-opposes-us-sanctions-against-nord-stream-2-3507728

At least 12,000 people flee Idlib amid regime, Russian attacks
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
Fleeing attacks by the al-Assad regime and its allies, at least 12,000 civilians have been forced to abandon what is supposed to be a cease-fire zone in northwestern Syria and headed for the Turkish border. | Mohamed al-Hallaj, director of the Response Coordinators Team, told Anadolu Agency that the regime, Russia, and Iranian-backed foreign terror groups have struck civilian settlements in the past 24 hours.The southern Marratinnuman district, located east of Idlib city, faced the highest migration rates, and fleeing families are in dire need of items such as shelter, blankets, beds and tents, he added.A total o…
yenisafak.com/en/world/at-least-12000-people-flee-idlib-amid-regime-russian-attacks-3507723

North Korean-US tensions rise as end-of-year deadline approaches
wsws.org | 2019-12-18
In the absence of any US sanctions' relief or meaningful talks, North Korea has threatened to resume its nuclear- and missile-testing program.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/18/nkor-d18.html

Boris Johnson's Britain
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-18
Britain is looking drenched at the moment; colours blue and yellow seem to be streaking through the country. The Scottish Nationalists have re-asserted control lost to the Conservatives in 2016. In the rest of the country, seats never touched by …
globalresearch.ca/boris-johnson-britain/5698117

Erdoğan meets Malaysian king ahead of summit
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday met with Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Riayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the presidential complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital.The two leaders spoke behind closed doors for half an hour.Erdoğan is currently in Malaysia to attend a summit of Muslim leaders to discuss issues facing the Islamic world, including development, administration, identity and culture, justice and freedom, and Islamophobia.
yenisafak.com/en/world/erdogan-meets-malaysian-king-ahead-of-summit-3507727

Turkey's education spending goes up in 2018
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-18
Turkey's education expenditures increased nearly 22% year-on-year in 2018, the country's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.The country spent 214.6 billion Turkish liras ($44.5 billion) last year, up from 176.5 billion Turkish liras ($48.3 billion) in 2017, the Turkish Statistical Institute said.The figure rose most for pre-primary education by 27.3% and upper secondary education with 24.3% during the same period.The share of education spending on Turkey's GDP stood at 5.8% in 2018, compared to 5.7% a year earlier.Public sources financed 72.9% of the education expenditure in Turkey last year. The larges…
yenisafak.com/en/economy/turkeys-education-spending-goes-up-in-2018-3507725

Impeach & Remove Rally in Livermore (Tri Valley)
MoveOn | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Flagpole Plaza, intersection of First St and S. Livermore Ave., Livermore, CA 94550…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/14/18828900.php

Impeach & Remove Demonstration in Silicon Valley
Indivisible Orchard City | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Intersection of Stevens Creek Blvd & Winchester Blvd, at the border of Santa Clara 95050 and San Jose 95128.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/15/18828908.php

Impeach & Remove Demonstration in Redwood City
MoveOn | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Sequoia Station (outside the shopping center), intersection of Jefferson Ave and El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/14/18828901.php

Impeach & Remove Demonstration in Pacifica
MoveOn | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Intersection of Hwy 1 & Reina Del Mar, Pacifica, CA 94044…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/16/18828949.php

Impeach & Remove: Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Monterey
MoveOn.org, Indivisible Santa Cruz, others | indybay.org | 2019-12-18
Impeach & Remove events in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Monterey…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/15/18828907.php