(2018-12-20). The Lives We Changed in 2018. aclu.org 
Because of the generosity of ACLU members, these people are free to live their lives again. | This year hasn't been easy: Thousands of families are still suffering the effects of family separation; the Muslim ban continues to keep loved ones apart; and whole generations of family trees are being decimated by an unfair, out-of-control mass incarceration machine. But beneath the headlines, the news alerts, and the legal battles are a few glimmers of hope that ACLU supporters made possible., , Here are some of our favorite moments from 2018. | Ansly Breathes Free Again : | Ethics teacher Ansly Damus fled…
(2018-12-20). Next Generation 5G and the US-China "Cellphone War": The Arrest of Meng Wanzhou. globalresearch.ca The unspoken US policy objective behind the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou on trumped up charges, consists in breaking China's technological lead in wireless telecommunications. What is at stake is a coordinated US intelligence initiative to ban China from playing a strategic role in the 5G global mobile phone network.
(2018-12-20). Educators at Pittsburgh Charter School Win Union. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2018-12-20). 50,000 teachers take over LA streets as union votes to strike. zcomm.org All workers should stand in solidarity with UTLA members in their fight against the dismantling of public education and the privatization of our school district…
(2018-12-20). The People's Christmas: Art, Tradition and Climate Change. globalresearch.ca COME, bring with a noise, | My merry, merry boys, | The Christmas log to the firing ; | While my good dame, she | Bids ye all be free ; | And drink to your heart's desiring. | With the last year's brand | Light the …
(2018-12-20). Blocking Nord Stream 2: To Fight "Russian Dictatorship," US Dictates to Europe. globalresearch.ca Bloomberg in its article, " U.S. House Passes Resolution Opposing Russian Gas Pipeline," would report: | The U.S. House of Representatives approved a largely symbolic resolution expressing opposition to Gazprom PJSC's $11 billion Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, on …
(2018-12-20). The Constitutional Right to Boycott Israel. globalresearch.ca America's First Amendment affirms fundamental speech and press freedoms. It prohibits congressional legislation prohibiting the exercise of these rights. | A report by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and Palestine Legal discussed "The Palestine Exception to Speech: A Movement Under …
(2018-12-20). LA teachers announce strike plans. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – This morning, December 19, United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) joined by parents, student and supporters, announced they will strike on Thursday, January 10, 2019. Centro CSO urges parents and students to join the picket line at their local school to stand united with our teachers. | "I am so angry, and ready to strike," says Lupe Torres a public school teacher at Marvin Elementary and East LA resident. "It's time to show the public the bureaucracy of LAUSD." | More than 50,000 teachers and supporters marched on December 14 to show the support in numbers. The march and rally occurred as L…
(2018-12-20). Humanitarian Tragedy in Yemen: Famine, US-Saudi Blockade on Food and Medicine. globalresearch.ca The "humanitarian" tragedy in Yemen has been in the news a lot recently. What most media and NGOs fail to clarify is that this is not some mysterious "famine" that has organically transpired as a result of a war — …
(2018-12-20). Trump Pledges to Withdraw U.S. Ground Troops from Syria—But Global Powers & Deadly Air Forces Remain. democracynow.org 
President Trump has ordered the withdrawal of all 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, shocking many in Washington and around the world. On Wednesday, Trump tweeted, "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency." He ordered the withdrawal despite opposition from within the White House. We speak with Yazan al-Saadi, a Syrian-Canadian writer and researcher, who warns that U.S. military presence in the region will continue. "You might have a large chunk of the boots on the ground leaving, but it seems very clear that the American air power is going to remain," al-Saadi says.
(2018-12-20). "We Want Goldman Sachs Here": This Is Malaysia's Playbook For Prosecuting 1MDB Case. globalresearch.ca "Bring me Goldman Sachs!" | As outlandish as it might sound, Malaysian authorities are in the process of dragging the bank — or at least, some of its employees and subsidiaries — to Malaysia to face criminal charges filed against subsidiaries …
(2018-12-20). Washington's Silent Weapon for Not-so-quiet Wars. "A World Full of Dollars", A 2019 Global Economic Crisis. globalresearch.ca Today by far the deadliest weapon in the US arsenal is the ability of Washington to control the global supply of money, of dollars, through actions of the privately-owned Federal Reserve in coordination with the US Treasury and select Wall Street financial groups. The US is weaponizing the dollar.
(2018-12-20). Putin: Russia's Keys Are Science, Education And Technology. telesurenglish.net Speaking at the 14th annual news conference Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian economy could be ranked fifth in the world, in terms of volume, but that such a breakthrough would require changing the structure of the country's economy. | RELATED: | Putin: Nuclear Confrontation Would Destroy Civilization | "[Russia] needs to enter a different league in terms of quality of its economy," Putin said before stressing the importance of science, education and technology in…
(2018-12-20). Unions, civil rights group pan Trump "school safety" commission's recommendations. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Teachers unions and a top civil rights group panned "school safety" recommendations from a Trump-named panel of four Cabinet secretaries, saying they do little or nothing to stop the scourge of mass shootings in the nation's schools. And one of their recommendations—restoring discrimination in discipline of "problem" students—is thinly veiled racism against young African Americans, …
(2018-12-20). Brazil's Bolsonaro Says He Will Target Venezuela, Cuba. globalresearch.ca Brazil's far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday that he would take all action "within the rule of law and democracy" to oppose the governments of Venezuela and Cuba. | Bolsonaro, who takes power Jan. 1, is a fervent anti-communist who …
(2018-12-20). Don't Hold Your Breath on US Troop Withdrawal from Syria. globalresearch.ca The announcement on Wednesday that the U.S. will withdraw all remaining troops from Syria within the next month looked at first like a rare victory for Donald Trump in his admittedly erratic opposition to senseless wars of adventure. "We have …
(2018-12-20). Agreed Rules, COP24 and Climate Change Protest. globalresearch.ca "If children can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school, then imagine what we can alldo together if we really wanted to." Greta Thunberg at COP24, Dec. 2018 | The world, if it goes off in …
(2018-12-20). Socialism at the Forefront of South Africa's New Political Party. globalresearch.ca A socialist South Africa led by the working class — this is the vision of the of the newly registered political party, the Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party (SRWP). | At the party's two-day long pre-launch conference, which began on Friday at …
(2018-12-20). Documentary: 'The Lobby — USA'. America's "Special Relationship with Israel" globalresearch.ca Imagine, for a moment, a foreign government spying on U.S. citizens, using the most sophisticated cyber-intelligence software available. This government particularly targets students and, through the use of fake Facebook accounts and other means, smears those that criticize its policies. …
(2018-12-20). U.S. Governments Must Be Held to Account Now More Than Ever. globalresearch.ca The manner of which political structures are erected in the United States, ensures that certain personalities inevitably rise to become elected as president. This has particularly been the case post-1945, with America having a string of dubious characters assuming leadership …
(2018-12-20). Crimes Against Humanity: The British Empire. globalresearch.ca First published by Sydney Criminal Lawyers and crossposted on Global Research in July 2017. | It was the largest empire ever to have existed. And as the saying used to go, the sun never sets on the British Empire. At its …
(2018-12-20). Don't Be Fooled, Trump's "Withdrawal" From Syria Isn't What It Seems. globalresearch.ca Trump's decision to "withdraw" US troops from Syria is being universally praised by all but his "deep state" foes, but things aren't exactly as they seem and the celebrations might be premature because this deceptive move simply changes the nature …
(2018-12-20). UK: Homeless Deaths Up 24% in 5 Years. telesurenglish.net England's Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 600 homeless people died in the streets or in temporary shelters during 2017; that is a 24 percent increase in the past 5 years. | RELATED: | Over 1,200 Palestinians Go Homeless Due to Israeli Demolitions | According to the ONS 84 percent of all deaths correspond to males living a condition of homelessness and on average they were 44 years old, The Guardian reported Thursday. | The number is an estimate ONS researchers obtained by analyzing…
(2018-12-20). Huawei Launches the Evolution Strategy for 5G-oriented Wireless Target Network. globalresearch.ca The following article confirms HuaWei's lead in 5G telecommunications technology. In this regard, the campaign against HuaWei including the arrest of CFO Meng Wanzhou is intent upon undermining China's strategic lead in 5G including HuaWei's "All Bands Go to 5G….
(2018-12-20). United Arab Emirates: Further Information: Hunger-Striking Academic In Critical Condition: Dr Nasser bin Ghaith. amnesty.org Dr Nasser bin Ghaith's health has severely deteriorated. The prominent Emirati economist and academic has been on hunger strike for over 70 days in al-Razeen prison in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to protest the detention conditions and the denial of access to medical care. He is a prisoner of conscience.
(2018-12-20). UAE: Fears grow for health of unjustly imprisoned academic. amnesty.org The authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) must immediately and unconditionally release Dr Nasser bin Ghaith, a prisoner of conscience whose health has deteriorated sharply in recent days, said Amnesty International today. | Dr Nasser bin Ghaith is serving a 10-year sentence for criticizing the UAE in comments posted on Twitter after a grossly unfair politically motivated trial. | "News that Dr Nasser bin Ghaith's health has deteriorated sharply…
(2018-12-20). National Interest or Personal Interest: Theresa May's "War of Words" with Tony Blair. globalresearch.ca The war of words between Tony Blair and Theresa May over the last few days is quite revealing — not of Blair's known position regarding the Brexit mess, but because the Prime Minister's rant showed her weakness. Her position is …
(2018-12-20). Brexit — We Are Now All Political Prisoners to This Rancid Government. Britain in Crisis. globalresearch.ca There simply isn't any point in condemning the Tory party. They are now bereft of common sense, or morality for that matter. They listen to no-one, not even the electorate who are now aghast at not just their performance but …
(2018-12-20). Democrats Want More Police Funding But Punt On Educational Equity. therealnews.com 
In a sweeping series of public policy moves, Maryland Democrats announced support for bolstering policing in the state's poorest city while signaling delays in initiatives advocates hoped would boost the state's most neglected public school systems.
(2018-12-20). Research Shows Affluent Americans Barely Recognize US Income Gap. truthout.org A new report from the Federal Reserve highlights the bleak economic prospects for young Americans, concluding that millennials are in much worse financial shape than earlier generations (at the same age) in terms of their relative income and wealth. These findings are not encouraging for those concerned with the problem…
(2018-12-20). Behind the epidemic of police killings in America: Class, poverty and race. wsws.org A statistical analysis of every police killing in the United States during 2017 demonstrates that socio-economic class, not race, plays the most decisive role.
(2018-12-19). 1968: The Year That Will Not Go Away. counterpunch.org Few days remain in 2018 to celebrate and recall all the events on the 50thanniversary of 1968. Comparisons with the "gilets jaunes" in France have evoked some of the memories, but for those who lived through 1968 as students there are events permanently etched in our psyches that will not go away. For Millennials and the X Generation, 1968 is pre-history, ancient dinosaur time. For those who experienced 1968, it was a year of rupture and transformation. More
(2018-12-19). Trump's War On Science Worse Than Inquisition. zcomm.org The White House's crude deflections on science aren't simply ignorant — they're calculated to serve the fossil fuel industry at the entire planet's expense…
(2018-12-19). Youth Entrepreneurship by Facilitating People's Development in Morocco. globalresearch.ca Moroccan youth today—whether urban- or rural-based—face enormous obstacles toward achieving their own self-development, and creating change that they seek for their families, communities, country, and even world. They are confronted with the statistical reality that the more education they complete, …
(2018-12-19). Mental Health Experts & Rights Groups Call for Unceasing Media Coverage of Separated Migrant Children. democracynow.org 
It's been more than four months since a judge ordered the Trump administration to reunite all families that were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, but 140 children are still separated from their parents in U.S. custody. It is believed that 30 children will never be reunited. Despite this, family separation is no longer in the daily headlines. We speak with a Harvard psychologist who is trying to change this by calling on U.S. media outlets to highlight the growing number of days that migrant children have been forcibly separated from their parents. Dr. Paula J. Caplan is a clinical and research psychologist an…
(2018-12-19). Trump Administration Recommends Slashing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color. aclu.org A federal commission's post-Parkland recommendations include reversing an Obama-era guidance on racial disparities in school discipline. | On Tuesday, the Federal Commission on School Safety issued recommendations that it claims will help makes schools safer following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. But at the center of the report is a proposal that will endanger millions of public school students, especially students of color and students with disabilities, by reversing federal guidance intended to address racial disparities in school discipline. Doing away with the guidance will weaken federal civil rig…
(2018-12-19). Escalation: The Continued Conflict in Kosovo, The Outright "Criminalization" of the Pristina Government. globalresearch.ca Since the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the nineties, its former constituent republics have been mired in a state of perpetual conflict. | Nowhere is this more apparent than the contested state of Kosovo. | In 1998, Albanian separatists in the Serbian province …
(2018-12-19). When Best Practice Isn't Good Enough: Large Campaigns of Phishing Attacks in Middle East and North Africa Target Privacy-Conscious Users. amnesty.org We have identified several campaigns of credentials phishing, likely operated by the same attackers, targeting hundreds of individuals spread across the Middle East and North Africa. | In one campaign, the attackers were particularly going after accounts on popular self-described "secure email" services, such as Tutanota and ProtonMail. | In another campaign, the attackers have been targeting hundreds of Google and Yahoo accounts, successfully bypassing common forms of two-factor authentication.
(2018-12-18). SPLC: Trump's school safety commission recommendations would make schools less safe. splcenter.org The Federal Commission on School Safety—established by President Trump following the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and led by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos—released a report today that recommends withdrawing the 2014 Department of Justice and Department of Education legal guidance on discriminatory discipline.
(2018-12-18). Marc Lamont Hill Speaks Out After CNN Fires Him for Pro-Palestine Speech at U.N. democracynow.org 
Less than a month after CNN fired Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill for giving a speech at the United Nations supporting Palestinian rights, we speak with him about the international attention his comments have received, academic freedom and why he feels it's more important than ever to speak out about Israeli human rights abuses. Marc Lamont Hill is a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University. He is the author of several books, including "Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond." We also speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning journa…
(2018-12-18). Take the Money Out of Prison Slavery. therealnews.com 
Activists and students continue a national divestment movement to stop the corporate funding of private prisons. Sylvester Owino, a Kenyan immigrant, spent 10 years in an immigrant detention center while his case bounced between the lower and higher courts. Owino and other activists talk about the private prison divestment movement and abuses in the transporting…
(2018-12-18). That shrinking feeling: MIT team develop tech that can reduce objects to nanoscale. rt.com 
While it may not be worthy of 'Honey, I shrunk the kids' or Marvel's Ant-Man, MIT researchers have developed a technique that will allow humanity to create nanoscale objects "of nearly any shape."
(2018-12-17). CTU members overwhelmingly ratify UNO/Acero tentative agreement. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL — Chicago teachers Union (CTU) teachers and paraprofessionals in the Acero/UNO charter network have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract that will dramatically improve teaching and learning conditions in the charter network's 15 campuses across Chicago. The wins were achieved after a historic five-day strike that saw hundreds of union educators and paraprofessionals take to the streets to demand a fair contract, joined by parents, students and allies calling for change at schools run by Acero. Growing numbers of elected officials joined in the call for a decent contract and accountabili…
(2018-12-14). Climate Strike: Heeding Call of Greta Thunberg, Polish Students Walk Out of Class. democracynow.org 
Fifteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has called for a global climate strike today to protest inaction at the U.N. climate summit. Greta made international headlines after she refused to go to school in August and began a School Strike for Climate. Greta made the call for today's strike in a video posted on Twitter.
(2018-12-13). The #RedforEd Wave Is Likely to Build, Not Subside, in 2019. progressive.org Teachers unions are poised to strike across the country.
(2018-12-13). Push for profit: Births, babies and the bottom dollar. greenleft.org.au 
Reliable research into safe and healthy childbirth is being ignored by maternal hospitals in Australia. | Women are not told of the adverse effects of current interventions and practices in childbirth, or that not a single long-term study exists of the almost 50 childbirth drugs currently being used. | The majority of birthing mothers are drugged in some way and one in three women describes their birthing experience as "deeply horrifying". | Viable alternatives, such as homebirth or birth centres, are systematically defunded, demonised by the media and discredited by the medical establishment. | If mothers an…
(2018-12-12). Grinnell College 'Invites Trump onto Campus,' Aiming to Limit Student Collective Bargaining. progressive.org Student unionization efforts are underway at twenty-four U.S. universities—while the first independent undergraduate union in the country fights for survival.
(2018-12-11). Oppose nuclear weapons? Stop backing the companies that produce them. greenleft.org.au 
Research published by Don't Bank on the Bomb Scotland in September revealed the extent of Scotland's investments in nuclear weapons companies, including shares worth nearly £300 million held by the Scottish local government pension funds. | This week, new analysis by The Ferret showed that the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme (SPPS) holds shares worth £2 million in fossil fuels, arms and tobacco companies. This includes £175,495 in Rolls Royce, one of four key contractors involved in Britain's Trident nuclear…
(2018-12-10). Six Ways Betsy DeVos Gets Teachers' Unions Wrong. progressive.org DeVos's antagonism toward unions shows not only her disrespect for teachers but also how her animosity toward organized teachers warps her understanding of issues.
(2018-12-10). Climate movement attracts new generation of activists. greenleft.org.au 
The latter part of 2018 will be remembered for the re-emergence of climate action on the national agenda. | Independent Kerryn Phelps' win in the Wentworth byelection promising "meaningful environmental action" and Labor's subsequent adoption of a 50% renewable energy policy by 2030 has come in the midst of researcher Rebecca Huntley's findings that "climate and environmental concerns" have increasingly become "a test of leadership" for voters. | These centrist platforms, however, have been rightly superseded by the newest base of the climate movement: high school students. | Tired of the "dinosaurs in parliament…