Daily Archives: December 21, 2019

2019-12-21: News Headlines

Ajit Singh (2019-12-21). China detaining millions of Uyghurs? Serious problems with claims by US-backed NGO and far-right researcher 'led by God' against Beijing. thegrayzone.com Claims that China has detained millions of Uyghur Muslims are based largely on two studies. A closer look at these…

Scott Ritter (2019-12-21). The 'Whistleblower' and the Politicization of Intelligence. globalresearch.ca The whistleblower complaint has opened a window into the politicization of the intelligence community, and the corresponding weaponization of the national security establishment, argues Scott Ritter. | *** | The whistleblower. A figure of great controversy, whose actions, manifested in an 11-page

Staff (2019-12-21). We Must Address the Roots of Inequality to Keep It From Killing Us. truthout.org New data from the U.S. Census Bureau confirms that the gap between the richest and poorest households in the U.S. is the largest it has been in over 50 years, and that economic power is more concentrated than ever before. Democrats and Republicans may have different interpretations of these facts, but in public health, decades of research are coming to a consensus: Inequality kills. | Over the past five years, I have worke…

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-21). ICC To Investigate Israeli Government War Crimes & UN Again Contradicts US Claims Of Iran "Proof" 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 (12/20/19). 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 …

Larry Romanoff (2019-12-21). "America the Shrunken" globalresearch.ca In May of 2014, Frank Bruni wrote an article for the NYT titled 'America the Shrunken', in which he detailed what he called "the downward arc of a diminished enterprise" that was the USA, quoting friends who claimed their children …

Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation (2019-12-21). River Otters on the Rise: Monitoring, Research and Results Presentation. indybay.org Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401…

Staff (2019-12-21). What Will It Take to Rid Our Store Shelves of BPA and Other Dangerous Chemicals? truthout.org This is part 4 of a 4-part investigation of the science surrounding the chemical BPA and the U.S. regulatory push to discredit independent evidence of harm while favoring pro-industry science despite significant shortcomings. | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — A percussion of metal-on-metal echoes through the lab as empty food cans drop one by one off a conveyor belt and into rounded poc…

WSWS Repost (2019-12-21). UC Santa Cruz graduate students wildcat strike enters critical phase. indybay.org The wildcat strike begun by University of California Santa Cruz graduate students early last week has now entered a critical stage. The striking students who work as graduate and teaching assistants had pledged to withhold submitting final grades for the Fall quarter, until the administration met their demand for an above-board cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of $1,400. The due date for the grades is today, Wednesday, December 18, and will likely see a showdown between the striking students and the administration.

yenisafak (2019-12-21). Turkish parliament ratifies 2020 budget. yenisafak.com Turkish lawmakers ratified the 2020 budget Saturday following a 12-day marathon session in the general assembly.Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop announced the budget was supported by 329 lawmakers while 159 voted against it in the 600-seat chamber.Lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) approved budget.Turkey earmarked 88.5 billion liras ($15 billion) for public investment in transportation, industry, health and education.Expenditures were projected at 1.095 trillion liras ($0.19 trillion). Also, non-interest expenses will round up at 956.5 bil…

RT (2019-12-21). Swedish justice ministry manipulated crime statistics — study. rt.com Sweden's Ministry of Justice pressured the country's Crime Prevention Council to hide, manipulate, or ignore potentially embarrassing crime statistics, a university study has found. | Sweden's Crime Prevention Council (Brå) has a difficult task. In a country where media outlets omit police-circulated descriptions of suspects' ethnicity, and the government actively downplays the surge in gun crime and bombings in its immigrant ghettoes, Brå is charged with compiling factual, accurate crime statisti…

Staff (2019-12-20). Activists Demand a Migrant Justice Platform as Democratic Candidates Discuss Immigration in Debate. democracynow.org Protesters for immigrant rights demonstrated outside the Democratic debate Thursday in Los Angeles, displaying a banner that read "Migrant Justice on Day One" and demanding a moratorium on deportations and immigrant worker protections. We look at how the candidates responded, with Erika Andiola, chief advocacy officer for RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. "I'm really happy that immigration came up this time around," she notes. "In the past few debates, the issue didn't even come up."

Andrea Mazzarino (2019-12-20). "The Shooters are Coming!" War on Terror, War on Education. counterpunch.org One day in October 2001, shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, I stood at the front of a private high school classroom. As a new social studies teacher, I had been tasked with describing violence against women in that country. I showed the students an article from the front page of the New York Times featuring More

Vijay Prashad (2019-12-20). India's Government is Going to War Against Its Own People. counterpunch.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, and Christians. It does not name Muslims. More

Ron Jacobs (2019-12-20). A Tempestuous Noise. counterpunch.org I first became aware of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest in Junior High. Our English class was reading Romeo and Juliet and each student was assigned to read another Shakespeare work of our own choosing. I chose King Lear, mostly because I felt an affinity with Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia. Later in my life I would More

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-12-20). War is Good for Business and Organized Crime: Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Opium Trade. Rising Heroin Addiction in the US. globalresearch.ca Despite president Trump's announced US troop withdrawal, the Afghan opium trade continues to flourish. It is protected by US-NATO occupation forces on behalf of a nexus of powerful financial and criminal interests.

Medea Benjamin (2019-12-20). The Real Lesson of Afghanistan Is that Regime Change Does Not Work. globalresearch.ca The trove of U.S. "Lessons Learned" documents on Afghanistan published by the Washington Post portrays, in excruciating detail, the anatomy of a failed policy, scandalously hidden from the public for 18 years. The "Lessons Learned" papers, however, are based on …

teleSUR (2019-12-20). Coup Plotters Seek To Eliminate Inclusive Education in Bolivia. telesurenglish.net De facto Bolivian Minister of Education, Virginia Patty, urged today a repeal the Avelino Siñani Law enacted by Evo Morales in 2010, which proposes decolonizing the country through a revolutionary and liberating educational system. | RELATED: | Deadlines Adjusted, Bolivian TSE To Call For Elections In 2020 | She also announced that in the coming days s…

teleSUR (2019-12-20). Cuban Lawmakers Approve 2020 Budget Law. telesurenglish.net Lawmakers approved unanimously the budget law for 2020 which will guarantee basic services for the population, including health, education and social security, during the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Ninth Legislature of the National Assembly of People's Power (Cuban Parliament, ANPP), conducted by its President, Esteban Lazo. | RELATED: | Cuba Denounces New OAS Attack Against Medical Collaboration | The law also plans state investments in different sectors of the economy, accor…

Staff (2019-12-20). Climate Crisis Threatens a Third of Plant Species, Endangering Food Supply. truthout.org Botanists have made a new census of terrestrial plants — only to find that with nearly 40% of them rare, or extremely rare, this may put food at risk. | And a second team of researchers, in a separate study, has established that some of these rare or vanishing species could include the wild relatives of some of the planet's most popula…

Bryant Brown (2019-12-20). "Doughnut Economics": Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. globalresearch.ca Kate Raworth calls herself 'a renegade economist'. She was born in 1970 and earned a bachelor's degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and then followed it with a master's degree in Economics for Development, both from Oxford University where she …

South Front (2019-12-20). Video: Syrian Army's Large Scale Ground Operation in Greater Idlib. globalresearch.ca The Syrian Army has finalized military preparations and is awaiting orders to launch a large-scale ground operation in Greater Idlib, according to reports by Syrian media. The operation will allegedly be aimed at liberating the militant-held part of the M5 …

Dr. Olga Naidenko (2019-12-20). In New Round of Tests, Monsanto's Weedkiller Still Contaminates Foods Marketed to Children. globalresearch.ca Major food companies like General Mills continue to sell popular children's breakfast cereals and other foods contaminated with troubling levels of glyphosate, the cancer-causing ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. | The weedkiller, produced by Bayer-Monsanto, was detected in all 21 oat-based …

Kit Knightly (2019-12-20). The "Afghanistan Papers": Deep State Narrative Management. globalresearch.ca The Big Reveal for the Washington Post this week is the release of the Afghanistan Papers. A series of interviews and documents "compiled in secret" and then the subject of a "legal challenge" from the US government. | The WaPo baldly

Yasmine Motarjemi (2019-12-20). Whistleblowing: A Draft Law to Silence Whistleblowers. globalresearch.ca On 16th December 2019, the Swiss "Conseil des Etats" the upper house of the Swiss Parliament, approved the draft law on whistleblowing, in pipeline since 2003. The proposed law on whistleblowing and related labour laws in Switzerland are not only …

Philip Giraldi (2019-12-20). The Afghanistan Fiasco and the Decline and Fall of the American Military. globalresearch.ca A devastating investigative report was published in the Washington Post on December 9th. Dubbed the "Afghanistan Papers" in a nod to the Vietnam War's famous "Pentagon Papers," the report relied on thousands of documents to similarly expose how …

Stephen Lendman (2019-12-20). Leaked Information on Trump's No-Peace/Deal of the Century. globalresearch.ca Information on what may be in Trump's no-peace/peace plan was leaked before — its accuracy unknown unless and until a plan is released. | It hardly matters. It was dead before arrival. Trump's one-sided support for Israel is more extreme than …

Stephen Lendman (2019-12-20). Trump Not Officially Impeached So Far? globalresearch.ca Will or won't House Speaker Pelosi select Dem impeachment managers (prosecutors) and transmit articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate for trial? | Knowing the GOP controlled body will reject House charges against Trump and acquit him, will Pelosi and …

Press TV (2019-12-20). 'Who Has Given the Americans the Right to be in Syria?' China Asks. globalresearch.ca "Who have given the Americans the right to do this? And, at whose invitation is the US protecting Syria's oil fields?" Xie Xiaoyan said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday. | "Let's think the other way around: will the …

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-20). Israel Bombs Gaza, 2020 NDAA's Israel Focus, Iran Excuse Now In Afghanistan & West Bank Take Over. 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 (12/19/19). 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. Binoy Kampmark (2019-12-20). The Politics of Trump's Impeachment. globalresearch.ca Several features stand out in the impeachment quest against President Donald J. Trump. There is constitutional discourse as mythology and fetish. There is outrage that the executive office could have been used to actually investigate political opponents through foreign …

teleSUR (2019-12-20). Brazil Poll Shows Growing Rejection of Bolsonaro. telesurenglish.net The approval rating of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's government is dropping steadily and its negative rating is climbing, a CNI/Ibope poll showed on Friday, as his combative political style and a weak recovery weigh on his popularity. | RELATED: | Brazil: The Bolsonaro Clan Is Investigated for Money Laundering | The number of Brazilians that rate his government as great or good has slipped to…

Stephen Lendman (2019-12-19). US Hardliners Want Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning Crucified. globalresearch.ca Mass incarceration in the US is a national disgrace, a crime against humanity, including countless numbers of political prisoners — pesecuted behind bars for their beliefs and activism, for resisting the dirty system, judged guilty by accusation. | Julian Assange and …

teleSUR (2019-12-19). Lebanon's Hassan Diab is Named New Prime Minister. telesurenglish.net Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced on Thursday that he has named the former Minister of Education, Hassan Diab, the new Prime Minister after Saad Hariri stated on Wednesday that he was not seeking the candidacy. | RELATED: | Lebanon's Hariri Rules Himself Out as PM Candidate…Again | Lebanon's newly named prime minister said on Thursday he would quickly form a government to pull the country out of economic crisis after he was designated with backing from Iran-backed Hezbollah…

South Front (2019-12-19). Video: Military Intervention in Libya and Turkey's Grand Game in the Eastern Mediterranean. globalresearch.ca During the past week, the situation significantly escalated in Libya, with Turkey expanding its military involvement in the conflict. | In late November, Turkey signed with the Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls only a small part of northern Libya, …

Ralph Nader (2019-12-19). Boeing's Perilous Bungling Requires New Leadership. globalresearch.ca 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 …

Andrew Korybko (2019-12-19). The Indo-'Israeli' Trans-Arabian Corridor Will Push Russia Closer to Pakistan. globalresearch.ca India's participation in "Israel's" Trans-Arabian Corridor for connecting the Eastern Mediterranean and Afro-Asian ("Indian") Ocean will render New Delhi's North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) with Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia economically redundant, consequently pushing Russia closer to Pakistan as Moscow seeks to …

Philip A Farruggio (2019-12-19). You Don't Own Me? globalresearch.ca Leslie Gore's 1963 hit song 'You Don't Own Me' started off with the line "You don't own me, I'm not just one of your toys". So it is with the overwhelming number of our population who, despite NOT knowing it, …

Adeyinka Makinde (2019-12-19). Victimhood and the Nigerian Civil War. globalresearch.ca The concatenation of violence in Nigeria from 1966 to 1970, a train of events which involved communal fighting, army mutinies and a civil war, is correctly viewed as a period during which the ethnic Igbos of the country's south east …

Jonathan Cook (2019-12-19). How Britain Dresses Up Crimes in Israel as 'Charitable Acts'. globalresearch.ca When is a war crime not a war crime? When, according to British officials, that war crime has been given a makeover as a "charitable act". | The British state is being asked to account for its financial and moral support …

Stephen Lendman (2019-12-19). Dem Controlled House Impeaches Trump. globalresearch.ca On Wednesday, House members impeached Trump on two counts as expected, politicized voting almost entirely along party lines — 230 — 197 for alleged abuse of power, 229 — 198 for alleged obstruction of Congress. | No Republicans supported the scam, …

Swiss Propaganda Research (2019-12-19). Propaganda in the War on Yugoslavia. globalresearch.ca The war on Yugoslavia in the 1990s was a classic imperial war to reorder South Eastern Europe. To achieve its goals, the US even deployed the "jihadist" mercenaries with which it had previously fought the USSR in Afghanistan and which …

Janice Kortkamp (2019-12-19). Testimonies from People Living in Syria. "What does the American Government have Against Us?" globalresearch.ca Rania "if death will come in 5 years or 7 or 10 I would urge it to come now because they have ripped us up of all hopes for any foreseen future…‚ÄØthey have killed us while we are still …

teleSUR (2019-12-19). Colombia: Protests Against Tax Reform and Police Repression. telesurenglish.net Student groups, currently under constant mobilization in the country, demanded the repeal of the Tax Reform and the ending of repression by the National Police. | RELATED: | Colombia: Duque Ignores the National Strike Committee Requests | Holding banners with the face of Dilan Cruz, a young man who died as a result of the impact of an artifact on his head launched by agents of the Mobile Riot Squadron, hundreds of university students rejected the approval of the Executive for th…

Paul Antonopoulos (2019-12-19). Brexit Could See the Return of the Falkland Islands to Argentina. globalresearch.ca The Islas Malvinas, or more commonly known as the Falkland Islands, archipelago was invaded by the United Kingdom in 1833 and its occupation has continued to date. Argentina's claim for sovereignty through diplomatic means has been a state policy since …

RT (2019-12-19). 'Like tobacco companies' : Coca Cola blasted for telling teens its soda is 'healthy lifestyle' choice in new study. rt.com Internal emails from Coca Cola have shown the carbonated-beverage giant is trying to change the unhealthy image of their brand by specifically targeting active teenagers. | A new report from The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) is blasting the Atlanta-based corporation for advertising its sugary drinks to teenagers and trying to convince them that soda is part of a healthy lifestyle. | "The large number of children targeted and reached by Coke as part of their PR campaigns is a serious c…

RT (2019-12-19). Elite NY school rocked by claims of anti-Semitism, swastikas on campus & Holocaust survivors labeled oppressors. rt.com An elite private school in the Bronx that costs $53,000 a year is being accused of failing to properly address complaints of discrimination and anti-Semitism made by Jewish students who reportedly say they've felt unsafe there. | Swastikas have reportedly been posted on the grounds of Fieldston School and a recent speaker argued that Holocaust survivors have turned into oppressors. | "If someone was coming to Fieldston to talk about apartheid and went off on a rant about the pea-sized brains of women who belong in a kitchen, or repeated racist tropes, or ranted about any form of homophobia or racism or sexism,…

RT (2019-12-19). Tulsi Gabbard votes 'present' on both impeachment articles, stoking liberal ire on Twitter. rt.com Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard broke ranks with her party and voted "present" on two articles of impeachment, slamming the process as "partisan." The vote drew swift condemnation from Twitter's more progressive quarters. | Voting "present" instead of "yes" or "no" in Wednesday's full House vote for two impeachment articles passed in committee last week, Gabbard became one of only a tiny minority of Democrats to swim against the current in her own party. | "I could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting President must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by triba…

Staff (2019-12-18). Protests Paralyze India After Racist Anti-Muslim Law Passed. therealnews.com Modi's government using brutal violence against students and workers to stop demonstrations. Professor Sumit Ganguly examines the legal, moral and political significance anti-Muslim laws and the growing movement to oppose Hindu nationalism.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-12-18). The US-NATO-Israel Sponsored Al Qaeda Insurgency in Syria. Who Was Behind the 2011 "Protest Movement"? globalresearch.ca It was not a protest movement, it was an armed insurgency integrated by US-Israeli & allied supported "jihadist" death squads. From Day One, the Islamist "freedom fighters" were supported, trained & equipped by NATO & Turkey's High Command.

news.un (2019-12-18). Global Refugee Forum ends with hundreds of pledges. news.un.org The first-ever Global Refugee Forum concluded in Geneva on Wednesday with more than 770 pledges of support, covering areas such as protection, employment, and education, for refugees and the communities which have taken them in.

2019-12-21: Social Media Postees

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

China detaining millions of Uyghurs? Serious problems with claims by US-backed NGO and far-right researcher 'led by God' against Beijing
Ajit Singh | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-21
Claims that China has detained millions of Uyghur Muslims are based largely on two studies. A closer look at these…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/21/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher/

China detaining millions of Uyghurs? Serious problems with claims by US-backed NGO and far-right researcher 'led by God' against Beijing
Ajit Singh | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-21
Claims that China has detained millions of Uyghur Muslims are based largely on two studies. A closer look at these…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/21/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher/

"America the Shrunken"
Larry Romanoff | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-21
In May of 2014, Frank Bruni wrote an article for the NYT titled 'America the Shrunken', in which he detailed what he called "the downward arc of a diminished enterprise" that was the USA, quoting friends who claimed their children …
globalresearch.ca/america-shrunken/5698017

River Otters on the Rise: Monitoring, Research and Results Presentation
Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation | indybay.org | 2019-12-21
Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829049.php

ICC To Investigate Israeli Government War Crimes & UN Again Contradicts US Claims Of Iran "Proof"
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-21
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 (12/20/19). 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/icc-to-investigate-israeli-government-war-crimes-un-again-contradicts-us-claims-of-iran-proof/

The 'Whistleblower' and the Politicization of Intelligence
Scott Ritter | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-21
The whistleblower complaint has opened a window into the politicization of the intelligence community, and the corresponding weaponization of the national security establishment, argues Scott Ritter. | *** | The whistleblower. A figure of great controversy, whose actions, manifested in an 11-page …
globalresearch.ca/whistleblower-politicization-intelligence/5696154

We Must Address the Roots of Inequality to Keep It From Killing Us
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-21
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau confirms that the gap between the richest and poorest households in the U.S. is the largest it has been in over 50 years, and that economic power is more concentrated than ever before. Democrats and Republicans may have different interpretations of these facts, but in public health, decades of research are coming to a consensus: Inequality kills. | Over the past five years, I have worke…
truthout.org/articles/we-must-address-the-roots-of-inequality-to-keep-it-from-killing-us/

The 'Whistleblower' and the Politicization of Intelligence
Scott Ritter | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-21
The whistleblower complaint has opened a window into the politicization of the intelligence community, and the corresponding weaponization of the national security establishment, argues Scott Ritter. | *** | The whistleblower. A figure of great controversy, whose actions, manifested in an 11-page …
globalresearch.ca/whistleblower-politicization-intelligence/5696154

What Will It Take to Rid Our Store Shelves of BPA and Other Dangerous Chemicals?
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-21
This is part 4 of a 4-part investigation of the science surrounding the chemical BPA and the U.S. regulatory push to discredit independent evidence of harm while favoring pro-industry science despite significant shortcomings. | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — A percussion of metal-on-metal echoes through the lab as empty food cans drop one by one off a conveyor belt and into rounded poc…
truthout.org/articles/what-will-it-take-to-rid-our-store-shelves-of-bpa-and-other-dangerous-chemicals/

UC Santa Cruz graduate students wildcat strike enters critical phase
WSWS Repost | indybay.org | 2019-12-21
The wildcat strike begun by University of California Santa Cruz graduate students early last week has now entered a critical stage. The striking students who work as graduate and teaching assistants had pledged to withhold submitting final grades for the Fall quarter, until the administration met their demand for an above-board cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of $1,400. The due date for the grades is today, Wednesday, December 18, and will likely see a showdown between the striking students and the administration.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/18/18829022.php

Turkish parliament ratifies 2020 budget
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-21
Turkish lawmakers ratified the 2020 budget Saturday following a 12-day marathon session in the general assembly.Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop announced the budget was supported by 329 lawmakers while 159 voted against it in the 600-seat chamber.Lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) approved budget.Turkey earmarked 88.5 billion liras ($15 billion) for public investment in transportation, industry, health and education.Expenditures were projected at 1.095 trillion liras ($0.19 trillion). Also, non-interest expenses will round up at 956.5 bil…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkish-parliament-ratifies-2020-budget-3507945

Swedish justice ministry manipulated crime statistics — study
rt.com | 2019-12-21
Sweden's Ministry of Justice pressured the country's Crime Prevention Council to hide, manipulate, or ignore potentially embarrassing crime statistics, a university study has found. | Sweden's Crime Prevention Council (Brå) has a difficult task. In a country where media outlets omit police-circulated descriptions of suspects' ethnicity, and the government actively downplays the surge in gun crime and bombings in its immigrant ghettoes, Brå is charged with compiling factual, accurate crime statisti…
rt.com/news/476568-sweden-manipulates-crime-statistics/

Activists Demand a Migrant Justice Platform as Democratic Candidates Discuss Immigration in Debate
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-20
Protesters for immigrant rights demonstrated outside the Democratic debate Thursday in Los Angeles, displaying a banner that read "Migrant Justice on Day One" and demanding a moratorium on deportations and immigrant worker protections. We look at how the candidates responded, with Erika Andiola, chief advocacy officer for RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. "I'm really happy that immigration came up this time around," she notes. "In the past few debates, the issue didn't even come up."
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/20/democrat…

War is Good for Business and Organized Crime: Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Opium Trade. Rising Heroin Addiction in the US
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Despite president Trump's announced US troop withdrawal, the Afghan opium trade continues to flourish. It is protected by US-NATO occupation forces on behalf of a nexus of powerful financial and criminal interests.
globalresearch.ca/war-is-good-for-business-and-organized-crime-afghanistans-multibillion-dollar-opium-trade-rising-heroin-addiction-in-the-us/5664319

War is Good for Business and Organized Crime: Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Opium Trade. Rising Heroin Addiction in the US
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Despite president Trump's announced US troop withdrawal, the Afghan opium trade continues to flourish. It is protected by US-NATO occupation forces on behalf of a nexus of powerful financial and criminal interests.
globalresearch.ca/war-is-good-for-business-and-organized-crime-afghanistans-multibillion-dollar-opium-trade-rising-heroin-addiction-in-the-us/5664319

The Real Lesson of Afghanistan Is that Regime Change Does Not Work
Medea Benjamin | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
The trove of U.S. "Lessons Learned" documents on Afghanistan published by the Washington Post portrays, in excruciating detail, the anatomy of a failed policy, scandalously hidden from the public for 18 years. The "Lessons Learned" papers, however, are based on …
globalresearch.ca/real-lesson-afghanistan-regime-change-does-not-work/5698301

"The Shooters are Coming!" War on Terror, War on Education
Andrea Mazzarino | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-20
One day in October 2001, shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, I stood at the front of a private high school classroom. As a new social studies teacher, I had been tasked with describing violence against women in that country. I showed the students an article from the front page of the New York Times featuring…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/20/the-shooters-are-coming-war-on-terror-war-on-education/

Coup Plotters Seek To Eliminate Inclusive Education in Bolivia
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-20
De facto Bolivian Minister of Education, Virginia Patty, urged today a repeal the Avelino Siñani Law enacted by Evo Morales in 2010, which proposes decolonizing the country through a revolutionary and liberating educational system. | RELATED: | Deadlines Adjusted, Bolivian TSE To Call For Elections In 2020 | She also announced that in the coming days s…
telesurenglish.net/news/Coup-Plotters-Seek-To-Eliminate-Inclusive-Education-in-Bolivia-20191220-0007.html

Cuban Lawmakers Approve 2020 Budget Law
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-20
Lawmakers approved unanimously the budget law for 2020 which will guarantee basic services for the population, including health, education and social security, during the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Ninth Legislature of the National Assembly of People's Power (Cuban Parliament, ANPP), conducted by its President, Esteban Lazo. | RELATED: | Cuba Denounces New OAS Attack Against Medical Collaboration | The law also plans state investments in different sectors of the economy, accor…
telesurenglish.net/news/Cuban-Lawmakers-Approve-2020-Budget-Law-20191220-0012.html

The Politics of Trump's Impeachment
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Several features stand out in the impeachment quest against President Donald J. Trump. There is constitutional discourse as mythology and fetish. There is outrage that the executive office could have been used to actually investigate political opponents through foreign …
globalresearch.ca/politics-trump-impeachment/5698332

Video: Syrian Army's Large Scale Ground Operation in Greater Idlib
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
The Syrian Army has finalized military preparations and is awaiting orders to launch a large-scale ground operation in Greater Idlib, according to reports by Syrian media. The operation will allegedly be aimed at liberating the militant-held part of the M5 …
globalresearch.ca/video-syrian-army-last-chance-idlib-advance-2019/5698300

Whistleblowing: A Draft Law to Silence Whistleblowers
Yasmine Motarjemi | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
On 16th December 2019, the Swiss "Conseil des Etats" the upper house of the Swiss Parliament, approved the draft law on whistleblowing, in pipeline since 2003. The proposed law on whistleblowing and related labour laws in Switzerland are not only …
globalresearch.ca/whistleblowing-draft-law-silence-whistleblowers/5698298

The Politics of Trump's Impeachment
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Several features stand out in the impeachment quest against President Donald J. Trump. There is constitutional discourse as mythology and fetish. There is outrage that the executive office could have been used to actually investigate political opponents through foreign …
globalresearch.ca/politics-trump-impeachment/5698332

The Afghanistan Fiasco and the Decline and Fall of the American Military
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
A devastating investigative report was published in the Washington Post on December 9th. Dubbed the "Afghanistan Papers" in a nod to the Vietnam War's famous "Pentagon Papers," the report relied on thousands of documents to similarly expose how …
globalresearch.ca/afghanistan-fiasco-decline-fall-american-military/5698318

Trump Not Officially Impeached So Far?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Will or won't House Speaker Pelosi select Dem impeachment managers (prosecutors) and transmit articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate for trial? | Knowing the GOP controlled body will reject House charges against Trump and acquit him, will Pelosi and …
globalresearch.ca/trump-not-officially-impeached-so-far/5698309

The "Afghanistan Papers": Deep State Narrative Management
Kit Knightly | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
The Big Reveal for the Washington Post this week is the release of the Afghanistan Papers. A series of interviews and documents "compiled in secret" and then the subject of a "legal challenge" from the US government. | The WaPo baldly …
globalresearch.ca/afghanistan-papers-deep-state-narrative-management/5698337

"Doughnut Economics": Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist
Bryant Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Kate Raworth calls herself 'a renegade economist'. She was born in 1970 and earned a bachelor's degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and then followed it with a master's degree in Economics for Development, both from Oxford University where she …
globalresearch.ca/doughnut-economics-seven-ways-think-like-21st-century-economist/5698326

Leaked Information on Trump's No-Peace/Deal of the Century
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Information on what may be in Trump's no-peace/peace plan was leaked before — its accuracy unknown unless and until a plan is released. | It hardly matters. It was dead before arrival. Trump's one-sided support for Israel is more extreme than …
globalresearch.ca/leaked-information-trump-no-peace-deal-century/5698306

'Who Has Given the Americans the Right to be in Syria?' China Asks
Press TV | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
"Who have given the Americans the right to do this? And, at whose invitation is the US protecting Syria's oil fields?" Xie Xiaoyan said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday. | "Let's think the other way around: will the | …
globalresearch.ca/who-has-given-americans-right-syria-china-asks/5698316

Israel Bombs Gaza, 2020 NDAA's Israel Focus, Iran Excuse Now In Afghanistan & West Bank Take Over
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-20
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 (12/19/19). 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-2020-ndaas-israel-focus-iran-excuse-now-in-afghanistan-west-bank-take-over/

In New Round of Tests, Monsanto's Weedkiller Still Contaminates Foods Marketed to Children
Dr. Olga Naidenko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Major food companies like General Mills continue to sell popular children's breakfast cereals and other foods contaminated with troubling levels of glyphosate, the cancer-causing ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. | The weedkiller, produced by Bayer-Monsanto, was detected in all 21 oat-based …
globalresearch.ca/new-round-tests-monsanto-weedkiller-contaminates-foods-marketed-children/5698322

Leaked Information on Trump's No-Peace/Deal of the Century
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Information on what may be in Trump's no-peace/peace plan was leaked before — its accuracy unknown unless and until a plan is released. | It hardly matters. It was dead before arrival. Trump's one-sided support for Israel is more extreme than …
globalresearch.ca/leaked-information-trump-no-peace-deal-century/5698306

"Doughnut Economics": Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist
Bryant Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Kate Raworth calls herself 'a renegade economist'. She was born in 1970 and earned a bachelor's degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and then followed it with a master's degree in Economics for Development, both from Oxford University where she …
globalresearch.ca/doughnut-economics-seven-ways-think-like-21st-century-economist/5698326

In New Round of Tests, Monsanto's Weedkiller Still Contaminates Foods Marketed to Children
Dr. Olga Naidenko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
Major food companies like General Mills continue to sell popular children's breakfast cereals and other foods contaminated with troubling levels of glyphosate, the cancer-causing ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. | The weedkiller, produced by Bayer-Monsanto, was detected in all 21 oat-based …
globalresearch.ca/new-round-tests-monsanto-weedkiller-contaminates-foods-marketed-children/5698322

Climate Crisis Threatens a Third of Plant Species, Endangering Food Supply
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-20
Botanists have made a new census of terrestrial plants — only to find that with nearly 40% of them rare, or extremely rare, this may put food at risk. | And a second team of researchers, in a separate study, has established that some of these rare or vanishing species could include the wild relatives of some of the planet's most popula…
truthout.org/articles/climate-crisis-threatens-a-third-of-plant-species-endangering-food-supply/

'Who Has Given the Americans the Right to be in Syria?' China Asks
Press TV | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-20
"Who have given the Americans the right to do this? And, at whose invitation is the US protecting Syria's oil fields?" Xie Xiaoyan said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday. | "Let's think the other way around: will the | …
globalresearch.ca/who-has-given-americans-right-syria-china-asks/5698316

A Tempestuous Noise
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-20
I first became aware of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest in Junior High. Our English class was reading Romeo and Juliet and each student was assigned to read another Shakespeare work of our own choosing. I chose King Lear, mostly because I felt an affinity with Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia. Later in my life I would…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/20/a-tempestuous-noise/

A Tempestuous Noise
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-20
I first became aware of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest in Junior High. Our English class was reading Romeo and Juliet and each student was assigned to read another Shakespeare work of our own choosing. I chose King Lear, mostly because I felt an affinity with Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia. Later in my life I would…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/20/a-tempestuous-noise/

US Hardliners Want Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning Crucified
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
Mass incarceration in the US is a national disgrace, a crime against humanity, including countless numbers of political prisoners — pesecuted behind bars for their beliefs and activism, for resisting the dirty system, judged guilty by accusation. | Julian Assange and …
globalresearch.ca/us-hardliners-want-julian-assange-chelsea-manning-crucified/5698261

US Hardliners Want Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning Crucified
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
Mass incarceration in the US is a national disgrace, a crime against humanity, including countless numbers of political prisoners — pesecuted behind bars for their beliefs and activism, for resisting the dirty system, judged guilty by accusation. | Julian Assange and …
globalresearch.ca/us-hardliners-want-julian-assange-chelsea-manning-crucified/5698261

Lebanon's Hassan Diab is Named New Prime Minister
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-19
Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced on Thursday that he has named the former Minister of Education, Hassan Diab, the new Prime Minister after Saad Hariri stated on Wednesday that he was not seeking the candidacy. | RELATED: | Lebanon's Hariri Rules Himself Out as PM Candidate…Again | Lebanon's newly named prime minister said on Thursday he would quickly form a government to pull the country out of economic crisis after he was designated with backing from Iran-backed Hezbollah…
telesurenglish.net/news/Lebanons-Hassan-Diab-is-Named-New-Prime-Minister-20191219-0009.html

The Indo-'Israeli' Trans-Arabian Corridor Will Push Russia Closer to Pakistan
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
India's participation in "Israel's" Trans-Arabian Corridor for connecting the Eastern Mediterranean and Afro-Asian ("Indian") Ocean will render New Delhi's North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) with Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia economically redundant, consequently pushing Russia closer to Pakistan as Moscow seeks to …
globalresearch.ca/indo-israeli-trans-arabian-corridor-push-russia-closer-pakistan/5698250

Victimhood and the Nigerian Civil War
Adeyinka Makinde | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
The concatenation of violence in Nigeria from 1966 to 1970, a train of events which involved communal fighting, army mutinies and a civil war, is correctly viewed as a period during which the ethnic Igbos of the country's south east …
globalresearch.ca/victimhood-nigerian-civil-war/5698252

How Britain Dresses Up Crimes in Israel as 'Charitable Acts'
Jonathan Cook | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
When is a war crime not a war crime? When, according to British officials, that war crime has been given a makeover as a "charitable act". | The British state is being asked to account for its financial and moral support …
globalresearch.ca/how-britain-dresses-up-crimes-israel-charitable-acts/5698233

Video: Military Intervention in Libya and Turkey's Grand Game in the Eastern Mediterranean
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
During the past week, the situation significantly escalated in Libya, with Turkey expanding its military involvement in the conflict. | In late November, Turkey signed with the Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls only a small part of northern Libya, …
globalresearch.ca/video-military-intervention-libya-turkey-grand-game-eastern-mediterranean/5698225

Dem Controlled House Impeaches Trump
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
On Wednesday, House members impeached Trump on two counts as expected, politicized voting almost entirely along party lines — 230 — 197 for alleged abuse of power, 229 — 198 for alleged obstruction of Congress. | No Republicans supported the scam, …
globalresearch.ca/dem-controlled-house-impeaches-trump/5698262

You Don't Own Me?
Philip A Farruggio | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
Leslie Gore's 1963 hit song 'You Don't Own Me' started off with the line "You don't own me, I'm not just one of your toys". So it is with the overwhelming number of our population who, despite NOT knowing it, …
globalresearch.ca/you-dont-own-me/5698229

Boeing's Perilous Bungling Requires New Leadership
Ralph Nader | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
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 …
globalresearch.ca/boeing-requires-new-leadership/5698271

Boeing's Perilous Bungling Requires New Leadership
Ralph Nader | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
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 …
globalresearch.ca/boeing-requires-new-leadership/5698271

Propaganda in the War on Yugoslavia
Swiss Propaganda Research | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-19
The war on Yugoslavia in the 1990s was a classic imperial war to reorder South Eastern Europe. To achieve its goals, the US even deployed the "jihadist" mercenaries with which it had previously fought the USSR in Afghanistan and which …
globalresearch.ca/propaganda-war-yugoslavia/5698036