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2019-12-04: Social Media Postees

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

Julian Assange: An Appeal From International Lawyers
Fredrik S. Heffermehl | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
The ongoing proceedings against Australian citizen Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, presently held in Belmarsh Prison near London, display a grave erosion of time-honoured principles of human rights, the rule of law, and the democratic freedom to gather and …
globalresearch.ca/julian-assange-appeal-international-lawyers/5696744

Does the US Military "Own the Weather"? "Weaponizing the Weather" as an Instrument of Modern Warfare?
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Weather-modification, according to the US Air Force document AF 2025 Final Report, "offers the war fighter a wide range of possible options to defeat or coerce an adversary", capabilities, it says, extend to the triggering of floods, hurricanes, droughts and earthquakes…
globalresearch.ca/does-the-us-military-own-the-weather-weaponizing-the-weather-as-an-instrument-of-modern-warfare/5608728

The Education Debate Over Minority Voters
Peter Greene | progressive.org | 2019-12-04
Are minority parents seeking better schools for their kids supporters of charter schools, or leading figures in the resistance to a choice-based education reform movement?
progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/education-debate-minority-voters-greene-191204/

Ontario high school teachers stage one-day walkout Wednesday
wsws.org | 2019-12-04
More than 60,000 Ontario high school teachers will walk off the job today in opposition to the sweeping cuts the provincial Conservative government is making to education and their terms of employment.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/04/onta…

Australia: Vote 'no' to the NSWTF salaries agreement! Form rank-and-file committees to defend public education
wsws.org | 2019-12-04
The NSW Teachers Federation is seeking to split and isolate teachers as they meet at hundreds of different venues across the state to hear details of the latest award.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/04/teac…

Video: Russian Military Police Under Attack in Northern Syria
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Three Russian military police officers received light injuries when an improvised explosive device went off near their armored vehicle in northeastern Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on December 2. The incident happened when the Russian Military Police were fulfilling …
globalresearch.ca/video-russian-military-police-came-under-attack-northern-syria/5696693

Erdogan Opened a Pandora's Box in Libya that Will be Difficult to Close
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean are rapidly rising after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoƒüan met with a Libyan official of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, in Ankara last week. They …
globalresearch.ca/erdogan-opened-pandora-box-libya/5696729

Medical Error: The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US
Prof. Martin Makary | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
This article was originally published in 2016. | Introduction | "2.6 million people die annually in low-and middle-income countries from medical errors, and that most of those deaths are related to misdiagnosis and administration of pharmaceutical products…Medication errors alone cost an estimated …
globalresearch.ca/medical-error-third-leading-cause-death-us/5696705

Climate and the Money Trail
F. William Engdahl | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
The very mega-billionaires behind the globalization of the world economy who have wreaked so much damage to our environment are the leading backers of the "grassroots" climate movement. Is it pangs of guilty conscience, or could it be a deeper agenda of the financialization of the very air we breathe and…
globalresearch.ca/climate-money-trail/5690209

The Theology of Politics
Larry Romanoff | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
This is a serious discussion, so let's be sure we are on the same page by ensuring we apply the same meanings to our words. "Democracy" is NOT government. It is not freedom, it is not human rights, it is …
globalresearch.ca/theology-politics/5696552

Dossier 23: Peace, neoliberalism and political shifts in Colombia
The Tricontinental | mronline.org | 2019-12-04
Once again, the people of Colombia straddle two realities–the drums of war and the hope of peace. This tension has along, complex, and multi-dimensional historical process. This dossier from Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research examines the root causes of the crisis and the two realities of war and peace. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/04/peace-neoliberalism-and-political-shifts-in-colombia-dossier-23/

Rioting in Hong Kong and Iraq: Human Rights and Hypocrisy in the White House and Congress
Brian Cloughley | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
For months Western media outlets have been retailing stories about riots in Hong Kong. With lip-smacking relish there have been such reports as "On October 1, China's National Day, the first live round to hit a protester was fired by …
globalresearch.ca/human-rights-hypocrisy-white-house-congress/5696749

Swarm Drone Technology and Military Escalation. Will US Drones Push the Middle East Past the Point of No Return?
Jonathan Burden | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) or drones, both armed and unarmed, have altered how states and insurgents conduct warfare in the Middle East. The widespread proliferation of these weapons, combined with the range of capabilities they confer and their potential to …
globalresearch.ca/will-drones-push-middle-east-past-point-no-return/5696747

Video: The New Arms Race. Is Russia Overtaking the US in the Realm of Strategic Bombers?
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
The Russian Armed Forces put into action an ambitious program to modernize and expand the strategic bomber fleet. | In March 2018, Russia announced that it would completely overhaul its entire Tu-160 long-range strategic bomber fleet by 2030. According to Deputy …
globalresearch.ca/video-the-new-arms-race-is-russia-overtaking-the-us-in-the-realm-of-strategic-bombers/5696731

Is Boris Johnson a Liar? Denies He Will Sell Off UK National Health Service to Trump
Johanna Ross | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
'A plot against the whole country' declared Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as he brandished a wad of leaked documents last week which he said proves that the UK National Health Service would indeed be 'on the table' when it came …
globalresearch.ca/uk-government-denies-sell-off-national-health-service-trump/5696741

Going to the ICJ: Myanmar, Genocide and Aung San Suu Kyi's Gamble
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Leaders currently in office rarely make an appearance before either the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court. International law remains affixed to the notion that heads-of-state are, at least for the duration of their time in office, …
globalresearch.ca/icj-myanmar-genocide-aung-san-suu-kyi-gamble/5696694

Russia-China Cooperation, The Power of Siberia Project, Strategic Gas Pipelines
Arabi Souri | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
The inauguration of the Power of Siberia project to transport gas from Russia to China will strengthen Russia's position as the world's first gas exporter and boost economic relations between the two countries in an unprecedented way. | Thanks to the …
globalresearch.ca/russia-china-cooperation-the-power-of-siberia-project-strategic-gas-pipelines/5696690

Iraq Protests: Who Holds the Initiative and Who Has the Power
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
There is little doubt that Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr controls the streets in Iraq and can make peaceful protests violent when he chooses. Notwithstanding the presence of several smaller players and those genuinely asking for serious reforms, Sayyed Moqtada can move …
globalresearch.ca/who-holds-initiative-who-has-power-mobilise-street-iraq/5696738

House Dems Release Sham Impeachment Inquiry Report
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Make no mistake. What's going on is one of the most disturbing political spectacles in US history — one right wing of the one-party state trying to defrock the other wing's leader for politicized reasons, not legitimate ones. | Daily theater …
globalresearch.ca/house-dems-release-sham-impeachment-inquiry-report/5696734

Indian University Agrees Not to Host Future Israeli Government Events Following Student Protests
PACBI | bdsmovement.net | 2019-12-04
Indian University Agrees Not to Host Future Israeli Government Events Following Student Protests: UpdateIn a courageous show of solidarity, students in New Delhi held firm against the university administration's violent crackdown on protests of an Israeli government event until their demands were met. | Academic BoycottNovember 20, 2019 | By:…
bdsmovement.net/news/indian-university-agrees-not-host-future-israeli-government-events-following-student-protests

Harvard University graduate student union begins strike over pay, conditions
wsws.org | 2019-12-04
The HGSU-UAW has made only token appeals to other sections of workers at Harvard to support the grad student workers' strike and has offered substantial concessions to the university on virtually all issues.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/04/harv…

End the Wars, Win the Antiwar Vote
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-04
Like anyone else who was around that day, I can tell you exactly where I was on 9/11. | I was a Catholic school eighth grader, fresh off my 14th birthday. The school day lurched along for a while, but eventually we dropped the pretense of carrying on. Teachers ushered us into the adjoining church for a prayer service, then sent us home early. | Later on, in the car with my dad, we heard what sounded like an explosion — a sonic boom from the nearby air base. My dad pulled over alongside other panicked drivers, all of us scanning the sky. In our agitated state, we genuinely believed that our little corner of…
truthdig.com/articles/end-the-wars-win-the-antiwar-vote/

People's World Awards Gala to honor Chicago Teachers
Special to People's World | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-04
CHICAGO–The annual People's World Awards Gala, to be held on Sunday, Dec. 8, will honor Stacy Davis Gates, vice-president of the Chicago Teachers Union, and feature Howard Kling as keynote speaker. Gates will receive the Frank Lumpkin-Rudy Lozano award at the dinner. The Chicago Teachers Union, AFT Local 1, and the Chicago Public School system …
peoplesworld.org/article/peoples-world-awards-gala-to-honor-chicago-teachers/

Watergate Teaches Us That Democrats Should Broaden the Impeachment Charges
Jeffrey C. Isaac | commondreams.org | 2019-12-04
Hundreds of activists attend a rally in New York City on October 13, 2019 demanding that Congress fulfill its constitutional duty and impeach President Donald Trump. "Broadening the impeachment makes constitutional sense," writes Isaac, "and it makes political sense, too." (Photo: Gabriele Holtermann-Gorden/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/04/watergate-teaches-us-democrats-should-broaden-impeachment-charges?cd-origin=rss

70 Percent of Mexico's Illegal Weapons Come From US: Report
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-04
The Secretary of National Defense of Mexico, Luis Sandoval, reported on Wednesday that the 19,317 firearms that have been seized inside 26 states of the country have recently been destroyed. | RELATED: | Morales Accuses Bolivian Gov't of Blocking His Migratory Status | Based on the statistics, 70 percent of the weapons that enter Mexico come from the U.S., while 30 percent come from Spain, Austria and other countries, the official said during the morning press conference with P…
telesurenglish.net/news/70-Percent-of-Mexicos-Illegal-Weapons-Come-From-US-Report-20191204-0004.html

Il Summit lancia la Nato nello spazio, costi alle stelle
Manlio Dinucci | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Si svolge a Londra, il 4 dicembre, il Consiglio Nord Atlantico dei capi di stato e di governo che celebra il 70 ∞ anniversario della Nato, definita dal segretario generale Jens Stoltenberg ´l'alleanza di maggiore successo nella storia ª. | Un ´successo ª innegabile. …
globalresearch.ca/il-summit-lancia-la-nato-nello-spazio-costi-alle-stelle/5696717

Progressives Fire Back at Buttigieg's 'Bad Faith' Claim That Tuition-Free College Proposals Are Elitist
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-04
Progressives and supporters of the tuition-free public college plans backed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday denounced Mayor Pete Buttigieg's most recent attack on the proposals, in which the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate claimed offering a free public college education furthered an "elitist" worldview. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/04/progressives-fire-back-buttigiegs-bad-faith-claim-tuition-free-college-proposals-are?cd-origin=rss

Cheeky conman erects fake Russia-Finland border, tricks illegal migrants into paying him to cross it
rt.com | 2019-12-04
An industrious conman made a hefty sum of money from four illegal migrants for a walk in the forest, making them believe they were crossing the Russian border. The group, however, was later nabbed by legit Russian border guards. | Read more | | Entrapment? ICE created fake universities to lure foreign students before arresting & deporting them | Details of the bizarre affair were revealed to the media by the Border Service of the Federal Security Service on Tuesday. The incident occurred last week when the border guards apprehended a group of fo…
rt.com/russia/475013-fake-russia-finland-border/

Selected Articles: Medical Error: The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-04
Global Research, like many independent voices all over the globe, is feeling the effects of online measures set up to curtail access to our website, and by consequence, hinder our finances. We sail on despite the unpredictable currents and unfavourable …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-medical-error-third-leading-cause-death-us/5696752

UK climbs rankings for maths, science and reading — but students are 'less happy'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-03
Students in the UK are continuing to lag behind their peers from smaller European countries such as Estonia and Finland when it comes to maths, reading and science, a bellwether study of global education trends has suggested.Asian nations, including Singapore and Hong Kong, continue to dominate the latest triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) report, a survey of 15-year-old students from around the world to assess the extent to which they have acquired key skills and knowledge.And while the UK's ranking across the three disciplines has improved on the score from three years ago, the coun…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2019/12/03/uk-climbs-rankings-for-maths-science-and-reading-but-students-are-less-happy/


telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-03
The main union that promotes protests against the economic and social policies of the Colombian President, Iván Duque, rejected the possibility of suspending the national strike that was called for this Wednesday, December 4 and insisted on a direct dialogue with the government to seek an agreement. | Speaking to RCN News, the president of the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode), Nelson Alarcón, said that the leaders of the strike will answer the call of the government to begin the negotiation process based on the specifications submitted last week to President Duque. | Alarcón commented that t…
telesurenglish.net/news/Main-Colombian-Union-Refuses-to-Call-Off-National-Strike-20191203-0004.html

China Retaliates Against Hostile US Legislation
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-03
In late November, House and Senate members unanimously passed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA) of 2019. | Trump signed the measure into law, along with a companion bill, restricting exports of US crowd control devices to …
globalresearch.ca/china-retaliates-against-hostile-us-legislation/5696675

NATO's Continuing Enlargement Aims at Further Weakening of Russian Influence in the Balkans
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-03
Of the 29 NATO member states, 22 have already ratified the accession protocol of North Macedonia into the anti-Russian alliance. The ratification process will likely be completed before the end of NATO's summit taking place in London this week, which …
globalresearch.ca/nato-continuing-enlargement-aims-weakening-russian-influence-balkans/5696668

What Happens When a Reform Prosecutor Stands Up to the Death Penalty
Jordan Smith | theintercept.com | 2019-12-03
Standing behind a podium outside the Orlando courthouse, Aramis Ayala, the elected state prosecuting attorney for Florida's Orange and Osceola counties, announced that after extensive research, discussion, and reflection, she had decided that she could no longer seek the death penalty for defendants charged by her office. "My duty is to seek justice, which is fairness, objectivity, and decency," she said. "I am prohibited from making the severity of sentences the index of my effectiveness." | In many ways, Ayala's announcement in the winter of 2017 should not have been a terribly newsworthy event. Death penalty p…
theintercept.com/2019/12/03/death-penalty-reform-prosecutors/

Pompeo Says US Will "Help Prevent" Protests For "Legitimate" Governments & US Bombs Afghan Family
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-03
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 (12/2/19). 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/pompeo-says-us-will-help-prevent-protests-for-legitimate-governments-us-bombs-afghan-family/

NATO's Deep Political and Legal Crisis: Madness and Irrationality
Jan Oberg | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-03
Political | NATO's London Summit on December 3 and 4, 2019 displays the deep political crisis of the 70-year-old alliance: Only a dinner and a short meeting, no statement to be issued, quarrels among the leading military members, accusations, substantial differences …
globalresearch.ca/natos-deep-political-and-legal-crisis-madness-and-irrationality/5696656

Syria's Post-War Reconstruction: 600 Establishments Resume Work at Aleppo Industrial City, Sheikh Najjar
Arabi Souri | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-03
Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city and the region's economic power horse is getting back on its feet again, despite all the efforts by the US and its NATO stooges and terrorists. | It's moving forward slowly but steadily, with over 600 establishments …
globalresearch.ca/600-establishments-resume-work-aleppo-industrial-city-sheikh-najjar/5696467

Lebanon Protesters: Ensure a Unified 'B-Team' Runs Any New, Responsive Government
Dr. Barbara G. Ellis | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-03
As Lebanon's massive, countrywide, anti-government demonstrations continue, the vacuum provides time for those ardent, long suffering protesters to create the most responsive anti-austerity government in the Middle East. If any populace in that region could do it, it's Lebanon's well-educated, …
globalresearch.ca/lebanon-protesters-ensure-a-unified-b-team-runs-any-new-responsive-government/5696469

Syria's Pharmaceutical Industry Rebuilds Following the Defeat of US-NATO Sponsored Terrorists
Steven Sahiounie | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-03
The first factory of its kind in Syria and the Arab world opened November 21, 2019, in Damascus. Central Pharmaceutical Industries Company, 'Mainpharma', celebrated the opening of its factory for the manufacturing of anticancer drugs at Adra Industrial City, in …
globalresearch.ca/syrias-pharmaceutical-industry-rebuilds-following-the-defeat-of-us-nato-sponsored-terrorists/5696647

Selected Articles: A Future Without NATO?
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-03
A future without independent media leaves us with an upside down reality where according to the corporate media "NATO deserves a Nobel Peace Prize", and where "nuclear weapons and wars make us safer". | . | . | | | If, like us, this is …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-future-without-nato/5696678

How a Mass Bot Network is Pushing the Coup in Bolivia
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-02
New research found that, of the 17,427 accounts studied using anti-Morales hashtag #BoliviaNoHayGolpe, almost a third were created on November 11, the day of the coup.
mintpressnews.com/how-mass-bot-network-coup-bolivia/263122/

Nicaragua Marked Next For US "Liberation", Trump Blames "Vicious World" For Khashoggi Murder & More
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-02
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 (12/1/19). 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/nicaragua-marked-next-for-us-liberation-trump-blames-vicious-world-for-khashoggi-murder-more/

Tariq Ali on U.K. Elections, Corbyn's "Radical Social-Democratic Program" & Rise of Extreme Right
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-02
The British general election is just 10 days away and will have huge implications for the future of the country as well as Brexit. When voters cast their ballots later this month, they will choose between two dramatically different candidates: right-wing Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson and left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn recently unveiled an ambitious election manifesto promising to transform the country and resuscitate its public sector. The plan proposed a $100-billion tax increase on the wealthy to fund investment in infrastructure as well as increased spending on education and heal…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/2/tariq_ali…

The Usual Incoherence on Student Benefits Is Back
Matt Bruenig | peoplespolicyproject.org | 2019-12-01
Of all the welfare state topics, student benefits manages to consistently attract the most incoherent and weird arguments, and the recent spate of arguments on this front are no exception. In the last week, a student benefit dustup has been instigated by Pete Buttigieg ostensibly being against free public college for millionaires and billionaires while Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are ostensibly for it. | This has set off the usual round of commentary about how Buttigieg is arguing for means-testing while Warren and Sanders are arguing f…
peoplespolicyproject.org/2019/11/30/the-usual-incoherence-on-student-benefits-is-back/

DPRK tests new weapon system and strengthens defenses
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-11-30
Washington DC — The Democratic People's Republic of Korea tested a new rocket launching system on November 29. | According to a report from the Korean Central News Agency, "Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, inspected the test-fire of the super-large multiple launch rocket system conducted by the Academy of Defense Science." | In a related development, Kim Kye Gwan, advisor to the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK, commented on past meetin…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/11/30/dprk-te…

Irresponsible Charter School Promoters Blocked from Further Lowering Teaching and Learning Standards
Shawgi Tell | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-11-30
Despite the vehement objections of thousands of teachers, parents, college professors, public school advocates, state officials, and teachers' unions, in late 2017 the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustee's charter school committee voted 4 to 1 to unilaterally and illegally lower training and preparation standards for teachers employed at privately-operated charter schools …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/11/irresponsible-charter-school-promoters-blocked-from-further-lowering-teaching-and-learning-standards/

Fingerprint Analysis Is High-Stakes Work — but It Doesn't Take Much to Qualify as an Expert
Jordan Smith | theintercept.com | 2019-11-29
One wrong fingerprint match could send an innocent person to prison or see a killer go free. But proficiency tests are frighteningly easy to pass.
theintercept.com/2019/11/29/fingerprint-examination-proficiency-test-forensic-science/

In defence of human rights in Chile: An open letter to the Australian community
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-11-27
international solidarityIssue 1247 Australia ChileNovember 27, 2019We express our deep concerns about human rights violations taking place in Chile, including the de facto war that billionaire President Sebastian Piñera has unleashed on his people. | On October 18, Chilean students took to the streets to protest a hike in public transport…
greenleft.org.au/content/defence-human-rights-chile-open-letter-australian-community

Entrapment? ICE created fake universities to lure foreign students before arresting & deporting them
rt.com | 2019-11-27
US immigration authorities created fake universities, lured foreign-born students to enroll, and took large sums of their money — before arresting and deporting them for immigration violations, a new report has revealed. | In recent months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported 90 students enrolled in a fake Michigan-based university, the Detroit Free Press reported on Wednesday. As many as 250 people, mostly from India, have been arrested since January, as part of the sting operation concocted by federal agents. | The scammed students had arrived in the US legally on student visas, but…
rt.com/usa/474504-fake-university-foreign-students-us/

Chicago conference to relaunch National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression a huge success
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-11-26
Chicago, IL – More than a 1200 joined together for an historic gathering on the weekend of November 22 — 24, at the hall of the Chicago Teachers Union, to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The newly refounded Alliance will concentrate its efforts on building the fight against police crimes and for community control of the police, and it will campaign for the release of political prisoners and the wrongfully convicted. | Longtime leaders of the Black liberation movement Angela Davis and Frank Chapman, along with elected officials, trade unionists, and other progressive ac…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/11/25/chicago…

2019-12-03: News Headlines

The Canary (2019-12-03). UK climbs rankings for maths, science and reading — but students are 'less happy'. thecanary.co Students in the UK are continuing to lag behind their peers from smaller European countries such as Estonia and Finland when it comes to maths, reading and science, a bellwether study of global education trends has suggested.Asian nations, including Singapore and Hong Kong, continue to dominate the latest triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) report, a survey of 15-year-old students from around the world to assess the extent to which they have acquired key skills and knowledge.And while the UK's ranking across the three disciplines has improved on the score from three years ago, the coun…

Liliana Segura (2019-12-03). By Any Measure, Capital Punishment Is a Failed Policy. theintercept.com The death penalty, they say, is dying. And in many important respects, this is true. Support for capital punishment has decreased dramatically. In 1998, there were nearly 300 new death sentences imposed in the United States. In 2018, there were just 43. In the past decade alone, six states have abolished…

Jordan Smith (2019-12-03). What Happens When a Reform Prosecutor Stands Up to the Death Penalty. theintercept.com Standing behind a podium outside the Orlando courthouse, Aramis Ayala, the elected state prosecuting attorney for Florida's Orange and Osceola counties, announced that after extensive research, discussion, and reflection, she had decided that she could no longer seek the death penalty for defendants charged by her office. "My duty is to seek justice, which is fairness, objectivity, and decency," she said. "I am prohibited from making the severity of sentences the index of my effectiveness." | In many ways, Ayala's announcement in the winter of 2017 should not have been a terribly newsworthy event. Death penalty p…

teleSUR (2019-12-03).

. telesurenglish.net The main union that promotes protests against the economic and social policies of the Colombian President, Iván Duque, rejected the possibility of suspending the national strike that was called for this Wednesday, December 4 and insisted on a direct dialogue with the government to seek an agreement. | Speaking to RCN News, the president of the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode), Nelson Alarcón, said that the leaders of the strike will answer the call of the government to begin the negotiation process based on the specifications submitted last week to President Duque. | Alarcón commented that t…

Robert J. Burrowes (2019-12-03). Our Vanishing World: Wildlife. globalresearch.ca Throughout its history, Earth has experienced five mass extinction events. See, for example, 'Timeline Of Mass Extinction Events On Earth'. It is now experiencing the sixth. | The Ordovician-Silurian Extinction, which occurred about 439 million years ago, wiped out 86% …

Andrew Korybko (2019-12-03). Bolivia's Russiagate Scandal. Alleged Moscow "Meddling" in Bolivia Election. globalresearch.ca The fake news allegations that Russia "meddled" in Bolivia's recent election in order to help ("former") President Morales win and the more recent claims late last month that its soldiers are supposedly "waiting for his return" in order to presumably …

Arabi Souri (2019-12-03). Syria Slams US Meddling in the Syrian Constitution Committee Talks. globalresearch.ca The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs slammed the regime of Donald Trump for its attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries after the US State Department issued a statement to interfere in the works of the Syrian …

Stephen Lendman (2019-12-03). China Retaliates Against Hostile US Legislation. globalresearch.ca In late November, House and Senate members unanimously passed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA) of 2019. | Trump signed the measure into law, along with a companion bill, restricting exports of US crowd control devices to …

Andre Vltchek (2019-12-03). Quo Vadis, Lebanon? globalresearch.ca Good bye, Lebanon, metaphorically and truly. | Good bye to a country which, many believe, actually has already ceased to exist. | For five long years I have been commuting between the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.And Beirut, for all that …

William Stroock (2019-12-03). Hunter Biden an Embarrassment to His Father and Dead Brother. globalresearch.ca Before becoming Barak Obama's Vice President, Joe Biden was a senator from Delaware. Delaware is a small state of 961,000, where everyone knows everyone else and everyone knows all the major office holders. Here, all politics are local and Joe …

Margaret Flowers (2019-12-03). Failed Action on the Climate Crisis Makes Resistance Imperative. Worldwide Protest against Neoliberalism. globalresearch.ca On December 2, the 25th two-week long United Nations climate conference begins in Madrid, Spain. The stated task of the conference, referred to as COP 25 (Conference Of Parties), is to make sure there are plans to meet the goals …

Andrew Korybko (2019-12-03). NATO: "Brain Dead" and Divided. globalresearch.ca The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is both brain dead and divided as it holds latest annual meeting in London, with nothing but uncertainty surrounding its future and many questioning whether it can even remain functional in its present form. | This …

IASEIS (2019-12-03). Companies Planning 5G Satellites. Global Day of Protest against 5G: January 25, 2020. globalresearch.ca So far, groups in the following countries have announced that they are organizing events on January 25, 2020 as part of the Global Day of Protest against 5G: | . | . | Australia | Austria | Canada | Croatia | Czech Republic | Denmark | France | Germany | Ireland…

Lynsey Hanley (2019-12-03). The Right to Mobility. Public Transport in the UK and Labour's Manifesto. globalresearch.ca The idea of mobility as a human right has come to be synonymous with private transport. For decades, the car has come first: what right does any government have to encroach on the freedom and autonomy of individual motorists? Labour …

Arabi Souri (2019-12-03). Syria's Post-War Reconstruction: 600 Establishments Resume Work at Aleppo Industrial City, Sheikh Najjar. globalresearch.ca Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city and the region's economic power horse is getting back on its feet again, despite all the efforts by the US and its NATO stooges and terrorists. | It's moving forward slowly but steadily, with over 600 establishments …

Sarah Abed (2019-12-03). Bilateral Trade Relations Between Iran and EU Suffer Under Harsh US Sanctions. globalresearch.ca Trade between the European Union (EU) and the Islamic Republic of Iran has dropped roughly 74.92% percent this year from January to September compared to last year during the same timeframe, due to US-imposed sanctions, according to the European statistical …

Askiah Adam (2019-12-03). UN to Resolve the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis. globalresearch.ca The Rohingya refugees have, for decades now, been fleeing their homeland, the Rakhine province in Myanmar. Mostly through Yangon's inaction, elements of the military and members of the majority Buddhist population were left to run rampage amongst this helpless Muslim …

Adeyinka Makinde (2019-12-03). Nigeria: Sowore Versus Buhari, A Question of Revolution and Treason. globalresearch.ca The impending trial in Nigeria of Omoleye Sowore on charges including treason is promising to stir a hornet's nest. Sowore, a high-profile media publisher, was arrested in August of this year because he called for a revolution after the February …

Dr. Barbara G. Ellis (2019-12-03). Lebanon Protesters: Ensure a Unified 'B-Team' Runs Any New, Responsive Government. globalresearch.ca As Lebanon's massive, countrywide, anti-government demonstrations continue, the vacuum provides time for those ardent, long suffering protesters to create the most responsive anti-austerity government in the Middle East. If any populace in that region could do it, it's Lebanon's well-educated, …

South Front (2019-12-03). Video: Syrian Army Repels Major Attack by Idlib Al Qaeda Affiliated Mercenaries. globalresearch.ca Last weekend, the province of Idlib once again turned into the main hot point in Syria. | On November 30, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation and several foreign Jihadi groups, including the Turkistan Islamic Party and Ajnad …

Peter Koenig (2019-12-03). Hong Kong —— Pure Western Insanity. globalresearch.ca The impunity with which the US aggresses Hong Kong is insane. Equally or more insane is western media coverage of what is going on in Hong Kong. Not one word on how the incredible "pro-democracy" vote of the rather unimportant …

Jan Oberg (2019-12-03). NATO's Deep Political and Legal Crisis: Madness and Irrationality. globalresearch.ca Political | NATO's London Summit on December 3 and 4, 2019 displays the deep political crisis of the 70-year-old alliance: Only a dinner and a short meeting, no statement to be issued, quarrels among the leading military members, accusations, substantial differences …

Steven Sahiounie (2019-12-03). Syria's Pharmaceutical Industry Rebuilds Following the Defeat of US-NATO Sponsored Terrorists. globalresearch.ca The first factory of its kind in Syria and the Arab world opened November 21, 2019, in Damascus. Central Pharmaceutical Industries Company, 'Mainpharma', celebrated the opening of its factory for the manufacturing of anticancer drugs at Adra Industrial City, in …

John W. Whitehead (2019-12-03). Betraying the US Constitution: Who Will Protect Us from an Unpatriotic Patriot Act? globalresearch.ca "It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government."—Thomas Paine | While Congress subjects the nation to its impeachment-flavored brand of bread-and-circus politics, our civil liberties continue to die a slow, painful death by a …

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-03). Pompeo Says US Will "Help Prevent" Protests For "Legitimate" Governments & US Bombs Afghan Family. 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 (12/2/19). 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 …

Paul Antonopoulos (2019-12-03). NATO's Continuing Enlargement Aims at Further Weakening of Russian Influence in the Balkans. globalresearch.ca Of the 29 NATO member states, 22 have already ratified the accession protocol of North Macedonia into the anti-Russian alliance. The ratification process will likely be completed before the end of NATO's summit taking place in London this week, which …

Student Activists (2019-12-03). National Climate Strike in Livermore. indybay.org Las Positas College, 3000 Campus Hill Drive, Livermore, CA 94551…

WSWS (2019-12-03). Harvard University grad students set to strike over pay, grievance procedures, healthcare. wsws.org Harvard officials' hard line in relation to collective bargaining on grad students' pay is in line with a recent NLRB proposal that would curb the establishment of graduate student unions at private universities.

Peter Certo (2019-12-03). End the Wars, Win the Antiwar Vote. counterpunch.org Like anyone else who was around that day, I can tell you exactly where I was on 9/11. I was a Catholic school eighth grader, fresh off my 14th birthday. The school day lurched along for a while, but eventually we dropped the pretense of carrying on. Teachers ushered us into the adjoining church for More

Jon Queally, staff writer (2019-12-03). US Navy Places $22 Billion Cyber Monday Order for Nuclear Submarines, But Who Is Asking How We Gonna Pay For It? commondreams.org "$22 billion could fund a lot of kids learning," said Albert Lee, a Democrat running for Congress in Oregon. "We need an education race; not a wasted arms race." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2019-12-03). Brown University Committee Votes to Divest From Companies Complicit in Human Rights Abuses in Palestine. commondreams.org Brown University is poised to become the first Ivy League college to divest from companies that are complicit in human rights abuses against Palestinians, after an advisory committee voted in agreement with students who have spent months demanding the divestment. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

RT (2019-12-03). 'We've come full circle': Twitter balks at $60 AirPod carrying straps that defeat original purpose of in-ears. rt.com The Apple AirPods' unique selling point is their wireless design, affording users unparalleled freedom. However, anxiety over losing the tiny in-ears prompted e-tailers Nordstrom and Amazon to sell 'carrying straps'… facepalm. | Ahead of the Christmas gift-buying extravaganza, Nordstrom and Amazon have begun selling $60 Carrying Straps for the $150 AirPods, thus undoing all of the "revolutionary" research and development by Apple in one fell, low-tech swoop. | "Avoid losing your wireless AirPods by attaching them to this magnetic-locking l…

Global Research News (2019-12-03). Selected Articles: A Future Without NATO? globalresearch.ca A future without independent media leaves us with an upside down reality where according to the corporate media "NATO deserves a Nobel Peace Prize", and where "nuclear weapons and wars make us safer". | . | . | | | If, like us, this is …

Alan Macleod (2019-12-02). How a Mass Bot Network is Pushing the Coup in Bolivia. mintpressnews.com New research found that, of the 17,427 accounts studied using anti-Morales hashtag #BoliviaNoHayGolpe, almost a third were created on November 11, the day of the coup.

The Canary (2019-12-02). Protesters call for action after woman gang-raped and killed in India. thecanary.co Hundreds of people gathered in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and other Indian cities on 2 December to demand justice in the case of a veterinarian who was gang-raped and killed last week.The protesters demanded a fast-track investigation of the case and stringent laws for the safety of women in India."We are not safe anymore in India. We are scared to move out of our homes," said Sejal Kumar, a college student from New Delhi.The burned body of the 27-year-old woman was found on 28 November by a passer-by in an underpass in the southern city of Hyderabad after she went missing the previous night.University students…

The Canary (2019-12-02). Disabled workers paid 88p for each pound made by non-disabled colleagues, new data shows. thecanary.co Employers across the UK pay their disabled staff 12.2% less than those without disabilities, new government data has shown.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the median hourly wage for disabled employees was £10.63 in 2018, lower than the £12.11 paid to their non-disabled counterparts.The gap was the widest, at 18.6%, for those with mental impairments, which include depression, anxiety, epilepsy and learning difficulties.(PA Graphics)A physical impairment led to a 9.7% gap while those with other impairments faced the narrowest gap, at 7.4%. The other impairments include cancer, HIV and mult…

M. K. Bhadrakumar (2019-12-02). Washington's Grand Design: Draw NATO into Confronting Russia and China. globalresearch.ca The December 3-4 summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in London resembles a family reunion after the acrimony over the issue of military spending by America's European allies. | The trend is up for defence spending across European Allies …

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-02). Nicaragua Marked Next For US "Liberation", Trump Blames "Vicious World" For Khashoggi Murder & More. 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 (12/1/19). 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 …

The Global Research Team (2019-12-02). Global Research End Of Year Fundraiser: Help Us Meet Our Goal! globalresearch.ca Dear Readers, | In late October we sent you a message asking for your help in raising $25,000 before the year ends. Our goal with this being simply to cover the costs we incur in bringing you investigative reports and analysis …

teleSUR (2019-12-02). Chilean President Piñera Has Lowest Approval Rating Ever. telesurenglish.net Many Chileans are wondering just how much further Chilean President Sebastian Piñera's popularity can fall, after polls revealed the lowest approval ratings for a president since the country's return to democracy. | RELATED: | Chile: Municipalities Call Citizens to Independent Consultation | The Pulso Ciudadano poll, conducted by consulting firm Criteria Research, and that undertaken by Cadem's Plaza Pública, differ in terms of the ratings of the president's administration, but…

WSWS (2019-12-02). Many unanswered questions as Tories exploit London terror attack. wsws.org The brutal murder of the two young students was seized on by Boris Johnson and the pro-Tory media, with the Sunday Times leading on a promise from the prime minister to "lock terrorists up and throw away the key."

Chris Jarvis (2019-12-02). Meet the Green who could join Caroline Lucas in parliament. thecanary.co The most interesting campaigns in a general election are those on a local level. Few are more interesting than the one currently underway on the Isle of Wight. | It's the biggest constituency in the country by population, with over 110,000 people registered to vote in 2017. An estimated 62% of people voted leave…

Staff (2019-12-02). Tariq Ali on U.K. Elections, Corbyn's "Radical Social-Democratic Program" & Rise of Extreme Right. democracynow.org The British general election is just 10 days away and will have huge implications for the future of the country as well as Brexit. When voters cast their ballots later this month, they will choose between two dramatically different candidates: right-wing Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson and left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn recently unveiled an ambitious election manifesto promising to transform the country and resuscitate its public sector. The plan proposed a $100-billion tax increase on the wealthy to fund investment in infrastructure as well as increased spending on education and heal…

Mary Retta (2019-12-02). These LGBTQ Students Say Their School Treats Them Like Second-Class Citizens. thenation.com These LGBTQ Students Say Their School Treats Them Like Second-Class Citizens…

Matt Bruenig (2019-12-01). The Usual Incoherence on Student Benefits Is Back. peoplespolicyproject.org Of all the welfare state topics, student benefits manages to consistently attract the most incoherent and weird arguments, and the recent spate of arguments on this front are no exception. In the last week, a student benefit dustup has been instigated by Pete Buttigieg ostensibly being against free public college for millionaires and billionaires while Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are ostensibly for it. | This has set off the usual round of commentary about how Buttigieg is arguing for means-testing while Warren and Sanders are arguing f…

Fight Back (2019-11-30). DPRK tests new weapon system and strengthens defenses. fightbacknews.org Washington DC — The Democratic People's Republic of Korea tested a new rocket launching system on November 29. | According to a report from the Korean Central News Agency, "Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, inspected the test-fire of the super-large multiple launch rocket system conducted by the Academy of Defense Science." | In a related development, Kim Kye Gwan, advisor to the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK, commented on past meetin…

Shawgi Tell (2019-11-30). Irresponsible Charter School Promoters Blocked from Further Lowering Teaching and Learning Standards. dissidentvoice.org Despite the vehement objections of thousands of teachers, parents, college professors, public school advocates, state officials, and teachers' unions, in late 2017 the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustee's charter school committee voted 4 to 1 to unilaterally and illegally lower training and preparation standards for teachers employed at privately-operated charter schools …

Jordan Smith (2019-11-29). Fingerprint Analysis Is High-Stakes Work — but It Doesn't Take Much to Qualify as an Expert. theintercept.com One wrong fingerprint match could send an innocent person to prison or see a killer go free. But proficiency tests are frighteningly easy to pass.

Fred_F (2019-11-27). In defence of human rights in Chile: An open letter to the Australian community. greenleft.org.au international solidarityIssue 1247 Australia ChileNovember 27, 2019We express our deep concerns about human rights violations taking place in Chile, including the de facto war that billionaire President Sebastian Piñera has unleashed on his people. | On October 18, Chilean students took to the streets to protest a hike in public transport…

RT (2019-11-27). Entrapment? ICE created fake universities to lure foreign students before arresting & deporting them. rt.com US immigration authorities created fake universities, lured foreign-born students to enroll, and took large sums of their money — before arresting and deporting them for immigration violations, a new report has revealed. | In recent months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported 90 students enrolled in a fake Michigan-based university, the Detroit Free Press reported on Wednesday. As many as 250 people, mostly from India, have been arrested since January, as part of the sting operation concocted by federal agents. | The scammed students had arrived in the US legally on student visas, but…