Michelle Renee Matisons (2019-11-20). Freedom, Valor, Love: On Snowden\'s Permanent Record. counterpunch.org \"The computer guy [sic]…can know everything…\" —Edward Snowden, Permanent Record We all know someone who has suffered explicit privacy violations through data breaches, has been censored, or has valiantly fought for press, Internet, and telecommunications freedoms at a time of deep political polarities and culture war divisions. Edward Snowden\'s life reveals it\'s not just \"the More

Timothy M. Gill (2019-11-20). Towards a Democratic Socialist Foreign Policy. counterpunch.org Over the past few years, democratic socialists have rightfully spent a considerable amount of time honing their arguments on domestic policies, such as healthcare, education, and criminal justice reform. Bernie Sanders\' Our Revolution and Bhaskar Sunkara\'s recently released The Socialist Manifesto are two good examples of this focus on the domestic. On the foreign policy More

RT (2019-11-20). The law is thrown out of the window in Assange\'s case, Roger Waters tells RT (VIDEO). rt.com Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has condemned Swedish prosecutors who yesterday dropped a rape investigation into WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, saying the whole thing was \"a complete bogus set-up\" from the beginning. | Rogers told RT that the statement from Swedish prosecutors claiming that the evidence against Assange had \"weakened\" since 2010 was a \"mealy-mouthed bunch of bullsh*t\" and that there was \"no evidence to support the idea that [Assange] injured anybody.\" | It\'s partly because of this whole \"set-up\" that Assange is still suffering in London\'s Belmarsh Prison with no real process of law…

RT (2019-11-20). \'Death sentence for telling the truth\': Fashion icon Joe Corré urges immediate action to prevent Assange\'s extradition to US. rt.com Julian Assange is being persecuted for speaking the truth, and the UK public must mobilize to shield him from the \'death sentence\' awaiting him in the United States, activist and Agent Provocateur co-founder Joe Corré told RT. | The politically-active entrepreneur, and son of another fashion icon Vivienne Westwood, has been an outspoken advocate for Assange. The imprisoned Wikileaks chief is currently battling his extradition to the United States, where he faces 175 years in prison for obtaining and publishing secret documents. Recounting a recent visit he made to Belmarsh prison, Corré told Going Under…

Maj. Danny Sjursen (2019-11-20). The Folly of the Iraq War Has Never Been Clearer. truthdig.com New Iranian intelligence leaks have laid bare just how pointless the invasion truly was. As a former soldier, it\'s almost too much to bear.

RT (2019-11-20). Houthis release S. Korean, Saudi vessels captured in Yemen. rt.com Yemen\'s Houthi movement released three vessels and 16 people it had seized, South Korea\'s Foreign Ministry and a Houthi military source in Yemen said on Wednesday. | The seizure on Sunday was the latest incident at sea around Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Arab states against the Houthis, who control the capital and most population centers and have been accused of attacking shipping, Reuters said. | Of the vessels freed on Tuesday, two were South Korean and one was Saudi Arabia-flagged, the South Korean ministry said. The Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday the incident was over and the…

Deirdre Griswold (2019-11-20). Koreans say no to Trump. workers.org The Democratic People\'s Republic of Korea has rejected the latest proposal by the Trump administration for a summit meeting. On Nov. 18, the DPRK Foreign Ministry said in a statement: \"Three rounds of DPRK-U.S. summit meetings and talks were held since June last year, but no particular improvement has been . . . | Continue reading Koreans say no to Trump at Workers.org

RT (2019-11-20). Arab League to hold urgent meeting over US support for Israeli settlements. rt.com The Arab League said it will hold an urgent meeting Monday on the US announcement that it no longer considers Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal. | Hossam Zaki, the pan-Arab body\'s deputy secretary general, said several members had backed a Palestinian Authority call for a ministerial meeting. | The PA\'s permanent representative to the Arab League has condemned Washington\'s change of position — announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — as \"illegal.\" | Pompeo said on Monday that, after legal consultations, the US had concluded the establishment of settlements was \"not, per se…

RT (2019-11-20). US\' attempts to undermine economic growth of Russia & China are just part of unfair competition — Putin. rt.com Washington is making a serious mistake as it aims to deter the development of Russia and China, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an investment forum in Moscow. | \"Balanced international economic relations is not their [US] main goal, but their main strategic goal is curbing the development of China and Russia,\" the Russian leader told the \'Russia Calling\' forum, adding that such an approach is a \"deep\" mistake that can backfire on the US and undermine its position. | Another reason for Washington\'s restrictions against its trade war rival, Beijing, is that the Chinese economy has proven to be more effe…

RT (2019-11-20). 'Conor's an idiot, we don't listen to idiots': Khabib reacts to McGregor's Moscow callout. rt.com UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov says that the latest tirade of insults from bitter Irish rival Conor McGregor does not bother him a single bit, as he simply has no time to \"pay attention to idiots.\" | The seemingly never-ending war of words between Nurmagomedov and McGregor continues, with both fighters delivering insults whenever they are asked on the matter. Khabib\'s latest public appearance was no exception – even though it was hosted in a Moscow region school for kids aged from 6 to 12. | \"Conor said he wants a rematch in Moscow. Do you want that fight?\" asked one of the youngsters. | \"Honestly I don\'t th…

Eric A. Gordon (2019-11-20). \'Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room\': How Warren G. Harding became president. peoplesworld.org BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—\"Yes, ladies and gentlemen,\" the radio announcer opened his news report, \"another day, another scandal! It seems like nothing can prevent further improprieties from staining President Harding and his administration prior to this year\'s midterm elections. The blazing spotlight of impropriety has now focused its glare on Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty…. Congressmen …

Peter Maass (2019-11-20). Stockholm Syndrome: The Nobel Prize Organization Is Now Fully Engaged in the Business of Genocide Denial. theintercept.com The Swedish Academy, which chose Peter Handke for the Nobel literature prize, issued a letter casting his Bosnia war books as reasonable.

The Canary (2019-11-20). Malta arrests businessman \'over murder of investigative reporter\'. thecanary.co Maltese authorities have arrested a prominent businessman who appears to be a \"person of interest\" in the assassination of a leading investigative reporter.Yorgen Fenech was on a yacht that was intercepted sailing northwards away from Malta by the military early on Wednesday and forced back to port.In remarks to reporters, prime minister Joseph Muscat did not directly tie the arrest to the murder of 53-year-old Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bombing in October 2017, but he said it appeared to result from comments he made a day earlier about the possibility of a pardon for an alleged middleman who had offered to…

RT (2019-11-20). Alliance life after \'brain death\': NATO focuses on outer space, compares army spending with Russia. rt.com Though most members can barely afford to cough up their required military spending, and with European leaders questioning the venerable alliance, why is NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talking about expanding into space? | Jens Stoltenberg is an unlikely Darth Vader. Beginning his political career with left-wing protests against the Vietnam war, Stoltenberg would go on to join the machine he once railed against, overseeing an expansion of Norway\'s military while Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013, and then leading the world\'s largest military alliance from 2014 onwards. | But his ambitions are galactic,…

Mark Gruenberg (2019-11-20). Trumka on \'New NAFTA\': \'Close is not good enough\'. peoplesworld.org

RT (2019-11-20). Resourceful Russian cops stop truck to stage Hollywood-style rescue of people from burning building (VIDEO). rt.com An epic rescue operation was caught on video in the Moscow Region, as witty traffic cops stopped a truck so that the people who were cut off by a house fire could escape the blaze using its roof. | Two officers were on a routine patrol mission when they saw thick black smoke coming from the windows of the two-story building nearby. They swiftly called in the fire brigade as their instructions required, but the situation was dire and required immediate action. | The policemen jumped out of their patrol car and rushed towards the burning building, where they saw two men on the second floor, crying for help. A ju…

Morning Star (2019-11-20). Twitter flooded with thousands of fake accounts supporting Bolivia coup. peoplesworld.org Tens of thousands of fake Twitter accounts were created to support the military coup against Bolivia\'s elected president Evo Morales, a new study suggests. Spanish party Podemos\'s head of social networks Julian Macias Tovar says that over 68,000 false accounts were set up to try to legitimize the army\'s overthrow of Morales following his re-election …

Vijay Prashad (2019-11-20). The coup in Bolivia has everything to do with the screen you\'re using to read this. mronline.org The nationalization efforts of Evo Morales ensured that the State controlled 51 percent of all private energy firms that operated in Bolivia, which allowed the State\'s coffers to fill rapidly. It was this money that was invested to go after poverty, hunger, and illiteracy. | Source

John Catalinotto (2019-11-20). Bolivian leaders denounce U.S. role in coup. workers.org Nov. 18 ‚àí Despite massacres in the major cities of El Alto, La Paz and Cochabamba that killed 24 people in the last five days, the resistance to the pro-imperialist coup regime has grown and spread to other areas and major cities in Bolivia, including Santa Cruz, which is a . . . | Continue reading Bolivian leaders denounce U.S. role in coup at Workers.org

Sara Flounders (2019-11-20). New York City protest: Let Gaza live! workers.org A couple of hundred activists held an emergency rally in New York\'s Times Square on Nov. 15 to protest recent Israeli massacres in Gaza of 34 Palestinians, including eight children. The rally included continual chants, mic check, brief speeches and a militant march down Broadway to Herald Square. Participating groups . . . | Continue reading New York City protest: Let Gaza live! at Workers.org

RT (2019-11-20). Impeachment hearing gets more bizarre with Sondland confirming \'Zelensky loves Trump\'s ass\' , but vague on quid pro quo. rt.com House Democrats tried repeatedly to goad their diplomatic witness into \"admitting\" the elusive quid pro quo of aid withheld pending a probe, but the best they could get was confirmation he told Trump \"Zelensky loves your ass.\" | US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland played the \'can\'t recall exactly\' card as Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff and Democratic Counsel Daniel Goldman pushed him to confirm President Donald Trump had made the release of foreign aid to Ukraine contingent upon President Volodymyr Zelensky\'s launch of a corruption investigation. Sondland did say he believed that there was a quid…

Staff (2019-11-20). GOP-Requested Witness Rejects Trump \'Conspiracy Theories\'. truthdig.com WASHINGTON — Sought by Republicans to testify, the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine spoke up instead for Democrat Joe Biden in Tuesday\'s impeachment hearings, rejecting \"conspiracy theories\" embraced by President Donald Trump and some of his allies. | Kurt Volker said he has known Biden as an honorable man for more than two decades, rebuffing debunked corruption allegations that Trump is said to have wanted the Ukrainians to investigate in exchange for military aid to hold off Russian aggression. | \"The allegations against Vice President Biden are self-serving and non-credible,\" Volker declared. | R…

RT (2019-11-20). So much for the #Resistance! While all eyes were on impeachment hearing, House re-authorized PATRIOT Act. rt.com House Democrats have slipped an unqualified renewal of the draconian PATRIOT Act into an emergency funding bill — voting near-unanimously for sweeping surveillance carte blanche that was the basis for the notorious NSA program. | A three-month reauthorization of the notorious PATRIOT Act was shoehorned into a last-minute continuing resolution (CR) funding the US government, bundling measures needed to avert yet another government shutdown with a continuation of the wildly-intrusive surveillance powers passed after the 9/11 terror attacks. Democrats voted almost unanimously for it, granting the far-reachi…

Paul Street (2019-11-20). Trump\'s Removal Can\'t Wait for Impeachment. truthdig.com The most powerful position in the world\'s most powerful nation is occupied by a demented fascist oligarch. | He demonizes and scapegoats minorities and immigrants. He provides dog-whistle cover for white supremacists. He sparks racist hate crimes with his vicious nativist words. He speaks with disdain about inner-city…

C.J. Atkins (2019-11-20). Trump\'s million-dollar donor Sondland testifies: \"We followed the president\'s orders.\" peoplesworld.org I was only following orders. It\'s the classic defense offered by someone further down the chain of command who gets caught up in the nefarious deeds of their superiors. And it\'s exactly the mea culpa offered by Gordon Sondland, Trump\'s Ambassador to the European Union, when he testified at the House Intelligence Committee\'s public impeachment …

Kate Yoder (2019-11-20). More than Venice: Climate change imperils ancient treasures worldwide. peoplesworld.org Saltwater rushed into St. Mark\'s Basilica in Venice last week, submerging marble tombs, intricate mosaics, and centuries-old columns. A man was spotted swimming across St. Mark\'s Square, normally bustling with tourists, as the highest tide in 50 years swept through. The \"Floating City\" of bridges, vaporetti, and gondolas is hardly a stranger to high tides. Venetians are …

Matt Wuerker (2019-11-20). Where There\'s Smoke… thenation.com Fossil fuel\'s climate change lies.

RT (2019-11-20). Rare \'unicorn\' meteor shower set to be sparked by mysterious comet. rt.com Two leading meteor scientists are forecasting that a rare outburst from the alpha Monocertoid meteor will treat stargazers to a flurry of shooting stars this week. Here\'s what you need to know about the looming light show. | Hundreds of meteors are set to light up the night sky for a brief spell, when the spectacular show kicks off at 04: 50 Universal Time on Friday. The meteors will rain out of Monoceros, the Unicorn constellation, near Orion the Hunter, and they will be caused by debris from the tail of a mysterious unknown comet burning up in Earth\'s atmosphere. | | © American Meteor Society | As well…

RT (2019-11-20). \'Utter rubbish!\' Putin says \'Russian threat\' is fake, invented by those trying to cash in on it. rt.com Europe knows that Russia isn\'t going to attack them and won\'t be paying Washington for protection anymore, Vladimir Putin said, urging the US to rethink its relations with NATO allies on the continent. | The US previously told the European nations that they were defending them from the Soviet Union and that they had to pay for it, Putin said from the stage of the \"Russia Calling\" investment forum in Moscow. But the USSR collapsed almost three decades ago and the US approach \"doesn\'t work\" today. | Despite all the problems \"with Ukraine, the speculations about Crimea and Donbass, everybody clearly understands t…

RT (2019-11-20). Putin\'s plan: Wait for US\' most-advanced shale oil know-how and SNATCH IT! (Spoiler: it was a joke). rt.com Acquiring top-notch US technology to extract shale oil might be challenging, but not for the world\'s best-known KGB intelligence veteran who (jokingly) told a Russian investment forum how (not) to do it. | Vladimir Putin provided his vision on extracting shale oil — a type of crude found in underground deposits — at the \'Russia Calling\' investment forum, which at first sounded like veiled nostalgia for his much-talked about KGB career in the 1980s. | \"Let us wait for the Americans to spend money on new extraction technologies,\" he said, adding that the moment will come to snatch it all. \"Let\'s see if…

RT (2019-11-20). 'No evidence of meddling': Boris Johnson defends decision not to publish Russian influence report before election. rt.com UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he has never seen \"any\" evidence of Russian interference in British democracy and defended his decision not to publish a parliamentary report into the subject before the December 12 election. | Asked Wednesday about his decision to wait until after the election to publish the controversial report, Johnson said he saw no reason to change the timeline for publication. | There\'s absolutely no evidence that I\'ve ever seen of any Russian interference in UK democratic processes. | Johnson\'s decision to shelve the 50-page report compiled by the Intelligence and Security Committee…

RT (2019-11-20). Meet Anastasia Shpilevaya — the Russian ice dancer aiming for a breakthrough season (PHOTOS). rt.com One of the most beautiful figure skating disciplines, ice dancing has always charmed fans with its elegance and style, with Russian athletes long being trend-setters and leaders. | This is the world junior star Anastasia Shpilevaya that is now aiming to break into, after teaming up with Grigory Smirnov as they bid to shine at elite level. | READ MORE: \'It\'s not a psychological issue, this is facing reality\': Brian Orser on Medvedeva\'s losses to quad-jumping skaters (VIDEO) | Being the sole figure s…

RT (2019-11-20). \'Not fair\': Novak Djokovic blasts Canada for handing USA walkover at Davis Cup. rt.com Serbian tennis ace and 16-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has criticized the Canadian men\'s tennis team for handing the USA a doubles walkover in the Davis Cup group stage. | The Canadian squad took claimed two wins against their American rivals, guaranteeing their participation in the playoffs. | READ MORE: Rafa to the rescue: Nadal leads Spain to victory over Russia in Davis Cup | But they then pulled out of their doubles match — which would have not affected their group standings — g…

WSWS (2019-11-20). Collapse of Swedish \"sexual misconduct\" frame-up exposes political conspiracy against Assange. wsws.org The discrediting of the Swedish investigation, which played a linchpin role in the US-led pursuit of Assange, exposes the lawless character of the entire operation against the WikiLeaks founder.

Andrew Moss (2019-11-20). Raising the Stakes in the Struggle Over Immigration Detention. counterpunch.org As the struggle for immigrant rights continues to be fought across America, new battlegrounds may come into view, then fade from public attention. For many months, our border drew intense scrutiny, as family separations shocked and horrified millions. Recently, the fate of DACA and 700,000 Dreamers moved back briefly into headlines, as the Supreme Court More

Ben Norton (2019-11-20). Elizabeth Warren endorses Trump\'s economic war on Venezuela, then soft-pedals far-right Bolivia coup. thegrayzone.com In a nauseating interview on Pod Save America, Elizabeth Warren endorsed suffocating US sanctions on Venezuela, backing Trump\'s strategy to…

Staff (2019-11-20). The Spirit of the Indigenous Occupation of Alcatraz Lives On, 50 Years Later. truthout.org For most people, Alcatraz Island is nothing more than a San Francisco tourist destination — home to the infamous penitentiary and Al Capone\'s jail cell. But for Kris Longoria, who prefers to be known by her artist name, UrbanRezLife, Alcatraz Island is home. | From 1969 to 1971, when UrbanRezLife was eight years old, she and her family were among a group of nearly a hundred indigenous activists who occupied the island, protesting treaty violations and boldly demanding sovereignty. Eventu…

teleSUR (2019-11-20). North Korea Wont Attend Trump Summit Over US\' \'Hostile Policy\'. telesurenglish.net A senior North Korean official said on Wednesday that the United States must drop its \"hostile policy\" towards Pyongyang in order to restart stalled denuclearisation talks, South Korea\'s Yonhap news agency reported. | RELATED: | North Korea Not Interested in December Peace Talks with US | Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told reporters after meeting Russian officials in Moscow it would be \"impossible\" to hold another summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. Preside…

United Nations (2019-11-20). Israeli settlements remain \'flagrant violation\' of international law, UN envoy tells Security Council. un.org Regardless of any national policy declarations, Israeli settlement activities are \"a flagrant violation under international law\", the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process spelled out to the Security Council on Wednesday.

Beatriz Mart√≠nez Saavedra (2019-11-20). Protests in the Global South: Ecuador and Chile Facing an Uncertain Economic Order. commondreams.org 13 October 2019, Ecuador, Quito: Demonstrators cheer on the government's decision to withdraw the controversial increase in fuel prices. This was agreed by the government and the leadership of the indigenous peoples after lengthy negotiations. (Photo by Juan Diego Montenegro/picture alliance via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/ecuador.jpg …

Thomas S. Harrington (2019-11-20). Let\'s Give Three Cheers for Those \"Western Ears\" counterpunch.org Yesterday, I happened to catch a radio report by NPR\'s Julie McCarthy on the latest round of protests in Hong Kong. While listening, I could not help but see the similarities between what is going on in that corner of Asia and what has been going on in the streets of Catalonia during the last month…. but More

Xten Tentachion (2019-11-20). Protest at SF Chinese Consulate for Hong Kong Rights. indybay.org Chinese Consulate San Francisco | 1450 Laguna St, San Francisco, California 94115…

Richard Greeman (2019-11-20). One Year of the Yellow Vests in France. globalresearch.ca Converge With Planned Labour Strikes | This past weekend the Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) celebrated their first birthday, with convivial barbeques on traffic circles (roundabouts) all over France followed by direct actions like liberating tollbooths. Although number of protestors has declined …

Staff (2019-11-20). In Iran, Over 100 Feared Dead in Protest Crackdown. truthout.org In Iran, Amnesty International reports over 100 protesters have been killed in 21 cities by security forces during ongoing nationwide demonstrations sparked by a sudden hike in fuel prices last week. The death count may be much higher, the report warns, with some suggesting as many as 200 have been killed. According to Iranian state media, over 1,000 people have been arrested. On Thursday, Iran announced a rise in the cost of gas ranging from 50% to 300%. Soon after protests broke out on Sunday, Iran imposed an almost com…

teleSUR (2019-11-20). Chile: Thousands Take to Streets to Mark One Month of Protests. telesurenglish.net Thousands of people returned to the streets Monday to mark the first month of the most serious civil unrest of Chilean democracy and show their distrust of both the social agenda announced by the government and the parliamentary agreement on a new constitution. | RELATED: | Chile: Human Rights Violations May Lead to Piñera\'s Impeachment | What began on Oct. 14 as a call by Chilean university students to sneak into the Santiago subway to protest against the increase in the ticket…

Stephen Zunes (2019-11-20). House of Representatives Finally Recognizes Armenian Genocide. progressive.org It is shocking that it has taken this long for even one house of the U.S. Congress to recognize this historic tragedy. Somehow it is always a \"bad time\" to upset the government of Turkey.

Stephen Lendman (2019-11-20). House and Senate Unanimously Support Destabilizing China. globalresearch.ca Non-intervention by nations in the internal affairs of others is fundamental international law. | In Nicaragua v. United States (1986), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled against Washington for breaching international law and violating Nicaraguan sovereignty by supporting Contra death …

teleSUR (2019-11-20). Israeli Warplanes Carry Out Airstrikes Over Syria\'s Damascus. telesurenglish.net \"At exactly 1: 20 a.m. today, Israeli warplanes from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights and the Lebanese Marjayoun targeted the perimetre of the city of Damascus with a number of rockets,\" a Syrian military source was quoted as saying by the Syrian state news agency SANA. Marjayoun is a city in the south of Lebanon.

South Front (2019-11-20). Video: Kurdish Radicals Try to Burn Russian-Turkish Patrol. globalresearch.ca Kurdish provocateurs have tried to burn a Typhoon MRAP vehicle of the Russian Military Police and a Kirpi MRAP vehicle of the Turkish Army in northern Syria. The incident happened during a joint Russian-Turkish patrol, which was conducted in the …

RT (2019-11-20). Chemical Watchdog Manipulated Douma Attack Report — Whistleblower. dissidentvoice.org The head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has signed an open letter urging his own watchdog to give two whistleblowers a platform at its next conference. They claim the #OPCW suppressed evidence when conducting a probe into an alleged #chemicalattack on the Syrian city of #Douma in April 2018.