Staff (2019-10-17). Can the US Protect the Kurds Without Using Military Force? therealnews.com The House overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning Trump\'s troop withdrawal from Syria, making it look like Democrats are wedded to military intervention. Is there an alternative that protects the Kurds without the use of the U.S. military?

Jeff Klein (2019-10-17). Syria, the Kurds, Turkey and the U.S.: Why Progressives Should Not Support a New Imperial Partition in the Middle East. counterpunch.org In the face of Turkey\'s renewed invasion of Syria, it seems we are hearing across the entire span of elite opinion in the US, from Liberals to extreme Conservatives, the cry \"Don\'t abandon our allies the Kurds!\" Even on what passes for the Left in our country, many progressives have joined the chorus. Certainly, the More

Umar Farooq (2019-10-17). Nobody Has a Plan for Thousands of ISIS Fighters Detained by Kurds in Syria. theintercept.com The abrupt U.S. withdrawal from Syria means nobody knows who will eventually control the 10,000 ISIS fighters there or where they will wind up.

Staff (2019-10-17). U.S., Turkey Agree on Turkish Cease-Fire with Syrian Kurds. truthdig.com ANKARA, Turkey — The U.S. and Turkey agreed Thursday to a cease-fire in the Turks\' deadly attacks on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, requiring the Kurds to vacate the area in an arrangement that largely solidifies Turkey\'s position and aims in the weeklong conflict. The deal includes a conditional halt to American economic sanctions. | After negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence hailed the five-day cease-fire as the way to end the bloodshed caused by Turkey\'s invasion of Syria. He remained silent on whether it amounted to a second abandonment of America…

Charles Pierson (2019-10-17). Bret Stephens\' American Fantasy. counterpunch.org \"Goodbye, America. Goodbye, Freedom Man,\" laments Bret Stephens in the October 11 New York Times. The conservative columnist was reacting to President Donald Trump\'s abandonment of Syria\'s Kurds. On October 5, after a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump ordered US forces back from the Syrian border with Turkey. Trump\'s action put More

M.K. Bhadrakumar (2019-10-17). It\'s Curtains for US in Syria: Russia, Iran Owe Big Thanks to Erdogan. dissidentvoice.org The scenario agreed on behind the curtains through months of confidential exchanges, often one-on-one, between the Russian and Turkish leaders regarding north-eastern Syria is entering a critical phase of implementation on the ground with the agreement between the Kurds and the Assad regime. We have a complex scenario where on the one hand the Turkish …

Jonathan Cook (2019-10-17). Israel Prepares to Turn Bedouin Citizens into Refugees in Their Own Country. counterpunch.org The decades-long struggle by tens of thousands of Israelis against being uprooted from their homes — some for the second or third time — should be proof enough that Israel is not the western-style liberal democracy it claims to be. Last week 36,000 Bedouin — all of them Israeli citizens — discovered that their state is about to make them refugees in their own country, driving them into holding camps. These Israelis, it seems, are the wrong kind. More

George Ochenski (2019-10-17). The Governor, the Mining Company and the Future of a Montana Wilderness. counterpunch.org One might credibly think that someone running in the Democratic primary to be the party\'s presidential nominee might, just might, want to be on the right side of the pressing environmental issues of the day. But last week Governor Steve Bullock and his Department of Environmental Quality sided with a disreputable \"bad actor\" mining company More

Stan Cox (2019-10-17). Healing the Rift Between Political Reality and Ecological Reality. counterpunch.org A Q & A with Shaun Chamberlin If U.S. greenhouse emissions are to be driven down to zero within a decade or even two, it will not be accomplished through building more solar and wind energy capacity and relying on market competition to eliminate fossil fuels from the economy. A direct, foolproof mechanism is required More

Martin Hart-Landsberg (2019-10-17). What the New Deal can teach us about winning a Green New Deal: Part V—summing up the New Deal experience. mronline.org Growing awareness of our ever-worsening climate crisis has boosted the popularity of movements calling for a Green New Deal. At present, the Green New Deal is a big tent idea, grounded to some extent by its identification with the original New Deal and emphasis on the need for strong state action to initiate social-system change […] | Source

Robert Hunziker (2019-10-17). Extinction Rebellion Sweeps the World. dissidentvoice.org Extinction Rebellion, XR est. October 31, 2018, has become a powerful force across the globe, almost overnight!!! It is the fastest-growing environmental movement ever. As such, it is only too obvious that \"people get it\" when it comes to climate change/global warming because they\'re jumping aboard like swarms of locusts. In fact, XR\'s truthful exposure …

Eds. (2019-10-17). Denmark\'s Red-Greens: what answers when the climate crisis shakes up politics? mronline.org In 2007, Sà∏ndergaard was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the People\'s Movement against the European Union (EU). After resigning this position in 2014, he won election to the Danish parliament in 2015 as an RGA MP for Gladsaxe: he was re-elected in the June 5 general election this year. Sà∏ndergaard spoke with Green […] | Source

RT (2019-10-17). Stuck in a Russiagate-collusion rut: Putin \'owns Doral\' & other #Resistance pearls after G7 location announced. rt.com Critics of US President Donald Trump went into full-on meltdown mode after the White House announced that the US will host next year\'s G7 summit at the Trump-owned Miami resort. | White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters on Thursday that the gathering of international leaders will be held at the Trump National Doral resort on June 10-12, which he said was \"far and away the best place\" to host the event. | Even before his press conference was done, Democrats waxed outraged about a potential conflict of interest, even calling for other countries to boycott the G7 if Trump went ahead with his venue…

Mark Gruenberg (2019-10-17). Key impeachment panel chair Cummings dies at 68; Probe goes on. peoplesworld.org BALTIMORE—House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., a South Carolina sharecroppers\' son who rose to head a key panel probing impeachable offenses by GOP President Donald Trump, died at 2: 30 am on Oct. 17 at a hospice in his home town of Baltimore. The 68-year-old lawmaker suffered complications from a variety of diseases, his office …

Rick Sterling (2019-10-17). Sorting Facts From Fiction About the US Withdrawal From Syria. mintpressnews.com If one believes in the restoration of international law and the tenets of the UN Charter, then the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from northern Syria is a good thing. Here are some facts and history that explain why.

Staff (2019-10-17). Syrian Forces Enter Key Border Town, Blocking Turkish Plans. truthdig.com Kobani is taken by forces loyal to Bashar Assad, blocking one path for the Turkish military to establish a \"safe zone\" free of Syrian Kurdish fighters.

WSWS (2019-10-17). British family \"emotionally and psychologically destroyed\" by detention in US immigration prison. wsws.org The tragic experience faced by the Connors family is a small glimpse into the horrors faced by those who flee their home countries, undertaking a perilous journey only to be detained, separated, and abused in America\'s brutal concentration camps.

teleSUR (2019-10-17). Italian Govt. Allows Ocean Viking to Bring 176 Migrants Ashore. telesurenglish.net Italy\'s authorities Wednesday allowed the Ocean Viking to dock 176 African migrants in the port of Taranto. Apparently, this decision could put an end to the former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini\'s \"Closed Ports\" policy which has been in effect since 2017. | RELATED: | Italy: Lampedusa Remembers 368 Migrants Who Died in Shipwreck | \"Italy has assig…

Binoy Kampmark (2019-10-17). A Coalition of Support: Parliamentarians for Julian Assange. counterpunch.org Australian politicians, and the consular staff of the country, are rarely that engaged on the subject of protecting their citizens. In a couple of notorious cases, Australian authorities demonstrated, not only an indifference, but a consciously venal approach to its citizens in overseas theatres. Mamdouh Ahmed Habib, a dual Australian-Egyptian national, was detained in Pakistan More

WSWS (2019-10-17). UN special rapporteur on torture warns: \"Assange will not get a fair trial in Virginia\" wsws.org A panel discussion at Columbia University on Tuesday laid bare the fraudulent character of the charges brought against Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning and put the spotlight on those who committed the war crimes that WikiLeaks exposed.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-10-17). 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.

Jon Rynn (2019-10-17). Saving the Green New Deal. counterpunch.org The Green Economy Reconstruction Program and Budget On November 13, 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the youth group Sunrise Movement staged a protest in soon-to-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi\'s office, demanding that Congress create a Green New Deal. Soon, the phrase \'Green New Deal\' became the next bright new policy idea, with dozens of articles explaining that More

South Front (2019-10-17). Video: Syrian Kurds\' Protection Deal with Assad Explained. globalresearch.ca The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reached a groundbreaking deal with the Assad government. | This happened on October 13 evening after the US-led coalition expectedly abandoned their \'local partners\' in face of Turkey\'s Operation Peace Spring and an \'accident …

Firas Samuri (2019-10-17). Could Turkish Aggression Boost Peace in Syria? Has Triggered Exit of US, Britain and France. globalresearch.ca On October 7, 2019, the U.S. President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of American troops from northeast Syria, where the contingent alongside Kurdish militias controlled the vast territories. Trump clarified that the decision is connected with the intention of Turkey …

Jewish Voice for Peace (2019-10-17). More Than 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza Have Bone Infections after Being Shot by Israeli Forces. globalresearch.ca Gaza | Treating drug-resistant infections in Gaza under the blockade | Medicin Sans Frontieres 2 Sept. 2019-More than 7,400 Palestinians have been injured by live ammunition during protests in Gaza. About half of those suffering from open fractures, in which the bone …

United Nations (2019-10-17). Ongoing insecurity in Darfur, despite \'remarkable developments\' in Sudan: UN peacekeeping chief. un.org Despite major political developments at a national level, which have led to the establishment of a civilian-led government, the security situation in the Darfur region of Sudan remains unstable, UN peace chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed the Security Council on Thursday.

United Nations (2019-10-17). Concerned over Haiti\'s political crisis, Guterres promises \'continuous commitment\'. un.org In the light of on-going instability across Haiti and this week\'s transition away from fully-fledged peacekeeping operations, the UN chief on Thursday promised \"the continuous commitment\" of the Organization \"to support the Haitian people on their path to peace and development\".

Ed Sykes (2019-10-17). With just one tweet, the youngest ever MSP destroys Trump\'s drivel on Turkey\'s invasion of Syria. thecanary.co Ross Greer, the youngest ever member of the Scottish parliament (MSP), has brilliantly taken down Donald Trump\'s latest drivel on Turkey\'s illegal invasion of northern Syria (aka Rojava). | Schooled: | NATO\'s second largest army is currently attacking Ku…

WSWS (2019-10-17). Ukrainian President Zelensky adopts Steinmeier formula amid mass far-right protests. wsws.org Zelensky\'s move is part of his maneuvering between European and US imperialism.

Revolution Books (2019-10-17). Hong Kong! Discussion on the mass protests & 70th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution. indybay.org REVOLUTION BOOKS | 2444 Durant Ave. | Berkeley, CA 94704…

WSWS (2019-10-17). A rare moment of truth on the US support for Al Qaeda. wsws.org Representative Tulsi Gabbard described the terrorist group as the \"ground force\" for the American \"regime-change\" operation in Syria.

Ajamu Baraka (2019-10-17). Syria: Exposing Western Radical Collaboration with Imperialism. dissidentvoice.org Despite so many self-defined radicals\' reading and claims to understand Gramsci\'s corrective to Marxism-Leninism\'s mechanistic understanding of the relationship between the base and the ideological superstructure, the ease by which some radicals are manipulated by the crude ideological machinations of the ruling class is truly astonishing. It is quite understandable that liberals would be manipulated …

Ajamu Baraka (2019-10-17). Syria: Exposing Western Radical Collaboration with Imperialism. counterpunch.org Despite so many self-defined radicals\' reading and claims to understand Gramsci\'s corrective to Marxism-Leninism\'s mechanistic understanding of the relationship between the base and the ideological superstructure, the ease by which some radicals are manipulated by the crude ideological machinations of the ruling class is truly astonishing. It is quite understandable that liberals would be manipulated More

Alison Banville (2019-10-17). Truth About Syria.\"How Could Corporate Journalists Get Away with Their Lies…\" globalresearch.ca Damascus, December 2018. Two great independent journalists sit down together: | Eva Bartlett and Vanessa Beeley | Eva Bartlett: \'when I arrived on the 29th (of December 2018) I was told that, aside from yourself (gestures to Vanessa Beeley), I was …

Stephen Lendman (2019-10-17). Uneasy Damascus/Kurdish Alliance. globalresearch.ca Throughout most of Obama\'s war, now Trump\'s, against Syrian sovereign independence and territorial integrity, Kurdish YPG fighters and their politicians allied with US imperial aims for their own self-interest — including support for jihadists used as Pentagon/CIA proxy foot soldiers….

Mark Fiore (2019-10-17). The Great and Unmatched Wisdom War. progressive.org \"Never fear, the Commander-in-Phone-Calls will get tough!\"

Lucas Koerner (2019-10-17). Venezuela\'s Opposition Declares PDVSA 2020 Bond Void, Nixes Payment. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuela\'s CITGO could be seized by creditors.

Ted Rall (2019-10-17). The First Thing We Do, Let\'s Fire All the Cops. counterpunch.org In the latest shooting of an innocent civilian by a trigger-happy police officer, a white Fort Worth cop blew away a 28-year-old African-American woman through her bedroom window as she played a video game with her eight-year-old nephew. Atatiana Jefferson\'s neighbor had called a nonemergency police number to request that they check on her because her doors More

Tom Anderson (2019-10-17). We need to force the government to end all arms deals with Turkey, not just some. thecanary.co On Tuesday 15 October, the British government suspended new arms sales to Turkey over its invasion of northern Syria. | Foreign secretary Dominic Raab announced that no more export licences would be granted \"for items that might be used in milita…

Ryan Cristián (2019-10-17). Iran \'Has Evidence\' US, Israel, Saudis Attacked Tanker & Why The Kurds In Syria Are Just Terrorists. 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 (10/16/19). 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 …

Staff (2019-10-17). US Drone Program May Have Helped Turkey Kill Kurds for Over a Decade. truthout.org UPDATE: The U.S. and Turkey agreed to a cease-fire in northeast Syria on Thursday. | Donald Trump is justifiably condemned for approving Turkey\'s assault against the United States\'s Kurdish allies in the war against ISIS. What is not widely known is that the U.S., in a largely secret program dubbed Operation Nomad Shadow, appears to have been using drones for over a decade to help Turkey stalk and kill Kurds. | Although the U.S. is now publicly opposing the Turkish push into Syria, is Nomad Shadow co…

Staff (2019-10-17). Rep. Ro Khanna: We Need a Responsible Withdrawal From Syria. truthout.org As hundreds of thousands of civilians face displacement and violence amid Turkey\'s assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria, the House of Representatives voted to condemn Trump\'s decision to withdraw U.S. support for the Kurds on Wednesday. The measure passed 354 to 60. We speak with Representative Ro Khanna, who says, \"We can\'t just get involved in a place and then walk away and not have some moral responsibility. We have a moral responsibility not just to the Kurds who fought with us against ISIS. W…

teleSUR (2019-10-17). Erdogan Throws Trump\'s Syria Letter in the Trash. telesurenglish.net U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday to urge him to halt his country\'s incursion into Syria, the Reuters News Agency reported. | RELATED: | Syrian Kurds Fleeing to Iraq: \'Life Will Never Be the Same\' | Pence\'s visit came shortly after a letter penned by U.S. President Donald Trump to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan was leaked on Twitter. | In the letter, Trump warns Erdogan to not test the U.S.\' patience with their Sy…

Elijah J. Magnier (2019-10-17). Winners and Losers in the Turkish Attack on Kurds in Syria? globalresearch.ca Turkish forces invaded north-east Syria (NES) only when it had coordinated with the US to define the red line of the invasion. Moreover, both superpowers, the US and Russia, protected Turkey by blocking an EU-drafted UN resolution to halt the …

Staff (2019-10-17). Trump Defends Syria Withdrawal as House Votes 354 to 60 to Condemn His Actions. truthout.org As the displacement of 300,000 civilians over Turkey\'s assault on Kurdish-controlled areas continues in northern Syria, the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to condemn President Trump\'s actions. Turkey invaded the region on October 9, shortly after Trump virtually greenlit the Turkey assault by abruptly withdrawing a small number of U.S. troops who were protecting Kurdish areas in northern Syria. Since then, the Kurds have aligned themselves with the Syrian government, and a number of…

Rick Sterling (2019-10-17). Why Withdrawing US Troops from Northern Syria Is Good. globalresearch.ca The foreign policy elite is in an uproar. They claim \"we have abandoned our allies\". They question \"how can America be trusted?\" They say the decision to withdraw from northern Syria was a \"gift\" to Russia, Iran, and Assad…. even …

Labor Video Project (2019-10-17). Art In Struggle For Women & Prisoners In Iran: The Mural, The Artists & Women. indybay.org An opening for an art mural about women and the prisoners of Iran was held on October 6, 2019 at Clarion Alley. The mural portrays the women who are fighting for human rights and worker rights in Iran…

Andrew Korybko (2019-10-17). Will Iran be the Next to Withdraw from Syria? globalresearch.ca The smoothness with which the US\' \"sudden\" withdrawal played out and the Pentagon\'s decision not to militantly enforce the so-called \"deconfliction line\" along the Euphrates River after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) triumphantly crossed it en route to protecting their …

Rick Sterling (2019-10-17). Why Withdrawing US Troops from Northern Syria is GOOD. dissidentvoice.org The foreign policy elite is in an uproar. They claim \"we have abandoned our allies\". They question \"how can America be trusted?\" They say the decision to withdraw from northern Syria was a \"gift\" to Russia, Iran, and Assad, even ISIS. It is true that the policy of US/NATO interventionism is failing. But that has been …

Sara Flounders (2019-10-17). U.S., NATO, Turkey Out of Syria! globalresearch.ca The conflict within the U.S. ruling class about the Turkish invasion of northern Syria has created some confusion about events there. The latest new development — an alliance of Kurdish-based forces with the Syrian national army to defend the border …