Defend Chich'il Bildagoteel!
Minnie Bruce Pratt | workers.org | 2020-12-15
Apache clans and over 300 Indigenous nations are organizing to protect Chich'il Bildagoteel, the Oak Flat site in southeastern Arizona, from devastating copper mining extraction. Apache clan members and supporters rally to defend Chich'il Bildagoteel (Oak Flat) in December 2019.Credit: Sandra Rambler/Censored News The mining was given a federal go-ahead . . . | Continue reading Defend Chich'il Bildagoteel! at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53232/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=defend-chichil-bildagoteel

United Nations Sounds Alarms About Rising Violence in Colombia
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-15
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday condemned the increase in violence in Colombia, urging President Ivan Duque's administration to take concrete actions to effectively protect the population. | RELATED: | Antioquia: Colombia Counts 83rd Massacre of 2020 | Bachelet noted that the Indigenous Nasa community has been one of the most affected by the violence in 2020, with 66 of its members reported having been killed in the northern Cauca regi…
telesurenglish.net/news/United-Nations-Sounds-Alarms-About-Rising-Violence-in-Colombia-20201215-0004.html

Chile: President Piñera Has No Intention To Pardon Protesters
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-15
Chile's President Sebastian Piñera on Monday announced he will reject a bill to pardon citizens who are in police custody due to their participation in the protests that took place in October 2019. | RELATED: | Chile: Deal on Indigenous People's Seats To Write Constitution | Claiming that the bill threatens public order, citizen security, and the rule of law, Piñera announced that if necessary, he will use his veto prerogatives to prevent the pardon's approval by the Senate. | S…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-President-Pinera-Has-No-Intention-To-Pardon-Protesters-20201215-0005.html

Holiday gifts and the yet-to-be-won shorter work week
Martha Grevatt | workers.org | 2020-12-15
This article was originally published in Workers World in 2012. Since then, job-destroying technology is even more advanced and the eventual switch to electric vehicles could eliminate thousands of union jobs in auto. Millions are unemployed since the pandemic hit, and there is no plan or comprehensive assistance from the . . . | Continue reading Holiday gifts and the yet-to-be-won shorter work week at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53218/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=holiday-gifts-and-the-yet-to-be-won-shorter-work-week

US Sanctions Directed against Turkey For Its Acquisition of Russia's S-400 Air Defense System
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
The recently imposed targeted sanctions against Turkey and the impending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2021 ones mandating similar measures against it for its acquisition of Russia's S-400 air defense systems, while illegal in terms of international law and a …
globalresearch.ca/us-anti-turkish-sanctions-strengthen-target-sovereignty/5732357

Australian Trotskyist Barry Jobson dies aged 78
wsws.org | 2020-12-15
From the time he joined the Socialist Labour League, predecessor of the SEP, in 1974 Comrade Barry was a tireless fighter for the program of Trotskyism in the working class, particularly in the Elcar railway workshops in the Sydney suburb of Chullora where he worked for many years.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/15/bjob-d15.html

Socialist election win masks deeper problems
Federico Fuentes | mronline.org | 2020-12-15
With a majority of the opposition boycotting and an abstention rate of almost 70%, the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) obtained 69% of the vote in the country's December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections.
mronline.org/2020/12/15/socialist-election-win-masks-deeper-problems/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=socialist-election-win-masks-deeper-problems

A look at Venezuela's National Assembly election
John Catalinotto | workers.org | 2020-12-15
Venezuela's December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections overcame the prior pro-imperialist majority in that body and catapulted the ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) into an overwhelming majority. President Nicolás Maduro, also of the PSUV, won big. Voting is smooth and fair in Venezuela. The imperialist politicians and corporate media, especially . . . | Continue reading A look at Venezuela's National Assembly election at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53236/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-look-at-venezuelas-national-assembly-election

The Most Lethal Virus Is Not COVID. It Is War
John Pilger | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
John Pilger describes the invisible weapon of past and current wars, and the threat of nuclear war, under cover of the Covid pandemic. This is propaganda, aided by censorship by omission. | Watch Pilger's 2010 film The War You Don't See…
globalresearch.ca/most-lethal-virus-not-covid-war/5732310

Trump Still Contesting Stolen Election 2020
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
"We wuz robbed" applies to US Election 2020 — decided by brazen fraud for losers Biden/Harris over winner Trump. | An illegitimate process prevailed over an open, free and fair one — the latter prohibited in all US federal elections for …
globalresearch.ca/trump-still-contesting-stolen-election-2020/5732292

The pandemic of capitalist profiteers
Editor | workers.org | 2020-12-15
There is a new term to describe the super-rich: "centi-billionaires." They are individuals whose net worth comes to over $100 billion. Having added $67.2 billion to his net worth in 2020, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos tops the list of global centi-billionaires: $182.2 billion as of Dec. 13, according to the . . . | Continue reading The pandemic of capitalist profiteers at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53223/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-pandemic-of-capitalist-profiteers

Aleppo's Liberation Three Years Ago Today: Anybody Ashamed?
Jan Oberg | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
December 12, 2017, marks the anniversary of the liberation — the West called it fall — of Aleppo in Syria. What happened is conveniently forgotten today by the West. | Some of us can't and won't forget what was both world, …
globalresearch.ca/aleppo-liberation-one-year-ago-today-anybody-ashamed/5732317

Soleimani entered Gaza to repel Israeli attacks, blockade
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — Firas Al Najim, a Canada-based human rights activist, points to the role of Martyred Lieutenant General Ghasem Soleimani in the fight against terrorism in West Asia, and his support for Palestinian resistance.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167213/Soleimani-entered-Gaza-to-repel-Israeli-attacks-blockade

Brexit Bluster Exposes the Waning of English Power
Patrick Cockburn | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-15
I met pleased and gloomy people in the first half of last year when I travelled around the UK writing about the potential impact of Brexit. But by far the happiest of those I interviewed were veteran Irish republicans in Belfast, mostly present or past members of Sinn Fein, who had devoted their lives to…
counterpunch.org/2020/12/15/brexit-bluster-exposes-the-waning-of-english-power/

Provinces Crackdown On Indigenous Land Defenders
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-15
Toronto – Months after a group of Haudenosaunee people set up camp on a construction site near Caledonia, Ontario, a provincial court granted Haldimand County an order permanently forbidding people from "interfering" with any public road. | A lawyer for the county argued that the injunction was the "only remedy" to keep roads open in the event of future blockades over disputed land. | "I kind of jokingly–but not jokingly–say, if you get a flat tire and are impeding traffic with that flat tire in any kind of way, you are now breaching that injunction," Skyler Williams, a spokesperson for the 1492 Land…
popularresistance.org/provinces-crackdown-on-indigenous-land-defenders/

'Grossly insufficient': ExxonMobil lambasted over emissions reduction plan that pledges no reduction in absolute emissions
Andrea Germanos | nationofchange.org | 2020-12-15
"Any company that fails to keep pace with what science demands threatens its future while endangering the rest of us with escalating climate impacts and systemic risks to the global economy."
nationofchange.org/2020/12/15/grossly-insufficient-exxonmobil-lambasted-over-emissions-reduction-plan-that-pledges-no-reduction-in-absolute-emissions/

The Most Lethal Virus is Not COVID. It is War
John Pilger | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-15
In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Boris Johnson has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defence spending — a figure that would restore the under-resourced NHS many times over.
counterpunch.org/2020/12/15/the-most-lethal-virus-is-not-covid-it-is-war/

Tigray crisis: Humanitarian aid for children must be a priority, UNICEF says
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
Providing aid to millions of children uprooted by the ongoing crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia must be a priority, the head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080092

For U.S.-Mexico Relations, The Real Hope Lies with Energized Social Movements
Laura Carlsen | zcomm.org | 2020-12-15
The real hope doesn't lie with the governments but in recognizing the power and vision of progressive grassroots organizing…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/for-u-s-mexico-relations-the-real-hope-lies-with-energized-social-movements/

Border Patrol is Cracking Down on Humanitarian Aid
Jessica Suriano | thenation.com | 2020-12-15
Border Patrol is Cracking Down on Humanitarian Aid…
thenation.com/article/society/no-more-deaths-arizona/

The Border Patrol Is Cracking Down on Humanitarian Aid
Jessica Suriano | thenation.com | 2020-12-15
The Border Patrol Is Cracking Down on Humanitarian Aid…
thenation.com/article/society/no-more-deaths-arizona/

New documents reveal a 'high-level, coordinated and sustained' plot by British forces to 'deceive parliament'
Peadar O'Cearnaigh | thecanary.co | 2020-12-15
In August 2020, The Canary revealed new files, uncovered by author and activist Ciarán MacAirt of Paper Trail, about the McGurk's bar massacre in Belfast on 4 December 1971. The British loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) blew up McGurk's, killing 15 innocent people and injuring more than 16. At the time, the…
thecanary.co/uk/2020/12/15/new-documents-reveal-a-high-level-coordinated-and-sustained-plot-by-british-forces-to-deceive-parliament/

Rouhani Tells Biden How to Get the Iran Deal Back on Track
Editor | scheerpost.com | 2020-12-15
Asia Society / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Iranian president Hassan Rouhani was asked Tuesday in an interview with a state-owned news outlet under what conditions Iran would return to the 2015 nuclear deal with the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5), including the U.S., plus Germany (+1) He replied, "A thing we are saying today is that if tomorrow morning the… | Source…
scheerpost.com/2020/12/15/rouhani-tells-biden-how-to-get-the-iran-deal-back-on-track/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rouhani-tells-biden-how-to-get-the-iran-deal-back-on-track

UN experts raise concern over charges against US indigenous leader and rights defender
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
Independent UN human rights experts expressed serious concern on Friday over the arrest and charges brought against an indigenous leader, for peacefully protesting a political rally held last July at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, located on treaty lands of the Great Sioux Nation.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080122

UN documents 375 killings in Colombia in 2020, urges Government action
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
The United Nations has recorded the deaths of 255 people in 66 massacres in Colombia this year, as well as the killing of 120 human rights defenders, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080082

As COVID Surges Behind Bars in California, Why Is San Quentin Transferring Hundreds of Prisoners?
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-12-15
Prisons across the U.S. are facing their greatest swell in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Nearly a quarter-million incarcerated people in the U.S. have been infected with COVID-19, according to the Marshall Project, and advocates are pushing for incarcerated people to be prioritized in the country's vaccine rollout. All of California's state prisons have active coronavirus cases, but the California Department of Corrections is continuing to transfer incarcerated people between institutions. San Quentin State Prison has begun the transfer of nearly 300 incarcerated people to other institutions…
www.democracynow.org/2020/12/15/san_quentin_prison_covid_outbreak

Starmer's purge turns against Palestine solidarity
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-12-15
The ongoing attack on the left in Labour is increasingly targeting those who are vocal in support for Palestine, writes Sybil Cock.
mronline.org/2020/12/15/starmers-purge-turns-against-palestine-solidarity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=starmers-purge-turns-against-palestine-solidarity

Nature under settler colonialism in Palestine
| workers.org | 2020-12-15
By Rana Baker This slightly edited presentation was given by Rana Baker, a Palestinian PhD student at Columbia University, during the online Palestine Writes Festival, Dec. 5. Baker's research focuses on infrastructure and environmental resources as micro-sites of political struggle in colonial and anti-colonial contexts. A Palestinian incendiary kite crosses . . . | Continue reading Nature under settler colonialism in Palestine at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53226/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nature-under-settler-colonialism-in-palestine

Moroccan authorities use force to prevent pro-Palestine rally
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-15
The protesters were trying to take out a march opposing Morocco's deal to normalize its ties with Israel. In exchange for the deal, the US has agreed to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the occupied Western Sahara…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/15/moroccan-authorities-use-force-to-prevent-pro-palestine-rally/

World Is "Speeding in the Wrong Direction" on Climate
Greta Thunberg | zcomm.org | 2020-12-15
"The gap between what we need to do and what is actually being done is widening by the minute"
zcomm.org/znetarticle/world-is-speeding-in-the-wrong-direction-on-climate/

People, planet on 'collision course', warns UN Development Programme
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
Countries must redesign their development pathways to reduce damage to the environment and the natural world, or risk stalling progress for humanity overall, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned in a major new report.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080042

Niger: UN gravely concerned for safety of refugees, following Boko Haram attack
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
The United Nations voiced grave concern on Tuesday for the safety of thousands of refugees and internally displaced in the wake of a deadly attack on Toumour, a town in southeastern Niger's Diffa region, near the border with Nigeria.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080062

How US sanctions will affect Turkey's defence industry
Ragip Soylu | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-15
How US sanctions will affect Turkey's defence industry | Penalties over Ankara's S-400 purchase could hinder crucial projects for up to a year until Turkey finds replacements | Ragip Soylu | Tue, 12/15/2020 – 14: 19 | Turkey's Hurjet light combat aircraft, which is produced by the Presidency for Defence Industries, will be affected by US sanctions (Turkish Aerospace) | US sanctions imposed on Turkey on Monday over the…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-us-sanctions-defence-industry-how-affect

Menacing Methane — An Analysis
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-15
"The story of methane really is a story of a very serious definitive threat to our future existence on this planet." (Peter Wadhams) Legendary Arctic explorers Sir James Clark Ross, who located the northern magnetic pole in 1831 and Sir William Edward Parry, who set a record in 1827 for the Farthest North exploration serve…
counterpunch.org/2020/12/15/menacing-methane-an-analysis/

Air pollution in Hamedan
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
HAMEDAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — With the approach of winter and the beginning of the phenomenon of temperature inversion, Hamedan Province of Iran is witnessing air pollution these days.
en.mehrnews.com/photo/167206/Air-pollution-in-Hamedan

How the rich are cashing in on pandemic pain
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-12-15
Millions of day labourers in India lost their jobs overnight earlier this year when Narendra Modi's central government hastily announced a national lockdown.
mronline.org/2020/12/15/how-the-rich-are-cashing-in-on-pandemic-pain/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-the-rich-are-cashing-in-on-pandemic-pain

Climate Change Can be Addressed in Coronavirus Relief, Study Says Development Group Urges
Zach Conti | indybay.org | 2020-12-15
As countries address their debt crises, policy responses can reduce climate change, asserts a new study. "Linking Debt Relief and Sustainable Development: Lessons from Experience," examines previous debt relief processes to learn how debt and climate responses can work in tandem.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/14/18838929.php

Threat of government legal action forces Greenwich Council to keep schools open
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-15
The leader of Greenwich Council has said he has "no choice" but to ask schools to remain open following threats of legal action from the government. | Threats: | The local authority has agreed to withdraw its advice to schools in the south-east London borough to move to online learning for the last few days of term amid rising coronavirus (Covid-19) rates in the capital. | The decision comes after education secretary Gavin Williamson told the Labour-run council on the evening of 14 December to keep schools open to all pupils until the end of term or it will face legal action. | Statement from Cllr Danny T…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/15/threat-of-government-legal-action-forces-greenwich-council-to-keep-schools-open/

Rebuilding Trust and Relationships in Medical Centers
Gupta R, Binder L, Moriates C. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Viewpoint discusses efforts that medical centers can take in rebuilding affordability-related trust and relationships with patients.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774059

Russia Begins COVID-19 Vaccination Throughout Its Territory
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-15
Russia's Health Minister Mikhail Murashko on Tuesday announced the start of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country, adding that his institution has settled a national network for the transportation of the Sputnik V vaccine. | RELATED: | Russian Vaccine Sputnik V Has Over 90 Percent Effectiveness | Besides announcing that President Vladimir Putin's administration will seek to attract new companies for the production of the vaccine, he explained that the conservation of Sputnik V will b…
telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Begins-COVID-19-Vaccination-Throughout-Its-Territory-20201215-0006.html

Immediate action is needed after review finds male doctors are paid more than female colleagues
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-15
A doctors' union is calling for immediate action after a review found that male doctors are still being paid more than their female colleagues.Gender gap: The British Medical Association (BMA) said that the review, which is due to be published on 15 December, showed that, based on full-time equivalent pay: | Female doctors in hospitals are paid nearly 9% less than their male counterparts. | Female GPs are paid 15% less. | Clinical academics 11.5% less. | The review is titled Department of Health and Social Care's Mend The Gap: The Independent Review Into Gender Pay Gaps In Medicine In England. It's been re…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/15/immediate-action-is-needed-after-review-finds-male-doctors-are-paid-more-than-female-colleagues/

Outgoing Syria Envoy James Jeffrey Reflects on "What Everyone Got Wrong"
James Jeffrey | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
In a long-ranging interview with Al-Monitor, James Jeffrey looks back on his efforts to incorporate fragments of Obama-era initiatives into a cohesive Middle East policy. | *** | In August 2016, former US Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey James Jeffrey signed a …
globalresearch.ca/outgoing-syria-envoy-reflects-turkey-kurds-what-everyone-got-wrong/5732346

Workers Struggles: The Americas
wsws.org | 2020-12-15
Health care workers in Ontario, Alberta and other provinces have protested inadequate COVID-19 safety measures while the disease is once again infecting hundreds at meatpacking plants.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/15/wrks-d15.html

Vale Kendall Lovett
Pip Hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-12-15
Iain McIntyre writes about Ken's Lovett's generous spirit and that he was even canonised by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as 'Saint Kendall the Constant'.
greenleft.org.au/content/vale-kendall-lovett

Jacksonville rallies for justice for Devon Gregory and community control of the police
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-12-15
Jacksonville, FL – On December 11, activists both locally and nationally joined the family of Devon Gregory, an 18-year-old Black man shot 35 times by four Jacksonville Sheriff's officers, in a day of action for Devon. | Earlier that day at around 11 a.m., Gregory's family was joined by their attorney, Kevin O'Conner, and organizers from various groups for a press conference on the steps of city hall. | The demands were for a federal investigation of the case, as well as an end to protections for killer cops that are currently in the Florida Officers' Bill of Rights, so that evidence such as the remaining body ca…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/12/14/jacksonville-rallies-justice-devon-gregory-and-community-control-police-2

Transparency as a Trust-Building Practice in Physician Relationships With Patients
Montgomery T, Berns JS, Braddock CH, III. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Viewpoint describes transparency practices that could help physicians build trust with patients and model professionalism for students and trainees: clear and consistent disclosure of financial relationships, conflicts of interest, credentials, disciplinary actions, performance metrics, and personal information or experiences oriented toward improving patient outcomes.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774060

JAMA Network Articles of the Year 2020
Abbasi J. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Medical News article discusses the top-viewed research articles published across the JAMA Network in the past year.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774046

Beirut explosion: Lebanon's investigation on edge following political backlash
Kareem Chehayeb | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-15
Beirut explosion: Lebanon's investigation on edge following political backlash | Political figures have denounced the indictment of caretaker premier Hassan Diab and three former ministers in the legal inquiry into the August blast | Kareem Chehayeb | Tue, 12/15/2020 – 16: 27 | A woman amid the rubble in her damaged house in Beirut on 6 August 2020, two days after a massive explosion shook the Lebanese capital…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-investigation-political-backlash

Michael Gove holds talks as pressure grows to scrap easing of coronavirus rules at Christmas
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-15
Urgent talks are taking place between the leaders of the devolved administrations and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove as calls mount to scrap plans for an easing of coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions over Christmas.However, Wales' first minister Mark Drakeford described the four nations approach to the festive period as a "hard-won agreement" and said he will "not lightly put it aside".Opposition: The move comes as Labour leader Keir Starmer demanded an urgent review into the easing of rules after leading medical journals warned that a lessening of restrictions would "cost many lives".The planned fiv…
thecanary.co/uk/2020/12/15/michael-gove-holds-talks-as-pressure-grows-to-scrap-easing-of-coronavirus-rules-at-christmas/

'US impeding imports of Covid-19 vaccine to Iran'
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — Explaining the details of financing the imports of the Coronavirus vaccine to Iran, the CBI Gov. Abdolnaser Hemmati said the US can revoke its permit to buy the vaccine at any moment it desires.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167215/US-impeding-imports-of-Covid-19-vaccine-to-Iran

W.E.B. Du Bois Is as Relevant as Ever
Norman Stockwell | progressive.org | 2020-12-15
Elvira Basevich's new book takes a look at the scholar's work through the lens of the Black Lives Matter movement.
progressive.org/dispatches/du-bois-as-relevant-as-ever-stockwell-201215/

Iraq to Sue US over Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons: Official
Tasnim News Agency | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
An adviser to the Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee said the Baghdad government is planning to lodge an international lawsuit against the US for using internationally-banned munitions in civilian areas. | Hatif al-Rikabi told Arabic-language al-Maalomah news agency in an interview | …
globalresearch.ca/iraq-sue-us-use-depleted-uranium-weapons-official/5732321

Why the Cleveland Indians Will Change Their Name
Dave Zirin | thenation.com | 2020-12-15
Why the Cleveland Indians Will Change Their Name…
thenation.com/article/society/cleveland-indians-change-name/

Young Champions of the Earth: Indian's burning desire for energy
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
An Indian engineer has been recognized by the United Nations for developing innovative technology which not only produces energy, but which helps to keep the air cleaner and reduce climate change.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080072

Stop weaponising antisemitism: 'Never again ever, for anyone!'
Pablo Navarrete | thecanary.co | 2020-12-15
Dan Glass is the grandson of four Nazi Holocaust survivors, two from Germany and two from Poland. He says "the last thing I'm ever going to let happen is that my grandparents' story and what they went through, be weaponised to oppress other people". | You can watch the full Redfish documentary featured in this video here. | Alongside the launch of this video, the following Q&A with Dan Glass and The Canary's Nancy Mendoza aired live on Mon 15 Decem…
thecanary.co/video/2020/12/15/stop-weaponising-antisemitism-never-again-ever-for-anyone/

Trijardy XR–A New 3-Drug Combination for Type 2 Diabetes
jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Medical Letter compares a newly approved fixed-dose combination pill comprising the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor empagliflozin, the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor linagliptin, and extended-release metformin, with available formulations of each of the pill's individual components for oral treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774045

Norway blocked Saudi request to give diplomatic immunity to suspicious 'security team'
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-15
Norway blocked Saudi request to give diplomatic immunity to suspicious 'security team' | Norwegian authorities alerted activist Iyad al-Baghdadi to incident, which came weeks before Khashoggi's murder, local media reports | MEE staff | Tue, 12/15/2020 – 12: 17 | Activist Iyad el-Baghdadi believes the request for diplomatic immunity was linked to his relationship with slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi (AFP) | Norway refused…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-norway-diplomatic-immunity-team-blocked

Warning! Seniors and Healthcare Workers First in Line to Get the Experimental COVID Vaccine!
Brian Shilhavy | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
With the FDA giving emergency use authorization (EUA) for the experimental Pfizer COVID mRNA vaccine, doses are currently in route to all 50 States and U.S. Territories. | In most of these states it is being reported that the first doses …
globalresearch.ca/warning-seniors-healthcare-workers-first-line-get-experimental-covid-vaccine/5732304

Exome Sequencing as Part of a Multidisciplinary Approach to Diagnosis–Reply
Friedman JM, Jones K, Carey JC. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
In Reply Dr Doreille and colleagues share our opinion that a genetic disease diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of an exome-sequencing result alone but requires consideration of all of a patient's clinical features and consistency with the spectrum of clinical manifestations that occur in the disease being considered.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774044

Top grocery chain eliminates 20 million individual pieces of holiday single-use plastic
Amanda Mills | nationofchange.org | 2020-12-15
"It is an absolute priority of ours to remove and reduce the amount of plastic in our stores."
nationofchange.org/2020/12/15/top-grocery-chain-eliminates-20-million-individual-pieces-of-holiday-single-use-plastic/

COVID's Covert Reengineering of Humanity. "Genetically Modified" Vaccines?
Julian Rose | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
The first Covid vaccines now being rushed onto the market are genetically modified products. However, they are not publicly referred to as such, because that would likely scare off a high percentage of would be recipients. | Nevertheless, the public …
globalresearch.ca/covid-covert-reengineering-humanity/5732288

Experts warn 'rash' Christmas easing of coronavirus rules will 'cost many lives'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-15
Pressure is increasing on the government to rethink the easing of coronavirus restrictions over the Christmas period after two leading medical journals warned the move would "cost many lives". | "Rash": | In a rare joint editorial, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and Health Service Journal (HSJ) called for the "rash" decision to relax social distancing measures over the festive period to be scrapped. | They said that the government "is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives". | London mayor Sadiq Khan also expressed concern about the five-day "Christmas window" which would a…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/15/experts-warn-rash-christmas-easing-of-coronavirus-rules-will-cost-many-lives/

Relief Package Gives Retroactive Immunity to Corporations From COVID Lawsuits
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-12-15
One piece of a bipartisan Covid-19 relief package unveiled late Monday would give corporations sweeping and retroactive immunity from coronavirus-related lawsuits, a top Republican priority that civil rights groups, labor unions, a…
truthout.org/articles/relief-package-gives-retroactive-immunity-to-corporations-from-covid-lawsuits/

Home From the Hospital
O'Hanlon S. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
Last night I dreamed my father came Home from the hospital Standing there in the kitchen with the usual Slab of butter laid out on homemade bread As if it was cheese…
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774052

Midwest Dispatch: Beware of Proud Boys and Liability Shields
Sarah Lahm | progressive.org | 2020-12-15
We know racist violence runs rampant on the far-right, but it's also familiar in Congress.
progressive.org/dispatches/beware-proud-boys-liability-shields-lahm-201215/

IMF austerity is strangling Ecuador — again
Progressive International | zcomm.org | 2020-12-15
Members of the Progressive International's Debt Justice working group call on IMF President Georgieva to deliver on the promise of a just recovery…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/imf-austerity-is-strangling-ecuador-again/

The 2020 Worldwide Corona Crisis: Destroying Civil Society, Engineered Economic Depression, Global Coup d'État and the "Great Reset"
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-15
We are at the crossroads of one of the most serious crises in modern history. We are living history, yet our understanding of the flow of events since January 2020 has been blurred. Worldwide, people have been misled both by their governments and the media as to the causes and devastating consequences of the Covid-19 "pandemic".
globalresearch.ca/the-2020-worldwide-corona-crisis-destroying-civil-society-engineered-economic-depression-global-coup-detat-and-the-great-reset/5730652

Black Woman Sworn in as Governor in Bermuda
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-15
Rena Lalgie, the first black governor and woman in the history of the Bermuda archipelago, was sworn in at Government House in Hamilton city. | RELATED: | Hurricane Paulette Hits Bermuda With Torrential Rains and Winds | After arriving from the UK on Sunday, she said it was a privilege to star her service as governor of Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. | Prime Minister David Burt, Chief Justice Narinder Hargun, and Cabinet Secretary Marc Telemaque attended th…
telesurenglish.net/news/Black-Woman-Sworn-in-as-Governor-in-Bermuda-20201215-0007.html

How NPR Divides and Conquers
David Rovics | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-15
I listen to NPR a lot. I'm not going to go into all the reasons I do this, but there are many, and they are contradictory. Generally it's a combination of a desire to know what's going on from a news source that has actual reporters on the ground, and wanting to know how the liberal elite is spinning everything. Depending on the stories they're covering, my nickname for the news outlet changes — Nationalist Petroleum Radio, Nationalist Pentagon Radio, Nationalist Privilege Radio.
counterpunch.org/2020/12/15/how-npr-divides-and-conquers/

Behind the Curve
Jeffrey Zaiser | realprogressives.org | 2020-12-15
Please explain to me how and why this perverted version of economic reality persists. | This trickle down, supply side economic policy based on a curve sketched on a bar room napkin (The Laffer Curve) that David Stockton distended into economic pseudoscience embedded into our national economic policy. | The efficacy never determined to be self-evident, never to be re-evaluated, and never to be rescinded. | If the basis of the nation's economic performance can be attributed to an imaginary trickle of investment from on high […
realprogressives.org/behind-the-curve/

Houstonians gather to stop highway expansion
Caleb Granger | liberationnews.org | 2020-12-15
Historically, highway projects in Houston have been used to reinforce racial and class segregation. In the Third Ward's working-class Black neighborhoods, highways divide and dismember the community.
liberationnews.org/houstonians-gather-to-stop-highway-expansion/

A Song for Gram–The Music of Grief
Farrell CM. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
In this narrative medicine essay, a critical care fellow returning to the ICU after burying her grandmother learns that grief does not conform to clinical schedules and efficiencies, having instead its own pace and melody, like the songs on violin she loved to performed for her beloved Gram.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774053

To end the pandemic, WHO says $28 billion ACT project is 'the best deal in town'
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
An international coalition aiming to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic needs $28 billion, a bargain price for stopping the damage done by a virus that has run rampant for the past year, a senior UN World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080112

Vosough Al-Dowleh Garden of Tehran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — known as "Pomegranate Garden" because of its pomegranate trees, the Garden of Vosough Al-Dawlah was a private house and promenade during the Qajar era and today the garden is open to the public.
en.mehrnews.com/photo/167212/Vosough-Al-Dowleh-Garden-of-Tehran

Urgent Action Needed to Prevent Measles, Polio Resurgence
Kuehn BM. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
Leaders from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued an urgent call to prevent a worldwide resurgence of measles and polio as pandemic-related disruptions caused vaccination rates to fall to 50% in some areas.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774063

Letters From the December 28, 2020/January 4, 2021, Issue
Our Readers | thenation.com | 2020-12-15
Letters From the December 28, 2020/January 4, 2021, Issue…
thenation.com/article/society/letters-from-the-december-28-2020-january-4-2021-issue/

Special advisers earn almost £10m, with Cummings paid six figures
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-15
Government special advisers were paid almost £10m last year, new figures have revealed, with Dominic Cummings among Downing Street staff on six-figure salaries.Big money: A Cabinet Office report detailed the £9.6m pay bill for the 102 special advisers — known as Spads — from April 2019 to March 2020.Former chief adviser Cummings, who is in the process of leaving his government post, was paid the equivalent of £140,000-£144,999 — up from £95,000-£99,999 last year.Lee Cain was paid the equivalent of £140,000-£144,999 last year (Victoria Jones/PA)…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/15/special-advisers-earn-almost-10m-with-cummings-paid-six-figures/

How Portland Radicalized Me
Saskia Hostetler Lippy | zcomm.org | 2020-12-15
I am writing with urgency to tell you: this violence is not inevitable. It can be stopped…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/how-portland-radicalized-me/

NATO opposed to treaty on Prohibition of nuclear weapons
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — NATO said on Tuesday it is opposed to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as it does not fit in with the existing security architecture.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167217/NATO-opposed-to-treaty-on-Prohibition-of-nuclear-weapons

Patient Consumerism, Healing Relationships, and Rebuilding Trust in Health Care
Khullar D, Darien G, Ness DL. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Viewpoint discusses barriers to building trust between physicians and patients and offers recommendations to increase that trust, including minimizing emphasis on patient consumerism, promoting authentic partnerships, and accelerating select payment and delivery system reforms.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774058

Did You Think the New Laws Were Only About the Farmers?
P. Sainath | zcomm.org | 2020-12-15
The laws contain among the most sweeping exclusions of a citizen's right to legal recourse in any law outside of the Emergency of 1975-77…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/did-you-think-the-new-laws-were-only-about-the-farmers/

Moqaddam's message on occasion of Cinema Verite inauguration
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — Mohammad Hamidi-Moqaddam sent a message to the 14th Iran International Documentary Film Festival known as "Cinema Verite".
en.mehrnews.com/news/167218/Moqaddam-s-message-on-occasion-of-Cinema-Verite-inauguration

Police dismantle 2 drug-trafficking bands in S Iran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — The police forces of Hormozgan province, south of Iran have managed to dismantle two drug-smuggling gangs and seize over 1 ton of illicit drugs in the past 24 hours.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167204/Police-dismantle-2-drug-trafficking-bands-in-S-Iran

Yemeni army foils Saudi aggression in Dhale province
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — Yemeni army has reportedly thwarted an attack launched by the Saudi-led coalition in Dhale province.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167221/Yemeni-army-foils-Saudi-aggression-in-Dhale-province

Editor of New Zealand's major corporate think tank exposed as a bigot
wsws.org | 2020-12-15
Nathan Smith, chief editor of the New Zealand Initiative and a major writer for the National Business Review, ran a personal blog featuring anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim diatribes.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/15/nzfa-d15.html

Put me out of a job: UN refugee chief's challenge to world leaders
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has challenged world leaders to put him "out of a job" by addressing the root causes that drive millions to flee their homes due to war and insecurity.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080052

Protest for Casey Goodson Jr., shot in the back, killed by Ohio cop
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-12-15
Columbus, OH – A crowd of 500 people took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio on December 11 to protest the police killing of Casey Goodson Jr. Hundreds of young people, led by Goodson's family, marched through the streets carrying signs and surrounded the Ohio Statehouse. | The march stopped in front of the Statehouse on South High Street long enough to shield protesters who painted a large mural on the street surface. Impassioned speakers addressed the gathering crowd. Police presence was heavy, as riot police staged in the surrounding buildings. However, the demonstration remained largely uninterrupted. | Tamala…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/12/14/protest-casey-goodson-jr-shot-back-killed-ohio-cop

Tuesday 12/15: S.F. Gray Panthers December 15 mtg: a look back; ahead; and at loneliness!
Art Persyko | indybay.org | 2020-12-15
Zoom in: us02web.zoom.us/j/87088353876 | Phone in: 1 669 900 9128 (Meeting ID: 870 8835 3876)…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/14/18838932.php

Monday 12/14: Robert Reich's understandably tepid economic analysis
David Giesen | indybay.org | 2020-12-15
Join Zoom Meeting | zoom.us/j/98433013005?pwd=dDA2L3pVZ2xkQnhESk9WWUZoeHBuUT09…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/14/18838933.php

Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Incident Cardiovascular Diseases
Harshfield EL, Pennells L, Schwartz JE, et al. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This international study pooled individual-participant data from several long-term prospective studies to evaluate the relationship between depressive symptoms and incident cardiovascular disease.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774050

William Barr Achieved What He Set Out to Do — Grossly Expand Executive Power
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-12-15
William Barr is going out a winner. | When I wrote my obituary for the George W. Bush administration a few weeks before the Obama inauguration, I argued that Bush will go down in history as one of the most "successful" presidents of the modern age. This contention was greeted with, shall we say, an adult dose of consternation and wrath. Those ruinous tax cuts? September 11? Iraq and the WMD? The racism? The obl…
truthout.org/articles/william-barr-achieved-what-he-set-out-to-do-grossly-expand-executive-power/

Bezos, McConnell, and Covid capitalism
Robert Reich | nationofchange.org | 2020-12-15
The heinous resurgence of COVID makes clear that corporations need more — not fewer — incentives to protect their workers from the virus.
nationofchange.org/2020/12/15/bezos-mcconnell-and-covid-capitalism/

How Some Of America's Richest Towns Fight Affordable Housing
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-15
Westport, CT – A dirt field overgrown with weeds is the incongruous entrance to one of America's wealthiest towns, a short walk to a Rodeo Drive-like stretch replete with upscale stores such as Tiffany & Co. | But this sad patch of land is also the physical manifestation of a broader turf war over what type of housing — and ultimately what type of people — to allow within Westport's borders. | It started when a developer known for building large luxury homes envisioned something different back in 2014 for the 2.2 acre property: a mix of single- and multifamily housing that would accommodate up to…
popularresistance.org/how-some-of-americas-richest-towns-fight-affordable-housing/

US Justice Department shuts down UAW corruption investigation, praises union "reforms"
wsws.org | 2020-12-15
The US attorney heading the five-year investigation into corruption in the United Auto Workers union joined UAW President Rory Gamble to announce the end of the federal probe while absurdly claiming the union is now free of corruption and suspicion.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/15/uawa-d15.html

Lebanon sentences activist for allegedly collaborating with Israel
MEE and agencies | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-15
Lebanon sentences activist for allegedly collaborating with Israel | Family and activists have denounced Kinda al-Khatib's case as political because of her stance against parties in power | MEE and agencies | Tue, 12/15/2020 – 10: 23 | Prior to her arrest, Khatib had criticised Hezbollah on social media (Twitter) | Lebanon's military prosecution has sentenced prominent activist Kinda al-Khatib to three years…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanon-israel-activist-jailed-collaborating

Human-Centered Design and Trust in Medicine
Wheelock A, Bechtel C, Leff B. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Viewpoint discusses how human-centered design (HCD) that involves all stakeholders can improve patient trust in physicians and health care systems, describes its methods, and provides examples of its successful application.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774062

Imperial's research through a poetic lens
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-12-15
Poet and spoken word artist Dan Simpson has come to the end of his innovative public engagement residency at Imperial College London.
imperial.ac.uk/news/210833/imperials-research-through-poetic-lens

The Heat: U.S. politics and COVID-19
Sean Callebs | america.cgtn.com | 2020-12-15
The Electoral College votes to confirm the next president of the United States. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 deaths passes 300,000 in the U.S. as the first vaccinations begin. Nearly six weeks after Americans cast their ballots to elect Joe Biden as the next president, …
america.cgtn.com/2020/12/15/the-heat-u-s-politics-and-covid-19

The Enduring Importance of Trust in Leadership of Health Care Organizations
Jain SH, Lucey C, Crosson FJ. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Viewpoint discusses the declining trust in the US health care system, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance that maintaining public trust should hold in the culture of health care organizations.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774061

Addressing Medical Misinformation in the Patient-Clinician Relationship
Arora VM, Madison S, Simpson L. | jamanetwork.com | 2020-12-15
This Viewpoint describes why health misinformation spreads, characterizes a broader set of misinformation types, and discusses solutions to this problem.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774057