RT (2020-01-07). Netanyahu backs away from Soleimani assassination, warns ministers to \'stay out\' of purely \'American event\'. rt.com Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly warned his cabinet not to get too involved in the US murder of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, lest Tel Aviv gets dragged into the escalating conflict between Washington and Tehran. | \"The assassination of Soleimani isn\'t an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it,\" Netanyahu reportedly told his security cabinet during a meeting on Monday, as cited by Israel\'s Channel 13. He advised ministers to avoid speaking to the media about Thursday\'s targeted assassination beyond supporting the US right to defend itself, so…

RT (2020-01-07). \'Keep out of Libya!\' Gruesome videos of Tripoli military academy strike emerge as UN envoy decries foreign meddling. rt.com Shocking videos have emerged online, showing what appears to be a drone strike on a Libyan military academy — instantly killing dozens of cadets and wounding just as many — as well as its bloody aftermath. | At least 30 trainees were killed and another 33 injured in the Saturday strike, health officials of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said, noting the total death toll could still increase. | In one video circulating online, somewhat grainy and taken from a distance, a column of trainees is briefly seen in marching formation before it is obliterated by a direct hit that come…

RT (2020-01-06). Australia\'s cricketing \'King of Spin\' Shane Warne sells prized Baggy Green cap for bushfire victims. rt.com Australian cricket legend Shane Warne has opened the bidding on his iconic Baggy Green cap in order to raise funds for those affected by the devastating bushfires which have ravaged the continent. | The 50-year-old, known as the \'King of Spin\', announced the move during day four of the third test between Australia and New Zealand. | READ MORE: \'Conditions are a health concern for players\': Novak Djokovic worried about bushfires ahead of Australian Open | Warne wore the cap during his 145-match Test care…

RT (2020-01-06). \'Big loss\' if Iran\'s nuclear deal scrapped & regarding Iraq, US threats are \'not helpful\' — German FM. rt.com The nuclear deal signed between major world powers and Iran after years of tough talks could be on the brink of collapse after Tehran announced it will throw out all constraints on uranium enrichment, the German FM warned. | The first week of the year saw more bad news coming in, with Iran saying it will cease sticking to limitations on enrichment, levels of enrichment and the stock of uranium written down in the 2015 nuclear deal. | The announcement apparently unnerved Germany, one of the three European countries that have been trying to save the deal after Donald Trump\'s abrupt decision to pull the US out o…

RT (2020-01-06). Iran\'s rollback on 2015 deal commitments poses no risk of nuclear arms proliferation — Moscow. rt.com Blaming Tehran for its decision not to adhere to the 2015 nuclear deal won\'t work, as it\'s a direct consequence of the US\'s withdrawal from the pact and increased sanctions pressure on Iran, the Foreign Ministry said. | The rollback on uranium enrichment constraints detailed in the landmark international agreement \"in itself poses no threat in terms of proliferation of nuclear weapons,\" the ministry said in a statement. | The fact that Iran is acting in \"close cooperation and unde…

Staff (2020-01-06). Soleimani\'s Death Could Galvanize Shia Coalitions Against One \"Foreign Aggressor\" — The U.S. democracynow.org Fallout continues to mount following the U.S. assassination of Iran\'s top military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week. Iranian media reports that over a million mourners took to the streets of Tehran today for the funeral of Soleimani, who headed Iran\'s elite Quds Force. On Sunday, Iran announced it would suspend its commitments under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. pulled out of in 2018. Trump has also threatened to target 52 locations in Iran, including cultural sites, if Iran retaliates against the U.S. The targeting of cultural sites is widely viewed as an international war crime.

Gary Leupp (2020-01-06). The Assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani. counterpunch.org In 2003 the U.S. committed the crime of the century, invading, destroying and occupying the modern state of Iraq, ushering in an era of misery, terror and chaos in the region. Or one could say that the invasion continued an era launched by the ill-fated invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, justified by the 9/11 More

Howard Lisnoff (2020-01-06). The Government is Torturing Chelsea Manning! Does Anyone Give a Damn? counterpunch.org Chelsea Manning is being tortured for her refusal to testify before a federal grand jury. She already has told a military court as a whistleblower while in the Army about documents pertaining to alleged war crimes that were committed in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has already been tortured and imprisoned for releasing that information once (\"Collateral Murder\" video, More

RT (2020-01-06). Conservative satire as popular as mainstream news, journalists and cyberwarriors furious. rt.com A satirical article claiming the Democratic Party is officially mourning the death of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani has been shared more times than most CNN and New York Times articles, annoying the joke police. | Soleimani, who commanded the Iranian military Quds Force, was killed in an American airstrike last week, an assassination which raised already high tensions between Washington and Tehran to boiling point. Democrats criticized Trump for ordering Soleimani\'s killing, prompting conservative satire site the Babylon Bee to put its own spin on events. | \"Democrats call for flags to be flown a…

RT (2020-01-06). \'We\'re not allowed to talk about anything wrong in the Democratic Party\' — AOC trashes the Democratic establishment. rt.com Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the chief architects of the Democrats\' leftward shift, has hit out at her party for fielding candidates like the centrist Joe Biden, and said \"we\'re not allowed to talk\" about party division. | Ocasio-Cortez considers herself \"one of the most hated people in America,\" she told New York magazine in an interview published on Monday. Since a surprise electoral victory over a ten-term incumbent Democrat in 2018, she\'s since become the face of her party\'s emboldened progressive wing, alongside \'The Squad\' of fellow Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (Michigan), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) and M…

Miko Peled (2020-01-06). An Act of Cowardice: US Assassination of Soleimani Puts US-Israeli Fear of Iran on Full Display. mintpressnews.com Neither Israel or the US is prepared for an all out war with Iran, \"hit and run\" seems to be the tactic of choice. Hit Iranian targets in Syria or Iraq, and then run.

Staff (2020-01-06). Former Top Bush Official: I Saw the March to War in 2003. I\'m Seeing the Same Thing with Iran Now. democracynow.org We look at the Trump administration\'s assassination of Iran\'s top military commander Qassem Soleimani with Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired United States Army colonel who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell\'s chief of staff from 2002 to 2005. On February 5, 2003, he watched as Powell made the case for war in a speech to the United Nations. He has since become an outspoken critic of U.S. intervention in the Middle East. In 2018, Wilkerson wrote an article for The New York Times titled \"I Helped Sell the False Choice of War Once. It\'s Happening Again.\"

Patrick Cockburn (2020-01-06). Iraq\'s Worst Fears Have Come True: a Proxy War on Its Doorstep. counterpunch.org The killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani by a US drone at Baghdad airport is an act of escalation by President Donald Trump that ensures that Iraq faces a violent future. It may not lead to a full-scale military conflict, but Iraq will be the political and military arena where the US-Iranian rivalry will be fought out. More

Paul Street (2020-01-06). The Inauthentic Opposition is \"Stunned\" by a Crime it Encouraged. counterpunch.org Top Democrats are \"stunned\" that Trump impulsively ordered the killing of \"the commanding general of a sovereign government\" (New York Times) — Iran\'s Maj. Gen. Qassim Soliemani —on the sovereign territory of Iraq without the permission of Iraq\'s government. The imperial assassination of Soliemani is a criminal act of war guaranteed to provoke a reaction that could produce a regional war involving U.S. forces in the Middle East. More

RT (2020-01-06). \'We are trying to prevent open war,\' Iraqi PM tells US ambassador as tensions mount. rt.com Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has told US ambassador Matthew Tueller that Baghdad is doing all it can to prevent \"descent into open war\" as tensions flare over the US killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. | Speaking at a meeting with Tueller in the Iraqi capital on Monday, Abdul-Mahdi said his government\'s policy has \"always been to have relations with all sides.\" He said Iraq wants to build its relations with other countries on \"cooperation, mutual respect, and protection of foreign sovereignty,\" adding that a strong Iraqi government is in \"everyone\'s interest\" in the region. | The PM als…

RT (2020-01-06). Democrats to introduce House resolution limiting Trump\'s military actions against Iran. rt.com The House will vote on a resolution to restrict Donald Trump\'s ability to wage war against Iran, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said, arguing that Congress must prevent the White House from endangering American lives. | In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi stressed that Congress had a \"responsibility\" to stop a \"serious escalation\" with Tehran that could endanger US diplomats and service members. She said the House will introduce a vote on a War Powers resolution later this week that aims to \"limit the President\'s…

Special to People\'s World (2020-01-06). U.S. Communists denounce Trump\'s Iran war drive. peoplesworld.org Following the U.S. drone-strike assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani and the deployment of thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East, the Communist Party USA condemned the Trump administration\'s drive toward war with Iran in a statement released this weekend. The party is calling for a mass public campaign to resist war and remove …

Alan Macleod (2020-01-06). Trump\'s Iran Aggression Sparks Protests Across America, World. mintpressnews.com The weekend saw more than 70 spontaneous or hastily organized demonstrations across America in opposition to the Trump administration\'s warlike actions against Iraq and Iran. On January 3, the United States carried out a drone strike in Baghdad that killed Major General Qasem Soleimani of Iran\'s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Soleimani was commonly se…

RT (2020-01-06). There may be far more black holes wandering space, consuming all in their path, says worrying new research. rt.com Scientists studying the underlying mechanisms which formed the universe have made a startling and terrifying discovery, which they believe indicates that there are more black holes out there than we thought — and they\'re moving. | The team from Montana State University targeted dwarf galaxies, which are 100 times less massive than our own Milky Way, for study as these are the smallest known to possibly host black holes. Given the size of the galaxies, it follows that their black holes would also be relatively small, though still somewhere in the region of 400,000 times the mass of our sun. | Also on rt.c…

RT (2020-01-06). \'Never threaten the Iranian nation\': Rouhani rebuffs Trump\'s warning that 52 Iranian targets may be hit. rt.com Iran\'s president has reminded Donald Trump of the 290 Iranians who died when the US shot down their plane in 1988, after the US president threatened to hit 52 targets in Iran — the same number of American hostages taken in 1979.

RT (2020-01-06). Not his \'vision\' for Pakistan: Imran Khan condemns violence at Sikh shrine. rt.com Prime Minister Imran Khan has denounced a violent altercation that occurred at a Sikh holy site in Pakistan, stressing that his government would not tolerate sectarian strife in the country. | Writing on Twitter, Khan said the incident outside the Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib was \"condemnable\" and \"goes against [his] vision\". He said Islamabad had \"zero tolerance\" for such actions, and that perpetrators of religion-fueled violence would not receive sympathy from the police or judiciary. | In contrast, Modi\'s RSS vision supports minorities oppression & the targeted attacks against Muslims are part of…

John Wojcik (2020-01-06). War danger a cause for concern around the globe. peoplesworld.org Those who saw recent demonstrations against the theocratic regime ruling Iran as a good sign had their hopes set back yesterday when the funeral for the assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani drew millions into the streets of Tehran, that nation\'s capital. A sea of humanity turned out to demonstrate its anger with the illegal U.S. …

RT (2020-01-06). \'US attempts to start war in Middle East are MADNESS!\' Iraqi commander killed in US strike on Soleimani once told RT. rt.com Iraq and Iran have a mutual interest in each other\'s security, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis told RT in 2017. The Iraqi militia leader was among those killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad that targeted Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. | Soleimani, head of Iran\'s elite Quds Force, was the main target of Friday\'s drone attack, but the Americans apparently didn\'t care about collateral damage. Among the ten victims was not just the Iranian general — whom Washington conveniently branded a terrorist — but also top Iraqi security officials, who are technically supposed to be US allies. | Al-Muhandis, the deputy…

RT (2020-01-06). Even CNN is tired of Joe Biden lying about having been against the Iraq War. rt.com CNN has blasted Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for claiming once again that he opposed the Iraq War from the beginning, when in fact he was an advocate of the war, speaking in favor of it many times. | In a piece published on CNN\'s \'Facts First\' blog Biden was scolded for \"dishonestly\" claiming he opposed the invasion of Iraq. The fact-check came after Biden told a voter in Iowa at the weekend that he was against the war \"from the very moment\" George W. Bush launched it. In re…

RT (2020-01-06). Embassy in Israel warns Americans \'heightened tensions\' may bring rocket fire. rt.com The US embassy in Jerusalem has warned US citizens that they face an increased likelihood of rocket fire and other \"security incidents\" amid \"heightened tensions\" following the US killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. | Citing \"heightened tensions in the Middle East,\" the embassy urged Americans in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza to \"remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness\" on Monday, noting that rocket fire and other \"security incidents\" seldom leave much time to react. The memo advised Americans to learn the location of nearby bomb shelters and pay attention to…

John Ryan (2020-01-06). Censorship in Canada? Vanessa Beeley\'s Talks on Syria. dissidentvoice.org White Helmets Vanessa Beeley is a British journalist who was invited to Canada in the fall of 2019 to present talks in seven cities on the conflict in Syria. The sponsors of her speaking tour were several anti-war groups, including the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, and Peace Alliance …

Mark Gruenberg (2020-01-06). Amid rising protests, House plans vote against Trump war on Iran. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Amid rising protests in the streets and online against President Donald Trump\'s looming war on Iran, the Democratic-run U.S. House plans to vote on a measure banning that war without congressional approval. The resolution, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her colleagues, will invoke the 1973 War Powers Act and order Trump not to go to …

Michael Hudson (2020-01-06). America Escalates Its \"Democratic\" Oil War in the Near East. counterpunch.org The mainstream media are carefully sidestepping the method behind America\'s seeming madness in assassinating Islamic Revolutionary Guard general Qassim Suleimani to start the New Year. The logic behind the assassination this was a long-standing application of U.S. global policy, not just a personality quirk of Donald Trump\'s impulsive action. His assassination of Iranian military leader Suleimani was indeed a unilateral act of war in violation of international law, but it was a logical step in a long-standing U.S. strategy. It was explicitly authorized by the Senate in the funding bill for the Pentagon that it pa…

Eds. (2020-01-06). Dem candidates are critical of Trump\'s drone strike…but mostly are criticizing the Iranian general he killed. mronline.org \"No American will mourn Qassem Suleimani\'s passing,\" begins former Vice President Joe Biden\'s statement, \"He deserved to be brought to justice for his crimes against American troops and thousands of innocents throughout the region. He supported terror and sowed chaos.\" | Source

RT (2020-01-06). UK urges Baghdad to allow its troops to continue \'vital work\' as Iraqi parliament calls for withdrawal of all foreign forces. rt.com The UK government has expressed opposition to an Iraqi resolution demanding the expulsion of foreign troops, arguing that British soldiers play a critical security role in the country. | The removal of foreign military forces would prevent the US-led coalition from continuing its \"vital work\" countering Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Iraq, a UK government spokesman argued. | Iraq\'s parliament passed the motion on Sunday following the US-ordered assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran\'s elite Quds Force, in Baghdad. The resolution is non-binding and has not yet been adopted as an official…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-01-06). Israel\'s Fingerprint Are All Over the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani. mintpressnews.com The fingerprints of Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, are unmistakably present in the assassination. It is plausible that the attack at Soleimani\'s convoy was a joint CIA-Mossad operation.

Massoud Nayeri (2020-01-06). Assassination Is Not a Foreign Policy. globalresearch.ca …

Staff (2020-01-06). Trump\'s Killing of Qassem Soleimani Means \"Rules of the Game Have Totally Changed\" in Middle East. democracynow.org The Iraqi Parliament voted Sunday to expel all U.S. military forces from Iraq. President Trump responded by threatening to impose sanctions on Iraq \"like they\'ve never seen before.\" Iraq has already been the target of some of the harshest sanctions the world has even seen. U.S.-backed sanctions killed more than a million Iraqis, including over 500,000 children, between 1990 and 2003. From Baghdad, we talk to Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, correspondent for The Guardian newspaper.

RT (2020-01-06). Trump threatens Iraq with \'very big sanctions\' unless it pays back BILLIONS for an airbase if US troops are forced to withdraw. rt.com Iraq should brace for sanctions that will make the ones placed on Iran look weak in comparison if it kicks out the US troops without first covering the costs for an airbase, US President Donald Trump said. | \"We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that\'s there. It cost billions of dollars to build, long before my time. We\'re not leaving unless they pay us back for it,\" Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. | The punitive measures that the US is ready to slap on its supposed ally in the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) will be even harsher than the crippling sanctions al…

RT (2020-01-06). Beijing slams Washington for fueling tensions in Middle East with \'military interventionism\'. rt.com China has accused the US of having a destabilizing presence in the Middle East, describing growing animosity between the United States and Iran as a threat to regional security. | The US should not misuse its military power, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a press briefing on Monday. He also called on Washington and Tehran to show restraint and avoid an escalation of tensions in the wake of a US drone strike that killed General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran\'s elite Quds Force. | \"Power politics are neither popular nor sustainable,\" Shuang added, as quoted by Reuters. | The US\' r…

Subodh Varma (2020-01-06). Jan 8 Strike: With 73 million jobless in India, it\'s a fight for survival. peoplesdispatch.org Workers are striking for more jobs while the Narendra Modi government is busy implementing the far-right wing agenda, refusing to see the huge army of unemployed…

Liberation Staff (2020-01-06). Hundreds of protesters for peace come out in Pacific Northwest Jan. 4. liberationnews.org Reports from Seattle, Spokane, Kennewick and Boise…

RT (2020-01-06). Boeing looks for additional cash to stay afloat amid ongoing 737 MAX crisis — report. rt.com American aerospace giant Boeing is eyeing to raise more debt in a bid to cope with the consequences of the groundings of its once best-selling airplane, the 737 MAX, according to a Wall Street Journal report. | Apart from fundraising, which could amount up to $5 billion in extra debt, it may also have to put off some investment and planned acquisitions, as well as cut spending on research and development, the report said citing sources. | Also on rt.com | | Boeing to pay compensation to Turkish Airlines over 737 MAX grounding | The me…

Ben Becker (2020-01-06). BREAKING: Soleimani was in Iraq to ease regional tensions; then Trump said \'Kill him\'. liberationnews.org The Pentagon and the White House fully knew, when they ordered the airstrike to kill him, that Soleimani was traveling to Baghdad in a diplomatic capacity as an emissary of Iran, and that he had a meeting planned with the Prime Minister to discuss broader de-escalation.

Prensa Latina (2020-01-06). Irán dará respuesta militar a asesinato de general, dice alto asesor. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON, 5 ene (Prensa Latina) Hossein Dehghan, asesor del líder supremo de Irán, ayatolá Ali Khamenei, manifestó hoy que su país dará una respuesta militar al asesinato por parte de Estados Unidos del general Qasem Soleimani. En entrevista exclusiva con la cadena de televisión CNN, el consejero militar sostuvo que Teherán tomaría represalias directamente contra …

RT (2020-01-06). Tide of people, anti-US chants, & sorrow as Tehran mourns death of General Soleimani & Iraqi militia commander (PHOTOS, VIDEOS). rt.com A massive funeral procession occupied the streets of Iran\'s capital as huge crowds of people — including the military\'s top brass — came to pay tribute to the deceased Quds Force commander and deputy chief of Iraq\'s Shia militia. | The remains of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran\'s elite Quds Force who was killed in a US air strike, was flown to Tehran after a day of funeral processions in Ahvaz and Mashhad. Bodies of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chief of Iraq\'s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and other \"martyrs\" who died alongside Soleimani in an American drone strike, also arrived in the…

RT (2020-01-06). Damage control: Trump admin backtracking on threat to target Iran\'s \'cultural sites\' after international outrage. rt.com US administration officials are scrambling to walk back Donald Trump\'s suggestion that he would target Iranian cultural sites by denying that he ever made the threat, even after he doubled down. | Trump provoked widespread outrage with a tweet Saturday claiming that Washington had 52 Iranian sites in its crosshairs, some of which were \"very important\" to \"Iranian culture.\" Those targets, he added, would be hit \"very fast and very hard\" if Tehran retaliated for the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani. ….targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some…

Eds. (2020-01-06). WhatsApp and fake news, or how to kill democracy. mronline.org Fears and anxieties are used to create and diffuse fake news and manipulate the electorate. This is what happened at the last Brazilian election. A group of researchers studied the case in order to develop a method to deal with fake news. | Source

RT (2020-01-06). \'No decision to leave Iraq\'? Pentagon officials contradict each other over \'poorly worded\' US withdrawal plan sent by \'mistake\'. rt.com Complete confusion reigned at the Pentagon after the publication of a letter about withdrawal from Iraq, with the top general describing it as a \"mistake\" and the Defense Secretary arguing there were no plans for the US pullout. | \"There\'s been no decision to leave Iraq. Period,\" Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday, in what appears to have been an off-camera briefing. | He was referring to the reports that the head of Combined Joint Task Force Iraq, General William H. Seely III, had informed the Iraqi government of preparations to reposition the coalition forces \"in due deference to t…

RT (2020-01-06). We're saved! Golden Globes serving plant-based meals to 'send a signal' about climate change. rt.com The Golden Globes will be serving its first exclusively vegan menu at its ceremony on Sunday night, and many are wondering if it\'s another empty, virtue-signaling move from the limousine and private jet loving stars. | The goal of serving an en vogue meatless menu to guests before the televised ceremony is to \"send a signal\" about the potential dangers of climate change. | \"If there\'s a way we can, not change the world, but save the planet, maybe we can get the Golden Globes to send a signal and draw attention to the issue about climate change,\" Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Lorenzo Soria said…

Morning Star (2020-01-06). Australia\'s climate change-denying prime minister tries to dodge blame for fires. peoplesworld.org Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted that \"blame doesn\'t help anybody\" on Sunday among increasing uproar over Australia\'s apocalyptic wildfire outbreak. \"Now is the time to focus on the response,\" he said. \"Overanalysis of these things is not a productive exercise.\" Morrison also denied that his government had not acknowledged the link between climate change …

Common Dreams staff (2020-01-06). \'No Laughing Matter\': Watch This Classic Anti-War George Carlin Routine US Rep. Ilhan Omar Shared. commondreams.org \"I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions,\" said the famous standup comic in 1992 following the first Gulf War. \"I don't just roll over when I'm told to. Sad to say, most Americans just roll over on command—not me.\" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/george_carlin_anti-war.jpg …

Max Blumenthal (2020-01-06). Iraqi PM reveals Soleimani was on peace mission when assassinated, exploding Trump\'s lie of \'imminent attacks\'. thegrayzone.com The Trump administration claimed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was planning \"imminent attacks\" on US interests when it assassinated him. That…

Norman Solomon (2020-01-06). Buttigieg and Biden Are Masters of Evasion. counterpunch.org In a recent New Yorker profile of Pete Buttigieg, one sentence stands out: \"Watch Buttigieg long enough and you notice that he uses abstraction as an escape hatch.\" Evasive platitudes are also routine for Joe Biden, the other major Democratic presidential candidate running in what mainstream journalists call \"the center lane.\" Jim Hightower has observed that \"there\'s More

Staff (2020-01-06). Naomi Klein: Climate Solutions That Neglect Inequality Are Doomed to Fail. truthout.org California has warmed by approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit (3 ∞F) over the last century. Heat waves are more common and increase the risk of wildfires in the state. What does climate justice look like, therefore, and for whom? Will cities grappling with environmental disasters consider the racial and economic inequalities that intersect with climate change action? Author and activist Naomi Klein has a few thoughts. | Laura Flanders: It\'s been a year since the Camp Fire. You went back th…

RT (2020-01-05). War over Iran already raging on Twitter: users call for Trump ban, claim suspension over \'No war on Iran\' image. rt.com Twitter\'s dubious enforcement of its own rules is back in the spotlight after Trump threatened to strike Iran and destroy Iranian cultural treasures. Trump\'s tweet remains, but many wonder whether it\'s prohibited speech. | Users are supposedly not allowed to threaten violence or glorify acts of violence on Twitter. And many people believe US President Donald Trump did just that when h…

RT (2020-01-05). Turkish troops start moving toward Libya — Erdogan. rt.com Turkey has begun deploying troops to Libya for \"coordination and stability,\" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, revealing that Ankara will establish an operational center in the country. | The Turkish military has already started moving \"slowly\" towards Libya, Erdogan revealed late on Sunday. The scope of Ankara\'s involvement in the years-long conflict is still unknown. | The deployment of Turkish troops was greenlighted by the country\'s parliament on Thursday. The move followed a request for military assistance by Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj who heads the UN-backed, Tripoli-based Government of…

RT (2020-01-05). France does not seek trade war with US, but can retaliate if it comes to that — finance minister. rt.com Paris will not sit idle if Washington implements its threat to hit French goods with tariffs, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated as he touched on a simmering row on the taxation of US tech giants. | \"We want to avoid a trade war, but we\'re ready to respond, with our European partners, if we\'re hit with sanctions that we think are inappropriate, unfriendly and illegitimate,\" the minister said in an interview to Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper. | Also on rt.com | | United States imposes record $7.5 billion in tariffs on European goods | Last year, Fren…

RT (2020-01-05). Soleimani assassination has opened new phase for whole Middle East region — Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. rt.com The assassination of Qassem Soleimani has opened a new phase for the whole region, the leader of Lebanon\'s Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said, calling for attacks on US soldiers and military assets. | Iraqi resistance will not let a single US soldier stay in Iraq after the killing of the Iranian Quds force commander, Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Sunday. | The Hezbollah leader, however, warned against harming any American civilians, as such acts will only play into the hands of US President Donald Trump, adding that every US military asset and serviceman in the region is fair game. | \"When…

Morgan Artyukhina (2020-01-05). Thousands march Washington, D.C. streets against Trump\'s drive for war with Iran. liberationnews.org \"When they say \'more war,\' we say \'no more!\'\"

RT (2020-01-05). 'Commander of Hearts': Grieving Iranians flood streets in Ahvaz to bid farewell to General Soleimani (PHOTOS, VIDEOS). rt.com Massive crowds of mourners have gathered for a farewell procession dedicated to Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq earlier this week. | The solemn procession began at 7am at the Rumi Square in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran\'s western Khuzestan Province, which borders Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of black-clad mourners have completely filled both the streets and a bridge over the Karun River to pay their last respects to the major general. | People in #Iran\'s southern Khuzestan pr…

RT (2020-01-05). 'Terrorist in a suit': Iran's information minister strikes back after Trump's Twitter threats. rt.com The Iranian information minister issued a toughly worded response to US President Donald Trump after he posted a threatening tweet about \"targeting\" dozens of sites across Iran. | \"Trump is a \'terrorist in a suit\'. He will learn history very soon that NOBODY can defeat \'the Great Iranian Nation & Culture,\'\" Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted on Sunday, while also comparing the US president to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Adolf Hitler and Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan. | The minister was responding to an earlier tweet by Trump, in which he warned that the US has \"targeted 52 Iranian sites,\" incl…

RT (2020-01-05). US-led coalition halts MOST operations, focuses on own forces\' protection in wake of Iranian general\'s killing. rt.com The US-led coalition has announced it will put most of its operations on hold and focus on ensuring the security of its troops as tensions in the Middle East skyrocket after the death of Iran\'s top general at the hands of the US.

RT (2020-01-05). US federal library program website down after it was hacked by \'Iranian cyber security group\' (PHOTOS). rt.com The Federal Depository Library Program (FDPL) website\'s front page briefly showed an image of President Trump being punched in the face, along with a vow to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general before it went offline. | The website run by the FDPL, a US government program set up to ensure federal government publications are available to the public free of charge, was apparently hacked by a group claiming to be from Iran on Saturday evening. | NEW: The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) website appears to have been hacked by an Iranian group. At the bottom of the page the \"Iran Cyber Security Grou…

RT (2020-01-05). Easier said than done: Making US troops actually leave Iraq will take more than parliament resolution. rt.com Adoption of the resolution, urging the expulsion of the US military from Iraq, marks a very important step for the country, yet making them actually leave will likely take more than that, analysts have told RT. | The resolution, calling for withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, was adopted by the Iraqi parliament on Sunday. The non-binding document that the government is yet to consider came in response to the assassination of Iranian Quds force commander Qassem Soleimani as well as other Iranian and Iraqi military officials, including the deputy commander of Iraq\'s Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), A…

RT (2020-01-05). Iraqi parliament passes resolution asking government to cancel request for assistance from US-led coalition. rt.com Iraqi parliament has voted to have foreign troops removed from the country, heeding to a call from its caretaker prime minister. The move comes after US assassination of a top Iranian general and a commander of Iraqi militia. | The resolution, which was passed anonymously, instructs the government to cancel a request for military assistance to the US-led coalition, which was issued in response to the rise of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). With IS supposedly defeated, Iraq will not need foreign troops to fight the jihadists and can close its airspace to coalition aircraft. | The Iraqi government must work t…

RT (2020-01-05). Iran could bring an \'overnight economic depression\' in retaliation to US — ex-Pentagon official tells Boom Bust. rt.com Tehran could block a key shipping route in the Gulf region after US attack, thus causing a terrible headache to global oil markets and the world\'s economy in general, former Pentagon official Michael Maloof told RT\'s Boom Bust. | Crude prices rose on Friday — with both Brent and West Texas intermediate (WTI) gaining more than three percent — on the news of the US drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the most powerful Iranian general and the commander of the Revolutionary Guards\' elite Quds Force. However, that could be only the beginning of the economic consequences of the attack, according to…

RT (2020-01-05). UK foreign secretary says Soleimani\'s job was to attack Western troops \'legitimately\' in the Middle East — like in Syria? rt.com British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it was Qassem Soleimani\'s job to attack Western troops deployed \'legitimately\' across the Middle East. But who authorized the presence of those troops in Syria remains a mystery. | Raab went on the BBC to fully endorse Washington\'s justification of the targeted assassination of the commander of Iran\'s Quds Force as an act of self-defense. The Trump administration claimed the man was planning attacks on American citizens and that preemptively killing him on Iraqi soil was OK. | \"It was General Soleimani\'s job description to engage proxies, militias across not just Ira…

RT (2020-01-05). Enrichment based on technical needs: Iran rolls back on 2015 nuclear deal. rt.com Tehran has removed the last constraints it agreed to impose on its nuclear program under the 2015 deal but said it is ready to return to fulfilling its obligations under the agreement if the US lifts sanctions. | Iran\'s nuclear program \"no longer faces any operating restrictions,\" a government statement cited by Iranian media said, adding that parameters of enrichment capacity, enrichment level and the amount of enriched material would from now on be determined only by the program\'s \"technical needs.\" | Tehran still vowed to continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and said t…

RT (2020-01-05). Trump says his tweets are \'notification\' to Congress, pledges \'disproportionate\' response to Iran in case of attack. rt.com The US President Donald Trump has literally said that his Twitter posts should be seen as \"notification to the United States Congress\" — in another tweet no less — as he vowed to \"strike back\" should Iran target any American. | The president minced no words as he continued to threaten Tehran with a swift and potentially devastating response as the two nations have found themselves on the brink of a military conflict after the US killed a top Iranian commander on a direct order from the White House. | This time, however, he did not just issue another threat but also said that the US Congress should…

RT (2020-01-05). Islamist group Al-Shabaab attacks military base in Kenya that houses US & local troops. rt.com Al-Shabaab jihadists have attacked a military base in Kenya which houses US soldiers along with local troops. The army said they managed to repulse the assault, killing four militants. | The attack was on Camp Simba naval base in Manda Bay in Lamu County on Kenya\'s coast, bordering Somalia. | Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia told the Daily Nation local newspaper that \"heavily armed\" militants stormed the compound at 4am local time. Witnesses heard gunfire coming from the base | Photos and videos circulating on social media allegedly show smoke billowing from the site. | Al-Shabaab has attacked a US mil…

RT (2020-01-05). Satan for scrap: Russia to DESTROY two of its most powerful strategic nuclear missiles in 2020. rt.com Russia is set to dismantle two of its Soviet-era intercontinental ballistic missiles — still considered the most powerful in the world — this year. The R-36M2 ICBMs are commonly known under the NATO reporting name SS-18 Satan. | Two missiles, currently stored at a military compound in Russia\'s Urals, are set to be destroyed by the end of November, Interfax reported citing a contract for their dismantling. The missiles — which have a dry weight of 52 tons — will be dismantled for scrap, since they contain quite a cache of valuable materials. | Each \'Satan\' contains at least 1.2kg of gold,…

RT (2020-01-05). Bibi gets Freudian by calling Israel \'nuclear power\' during cabinet meeting. rt.com Benjamin Netanyahu referred to Israel as a \'nuclear power\' in an apparent slip of the tongue. The Jewish state is widely considered one, but has maintained ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying possession of a nuclear arsenal. | Reading a prepared statement to his cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu lauded the importance of a subsea gas pipeline that will connect Israel with Cyprus and Greece. A trilateral agreement on the project was signed during his trip to Athens this week. | \"The significance of this project is that we are turning Israel into a nuclear power,\" he said, before quickly correcting himself to sa…

Megha Summer Pappachen & Aviva Levine (2020-01-05). Rally in Chicago against the CAA and police brutality in India. liberationnews.org \"The recent steps taken by the Modi government are disastrous for India\'s minorities and its consequences will amount to nothing short of ethnic cleansing and genocide,\" said Azhar Ahmad, an organizer with Stand With Kashmir.

Elaine Margolin (2020-01-05). Leslie Jamison\'s Kaleidoscope of Loneliness. truthdig.com Essays include a whale with an online following, a family believing their child led a prior life, and the artistic staging of corpses by Civil War photographers.

Eds. (2020-01-05). Lukacs\'s Marxist aesthetics. mronline.org Gyà∂rgy Lukács\'s views on aesthetics will be found in one of his two major mature works, The Specificity of the Aesthetic, the other one being Towards an Ontology of Social Being. They both constitute huge treatises. | Source

RT (2020-01-05). Skating star swindled: Police arrest 'fortune tellers' who took $32K from Olympic champion Sotnikova 'to solve boyfriend woes'. rt.com Fortune-telling swindlers who took two million rubles ($32,000) from 2014 Olympic champion figure skater Adelina Sotnikova in exchange for their \'magic services\' have been found and detained by Russian police. | The group of thieves, who claimed to have been gifted with extrasensory abilities, offered fortune-telling and magic help to people in return for massive amounts of money. | READ MORE: Miniskirt, drum & saxophone: Tuktamysheva sets pulses racing at exhibition gala (VIDEO, PICTURES) | One of…

Janine Jackson (2020-01-05). \'The Fed Is a Political Institution That Pretends Not to Be Political\' – CounterSpin interview with William Greider on Alan Greenspan. fair.org Journalist William Greider, who died on Christmas Day 2019 at the age of 83, was a repeat guest on CounterSpin; Janine Jackson interviewed him about former Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan for the September 21, 2007, episode. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…

RT (2020-01-05). 3 rockets hit Baghdad\'s Green Zone not far from US embassy, nearby areas. rt.com The Iraqi capital\'s heavily fortified Green Zone housing foreign embassies, including the American one, has been targeted in a rocket attack which saw two projectiles landing in the area and another one in a nearby district. | Three \'Katyusha\' unguided rockets struck central Baghdad, the Iraqi military confirmed in a statement. Two of them fell in the Green Zone, not far from the US embassy. One more hit the neighboring district of Jadriya. There have been no reports of any casualties or damage resulting from the attack. | It is the second such incident targeting the Green Zone in just a few days since a top I…

Staff (2020-01-05). Al-Shabab Attacks Military Base Used by U.S. Forces in Kenya. truthdig.com NAIROBI, Kenya — Al-Shabab extremists overran a key military base used by U.S. counterterror forces in Kenya before dawn Sunday, destroying U.S. aircraft and vehicles, Kenyan authorities said. It was the al-Qaida-linked group\'s first attack against U.S. forces in the East African country, and the military called the security situation \"fluid\" several hours after the assault. | It was not yet clear whether any U.S. or Kenyan forces were killed. A U.S. Africa Command statement, issued after al-Shabab released photos of blazing aircraft, said \"an accountability of personnel assessment is underway\" and the Mand…

RT (2020-01-05). Japan to \'tighten\' departure rules after embattled Nissan\'s ex-chief Carlos Ghosn flees. rt.com The Japanese justice minister promised to beef up departure controls after former auto titan Carlos Ghosn pulled off a daring escape from Japan, where he is charged with financial misconduct. | A frustrated Masako Mori announced on Sunday that she had instructed the nation\'s immigration services \"to coordinate with related agencies to further tighten departure procedures.\" | \"It is clear that we do not have records of the defendant Ghosn departing Japan,\" Mori said, stressing that the former chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance jumped bail and traveled from the airport in Osaka to Beirut…

Staff (2020-01-05). AOC Calls Trump a \'Monster\' for His Actions in Iran. truthdig.com Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Saturday night called President Donald Trump a \"monster\" for threatening to target more than 50 Iranian sites—including some he said are \" important to Iran and the Iranian culture\"—if Tehran retaliates for the U.S. assassination of General Qasem Soleimani. | \"This is a war crime,\" Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, tweeted in response to the president\'s warning. \"Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women, and children—which is what you\'re doing by targeting cultural sites—does not make you a \'tough guy.\' It does not make you \'strategic.\' I…

CODEPINK.org and many others (2020-01-05). US Out of Iraq! (San Jose). indybay.org 200 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA 95113…

Staff (2020-01-05). Activists Take on the Toxic Tampon Industry and Fight Menstruation Stigma. truthout.org Don\'t Let Them See You Bleed: PERIOD examines the feminist movement through the lens of period activism. We will look at aspects of women\'s health and social justice that are often overlooked — From period stigma to the unfair tax on feminine hygiene products and the fight to regulate and disclose ingredients in tampons and maxi pads. We\'ll hear from activists, researchers, and intellectuals who are challenging the attitudes and policies that negatively impact women on a daily basis. | Specia…

Monterey Peace & Justice Center (2020-01-05). Monterey Protest: No War on Iran! U.S. Out of Iraq! indybay.org Window On The Bay / Monterey Waterfront Park, Del Monte Ave, Monterey, California 93940…

Black Alliance for Peace (2020-01-05). Black Alliance for Peace Declares: If You Believe in Peace, Commit to Defeating the Warmongers. No War on Iran! globalresearch.ca The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is clear: we will not fight for the rich. We understand our objective interests as an oppressed people and will not be moved by appeals to national chauvinism meant to galvanize the poor and …

Brenda Norrell (2020-01-05). Native People urge peace and friendship with Iran, demand U.S. get out of Iraq. indybay.org Native Americans spoke out today, urging peace and friendship with the people of Iraq and Iran, and called out Trump for assassinations and provocations to escalate war.

Prince Kapone (2020-01-05). The Coming Attack on Iran? globalresearch.ca According to Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (N.P.T.), all signatory member nations possess the \"inalienable right\" to \"develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination.\"[1] As a signatory nation, the Islamic Republic of …

We Are The Many (2020-01-05). Jan 4, 2020: 5,000 March for Peace in San Francisco. indybay.org With only two days\' notice and during the winter vacation, some 5,000 people managed to take over the streets of San Francisco, filling two wide blocks near Fifth and Mission, as we marched past the San Francisco Chronicle building on January 4, 2020, a clear, sunny 55 degree day for a peace march protesting Nazi Trump\'s war against Iran.

San Mateo Peace Action (2020-01-05). No War with Iran! (San Mateo). indybay.org corner 3rd Ave and El Camino | 300 So El Camino Real | San Mateo, CA 94402…

Staff (2020-01-05). Humanity Can\'t Recycle Its Way Out of Consumption Problems. truthout.org This article was produced by Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute. | Our story begins in the 1950s. The classic promotional film shows the good American housewife, just like June Cleaver, dropping a large bowl on the kitchen floor. Miraculously, it doesn\'t break. Rather, it bounces. Plastic had found its way into the American home, and the world would nev…

ANSWER Coalition & others (2020-01-05). Sacramento Protest: U.S. Troops Out of Iraq! No War on Iran! indybay.org Intersection of 9th Street and K Street, Downtown Sacramento…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-01-05). Anti-war groups march against US aggression in Iran. peoplesdispatch.org Anti-war protests were organized in several places in the United States on Saturday, January 4, following the assassination of the head of Iran\'s Al- Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, in an airstrike in Iraq the previous day. The assassination has been widely condemned for bringing the entire West Asia to the brink of war. | While US politicians and media have toed the administration\'s line and defended the assassination, pushing the narrative that Soleimani was a threat to national security, progressives and anti-war organizations have spoken out against the action. | A statement released by the ANSWER Coalition (Ac…

Yolo Grassroots Collective (2020-01-05). Protest in Davis: No War on Iran! U.S. Troops Out of Iraq! indybay.org B Street and 5th Street, Davis, CA…

Peter Koenig (2020-01-05). America Is Ruled by a Murderer. globalresearch.ca As most days, this morning I opened the Tao — DaoDeJing— at random, at Dao-42. In its conclusion it says \"Those who are forceful and aggressive… die a painful death — This I use as the foundation of my teaching.\"…

Democratic Socialists of America (2020-01-05). Urgent Call For Action Against A U.S. War On Iran. indybay.org Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) emphatically opposes a U.S. war with Iran. In light of the U.S.\'s act of war against Iran, putting the two nations close to the brink of war, DSA calls on all members and chapters to mobilize against yet another U.S. war in the Middle East.

F. William Engdahl (2020-01-05). Climate and the Money Trail. globalresearch.ca The very mega-billionaires behind the globalization of the world economy who have wreaked so much damage to our environment are the leading backers of the \"grassroots\" climate movement. Is it pangs of guilty conscience, or could it be a deeper agenda of the financialization of the very air we breathe and more?

Staff (2020-01-05). Here\'s What Workers of the Global South Endure to Create Corporate Wealth. truthout.org In recent decades, as U.S. corporations shipped millions of jobs overseas to save money on wages, GM, H&M, Apple and dozens of other companies established elaborate supply chains in Asia, Mexico and Latin America, where workers earn pennies per hour. These chains are geographically expansive networks organized by foreign companies to produce semi-finished goods in different places before final assembly for huge global corporations. | Abuses abound. One typical example: An Indonesian factory that…

Stephen Lendman (2020-01-05). Counterproductive US Imperial Policies. The Risks of Global Warfare? globalresearch.ca The US under both right wings of its war party excels at brute force, not long-range strategic thinking and planning. | Pentagon terror-bombing assassinations of Iranian IRGC Quds commander General Qassem Soleimani and deputy head of Iraq\'s PMU Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis…

Stephen Lendman (2020-01-05). UN Secretary General Guterres Fails to Condemn US Assassinations in Iraq. globalresearch.ca UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard slammed the Trump regime\'s assassination of Iranian General Soleimani, Iraqi Deputy PMU leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and others with them, tweeting the following: | \"The targeted killings of …

Professor John Ryan (2020-01-05). Censorship in Canada? Vanessa Beeley\'s Talks on Syria. globalresearch.ca Vanessa Beeley is a British journalist who was invited to Canada in the fall of 2019 to present talks in seven cities on the conflict in Syria. The sponsors of her speaking tour were several anti-war groups, including the Geopolitical …

teleSUR (2020-01-05). Haftar Forces Bomb Military Academy in Tripoli: 42 Killed. telesurenglish.net An air raid on a military academy in Tripoli, attributed to forces under the command of Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, left at least 42 people dead and many more wounded. | RELATED: | Turkish Parliament Approves Bill to Deploy Military to Libya | Security sources told the Reuters News Agency on Saturday that the Libyan National Army bombarded the facility located in the Juhba area on Saturday night; this attack resutled in heavy damage to the site and its surroundings. | \"

teleSUR (2020-01-05). Turkish Soldiers Officially on Their Way to Libya: Erdogan. telesurenglish.net Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced Sunday that Ankara was already deploying military units to Libya in support of the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. | RELATED: | Arab League Rejects \'Foreign Interventions\' in Libya | The president confirmed that that Turkish soldiers were \"already going gradually\" to Libya and were tasked with \"coordination\" at a command center. | \"The goal of the Turkish armed forces is not to fight, but to ensure a…

teleSUR (2020-01-05). Venezuelan Opposition Rejects Juan Guaido\'s Leadership. telesurenglish.net The Venezuelan opposition stated on Sunday that they would not be seeking the reelection of the self-proclaimed president Juan Guaidó. According to their statement, the opposition is choosing to move forward without Guaido, as his corruption and failures have worsened their cause. | RELATED: | Venezuela Condemns US Military Attack in Iraq | The parliamentarians declared themselves in revolt against Guaidó for having used the presidency of the parliament as a personal project to enrich himself.

Staff (2020-01-05). IRS Crackdown on Deduction Scam Is Failing. It\'s Costing the Treasury Billions. truthout.org In March 2019, the IRS added a scheme to its annual \"Dirty Dozen\" list of \"the worst of the worst tax scams.\" That same scheme was targeted, just weeks earlier, when the U.S. Department of Justice filed a fraud lawsuit against a handful of promoters allegedly responsible for generating more than $2 billion in improper tax write-offs. And the Senate Finance Committee has been investigating that very same racket, recently demanding thousands of pages of documents from six promoters. Lawmakers f…