Blood Memory Rising, Book Review of Standing with Standing Rock
Brenda Norrell | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
\'Standing with Standing Rock,\' is an encyclopedia of resistance, which chronicles the Water Protector movement from the first run to Washington, and on to the camps, and the surveillance by TigerSwan, to the ultimate international divestment campaign. In its 29 chapters are poetry, essays and discussions of Indigenous rights and Treaties.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829041.php

The Christmas Truce of 1914: Proof that Peace is Possible
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
As 1914 drew to a close, Europe had been at war for months. On the Western Front, opposing armies faced each other across a stalemated front line running from the North Sea to the Swiss border. On December 24, 100,000 soldiers from both sides of that line decided to create some peace on Earth. They…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/the-christmas-truce-of-1914-proof-that-peace-is-possible/

Peace on Earth
Elliot Sperber | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
Peace on Earth The laundry soap\'ll hardly pour When it\'s as cold as this it\'s thick And white as wax when — well It had to be a green cat Candle the last of the red ones Ears were smashed And peace on earth my friend won\'t come Until we stop worshipping Work and war,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/peace-on-earth-2/

Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf orders mass arrest of Housing Justice protesters
Dave Id | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
An inspirational day of solidarity with unhoused Oaklanders turned into a traumatic night after mayor Libby Schaaf directed a small army of police and DPW workers to smash a housing rights protest held on the doorstep of City Hall. For daring to challenge the Oakland\'s never ending war against the homeless — the city\'s encampment demolitions and evictions, the towing of residential vehicles, and a lack of earnestness and urgency in addressing the housing crisis — twenty-two people were arrested and sent to Santa Rita jail, some for over two days.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/23/18829113.php

India\'s Discriminatory New Citizenship Law
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-24
India\'s 2019 Citizenship Act expedites the process for persecuted minorities of Pakistani, Afghan and Bangladesh nationality who resided in India since 2014. | It applies only for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains, and Parsis, Muslims excluded. | According to the UN Human …
globalresearch.ca/india-discriminatory-new-citizenship-law/5698601

Tweets About Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi \"Dying Like a Dog\" are no Joking Matter
Alexandra Isfahani-Hammond | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
The media has been overflowing with wisecracks about the absurdity of Trump\'s praise for the Belgian Malinois, Conan, one of several dogs used to hunt Isis founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on October 26. On the one hand, Trump tweeted that the \"wonderful,\" \"beautiful\" and \"talented\" dog did a \"GREAT JOB\" and posted a…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/tweets-about-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-dying-like-a-dog-are-no-joking-matter/

Indo-Pak Nuclear Confrontation: First Use Policy & the Race towards Armageddon
N.D. Jayaprakash | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
Click here to read Part Two. Head in the Sand Approach Information on the colossal destructive effects of use of nuclear weapons, based on the horrendous experiences of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has been in the public domain for well over six decades. Yet, unmindful of the existing knowledge about the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/indo-pak-nuclear-confrontation-first-use-policy-the-race-towards-armageddon/

A Bell Cuts Through the Noise
Joseph G. Ramsey | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
Dressed in full-on 18th-century-style tricorn hats and bonnets, Freedom Trail tour guides can look out of place amid Boston\'s skyscrapers and bumper-to-bumper traffic. They keep the city\'s Revolutionary past alive, but in 21st-century conditions. The costumes and official stops on the Freedom Trail–from Old North Church to Faneuil Hall–have basically stayed the same since the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/a-bell-cuts-through-the-noise/

The Amazon at a Tipping Point
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
The Amazon rainforest is a crucial life-support ecosystem. Without its wondrous strength and power to generate hydrologic systems across the sky (as far north as Iowa), absorb and store carbon (CO2), and its miraculous life-giving endless supply of oxygen, civilization would cease to exist beyond scattered tribes, here and there.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/the-amazon-at-a-tipping-point/

The Dream is Over: How Boris Johnson Won the UK Election
T.J. Coles | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
After the shock and the grief comes reflection. After reflection comes renewed determination. But under Britain\'s sham of a democracy, the public won\'t get the chance to remove the vile creature put into No. 10 by 14 million or so voters for at least five years; and even then, a government has the legal right to seek a general election prior to the five-year period if it is doing well in the public opinion polls, effectively giving itself long-term reign.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/the-dream-is-over-how-boris-johnson-won-the-uk-election/

Tax Amazon: Strike While the Iron is Hot
Kshama Sawant | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
The history of American capitalism is full of corporate bullying, threats and even violence against working people when we stand up for our rights. | Yet in spite of Amazon\'s all-out, attempted hostile corporate takeover of Seattle City Hall this year, working people just beat the richest man in the world by running perhaps the strongest grassroots campaign ever in our city. When we fight, we can win.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/tax-amazon-strike-while-the-iron-is-hot/

The US Approves Bill That May Legislate Hybrid Warfare on Venezuela
Nino Pagliccia | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
On December 16 both houses in the US approved the appropriation bill to be signed by President Trump. Aside from the mind-boggling amount of $1.4 trillion that was approved in total our interest was in looking at the details concerning Venezuela. A press release issued by the organization Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/the-us-approves-bill-that-may-legislate-hybrid-warfare-on-venezuela/

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Right to Dump Sewage on Your Lawn
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
In debates over protecting the environment, and especially global warming, it is standard practice to refer to the pro-protection side as being in favor of government regulation and the anti-protection side as being pro-free market. This is nonsense and it is nonsense in a way that strongly benefits the enemies of environmental protection. There is…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-the-right-to-dump-sewage-on-your-lawn/

After the Argentina Debacle, the IMF Endorses Weakening Capital Controls in Ecuador
Lara Merling | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-24
Over the past year, a rebranded International Monetary Fund (IMF) returned to Latin America with promises of loan agreements that would be different than the dreaded \"structural adjustment programs\" of the past. Behind statements about inclusive growth and protecting the most vulnerable, are policies similarto the structural adjustments of the Washington Consensus era. While the…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/24/after-the-argentina-debacle-the-imf-endorses-weakening-capital-controls-in-ecuador/

Saudi Arabia sentences hit men to death, shields organizers of Jamal Khashoggi murder
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
The announcement by Saudi Arabia of death sentences for five members of the death squad that brutally assassinated the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018 is part of a cover-up to protect the role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/khas-d24.html

Climate Strike: SF Bay Area Youth Strike in Oakland
Youth V Apocalypse, PlantingJustice, Mycelium | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
Plaza outside Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829043.php

Buffy Sainte Marie Truthtelling Indigenous Genocide
Brenda Norrell | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
Buffy Sainte Marie described the genocide, slavery, murder and rape of Indigenous Peoples, that the kings and queens, military, churches and banks are responsible for, speaking with AIM West\'s Tony Gonzales, during the 50th Anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829040.php

MI5 Given the Go-ahead to Allow Informants to Commit Crimes
Ceren Sagir | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-24
Human rights campaigners today vowed to appeal against a \"knife-edge\" divided tribunal ruling which allowed MI5 to continue authorising informants to commit serious criminal offences. | Privacy International, Reprieve, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) and the Pat Finucane …
globalresearch.ca/mi5-given-go-ahead-allow-informants-commit-crimes/5698611

Disconnected at Christmas… Bah Humbug!
Philip A Farruggio | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-24
John and Yoko Lennon\'s 1971 \'Happy Christmas …\' song begins with \"So this is Christmas and what have you done?….\". Well, this holiday season, replete with the usual suspects of mass consumer spending, massive traffic jams and accidents, mass pleas …
globalresearch.ca/disconnected-christmas/5698606

House Committee Raises Prospect of More Impeachment Articles
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-24
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee held open the possibility Monday of recommending additional articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as it pressed anew for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn. | The committee wants a federal appeals court to order McGahn to testify as it examines potential obstruction of justice by the president during special counsel Robert Mueller\'s Russia investigation. The committee says McGahn\'s testimony could also be useful for any Senate impeachment trial. | A judge last month directed McGahn to comply with the House Judiciary Committee su…
truthdig.com/articles/house-committee-raises-prospect-of-more-impeachment-articles/

In Mountain View, Seasonal and Humorous Signs at Eve of Impeachment Demo on Four Corners
Text: RR Photos: Jack Owicki, Pro Bono Photo | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
Demonstrators leaned in toward passing traffic to show off their creative signs on Impeachment Eve at a major intersection in the heart of Silicon Valley.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/23/18829094.php

In SF, Music Punctuates Enthusiastic Chanting at Rally and March on Eve of Historic Impeachment Vote
Text: RR Photos: Terry Scussel, Pro Bono Photo | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
In San Francisco, lyrics were rewritten to rock classics calling for impeachment and a crowd of thousands chanted for \"Trump Pence Out Now!\"
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/22/18829066.php

President Trump Authorizes Somalia Debt Relief
Kate Zeller | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
President Trump signed a year-end spending bill which authorizes the first phase of debt relief for Somalia.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/21/18829057.php

Journalist Peter Hartcher and the anti-China campaign in Australia
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
Hartcher\'s essay in the Quarterly Essay is textbook propaganda for war. It seeks to cultivate nationalist fear and even paranoia about the intended enemy–China.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/hart-d24.html

2020 Citizens\' Climate Lobby Northern California Regional Conference
Citizens\' Climate Lobby | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
Oakland Technical High School, 4351 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829045.php

Everything You Wanted to Know about Climate Change, but Were Afraid to Ask
Citizens\' Climate Lobby San Mateo | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
Half Moon Bay Library, 620 Correas Street, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829042.php

2020 Citizens\' Climate Lobby Northern CA Regional Conference, Day 2
Citizens\' Climate Lobby | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
Oakland Technical High School, 4351 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829046.php

Far-right Spanish general demands ouster of Socialist Party government
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
According to El País, this call from the former chief of staff of the Spanish army is circulating widely in the officer corps among WhatsApp groups.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/spai-d24.html

Greetings from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) on the CPP\'s 51th Anniversary
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-24
Dear Comrades: | We convey our warmest revolutionary greetings on the occasion of the 51st anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Your achievements are many and we stand with you in your struggle to liberate the Philippines from the yoke of U.S. imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. We are sure you will win many more victories in the coming period. | The Communist Party of the Philippines is in the leadership of a great people\'s war that is inspiration to working and oppressed people everywhere. The people\'s democratic revolution, with socialist orientation, will t…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/24/greetings-freedom-road-socialist-organization-frso-cpp-s-51th-anniversary

Michael L. Cantor mocks the artwork of the Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificates
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2019-12-24
In a shocking email further below, Michael L. Cantor, director of FE Partners LLC, the owner of the former Presidential Yacht Sequoia, mocks the artwork of the Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificates with condescension and derision towards the much coveted historical Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificates!
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/22/18829063.php

Anti-war leader blasts Klobuchar for backing U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-24
Minneapolis, MN — Amy Klobuchar, a \'centrist\' who is trying to become the Democratic Party standard-bearer in the upcoming elections for president, states that she will not reverse Trump\'s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. There has long been a consensus among most Republican and Democratic politicians to support the Zionist occupation of Palestine. | Meredith Aby-Keirstead, a leader of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee responded, \"It doesn\'t surprise any of us in the anti-war movement that Klobuchar doesn\'t want to reverse Trump\'s decision to move the U.S. embassy fr…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/24/anti-war-leader-blasts-klobuchar-backing-us-embassy-move-jerusalem

\'What\'s a foreign hand doing here?\' Indians outraged over German students\' protesting against citizenship bill
rt.com | 2019-12-24
A German exchange student in India was deported from the country after participating in demonstrations against a new citizenship bill, local media reported. Indians have been raising alarm over foreigners joining the protests. | Jakob Lindenthal, a post-graduate student in physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (ITT) in Chennai, was allegedly ordered by immigration officials to leave India after he had joined in on anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) rallies. | Photographs of Lindenthal show him hold placards reading \"No democracy without dissent\" and \"1933-1945: We have been there\" — apparently d…
rt.com/news/476712-german-student-citizenship-protest-india/

Abe, Moon meet after worst period of tension between S. Korea & Japan in decades
rt.com | 2019-12-24
South Korea\'s President Moon Jae-in and Japan\'s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in the Chinese city of Chengdu. Tension over stalled denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States was the main issue on the agenda. | Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing \"agreed to continue close communication and cooperation toward denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,\" Moon said. \"We… decided to work together to ensure that denuclearization and peace continue through prompt North Korea-US dialogue,\" he added. | For Moon and Abe…
rt.com/newsline/476730-korea-japan-china-us/

US allows Pakistan to resume military training after aid freeze
rt.com | 2019-12-24
The US will allow Pakistan to rejoin a military training program suspended two years ago when President Donald Trump froze security aid to the country. Resuming the program, which represents only a part of the halted aid, is one sign of warming relations between Washington and Islamabad, AFP said. | Trump hosted Pakistani PM Imran Khan at the White House in July, and the US has several times welcomed Pakistani help in negotiations with the Afghan Taliban. In January 2018, prior to Khan\'s election, Trump froze the assistance, saying Pakistan was not doing enough to target bases of the Afghan Taliban and its aff…
rt.com/newsline/476729-us-pakistan-military-training/

\'Role play\'? Swedish schoolkids made to kneel in gender-segregated MUSLIM prayer & told to listen to Koran in Arabic
rt.com | 2019-12-24
A Swedish school decided to familiarize its fifth-graders with Islamic worshipping by having a teacher recite Koranic verse to them and having them pray facing Mecca, in a bizarre set-up the educators called \"role play.\" | An offbeat \"religion lesson\" was taught at the Bjurbäck school situated in the south of Sweden, according to Samhallsnytt news outlet. An outraged parent said pupils were told to face the Kaaba and kneel on prayer mats, while the whole class was divided by gender, with girls forced to the back of the room. | His daughters \"did not even want to be there because they could not understand…
rt.com/news/476711-sweden-pupils-muslim-prayer/

Wrong kind of record: 2019 was year of most US mass murders ever — study
rt.com | 2019-12-24
Among the records the US set in 2019 was a sad and disturbing one. It was the year with the most incidents of mass killing since media and scholars started keeping track, according to a new study. | There were 211 victims in 41 mass killings this year, according to the database maintained by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University in Boston. By their definition, a mass murder is any incident in which four or more people die, excluding the perpetrator. | It is the largest number of mass killings since the two news organizations and the university started tracking them in 2006, when they reco…
rt.com/usa/476701-mass-killings-record-2019/

US steps up campaign to urge Europe to drop Huawei, says Chinese tech firm threatens British intelligence services
rt.com | 2019-12-24
US National Security Advisor Robert O\'Brien has cautioned Britain against allowing Huawei to operate 5G networks in the UK, claiming that the move would endanger the country\'s intelligence services. | Inviting the Chinese firm to help develop 5G in the UK risks handing Beijing access to the \"most intimate\" details of British citizens, as well as sensitive intelligence and national secrets, the senior White House official told the Financial Times. | \"They are just going to steal wholesale state secrets, whether they are the UK\'s nuclear secrets or secrets from MI6 or MI5,\" O\'Brien claimed. He said that it was \"
rt.com/news/476727-us-huawei-uk-china-spying/

Russia\'s 5th-gen Su-57 fighter jet crashes during factory trials — pilot ejects
rt.com | 2019-12-24
One of Russia\'s cutting-edge Su-57 fighter jets has crashed during routine factory test flights near the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft plant in the Far East. The pilot ejected safely and was picked up by a Mi-8 rescue helicopter. | The aircraft involved in the incident belonged to the manufacturer and was undergoing a series of flight tests some 110 kilometers off Dzyomgi air base in Russia\'s Khabarovsk region. | There were no casualties or major damage on the ground, the manufacturer confirmed, in a brief statement. The crashed jet\'s black boxes were in the process of being recovered. | Also on rt.com | |
rt.com/russia/476709-russia-su-57-fighter-jet-crash/

German student says he\'s told to leave India after joining protests
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
A German exchange student said on Tuesday that Indian authorities had ordered him to leave the country after he took part in protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi\'s new citizenship law.Jakob Lindenthal, a 24-year-old pursuing a master\'s degree in physics, said he took part in two rallies in the southern city of Chennai against the law, which critics say discriminates against India\'s minority Muslims.A photo circulated on Twitter shows Lindenthal holding a sign that reads: \"1933-1945 We have been there,\" a reference to Nazi Germany.Lindenthal said he was summoned to a meeting with India\'s immigration autho…
yenisafak.com/en/world/german-student-says-hes-told-to-leave-india-after-joining-protests-3508149

YPG/PKK terrorist surrenders to Turkish forces
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
A YPG/PKK terrorist surrendered to border security forces in southeastern Turkey, said a security source on Tuesday.Identified only with initials M.K., the terrorist, codenamed Diyar, surrendered in Nusaybin, a border district of Mardin province near Syria, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The security forces\' efforts to convince the terrorists to surrender bore fruit, and their investigation revealed that many terrorists have been active within the PKK for years.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organiz…
yenisafak.com/en/world/ypg-pkk-terrorist-surrenders-to-turkish-forces-3508144

Russian airstrikes kill 8 civilians in Syria\'s Idlib
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Syrian opposition aircraft monitors said Russian warplanes struck the city of Saraqib and towns of Maar Shoreen, Babeela and Jawbas.The attacks on Jawbas left eight people, including five children, dead, sources with the White Helmets civil defense agency said.Over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the Idlib de-escalation zone despite a deal reached by Ankara and Moscow in September 2018.Over a million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border following intense attacks.Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in over 3.6 million Syrians who fled their country, making Turkey…
yenisafak.com/en/world/russian-airstrikes-kill-8-civilians-in-syrias-idlib-3508153

President Erdogan, UK\'s Johnson discuss bilateral, regional issues
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
The Turkish president and British prime minister in a phone call discussed bilateral ties and regional issues, according to an official statement on Tuesday.Turkey\'s Directorate of Communications said Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Boris Johnson also discussed recent developments in Libya and Syria.
yenisafak.com/en/news/president-erdogan-uks-johnson-discuss-bilateral-regional-issues-3508150

Syrian regime, allies capture 35 residential areas in Idlib
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Syria\'s Bashar al-Assad regime backed by Russia and Iran has captured 35 residential areas in the past four days in the northwestern Idlib province, which has been designated a de-escalation zone.Since the offensive began on Dec. 20, the regime and its allies have launched a military campaign mainly in the cities of Maarat Al-Numan and Saraqib as well as the surrounding rural areas.Despite being a de-escalation zone, the regime and its allies on Monday night took control of nine more areas, including Jarjnaz, Khirbet Marata, Abu Dafna, al-Hadisa, Kafr Yasin, al-Salihiyah, Dar al-Salam, al-Falul, and Babulin, bri…
yenisafak.com/en/world/syrian-regime-allies-capture-35-residential-areas-in-idlib-3508142

YPG/PKK forcibly recruits orphan kids against soldiers
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Terror group YPG/PKK recruits foreign national orphan children held hostage in a camp in northern Syria and trains them to fight against Turkish and Syrian soldiers, according to security sources on Tuesday.A terrorist who surrendered to security forces in Turkey\'s southeastern Mardin province revealed the YPG/PKK\'s malice once again, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.Identified by initials H.A., the terrorist said the orphan children held hostage in al-Hol Camp in northern Syria\'s Hasakah city were being forcibly trained to use weapons.Over 100 children, age…
yenisafak.com/en/news/ypg-pkk-forcibly-recruits-orphan-kids-against-soldiers-3508151

Moroccan | NGO urges Muslim world to support Uighurs against China\'s \'genocide\'
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
A non-governmental organisation in Morocco urged the Arab world and Islamic organizations to stand against China\'s long-standing crackdown on Muslim Uighurs in the far western region of Xinjiang, calling the persecution a \"genocide.\"The Support Committee for the Causes of the Ummah expressed its concerns in a written statement about the religious persecution, ethnic cleansing campaign, human rights violations and abuses targeting Uighur Muslim minorities in East Turkestan, the name that Uighur exiles use for Xinjiang.The NGO also called on human rights organizations to take action against racist and arbitrary det…
yenisafak.com/en/news/moroccanngo-urges-muslim-world-to-support-uighurs-against-chinas-genocide-3508148

Japan PM asks South Korea to take steps to resolve bilateral row
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday it is South Korea\'s responsibility to come up with measures that would resolve bilateral disputes that have taken Tokyo\'s relationship with Seoul to the lowest in decades.Abe made the comment at a news conference on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with China and South Korea in Chengdu, China.Ties between Japan and South Korea, two of the United States\' major Asian allies, have plunged to their lowest in decades after South Korea\'s top court last year ordered Japanese firms to compensate some wartime forced labourers.Japan says the issue was settled under a 1…
yenisafak.com/en/world/japan-pm-asks-south-korea-to-take-steps-to-resolve-bilateral-row-3508143

Turkey not given up on Khashoggi murder case: Experts
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Evaluating Monday verdict of a Saudi court over slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish experts said the decision does not bind Turkey and called for carrying out legal process in Istanbul, where the incident took place.Criminal lawyer Ersan Sen told Anadolu Agency that only Turkey has the judiciary rights on the Khashoggi case in the world.Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post and a U.S. resident, was murdered after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 of last year on a visit to pick up paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.\"The UN, U.S., or Saudi Arabia, no matter who says what, it doe…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkey-not-given-up-on-khashoggi-murder-case-experts-3508147

Russian, Turkish diplomats discuss Libyan crisis
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Moscow hosted expert consultations of Russian and Turkish diplomats on Libya on Dec. 23, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.The talks were held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Russia\'s Mikhail Bogdanov and Turkey\'s Sedat Onal headed the delegations, the ministry said in a statement published on its official website.As a result of \"mindful exchange of views,\" the two countries agreed to continue contacts on Libyan issues, including \"possible assistance to the early settlement of the crisis in the country,\" the ministry said.On Nov. 27, Ankara and Tripoli signed two separate memorandums of understa…
yenisafak.com/en/news/russian-turkish-diplomats-discuss-libyan-crisis-3508139

US National Security Adviser warns UK about allowing Huawei in 5G
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O\'Brien has warned UK about allowing China\'s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd into its 5G telecommunications networks, saying such a move would pose a risk to UK\'s secret intelligence services, the Financial Times reported.\"They are just going to steal wholesale state secrets, whether they are the UK\'s nuclear secrets or secrets from MI6 or MI5,\" O\'Brien told the FT in an interview on.ft.com/2Zm8PZ7 published on Tuesday.\"It is somewhat shocking to us that folks in the UK would look at Huawei as some sort of a commercial…
yenisafak.com/en/technology/us-national-security-adviser-warns-uk-about-allowing-huawei-in-5g-3508146

Nepal nabs 122 Chinese suspects over financial crimes
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-24
Nepal police arrested 122 Chinese nationals suspected of committing financial crimes in the largest-ever arrest of a group of foreigners in the country, an official said on Tuesday.Hundreds of police officers in Kathmandu were deployed Monday in the northern outskirts of the capital to arrest suspects, including eight women, from China, said Bed Bahadur Pandey, a spokesman of Nepal Police\'s Central Investigation Bureau.The mass arrest came three months after five Chinese people were arrested on suspicion of hacking of ATMs in Kathmandu.Police also seized laptops and mobile phones in coordinated raids in 10 buildi…
yenisafak.com/en/world/nepal-nabs-122-chinese-suspects-over-financial-crimes-3508152

Impeachment Indicts Both Parties and Clarifies Our Tasks for 2020
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-23
The Democratic Party\'s electoral strategy of impeaching Donald Trump is backfiring. Before impeachment, Trump was losing to each of the leading Democrats, but the latest USA Today/Suffolk University poll finds for the first time Trump defeating all of the leading Democratic candidates. Gallup reports that Trump\'s approval has risen by six points since the launch of the impeachment inquiry. …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/impeachment-indicts-both-parties-and-clarifies-our-tasks-for-2020/

Blood Memory Rising, Book Review of Standing with Standing Rock
Brenda Norrell | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
\'Standing with Standing Rock,\' is an encyclopedia of resistance, which chronicles the Water Protector movement from the first run to Washington, and on to the camps, and the surveillance by TigerSwan, to the ultimate international divestment campaign. In its 29 chapters are poetry, essays and discussions of Indigenous rights and Treaties.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829041.php

The Impeachment\'s Moral Hypocrisy
Chris Hedges | truthdig.com | 2019-12-23
The impeachment process was a nauseating display of mortal hypocrisy. The sound bites by Republicans and Democrats swiftly became predictable. The Democrats, despite applauding the announcement of the voting results before being quickly silenced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sought to cloak themselves in gravitas and solemnity. Pelosi\'s calculated decision to open the impeachment proceedings with the 1954 \"under God\" version of the Pledge of Allegiance was an appropriate signal given the party\'s New McCarthyism. The Democrats posited themselves as saviors, the last line of defense between a constitutional democr…
truthdig.com/articles/the-moral-hypocrisy-of-impeachment/

Muhammad Ali an activist to help MIAs/POWs in Vietnam
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
Cathy A. Lundy was only around 4 years old when she was aboard the Yacht Sequoia as a guest of former disgraced President Richard Nixon (a.k.a. Tricky Dick). Unfortunately, her father was reported killed in action in Laos during the Vietnam War during 1970. The cruise certificate hangs on the wall of my apartment. Photo by Paulo Kesete…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/19/18829036.php

How the Pro-War \"Left\" Fell for the Kurds in Syria
Max Parry | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-23
The October decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw American troops from northeastern Syria did not only precipitate the Turkish offensive, codenamed \'Operation Peace Spring\', into Kurdish-held territory which followed. It also sparked an outcry of hysteria from much of the so-called \"left\" that has been deeply divided during the 8-year long conflict over …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/how-the-pro-war-left-fell-for-the-kurds-in-syria/

Americans Are Ready for a Different Approach to Nuclear Weapons
Lawrence Wittner | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-23
Although today\'s public protests against nuclear weapons can\'t compare to the major antinuclear upheavals of past decades, there are clear indications that most Americans reject the Trump administration\'s nuclear weapons policies. Since entering office in 2017, the Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the nuclear agreement with Iran, scrapped the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, and …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/americans-are-ready-for-a-different-approach-to-nuclear-weapons/

Why Did Labour Win in My Hometown, But Lose Across the Rest of the UK?
Patrick Cockburn | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
I live in Canterbury, where the Labour MP Rosie Duffield increased her slim majority tenfold in the general election. Given Labour\'s defeat in almost all of the rest of the UK, it\'s worth considering why this happened,. A prime reason Duffield retained her seat is that that Labour had the support of a rickety but…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/why-did-labour-win-in-my-hometown-but-lose-across-the-rest-of-the-uk/

President Trump Authorizes Somalia Debt Relief
Kate Zeller | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
President Trump signed a year-end spending bill which authorizes the first phase of debt relief for Somalia.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/21/18829057.php

The vanguard of Chavism has a woman\'s face: A chronicle of their resistance in 2019
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-23
In the middle of the year, we Venezuelans received a visit from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Bachelet, on the occasion of meeting with the different political actors in the country to \"evaluate\" the complex economic and social environment brought about by the White House\'s decision. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/23/the-vanguard-of-chavism-has-a-womans-face-a-chronicle-of-their-resistance-in-2019/

Buffy Sainte Marie Truthtelling Indigenous Genocide
Brenda Norrell | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
Buffy Sainte Marie described the genocide, slavery, murder and rape of Indigenous Peoples, that the kings and queens, military, churches and banks are responsible for, speaking with AIM West\'s Tony Gonzales, during the 50th Anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829040.php

The Revolution and the Land: Peruvian documentary about agrarian reform in the 1960s and \'70s attracts great interest
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
The documentary brings to life the centuries-long exploitation of the indigenous Peruvian peasantry, but fails to provide a coherent political analysis of the rise and fall of Gen. Velasco\'s regime.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/vela-d23.html

Climate Strike: SF Bay Area Youth Strike in Oakland
Youth V Apocalypse, PlantingJustice, Mycelium | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
Plaza outside Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829043.php

In SF, Music Punctuates Enthusiastic Chanting at Rally and March on Eve of Historic Impeachment Vote
Text: RR Photos: Terry Scussel, Pro Bono Photo | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
In San Francisco, lyrics were rewritten to rock classics calling for impeachment and a crowd of thousands chanted for \"Trump Pence Out Now!\"
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/22/18829066.php

Let the Senate Impeachment Trial be Swift
Nick Licata | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
The Constitution says that the Senate, \"shall have the sole power to try all impeachments.\" The immediate question before us is when? Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially said that she will hold up delivering their two articles of impeachment to the Senate until the democrats know what the rules will be. Reality is that the rules…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/let-the-senate-impeachment-trial-be-swift/

The Politics of Trump\'s Impeachment
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
Several features stand out in the impeachment quest against President Donald J. Trump. There is constitutional discourse as mythology and fetish. There is outrage that the executive office could have been used to actually investigate political opponents through foreign agents. There is cattiness over whether the conduct of the president veered into the territory of…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/the-politics-of-trumps-impeachment/

In midst of impeachment, Pelosi honors Trump with State of the Union invitation
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
The move makes clear that, despite the bitter foreign policy differences at the heart of the impeachment drive, the two parties of American capitalism are united on fundamental issues.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/pers-d23.html

The Democrats\' Scarlet Letter Strategy
Mel Gurtov | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has evidently decided not to turn over the articles of impeachment to the Senate until Congress resumes its work January 7. Some observers think that\'s a mistake that will cost Democrats on Election Day. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell seems to think so too, believing the longer the Democrats hold out,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/the-democrats-scarlet-letter-strategy/

Australian fires bring growing global climate crisis into stark relief
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
The catastrophic fires in Australia follow blazes that have engulfed large areas of California, Siberia, Borneo and the Amazon.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/fire-d23.html

In Praise of Home Delivery Culture
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
Writing at Reason magazine, Liz Wolfe lauds home delivery culture — the increasing tendency of Americans to Netflix and chill while relying on Amazon Prime, Instacart, Grubhub, and other services to drop the goods we consume off on our front porches. Wolfe nails some of the individual benefits, and beneficiaries, of this \"late-stage capitalism\" phenomenon.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/in-praise-of-home-delivery-culture/

The 2010 — 2020 UN News Decade in Review, part one
news.un.org | 2019-12-23
The teenage years of the Twenty-First Century are nearly over and, as we prepare to enter the 2020s, UN News takes a look back at some of the big stories on our global patch, that unfolded between 2010 and 2019: welcome to our three-part Decade in Review. | In part one, which takes in the period between 2010 and the end of 2013, we focus on the devastating Haiti earthquake, the beginning of the ongoing Syrian conflict, the inspiring work of Malala Yousafzai in favour of girls\' education, and the creation of what has now become \"the world\'s most dangerous UN mission\", in Mali.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1053481

German government condemns US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 pipeline
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
The temporary halt to construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has dramatically intensified tensions between the United States and the European powers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/nord-d23.html

Postcard From Paris
James Graham | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
That was the week that was.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/postcard-from-paris/

Indo-Pak Nuclear Confrontation: First Use Policy and the Race Towards Armageddon (Part Two)
N.D. Jayaprakash | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
Click here to read Part One. Quixotic Plans In the background of the persistent attempts to change the NFU policy, one may also focus attention on what may be termed as policies for facing…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/indo-pak-nuclear-confrontation-first-use-policy-and-the-race-towards-armageddon-part-two/

Exonerate the Innocent; Incarcerate the Guilty
David Rosen | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
The U.S. \"justice\" system, first and foremost, protects police and prosecutors. The Supreme Court has held that while cops have only limited immunity from lawsuits, prosecutors enjoy what\'s known as absolute immunity for their conduct under most circumstances. Only in the most extreme cases of abuse — including killings and with bodycam videos as evidence — do police get arrested and prosecuted. Still less are prosecutors prosecuted for questionable, if not illegal, practices.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/exonerate-the-innocent-incarcerate-the-guilty/

CO2 and Climate Change, Old and New
Manuel García, Jr. | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
How long has science known about CO2-induced climate change, and are we clever enough today to geo-engineer our way out of cooking ourselves to extinction? In brief: a long time, and most likely no. Clive Thompson has written engagingly about the 19th century scientists — Joseph Fourier (1768-1830), Eunice Newton Foote (1819-1888), John Tyndall (1820-1893),…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/co2-and-climate-change-old-and-new/

Keep Your Head Down; Keep Your Passport Current
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
Maybe it\'s the frontier ethos or lots of consumer goods to buoy our psyches for those who remain on the US left with still-functioning minds and who have learned to produce ever-new scenarios in which the systems we now live under will somehow be reformed and work for the betterment of the [all] species. In…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/keep-your-head-down-keep-your-passport-current/

Michael L. Cantor mocks the artwork of the Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificates
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
In a shocking email further below, Michael L. Cantor, director of FE Partners LLC, the owner of the former Presidential Yacht Sequoia, mocks the artwork of the Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificates with condescension and derision towards the much coveted historical Yacht Sequoia Cruise Certificates!
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/22/18829063.php

Why Revolutionaries Should be Atheists
Bruce Lerro | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-23
Orientation As one of the co-founders of Planning Beyond Capitalism, you might ask why we would publish an article about atheism? Shouldn\'t we just stick to political economy and leave people\'s beliefs about the origin of the universe and our place in it for future generations to figure out? We have many reasons for thinking …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/why-revolutionaries-should-be-atheists/

Everything You Wanted to Know about Climate Change, but Were Afraid to Ask
Citizens\' Climate Lobby San Mateo | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
Half Moon Bay Library, 620 Correas Street, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829042.php

2020 Citizens\' Climate Lobby Northern California Regional Conference
Citizens\' Climate Lobby | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
Oakland Technical High School, 4351 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829045.php

2020 Citizens\' Climate Lobby Northern CA Regional Conference, Day 2
Citizens\' Climate Lobby | indybay.org | 2019-12-23
Oakland Technical High School, 4351 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/20/18829046.php

Trump, Brexit: Where\'s the Backlash?
John Feffer | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
I dutifully got a shot this winter to inoculate myself against four different flu viruses. By exposing myself to weakened strains of these diseases, and preemptively suffering some mild flu symptoms, I can ward off the more serious consequences of a full-on infection and do my part to help stop the further spread of these…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/trump-brexit-wheres-the-backlash/

Turkish aid group says 120,000 fleeing attacks in Syria\'s Idlib
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
The number of Syrians fleeing attacks in the country\'s northwestern Idlib province and heading towards Turkey has reached 120,000, a Turkish aid group said on Monday, adding it was setting up a camp for some of those uprooted.Syrian and Russian forces have recently intensified their bombardment of targets in Idlib, which Syria\'s President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to recapture, prompting a wave of refugees towards Turkey.President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday Turkey cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants, warning that European countries will feel the impact of such an influx if violence in Syria\'s northwest is n…
yenisafak.com/en/world/turkish-aid-group-says-120000-fleeing-attacks-in-syrias-idlib-3508062

Ankara and Moscow to discuss Syrian migrants, Libya conflict
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
A Turkish delegation will travel to Moscow on Monday to discuss Syria and Libya, areas where the nations have some opposing views, for talks that President Tayyip Erdogan said would determine Turkey\'s course of action in the region.Erdogan said on Sunday more than 80,000 civilians were migrating from the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib to Turkey, after Russian and Syrian forces intensified their air strikes in the area. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to recapture Idlib.The Turkish delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, visits Moscow weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin\'s p…
yenisafak.com/en/world/ankara-and-moscow-to-discuss-syrian-migrants-libya-conflict-3508054

EU only supports peaceful solution in Libya
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
The EU on Monday called on all parties of the Libyan conflict to cease military actions and resume the political dialogue.\"There is no military solution to the crisis in Libya. The only way to settle it must be a political one, negotiated on the basis of the proposals recently put forward by the United Nations,\" Peter Stano, the lead spokesperson of the EU\'s External Action Service pointed out in a statement responding to the recent growing tensions in the African country.Since September, several high-level meetings were held in the German capital to put an end to the conflict ongoing since 2011. The negotiations…
yenisafak.com/en/news/eu-only-supports-peaceful-solution-in-libya-3508061

SPECIAL REPORT: Iran\'s leader ordered crackdown on unrest: \'Do whatever it takes to end it\'
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
After days of protests across Iran last month, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared impatient. Gathering his top security and government officials together, he issued an order: Do whatever it takes to stop them.That order, confirmed by three sources close to the supreme leader\'s inner circle and a fourth official, set in motion the bloodiest crackdown on protesters since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15. The toll, provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials, included at least 17 teenagers and a…
yenisafak.com/en/world/special-report-irans-leader-ordered-crackdown-on-unrest-do-whatever-it-takes-to-end-it-3508055

Soldier killed in military base attack in Venezuela
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
Venezuela\'s defense minister confirmed that one soldier was killed in an attack on a military base in the southeastern Gran Sabana region.\"In the early morning hours today, a military unit in the south of the country was assaulted by extremist sectors of the opposition, and a batch of weapons was taken from the unit,\" Vladimir Padrino Lopez announced Sunday on Twitter.\"From this terrorist attack, an army troop was killed.\"Padrino added that police and military agents were deployed in the area and managed to capture some of the attackers, as well as the stolen weapons.He said the detainees are providing informatio…
yenisafak.com/en/world/soldier-killed-in-military-base-attack-in-venezuela-3508060

China\'s Xi calls for sustained momentum in N.Korea-US talks
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday expressed concerns over rising tension between North Korea and the United States, calling for them to maintain the momentum for dialogue, South Korea\'s presidential office said.\"There are many people concerned about the tense situation on the Korean peninsula,\" Xi told South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a summit in Beijing, according to Moon\'s spokeswoman Ko Min-jung.\"China and South Korea should gather strength to help North Korea and the United States sustain the momentum for dialogue.\"
yenisafak.com/en/world/chinas-xi-calls-for-sustained-momentum-in-nkorea-us-talks-3508051

US pipeline sanctions won\'t go unanswered: Russia
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
Russia will respond in kind to U.S. sanctions against the TurkStream and NordStream II projects, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.Speaking at the upper chamber of the Russian parliament in Moscow, the Council of Federation, Lavrov said preparing a fitting response needs both time and analysis.\"I assure you that such absolutely unacceptable, rough actions in violation of all norms of international law, all diplomatic and human decency will not remain without reaction,\" Lavrov said, taking lawmakers\' questions.A defense budget passed by the U.S. Congress last week included sanctions on companies involv…
yenisafak.com/en/news/us-pipeline-sanctions-wont-go-unanswered-russia-3508063

Kremlin hopes US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 will not impede construction
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
A Kremlin spokesman said on Monday that the sanctions introduced by the United States against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project would not hinder its construction.U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill on Friday that included legislation imposing sanctions on companies laying pipes for Nord Stream 2, which seeks to double gas export capacity along the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline route to Germany.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was too early to talk about reciprocal measures against the United States, but added that the sanctions won\'t go unanswered.He declined to say when Russia expects th…
yenisafak.com/en/news/kremlin-hopes-us-sanctions-on-nord-stream-2-will-not-impede-construction-3508050

Saudi sentences five to death, three to jail in Khashoggi case
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death and three more to jail terms totalling 24 years over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October last year.Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor and spokesman Shalaan al-Shalaan, reading out the verdict in the trial, said the court dismissed charges against the remaining three of the 11 people that had been on trial, finding them not guilty.\"The investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated … The decision was taken at the spur of the moment,\" Shalaan said.Khashoggi was a U.S. resident and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed…
yenisafak.com/en/world/saudi-sentences-five-to-death-three-to-jail-in-khashoggi-case-3508052

Turkey\'s Asyaport gets new $12M loan from European Bank
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
\"Turkey\'s key trans-shipment hub Asyaport will increase its capacity and improve efficiency with a new $12 million loan by the EBRD,\" the statement said.It added that the funds will co-finance the acquisition and installation of energy-efficient electric ship-to-shore cranes, electric rubber-tired gantry cranes and terminal tractors.The new equipment will help raise the port\'s berth and yard capacity during peak hours and drop vessel turnaround times, leading to more efficient handling of regional trans-shipment and domestic container traffic from industrial zones in Turkey\'s northwestern Tekirdag area.The EBRD\'s…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkeys-asyaport-gets-new-12m-loan-from-european-bank-3508064

Muslim American fired after requesting time off to celebrate Eid al-Adha
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-23
A Muslim American man was fired after he asked his North Carolina company for time off to celebrate an Islamic religious holiday, according to a lawsuit filed last week.Hussein Altaweel, a Muslim who migrated to the U.S. as a refugee in 2013 and was naturalized earlier this year, was hired as a project manager in 2015 at telecommunications contractor Longent LLC.He was fired for \"not request(ing) PTO ahead of time for planned events\", even though he asked for time off two weeks before the event.Marking the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God\'s command, Muslims mark the Eid al-Adha holi…
yenisafak.com/en/world/muslim-american-fired-after-requesting-time-off-to-celebrate-eid-al-adha-3508058

Stalled talks with US \'not good\' for Pyongyang, S. Korea tells China
rt.com | 2019-12-23
Stalled denuclearization talks and a recent flare-up in tension between Washington and Pyongyang are not beneficial for Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday. | North Korea has set a year-end deadline for the US to change what it says is a policy of hostility amid a stalemate in efforts to make progress on their pledge to end the North\'s nuclear program. | Xi told Moon that China supports South Korea\'s efforts to improve ties with North Korea and inject new impetus into promoting peace talks, Reuters reported. | Moon is visiting China for a trilate…
rt.com/newsline/476637-us-korea-china-talks/

Taliban attack kills US service member in Afghanistan amid renewed peace talks
rt.com | 2019-12-23
An American service member in Afghanistan was killed in an attack carried out by the Taliban, the militant group has said. The Pentagon has confirmed the death, which coincides with a new round of peace talks with the Taliban. | The US military did not provide further details about the service member. More than a dozen foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in 2019. | The US has resumed peace talks with the Taliban, after negotiations were abruptly cut off in September by Washington. | The war in Afghanistan has dragged on for more than 19 years, making it the longest war in United States history. Ev…
rt.com/usa/476630-us-soldier-killed-afghanistan-taliban/

The New Yorker editor & Iraq war peddler gets called out after lamenting Trump supporters do not believe \'facts\' about impeachment
rt.com | 2019-12-23
The New Yorker\'s editor has said our planet\'s future, no less, depends on President Donald Trump\'s removal, voicing dismay not everybody is falling for the \"facts.\" He was swiftly reminded about pushing lies about Iraq, however. | Speaking to Brian Stelter, host of CNN\'s Reliable Sources, on Sunday, The New Yorker magazine editor-in-chief David Remnick has argued an apocalypse is imminent unless Americans band together to ouster US President Donald Trump from office through the impeachment process. | \"The stakes here are immense, it\'s not just about the political future of one man — Donald Trump, it\'s abo…
rt.com/usa/476625-impeachment-facts-new-yorker-editor/

Fishing for Swedish cash: Afghan politician collecting benefits for his dead mother — report
rt.com | 2019-12-23
An Afghan politician is under investigation in Sweden for collecting benefits intended for his dead mother, according to a new report. Welfare fraud has become a growing problem in the Scandinavian country. | Razaq Ahmadzai, co-leader of Afghanistan\'s Green Trend party, is expected to receive a top post in Kabul once the new coalition government is formed. But the Afghan politician is already being handily rewarded by the Swedish government, according to an investigation conduct…
rt.com/news/476632-sweden-afghanistan-benefit-fraud-politician/

Russia has ships to complete Nord Stream 2 pipeline without European help
rt.com | 2019-12-23
Russia says the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be finished despite all the challenges, after Swiss-Dutch company Allseas decided to stop its works on the project in the Baltic Sea, under the threat of US sanctions. | Over the weekend, the engineering company reportedly withdrew its ships, which had been engaged in the laying of the last section of the pipeline. The pull-out occurred shortly after US President Donald Trump signed into law the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides for harsh sanctions on foreign contractors involved in the project. | | Pipelay vessel Pioneering Spirit &copy…
rt.com/business/476639-russia-nord-stream-vessels/

Company laying pipes for Nord Stream 2 withdraws vessels from Baltic Sea — report
rt.com | 2019-12-23
Allseas, a Swiss-Dutch company that has been laying underwater tubes for the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline off the Danish coast, has withdrawn both of its pipelaying vessels from the Baltic Sea, Bloomberg news reported. | Allseas announced its decision to wind down operations at the bottom of the Baltic Sea and exit the $11 billion project just before US President Donald Trump signed the 2020 national defense spending bill on Friday, introducing harsh sanctions for the companies involved in the construction of the flagship pipeline. The sanctions would have seen the company\'s assets in the US frozen, e…
rt.com/newsline/476627-allseas-nordstream-ships-withdraw/

US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 is \'intimidation policy,\' Lavrov says, promises reaction
rt.com | 2019-12-23
By imposing sanctions on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the US demonstrated that its diplomacy is aimed at intimidating the opponent, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. | Washington has once again demonstrated that its diplomacy \"comes down primarily to intimidation by various methods — sanctions, ultimatums, and threats,\" Lavrov told the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament. | \"When the closest allies are punished for solving their economic problems, tasks related to energy security, I think that no country in the world should ever doubt that if the US pr…
rt.com/newsline/476647-us-sanctions-nord-lavrov/