John Wojcik, Mark Gruenberg (2019-11-14). Public impeachment hearing reveals new phone call confirming Trump conspiracy. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The nation watched the opening of public hearings yesterday in which, for only the fourth time in U.S. history, an imperiled president faced the prospect of impeachment and removal from office. William B. Taylor, Jr., the top American diplomat in Ukraine, and George P. Kent, the State Department employee officially in charge of Ukraine policy, …

RT (2019-11-14). US oil prepares for \'Plan B\' if Democrats take the White House. rt.com US oil producers are preparing for an abrupt change in federal government policies in case a Democrat wins the 2020 vote, with almost 3 million barrels in daily production at stake if this happens. | This is the average amount of oil produced on federal land, according to Rapidan Energy Group, which also said, as quoted by S&P Global Platts, any curb on oil production would also hamper the development of the Permian, the Bakken shale, and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. | Such a curb would be all but certain. Climate change seems to be the top priority for Democratic voters, so candidates are deliver…

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2019-11-14). Green Strategy: To beat climate change, humanity needs socialism. peoplesworld.org Marc Brodine, author of Green Strategy, will appear at a book talk on Nov. 14, 2019 at 6 p.m. at the People\'s Forum in New York, located at 320 West 37th Street. Copies of the book will be available. Humans may not survive. Reports from the UN\'s Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change provoke images of …

Staff (2019-11-14). In Our Future Climate Dystopia, This Is What the Pentagon Will Do. truthdig.com The Situation Room, October 2039: the president and vice president, senior generals and admirals, key cabinet members, and other top national security officers huddle around computer screens as aides speak to key officials across the country. Some screens are focused on Hurricane Monica, continuing its catastrophic path through the Carolinas and Virginia; others are following Hurricane Nicholas, now pummeling Florida and Georgia, while Hurricane Ophelia lurks behind it in the eastern Caribbean. | On another bank of screens, officials are watching horrifying scenes from Los Angeles and San Diego, where millions of…

W. T. Whitney (2019-11-14). To Confront Climate Change Humanity Needs Socialism. counterpunch.org Humans may not survive. Reports from the UN\'s Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change provoke images of land masses drowning, fleeing populations, starvation, terrible droughts, terrible storms, migrating diseases, new deserts, and intolerable heat. It\'s an \"ecological Armageddon,\" says one expert. We hear about \"the sixth extinction,\" the geologic epoch that is our own. It\'s called More

Staff (2019-11-14). Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Unveil Another Life-Changing Policy. truthdig.com Framing the climate crisis as both an existential threat and a \"tremendous opportunity\" to fundamentally transform American society, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday unveiled a Green New Deal for Public Housing that would eliminate carbon emissions from federal housing, invest $180 billion over ten years in retrofitting and repairs, and create nearly 250,000 decent-paying union jobs per year. | \"Faced with the global crisis of climate change, the United States must lead the world in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel to sustainable energy,\" Sanders, a 2020 Democr…

Robert Hunziker (2019-11-14). Climate Confusion, Angst, and Sleeplessness. counterpunch.org Climate change is a nagging issue for many people because it is so big, diverse, and overwhelming, as big as the planet itself. So, how to explain climate change? Sociologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and even anthropologists and economists have tackled the phenomenon of Climate Weltschmerz, meaning people experience angst as the enormity of climate change overrides More

Eds. (2019-11-14). Extinction Rebellion: Rebellion against whom? mronline.org Through the global climate strike and mass demonstrations for the planet launched by Greta Thunberg, an entire generation has gotten a taste of political action, understanding the need for dramatic change to deal with environmental degradation. It is in this context that the group Extinction Rebellion (XR) has struck a chord. | Source

Ron Jacobs (2019-11-14). Trump\'s Drug Deal Goes to Congress: Impeachment, Day One. counterpunch.org Trump\'s primary defense as argued by his tools in Congress and through his own tweets seems to be \"I know I am but what are you?\" He isn\'t denying his misdeeds and abuses of power, just arguing that he can do whatever he wants because he\'s president and that every other politician does the same thing so what\'s the problem? It\'s not really much of a defense, but in the puerile world that is US politics and especially Trumpist politics, he could get away with it. Any explanation that Trump demanded what he did from Zelensky is because he is a businessman only serves to verify my understanding of Trump\'s businesses[…

Mnar Muhawesh (2019-11-14). Social Media Censorship Reaches New Heights as Twitter Permanently Bans Dissent. mintpressnews.com | | It\'s an open secret. The deep state is wo…

Peter Koenig (2019-11-14). China\'s vision for the future is \"Give Peace a Chance\" dissidentvoice.org China\'s vision for the future is \"Give Peace a Chance\". It is also the title of one of John Lennon\'s most prominent songs. It became the anthem for the anti-war movement, at the time of the US-waged war against Vietnam. John Lennon was a peace activist. No wonder he was ostracized, considered enemy number one by …

Farooque Chowdhury (2019-11-14). Imperialist imprint in Bolivia coup. mronline.org Imperialist imprint in the just carried out Bolivia coup is visible. | Source

Vijay Prashad (2019-11-14). Bolivia Does Not Exist. dissidentvoice.org On November 10, Bolivia\'s President Evo Morales Ayma was removed from office. Technically Morales resigned, but the conditions for his resignation had been set by the Bolivian oligarchy (egged on for thirteen years by the United States government, as Noam Chomsky and I indicated in this statement the day before the coup). Having won re-election …

RT (2019-11-14). Syria begins deploying troops in northeast along Turkish border — Damascus. rt.com Syrian state media is reporting that government forces have started deploying in areas close to the Turkish border in the northeast. Troops are deploying between the towns of Jawadiyeh and Malkiyeh, also known as Derik, according to SANA. | The deployment began on Thursday, and Syrian border guards will be positioned at six points near to the border, state TV reported. | The deployment is part of a deal reached between Russia and Turkey last month along much of the northeastern boundary that seeks to ensure Kurdish fighters leave the area, AP said. Russia and Turkey began joint patrols along a narrower strip d…

RT (2019-11-14). Catapulting Hong Kong into democracy? Media glorifies ANARCHY & \'novel, defensive\' anti-police weapons of protesters. rt.com As anti-China protesters transform Hong Kong universities into \"weapons factories\" and arm themselves with petrol bombs, mainstream media is increasingly impressed by their ingenious and \"novel\" methods of taking on riot police. | Universities across Hong Kong are shuttering their doors and foreign students fleeing the chaos, as protesters hurl bricks, fire javelins, construct \"watchtowers\" and start fires on campuses, insisting that they have \"no choice\" but to resort to the most violent methods. | pic.twitter.com/WKPPXvO0Wl

RT (2019-11-14). Trump\'s V-Day visit to Moscow would be \'the right thing to do\' even during election season — Putin. rt.com As Russia prepares to celebrate the May 2020 anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, President Vladimir Putin said that a visit from Donald Trump would be \"the right thing to do,\" even during an election campaign.

RT (2019-11-14). Getting shirty: Russia refuse to wear new Adidas kit because manufacturer \'got flag the wrong way round\'. rt.com Getting the flag colors the right way round might seem a fundamental requirement in manufacturing a kit for a national team, but that is reportedly the sticking point between the Russian football team and sportswear giant Adidas. | The Russian national side and German kit-maker unveiled team\'s new red home strip for next year\'s European Championships at a glitzy ceremony last week. | Stanislav Cherchesov\'s men, who have already qualified for the European showpiece, were due to wear the kit for their final two group games, against Belgium on Saturday and San Marino on Tuesday. | –ú—ã […

RT (2019-11-14). \'I\'d say he won, no doubt\': Artem Lobov delivers verdict on Jason Knight\'s bathroom brawl ahead of bare-knuckle rematch. rt.com Artem Lobov has declared rival Jason Knight the winner of a bathroom brawl that caused a sensation on social media ahead of their much-anticipated rematch in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship on Saturday. | Fans are hoping for a classic to mirror their first encounter when American Knight aims for revenge against Russian-born Lobov, who enters as strong favorite having won their initial, bloody contest on the thinnest of judging margins earlier this year. | The second contest between the pair is being hyped as the most exciting fight since the championship launched in 2018, not least because its organizer…

RT (2019-11-14). Russia-bashers eat their own? Ukrainian ex-minister accuses Bellingcat of being infiltrated by…Kremlin agents? rt.com A website obsessed with blaming Russia for everything — using Google Earth to support its airtight theories — has been infiltrated by Russian agents, according to a Ukrainian MP and former minister. But does it even make sense? | Our strange saga begins with a very level-headed Facebook post penned by Ukraine\'s former minister of veterans affairs and current member of parliament, Iryna Friz, who expressed deep displeasure with a recent Bellingcat \'investigation\' revealing that Ukraine\'s Ministry of Veterans Affairs had ties to far-right figures (oh no, who could have guessed?). | In her post, Friz…

Marjorie Cohn (2019-11-14). John Roberts Holds Dreamers\' Lives in His Hands. truthdig.com The chief justice, who cast conflicting votes in two recent immigration cases, is the wild card in the Supreme Court case about DACA.

RT (2019-11-14). Crimean amateur astronomer finds ANOTHER comet, after helping NASA find alien water on interstellar visitor. rt.com Not content with leading NASA to detect water from an alien star system on board an interstellar visitor, Crimean amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov has discovered another comet. | The new comet, traveling at roughly 30km per second in the patch of sky between the Lynx and Cancer constellations, marks the ninth stellar object Borisov has discovered. Unlike his previously discovered comet, dubbed 2I/Borisov, this one is a resident of our solar system. | \"I discovered a new comet in early November. I have just received a letter from the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union. This is not an…

Laura Carlsen (2019-11-14). Mexico\'s LeBaron Massacre and the War That Will Not Cease. counterpunch.org Murder by organized crime, the presumed culprit, is the stuff of daily news here since the drug war was launched in late 2006. But the massacre of women and children, members of a powerful and well-known agribusiness family, in a remote area on the border of Chihuahua and Sonora where they have lived for a century, on the surface makes no sense. A crime this notorious, involving US citizens, brings down major binational heat on a drug cartel, something they normally try to avoid. More

Tamara Pearson (2019-11-14). US and Corporations Key Factors Behind Most Violent Year Yet in Mexico. counterpunch.org This year has been the most violent year on record for Mexico, with almost 26,000 intentional homicides between January and September. Following the murder of nine US citizens last week, US president Donald Trump offered to send the US army to \"help\" fight drug cartels in Mexico. The comment lacked awareness of the already disastrous More

Andre Vltchek (2019-11-14). Abandoning Jakarta, Moving Capital to Borneo: Cynicism, Corruption, Murder. dissidentvoice.org Jakarta — polluted, unloved It is wrong, totally wrong, to abandon Jakarta and try to build some Potemkin village in the middle of Borneo, an island known in Indonesia as Kalimantan. There are many reasons why, and we will be addressing at least some of them here. But before we begin, let us state the …

RT (2019-11-14). China hands Trump a victory in trade war by lifting 5-year-old poultry ban. rt.com China has lifted a ban on US poultry and poultry products that has been in place since the December 2014 avian flu outbreak, opening the door to a potential $1 billion worth of exports from the US to China. | Major US chicken processors like Sanderson Farms, Tyson Foods and Pilgrim\'s Pride saw their stock value climb to year highs on Thursday, following the announcement. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer called the development \"great news for both America\'s farmers and China\'s consumers\", in a celebratory public statement. The US is the second largest poultry exporter in the world, behind Brazil, with…

RT (2019-11-14). Messi or Ronaldo? Pele picks his perfect playing partner from current crop of stars. rt.com Legendary goalscorer Pele has said that Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are the best three players in the world, but picked Barcelona icon Messi as his choice of ideal strike partner. | Lamenting what he sees as a reduced number of greats around the world, Brazil\'s all-time top scorer suggested only three of the current generation could match the fabled likes of Eusébio, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Diego Maradona and Garrincha. | Pele named Messi as the \"most complete player\" and said he had spoken to Neymar\'s father, who advises the Paris Saint-Germain striker, about the mercurial forwa…

RT (2019-11-14). 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Indonesia. rt.com An earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck in the Molucca Sea, some 134km northwest of the Indonesian island of Ternate, at 4: 18pm local time on Thursday. | A tsunami threat message was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) for all coasts within 300km of the epicenter, affecting a number of Indonesian islands within the hour. Residents were advised to remain alert and seek instructions from local authorities. | A tsunami alert was also issued by the Indonesia Meteorology, Climatology and Geophys…

Negin Owliaei (2019-11-14). It\'s time to ban the billionaires. peoplesworld.org Bill Gates wants you to know he pays taxes. \"I\'ve paid more than $10 billion in taxes. I\'ve paid more than anyone in taxes,\" Gates told journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. \"But when you say I should pay $100 billion, OK, then I\'m starting to do a little math about what I have left over.\" Supposedly …

Robert Reich (2019-11-14). Robert Reich: Billionaires Don\'t Actually Like Capitalism. truthdig.com Billionaires are wailing that Elizabeth Warren\'s and Bernie Sanders\'s wealth tax proposals are attacks on free market capitalism. | Warren \"vilifies successful people,\" says Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase. | Rubbish. There are basically only five ways to accumulate a billion dollars, and none of them has to do with being successful in free market capitalism. | Related Articles: …

RT (2019-11-14). Barr all things Chinese? AG calls Huawei & ZTE \'threat to our collective security\'. rt.com Huawei and ZTE \"cannot be trusted,\" US Attorney General William Barr has warned the Federal Communications Commission, calling for a ban on rural telecoms using the products of companies he views as an existential threat. | The Chinese telecoms\' \"track record, as well as the practices of the Chinese government, demonstrate that Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted,\" Barr wrote to the FCC in a letter on Thursday. He urged the regulator to support a proposal to block rural carriers from dipping into an $8.5 billion federal fund to purchase services and equipment from the companies. | We should not signal that Huawei…

Kerry-anne Mendoza (2019-11-14). The tweet that shows just how cynical Rachel Riley\'s \'war on antisemitism\' has become. thecanary.co Rachel Riley does the numbers on Countdown. But she\'s also appointed herself witchfinder general in a campaign to silence critics of Apartheid Israel with false accusations of antisemitism. (Full disclosure: she has dedicated a lot of that time smearing The Canary.) This is why we were somewhat shocked to find her promoting the views of an alleged antisemite. Why? Because…

Staff (2019-11-14). Who Really Benefits From a Trump Tax Break for the Poor? truthdig.com The president overhauled the tax code in 2017, and a pair of wealthy Republican donors in West Palm Beach have been reaping the rewards.

Jonah Raskin (2019-11-14). Love and Death in the Age of Revolution. counterpunch.org \"When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?\' — Radical priest John Ball to English peasants, 1381 It\'s unlikely that many TV viewers will remember that veteran Welsh actor, Vincent Regan, played Colonel Edward (\"Ned\") Despard in the show Poldark, which is based on the novels of Winston Graham, and that traces the life and times of a British More

RT (2019-11-14). \'Didn\'t match any known aircraft\': Navy crew speaks out on 2004 UFO encounter, saw flying \'elongated egg\' with \'phosphorus glow\'. rt.com Crew members who were aboard a Navy warship during a freak encounter with unidentified flying objects in 2004 have come forward with new details about the mysterious episode, offering captivating first-hand accounts. | On a training mission with the Nimitz carrier group in November 2004 about 100 miles off the coast of Southern California, technicians on the USS Princeton began to notice anomalous \"ghost tracks\" and \"clutter\" on the ship\'s radars. | Concerned the Princeton\'s brand new AN/SPY-1B radar system was acting up, the crew recalibrated the high tech gear to clear the errors, but the ostensibly \"false\"

RT (2019-11-14). With Harris & Booker polling single digits, Mass. ex-governor Deval Patrick joins 2020 race to salvage minority vote. rt.com Former Massachusetts governor and private equity fund manager Deval Patrick has jumped into the 2020 presidential race, his run a signal that the other establishment-friendly minority Democrats have crashed and burned. | Patrick announced his candidacy on Thursday, just three months before the start of primary season in Iowa. In an announcement video that avoids taking any strong stances on issues, he calls for moderation and healing, serving up a warmed-over slice of hope-and-change rhetoric that might trigger déja vu in voters who remember Barack Obama\'s 2008 campaign. | In a spirit of profound gratit…

Eric A. Gordon (2019-11-14). World-renowned singer Julia Migenes bids adieu with nostalgic French popular songs. peoplesworld.org LOS ANGELES—Grammy-winning opera singer Julia Migenes travels back to the Paris of Edith Piaf, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway in this evening of nostalgic French chansons by Charles Aznavour, Léo Ferré, Jacques Brel, Michel Legrand and others. Accompanied on piano by Victoria Kirsch and directed by Academy Award-nominated director Peter Medak, La Vie en Rose …

Max Blumenthal (2019-11-14). Golpe en Bolivia fue liderizado por dirigente cristiano paramilitar, fascista y millonario — con apoyo extranjero. thegrayzone.com Luis Fernando Camacho, el líder del golpe en Bolivia es un multimillonario de extrema derecha que emergió de los movimientos…

WSWS (2019-11-14). New Zealand cabinet minister echoes fascist gunman\'s manifesto. wsws.org The NZ First MP\'s calculated rant, with its fixation on \"birth rates\" and scare-mongering over \"legions\" of immigrants, mirror the Christchurch terrorist\'s fascist screed.

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J S Davies (2019-11-14). Why Aren\'t People in the US Rising Up Like Those Elsewhere in the World? commondreams.org Demonstrators wave flags as they take part during the day of cultural activities 'El Derecho a Vivir en Paz' called by 'Movimiento Unidad Social' at Plaza O'Higgins on October 27, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. Unidad Social, an organization conformed by various social groups, has called society to be part of cultural activities in defence of human rights and against abuses, under the slogan #NoMasAbusos (No more abuses) people demand Sebastian Pi√±era's Government attention to issues such as health care, pension system, privatization of water, public transport, education, social mobili…

Sonali Kolhatkar (2019-11-14). Dreamers Tell Trump and SCOTUS They Are Here to Stay. commondreams.org Immigration rights activists take part in a rally in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC on November 12, 2019. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-11818855831.jpg …

United Nations (2019-11-14). Bolivia crisis: UN chief sends envoy to support peace, amidst renewed clashes. un.org UN chief António Guterres announced on Thursday that he had appointed a Personal Envoy who would be travelling to Bolivia later in the day, to offer support to national leaders, following the departure of former president, Evo Morales.

Robert C. Koehler (2019-11-14). Celebrating Peace: A Work in Progress. commondreams.org In 1954, Armistice Day was replaced with Veterans Day, and so our public celebration of peace and an end to war became a rally to \"support the troops,\" a state and federal day off, and a platform for military recruitment. (Photo: Archive/File) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/worldwar1_0.jpeg …

teleSUR (2019-11-14). North Korea Not Interested in December Peace Talks with US. telesurenglish.net North Korea said on Thursday it has been offered a fresh meeting with the United States, but is uninterested in more talks aimed at \"appeasing us\" ahead of a year-end deadline Pyongyang has set for Washington to show more flexibility in their negotiations. | RELATED: | North Korea Breaks off Nuclear Talks With US in Sweden | Kim Myong Gil, the North\'s nuclear negotiator, said in a report carried by state media that Stephen Biegun, his U.S. counterpart who jointly led last month\'s faile…

Jon Britton (2019-11-14). Letter-Writing Session for Leonard Peltier; Demand an End to the Elder Unit Lockdown! indybay.org San Jose Peace & Justice Center | 48 S Seventh St., San Jose, CA 95112…

Eoin Higgins (2019-11-14). \"We Don\'t Want Any Dictators\": Bolivians Flood Streets to Protest Military Coup. theantimedia.com Unrest continued in Bolivia Thursday as protests against the right-wing coup that unseated democratically-elected President Evo Morales on Sunday.

David Rovics (2019-11-14). If I Had A Hammer. dissidentvoice.org Ôªø Can a hundred thousand people with sledgehammers change the world? The past few weeks have seen so many developments in the world. Such as absolutely massive, ongoing and very militant protests happening in a multitude of countries. Not just in capital cities, but throughout countries like Ecuador, Chile, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Sudan, in places …

teleSUR (2019-11-14). Death Toll in Iraq Exceeds 300 Since Start of Protests. telesurenglish.net At least four protesters were killed and more than 65 wounded on Thursday in clashes with Iraqi security forces who were trying to push them back to their main camp in central Baghdad, police and medical sources said. | RELATED: | Protesters, Iraqi Police Continue Battle on Baghdad Streets | The protests erupted in early October over economic hardship and endemic graft. The government responded with some measures such as handouts for the poor but the protesters are now demanding an…

Reese Erlich (2019-11-14). Foreign Correspondent: A New Arab Spring in Lebanon and Iraq. progressive.org Once again, people in the Middle East want democratic reforms and an end to corruption and foreign domination.

Lucas Koerner (2019-11-14). Venezuelan Embassy Attacked in Brazil. venezuelanalysis.com Bolsonaro denied any prior knowledge of the attack.

Binoy Kampmark (2019-11-14). Incinerating Logic: Bush Fires and Climate Change. dissidentvoice.org Despite the Internet, connectivity, and linking technologies, distance has not shrunk the Australian sense of self, an often provincial appraisal of the world seen in slow motion and stills. Whether it\'s the \"flower revolution\" or Michel Foucault, trends and ideas are often delayed, and seem almost cutely anachronistic by the time they make landfall down …

RT (2019-11-14). \'DISLIKE\': Russia\'s Facebook rival VK to roll out this ONE button FB users always wanted but never got. rt.com Russian social network VKontakte has unveiled the upcoming \'dislike\' button, a simple feature that has been cruelly denied to Facebook users despite years of begging. Now Mark Zuckerberg can claim it was a Russian plot all along! | The feature was announced on Wednesday at VK\'s Content Day conference in Moscow, and the company thinks it will help \"invigorate\" the comment section. | VK has answered its users\' prayers with the button, which will appear as an option next to the \'like\' button on comments, giving users the ability to regi…

Associated Press (2019-11-13). Violent riots force Chinese and foreign students to flee Hong Kong. peoplesworld.org HONG KONG (AP)—University students from mainland China and Taiwan are fleeing Hong Kong, while those from three Scandinavian countries have been moved or urged to leave as college campuses become the latest battleground in the city\'s 5-month-long anti-government unrest. Marine police used a boat Wednesday to help a group of mainland students leave the Chinese …

RT (2019-11-13). Takeover of Venezuela\'s embassy in Brazil timed to coincide with launch of BRICS summit — Russia. rt.com The seizure of Venezuela\'s embassy in Brasilia was not only an attack on the legitimate government of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, but also an attempt to sow discord between the BRICS member states, Russia\'s Deputy FM told RT. | The Wednesday storming on the diplomatic mission by the supporters of US-backed Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido was \"planned before and timed that it coincided with the first day of BRICS summit,\" Sergey Ryabkov said. | It took place on the same day as the leaders of Russia, China, India and South Africa arrived to the Brazilian capital for the high-profile BRICS summit. Members…

RT (2019-11-13). Code Pink founder raided by DC police on dubious Venezuelan embassy \'assault\' charges (VIDEO). rt.com Police have tried to detain Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin without a warrant on belated and mysterious charges of \'assaulting\' a Democratic congresswoman during this summer\'s siege of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington. | Benjamin was accused of assaulting Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Florida) — months after the alleged incident — when over a dozen officers surrounded her home on Wednesday in Washington, DC. | In footage she posted to Facebook, Benjamin strenuously denies the accusations, explaining that she was the one assaulted — pushed and pulled by right-wing Venezuelans (\"b…

Nick Alexandrov (2019-11-13). Murder Like It\'s 1495: U.S.-Backed Counterinsurgency in the Philippines. counterpunch.org Two men, soldiers probably, noticed Bai Leah Tumbalang. This was last August. She was in Valencia City, in the Philippine province of Bukidnon. The men drew near on their motorcycle, followed her, then pulled up to shoot her in the forehead. She died immediately. But her death was not random, not senseless. With it her More

Brian Terrell (2019-11-13). A Doubtful Proposition: a Reflection on the Trial of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7. counterpunch.org \"Whether nuclear weapons are actually illegal under international or domestic law (a doubtful proposition) is not relevant or an appropriate issue to litigate in this case,\" so ruled Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, late on Friday October 18. This last-minute order, restricting the defense of More

George Ochenski (2019-11-13). Montana\'s Radioactive Waste Legacy. counterpunch.org One label Montana\'s Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock won\'t have to worry about being stuck with is \"environmentalist.\" His outdated support for coal in the face of a global warming crisis and his \"leadership\" on the massive and ongoing deforestation of public lands under the phony rubric of the Bush-era \"Healthy Forests Initiative\" are bad enough. More

Charles Pierson (2019-11-13). How Not to End a Forever War. counterpunch.org I love \"caper\' movies. There\'s nothing like a gang of lovable rogues executing an elaborately planned, seemingly impossible crime. President Donald Trump, while in no way lovable, pulled off the perfect caper when he grabbed the White House three years ago. Now Trump has launched a new caper: stealing Syria\'s oil. Danny Ocean, eat your More

Kenneth Surin (2019-11-13). \"We\'ll See You on the Barricades\": Bojo Johnson\'s Poundshop Churchill Imitation. counterpunch.org Poundshop: British chain similar to the US\'s Dollar General I\'m in London for a week to inhale the UK election vapours. Some scents reeked of the cheap knock-off perfumes— labelled \"Chanel\", \"Dior\", etc.— you can buy in shonky street markets in many cities. Others though had more in common with a leaking sewer pipe. BoJo More

Nick Pemberton (2019-11-13). Assange, Zuckerberg and Free Speech. counterpunch.org \"That philosophy died yesterday, since Hegel or Marx, Nietzsche, or Heidegger—and philosophy should still wander toward the meaning of its death—or that it has always lived knowing itself to be dying… that philosophy died one day, within history, or that it has always fed on its own agony, on the violent way it opens history More

Vanessa Beeley (2019-11-13). ISIS Captives Offer a Convenient Pawn in Turkey\'s Syria Chess Game. mintpressnews.com ISIS is the latest bogeyman in a global terror portfolio that serves a neoconservative agenda in the Middle East, and Turkey has been its midwife and curator.

Ramzy Baroud (2019-11-13). The Real Reasons Behind Israel\'s Arrest of Two Jordanian Nationals. mintpressnews.com The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi\'ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships at the hands of their Israeli jailers. | Despite the jubilant return of the two prisoners, celebrated in Jordan, Palestine and throughout the Arab world, several compelling questions remain unanswered: why were they held in the first place? Why were they released and what ca…

Staff (2019-11-13). Cuba\'s Ingenious Lesson for Cities Facing Hunger. truthdig.com When countries run short of food, they need to find solutions fast, and one answer can be urban farming. | That was the remedy Cuba seized with both hands 30 years ago when it was confronted with the dilemma of an end to its vital food imports. And what worked then for Cuba could have lessons today for the wider world, as it faces growing hunger in the face of the climate crisis. | When the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, most of Cuba\'s food supplies went with it. To stave off severe malnutrition the people of the capital, Havana, found an imaginative answer: urban gardening. That\'s now seen as a possible bl…

Robert Hunziker (2019-11-13). Climate Confusion, Angst, and Sleeplessness. dissidentvoice.org Climate change is a nagging issue for many people because it is so big, diverse, and overwhelming, as big as the planet itself. So, how to explain climate change? Sociologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and even anthropologists and economists have tackled the phenomenon of Climate Weltschmerz, meaning people experience angst as the enormity of climate change overrides …

RT (2019-11-13). While Greta Thunberg hitches another top-dollar yacht ride to Europe, plebs will live with \'flight shame\'. rt.com Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg has managed to find a ride across the Atlantic with a pair of sailing YouTubers. Once again, the activist will make her journey on a yacht far beyond the means of the ordinary working Joe. | After hitching a ride from Europe to New York aboard a €4 million racing yacht in August, Thunberg embarked on a whirlwind tour of climate change summits and street-level protests. However, when the UN\'s COP25 climate summit in Chile was moved to Spain due to political unrest, the Swedish activist was left marooned in the US. | Avoiding combustion-powered planes and boats, Thunberg\'

RT (2019-11-13). US wants Turkey \'back in the fold\' as tensions mount between between NATO allies. rt.com The US wants to bring Turkey \"back into the fold,\" Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday as he warned again about Ankara drifting away from its NATO partners. | Washington is concerned that recent arms deals with Russia and its recent incursion into northern Syria mean Turkey is slipping away from the military bloc. Esper\'s comments came ahead of US President Donald Trump\'s meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday. | \"We need Turkey back in the fold. They\'ve been good allies for many years, all the way back to fighting alongside the United States in the Korean war, up t…

RT (2019-11-13). US & Turkey working on \'resolving S-400 issue,\' but Trump & Erdogan tight-lipped on details. rt.com US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan said their countries were working to \"resolve\" the issue of Ankara purchasing Russian S-400 air defense systems, without going into any specifics. | Erdogan, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday for an official state visit, spent much of the day in meetings with Trump and several US senators critical of Turkey\'s recent actions in northern Syria. Appearing at a joint press conference in the late afternoon, he showed no sign of backing down from Ankara\'s current posture, saying that political concerns ought to be separate from matters o…

Christina Larson, Emily Wang (2019-11-13). China creating \"its own Yellowstone\" park in Tibet to preserve ecosystem. peoplesworld.org XINING, China (AP)—There\'s a building boom on the Tibetan plateau, one of the world\'s last remote places. Mountains long crowned by garlands of fluttering prayer flags—a traditional landscape blessing—are newly topped with sprawling steel power lines. At night, the illuminated signs of Sinopec gas stations cast a red glow over newly built highways. Ringed by …

RT (2019-11-13). Anti-government rallies swell in Baghdad & south Iraq. rt.com Anti-government rallies swelled in Iraq\'s capital and south on Wednesday as Baghdad faced new pressure from both the street and the UN to respond seriously to weeks of demonstrations. | Protests demanding a new leadership have rocked the capital and Shiite-majority south for weeks. | Demonstrators appear to have been revived after the country\'s top Shiite religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said they \"cannot go home without sufficient reforms.\" | The head of the UN\'s mission in Iraq (UNAMI), Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, planned to address the main political blocs and brief lawmakers on her meeting w…

Staff (2019-11-13). Facebook Says It Axed 3.2 Billion Fake Accounts in Last Six Months. truthdig.com The company also says it removed 18.5 million instances of child nudity and sexual exploitation, an increase from the previous six months.

RT (2019-11-13). Ancient aliens? NASA\'s Mars 2020 mission landing site could contain fossilized signs of life. rt.com The landing site selected for NASA\'s upcoming Mars 2020 rover could well be one of the best chances we have of discovering whether the Red Planet was once home to life and whether it could be again. | The 28-mile (45km) wide Jezero crater was selected as the landing site for the new rover in late 2018, and has been found to contain vast deposits of hydrated silica and minerals called carbonates, according to a newly published study. | Once the site of a lake more than 3.5 billion years ago, scientists now believe that Jezero, thanks…

RT (2019-11-13). Khabib: \'Sometimes I go easy on my opponents, I don\'t want to hurt them\' (VIDEO). rt.com UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the most dominant forces in the history of MMA, but has ominously suggested he has sometimes gone easy on his opponents to avoid doing even more damage. | Khabib stands 28-0 in professional MMA and has rarely looked troubled inside the cage. | But despite his dominance, the Dagestani grappling phenom has suggested that on occasion he has held back. | \"I had fights in my career where I understood that I could hurt my opponent more, but I\'d talk to him, tell him to give up so that I don\'t beat him too hard,\" Khabib told a group of schoolchildren in Russia.

RT (2019-11-13). Shooting NATO with its own bullet? What we know about Kalashnikov\'s new rifle, chambered in alliance-standard 7.62x51mm. rt.com As Russia marks famed Soviet inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov\'s centenary, we look at the newest incarnation of his time-tested rifle. The AK-308 fires NATO rounds, giving the Russian manufacturer an edge over western rivals. | Sitting along a lonely road near Russia\'s Kazakh border, the town of Kurya is a long way from the world\'s battlefields. The nearest major city, Novosibirsk, is a six-hour drive away. Yet, Kurya\'s most famous son devised an invention that would power revolutions, redraw national borders and reshape modern warfare. | Mikhail Kalashnikov was born in Kurya on November 10, 1919, to a peasant fam…

RT (2019-11-13). Child prison & death in a blaze: Mother commits suicide after kids she kept in lockup for 10 years escape. rt.com No school, no IDs and constant CCTV surveillance. Nobody in town knew that they existed. Three kids were locked up behind the fence of a private home for a decade, as their mother tried to protect them from the \'cruel world.\'

RT (2019-11-13). 'There's no denying it, he choked': Tennis world reacts as Daniil Medvedev throws away lead to hand Rafael Nadal ATP Finals win. rt.com Russian star Daniil Medvedev is facing an early exit from the ATP Finals in London after throwing away a decisive lead in the final set of his match with world number one Rafael Nadal, prompting fans to accuse him of \'choking\'.

RT (2019-11-13). Russia to cut dollar share in National Wealth Fund in favor of yuan & other currencies. rt.com Russia wants to reduce the US dollar share in its National Wealth Fund, as it looks to invest in the Chinese yuan and other foreign currencies, Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev has announced. | \"I can say with certainty that the share of the US dollar will be smaller,\" the official told reporters on Wednesday. \"Different currencies are being considered, all the reserve ones… including the yuan.\" | While the deputy minister did not elaborate on the exact amount of the dollar cut, he said that the National Wealth Fund\'s currency structure will be similar to that of the Russian central bank\'s reserves.

RT (2019-11-13). \'NATO will be soiling its pants\': Ukrainian tycoon seen as power behind president calls for \'new Warsaw Pact\' with Moscow. rt.com A tycoon who spent millions of dollars arming anti-Russian fighters in Ukraine has emerged from the shadows to blast the Europe he once idolized. The oligarch now sees alliance with Russia as the only option for his country. | Igor Kolomoysky, the oligarch seen by many as the shadow power behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has changed his tune sharply from the days of the 2014 Maidan rebellion. | Back then he was an ally of pro-European President Petro Poroshenko, who even appointed him governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Once installed there, Kolomoysky placed a bounty on captured fighters from…

RT (2019-11-13). Medvedev melts down as Nadal storms back to win ATP Finals clash. rt.com Daniil Medvedev suffered a third-set meltdown as he lost to Rafael Nadal at the ATP Finals in London, leaving the Russian staring at an early exit from the tournament. | Medvedev was leading 5-1 in the decisive third set and had match point but threw it away as Nadal rattled off five successive games to take the match into a tie-break, which he won to claim the contest 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). | The match was a re-run of the pair\'s epic US Open final which Nadal won, although in London both went into the meeting knowing it was likely make-or-break having lost their opening group encounters, with Nadal being…

RT (2019-11-13). \'We freed ourselves of IMF & had big plans on exports\': Exiled Bolivian president Morales blasts coup & hints at US role in it. rt.com Ousted Bolivian President Evo Morales has accused the US-headquartered Organization of American States of making a political decision in backing the right-wing opposition, saying the coup continues to wreak havoc after his exile. | Speaking from Mexico a day after he fled Bolivia, Morales said: \"The OAS is in the service of the North American empire.\" | Morales said he \"could not understand\" how his military commanders could show such \"disloyalty.\" | \"That confirms that my great crime is to be indigenous. It\'s a class problem,\" he said. | The exiled president said that after freeing itself from the Internatio…

RT (2019-11-13). \'Evo, I hope your exile is short\': Roger Waters sends message of support to Bolivia\'s Morales (VIDEO). rt.com Bolivian President Evo Morales was \"ripped away from his people by greed,\" former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters said in a message of support to the exiled leader, ousted in a coup and forced to seek asylum in Mexico. | \"Evo Morales, if you see this, more power to you. I hope your exile is short, your people need you. They need a leader like you,\" Waters said in the video posted online, adding that the socialist leader had done a \"great job\" as the country\'s first indigenous leader. | \"You\'ve pulled so many of your people out of poverty and gave them a sense of dignity,\" the rock \'n\' roll legend said. | Y…

RT (2019-11-13). Pyongyang warns of retaliation against S. Korea-US military drills. rt.com Pyongyang threatened on Wednesday to retaliate if the United States goes ahead with scheduled military drills with South Korea, ramping up pressure on Washington to change course as a year-end North Korean deadline for U.S. flexibility approaches. | North Korea\'s statement came even though Washington said last week that the joint aerial exercise planned for next month would be reduced in scope from previous drills, Reuters reports. | \"It is self-defense rights\" to retaliate against any move which threatens the country\'s sovereignty and security, according to a statement from North Korea\'s State Affairs Commiss…

RT (2019-11-13). Nothing to see here: Rivers along Korean border run red with blood after massive pig cull (PHOTOS). rt.com Heavy rainfall has been blamed for the spread of vast amounts of pig\'s blood into rivers along the Korean border this week, following a cull of some 47,000 hogs amid an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF). | A local NGO claims that blood from a nearby burial site, where some 47,000 pig carcasses had been disposed of, had seeped into the Imjin River due to heavy rainfall. South Korean authorities claim that the pigs had already been disinfected before being slaughtered and that there was a delay in the production of plastic containers for the carcasses. | | © Yeoncheon Imjin River Civic Network / AFP…

Hugh Handeyside (2019-11-13). Federal Court Rules That Border Officers Can\'t Arbitrarily Search Our Electronic Devices. aclu.org In a major victory for privacy rights, a federal court | has held that the federal government\'s suspicionless searches of smartphones, laptops, | and other electronic devices at airports or other U.S. ports of entry are | unconstitutional. The ruling in our | case is a recognition that the Constitution protects us even at the border, | and that traveling to or from the United States doesn\'t mean we give the g…

Staff (2019-11-13). The Bolivian Coup Comes Down to One Precious Mineral. truthdig.com Bolivia\'s President Evo Morales was overthrown in a military coup on November 10. He is now in Mexico. Before he left office, Morales had been involved in a long project to bring economic and social democracy to his long-exploited country. It is important to recall that Bolivia has suffered a series of coups, often conducted by the military and the oligarchy on behalf of transnational mining companies. Initially, these were tin firms, but tin is no longer the main target in Bolivia. The main target is its massive deposits of lithium, crucial for the electric car. | Over the past 13 years, Morales has tried to bui…

Staff (2019-11-13). Israel Intensifies Strikes as Rockets Rain Down on Gaza. truthdig.com The death toll rises to 26 in the second day of the heaviest round of fighting in months between Israel and the Islamic Jihad.

WSWS (2019-11-13). Arizona: Second trial begins of pro-immigrant \"No More Deaths\" volunteer. wsws.org The main accusation against Warren is that he provided two undocumented migrants with food, water and a place to sleep over three days.

Norman Solomon (2019-11-13). Biden and Bloomberg Want Uncle Sam to Defer to Uncle Scrooge. counterpunch.org The extremely rich Americans who are now frantically trying to figure out how to intervene in the Democratic presidential campaign make me wonder how different they are from the animated character who loved frolicking in money and kissing dollar bills while counting them. If Uncle Scrooge existed as a billionaire in human form today, it\'s easy to picture More

the gray zone (2019-11-13). Overthrown Honduran President Zelaya interviewed. indybay.org He discusses the extreme violence, drug trafficking, economic depression, migration crisis, Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), WikiLeaks, Venezuela, and more. | Video by Ben Norton…

Peace Action of San Mateo County (2019-11-13). Questioning war within the military; resistance from Vietnam to Iraq. indybay.org Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo | 300 E. Santa Inez Avenue | San Mateo, CA 94401…

Jon Britton (2019-11-13). Letter-Writing Session for Leonard Peltier; Demand an End to the Elder Unit Lockdown! indybay.org San Jose Peace & Justice Center | 48 S Seventh St., San Jose, CA 95112…

United Nations (2019-11-13). \'No justification\' for attacks against civilians, UN envoy says on mounting cross-border violence in Gaza. un.org Following Israel\'s targeted killing of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader inside Gaza on Tuesday, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has expressed his growing concern over increasing rocket fire across the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

United Nations (2019-11-13). Iraqis paying an \'unthinkable price\' to be heard, UN envoy tells politicians in Baghdad. un.org Noting that the people of Iraq were at \"a critical juncture\", the top UN Envoy in the country told parliamentarians there on Thursday that over the past six weeks, hundreds of thousands have been peacefully voicing their \"genuine, legitimate, demands, loud and clear\".

WSWS (2019-11-13). Hong Kong protests defy police violence and mass arrests. wsws.org Escalated police attacks appear to have reinforced the popular support for the protests, setting the stage for an even-more bloody confrontation.

Leonardo Flores (2019-11-13). How the OAS and US Just Helped Overthrow Another Government. commondreams.org A supporter of former President Evo Morales hands over an indigenous flags \"wiphala\" to an anti-riot police officer during a protest in La Paz, Bolivia, on November 12, 2019. Protesters have been in the streets calling for Morales' resignation. He stepped down after the army requested he leave his post and requested political asylum from Mexico. (Photo: Marcelo Perez Del Carpio/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bolivia_coup_backed_by_us_oas.jpg …

Frederic Mousseau, Elena Teare (2019-11-13). Ukraine, the Land of Quid Pro Quos. commondreams.org A couple walks along a line of tractors blocking the parliament in Kiev on November 12, 2019, during a rally to protest against government plans to lift the moratorium on agricultural land sales, a step long awaited by investors but opposed by the Ukrainians fearing a foreign land grab. The former Soviet country, whose stalling economy has been propped up by Western aid in recent years, is home to some of the largest swathes of cultivated land in Europe. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage…

Dave Lindorff (2019-11-13). When an elected government falls in South America, as in Bolivia today, look for a US role. nationofchange.org History shows us that U.S. antipathy towards independent progressive leaders generally results in U.S.-sponsored subversion and military coups.

Ben Freeman, Ryan Summers (2019-11-13). Governments Abroad Are Shaping Our Foreign Policy in Broad Daylight. thenation.com Governments Abroad Are Shaping Our Foreign Policy in Broad Daylight…

teleSUR (2019-11-13). Trespassers Forcibly Enter Venezuelan Embassy in Brasilia. telesurenglish.net A group of trespassers forced their way into the Venezuelan Embassy in Brasilia on Wednesday, resulting in the brief disruption of diplomatic affairs. | RELATED: | Trump Threatens Venezuela And Nicaragua After Coup in Bolivia | The Deputy Minister for Europe of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela , Yván Gil, took to Twitter shortly after the incident to denounce the forcibly entry into the headquarters of the Venezuelan Embassy in Brazil by militants from the far-right…

teleSUR (2019-11-13). Bolsonaro Threatens Lula With Activating National Security Law. telesurenglish.net Brazil\'s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro decided to continue his campaign of aggression against the recently released Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and threatened Tuesday to use the National Security Law to repress possible demonstrations in favor of the former president. | RELATED: | Brazil: Lula Stands As Opposition To Bolsonaro, Right Wants Him Back In Jail | The law is designed to suppress \"insurrections,\" therefore, for Bolsonaro, any demonstration in favor of the ex-pr…

Terranium 117 (2019-11-13). From Where Rock Oil on Brazilian Beaches (Also Far to the USA?). indybay.org Places of beach oil pollutions in Brazil suggest that oil have come with the South-Equatorial Ocean Stream, even from region of the African Oil Shore. And it come from the lithospherical expansional rock cracks or widened mining drill slots. Big quantity of this sea oil may be here later the critical evidence of new phenomenon.