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2019-12-31: Social Media Postees

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France's Undocumented Migrants Are Fighting for Their Rights
Harrison Stetler | thenation.com | 2019-12-31
France's Undocumented Migrants Are Fighting for Their Rights…
thenation.com/article/france-migrants-macron-refugees/

Latin America: A Decade in Review
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-31
The period between 2010 and 2019 seems to be "the bittersweet decade" for the Latin American peoples. In its first part, the winds of economic development with social justice and equity were fueled by progressive governments that arose all over the continent as a result of the tenacity of workers, farmers, students, human rights defenders, gender activists, and environmental activists. | RELATED: | Venezuela's Maduro Gives Message of Peace in Address To Nation | In the middle of…
telesurenglish.net/news/Latin-America-A-Decade-in-Review-20191231-0009.html

Protest Against ICE in Santa Cruz
Families Belong Together, Sanctuary SC | indybay.org | 2019-12-31
The Clock Tower, intersection of Pacific Ave. & Water St., Santa Cruz, California 95060…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/28/18829290.php

US Middle East Forever Wars
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-31
Iraqis suffered from direct and indirect US aggression since Jimmy Carter's orchestrated Iran/Iraq war in the 1980s. | Eight years of bloody fighting produced stalemate. Then came GHW Bush's 1991 Gulf War on Iraq, followed by years of genocidal sanctions, Bush …
globalresearch.ca/us-middle-east-forever-wars/5699149

2019: The UN News year in photos
news.un.org | 2019-12-31
From sustainable development to economic development, and human rights to humanitarian aid, UN News provides daily coverage across all of the Organization's key issues — health, migration, climate change and so much…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054401

Israel/Palestine war crimes probe 'momentous step forward', says UN rights expert
news.un.org | 2019-12-31
An independent UN human rights expert hailed on Tuesday, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to consider a formal criminal investigation into allegations of war crimes in Palestine as a "momentous step forward in the quest for accountability" in the five-decade-long Israeli occupation.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054541

IACHR Identified 68 Thousand Twitter Accounts Created in Support of Bolivia's de Facto Government
Orinoco Tribune | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-31
The Commission (an appendage of OAS) explained that since the (forced) resignation of Evo Morales, the accounts have supported hashtags such as #BoliviaLibreyDemocratica and #NoHayGolpeEnBolivia. | *** | The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) detected, as part of the campaign to …
globalresearch.ca/iachr-identified-68-thousand-twitter-accounts-support-bolivia-de-facto-government/5699187

U.S. Sanctions: The Weaponization of the Global Financial System
Humanist Community in Silicon Valley | indybay.org | 2019-12-31
Mountain View Community Center | 201 South Rengstorff Avenue | Mountain View CA 94040…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/31/18829374.php

The US sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the danger of World War III
wsws.org | 2019-12-31
The decision by the US Congress to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline underscores the danger of world war.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/31/nord…

In 2020, Ukrainians Gain Whistleblower Rights Trump Has Forsaken Here
Michael Felsen | commondreams.org | 2019-12-31
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is surrounded by lawyers, aides, and journalists as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol October 11, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/31/2020-ukrainians-gain-whistleblower-rights-trump-has-forsaken-here?cd-origin=rss

North Korea won't stop nuclear expansion in face of US threat – but US attitude adjustment can work wonders, Kim says
rt.com | 2019-12-31
North Korea will continue building up its nuclear deterrent to counter US aggression, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said – but the degree to which it expands its weapons program will depend on the US' attitude. | Accusing the US of insincerity regarding discussions about the partial lifting of sanctions, Kim held up Washington's "gangster-like demands" as the reason no agreement had yet been reached between the two countries. | The more the US stalls for time, Kim said, the more it will find itself "helpless in the face of North Korean power." North Korea has a "new strategic weapon" up its sleeve, he wa…
rt.com/news/477238-nuclear-deterrent-north-korea/

'US is torturing Chelsea Manning': Top UN official says her treatment is 'cruel and degrading'
rt.com | 2019-12-31
Chelsea Manning is being subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, constituting torture by the US government over her refusal to testify against whistleblower website WikiLeaks, a top United Nations official has said. | UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer accused the government of torturing Manning in a November letter, which was just released on Tuesday. In the letter, Melzer wrote that Manning is suffering "an open-ended, progressively severe measure of coercion…
rt.com/usa/477228-chelsea-manning-torture-melzer/

'US is torturing Chelsea Manning': Top UN official says treatment of manning is 'cruel and degrading'
rt.com | 2019-12-31
Chelsea Manning is being subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, constituting torture by the US government over her refusal to testify against whistleblower website WikiLeaks, a top United Nations official has said. | UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer accused the government of torturing Manning in a November letter, which was just released on Tuesday. In the letter, Melzer wrote that Manning is suffering "an open-ended, progressively severe measure of coercion…
rt.com/usa/477228-chelsea-manning-torture-melzer/

UN Expert Calls Detention of Chelsea Manning 'Open-Ended, Progressively Severe, Coercive Measure Amounting to Torture'
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-31
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer shared on social media Tuesday a letter he sent to the United States government last month expressing concerns that the continued detention of whistleblower Chelsea Manning amounts to torture. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/31/un-expert-calls-detention-chelsea-manning-open-ended-progressively-severe-coercive?cd-origin=rss

UN Researcher Hails ICC's Pursuit of War Crimes Probe in Palestine as 'Momentous Step' for Accountability
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-31
A United Nations human rights researcher on Tuesday hailed the International Criminal Court's recent decision to pursue a formal investigation of alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel as a "momentous step forward in the quest for accountability." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/31/un-researcher-hails-iccs-pursuit-war-crimes-probe-palestine-momentous-step?cd-origin=rss

Rights group says 80 civilians killed in Kashmir in 2019
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-31
A local human rights group has documented 69 killings in Kashmir since the revocation of the region's special status on Aug. 5.Challenging Indian government claims that no civilian death took place in Kashmir after August, a report compiled by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) said that out of 69 killings 33 were civilians.The dead also included 20 militants and 16 security forces personnel."In October alone, 17 civilians were killed," said the report.The annual review of human rights situation released by the group in Srinagar, capital of Indian administered Kashmir on Tuesday has mentioned th…
yenisafak.com/en/world/rights-group-says-80-civilians-killed-in-kashmir-in-2019-3508619

Israeli gunfire martyrs 149 Palestinians in 2019
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-31
Israeli forces martyred 149 Palestinians during the year 2019 in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian group said Tuesday.The National Gathering of Palestinian Martyrs' Families said the martyrs include 33 children and 12 women.According to the group, the Israeli authorities continue detaining the bodies of 306 martyrs including 15 from this year.
yenisafak.com/en/world/israeli-gunfire-martyrs-149-palestinians-in-2019-3508618

Afghan refugee living in Turkey, pursuing dream of becoming doctor
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-31
An Afghan boy taken under state protection by Turkey dreams of becoming a doctor someday."Becoming a doctor is my lifelong dream. Turkey has become my second home by giving this chance to me," Ayed Mohamed Mousa said.Two years ago, the 17-year-old was detained by Turkish security forces as he attempted to cross the Turkish border to Europe.He was taken under state protection as he was a minor.Moussa recalled being born in a poor family that migrated to Iran from Afghanistan in the pursuit of a better life.Next, they wanted to cross to Turkey and onward to Europe.But things did not go as planned. Only Moussa was a…
yenisafak.com/en/news/afghan-refugee-living-in-turkey-pursuing-dream-of-becoming-doctor-3508625

50 days of coup d'état in Bolivia
Tanya Wadhwa | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-30
This is part of Peoples Dispatch's year-ender series for 2019. For the complete series, click here | December 30 marks 50 days since the civic-military coup d'état was carried out against democratically elected President Evo Morales and the installation of the dictatorship led by far-right Jeanine àÅñez. The coup regime, backed by the United States government and the Organization of American States (OAS), has been denounced by international human rights organizations and institutions for committing grave human rights violations and per…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/30/50-days-of-coup-detat-in-bolivia/

White Nationalism and Public Health
Leslie Gregory, Tom Hastings | commondreams.org | 2019-12-30
We can regain our global image as champion of human rights, which is currently undone. (Photo: 8list) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/30/white-nationalism-and-public-health?cd-origin=rss

Israel Detained 5,500 Palestinians in 2019, Including 889 Children
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-30
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested more than 5,500 Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory during 2019; among them were 889 children and at least 128 women, the Palestine News Network reported. The Palestinian Prisoners and Human Rights Institutions issued a fact sheet, on Monday, stating that the number of Palestinian …
imemc.org/article/israel-detained-5500-palestinians-in-2019-including-889-children/

Ukraine And Pro-Russian Separatists Complete Prisoner Swap
teleSUR, jg | telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-30
The Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have completed a full prisoner exchange, exchanging all remaining detainees from the five-year conflict. | RELATED: | 'Russia Rejects Deployment of Turkish Troops to Libya' Peskov | The Ukrainian presidency reported on Sunday in a facebook statement that "the mutual release o…
telesurenglish.net/news/ukraine-and-the-pro-russian-separatists-complete-prisoner-swap-20191229-0013.html

Top 20 Fight Back! articles of 2019: the struggle grows and spreads
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-28
There was a high tide of struggle on many fronts in 2019 – both in the U.S. and around the world. Within the U.S. there were large strikes of General Motors workers, Chicago teachers and others. There was a successful movement to defend public education from mega-charters in Los Angeles. There were mass protests nation-wide for immigrant rights and against the concentration camps at the U.S.-México border. And there were growing movements against police crimes and for community control of the police that came together to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression in Chicago in November.
fightbacknews.org/2019/12/28/top-20-fight-back-articles-2019-struggle-grows-and-spreads

Rally defends special education in Puerto Rico and U.S
Workers World New York bureau | workers.org | 2019-12-28
Austerity imposed on Puerto Rico's educational system by the unelected colonialist fiscal board was the target of a street rally in New York City on Dec. 14. The rally was called by the New York chapter of the Timón Committee, which works to raise awareness of special education rights — . . . | Continue reading Rally defends special education in Puerto Rico and U.S. at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/45182/

Your technology is mine! Doctor sues Apple over Apple Watch heart rate monitoring method
rt.com | 2019-12-28
The technology that an Apple Watch uses to detect heartbeat irregularities violates a patent held by a New York University cardiologist, he has alleged in a lawsuit filed against the tech giant. | Dr. Joseph Wiesel asked a federal court in Brooklyn to order Apple to pay damages, claiming the company is violating his rights "with knowledge and understanding". | According to court papers, Dr. Wiesel invented a method and device for detecting atrial fibrillation, using photoplethysmography to "assess w…
rt.com/usa/476999-doctor-sues-apple-patent/

Wikileaks Still Holding Powerful to Account as Founder Julian Assange "Slowly Dies" in Prison
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-27
Julian Assange is dying inside Belmarsh Prison in London. Those are his own words, relayed through English journalist Vaughan Smith, who revealed that the Wikileaks founder called him on Christmas Eve to share his greetings. Smith also divulged that Assange told him he is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours per day and is often sedated. | His treatment has elicited protests around the world, from journalists, news organizations, human rights groups and celebrities. Last week a group of Australian doctors asked Foreign Minister Marise Pay…
mintpressnews.com/wikileaks-publishing-state-secrets-julian-assange-slowly-dies-prison/263775/

William Barr's Police-Fueled War on Civil Rights
Joshua Clark Davis | thenation.com | 2019-12-27
The attorney general's obsession with protecting the police is a throwback to the crackdown on protesters in the 1960s.
thenation.com/article/barr-police-civil-rights/

Pro-Coup Venezuelan Soldiers Who Fled to the US Now Locked Up in ICE Detention Center
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-27
In an ironic twist worthy of an Alanis Morissette song, participants in U.S.-backed coup are now in an ICE detention camp.
mintpressnews.com/pro-coup-venezuelan-soldiers-defected-to-us-locked-ice-prisons/263764/

Pakistan blasphemy death sentence 'travesty of justice', say UN experts
news.un.org | 2019-12-27
Independent UN human rights experts condemned on Friday the death sentence of a university lecturer charged with blasphemy in Pakistan, calling the ruling "a travesty of justice".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054361

Independent UN rights experts raise alarm over 'incommunicado detention' of Chinese scholar
news.un.org | 2019-12-26
Independent United Nations human rights experts expressed apprehension on Thursday over the "incommunicado detention" of a Uyghur Muslim academic who has reportedly been sentenced to death.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054311

China detaining millions of Uyghurs? Serious problems with claims by US-backed NGO and far-right researcher 'led by God' against Beijing
Ajit Singh | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-21
Claims that China has detained millions of Uyghur Muslims are based largely on two studies. A closer look at these…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/21/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher/

Activists Demand a Migrant Justice Platform as Democratic Candidates Discuss Immigration in Debate
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-20
Protesters for immigrant rights demonstrated outside the Democratic debate Thursday in Los Angeles, displaying a banner that read "Migrant Justice on Day One" and demanding a moratorium on deportations and immigrant worker protections. We look at how the candidates responded, with Erika Andiola, chief advocacy officer for RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. "I'm really happy that immigration came up this time around," she notes. "In the past few debates, the issue didn't even come up."
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/20/democrat…

BDS movement defiant after Tories announce anti-boycott measures and threaten international solidarity
Tom Anderson | thecanary.co | 2019-12-20
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigners have responded defiantly to Tory plans to pass an anti-BDS law. | The law is a threat to any international solidarity campaign which seeks to boycott companies or products because of the state policies of another country. As such, it presents a threat to international solidarity efforts as a whole. | Boycotting Israeli apartheid: | BDS is an international movement calling for a boycott of Israeli goods. It also calls for grassroots groups to initiate boycott campaigns against companies complicit in Israel…
thecanary.co/opinion/2019/12/20/bds-movement-defiant-after-tories-announce-anti-boycott-measures-and-threaten-international-solidarity/

One appalling detail in the Queen's Speech shows voting Tory was a vote to ruin your children's future
Tracy Keeling | thecanary.co | 2019-12-20
The Queen's Speech on 19 December unveiled Boris Johnson's plans for Britain. | It confirmed that the pledge he made during the election campaign for a £10.50 living wage was, frankly, nonsense — as was the promise not to further weaken workers' rights. And i…
thecanary.co/discovery/analysis-discovery/2019/12/20/one-appalling-detail-in-the-queens-speech-shows-voting-tory-was-a-vote-to-ruin-your-childrens-future/

Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year
Leila Rafei | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories–from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead–what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/four-lawyers-four-projects-one-non-stop-year

10 LGBTQ Moments that Defined 2019
aclu.org | 2019-12-19
1. Aimee Stephens goes to the Supreme Court: | In October, the Supreme Court heard its first trans civil rights case ever. The case was brought by our client Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home solely for being transgender. That's sex discrimination and it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. | We have yet to see whether the Supreme Court will uphold the civil rights of trans people. But no matter what, history has already been made. | "I'll never forget the feeling of coming out of the Supreme Court and seeing a crowd of trans people and allies chanting to Aim…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/10-lgbtq-moments-that-defined-2019

A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing
Tarek Ismail | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/a-secret-cbp-team-is-targeting-and-detaining-innocent-travelers-were-suing

A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court
Melissa Grant | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
For 30 years, I have | worked in reproductive health care. In my current role as Chief Operating | Officer of carafem, a nonprofit with a national network of health centers, I | know the difference compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health care | makes in the lives of our clients. I have witnessed the personal impact when | people who have the legal right to have a child or to have an abortion are denied | those rights due to outrageous societal barriers. Abortion providers are used | to opposition, but we've never experienced the kind of explicit targeting we | received from politicians in the city…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/a-tennessee-city-banned-surgical-abortion-within-the-city-limits-were-taking-them-to-court

For Many of the World's Children, Education Proves Elusive
Elin Martinez | progressive.org | 2019-12-17
Especially in countries with widespread human rights abuses, kids–especially girls–don't get the chance to go to school.
progressive.org/dispatches/for-many-children-education-proves-elusive-martinez-van-esveld-191217/

UN Counters US Claims Of "Proof" Iran Attacked Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu Impunity & Turkey Sanctions
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-13
Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/12/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/daily-wrap-up/un-counters-us-claims-of-proof-iran-attacked-saudi-arabia-netanyahu-impunity-turkey-sanctions/

Perth Pride: LGBTI community challenges corporatisation
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-12-12
LGBTIQ rights Petrina HarleyIssue 1248 Australia Rainbow Rebellion PerthDecember 12, 2019Perth Pride assembled its biggest parade to date on November 30, with 115 floats. But many in the LGBTIQ comm…
greenleft.org.au/content/perth-pride-lgbti-community-challenges-corporatisation

The Fight Inside the NLRB for Union Rights
Michelle Chen | progressive.org | 2019-12-11
The NLRB unions argue that a recent set of executive orders from the board prevent them from undertaking basic union functions.
progressive.org/dispatches/trump-efforts-target-board-oversees-unions-chen-191211/

Aboriginal leader Sam Watson's farewell draws big numbers
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-12-10
Aboriginal rights Jim McIlroyIssue 1248 Australia BrisbaneDecember 11, 2019More than 1000 people attended the funeral for Wangerriburra and Birri Gubba leader Sam Watson in Musgrave Park on December 6. | Watson passed away on November 26, just two weeks after his 67t…
greenleft.org.au/content/aboriginal-leader-sam-watsons-farewell-draws-big-numbers

US Claims "Fresh Intelligence" Of Iran Attacks Yet Provides Zero Evidence — MSM Blindly Regurgitates
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-07
Here we go again with "fresh intelligence" to justify the continued sanctions and destabilization of Iran. It's a plan that has been well documented even by their own writings (See Which Path to Persia? — 2009). Of course, complicating U.S. foreign policy is the involvement of Israel. The Last American Vagabond covers the latest political posturing, distortion, and general …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/tdwu-clips/us-claims-fresh-intelligence-iran-attacks-yet-provides-zero-evidence-msm-blindly-regurgitates/

Anti-Imperialism As An Intellectual Trap
Mina Khanlarzadeh | zcomm.org | 2019-12-06
The US-led economic sanctions have caused a great deal of death and destruction in Iranian society, and the IMF policies in Iran, similar to other developing countries, have resulted in a widening of the class gap, poverty, severe marginalization of the peripheries, and a lowering of living standards. Yet, the US sanctions together with IMF Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/anti-imperialisms-creation-of-the-complex-west-and-the-similar-rest/

Last Process: 50 Postees: 2020-01-01 04:26 GMT (23:26 EST)

2019-12-30: News Headlines

Alan MacLeod (2019-12-30). Pro-Coup Venezuelan Soldiers Who Fled to the US Now Locked Up in ICE Immigration Detention Center. globalresearch.ca The Venezuelan soldiers who participated in the U.S.-backed coup attempt in April of this year and subsequently fled to the U.S. have been incarcerated in ICE detention camps ever since. Telemundo, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, secured an interview …

Families Belong Together, Sanctuary SC (2019-12-30). Protest Against ICE in Santa Cruz. indybay.org The Clock Tower, intersection of Pacific Ave. & Water St., Santa Cruz, California 95060…

Staff (2019-12-30). Women Farmworkers Fight to Secure Their Rights and End Sexual Harassment. truthout.org Editor's Note: For this article, New Labor Forum's Working-Class Voices columnist Kressent Pottenger interviewed three women who are members of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas ("Alianza de Campesinas"), the first national women's farmworker organization in the United States created by current and former women farmworkers, along with women who hail from farmworker families. Dolores Bustamante is both a farmworker and a board member of the organization, Elvira Carvajal is co-founder and board presid…

teleSUR, jg (2019-12-30). Ukraine And Pro-Russian Separatists Complete Prisoner Swap. telesurenglish.net The Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have completed a full prisoner exchange, exchanging all remaining detainees from the five-year conflict. | RELATED: | 'Russia Rejects Deployment of Turkish Troops to Libya' Peskov | The Ukrainian presidency reported on Sunday in a facebook statement that "the mutual release o…

RT (2019-12-30). 'Flow of global capital impossible to stop': Foreign investments in Russia expected to jump 70% this year despite sanctions. rt.com European companies have been investing in the Russian economy in ever-increasing numbers, says Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). | According to Dmitriev, EU states played a significant role in driving overall foreign investment into Russia, which has also increased significantly during the year. | "At the start of this year, I forecasted that foreign direct investments [FDI] to Russia would increase by over 50 percent [in 2019]; many raised questions about this figure‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã. Now we see that by the end of this year FDI wi…

RT (2019-12-30). More nuclear energy for Turkey as Russia starts work on 2nd power unit for Akkuyu plant. rt.com The construction of a new power unit at the Russian-built Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) in Turkey, the first of its kind in the country, is set to start in the first quarter of 2020. | "Works at the site have already begun… We may hold an official concrete pouring ceremony by March," Alexey Likhachev, director general of Russian nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, told journalists on Monday. | Also on rt.com | | Turkey vows to retaliate if US imposes sanctions on Russian gas pipeline | Pouring concrete at such sites usually mar…

RT (2019-12-30). Allseas has other jobs lined up for its ships after leaving Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline unfinished. rt.com Maritime construction firm Allseas has no plans to resume work on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The Swiss-Dutch company bailed on the Russian energy project in fear of facing possible US sanctions. | The company suspended work on the underwater pipeline on December 21, shortly after US President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2020 fiscal year. The law envisions sanctions against companies involved in the construction of two major Russian gas pipelines, Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream. Firms are given 30 days to quit the projects or face US penalties. | Also on rt.com | | <...

RT (2019-12-30). UNSC members meet for further discussion of Russia, China's proposal to lift N. Korea sanctions. rt.com UN Security Council members are due to meet informally on Monday for a second round of negotiations on a proposal by Russia and China to lift sanctions on North Korea, Reuters reports. | China and Russia are convening negotiations one day before the deadline set by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the US to show flexibility in stalled talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. | A top White House official said on Sunday that Washington would be very disappointed if North Korea tested a long-range or nuclear missile. | Pyongyang has been under UN sanctions since 2006. Russia and China proposed a draft U…

RT (2019-12-30). New Year holidays TERRORIST ATTACK in St. Petersburg averted after US tip-off: FSB releases VIDEO of suspects' arrest. rt.com The FSB released footage showing two terrorist suspects being detained by operatives in St. Petersburg. The pair have been plotting high-profile attacks over the New Year holidays in Russia's second-largest city. | The video, made public by the security service this Monday, shows an entry team surrounding and handcuffing one of the men — said to be a Russian citizen — in the stairwell of a multi-story building. The camera then jumps to the moment his flat was thoroughly searched, uncovering a cache of shotgun cartridges, combat knives, and electric wires. | His accomplice, also a Russian national,…

Manlio Dinucci (2019-12-30). US Strategy and What the Gas Pipeline War Is Costing Us. globalresearch.ca Heavy sanctions on the companies participating in the construction of North Stream 2, the pipeline which delivers Russian gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The main victims were the European companies which had helped finance the $11 billion project with the Russia's Gazprom.

yenisafak (2019-12-30). Israel arrests over 5,500 Palestinians in 2019. yenisafak.com Israeli authorities arrested more than 5,500 Palestinians during 2019, including 889 children and 128 women, several Palestinian advocacy groups announced Monday.The figures were released through a statement issued on Monday by a number of Palestinian prisoners' affairs groups including the Palestinian Prisoners Society.Israeli forces arrest Palestinians on a nearly daily basis, with some released after short investigations and others referred to Israeli courts.According to the statement, detainees currently languishing in prison have reached 5,000, including 50 women and 200 child, while the number of detainees…

teleSUR (2019-12-29). Turkey Transfers Syrian Rebels to Libya for Tripoli Battle. telesurenglish.net Turkey is transferring Syrian rebel fighters to Libya to protect the capital city of Tripoli from the forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. | The report, which claims fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army are deploying to Libya, was later corroborated by several publications, including the Syrian Observation for Human Rights and the Middle East Eye. | Citing a senior Turkish official, the Bloomberg report alleges that these rebel fighters are being tasked with defending Tripoli, while also coordinating with the forces loyal to Prime Minister Fayez Al-…

Saed Bannoura (2019-12-29). Not A Merry Christmas For Christian Detainees In Israeli Prisons. imemc.org At the house of Palestinian political prisoner, Samer al-Arabid, in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, you can find no Christmas tree, no celebration and no joy to the world. After all, he is facing a serious health condition after being severely and continuously tortured by Israel. Samer comes …

IMEMC News & Agencies (2019-12-29). Detainees Recount Stories of Abuse in Israeli Detention. imemc.org Palestinian detainees who were recently taken into custody by Israeli authorities have reportedly been subjected to various forms of maltreatment, including physical abuse and beatings, according to the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS). PPS said that prisoner Mutasem Anwar Sheikha, who was recently detained by Israeli police in Jerusalem, was brutally …

Workers World New York bureau (2019-12-28). Rally defends special education in Puerto Rico and U.S. workers.org Austerity imposed on Puerto Rico ¥s educational system by the unelected colonialist fiscal board was the target of a street rally in New York City on Dec. 14. The rally was called by the New York chapter of the Timón Committee, which works to raise awareness of special education rights — . . . | Continue reading Rally defends special education in Puerto Rico and U.S. at Workers.org

Fight Back (2019-12-28). Top 20 Fight Back! articles of 2019: the struggle grows and spreads. fightbacknews.org There was a high tide of struggle on many fronts in 2019 – both in the U.S. and around the world. Within the U.S. there were large strikes of General Motors workers, Chicago teachers and others. There was a successful movement to defend public education from mega-charters in Los Angeles. There were mass protests nation-wide for immigrant rights and against the concentration camps at the U.S.-México border. And there were growing movements against police crimes and for community control of the police that came together to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression in Chicago in November.

teleSUR (2019-12-28). Chile: 6 Military Police Detained for Sexual Abuse in Protests. telesurenglish.net The 10th Guarantees Court of Santiago Friday issued preventive detention for six Military police accused of torturing and sexually abusing a young man during the curfew that President Sebastian Piñera ordered during the first days of the social outbreak in Chile. | RELATED: | Chile: Piñera Signs Decree Calling Constitutional Referendum | The six members o…

RT (2019-12-28). Your technology is mine! Doctor sues Apple over Apple Watch heart rate monitoring method. rt.com The technology that an Apple Watch uses to detect heartbeat irregularities violates a patent held by a New York University cardiologist, he has alleged in a lawsuit filed against the tech giant. | Dr. Joseph Wiesel asked a federal court in Brooklyn to order Apple to pay damages, claiming the company is violating his rights "with knowledge and understanding". | According to court papers, Dr. Wiesel invented a method and device for detecting atrial fibrillation, using photoplethysmography to "assess w…

Joshua Clark Davis (2019-12-27). William Barr's Police-Fueled War on Civil Rights. thenation.com The attorney general's obsession with protecting the police is a throwback to the crackdown on protesters in the 1960s.

Alan Macleod (2019-12-27). Pro-Coup Venezuelan Soldiers Who Fled to the US Now Locked Up in ICE Detention Center. mintpressnews.com In an ironic twist worthy of an Alanis Morissette song, participants in U.S.-backed coup are now in an ICE detention camp.

Alan Macleod (2019-12-27). Wikileaks Still Holding Powerful to Account as Founder Julian Assange "Slowly Dies" in Prison. mintpressnews.com Julian Assange is dying inside Belmarsh Prison in London. Those are his own words, relayed through English journalist Vaughan Smith, who revealed that the Wikileaks founder called him on Christmas Eve to share his greetings. Smith also divulged that Assange told him he is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours per day and is often sedated. | His treatment has elicited protests around the world, from journalists, news organizations, human rights groups and celebrities. Last week a group of Australian doctors asked Foreign Minister Marise Pay…

news.un (2019-12-27). Pakistan blasphemy death sentence 'travesty of justice', say UN experts. news.un.org Independent UN human rights experts condemned on Friday the death sentence of a university lecturer charged with blasphemy in Pakistan, calling the ruling "a travesty of justice".

Ariel Gold (2019-12-27). The Fascinating History and Political Lives of Jews in Iran. counterpunch.org On December 14, 2019, a white male entered the Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills, vandalizing the sanctuary. He unrolled Torah scrolls, strewed them across the floor, and tore prayer books. Four days later, police arrested 24-year-old Anton Nathaniel Redding of Millersville, Pennsylvania, and charged him with vandalism of religious property, commercial burglary, and committing a More

news.un (2019-12-26). Independent UN rights experts raise alarm over 'incommunicado detention' of Chinese scholar. news.un.org Independent United Nations human rights experts expressed apprehension on Thursday over the "incommunicado detention" of a Uyghur Muslim academic who has reportedly been sentenced to death.

Staff (2019-12-24). Headlines for December 24, 2019. democracynow.org House Could Bring Additional Articles of Impeachment Against Trump, Boeing Fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg over 737 MAX Jet Controversy, NYT: Pentagon May Withdraw U.S. Troops from West Africa, Syria: Up to 100,000 Civilians Forced to Flee Intensification of Fighting in Idlib, Asian Leaders Urge U.S. & North Korea to Move Toward Peace, Report: Canadian Police Were Prepared to Use Lethal Force Against Indigenous Land Defenders, Trump Met with Accused War Criminal Eddie Gallagher, Nigerian Man Dies in ICE Custody in Maryland, Colorado Governor Pardons Woman Who Took Sanctuary to Fight Her Deportation, Former Black Pant…

Makasi Motema (2019-12-23). Sanctions: A new generation of warfare. workers.org Below is a slightly edited version of a talk by Makasi Motema given at a Dec. 19 Workers World Party meeting in New York City. In the winter of 1941, the people of Leningrad survived on 125 grams of bread per day. Half of that bread was made of sawdust. . . . | Continue reading Sanctions: A new generation of warfare at Workers.org

Fight Back (2019-12-23). Behind the U.S. anti-China campaign. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Dec. 18 article from Workers World. | In order to evaluate the claims of massive human rights violations of the Uyghurs, an ethnic and religious minority in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, it is important to know a few facts. | | Xinjiang Province in the far western region of China is an arid, mountainous and still largely underdeveloped region. Xinjiang has significant oil and mineral reserves and is currently China's largest natural-gas-producing region. | It is home to a number of diverse ethnic groups, including Turkic-speaking Muslim Uygh…

Karin Leukefeld (2019-12-23). Another kind of war: Unilateral economic sanctions damage Syria. workers.org First published in the German daily newspaper Junge Welt on Dec. 16. Translation by John Catalinotto. At the beginning of December, the Conference of Germany's State Interior Ministers extended the ban on deportations to Syria without restrictions until at least June 2020. Originally, the interior ministers at their autumn meeting . . . | Continue reading Another kind of war: Unilateral economic sanctions damage Syria at Workers.org

Binoy Kampmark (2019-12-21). Medical Opinion, Torture, and Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org On November 27 this year, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, delivered an address to the German Bundestag outlining his approach to understanding the mental health of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These comprised two parts, the initial stage covering his diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy, the second dealing with his formal detention in …

Ajit Singh (2019-12-21). China detaining millions of Uyghurs? Serious problems with claims by US-backed NGO and far-right researcher 'led by God' against Beijing. thegrayzone.com Claims that China has detained millions of Uyghur Muslims are based largely on two studies. A closer look at these…

Staff (2019-12-20). Activists Demand a Migrant Justice Platform as Democratic Candidates Discuss Immigration in Debate. democracynow.org Protesters for immigrant rights demonstrated outside the Democratic debate Thursday in Los Angeles, displaying a banner that read "Migrant Justice on Day One" and demanding a moratorium on deportations and immigrant worker protections. We look at how the candidates responded, with Erika Andiola, chief advocacy officer for RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. "I'm really happy that immigration came up this time around," she notes. "In the past few debates, the issue didn't even come up."

Alan Macleod (2019-12-20). Media, Human Rights Groups Silent Over Politically-Motivated Murder of Journalist in Bolivia. mintpressnews.com Sebastian Moro's last known words before he was found were denouncing the kidnappings of government officials and mob attacks on journalists and media outlets.

Tracy Keeling (2019-12-20). One appalling detail in the Queen's Speech shows voting Tory was a vote to ruin your children's future. thecanary.co The Queen's Speech on 19 December unveiled Boris Johnson's plans for Britain. | It confirmed that the pledge he made during the election campaign for a £10.50 living wage was, frankly, nonsense — as was the promise not to further weaken workers' rights. And i…

Tom Anderson (2019-12-20). BDS movement defiant after Tories announce anti-boycott measures and threaten international solidarity. thecanary.co Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigners have responded defiantly to Tory plans to pass an anti-BDS law. | The law is a threat to any international solidarity campaign which seeks to boycott companies or products because of the state policies of another country. As such, it presents a threat to international solidarity efforts as a whole. | Boycotting Israeli apartheid: | BDS is an international movement calling for a boycott of Israeli goods. It also calls for grassroots groups to initiate boycott campaigns against companies complicit in Israel…

ACLU (2019-12-20). Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year. aclu.org It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories—from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead—what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…

ACLU (2019-12-19). 10 LGBTQ Moments that Defined 2019. aclu.org 1. Aimee Stephens goes to the Supreme Court: | In October, the Supreme Court heard its first trans civil rights case ever. The case was brought by our client Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home solely for being transgender. That's sex discrimination and it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. , | We have yet to see whether the Supreme Court will uphold the civil rights of trans people. But no matter what, history has already been made. , | "I'll never forget the feeling of coming out of the Supreme Court and seeing a crowd of trans people and allies chanting to…

Staff (2019-12-18). Activists Cheer Approval of Driver's Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants in New York, New Jersey. democracynow.org People in New York and New Jersey are celebrating two victories for immigrants' rights. In New York, thousands of undocumented people waited in line for hours at Departments of Motor Vehicles on Monday to apply for a driver's license, as the "Green Light Law" went into effect six months after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it. The law allows undocumented people to apply for a driver's license using alternative forms of identification instead of providing a Social Security Number. Meanwhile, in the neighboring state of New Jersey, state lawmakers also passed a bill Monday to allow undocumented people to app…

Tarek Ismail (2019-12-18). A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing. aclu.org U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…

Melissa Grant (2019-12-18). A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court. aclu.org For 30 years, I have | worked in reproductive health care. In my current role as Chief Operating | Officer of carafem, a nonprofit with a national network of health centers, I | know the difference compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health care | makes in the lives of our clients. I have witnessed the personal impact when | people who have the legal right to have a child or to have an abortion are denied | those rights due to outrageous societal barriers. Abortion providers are used | to opposition, but we've never experienced the kind of explicit targeting we | received from politicians in the city…

Staff (2019-12-17). Democratic Candidates Focus on Public Education at Historic Forum with Civil Rights & Labor Groups. democracynow.org Ahead of the last Democratic presidential debate of the year this Thursday, seven candidates appeared Saturday at the historic Democratic Presidential Forum on Public Education in Pittsburgh, an event organized by public education organizations, unions, civil rights organizations and community groups. We play highlights from the forum and get response from Keron Blair, director of the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools in Atlanta; Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance; and Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education Action. She recently authored a report titled "S…

Elin Martinez (2019-12-17). For Many of the World's Children, Education Proves Elusive. progressive.org Especially in countries with widespread human rights abuses, kids—especially girls—don't get the chance to go to school.

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-13). UN Counters US Claims Of "Proof" Iran Attacked Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu Impunity & Turkey Sanctions. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/12/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

pip.hinman (2019-12-12). Perth Pride: LGBTI community challenges corporatisation. greenleft.org.au LGBTIQ rights Petrina HarleyIssue 1248 Australia Rainbow Rebellion PerthDecember 12, 2019Perth Pride assembled its biggest parade to date on November 30, with 115 floats. But many in the LGBTIQ comm…

Michelle Chen (2019-12-11). The Fight Inside the NLRB for Union Rights. progressive.org The NLRB unions argue that a recent set of executive orders from the board prevent them from undertaking basic union functions.

pip.hinman (2019-12-10). Aboriginal leader Sam Watson's farewell draws big numbers. greenleft.org.au Aboriginal rights Jim McIlroyIssue 1248 Australia BrisbaneDecember 11, 2019More than 1000 people attended the funeral for Wangerriburra and Birri Gubba leader Sam Watson in Musgrave Park on December 6. | Watson passed away on November 26, just two weeks after his 67t…

Martin Fleck (2019-12-09). On Human Rights Day, Let's Abolish Nuclear Weapons. progressive.org A nuclear war would create one of the worst humanitarian crises imaginable, one for which no nation would have an adequate emergency or health response.

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-07). US Claims "Fresh Intelligence" Of Iran Attacks Yet Provides Zero Evidence — MSM Blindly Regurgitates. thelastamericanvagabond.com Here we go again with "fresh intelligence" to justify the continued sanctions and destabilization of Iran. It's a plan that has been well documented even by their own writings (See Which Path to Persia? — 2009). Of course, complicating U.S. foreign policy is the involvement of Israel. The Last American Vagabond covers the latest political posturing, distortion, and general …

Mina Khanlarzadeh (2019-12-06). Anti-Imperialism As An Intellectual Trap. zcomm.org The US-led economic sanctions have caused a great deal of death and destruction in Iranian society, and the IMF policies in Iran, similar to other developing countries, have resulted in a widening of the class gap, poverty, severe marginalization of the peripheries, and a lowering of living standards. Yet, the US sanctions together with IMF Read more…

pip.hinman (2019-12-05). Rights for workers means no going soft on Hansonism. greenleft.org.au union rights Sam WainwrightIssue 1248 Australia Ensuring Integrity Bill ACTUDecember 5, 2019Supporters of workers' rights breathed a big sigh of relief when the Coalition's union-busting Fair Work (…

Lucas Koerner (2019-12-04). TIAR Countries Blacklist Top Venezuelan Officials as US Slaps New Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Venezuela of "hijacking" mass anti-neoliberal protests in "our own backyard."

Last Process: 50 Citations: 2019-12-30 20:04 GMT (15:05 EST)

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