(2019-12-20). Medical observers blocked from attending Assange hearing. wsws.org Dr. David Morgan and Dr. Marco Chiesa are among the more than 100 doctors from around the world who have issued three open letters to the UK and Australian governments protesting Assange's brutal persecution.
(2019-12-20). Memorial to Remember Those Who Died on Our Streets. indybay.org Outside the Downtown Post Office at Front and Water Streets in Santa Cruz…
(2019-12-20). Amid Citizenship Law Outcry, Indian Authorities Ban Protests. truthdig.com 
NEW DELHI — Police banned public gatherings in parts of the Indian capital and other cities for a third day Friday and cut internet services to try to stop growing protests against a new citizenship law that have left 11 people dead and more than 4,000 others detained. | Thousands of protesters stood inside and on the steps of New Delhi's Jama Masijd, one of India's largest mosques, after Friday afternoon prayers, waving Indian flags and shouting slogans against the government and the citizenship law, which critics say threatens India's secular democracy in favor of a Hindu state. | Police had banned a prop…
(2019-12-20). Spreading Official Lies. zcomm.org The Washing Post has a history of facilitating official spin for the war…
(2019-12-20). Israel Bombs Gaza, 2020 NDAA's Israel Focus, Iran Excuse Now In Afghanistan & West Bank Take Over. 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 (12/19/19). 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 …
(2019-12-20). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Doctors in Zimbabwe are continuing their walkout in the face of intensifying repression while 1,200 German Amazon workers protested low pay by staging a walkout.
(2019-12-20). Christmas tree app updates tradition in Estonia. yenisafak.com Estonians have always headed to the forests in their thousands to cut down Christmas trees, but these days they will probably have a smartphone in their hands.The state forestry company of Estonia, a country where almost all government services are available online, has launched a mobile application which allows people to search for their trees and pay for them."It is a nice feeling to bring your own tree from the forest," said Katrin Sagur, who went with her husband and kids this week to pick out a Christmas tree using the app.
(2019-12-20). Hawaiian protestors stay firm at Mauna Kea. peoplesdispatch.org Barely hours after announcing that the law enforcement personnel at the Mauna Kea protest site shall be withdrawn, on December 19, Hawaii's governor David Ige has given an ultimatum to protesters to disperse. Protesters have decried the ultimatum, stating that the announcement that the police will stand down was not done in the earnest but was an attempt to clear the protests. These protests are against the construction of a large astronomical observatory project that was proposed at the summit of Mauna Kea. The indigenous inhabitants of the island state have opposed the telescope over what they consider to be a…
(2019-12-20). 2020 California Urban Homestead Act. indybay.org Honorable William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. first began California Urban Agriculture at his Yerba Buena Garden, today a robust California public policy is needed for our 333 billion dollar, 1.5 million job "California Working Landscape" and Nationwide.
(2019-12-20). Trump's Judaism Order Has Nothing to Do With Fighting Anti-Semitism. counterpunch.org The Trump administration says it's anti-Semitic to criticize Israel. That's the gist of a recent executive order that would treat campus calls to boycott Israel over its treatment of Palestinians as anti-Semitic discrimination on the basis of "national origin." Days after the order, the synagogue I most often attend here in Washington, D.C. became another More
(2019-12-20). Top Criminal Court to conduct official probe into alleged war crimes in Palestine. news.un.org Following a "thorough, independent and objective assessment", the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Friday that she plans to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestine, but asked the Court for a further ruling over territorial jurisdiction.
(2019-12-20). A Leader of Grossly Immoral Character: The Chosen One Gets Unchosen. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/further/new_jesus_trump_tease_pray_4325578-1024×538.jpg …
(2019-12-20). Winter Shelter Demands for Law Enforcement. indybay.org These flyers are being distributed to encourage the community to contact police and politicians and demand a sane, compassionate and lawful winter policy regarding those outside in public places. They include a Sentinel opinion piece exposing criminal inaction regarding Winter Shelter by the Santa Cruz City Council…
(2019-12-20). The Real Lesson of Afghanistan Is That Regime Change Does Not Work. dissidentvoice.org The trove of U.S. "Lessons Learned" documents on Afghanistan published by the Washington Post portrays, in excruciating detail, the anatomy of a failed policy, scandalously hidden from the public for 18 years. The "Lessons Learned" papers, however, are based on the premise that the U.S. and its allies will keep intervening militarily in other countries, …
(2019-12-20). Trial and Error: Pelosi's Foolish Impeachment Ploy. counterpunch.org To the extent that the third presidential impeachment in US history is a "victory" — the public jury is still out on that question and likely to remain so for some time — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) seems determined to snatch defeat from its jaws. In a press conference following the House's vote to More
(2019-12-20). "The Shooters Are Coming!" zcomm.org War on Terror, War on Education…
(2019-12-20). Starliner blues: NASA blames 'timing error' for Boeing spaceship missing mark in orbit. rt.com 
The test flight of Boeing's Starliner to the International Space Station was supposed to be a major step in the triumphant US return to crewed orbital spaceflight. Then something went wrong. | The CST-100 Starliner lifted off atop an updated Atlas V booster rocket on Friday morning, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and executives from Boeing and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) were in attendance. | @NASAKennedy, we're now looking forward to the arrival of @BoeingSpace's (2019-12-20). Amid Impeachment Furor, GOP 'Hijacking' of Courts Continues as McConnell Rams Through 12 More Lifetime Trump Judges. commondreams.org "Trump's hijacking of our judiciary will be his most enduring legacy, and it will continue to threaten everything progressives care about long after he leaves office." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/mitch_mcconnell_2.jpg …
(2019-12-20). The Hill Can't Stop Spreading Misinformation About Trump's Impeachment. commondreams.org As has been the case throughout his presidency, The Hill tends to take everything Trump and his allies say at face value, sharing their statements repeatedly without indicating whether they're actually true. (Photo: Ceci Freed / Media Matters | Gage Skidmore via Creative Commons) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2019-12-20_at_11.41.42_am.png …
(2019-12-20). Tight tanks! Belgian soldiers too tall to drive military's APCs after €31mn upgrade. rt.com 
The Belgian military decided to upgrade its fleet of Pandur APCs with new bomb-proof armor and air conditioning; The only problem is, now about 85 percent of its troops can't fit in it. | Belgium is reportedly spending €31 million ($34.4mn) on a safety upgrade for its fleet of 44 Pandur Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) according to Belgian media citing Ministry of Defense documents. The vehicles are to be used as reconnaissance units or as a medevacs, and were b…
(2019-12-20). Bogota police violently ends peaceful salute to global protests movements. colombiareports.com 
Bogota's police continued to violently repress peaceful protests in Colombia's capital on Thursday despite pending lawsuits and ongoing calls to end apparently systematic human rights abuses. At least one student…
(2019-12-20). How to Save the World from Financialization. therealnews.com 
Labour Party advisor and author Grace Blakeley discusses her just released book, Stolen: How to Save the world from Financialization.
(2019-12-20). If You See Something, Say Something. counterpunch.org I crossed a wooden footbridge, holding my younger grandson in my left arm. My right hand held the hand of my older grandson. Suddenly the bridge shifted. Planks broke, jutting up, down, creating gaps. Balance gone, I fell against the few planks that remained intact, managing to keep the baby close to my side, yet More
(2019-12-20). Why did Canada's Conservatives rush to dump leader Andrew Scheer? wsws.org Like its counterparts in New York, London, and Berlin, the Canadian bourgeoisie is seized by the need to aggressively assert its interests against its capitalist rivals and to swell the profits squeezed from the working class.
(2019-12-20). Panama: A Grieving People Recalls 30 Years of the US Invasion. telesurenglish.net For the first time over the last 30 years, Panamanian authorities agreed to declare "National Day of Mourning" on December 20, which is the date on which the United States invaded Panama in 1989.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã | RELATED: | A Brief History of the US Interference in the Caribbean Basin | "The government acknowledges declaring December 20 as a day of national mourning to honor Panamanians and all the innocent…
(2019-12-20). Trump's Executive Order Targets Federal Funding to Universities in Suppression of Speech on Palestinian Rights. imemc.org (photo: A classroom in Gaza destroyed in Israel's 2014 attacks. Credit:…
(2019-12-20). Democrats Invoke Russiagate to Advance Bill Lobbied for by Big Oil. therealnews.com 
Two bills that would allow the United States to expand its fossil fuel infrastructure in the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries have advanced to the the Senate—and Democrats backing them have invoked "Russiagate" to push them through.
(2019-12-20). The Positive Dialectics of Four Hills and RevolutionZ (With No Apologies to Adorno). zcomm.org Little Big Man. I can't remember the book (Thomas Berger) exactly but I kind of remember the movie. Near the end Old Lodge Skins (Chief Dan George) goes out, perhaps to the top of a hill…let's just say that…and he takes Little Big Man (Dustin Hoffman) with him. He lies down, and to cut a Read more…
(2019-12-20). Russia & Ukraine sign 'protocol of agreement' for gas transit to Europe – Gazprom. rt.com 
After months of tense negotiations and years of legal battles, Moscow and Kiev have made an agreement on extension to the current gas transit agreement, which expires on December 31. | "Russia and Ukraine have signed a protocol on agreements on continuing gas transit as well as on settling reciprocal claims," a spokesperson of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, told journalists without providing any details of the document. | Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission have reached the "final agreement" on all the "principled positions" related to the gas transit and the settlement of reciprocal claims, the Ukrain…
(2019-12-20). The Forgotten Past Will Always be Repeated. counterpunch.org "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." So said George Santayana. It is difficult today to look at many, many situations in the world and not see some of the worst events in history being repeated, especially as they relate to racism and genocide. Has the world forgotten Nazi atrocities against Jews, Gypsies, intellectuals and More
(2019-12-20). Boeing Capsule Launches to Wrong Orbit, Skips Space Station. truthdig.com 
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing's new Starliner capsule ended up in the wrong orbit after lifting off on its first test flight Friday, a blow to the company's effort to launch astronauts for NASA next year. | As the company scrambled to understand what happened, NASA canceled the Starliner's docking with the International Space Station, instead focusing on a hastier than planned return to Earth. The Starliner could parachute into its landing site in the New Mexico desert as early as Sunday. | Officials stressed the capsule was stable and safe, and that had astronauts been aboard, they would have been in no da…
(2019-12-20). Warren and Sanders Take on Buttigieg Over Big Donors: 'Billionaires in Wine Caves Should Not Pick the Next President'. commondreams.org While Warren arguably had the line of the night, the Vermont senator slammed the "real competition going on" between Biden and Buttigieg over who has the most billionaire supporters. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/warren_pete.jpg …
(2019-12-20). Hard truth to spit out: Yang tells Dems to stop obsessing over impeachment & deal with issues that helped Trump get elected. rt.com 
Breaking away from his Democratic peers, Andrew Yang called on the party to get over impeachment and stop pretending like President Donald Trump or Russia — not their own policy failures — caused their 2016 election loss. | In his opening remarks at the last Democratic presidential debate of the year on Thursday, Yang attempted to give his colleagues, still gloating over Trump's impeachment in the House, a rare reality check, urging them to stop putting all their eggs in a basket that nobody cares about in the first place. | "We have to stop being obsessed over impeachment, which unfortunately stri…
(2019-12-20). As Democratic Field Gets Whiter, DNC Should "Press Pause" & Fix Process Shutting Out People of Color. democracynow.org 
Within a day of President Trump's impeachment, the Democratic presidential candidates held their final debate of the year at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. On the stage were Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, along with Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden, billionaire Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang. Amna Nawaz, the first Pakistani American and first Muslim American to moderate a presidential primary debate, questioned Yang about being the only nonwhite candidate on the stage. We get response from Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers'
(2019-12-20). At the Wende, 'Medea Insurrection: Radical Women Artists Behind the Iron Curtain'. peoplesworld.org 
CULVER CITY, Calif.—The extraordinarily vital and creative Wende Museum of the Cold War is currently commemorating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (1961-89), with a magnificent exhibition, Medea Insurrection: Radical Women Artists Behind the Iron Curtain. The show originated at the Albertinum (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden—the State Art Collection of Dresden), curated …
(2019-12-20). 2019 Sacramento Kwanzaa Pan African Unity. indybay.org Rancho Cordova Library Community Room | Sacramento, California…
(2019-12-20). The Real Reasons Tulsi Gabbard Did Not Vote to Impeach Donald Trump. mintpressnews.com Gabbard's decision had much more to do with a desire to censure Trump over his real crimes: carrying out wars without congressional approval, illegally "occupying and pillaging" Syria, " and continuing to support Saudi Arabia's "genocidal war" in Yemen.
(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…
(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."
(2019-12-20). British prosecutors charge US diplomat's wife over fatal car crash — report. rt.com 
UK prosecutors have charged Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat, with causing death by dangerous driving after a car crash in central England in August in which a teenager died, PA media quoted a spokesman for his family as saying on Friday. | Harry Dunn, 19, died after his motorcycle collided with a car driven by Sacoolas near RAF Croughton, an air force base in Northamptonshire used by the US military. | She was given diplomatic immunity and left Britain shortly after the accident. British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab appealed to Anne Sacoolas on December 17 to "do the right thing" and return to the UK…
(2019-12-20). Iraq frees 2,700 protesters as deadlock over prime minister's post continues. peoplesdispatch.org In the absence of a consensus, the deadline for proposing a name for the next prime minister has been postponed to December 22. More than 496 people have been killed and more than 25,000 injured since the protests in Iraq began on October 1…
(2019-12-20). The Real Lesson of Afghanistan? Regime Change Does Not Work. mintpressnews.com 
The debacle in Afghanistan is only one case in a fundamentally flawed U.S. policy with worldwide consequences. New quasi-governments installed by U.S. "regime change" in country after country have proven more corrupt, less legitimate and less able to control their nation's territory than the ones the U.S. has destroyed.
(2019-12-20). Stalinator will be back: Soviet dictator posing as iconic Schwarzenegger character winks at climate-saving plant. rt.com 
A leather-clad, shades-wearing Stalin promises 'I'll be back' from a large billboard in a small Russian town. It's not clear if the image is meant to terrorize the locals or inspire those who actually wish for a new dictatorship. | The billboard was spotted on a photo published by the website of Balakhna, a small city on the Volga River just northwest of Nizhny Novgorod. Rather than showcasing a local dispute about the role Stalin played in history, the report was actually about a new plant that opened near the…
(2019-12-20). Everybody Hates Pete. thenation.com Everybody Hates Pete…
(2019-12-20). German union extends strike at Amazon's Leipzig warehouse until Dec. 24. yenisafak.com Amazon workers in the eastern German city of Leipzig will extend until Christmas Eve their strike over pay and conditions, trade union Verdi said on Friday.Since 2013, unions have staged repeated strikes at Amazon's facilities in Germany – Amazon's second-largest market after the United States – hoping to force the e-commerce company to recognise collective bargaining agreements that apply to other retail employees.Verdi said more than 400 Amazon workers in Leipzig had been on strike every day since Monday.Verdi had said on Tuesday that around 1,200 workers were taking part in a strike that started during the Sun…
(2019-12-20). Trump Not Officially Impeached So Far? globalresearch.ca Will or won't House Speaker Pelosi select Dem impeachment managers (prosecutors) and transmit articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate for trial? | Knowing the GOP controlled body will reject House charges against Trump and acquit him, will Pelosi and …
(2019-12-20). How the rich steal NYC transit funds, then scapegoat the poor. liberationnews.org 
The working class should control the public transit system.
(2019-12-20). Bush fires claim lives and property as Australia endures hottest days in recorded history. wsws.org The development of catastrophic conditions has been predicted and warned about for years.
(2019-12-20). Video: Syrian Army's Large Scale Ground Operation in Greater Idlib. globalresearch.ca The Syrian Army has finalized military preparations and is awaiting orders to launch a large-scale ground operation in Greater Idlib, according to reports by Syrian media. The operation will allegedly be aimed at liberating the militant-held part of the M5 …
(2019-12-20). Those who search for dawn don't fear the night; nor the hand that holds the dagger. mronline.org 
Jeanine àÅñez, the 'president' of Bolivia, walked into the Burned Palace (Palacio Quemado) with an enormous Bible in her hand. 'The Bible has returned to the Palace', she said as she seized power. | Source