Daily Archives: December 21, 2020

2020-12-21: News Headlines

Online News Editor (2020-12-21). Parkland massacre parents give Xmas cookies with "bullet holes" to NRA. laprensalatina.com Miami, Dec 21 (efe-epa).- The parents of students killed in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, this week will send Christmas cookies shaped like human figures, but with "bullet holes" in them, to the National Rifle Association. Venezuelan-US couple Manuel and Patricia Oliver, the parents of Joaquin Oliver, decided …

Colin Todhunter (2020-12-21). Imperial Intent: Destroying India's Farm Sector. counterpunch.org Agriculture in India is at a crossroads. Indeed, given that over 60 per cent of the country's 1.3-billion-plus population still make a living from agriculture (directly or indirectly), what is at stake is the future of India. Unscrupulous interests are intent on destroying India's indigenous agri-food sector and recasting it in their own image. Farmers are rising up in protest.

_____ (2020-12-21). Ex-UK Ambassador On Syria And Propaganda. popularresistance.org Former UK ambassador to Syria Peter Ford on how the US and its allies continue to wage war on Syria via sadistic sanctions, an illegal US military occupation, the OPCW cover-up, and media propaganda that masks the brutality. | Syria and its allies prevented regime change, but the US and its allies are continuing to squeeze Syria's population with crippling sanctions on all aspects of civilian life and a US military occupation in Syria's northeast breadbasket. Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, analyzes the state of the Syria proxy war and the ongoing propaganda campaign to whitewash it.

Alan Macleod (2020-12-21). Trump Enacts Sweeping New Sanctions on China, Iran, Venezuela. Biden Promises More To Come. mintpressnews.com The new sanctions come even as an estimated 100,000 people have been killed by American sanctions in Venezuela alone as vital medical equipment and lifesaving drugs have been blocked from entering the country.

George Wuerthner (2020-12-21). Political Science and the Fate of the Wolverine. counterpunch.org On December 14, 2020, 24 organizations and one individual (me) filed two different lawsuits to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision not to list the wolverine as a threatened Distinct Population Segment (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The plaintiffs are arguing the FWS decision was capricious and arbitrary. The wolverine,

The BMJ (2020-12-21). Covid-19: Mass Testing Is Inaccurate and Gives False Sense of Security: British Medical Journal Report. globalresearch.ca Mass testing of people without covid-19 symptoms is "not an accurate way of screening the general population," a senior figure at the Department of Health and Social Care has said in a letter seen by The BMJ (see Related content)….

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-21). Feminist organizations demand abortion rights in Dominican Republic. peoplesdispatch.org During his election campaign, newly elected President Luis Abinader promised to support abortion rights. However, the president of the chamber of deputies from Abinader's party proposed to draft a new penal code without including them…

T.J. Coles (2020-12-20). The Evolution of U.S.-Backed Death Squads in Honduras. counterpunch.org U.S. intelligence agencies and corporations have pushed back against the so-called Pink Tide, the coming to power of socialistic governments in Central and South America. Examples include: the slow-burning attempt to overthrow Venezuela's President; Nicolás Maduro; the initially successful soft coup in Bolivia against President Evo Morales; and the constitutional crises that removed Presidents Lula

Aaron Maté (2020-12-20). Ex-UK ambassador: War on Syria continues with US occupation, sanctions, propaganda. thegrayzone.com Former UK ambassador to Syria Peter Ford on how the US and its allies continue to wage war on Syria via sadistic sanctions, an illegal US military occupation, the OPCW cover-up, and media propaganda that masks the brutality. Syria and its allies prevented regime change, but the US and its allies are continuing to squeeze Syria's population with crippling sanctions on all aspects of civilian life and a US military occupation in Syria's northeast breadbasket. Peter Ford, the former UK …

Juan Cole (2020-12-20). Everyday War Crimes: Israeli PM Netanyahu Gets Covid Vaccine, Squatters Get Vaccine, But Not Occupied Palestinians. commondreams.org Vaccines will be supplied to the hundreds of thousands of government-backed illegal Israeli squatters on Palestinian land in the West Bank, but not to the indigenous Palestinian population. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/netanyahu_7.jpg

Bryce Greene (2020-12-20). NYT Erases US Economic War Against Venezuela. commondreams.org The New York Times has long played a role in supporting U.S. attempts to dominate Latin America. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/venezuela_3.jpg

WSWS (2020-12-19). The global surge in COVID cases and deaths requires an immediate international response. wsws.org The present surge across the globe is a byproduct of lifting restrictions on commerce by every major nation whose economy faces stagnation. According to the World Bank, "the pandemic and global recession may cause over 1.4 percent of the world's population to fall into extreme poverty."

Prensa Latina (2020-12-19). Cuba sends medical brigade to Mexico to fight COVID-19. mronline.org The second group of a Cuban medical brigade to contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic traveled to Mexico City on Thursday.

Ricardo Vaz (2020-12-19). US Sanctions Venezuelan Electoral Technology Company. venezuelanalysis.com Ex-Cle Soluciones Biometricas has provided software in voting processes.

teleSUR, CE (2020-12-19). Venezuela Pays Homage to Former Vice President José Vicente Rangel. telesurenglish.net President Nicolas Maduro has paid a heartfelt tribute to revolutionary leader, José Vicente Rangel, who passed away on Friday. President Maduro recalled the deep friendship between José Vicente and Commander Hugo Chávez based on moral principles and social justice. | RELATED: | "We have come to give words of condolences to the family of a great friend and protector. We come to give a hug of solidarity and courage for this irreparable…

A Guest Author (2020-12-19). How long will Peru last? History weighs on today's events. workers.org By Sergio Rodriguez Gelfenstein The writer was the director of international relations in Venezuela's presidential office and the country's ambassador to Nicaragua. Currently, he is a guest professor at Shanghai University in China. This article was posted at sergioro07.blogspot.com on Nov. 13. Translation: Michael Otto. Mariategui's magazine, Amauta. Credit: Juan . . . |

Reese Erlich (2020-12-19). Are Cuban Protesters Freedom Fighters or US Pawns? commondreams.org Painters, musicians, and other artists are responding to what they call the "lack of freedom of speech." The government calls them agents of the U.S. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cuba_2.jpg

Stephen Lendman (2020-12-18). "Unhealthy Americans". Best Healthcare For the Rich. Highest Child Poverty Among Developed Nations. globalresearch.ca The world's richest country USA has one of the least healthy populations. | Among developed nations, Americans have shorter lifespans, more illnesses and injuries — despite around double the per capita amount spent on healthcare compared to other developed countries. | In …

Eds. (2020-12-18). Venezuela's Maduro proposes joint ALBA COVID-19 vaccination. mronline.org The Venezuelan president announced a strict quarantine for January.

news.un (2020-12-18). COVID-19: Avoid 'nationalistic footrace' in choosing vaccines. news.un.org As governments move to secure COVID-19 vaccines for their populations, choosing these treatments should not be viewed as "some kind of nationalistic footrace", with some countries winning and others losing, a senior official with the World Health Organization (WHO) told journalists on Friday.