(2021-12-26). On Contact: Slow-Motion Execution Of Julian Assange. popularresistance.org On the show, Chris Hedges discusses the torture of Julian Assange with his father, John Shipton. | Julian Assange committed the empire's greatest sin — he exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption, and innumerable war crimes. Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Labour, Trump or Biden — it does not matter. The goons who oversee the empire sing from the same satanic songbook. Empires always kill those who inflict deep and serious wounds.
(2021-12-26). New Anti-Protest Laws Cast a Long Shadow on First Amendment Rights. zcomm.org 'Who defines what peaceful is?' A deep divide over protests…
(2021-12-26). Senators sound Ukraine "War Drums", not "Peace Chimes" on Christmas Eve. globalresearch.ca On the day before Christmas, when the world's two billion Christians celebrate the birth of the prince of peace, the Washington Post accorded Senators Rob Portman and Jeanne Shaheen — Republican and Democrat, from Ohio and New Hampshire, respectively — …
(2021-12-26). The Big Business Behind Travel Nursing. popularresistance.org As the first wave of Covid-19 hit the United States, Jen, a 53-year-old nurse struggling to pay her bills, received an intriguing message. "THE TIME HAS COME TO DEPLOY AT INCREDIBLY HIGH RATES," read the mass text from Krucial Staffing, sent to nurses nationwide in March 2020 and forwarded to Jen by a colleague. Jen (a pseudonym used to protect her from retaliation from employers) could barely believe the wages promised by the Kansas-based healthcare staffing firm. As part of its massive recruitment drive during the first wave of Covid-19, Krucial was paying $10,000 a week to nurses willing to travel‚Ä…
(2021-12-26). A great read from Mao Zedong on his birthday. fightbacknews.org To mark the 128th anniversary of the birth of Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong on December 26, 2021, Fight Back News Service is circulating his famous 1939 article "In memory of Norman Bethune." | Comrade Norman Bethune, a member of the Communist Party of Canada, was around fifty when he was sent by the Communist Parties of Canada and the United States to China; he made light of travelling thousands of miles to help us in our War of Resistance Against Japan. He arrived in Yenan in the spring of last year, went to work in the Wutai Mountains, and to our great sorrow died a martyr at his post. What kind of spirit i…
(2021-12-26). FRSO greetings to Communist Party of the Philippines on 53rd anniversary. fightbacknews.org From: Freedom Road Socialist Organization | To: Communist Party of the Philippines | Dear Comrades, | The leadership and members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization send our warm and militant greetings to the Communist Party of the Philippines on the occasion of the of your 53rd anniversary and we wish the CPP every success in developing the people's democratic revolution. | Working and oppressed people around the world, including here in the U.S., take inspiration from heroic struggle of the people of the Philippines and the great advances made by the CPP. Your party has grown from a relatively small organiza…
(2021-12-26). Ukraine in the Great Game. orinocotribune.com By Alexander Dugin — Dec 21, 2021 | Throughout history, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia were intertwined with a set of solid cultural, political, and economic links, to the point that the division did not appear more than mere administrative under Soviet jurisdiction. But it all changed after the collapse of the Union. | The escalation between the West and Russia | Today, under Joe Biden's neoconservative and ultra-globalist administration, relations between Russia and the United States are so strained that humanity is on the verge not of a Cold War (which has long been ongoing), but of a nuclear war, World War…
(2021-12-26). Desmond Tutu, Fierce Opponent of South African and Israeli Apartheid, Dies at 90. truthout.org 
Leaving behind a legacy of fighting for oppressed people in South Africa and around the world, Archbishop Desmond Tutu died Sunday at age 90 in Cape Town, South Africa. The cause was reportedly cancer. | Advocates for human rights, health equity, economic justice, and nonviolence honored Tutu, who helped lead the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which was formed afterwards. | The Elders, the independent group of global leaders working for j…
(2021-12-26). Global WAR-NING! Geoengineering Is Wrecking Our Planet and Humanity. globalresearch.ca World leaders are meeting in Glasgow at COP-26. All eyes are now on "the imminent dangers of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions". The "climate emergency" is a timely instrument of propaganda used to distract people from questioning "the real crisis", namely the Covid-19 "plandemic".
(2021-12-26). Fourth Coffee Export Shipment from Lara State to the United States. orinocotribune.com Nine containers with 210 tons of green coffee were exported to the United States, from Lara state of Venezuela, through the efforts of the Asopras company together with the Lara Foreign Trade Company (EMCOEX). | José Maldonado, director of EMCOEX, reported this Saturday, December 24, that all operations regarding the fourth export shipment of green coffee to the US were carried out from the GD Jacinto Lara dry port intermodal terminal. | Mal…
(2021-12-26). President Maduro Praises Christmas Toy Distribution Campaign. orinocotribune.com On Saturday, December 25, President Nicolás Maduro praised the activities of the Christmas toy distribution campaign, which was carried out as a joint initiative of the Venezuelan government and the social organizations. | In a Christmas message, Maduro wrote on Twitter, "I appreciate the effort and commitment of our leaders who have travelled to every corner of the country to bring smiles to the faces of our boys and girls. We are moved by love for the seedlings of our homeland. Merry Christmas!" | Along with the message, the president posted photos of children receiving their toys in a campaign in Caracas which…
(2021-12-25). US-Backed TPLF Seeks Protection from UN after Military Defeat. libya360.wordpress.com Pavan Kulkarni With the support of Amharan and Afar militias, the Ethiopian federal army, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed recaptured towns from the TPLF, forcing them to surrender. Photo: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Government Communication Service With federal government forces cornering the TPLF back into Tigray state, the TPLF has called for peace…
(2021-12-25). 'These People Lived Under Terrorist Rule'. orinocotribune.com Ordinary Syrians have a different take from Western commentators on the events of 2016 when Aleppo was retaken by government forces. Patrik Paulov reports | WHAT happened when the Syrian army took control of eastern Aleppo five years ago? Was there a massacre with 50,000 victims? Did Putin and Assad wipe out the city? | The Swedish peace researcher Jan Oberg, head of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, was present in Aleppo in December 2016. | An emotional taxi driver told him that the liberation of eastern Aleppo was one of the three biggest events of his life. The others were the day he…
(2021-12-25). US-backed TPLF seeks protection from UN after facing military defeat. peoplesdispatch.org With federal government forces cornering the TPLF back into Tigray state, the TPLF has called for peace negotiations. The government has called for the disarmament of the group and the surrender of its leadership.
(2021-12-25). Two model rules for domestic implementation of 15% global minimum tax. moderndiplomacy.eu The OECD today published detailed rules to assist in the implementation of a landmark reform to the international tax system, which will ensure Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) will be subject to a minimum 15% tax rate from 2023. The Pillar Two model rules provide governments a precise template for taking forward the two-pillar solution to address …
(2021-12-25). Iraq launches activities to combat child labour as part of nation-wide campaign. moderndiplomacy.eu The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the International Labour Organization kicked off a series of activities that support a nation-wide campaign to tackle the worst forms of child labour in the country. The campaign, which will target over 10,000 children, their families and guardians, teachers, employers, and the media, includes awareness raising sessions …
(2021-12-25). How Washington Led the Purge of Christians from its 'New Middle East'- Part 2. orinocotribune.com 
By Tim Anderson — Dec 21, 2021 | Christians in Syria were attacked and purged in the west of the country by US and NATO-backed sectarian Islamists and in the east by the death cult ISIS. | Purging the Christians of Syria | The US role in the purge of Syrian Christians was apparent from the first months of 2011, but warnings came earlier. In 2005, CNN's Christine Amanpour, closely linked to senior Washington officials,
(2021-12-25). The increasingly interest of the USA in Asia, and its affect on the Israel's security. moderndiplomacy.eu The American administration tried to make a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood taking over the rule of Egypt to mainly defend the (Israel's security), and even supported them in their plans towards power and influence, and leaks appeared in some media confirming the conclusion of a deal worth 8 billion dollars between the Muslim Brotherhood …
(2021-12-25). Growing Russia-India Cooperation Strengthens Global Stability. journal-neo.org 
With its sanctions intrigues and the desire to demonstrate a servile adherence only to the United States, Europe is increasingly becoming a global strategic periphery. Asia, on the contrary, is moving forward in terms of the global significance of the events taking place there. Against this background, the strategies of Russia and India complement each …
(2021-12-25). Video: The Christmas Truce of 1914 and Other Unlearned Lessons from World War I. globalresearch.ca "…the ones who call the shots (in war) won't be among the dead and lame And on each end of the rifle we're the same" — John McCutcheon | In World War I, as happens to be true in most American …
(2021-12-25). Warrior Met Coal Miners Are Spending Christmas 2021 on Strike. truthout.org 
This article was first published by This Christmas, as millions of families settle in to adorn fir trees, the children of striking coal miners in Alabama have asked mainly for practical gifts. Shoes and clothes top their lists, followed by Barbies and Rainbow High dolls, Legos, Nerf guns, and makeup kits. | Roughly 300 children will receive these gifts through donations collected by the Min…
(2021-12-25). Pentagon Plans to Destroy Dozens of Soviet Cities and the So-called Cold War. globalresearch.ca Of relevance to the ongoing US-NATO agenda directed against the Russian Federation: | The history of Nuclear Weapons dates back to World War II. The Manhattan Project was intended to "Subdue The Soviets" while the US and the USSR were allies. …
(2021-12-25). Two Years of COVID Have Forced Us to Recalibrate Our Concept of Hope. truthout.org 
"I wish it was over for good or ill," laments J.R.R. Tolkien's over-curious hobbit, Pippin, on the eve of Sauron's siege at Minas Tirith. "I am no warrior at all and dislike any thought of battle; but waiting on the edge of one that I can't escape is worst of all. What a long day it seems already!" | A long day indeed. Waiting on the edge is what many of us have been doing for nearly two years now, and not only is there no end in sight, there is yet another unavoidable battle waiting for us out there…
(2021-12-25). World War I: The 1914 Christmas Truce. globalresearch.ca An excerpt from Jacques Pauwels' book The Great Class War, 1914-1918 | The situation in the fall 1914, after the "war of movement" has given way to the infamous stationary "trench warfare": | The ordinary soldiers developed more and more antipathy and …
(2021-12-25). Guantánamo Film Ignores the War on Terror's Ongoing Tangible Harms. truthout.org 
"There is no them, there is only us," says filmmaker Alex Gibney reflecting on the story of Abu Zubaydah, a torture victim and Guantánamo prisoner who is the focus of his HBO documentary, The Forever Prisoner. Expanding on this, he poses a challenge: "If we believe in that idea, how can we imprison a man without charge for the remainder of his life — not for what he did to us, but for what we did to him?" In this statement made at the conclusion of the documentary, Gibney explicitly notes that the…
(2021-12-25). The Forgotten Christmas Truce of 1914. Unlearned Lessons which could have Prevented a Century of War (1914 — 2014). globalresearch.ca It was exactly 106 years ago this month when the Christmas Truce of 1914 occurred, when Christian soldiers on both sides of the infamous No Man's Land of the Western Front, recognized their common humanity, dropped their guns and fraternized …
(2021-12-25). China's success against covid dwarfs The West's. Here's how & why. moderndiplomacy.eu Libertarians/neoliberals in The West can't believe the enormous extent of China's success at keeping down the rates of disease, and of death, and of unemployment, from covid-19, because China's policies on covid are, and have been, the exact opposite of libertarian/neoliberal. (What's called "libertarian" in America is called "neoliberal" throughout the rest of the world.) …
(2021-12-25). Christmas Toy Distribution Campaign Has Reached All Corners of Venezuela. orinocotribune.com 
The national toy distribution campaign of the Venezuelan government—A Toy for Christmas—reached the states of Trujillo, La Guaira and Mérida on Thursday, December 23. The children in these areas awaited joyfully for presents that would brighten up their Christmas. | PSUV First Combatant for Trujillo, Reyna Pérez de Márquez, informed that a large number of people worked on the toy distribution campaign, which was taken to all 20 municipalities in the state. | "We are currently organizing the toy distribution for our boys and girls in Trujillo," Pérez de Márquez informed. "Our staff have not rested; the…
(2021-12-25). Venezuela's Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Evaluates Measures to Deal with Omicron. orinocotribune.com 
Venezuela's presidential task force for the prevention and control of COVID-19 met this Thursday, December 23, to evaluate mechanisms to deal with the Omicron variant that has recently been detected in the country. | The meeting, chaired by Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade. | Various officials of the government were also present at the meeting, including the Minister for Health, Carlos Alvarado; the Minister for Communication and Information, Freddy àëáñez; and the Minister for Science and Technology, Gabriela Jiménez…