Daily Archives: December 20, 2020

2020-12-20: News Headlines

Aaron Maté (2020-12-20). Ex-UK Ambassador: war on Syria continues with US occupation, sanctions, propaganda. thegrayzone.com Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, 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 …

South Front (2020-12-20). Video: Is Israel Searching for A Pretext to Invade Southern Syria? globalresearch.ca The Russian military and Russian-backed Syrian forces have been increasing their presence on the border with Iraq. | Less than a week ago, the Russian Military Police established a local HQ in al-Bukamal. Recently, the 5th Corps of the Syrian Army, …

_____ (2020-12-20). Proponents Of Forever War In Syria Can't Answer One Question. popularresistance.org Before Robert Gates stepped down as secretary of defense after a five-year tenure, the veteran national security hand offered one more piece of wisdom to impart. Speaking to a roomful of Army cadets at West Point in February 2011, Gates made the pointed but astute observation that the U.S. military needed another Iraq and Afghanistan-like conflict like it needed a hole in the head. "In my opinion," the outgoing SecDef advised that day, "any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should 'have his head examined,' as Gener…

Online News Editor (2020-12-19). The pandemic, complicating already vulnerable lives. laprensalatina.com By Noemí Jabois Beirut, Dec 19 (efe-epa).- The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated some of the most acute humanitarian crises on the planet, from the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, food shortages in the central Sahel and southern Africa to terror activity in the Chad Basin. It is not the virus itself wreaking havoc in these …

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 . . . |

Rod Driver (2020-12-19). Scary 'R' Us 3 — The Exaggerated Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction. zcomm.org The term WMD is propaganda to confuse chemical weapons with nuclear weapons, in order to exaggerate a threat…

RT (2020-12-18). NYTimes retracts 'Caliphate' podcast & reassigns reporter, admitting star 'ISIS executioner' likely never went to Syria. rt.com The NY Times has finally retracted its award-winning podcast about a Canadian-born Islamic State executioner, months after Ottawa discovered he'd made it all up, admitting their fact-checking was "not sufficiently rigorous." | The 'paper of record' has come clean about the festering hoax at the center of its 2018 hit podcast 'Caliphate,' officially retracting the series on Friday and reassigning lead reporter Rukmini Callimachi off the terrorism beat. | Also on rt.com | | Th…

Kareem Chehayeb (2020-12-18). Macron's Covid-hit visit was never going to be the tonic Lebanon needs. middleeasteye.net Macron's Covid-hit visit was never going to be the tonic Lebanon needs | The president has had to cancel his trip to Beirut, but in truth his 'French initiative' grew sick long before he did | Fri, 12/18/2020 – 15: 55 | French President Emmanuel Macron (R) speaks with Arnaud Tranchant, commander of the Tonnerre helicopter carrier, off the port of Beirut (AFP) | For anyone believing the format…

Jessica Buxbaum (2020-12-18). Under Guise of Green Energy, Israel Entrenches Itself in Syria's Golan Heights. mintpressnews.com If Israeli energy firm Energix is successful, a sprawling complex of wind turbines will soon cover up to a quarter of the agricultural land still under the control of Syria's indigenous Golan residents.

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-18). Tehran, Moscow confer on JCPOA. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 18 (MNA) — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali discussed at a meeting the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program.

The Canary (2020-12-18). Syrian refugee, 10, dreams of becoming a doctor after beginning new life in UK. thecanary.co A Syrian child refugee has said she hopes to become a doctor to "make people feel happy" after being given the chance of a new life in the UK. | A long journey: | Lilian, 10, came to live in Kent in 2018, having left her home country six years earlier amid a horrific civil war that still rages today. She was joined by parents Mahmoud and Khawla and siblings Laian, eight, Laith, five, and Wasef, four. | After a disrupted childhood in which the family spent six years in Jordan, Lilian told the PA news agency she feels settled in her new home and has high hopes for the future. She said: I am happy I'm sharing…

MEE and agencies (2020-12-17). Beirut explosion: Judge suspends blast probe amid political pressure. middleeasteye.net Beirut explosion: Judge suspends blast probe amid political pressure | Two ministers charged in the explosion investigation have requested Judge Fadi Sawwan be removed from proceedings | Thu, 12/17/2020 – 18: 17 | A helicopter puts out a fire at scene of explosion at port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on 4 August (AFP/File photo) | The judge overseeing an investigation into the massive explo…

teleSUR (2020-12-17). France: President Macron Tests Positive for COVID-19. telesurenglish.net France's President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and will isolate himself for seven days. As a result, his to Lebanon scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday is canceled. | RELATED: | First Lady Brigitte Macron, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and does not present any symptoms, is also placed in self-isolation. | Prime Minister Jean Castex, who is considered "a contact case" of M…

Joseph Massad (2020-12-17). History: Israeli Propaganda on the 'Expulsion' of Arab Jews. globalresearch.ca Israeli propaganda about the "expulsion" of Arab Jews from Arab countries in the late 1940s and early 1950s continues without respite. Earlier this month, Israel's UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan,