(2019-12-23). Soldier killed in military base attack in Venezuela. yenisafak.com Venezuela's defense minister confirmed that one soldier was killed in an attack on a military base in the southeastern Gran Sabana region."In the early morning hours today, a military unit in the south of the country was assaulted by extremist sectors of the opposition, and a batch of weapons was taken from the unit," Vladimir Padrino Lopez announced Sunday on Twitter."From this terrorist attack, an army troop was killed."Padrino added that police and military agents were deployed in the area and managed to capture some of the attackers, as well as the stolen weapons.He said the detainees are providing informatio…
(2019-12-23). 'Avoid rumors & know the truth': India's ruling party kick-starts social media campaign to calm Muslims over citizenship act. rt.com 
Prime Minister Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has launched an awareness-raising campaign on social media to quell misperceptions about the hotly-debated citizenship act that critics say discriminates against Muslims. | The outreach effort, which started this weekend, aims to engage Indian Muslim communities by informing them about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already made an appeal through Twitter "to our Muslim brothers and sisters to first understand the CAA itself and then explain it to others." Responsible citizens…
(2019-12-23). 'When will this nonsense stop?' Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger speaks out following alleged racist abuse at Tottenham. rt.com 
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has issued a statement decrying the rise of racism in the English game after he was allegedly the target of monkey chants during his side's win at London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. | London's Metropolitan Police have confirmed that an investigation is underway into the matter after Rudiger appeared to confront sections of the Tottenham support and suggest that he had been the victim of racist abuse, imitating a monkey gesture. | Writing on social media after the game, Rudiger outlined that there is no place for this type of behavior in the sport and said that it is imp…
(2019-12-23). 'Baby Yoda vibes': Aussie firefighters warm hearts with VIRAL pics of rescued koalas. rt.com 
Australia's east coast continues to be ravaged by the bushfires which have plagued the country for several weeks, but out of the doom and gloom have come some heartwarming photos of firefighters rescuing wildlife. | Offering a small glimmer of hope during the holiday season, professional and volunteer firefighters have been sharing images of their small, and often cute and furry triumphs, as they wrest adorable koalas from the blazing infernos which are consuming their habitats. | On Sunday, Eden Hills Country Fire Service shared this heartwarming image of a koala approaching one of their firefighters for help…
(2019-12-23). Police & protesters clash at Paris' Gare de Lyon as pension reform strike continues (VIDEO). rt.com 
French riot police and protesters clashed inside the Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris on Monday amid ongoing strikes against the government's plans to overhaul the country's pension system. | The strikes have been running for 19 days, causing major transport chaos at one of the busiest times of the year to travel. | #greve22decembre #greve #Greve23decembre #garede…
(2019-12-23). Turkish diplomat's car TORCHED by assailants in Greece (VIDEO). rt.com 
An unidentified group of assailants have set the car of a Turkish consulate employee on fire in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, according to police. No one was injured in the attack, which is currently under investigation. | A video shows the parked car consumed in flames, as firefighters work to put out the blaze. Extensive damage to the rear of the vehicle is seen after the fire is extinguished. | Car reportedly belonging to #Turkish #diplomat set on f…
(2019-12-22). The White House Is Pretending Impeachment Didn't Happen. truthdig.com On December 18, minutes after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump two articles of abuse of power and obstruction of justice, CNN's Brian Stelter took to Twitter to announce "there is no way to deny: Trump has been impeached." | Reporting Saturday from CBS News, however, indicates that the White House may be about to do just that. | The administration is reportedly looking at claiming Trump was not impeached because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding back on sending the articles to the Senate until the upper chamber's Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lays out the rul…
(2019-12-22). 13 people shot at Chicago house party, four critical. rt.com 
Thirteen people have been shot at a possible house party on Chicago's south side. All have been brought to hospital, with four in critical condition. | Police responded to the gunfire at around 12.35am on Sunday morning. According to police, the victims were attending a house party held in honor of a 22-year-old man fatally shot during an attempted carjacking in April, when a fight broke out. | Chicago: @Chicago_Police are investigating a #MassShooting after 1…
(2019-12-22). Syrian air defense intercepts missiles coming from the direction of 'occupied territories' – State TV. rt.com 
Syrian air defenses have intercepted missiles over the capital city of Damascus, according to state media. | An initial report from SANA stated that the missiles came from the "direction of the occupied territories" and Israeli media assumed that meant their country. | #Syrian media claimed air defense systems were activated, trying to repel a missile attack which they claim came from #Israel. t.co/CbTddKZHTY[…
(2019-12-22). 1 killed in attack by 'extremist sectors of opposition' on Venezuela's army unit — Caracas. rt.com 
A Venezuelan army trooper has been killed in an attack on a military unit, carried out by "extremist sectors of the opposition," on Sunday morning, Venezuela's Defense | Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Twitter. | A large haul of weapons was stolen from the unit during the attack, but has swiftly been recovered, as multiple police and military were scrambled to chase the assailants. | Six of the perpetrators were captured and are now being interrogated by the security forces. | Venezuela's Minster of Communication Jorge Rodriguez said the suspects had been trained in "fully identified paramilitary camps…
(2019-12-21). CIA torture is 'snow secret': Edward Snowden roasts CIA's feelgood holiday tweet. rt.com 
Every now and again the CIA does its best to appear relatable, and every time the agency gets put back in its place. Now, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden hijacked a festive tweet to slam the CIA's torture practices. | "It's *snow secret* that we love winter," the clandestine agency tweeted on Saturday, marking the first day of winter in the US. | Snowden was acerbic in his response. "It's *snow secret* that you tortured Gul Rahman for weeks at a black site, then chained him naked to a concrete floor until he died in the near-winter cold," he tweeted. | It's *snow secret* you tortured Gul Rahman for weeks at a…
(2019-12-20). Trump raises 'smocking' age to 21 & slams nonexistent 'ET' mag, creating thousands of proofreaders in one stroke. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has excoriated Christianity Today magazine for demanding his dismissal, referring to it as "ET" in his rage. Then he bragged about raising the "smocking" age, further triggering his new editors. | Trump warned his supporters that the magazine Christianity Today, which published an editorial calling for him to leave office on religious grounds earlier this week, had degenerated into a "far left magazine" in a tweet on Friday. The periodical "would rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President," he fumed. ….h…
(2019-12-20). 'Biden impersonating child's stutter' fails to join long list of gaffes, as Huckabee Sanders bears brunt of online rage (VIDEO). rt.com 
Near the end of Thursday's Democratic debate, frontrunner Joe Biden impersonated a child's stutter while speaking about people he meets on the campaign, in a move initially seen as a gaffe by some. | Rather than the heartfelt moment he had perhaps intended, the mimicry seemingly missed the mark at first and confused both the audience and the online commentariat, rather than winning them over. | What is going on with Joe B…
(2019-12-18). Tories spent over £950,000 on Facebook adverts in late election blitz. thecanary.co 
The Conservative Party spent more than any other party on Facebook and Instagram adverts in the run-up to last week's General Election, analysis by the PA news agency has found.It largely came in a spending blitz in the final two weeks of the campaign.Across their two main pages — named Conservatives and Boris Johnson — the party spent a total of £959,329 in the four weeks up to the vote.In comparison, Labour spent £552,035 on its Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn pages between 14 November and 12 December, the fourth most of the major UK parties.The Liberal Democrats were the second biggest spe…
(2019-12-18). BBC Director-General Calls for Media Critics to Be Purged From Social Media. mintpressnews.com The BBC has responded to criticism over its coverage of the UK's general election by calling for their online critics to be banned from social media.
(2019-12-18). Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Spends Her Birthday Imprisoned. mintpressnews.com Military whistleblower Chelsea Manning spent her 32nd birthday behind bars yesterday for continuing to refuse to testify against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. She has been in prison since May after a U.S. District Judge ordered her incarceration for not recognizing the legitimacy of the grand jury. She tweeted that she was grateful for t…
(2019-12-17). Reuters Shields OAS Over False Claims That Sparked Bolivia Coup. fair.org 
Reuters ( 12/4/19) highlights the findings of the Organization of American States—while omitting the criticism of those findings. | Organization of American States (OAS) election monitors published a "final report" on December 4— 22 days later than promised—on Bolivia's October 20 presidential election, won by President Evo Morales. The tardy release of the fin…
(2019-12-16). Viral Chilean feminist anthem reveals powerful international sentiment against sexual violence. liberationnews.org 
The protest song was first performed for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 20 in Valparaíso, Chile.
(2019-12-02). The War on Truth: How Israel's Social Media Trolls Conquered Facebook. zcomm.org Israel may have found a way to circumvent the influence of Facebook on the discussions pertaining to Palestinian rights and the Israeli occupation…
(2019-12-01). The Usual Incoherence on Student Benefits Is Back. peoplespolicyproject.org 
Of all the welfare state topics, student benefits manages to consistently attract the most incoherent and weird arguments, and the recent spate of arguments on this front are no exception. In the last week, a student benefit dustup has been instigated by Pete Buttigieg ostensibly being against free public college for millionaires and billionaires while Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are ostensibly for it. | This has set off the usual round of commentary about how Buttigieg is arguing for means-testing while Warren and Sanders are arguing f…
(2019-11-17). CAP's Topher Spiro Is Trying to Deceive Journalists By Lying. peoplespolicyproject.org 
It's been fun to see how the Center for American Progress (CAP) navigates this year's presidential election. For insider political reasons, they can't support Biden or Sanders. But for a long time, it was unclear who the alternative candidate they could support would be. | When Kamala Harris was rising, CAP's staff was doing overtime boosting her on Twitter and in the press, including boosting Harris's absurd health care proposal. But Harris's collapse put an end to that strategy. Recently Warren has risen as the alternative and so CAP has been working to promote her campaign, which puts CAP in the comical positi…