(2019-11-20). GOP-Requested Witness Rejects Trump 'Conspiracy Theories'. truthdig.com 
WASHINGTON — Sought by Republicans to testify, the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine spoke up instead for Democrat Joe Biden in Tuesday's impeachment hearings, rejecting "conspiracy theories" embraced by President Donald Trump and some of his allies. | Kurt Volker said he has known Biden as an honorable man for more than two decades, rebuffing debunked corruption allegations that Trump is said to have wanted the Ukrainians to investigate in exchange for military aid to hold off Russian aggression. | "The allegations against Vice President Biden are self-serving and non-credible," Volker declared. | R…
(2019-11-19). Student Protesters are Walking a Tightrope in Hong Kong. counterpunch.org 
It's hard to know what to think about the student protests in Hong Kong. | On the one hand, they are incredibly inspiring. The courage, determination, brilliant organizing in the face of corporate blocking of the social media platforms that have been so critical early on to coordinating actions and rallying support, and the links that these masses of students have been able to build with the broader Hong Kong community, have been amazing to witness. So too is the massive support that the city's residents — even its staid usually conservative business-minded bankers and shop owners — have given and con…
(2019-11-19). Monopoly? What monopoly? Big Tech defends itself from antitrust allegations with denial & doublespeak. rt.com 
Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple are pushing back against the US government's antitrust investigations, downplaying their dominance of the tech sector, playing dumb, and staying quiet where they can't obfuscate. | The Big Tech behemoths responded to written questions sent by the House Judiciary Committee – one of several antitrust probes targeting the four companies – with concerted efforts to tone down their monopolistic image – no easy feat for two trillion-dollar companies and two more that are approaching that figure. Answers were shared with reporters on Tuesday, according to Reuters. | Also on rt.com…
(2019-11-19). UK PM Boris Johnson thanks 'wonderful people' he met when campaigning, after several asked him to leave. rt.com 
Boris Johnson was all Twitter-smiles on Tuesday, thanking the "wonderful people" he met during the ongoing campaign for their support, light-heartedly erasing his recent encounters with critics from the memory. | Prime-minister's misfortunes of last week started in Yorkshire, in the north of England, where he came last Wednesday for face-to-face meetings with the victims of recent floods. Yet, he faced a barrage of questions over whether enough had been spent on flood defenses and why voters in the affected areas should support him. | I've met so many wonderful people on the campaign so far – we really do live…
(2019-11-19). Activists Occupy Pelosi's Office, Launch Global Hunger Strike for Climate Action. truthout.org The global grassroots movement Extinction Rebellion is targeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hunger strike and demanding that the Democratic leader embrace bold climate action as have progressive lawmakers around the country. | The group told Pelosi a week ago that members would begin a hunger strike Monday unless the California Democrat agreed to a one-hour, on-camera meeting to discuss Extinction Rebellion's demands for concrete climate action. | On Twitter, the group announced that…
(2019-11-19). Bernie Sanders Reiterates That There Was a Coup in Bolivia. telesurenglish.net Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders again described what happened in Bolivia as coup and condemned security forces' repression against indigenous protesters. | RELATED: | Bolivia: Coup-Born Government's Witch Hunt Intensifies | "I oppose the intervention of Bolivia's security forces in the democratic process and their repression of Indigenous protesters," the legislator for Vermont posted on Twitter on Monday. | "It was the military who i…
(2019-11-19). Bolivia: Coup-Born Government's Witch Hunt Intensifies. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's coup-born government on Monday intensified its attack campaign against the Movement to Socialism (MAS) supporters, who keep protesting in the streets. | RELATED: | Bolivia: More Than 68,000 Fake Twitter Accounts Supported Coup | Interior Minister Arturo Murillo announced the creation of a "special apparatus at the Prosecutor…
(2019-11-19). New Zealand Even Hand against Palestine: Jacinda Adern, that Tweet, and Gaza. globalresearch.ca The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MFAT) tweet on 12 November condemning rocket fire from Gaza while failing to condemn the Israeli extrajudicial assassinations and civilian killings that generated Islamic Jihad's rocket-fire in defensive response, reveals the hypocrisy at …
(2019-11-19). A child of seven has written to Father Christmas asking for a house and food. thecanary.co A desperate seven-year-old child has written a heartbreaking letter to Santa asking for a home and food for her family for Christmas. | The letter was left in a Christmas postbox at the L6 Community Centre in Everton. | Local Labour councillor Gerard Woodhouse posted a picture of the letter on Twitter. | In the letter, the child writes: "Dear Father Christmas. Can you help? | Last week @L6Centre we started getting down Xmas decorations we placed The Santa post box in the cafe until grotto is…
(2019-11-19). 140+ Palestinian Groups Urge Boycott of Airbnb Funds, Launch Twitter Storm. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-11-18). 'Meth. We're on it': Oddly-worded South Dakota drug awareness campaign 'breaks bad' on social media. rt.com 
South Dakota has rolled out a new anti-drug campaign warning about the dangers of substance abuse and costing taxpayers almost half a million. But its wording, "Meth. We're On It," has drawn ridicule online. | Taking a bizarre twist on "I am Spartacus," the ads portray average South Dakotans — a kindly old farmer, a churchgoing grandma, high school football players — sternly telling the camera "I'm on meth," with a narrator cutting in with the standard anti-drug PSA: "meth is not someone else's problem." | South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem also hopped aboard the campaign, encouraging residents to…
(2019-11-18). Trump 'likes the idea' of testifying in impeachment 'hoax' to get Congress 'focused'. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump may testify in impeachment hearings after all, he tweeted, calling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bluff after she broached the idea – though he also deemed the proceedings a "no due process hoax." | The president has warmed to the idea of testifying in the "phony impeachment Witch Hunt," he tweeted on Monday, explaining that "even though I did nothing wrong, and don't like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!" | Crediting his change of mind to "Crazy, Do Nothing Speaker of the House, Nervous…
(2019-11-18). Are we the baddies? NBC chief foreign correspondent tweets amazement to find US foreign policy not always great. rt.com 
Hearing that the Americans "have become the bad guys" on the world stage was a "gut punch" to NBC News reporter Richard Engel, but Twitter quickly set the astonished journalist straight with some history and facts. | Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, was informed of this shocking news via various "sources" who complained to him about the Trump administration's recent betrayal of the Kurds in northern Syria and the alleged "misogynistic" firing of the US ambassador to Ukraine. | Such politically motivated actions "m…
(2019-11-18). Another Death Penalty Horror: Stark Disparities in Media and Activist Attention. counterpunch.org 
On November 12, intrepid abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean tweeted to her legions of followers: "What do Sen. Ted Cruz, Gigi Hadid, Kim Kardashian, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and me all have in common? We're among a growing local and national movement asking Texas @GovAbbott to stop the scheduled Nov. 20 execution of #RodneyReed[.]" But for Twitter's More
(2019-11-18). Gunman opens fire at backyard party in Fresno, California, 4 people killed. rt.com 
At least 10 people were shot in California after a gunman opened fire at a family gathering, police say. Four people have been killed while others have been taken to hospital. | Family and friends were watching football in the backyard when someone started shooting at them. No one has been arrested so far, with no information on a suspect realeased. | #BREAKING MASSIVE police response in a neighborhood by Peach/Pine in Fresno. Streets clogged with cars/ambulances…a lot of people being put on stretchers. Waiting to learn more. …
(2019-11-18). Monday's Daily Brief: Progress and pitfalls in child rights, millions of Afghans acutely food insecure, Middle East nuclear-free zone, social media and child detention. un.org A recap of Monday's stories in brief: Uneven child rights progress; over 10 million Afghans severely food insecure; Middle East nuclear weapons conference gets underway; Social media posts increasing child detention cases; UN and partners commit to universal health.
(2019-11-18). Establishment press attacks against Corbyn have sunk even further into the gutter. thecanary.co One week into the general election, new research shows that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour is getting more "press exposure" than any other party. But there's a huge issue with this. Because it isn't positive coverage. In fact, the establishment press is pushing a strong anti-Labour stance, and backing the Conservatives all the way. Again. So even given its history, the gutter press j…
(2019-11-18). Bolivia: More Than 68,000 Fake Twitter Accounts Supported Coup. telesurenglish.net More than 68,000 fake Twitter accounts were created to support the coup d'état in Bolivia, revealed a recent study by Julián Macías Tovar, head of social networks for the Spanish party Podemos. | RELATED: | Thousands March in Response to Cochabamba Massacre: Bolivia | The specialist found that these false accounts used several labels to try to legitimize…
(2019-11-18). Anti-terror measures against youngsters' online posts 'linked to spike in child detention globally'. un.org More than 5.4 million children are detained around the world, rights experts said on Monday, highlighting "aggressive" State counterterrorism measures for the spike in youngsters held for alleged links with armed conflict or national security concerns based on their social media posts.
(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…
(2019-11-15). Western Media Whitewash Bolivia's Far-Right Coup. fair.org 
The phrase AP (Chattanooga Times Free Press, 11/13/19) is looking for is "self-declared." | Bolivia has a new US-backed puppet leader, and the Western media can hardly conceal their adulation. | Jeanine àÅñez declared herself "interim president" in a near-empty Senate chamber on November 12, proceeding to don the presidential sash with the assistance of uniformed soldiers. Despite a lack of quorum rendering the move nakedly unconstitutional, àÅñez was immediate…
(2019-11-15). Ex-Ukraine envoy's feelings that Trump 'threatened' her & his 'real-time attacks' on Twitter are IMPEACHABLE, Democrats say. rt.com 
Ex-ambassador Marie Yovanovitch feeling "threatened" by President Donald Trump and his tweet criticizing her "in real-time" during her testimony amount to new grounds for impeachment, Democrats and their media proxies claimed. | During Friday's impeachment hearing, Yovanovitch complained that she's been the victim of a "smear campaign" by the Trump administration, carried out particularly by the president's personal counsel Rudy Giuliani — and Trump himself. | The former ambassador recalled her reaction to the transcript of the phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a testi…
(2019-11-15). Whistleblowers Are Public Servants. We Must Protect Them. aclu.org President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke on the phone. The president insists the call was " perfect." Others are concerned that, during the call, the president intimated he would withhold financial aid appropriated to Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president agreed to investigate former-Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of the president. | How do we even know about any of this? A…
(2019-11-14). Social Media Censorship Reaches New Heights as Twitter Permanently Bans Dissent. mintpressnews.com 
| | It's an open secret. The deep state is wo…