2020-12-17: News Headlines

RT (2020-12-17). Putin says outrage over 'anti-Islam' cartoons & French street beheading is evidence that 'multiculturalism has failed' in West. rt.com Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on the debate around freedom of speech and the rights of religious believers, saying the clash of cultures is an existential problem in the West. | In response to a question from RT correspondent Igor Zhdanov as part of his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Putin said there was a fine balance between expressing yourself and insulting the feelings of entire groups of people. | "Where is the boundary between one freedom and another freedom," the president asked. "It is well known that where one man's freedom begins, another's must end." He added that…

South Front (2020-12-17). Video: Russian Forces Establish Presence on Syrian-Iraqi Border. globalresearch.ca Over the past weeks, the Syrian Army and its allies have intensified their operations against ISIS cells hiding in the Homs-Deir Ezzor desert. | According to pro-government sources, during the past few days, Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias carried out …

WSWS (2020-12-17). Rafer Johnson, once the "World's Greatest Athlete," dies at age 86. wsws.org The US gold medal winner of the decathlon at the 1960 Olympics, Rafer Johnson, was the first African American athlete to achieve world prominence during the period of the Cold War and civil rights movement.

Shane Quinn (2020-12-17). History of World War I: German Colonialism in Central and Eastern Europe and the Fall of Tsarist Russia. globalresearch.ca When in February 1918, the German politician Prince Max of Baden asked his country's military dictator, Erich Ludendorff, what would happen if the latter's spring offensive failed, he replied, "Then Germany will just have to suffer annihilation". | General Ludendorff's …

Prof. Juan Cole (2020-12-16). Iran's Rouhani to Biden: We Will Fulfill Our Nuclear Obligations on Day One if You Return to 2015 Deal. globalresearch.ca

Paul Bentley (2020-12-16). Why Make the Dogs Bark: a Tale from Communist Bulgaria. counterpunch.org Recently, I came across an article in the New York Times about an assassination attempt on a Bulgarian arms manufacturer in Sofia, Emilian Gebrev. They smeared poison on his car door handles. The Times points the finger at the same Russians they say were behind the attack on double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England.

Editor (2020-12-15). Rouhani Tells Biden How to Get the Iran Deal Back on Track. scheerpost.com Asia Society / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Iranian president Hassan Rouhani was asked Tuesday in an interview with a state-owned news outlet under what conditions Iran would return to the 2015 nuclear deal with the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5), including the U.S., plus Germany (+1) He replied, "A thing we are saying today is that if tomorrow morning the… |

John Pilger (2020-12-15). The Most Lethal Virus is Not COVID. It is War. counterpunch.org In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Boris Johnson has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defence spending — a figure that would restore the under-resourced NHS many times over.

teleSUR (2020-12-15). Nicolas Maduro Proposes a COVID-19 Vaccine Bank for ALBA Members. telesurenglish.net At the summit, the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro Moros, proposed the creation of a vaccine bank for the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) member countries. | RELATED: | The President highlighted that the region has the four vaccines currently being developed by Cuba, but also other options in the world. | "There is the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, we are doing the tests in Venezuela a…

Andrew Korybko (2020-12-15). US Sanctions Directed against Turkey For Its Acquisition of Russia's S-400 Air Defense System. globalresearch.ca The recently imposed targeted sanctions against Turkey and the impending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2021 ones mandating similar measures against it for its acquisition of Russia's S-400 air defense systems, while illegal in terms of international law and a …

James J. Zogby (2020-12-15). Biden and the JCPOA: Lessons from Arab and Iranian Public Opinion. globalresearch.ca With Joe Biden as President-elect and Donald Trump soon leaving the White House, analysts are engaging in endless speculation about what this change in administrations will mean for the future of the JCPOA, the "nuclear deal" negotiated between the P5+1 …

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-15). NATO opposed to treaty on Prohibition of nuclear weapons. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — NATO said on Tuesday it is opposed to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as it does not fit in with the existing security architecture.

sputniknews (2020-12-14). Yankee Detectives Are Always on the TV. sputniknews.com On today's episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events, including Pastor Mark Burns announcing on Twitter the pardoning of Julian Assange by President Trump, the Electoral College counting votes for the President, and the Washington Post announcing Russia's alleged hacking of US agencies.

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-12-14). Imperialism 2.0: Notes from the Edge of the Narrative Matrix. globalresearch.ca The new imperialism doesn't look like old-school ground invasions, it looks like multi-front cold wars, economic warfare, blockades and starvation sanctions, drone strikes, arming proxy militias, CIA-backed coups, sprawling tech surveillance networks, mass psyops of unprecedented sophistication and narrative management …