2020-12-29: News Headlines

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-29). Argentina starts nationwide COVID-19 vaccinations. peoplesdispatch.org On December 24, the South American nation received the first 300,000 doses out of a total order of over 10 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. In the first round it has prioritized the health workers for the administration of the vaccine.

Online News Editor (2020-12-29). Argentina prepares to roll out Sputnik Covid-19 vaccine. laprensalatina.com Buenos Aires, Dec 28 (efe-epa).- Argentina mobilized Monday to distribute 300,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to hospitals in each of the 34 provinces amid concerns about a second wave of infections in the South American country that has already lost nearly 43,000 lives to Covid-19. The operation was on track "to initiate …

Ralph Nader (2020-12-29). Recidivist Criminal and Constitutional Outlaw Trump Rushes to Pardon Criminal Lawbreakers. counterpunch.org Serial lawbreaker Donald J. Trump is embarking on the most sordid presidential pardon spree in American history. He has already pardoned convicted crooks, thieves, and violent outlaws. Trump's pardon lawyers are frantically assembling more MAGA besotted individuals and groups to be pardoned wholesale. The number may climb into the hundreds. The queue is long. Trump

Ben Carroll (2020-12-29). After massive cyberattack, imperialist U.S. blames Russia — and China. workers.org U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts are calling it perhaps the most extensive and costly "cyberattack" in modern history. Revelations have come to light that in mid-December numerous U.S. government agencies and some of the world's largest corporations discovered they had been hacked over the course of several preceding months. U.S. . . . |

MEE staff (2020-12-29). Russia and Turkey to continue military cooperation despite US sanctions. middleeasteye.net Russia and Turkey to continue military cooperation despite US sanctions | Russian foreign minister says Moscow and Ankara will not be deterred by US sanctions over acquisition of S-400 missile system | Tue, 12/29/2020 – 16: 13 | Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov (AFP) | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said military cooperation with Turkey would no…

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-29). Iran, Russia defense coop. based on Intl. law. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 29 (MNA) — Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow's defense cooperation with Iran is in accordance with international law.

teleSUR (2020-12-28). Argentina To Start National COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign. telesurenglish.net Argentina will begin its national COVID-19 vaccination campaign on December 29 as local governments and hospitals already received the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. | RELATED: | The authorities reported that the vaccination will take place as of 9: 00 AM local time simultaneously in all provinces as each city has received a part of the first shipment with 300,000 doses. | Nonetheless, the Minister of Health Ginés Go…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-12-28). Serbia Becomes Hub for Russia's Gas Distribution in the Balkans. globalresearch.ca With the TurkStream gas pipeline now running through Serbia, the Balkan country will enjoy numerous benefits when exports begin, such as energy stability, the opportunity to get cheaper gas, and additional tax revenue. On December 25, Serbia successfully tested the …

John Kendall Hawkins (2020-12-28). Doomsday ex Machina: Daniel Ellsberg and the Nuclear Gang. counterpunch.org You hide in your mansion While the young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world — Bob Dylan, "Masters of War" (1963) October 15, 1969. That's the day the world might have

RT (2020-12-28). Former Miss Ekaterinburg fights back New York mugger with one simple tactic — swearing at him in Russian. rt.com Ever wondered what you'd do if someone tried to rob you on the street? Well, one Russian model in New York managed to get away scot-free with a straightforward tactic: she swore at him in her native tongue. | Writing on her Instagram, Anna Lesun explained how a "very well dressed young man" had asked her for some money, and then threw a fist at her when she said no. According to the model, the would-be mugger also threatened her dog, Misha. | "I pushed him back and started cursing him in Russian," Lesun wrote on her Instagram. "I could see he didn't expect any resistance so he called me a bitch and, thank god,…

Andrew Korybko (2020-12-28). Political Instability in the Central African Republic, The Role of China-Russia Cooperation. globalresearch.ca The Chinese-Russian strategic partnership could be leveraged to stabilize the CAR after this Sunday's elections and might eventually become a model for them to apply towards their other African partners too. | The Central African Republic (CAR) has once again attracted …

Damelya Aitkhozhina (2020-12-28). Russia Is Cracking Down on Political Performance Art, Again. Why It Should Listen, Not Lash Out. counterpunch.org Performances by artists and activists on political topics have been a sensitive spot for the Russian authorities for years. But as the authorities' crackdown on civil society intensifies, so does the creative non-violent response exposing and drawing attention to it. This in turn increases the pressure authorities exert on the artists and activists in efforts

Aaron Maté (2020-12-27). Navalny poisoning: CIA, MI6, 'discredited' state-funded Bellingcat play key role in accusing Russia. thegrayzone.com Western media coverage has overlooked the key role of the CIA, MI6, and the NATO member state-funded outlet Bellingcat in generating the allegation that Russia's FSB poisoned Alexei Navalny. Russia's FSB intelligence agency has been accused of poisoning opposition activist Alexei Navalny. While the allegation may prove to be true, Western media coverage has overlooked the key role of the CIA, MI6, and the state-funded outlet Bellingcat in generating it. Western media outlets have failed to disclose that Bellingcat is …

Alena Peryshkina (2020-12-27). Multicultural Cooperation between BRICS Member States: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. globalresearch.ca In this interview, Alena Peryshkina, Co-Chair of the BRICS Civil Forum, Director of the AIDS Infoshare Foundation, Co-Chair of the BRICS and G20 CSOs Working Group, discusses some aspects of multicultural dimensions, especially the need to institutionalize cultural ties and …

Askiah Adam (2020-12-27). Is Iran Contemplating Vengeance in Regards to the Murder of Its Two Prominent Leaders? globalresearch.ca Brigadier General Mohsen Fakhrizadeh of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Command (IRGC) and Iran's most important nuclear scientist was assassinated not too far from Tehran recently. Iran immediately accused Israel , an allegation confirmed by a senior Washington official soon after. …

sputniknews (2020-12-27). Russia Calls for De-Escalation of Tensions in Syria's Ayn Issa, Reconciliation Centre Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian officials are calling on all parties to cease shelling near the Syrian town of Ayn Issa, Rear Adm. Vyacheslav Sytnik, the deputy head of the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Sunday.

_____ (2020-12-25). COVID-19, The Climate Crisis, And Mutual Aid. popularresistance.org After COVID-19 struck in spring 2020, the absence of a concerted federal response prompted people across the country to begin self-organizing everything from food distribution to sewing squads to shelter. That work continues today, drawing on a long tradition. | "Mutual aid," a concept coined by the Russian naturalist and anarchist Peter Kropotkin in his 1902 Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, refers to the principles of cooperation, and of people joining together to help each other. It ran counter to the then-hegemonic Darwinian theories emphasizing competition and survival of the fittest. Kropotkin did not deny…

Staff (2020-12-25). John le Carré (1931-2020) on the Iraq War, Corporate Power, the Exploitation of Africa & More. democracynow.org The world-renowned British novelist John le Carré died on December 12 at the age of 89. Le Carré established himself as a master writer of spy novels in a career that spanned more than half a century. He worked in the British Secret Service from the late 1950s until the early '60s, at the height of the Cold War — which was the topic of his early novels. His later works focused on the inequities of globalization, unchecked multinational corporate power and the role national spy services play in protecting corporate interests. His best-known books include "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" and "The Constant…