Daily Archives: December 18, 2020

2020-12-18: News Headlines

Alan Macleod (2020-12-18). US Votes Against UN Resolution Condemning Nazis, Labels It "Russian Disinformation" mintpressnews.com This is far from the first time the US has voted against similar resolutions; it has done so every year since 2014, dismissing them as Russian attempts to delegitimize the Ukrainian government.

John Laforge (2020-12-18). Air Force Veterans of Plutonium Dust Disaster Win Class Action Standing. counterpunch.org Air force veterans exposed to plutonium after a first-ever US nuclear weapons disaster in Spain have won extremely rare recognition as a class in a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs. On Jan. 17, 1966, an air force B-52 bomber exploded over the village of Palomares, Spain during a routine airborne refueling. Seven airmen

Ragip Soylu (2020-12-17). Turkey will not 'turn back on' S-400 missile system after US sanctions. middleeasteye.net Turkey will not 'turn back on' S-400 missile system after US sanctions | Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that Ankara would not turn back on the controversial missile system | Thu, 12/17/2020 – 07: 16 | Washington sanctioned the Presidency for Defence Industries (SSB), Turkey's military procurement agency for activating the S-400 missile system (AFP) | Turkey said it would not turn bac…

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 …

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 …

WSWS (2020-12-17). CNN, Spiegel double down on anti-Russia campaign over Navalny case. wsws.org This latest bogus "investigation" into the Navalny case marks yet a further escalation of the anti-Russia campaign.

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-17). New agreement needed for reviving JCPOA: Grossi. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 17 (MNA) — Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency claimed that reviving Iran's nuclear deal under US President-elect would require striking a new agreement as the situation has changed a lot compared to the past.

sputniknews (2020-12-17). 'No Doubt': Iran's Rouhani Says US Will Rejoin 2015 Nuclear Deal, Lift Sanctions Under Biden. sputniknews.com Under the Trump administration, the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), arguing that Iran had violated its terms and that the deal was not beneficial. The move reimposed sanctions lifted under the deal and was one of many decisions by the administration that heightened tensions with the Middle Eastern country.

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.

teleSUR (2020-12-15). Russia Begins COVID-19 Vaccination Throughout Its Territory. telesurenglish.net Russia's Health Minister Mikhail Murashko on Tuesday announced the start of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country, adding that his institution has settled a national network for the transportation of the Sputnik V vaccine. | RELATED: | Besides announcing that President Vladimir Putin's administration will seek to attract new companies for the production of the vaccine, he explained that the conservation of Sputnik V will b…