(2023-12-20). Headlines for December 20, 2023. democracynow.org Openings for New Truce as Deadly Israeli Attacks Continue to Target Civilians in Jabaliya, Rafah, U.N. Security Council Again Delays Gaza Resolution Vote as U.S. Stalls over Language, Lloyd Austin Announces Coalition to Combat Houthi Red Sea Attacks, Police Arrest High-Profile Activists as Multifaith Groups from Across the U.S. Protest at Capitol, Colorado Supreme Court Bars Trump from Appearing on Presidential Primary Ballot, Senate Confirms Final Pentagon Nominees as Tuberville Blockade Ends, U.N. Says Russian Forces Have Committed War Crimes in Ukraine, Incl. 142 Civilian Executions, Sudan's Paramilitary…
(2023-12-20). Georgia at the crossroads: EU process and NATO or the "3+3" format? uwidata.com The South Caucasus is expecting with important developments in terms of regional peace and stability. It is not possible for such an environment of peace and stability to exist without Georgia. We talked with Shota Apkhaidze, Georgian political scientist and expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, about Georgia's new …
(2023-12-20). UK about to escalate naval tensions in Black Sea. infobrics.org According to a recent report, London plans to improve Ukrainian Navy's capabilities in the Black Sea, creating high tensions with Russia.
(2023-12-20). "Victory Over Russia is Impossible": Zelensky Can't Eschew Responsibility for Rising Public Anger at Ukraine's Conscription Crisis. globalresearch.ca
(2023-12-20). 95% Of Trade Between China And Russia No Longer Done In US Currency. popularresistance.org On a recent visit to China, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov stated that this year the use of the Russian ruble and Chinese yuan in trade between the two countries has already reached 95%. | At the same time, from January to October, 68% of all Russian trade was carried out in the two countries' currencies, according to Russian Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov. | The yuan has also been used by Russia in commercial transactions with Mongolia, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Japan, Tajikistan, and Singapore.
(2023-12-20). Putin to run for top post in 2024 as independent. ecns.cn Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted documents to Russia's Central Election Commission on Monday to register as a self-nominated candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
(2023-12-20). Putin extends ban on transactions with "unfriendly" foreigners' stakes in companies. independent.co.ug 
VLADIVOSTOK | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended a ban on transactions by foreigners from "unfriendly countries" with shares in strategic Russian banks and companies until the end of 2025, according to a decree renewed on Monday. The decree, initially published on Aug. 5, 2022, banned investors from "unfriendly countries" from selling their …
(2023-12-20). Santa Claus and the Contradictions of Bourgeois Ideology. orinocotribune.com By Carlos L. Garrido — Dec 19, 2023 | A comrade recently pointed my attention to a comedy skit by Foil Arms and Hog called Santa: I think there has been some sort of a mistake. You see I have a very busy night tonight. | Soviet Police 1: He was found attempting to hide in a chimney. | Soviet Police 2: Chimney? What were you doing in Russian airspace? | Santa: I've…
(2023-12-20). Russian official says apartment complex on fire after Ukraine's shelling in Donetsk. presstv.ir An official in Russian-controlled Donetsk says Ukraine fired shells that hit an apartment complex in Donetsk city on Tuesday.
(2023-12-20). Dec 20, 2023. sitrepworld.info 
Arise Donbass! (–í—Å—Ç–∞–≤–∞–π –î–æ–Ω–±–∞—Å—Å!) Donetsk 'Tis the Season for War, by Bill Astore No Plan B: The Western Elites Didn't Plan for China, Russia and Iran Remaining Independent, by Roger Boyd Yuri Bezmenov: Interview with NS Lyons, author of The Upheaval, about "The China Convergence" The Terror Watchlist Prepared the Way to Tyranny, by Paul Craig Roberts Is neoliberalism really dead? Or does it live on like a zombie? V…
(2023-12-19). Germany to Permanently Deploy 4,800 Troops in Lithuania. news.antiwar.com Germany is set to permanently station 4,800 troops in Lithuania as part of NATO's military buildup in Eastern Europe aimed at Russia. Lithuania shares a border with Kaliningrad, the Russian oblast on the Baltic Sea that's separated from the Russian mainland. Germany already leads a NATO deployment in Lithuania with 1,000 troops, but an agreement …
(2023-12-19). Former Ukrainian PM insists on Kiev joining NATO. infobrics.org According to former Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, Ukraine's entry into the Western military bloc would be the best way to put pressure on Russia.
(2023-12-19). Will political West transfer $300 billion of stolen Russian assets to Kiev regime. infobrics.org The political West is trying to hurt Russia by not only stealing its reserves, but also illegally transferring them to the Neo-Nazi junta. The obvious goal is to "adequately" substitute US funding that is now virtually guaranteed to run out thanks to the peculiarities of America's political system, as the growing GOP-DNC divide turns into an even bigger headache for Kiev.
(2023-12-19). US Granted Access to 15 Military Bases in Finland Under New Deal. news.antiwar.com The US and Finland signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) on Monday that gives the US access to 15 military bases in the Nordic nation, which shares an over 800-mile border with Russia. According to The Barent's Observer, the northernmost site in the agreement is a border guard base in Ivalo, a small town located …
(2023-12-19). Zelensky Suggests Ukraine Could Mobilize Up to 500,000 New Soldiers. news.antiwar.com Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukrainian military leadership proposed mobilizing 450,000-500,000 new conscripts to fight Russia as Kyiv is dealing with a manpower shortage. The Ukrainian leader said he needed to hear more about the plan before ordering the mobilization. "This is a serious number. I said I need more arguments to support …
(2023-12-19). Dedollarization: 95% of trade between China and Russia is no longer done in US currency. peoplesdispatch.org On a recent visit to China, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov stated that this year the use of the Russian ruble and Chinese yuan in trade between the two countries has already reached 95%. | At the same time, from January to October, 68% of all Russian trade was carried out in the two countries' currencies, according to Russian Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov. | The yuan has also been used by Russia in commercial transactions with Mongolia, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Japan, Tajikistan, and Singapore. | The debate about the need for de-doll…
(2023-12-19). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds end-of-year news conference. informationclearinghouse.blog "We are becoming stronger every month" Watch It follows Vladimir Putin giving his own end-of-year news conference last week in which he said his war objectives had not changed — and that Russia will have met its stated aims of "denazification", demilitarisation and neutral status of Ukraine by the time the war ends. A Note …
(2023-12-19). Russia's $300 Billion "Frozen Assets": Is The West Contemplating The Transfer of Russia's Confiscated Assets to the Kiev Regime? globalresearch.ca
(2023-12-19). Blizzards sweep across Russia, bringing massive snow falls. presstv.ir Blizzards swept across swathes of Russia, carpeting Moscow in one of the biggest snow falls in decades.
(2023-12-20). The Third Wave of Socialism. dongshengnews.org 
After the end of the Cold War, socialism suffered significant global setbacks. Despite this, a new wave of socialism has gradually emerged. Through decades of reform and opening up, China has incorporated a market economy into its socialist system. China's rise has generated tremendous interest in the country's path of development and the socialist market economy. As capitalism faces its most severe crisis in a century, there are opportunities for a new wave of socialist development.
(2023-12-19). Israel and the New McCarthyism. counterpunch.org The "New McCarthyism" has been announced so many times that it is at risk of losing real meaning. But the campus "anti-Semitism" investigations being conducted by the U.S. House of Representatives are remarkably reminiscent of the legislative smear campaigns that destroyed thousands of careers and livelihoods across the country during the early Cold War. While
(2023-12-20). North Korea conducts ICBM test launch amid increasing US-led provocations. wsws.org The greatest destabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region is US imperialism, which is seeking to maintain its political and economic hegemony through any means, including nuclear war.
(2023-12-20). The Four Horsemen of the Capitalist-Imperialist Apocalypse. counterpunch.org 
Followers of my writing have I hope noticed me repeatedly arguing that capitalism produces four mutually reinforcing and multiplying apocalyptic horsemen: ecocide, pandemicide, potentially terminal nuclear war, and fascism. Capitalism at the Dark Taproot I want to dig into this formulation here, explaining how capitalism generates each of these apocalyptic menaces and how the "four
(2023-12-19). The Deadly Influence Of The Military Industrial Complex At COP28. popularresistance.org We hear about the growing influence of fossil fuel, nuclear and Big Agriculture corporations over the United Nations' Conference of Parties (COP) meetings, but hardly anything about the presence of weapons makers and NATO leaders. Clearing the FOG speaks with Canadian environmental lawyer and peace activist Tamara Lorincz, who reports about the meetings and outcomes of the recently-concluded COP28. She is part of an organizing effort to highlight the carbon footprint of Western militaries and the significant contributions of NATO countries to the climate crisis. Lorincz points out the great discrepancies between…
(2023-12-19). North Korea's Kim Warns Washington As Biggest ICBM Launched. latintimes.com North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to accelerate his country's nuclear build-up and warned Washington against making a "wrong decision" after overseeing the launch of the country's most powerful ballistic missile, state media said Tuesday.
(2023-12-19). False Transitions and Global Stocktakes: The Failure of COP28. counterpunch.org 
The time has come to treat the sequence of UN Climate Change Conferences, the latest concluding in Dubai, as a series of the failed and the abysmally rotten. It shows how a worthless activity, caked (oiled?) with appropriately chosen words, can actually provide assurance that something worthwhile was done. Along the way, there are always the same
(2023-12-19). US needs to lift sanctions on Iran's oil for JCPOA to resume: UN chief. presstv.ir UN Secretary-General António Guterres urges the United States to lift or waive its sanctions against Iran's oil sector to resume the US-abandoned Iran nuclear deal.
(2023-12-20). Envían mensajes de solidaridad a China tras sismo. telesurtv.net "Rusia comparte el dolor de quienes perdieron a sus seres queridos como resultado de este desastre", refirió Vladímir Putin.
(2023-12-19). Brasil apoya presencia del presidente Putin en Cumbre del G20. telesurtv.net "Una conferencia del G20 sin Rusia es una conferencia incompleta", señaló el principal asesor presidencial de Brasil.
(2023-12-19). Putin entrega documentos para registrarse como candidato. telesurtv.net El presidente ruso puede presentarse para las elecciones del 2024 amparado en varias enmiendas a la Constitución del país.