2020-12-13: News Headlines

Ralph Nader (2020-12-12). Go Vote Yourself a Raise, Georgia—You've Long Earned It. commondreams.org Candidates should be pushed to say if they stand with the super-rich profiteering, callous Big Business tycoons or with the people who work for pitiful wages, on the rugged frontlines, and keep our society running. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/georgia_primary.jpg

_____ (2020-12-12). Military-Grade Weapons Do Not Make Cops Or Cities Safer. popularresistance.org Over the last forty years, state and local police budgets have increased at astounding rates, with billions of dollars going toward military-grade equipment for law enforcement. The premise is simple: a better-equipped police force ought to be able to do their job—protecting the public—better, as well as offer more protection for the officers themselves. But two independent studies have punctured those ideas, finding that militarizing police forces does not reduce crime, nor does it increase officer safety. | As ABC News reports, the two peer-reviewed studies, one coming from the University of Michiga…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-12). Biden solidifying a more aggressive neoliberal and militarist administration. peoplesdispatch.org From former war commanders and representatives of the military-industrial complex to Clinton loyalists to oil lobby-funded, the appointments made so far gives us very little change to be expected from the upcoming Biden administration.

RT (2020-12-11). 'Serious escalation': Pompeo claims Iran would be closer to nuclear WEAPONS with new uranium enrichment bill. rt.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned that Iran could be a step closer to obtaining nukes if it enriches uranium at a higher purity and continues to frustrate international efforts to search its nuclear sites. | "A reduction in Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or enrichment to the 20 percent level would constitute a serious escalation that moves Iran closer to the ability to obtain a nuclear weapon," he said in a statement on Friday. | Last week Iranian MPs passed a new law, requiring the country to "produce and store 120kg per year of uranium enriched to 20 percent"

Staff (2020-12-11). Andrew Bacevich on Why Retired General and Raytheon Official Lloyd Austin Should Not Head Pentagon. democracynow.org Joe Biden's nominee for defense secretary, retired four-star Army General Lloyd Austin, would make history as the first African American to lead the Pentagon if confirmed by the Senate. But Austin can only be confirmed if he secures a waiver from Congress due to laws designed to preserve the civilian control of the military, and several leading Democratic senators have indicated they would oppose granting a waiver. Andrew Bacevich, president and co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says he shares those concerns. "The general is not a civilian, and it seems to me if we're serious about ci…

news.un (2020-12-11). Given gaps, inconsistencies, Syria's declarations on chemical weapons programme not considered 'accurate and complete'. news.un.org Outstanding issues related to Syria's initial declaration of its chemical weapons stockpile and programme cannot be considered "accurate and complete", the head of the world body monitoring States' implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention told the Security Council on Friday.

Derek Royden (2020-12-11). The think tank industrial complex: Sowing doubt and disinformation. nationofchange.org Without some kind of regulation, unaccountable think tanks will continue to obscure the truth about the issues they present to the public and offer often financially lucrative revolving doors for politicians and policymakers as they leave government service.

Patricia Gorky (2020-12-10). Genocidal monarchy set to receive $23 billion in U.S. weapons after Senate resolution fails. liberationnews.org Two resolutions in the Senate to block the sale of $23 billion in advanced fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates failed yesterday in close votes.

Suzanne James (2020-12-10). Australia: Exporting Weapons Is a Clear and Present Danger. asia-pacificresearch.com