John Pilger: The Most Lethal Virus Is Not COVID. It Is War
John Pilger | mintpressnews.com | 2020-12-14
In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Britain has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defense spending.
mintpressnews.com/john-pilger-lethal-virus-not-covid-war/273597/

Go Vote Yourself a Raise, Georgia—You've Long Earned It
Ralph Nader | commondreams.org | 2020-12-12
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 …
commondreams.org/views/2020/12/12/go-vote-yourself-raise-georgia-youve-long-earned-it?cd-origin=rss

Victory! Seville Cancels Electronic Warfare Europe Arms Fair
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-12
In a press release issued today by the City Council of Seville, the Councilor of Urban Housing, Tourism and Culture, Antonio Muñoz, announced the cancellation of the Electronic Warfare Europe arms fair which was scheduled to take place at the Palace of Exhibitions and Congresses of Fibes in Seville in May 2021. | The same fair had been cancelled in Liverpool, UK, where Elbit Systems, Israel's largest private weapons manufacturer whose arms are regularly used by the Israeli military to kill and maim Palestinian civilians, was a partner.
popularresistance.org/victory-seville-cancels-electronic-warfare-europe-arms-fair/

Biden solidifying a more aggressive neoliberal and militarist administration
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-12
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.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/12/biden-solidifying-a-more-aggressive-neoliberal-and-militarist-administration/

Military-Grade Weapons Do Not Make Cops Or Cities Safer
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-12
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…
popularresistance.org/military-grade-weapons-do-not-make-cops-or-cities-safer/

Andrew Bacevich on Why Retired General and Raytheon Official Lloyd Austin Should Not Head Pentagon
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-12-11
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…
www.democracynow.org/2020/12/11/joe_biden_lloyd_austin_pentagon

The think tank industrial complex: Sowing doubt and disinformation
Derek Royden | nationofchange.org | 2020-12-11
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.
nationofchange.org/2020/12/11/the-think-tank-industrial-complex-sowing-doubt-and-disinformation/

UAE arms deal: Critics turn to Biden as Senate fails to block $23bn sale
Ali Harb | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-11
UAE arms deal: Critics turn to Biden as Senate fails to block $23bn sale | US Senate narrowly votes against measure to halt enormous arms deal with Abu Dhabi; activists want Biden to cancel or revise sale | Ali Harb | Fri, 12/11/2020 – 00: 13 | Deal includes advanced F-35 jets and killer drones (AFP/File photo) | After the US Senate failed to block an enormous arms deal with the United Arab Emirates, opponents of the sale a…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-arms-deal-critics-turn-biden-senate-fails-block-23bn-sale

Given gaps, inconsistencies, Syria's declarations on chemical weapons programme not considered 'accurate and complete'
news.un.org | 2020-12-11
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.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1079882

'Serious escalation': Pompeo claims Iran would be closer to nuclear WEAPONS with new uranium enrichment bill
rt.com | 2020-12-11
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"
rt.com/news/509441-pompeo-iran-nuclear-weapons/