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Education is the foundation of political change. In this section we provide news and analyses of current events that you won’t likely read or hear in the corporate media. Our sources are from organizations and independent media outlets free of corporate and government propaganda. We strongly encourage you to share these articles by email and social media so that together we create an echo chamber that overcomes the influence of the oligarchy. You will find large social media sharing buttons on the left side of each article when you open the article to read.

Appeals Court Upholding TikTok Ban Is A Grim Sign For Press Freedom

Donald Trump is just weeks away from returning to the White House, and when he gets there, it is all but assured that he will attack press freedom (FAIR.org, 11/14/24; NBC, 12/4/24). But the will and desire to clamp down on free speech and expression isn’t just a Trumpian phenomenon. A US District Court of Appeals panel, with two Republican-appointed judges and one picked by a Democrat, has upheld a law forcing the sale of TikTok because of its alleged Chinese government control (AP, 12/6/24). All corners of government, joined by members of both major parties, concur that national security concerns should allow the government to scrap First Amendment principles.

Syria – Winners And Losers Or Both

Syria has fallen. It is now highly likely that the country will fall apart. Outside and inside actors will try to capture and/or control as many parts of the cadaver as each of them can. Years of chaos and strife will follow from that. Israel is grabbing another large amount of Syrian land. It has taken control of the Syrian city of Quneitra, along with the towns of Al-Qahtaniyah and Al-Hamidiyah in the Quneitra region. It has also advanced into the Syrian Mount Hermon and is now positioned just 30 kilometers from (and above) the Syrian capital. It is also further demilitarizing Syria by bombing every Syria military storage site in its reach.

US, UK Consider Removing HTS From Terror Blacklist

US officials are considering removing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the US terrorist list after the offshoot of the Islamic State of Iraq (later known as ISIS) helped achieve the long-term US goal of overthrowing the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, The Washington Post reported on 9 December. “US officials are in contact with all the groups involved in fighting in Syria, including the main group that ousted Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and remains on a US terrorist list,” the newspaper wrote.

Turkey Takes Aleppo

Before it fell under 20th century Anglo-American colonialism, Syria was the core of the Levant, encompassing (today’s) Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, the site of multireligious, multicultural cities between which people traveled and traded freely. In the countryside, peasants and herders tended an agricultural and pastoral landscape of olive and orange trees, pasture, forest, and drylands. This region was under the control of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years (perhaps Erdogan’s dream is to take some of it back. He’s been accused of “neo-Ottoman” fantasies).

How Health Insurance Became A Boon For Business

UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a targeted shooting outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024, when he was about to speak at an investor conference. While mourning and preoccupation spread among economic and political elites, a mix of celebration and snark dominated social media commentary. There has been an outpouring of empathy for the perpetrator, shirts with the murder scene printed on it, and even a UnitedHealth CEO shooter look-alike contest in Washington Square Park.

The New College Gambit

Ever since Jan. 6, 2023, when DeSantis appointed a series of right-wing activists to New College’s board of trustees with the mission to transform Florida’s weirdest, queerest public college into a ​“Hillsdale of the South” — emulating the Michigan Christian school known for its conservative ​“classical education” and hard-right politics—it was clear the takeover was meant to be a model. Nearly two years later — after interviews with current and former New College students, faculty and staff, extensive research of news and academic reports, firsthand reporting and numerous documents shared with In These Times—there’s no simple answer as to whether they’ve succeeded.

How Exxon And Atlas Network Worked To Block Global Climate Action

In March 1999, Alejandro Chafuen, then president of an international free-market coalition called Atlas Network, wrote to an executive at ExxonMobil (XOM) to offer the American oil major a friendly note of appreciation. “On behalf of Atlas and the institutes it supports, we would like to thank you again for the Exxon Corporation’s generous contributions,” Chafuen stated, “and for the confidence you and Exxon have placed in us.” Included in the letter to William E. Hale of ExxonMobil’s public affairs department was a five-page summary of the global reach and diversity of the activities the corporation funded in 1998, “in whole or in part,” through donations to Atlas Network’s “Energy and Environment: Market-based Solutions”.

HTS Declares End Of Syrian Government As Extremists Swarm Damascus

Over the past 10 days, HTS and Syrian National Army (SNA) fighters – most of them former members of Al-Qaeda and ISIS – took control of the cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs before advancing on Damascus. Nevertheless, heavy battles were reported at the Sayyeda Zainab Shrine in Damascus, where a few dozen Shia Muslim fighters reportedly gathered to protect the holy site from the Salafi extremists. In response, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continuously “repositioned” its troops to avoid clashing with the extremists, citing the protection of civilians before folding entirely on Sunday.

Syria Falls

During and after its fight against takfiri terrorists Syria had come under heavy sanctions. Its main assets in the east were under U.S. control. Israel's airforce was bombing its military infrastructure at will. It was ripe to fall. As soon as the bogus ceasefire in Lebanon was signed Turkey unleashed its takfiri 'Syrian rebels', many of them foreigners, against Syria. These were exceptionally well armed and trained. They have (vid) night vision equipment, drones, artillery, Starlink communication and a capable, professional command. The Syrian Arab army proved to be unreliable. Some units just vanished.

Ten Points On The fall Of Bashar al-Assad’s Syria

On Sunday, December 8, after over a week of intense fighting between the Syrian government and the terrorist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allied factions, who gained control over key cities in the country, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled Syria. The news was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry which also informed that with his resignation, al-Assad instructed his prime minister to stay in charge of the state to oversee a peaceful transition of power to opposition forces. The development happens 14 months into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and weeks after signing a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

South Korea’s Martial Law Fiasco

In the wake of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s 6-hour coup, Western pundits have opined that this was an affirmation of South Korean democracy’s robustness and resilience, its institutional maturity and strength. This is like saying after a survivor fights off an assault, that this demonstrates a mature state of legal order. Hardly. It signals the opposite. Certainly, it highlights courage, but it isn’t a demonstration of a robust state of rights. It demonstrates a gaping, terrifying lack of order.

Biden’s Legacy: Enhancing The ‘State Secrets Privilege’ To Protect The National Security State

Abu Zubaydah, a high-profile detainee at Guantanamo Bay, was tortured by the CIA. He attempted to subpoena James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, both architects of the agency’s torture program who interrogated him at a black site in Poland. However, the CIA invoked the “state secrets privilege” to block Zubaydah from seeking testimony that could be used in a Polish criminal investigation. The case involving the state secrets privilege was eventually heard by the United States Supreme Court, and the court not only ruled in favor of the CIA but also expanded the privilege.

Africa And Russia: The Anti-Imperialist Partnership For Our Future

Neo-colonial governments have been toppled in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger (henceforth “the Alliance of Sahel States”). Revolutionary governments, backed by popular movements, have seized power and resurrected the flame of revolution in Africa. From the outbreaks of the rebellions that toppled neo-colonialism to today, it is common to see the people raising Russian flags along their national flags. For Africans, Russia represents a win-win cooperation and a partner against Western hegemony. Despite Western media’s desperate strategy to paint Russia as an imperial power and a colonial force that Africans should be wary of, a thorough study of history and a proper understanding of imperialism demonstrates that Russia has never been an imperialist or a colonial force in Africa, nor is it now.

Hamas Accepts Egypt’s Post-War Gaza Proposal Amid Ceasefire Talks

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on December 6 that it has accepted an Egyptian proposal to form a joint Palestinian social support committee to govern the Gaza Strip after the Israeli genocidal aggression on the besieged enclave ends. The announcement came after Hamas held in-depth talks in Cairo with the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), which leads the Palestinian Authority. The talks centered around implementing previously agreed-upon frameworks to achieve Palestinian unity. “Hamas conveyed its approval of an Egyptian proposal for forming a community support committee that will function through inclusive national mechanisms,” the movement said in a statement.

The Problem With Joe And Hunter

President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden was inevitable and inevitably controversial. Hunter Biden is the quintessential nepotism baby, the recipient of privileges such as being appointed to the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. Burisma paid him $50,000 per month for doing nothing other than existing with the last name Biden. The younger Biden was the butt of jokes for years, a cocaine addict who somehow managed to never have any interaction with the criminal justice system and who achieved nothing without an assist from his father.
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