Daily Archives: December 9, 2019

2019-12-09: News Headlines

Staff (2019-12-09). Chemical Companies Are Building Their Plants Overseas and Shipping Them Back In. truthout.org This article was produced in partnership with The Times-Picayune and The Advocate, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. | Twice during the last decade, chemical giant Methanex has disassembled a massive methanol plant located at the southern tip of Chile and moved it to Louisiana. | The ship traveled through the Strait of Magellan, along the east coast of South America, into the Gulf of Mexico and up…

Robert Koehler (2019-12-09). Envisioning a United World. counterpunch.org Let's bomb Iowa! Or maybe Texas or Michigan or Nebraska . . . Oh wait, I got confused for a second. Those places are part of America and we love them. We would never bomb them. These are places we would bomb: Guatemala, Indonesia, Cuba, Congo, Vietnam, Cambodia, Grenada, Libya, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Iran, Panama, More

RT (2019-12-09). Mexico president says senators accepted changes to USMCA trade pact. rt.com Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that the country's senators have accepted proposed changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as US lawmakers mull ratifying the trade pact. | Lopez Obrador told reporters that he "respectfully requests" that US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi make a decision about the trade agreement. | The deal was struck more than a year ago, but must be ratified by legislators in the three countries before it goes into effect. | "It's the time, it's the moment," Reuters quoted Lopez Obrador as saying. "I am optimistic, very optimistic, t…

RT (2019-12-09). Mexico's envoy to Argentina recalled over alleged theft of Casanova's bio from bookstore (VIDEO). rt.com Mexico's foreign ministry has recalled the country's ambassador over a video allegedly showing the man in an act of shoplifting at one of the most famous bookstores in Buenos Aires. | The incident is said to have happened in late October at the El Ateneo bookstore in the Argentinian capital. Oscar Ricardo Valero Recio Becerra, or somebody who looks similar to him, was shown snatching a book from a shelf and hiding it in a newspaper he was carrying. | El canciller mexicano Marcelo Ebrard ordenó que el embajador del país azteca en Argentina regresara a México tras divulgarse una grabación en la que supuestamente…

Eric A. Gordon (2019-12-06). 'Vicious Circle,' Mexican writer José Agustín's 1972 play in brilliant translation. peoplesworld.org Usually I go to the theatre to review plays. This one I have not seen, but read. My Spanish is pretty good, but it's mostly an academic, formal language learned at university. I read José Agustín's highly vernacular play Círculo Vicioso in a fine, modern and sassy translation by Eric W. Vogt, published in 2017 …

RT (2019-12-06). AMLO asked me nicely: Trump says he will NOT declare Mexican cartels terrorists just yet. rt.com US President Donald Trump said he will hold off on designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorists at the request of the country's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, adding that they will "deal decisively" with them together. | Calling Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, "a man who I like and respect, and has worked so well with us," Trump said that he will "temporarily" hold off on the terrorist designation despite all the necessary work already being completed. ….will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations![md…

Shaw Drake (2019-12-05). A Border Officer Told Me I Couldn't Opt Out of the Face Recognition Scan. They Were Wrong. aclu.org "Look at the camera," a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) | officer told me as I approached the primary inspection point at the Paso del | Norte port of entry. | "Is that the face recognition technology?" I asked. "If so, I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | "I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | On the evening of November 25, 2019, I crossed from Mexico into the United States. Signs in the port noted the new use of face recognition technology and United States citizens' option to "undergo alternative procedures." After handing over my U.S. passport card, and despite my repeated protests…

Cora Currier (2019-12-05). Filmmakers Sue to Shield Visitors to U.S. From Social Media Vetting. theintercept.com A filmmaker working on a documentary that's critical of U.S. policies. A writer who operates a pseudonymous Twitter account to evade an authoritarian regime in their home country. An activist who uses Facebook to organize protests at the U.S.-Mexico border. | These are the kinds of people who might not want U.S. immigration agents poring over their social media profiles before deciding whether they should be allowed into the country. Yet that's exactly what the State Department now requires as part of the Trump administration's "extreme vetting" of millions of visa applicants. As of May, people who need a visa to…

Staff (2019-12-04). U.N. Report Finds Over 7 Million Children Worldwide Are Being Held in Various Kinds of Detention. democracynow.org A damning United Nations report says that 7 million children are deprived of their liberty worldwide, from children imprisoned on the U.S.-Mexico border to the missing children of ISIS fighters. The Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty says that at least 410,000 of those children are detained in jails and prisons, where violence is "endemic." The study also found that the number of children detained in the context of armed conflict has dramatically risen. The global study was published in November, on the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the landmark international treaty affi…

Dean Baker (2019-12-04). Moving Jobs to Mexico Was a Feature, Not a Bug, of NAFTA. fair.org The Washington Post ( 11/21/19) tells readers that "NAFTA was meant to expand trade…but it also proved disruptive in terms of…relocating businesses and jobs. | The Washington Post ( 11/21/19) gave readers the official story about NAFTA, diverging seriously from reality, in a piece on the status of negotiati…

Alan Macleod (2019-12-04). Is Trump's New Drug Cartel Terrorism Designation Masking a More Sinister Agenda? mintpressnews.com Everybody in Latin America knows what happens to leftist heads of state who challenge the power of the local elites and of the US government.

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-02). Nicaragua Marked Next For US "Liberation", Trump Blames "Vicious World" For Khashoggi Murder & More. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/1/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

Ben Norton (2019-12-01). Plan Cóndor 2.0: Tras el golpe en Bolivia, Trump declara a Nicaragua 'amenaza a su seguridad nacional' y apunta hacia México. thegrayzone.com Luego de presidir el golpe en Bolivia, los Estados Unidos declararon a Nicaragua como una "amenaza a la seguridad nacional"…

James Goodman (2019-12-01). The Sanctuary Strategy. progressive.org Policies and activism that work to shelter undocumented immigrants have spread across the country—and are remarkably effective.

Ben Norton (2019-11-28). Operation Condor 2.0: After Bolivia coup, Trump dubs Nicaragua 'national security threat' and targets Mexico. thegrayzone.com After presiding over a far-right coup in Bolivia, the US dubbed Nicaragua a "national security threat" and announced new sanctions,…

Paul Dobson (2019-11-04). Venezuela, El Salvador Break Relations as Maduro Applauds 'New Anti-Neoliberal Wave'. venezuelanalysis.com Guatemala's president-elect has similarly pledged to break with the Maduro government upon assuming office in January.

Paul Dobson (2019-10-14). Venezuela Denies Guatemalan President-Elect Entrance, Congratulates Ecuadorian People on IMF Defeat. venezuelanalysis.com President Nicolas Maduro also called on Chavista forces to prepare to "rescue" the National Assembly in the upcoming elections.

2019-12-09: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Envisioning a United World
Robert Koehler | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-09
Let's bomb Iowa! Or maybe Texas or Michigan or Nebraska . . . Oh wait, I got confused for a second. Those places are part of America and we love them. We would never bomb them. These are places we would bomb: Guatemala, Indonesia, Cuba, Congo, Vietnam, Cambodia, Grenada, Libya, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Iran, Panama,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/09/envisioning-a-united-world/

Chemical Companies Are Building Their Plants Overseas and Shipping Them Back In
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-09
This article was produced in partnership with The Times-Picayune and The Advocate, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. | Twice during the last decade, chemical giant Methanex has disassembled a massive methanol plant located at the southern tip of Chile and moved it to Louisiana. | The ship traveled through the Strait of Magellan, along the east coast of South America, into the Gulf of Mexico and up…
truthout.org/articles/chemical-companies-are-building-their-plants-overseas-and-shipping-them-back-in/

Mexico's envoy to Argentina recalled over alleged theft of Casanova's bio from bookstore (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2019-12-09
Mexico's foreign ministry has recalled the country's ambassador over a video allegedly showing the man in an act of shoplifting at one of the most famous bookstores in Buenos Aires. | The incident is said to have happened in late October at the El Ateneo bookstore in the Argentinian capital. Oscar Ricardo Valero Recio Becerra, or somebody who looks similar to him, was shown snatching a book from a shelf and hiding it in a newspaper he was carrying. | El canciller mexicano Marcelo Ebrard ordenó que el embajador del país azteca en Argentina regresara a México tras divulgarse una grabación en la que supuestamente…
rt.com/news/475407-mexican-ambassador-argentina-shoplifting-claim/

Mexico president says senators accepted changes to USMCA trade pact
rt.com | 2019-12-09
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that the country's senators have accepted proposed changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as US lawmakers mull ratifying the trade pact. | Lopez Obrador told reporters that he "respectfully requests" that US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi make a decision about the trade agreement. | The deal was struck more than a year ago, but must be ratified by legislators in the three countries before it goes into effect. | "It's the time, it's the moment," Reuters quoted Lopez Obrador as saying. "I am optimistic, very optimistic, t…
rt.com/newsline/475421-mexico-senators-trade-pact/

'Vicious Circle,' Mexican writer José Agustín's 1972 play in brilliant translation
Eric A. Gordon | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-06
Usually I go to the theatre to review plays. This one I have not seen, but read. My Spanish is pretty good, but it's mostly an academic, formal language learned at university. I read José Agustín's highly vernacular play Círculo Vicioso in a fine, modern and sassy translation by Eric W. Vogt, published in 2017 …
peoplesworld.org/article/vicious-circle-mexican-writer-jose-agustins-1972-play-in-brilliant-translation/

AMLO asked me nicely: Trump says he will NOT declare Mexican cartels terrorists just yet
rt.com | 2019-12-06
US President Donald Trump said he will hold off on designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorists at the request of the country's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, adding that they will "deal decisively" with them together. | Calling Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, "a man who I like and respect, and has worked so well with us," Trump said that he will "temporarily" hold off on the terrorist designation despite all the necessary work already being completed. | ….will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations![md…
rt.com/usa/475251-mexican-cartels-trump-terrorist/

Filmmakers Sue to Shield Visitors to U.S. From Social Media Vetting
Cora Currier | theintercept.com | 2019-12-05
A filmmaker working on a documentary that's critical of U.S. policies. A writer who operates a pseudonymous Twitter account to evade an authoritarian regime in their home country. An activist who uses Facebook to organize protests at the U.S.-Mexico border. | These are the kinds of people who might not want U.S. immigration agents poring over their social media profiles before deciding whether they should be allowed into the country. Yet that's exactly what the State Department now requires as part of the Trump administration's "extreme vetting" of millions of visa applicants. As of May, people who need a visa to…
theintercept.com/2019/12/05/us-visa-social-media-screening/

A Border Officer Told Me I Couldn't Opt Out of the Face Recognition Scan. They Were Wrong
Shaw Drake | aclu.org | 2019-12-05
"Look at the camera," a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) | officer told me as I approached the primary inspection point at the Paso del | Norte port of entry. | "Is that the face recognition technology?" I asked. "If so, I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | "I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | On the evening of November 25, 2019, I crossed from Mexico into the United States. Signs in the port noted the new use of face recognition technology and United States citizens' option to "undergo alternative procedures." After handing over my U.S. passport card, and despite my repeated protests…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/a-border-officer-told-me-i-couldnt-opt-out-of-the-face-recognition-scan-they-were-wrong

Moving Jobs to Mexico Was a Feature, Not a Bug, of NAFTA
Dean Baker | fair.org | 2019-12-04
The Washington Post ( 11/21/19) tells readers that "NAFTA was meant to expand trade…but it also proved disruptive in terms of…relocating businesses and jobs. | The Washington Post ( 11/21/19) gave readers the official story about NAFTA, diverging seriously from reality, in a piece on the status of negotiati…
fair.org/home/moving-jobs-to-mexico-was-a-feature-not-a-bug-of-nafta/

U.N. Report Finds Over 7 Million Children Worldwide Are Being Held in Various Kinds of Detention
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-04
A damning United Nations report says that 7 million children are deprived of their liberty worldwide, from children imprisoned on the U.S.-Mexico border to the missing children of ISIS fighters. The Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty says that at least 410,000 of those children are detained in jails and prisons, where violence is "endemic." The study also found that the number of children detained in the context of armed conflict has dramatically risen. The global study was published in November, on the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the landmark international treaty affi…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/4/un_report_seven_million_children_deprived

Is Trump's New Drug Cartel Terrorism Designation Masking a More Sinister Agenda?
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-04
Everybody in Latin America knows what happens to leftist heads of state who challenge the power of the local elites and of the US government.
mintpressnews.com/trump-mexico-drug-cartel-terrorism-designation-agenda-obrador/263193/

Nicaragua Marked Next For US "Liberation", Trump Blames "Vicious World" For Khashoggi Murder & More
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2019-12-02
Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/1/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/daily-wrap-up/nicaragua-marked-next-for-us-liberation-trump-blames-vicious-world-for-khashoggi-murder-more/

Plan Cóndor 2.0: Tras el golpe en Bolivia, Trump declara a Nicaragua 'amenaza a su seguridad nacional' y apunta hacia México
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-01
Luego de presidir el golpe en Bolivia, los Estados Unidos declararon a Nicaragua como una "amenaza a la seguridad nacional"…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/01/plan-condor-2-golpe-bolivia-trump-nicaragua-mexico/

The Sanctuary Strategy
James Goodman | progressive.org | 2019-12-01
Policies and activism that work to shelter undocumented immigrants have spread across the country–and are remarkably effective.
progressive.org/magazine/the-sanctuary-strategy-goodman/

Operation Condor 2.0: After Bolivia coup, Trump dubs Nicaragua 'national security threat' and targets Mexico
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2019-11-28
After presiding over a far-right coup in Bolivia, the US dubbed Nicaragua a "national security threat" and announced new sanctions,…
thegrayzone.com/2019/11/27/operation-condor-2-coup-trump-nicaragua-mexico/