Hanukkah, Syria and the Perils of Empire

[t]   Friday, December 23, 2016 [t r u t h o u t] [View Recent Newsletters] [Tell a friend about Truthout!] [Donate Today!]   Truthout is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; donations are tax deductible.   BuzzFlash Suspect in Berlin Christmas Market Attack Shot Dead in Milan, According to Senior Security Official [Read the Article at The Washington Post]   Nuke Experts Say Trump's Tweet Is "a Very Bad Sign" [Read the Article at The Huffington Post]   Google Is Profiting From Holocaust Denial, Says Jewish Museum [Read the Article at the Guardian US]   In Historic Decision, Canada Declares Internet Access a Fundamental Right for All [Read the Article at Common Dreams]   How Liberals Can Use the Tea Party Playbook to Stop Trump [Read the Article at Mother Jones]   GOP's Next Battle Against Gay Rights: Proposed First Amendment Defense Act Will Use "Religious Freedom" to Legalize Discrimination [Read the Article as Salon]   California Becomes Heart of Anti-Trump Resistance [Read the Article at The Hill]     [Hanukkah, Syria and the Perils of Empire] Brant Rosen, Truthout: While the story of Hanukkah is often portrayed as solely a struggle against religious persecution, it was just as much a civil war between fundamentalist and assimilated Jews. This history holds lessons for us, as we work to comprehend the contemporary tragic situation in Syria. [Read the Article]  [The Great Unwinding of Public Education: Detroit and DeVos] Joseph Natoli, Truthout: "Saving" schools through privatization, regardless of the poor performance of charter schools, is not unique to Michigan. But few have succeeded like Betsy DeVos at dismantling public education and putting hedge fund managers in charge by way of vouchers. Today, 80 percent of Detroit's public schools are for-profit charters. [Read the Article]  [The Anti-Worker History of Trump's Small Business Administration Pick] Branko Marcetic, In These Times: President-elect Donald Trump nominated former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chief executive Linda McMahon to head the Small Business Administration. From longtime alleged encouragement of drug abuse to the WWE's refusal to treat wrestlers as proper full-time workers, her record on workers' rights is spotty. [Read the Article]  ["We've Seen Exxon Leading the Charge to Go After Groups That Criticized Them"] Janine Jackson, CounterSpin: Global Witness Senior Legal Advisor Zorka Milin discusses how ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson's Russian ties are worth talking about, but aren't the whole story. Global Witness exposes the links between natural resource extraction, corruption and environmental destruction. [Listen to the Audio Segment and Read the Transcript]  [Some "Unrecognized" Tribes Still Waiting After 130 Years] Gabriel Furshong, YES! Magazine: As the Standing Rock Sioux have fought to assert their federal rights as Indigenous people, other tribes remain in the shadows, struggling to be recognized as Native communities in the first place. Federal recognition offers financial help, and those tribes without it have second-class status. [Read the Article]  [Obama Administration Dismantles Idled Muslim Registry Ahead of Trump Inauguration] Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now!: The Obama administration has moved to formally end the national registry program for immigrants from majority-Muslim countries, known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. Obama's move comes only one day after Donald Trump appeared to reiterate his pledge to reinstate this very registry. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript]  [California Agency Accused of Targeting Homeless People] s.e. smith, Care2: A suit filed in an Alameda County Court last week alleges that CalTrans -- the California agency charged with building and maintaining California's roads, bridges and rails -- violated the Constitution based on its treatment of homeless encampments near roadways. [Read the Article]  [The Italian Banking Crisis: No Free Lunch -- or Is There?] Ellen Brown, The Web of Debt Blog: The Italian banking crisis that could take down the eurozone has been called "a bigger risk than Brexit." Handwringing officials say "there is no free lunch" and "no magic bullet." But UK Professor Richard Werner says the magic bullet is just being ignored. [Read the Article]  [Mexican Environmental Protest: What Does It Mean to Defend Territory in a Repressive Context?] Alice Poma and Tommaso Gravante, openDemocracy: Despite a repressive context where activism has become a high-risk activity, many experiences of resistance and struggles have flourished in Mexico. Among them, more than 420 environmental conflicts involving Indigenous communities, rural villages and urban collectives that confront the state and companies to defend their territory. [Read the Article]  [Economic Update: Christmas vs. Economic Realities] Richard D. Wolff, Truthout: This week's episode includes updates on politicians lying about economics, fines for big banks, fewer international students coming to the US and a struggle at the Pebble Mine. The show also covers the Christmas spirit and the economic realities of deporting immigrants, rescuing and rebuilding the US "middle class," and raising capital for worker co-ops. [Listen to the Audio Segment]  [Support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation ] Please add messenger@truthout.org to ensure you receive our messages Truthout is a proud member of the Newspaper Guild/CWA, Local 36047 [Subscribe] | [Unsubscribe] [Privacy Policy]   [The Newspaper Guild]