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Looking like a great week for me. Being working on different things that are productive.

How about you?

International Politics

Overall

– Glen Ford joins The Real News to discuss the “little and big monsters” after the terrorist attack in Paris

– Pew: Sixty-nine percent of Americans worry there will be a terrorist attack soon. Moreover, 29 percent of Americans following updates on the Charlie Hebdo killings very closely.

– Gareth Porter: “Four Ways the West Got the Iran Nuclear Issue Wrong”

– Political and extreme Islam does not represent the religion, but Western agencies enjoy using it for their agenda

Middle East

– Hamas and Fatah are arguing and blaming each other over delays of controlling the Gaza crossings

– The Islamic State released a video where they killed two suspected Russian spies

– Three people were killed and 13 wounded after a suicide bomber attacked Samarra, Iraq, which rarely ever gets attacks.

– Ali Abunimah: “Jerusalem resident assaulted by Israeli-backed US ‘Muslim leaders’”

Asia and Oceania

– The first threats against “The Interview” were actually a public relations stunt, according to someone involved with the movie.

Africa

– Gallup: Thirteen percent of Nigerians confide in the elections, which is down from 51 percent in 2011 due to corruption and the rise of Boko Haram.

– A two part interview with Nii Akuetteh, an analyst, on the role Boko Haram plays in Nigeria and reaction by the international community

– It is vital in putting a spotlight on the role Ethiopia plays in committing state terrorism

Europe 

– French President Francois Hollande: We will “never yield” to any form of fear

– In eastern Ukraine, at least 11 people died as a result of what may be rockets

– Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo called for more international aid to Gaza

Latin America, Caribbean and Canada

– Why did President Barack Obama meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto last week? To make more money of course!

– Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes called politicians who committed graft to “stop robbing”

– The U.S. State Department announced it would strengthen ties with the Honduran government despite the problems of corruption there

Surveillance Planet

– Trevor Timm: “Banning all encryption won’t make us safer, no matter what David Cameron says”

Financial Matters

– A two part interview with economist John Weeks on the rise of SYRIZA and how it has been covered

– The reality surrounding New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is that he is a failure for his state, which is not recovering whatsoever.

– The Security and Exchange Commission found agencies that rate bonds are not honest in their ratings

–  A U.S. trade representative admitted investor-state resolutions in previous free trade agreements were a problem

Politics US

Washington USA

– Jesselyn Radack: “‘There are indeed consequences’: The case against Gen. David Petraeus”

– Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT): If evidence shows Petraeus broke the law, then he should be prosecuted

– Remember Steve Scalise, current House whip for the GOP, speaking at a white supremacist convention?  Well, when he was a lawmaker in Louisiana, he voted against apologizing for slavery in 1996; Damage control in 3…2…1

– Now remember Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and her campaign advertisements on how she lives within her means? Turns out she has a lot of means.

– Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) made a tweet about how Adolf Hitler went to Paris compared to President Obama who did not. He apologized afterward.

– The truth about the presidential elections next year is that no one really cares or wants to

– The White House admitted it would be extremely difficult to close down Guantanamo Bay before President Obama leaves office

– Establishment figures enjoy discussing about freedom of speech in the U.S. and in Western countries, but such freedom is always under attack by them

– Jason Leopold: “The FBI Considered Recruiting an American Blogger Later Killed in a Drone Strike“; Whoa

Anytown USA

– Part two of two with journalist Maya Schenwar on reforms to the prison system in the U.S. including abolition

– In Ann Arbor, Mich., a black woman was killed by police after officers said they felt threatened as she wielded a knife. The major media outlets did not even cover this.

– A new study found Canadian and Asian immigrants usually received green cards, yet immigrants from Latin America were not so lucky

Health, Hunger and Homelessness

– The role of the police in society is to dictate what is legal and not legal and they ensure it through force.

– A new study found Bisphenol A-free containers may be worse than plastics with it

– The suicide rate for the military rose last year due to more sailors and air force members committing suicide

Planet Earth

– Part seven of eight with Robert Pollin who explains the failure of lawmakers to follow up with their support of action on climate change

– As frac sand mining expands in Iowa and Wisconsin, communities are resisting due to the problems it brings

– In spite of rain in California last month, 98 percent of the state is still suffering from a drought

– Dahr Jamail: “The Methane Monster Roars”

– In the United Kingdom, a climate change denier with ties to the Koch brothers and oil companies took over a climate change denying think tank.

Mixed Bag

– Gallup: Americans feel the happiest during holidays, especially during Thanksgiving.

– Quite an interesting interview with author Roxane Gay about feminism, race and the state of modern society

– Dave Zirin: “On the Death of the Irreplaceable Mike Marqusee”

Break Time

– Desirock [Swami]