USA - To those who have been paying attention, it is no secret that the US government has been lying to its citizens for centuries. From granting the power to coin money to the private Federal Reserve to the war on terror to the endless wars spawned by the war on terror, the United States government should change its official language from English — to lie. On Monday, these lies were released in the form of documents obtained by WaPo which prove a vast conspiracy by United States government officials to deceive the American people into thinking the war in Afghanistan was winnable. Spoiler alert: every single one of the insiders in DC knew without a doubt that it was not but have been lying to you.

USA - In ancient Babylon, a newly enthroned king would declare a jubilee, wiping out the population’s debts. In modern America, a faint echo of that idea - call it jubilee-lite - is catching on. The US relies on consumer spending for growth – but it hasn’t been delivering significantly higher wages. Household borrowing has filled the gap, with low interest rates making it affordable. And that’s not unique to America. Steadily growing debts of one kind or another are weighing on economies all over the world.

USA - Democrat Harvard Attorney Alan Dershowitz says the current impeachment process taking place in the Democrat-led House is unconstitutional. Dershowitz said, “It would be unconstitutional for President Trump to be impeached on the current record. It would be an utter abuse of the power of Congress. The constitution sets out four criteria for impeaching a President; treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Unless one of those criteria is met, Congress does not have the authority to impeach, and if they do, their impeachment would be void.”

USA - If you think Wichita, Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska to be conservative Middle America instead of playgrounds of the Left, you are sadly mistaken. On December 15 (Wichita) and 16 (Omaha), the Orpheum Theater in the two cities will host “A Drag Queen Christmas” — a show that makes a mockery of the birth of Jesus with prancing men wearing hideous makeup and draped in clothes eschewed by real women. TFP Student Action has issued this warning: A “Drag Queen Christmas” show is scheduled to take place on December 16, 2019 at Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska [and Wichita, Kansas]. Such performances feature men dressed in scanty “drag” mocking Christmas, and often performing immoral behavior. To make matters worse, while the performance warns of this “naughty” behavior, it also says that “all ages welcome”!

UK - Merriam-Webster has named "they" its word of the year. The US dictionary also recently added a new definition of "they", reflecting its use as a singular personal pronoun for non-binary people. Searches for "they" on Merriam-Webster's website were 313% higher this year than they were in 2018. British pop star Sam Smith came out as non-binary in March, and in September confirmed on Instagram that their pronouns were "they/them". Announcing their pronouns, Smith wrote: "I understand there will be many mistakes and misgendering, but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now." A number of other high-profile non-binary figures were also in the news this year.

FRANCE - The mayor of a rural French community has taken the rather extreme and outlandish decision to ban residents from “dying in their homes on Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays” due to a lack of doctors in the area. La Gresle is a community of roughly 850 people on the outskirts of Lyon which, like many rural communities across France, suffers an acute dearth of doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners. The problem came to a head early this December after no doctor could be found to record official medical details following the death of an elderly nursing home resident. The mayor's office said in a statement that the “absurd order” was in response to “the absurdity of the [healthcare] system.”

UK - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shown a willingness to make risky bets — with mixed results. His latest election gamble: “get Brexit done,” or become the shortest-serving prime minister in nearly two centuries. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a double-digit lead in opinion polls as Britain prepares to vote Thursday in a crucial general election that will determine Brexit’s fate. If reflected in the election, the lead would be enough to give him a comfortable majority — though a recent narrowing of the lead reflected in some polls is enough to keep the outcome uncertain.

CHINA - China has ordered that all foreign computer equipment and software be removed from government offices and public institutions within three years, the Financial Times reports. The government directive is likely to be a blow to US multinational companies such as HP, Dell and Microsoft, and mirrors attempts by Washington to limit the use of Chinese technology, as the trade war between the countries turns into a tech cold war. The Trump administration banned US companies from doing business with the Chinese telecoms company Huawei this year and Google, Intel and Qualcomm announced they would freeze cooperation with Huawei. By excluding China from western knowhow, the Trump administration has made it clear that the real battle is about which of the two economic superpowers has the technological edge for the next two decades.

ISRAEL - Israel’s politicians have until Wednesday to beat the clock. If one of the 120 Knesset members garners a 61-seat majority for forming a government in the next two days – a task which defeated prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz – Israel will be saved from its third general election in a year. If not, the two main parties have agreed to the Knesset setting election day on March 2.

SOUTH AFRICA - Cries of desperation, long early-morning queues, frantic calls and persistent knocking on doors of Gift of the Givers team members; communities are at a loss what to do as dam after dam, river after river and borehole after borehole shuts down. Add to that load shedding. Small town economies dependent on festive season tourists are at their wits’ end as water is simply not available to service paying guests. This challenging scenario is about to become a nightmare as thousands of economically active citizens return home to the Eastern Cape in the coming days. Water demands are going to increase exponentially, amplifying the expanding crisis. Government funding is no more a priority, it is way beyond the urgency and emergency phase.

NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand police have said they do not believe there are any more survivors on White Island after a huge volcanic eruption left at least five dead and 20 missing. Police said more casualties were feared with rescue services unable to reach White Island as it remained too dangerous after the eruption of the volcano there at about 2.11pm (1.11am GMT) spewed a plume of ash thousands of feet into the air. About 50 people, New Zealanders as well as foreign tourists, were feared to have been nearby and several were seen near the rim of the crater minutes before the eruption. Officers said in a statement that “no signs of life had been seen at any point. “Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation. Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island.”

NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand has been hit once again by a natural disaster after a magnitude-5.3 earthquake shook the nation’s North Island today. The nation has been shaken by a magnitude-5.3 earthquake less than a day after the terrifying eruption of a volcano on White Island, off the nation’s coast. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake has reportedly produced strong shaking and struck at 12.58pm (11.58pm GMT) local time on Tuesday.

GERMANY - German demand, and German money, has propped up the eurozone. Now Its main industry is in freefall. Its political system is descending into chaos. The banking system is in crisis, and consumer demand is stuck in the doldrums. With every week that passes there are more and more signs of a deep malaise in its economy. The nation once known as Europe’s powerhouse, and the locomotive of the entire eurozone, is slowly turning into its sick man instead. That is partly a German story, of course, but it is also a global one. When the world’s fourth-largest economy runs into trouble, it has repercussions far beyond its own borders. Such as? Germany’s stagnating economy will make the eurozone more unstable than ever, it will make the European Union more protectionist, it will destabilise global trade at the worst possible time, and may well trigger a financial crisis.

It is going to be one of the most dangerous trends of the 2020s.

FRANCE - France was in flames today due to violent anti-Macron protesters tearing through the streets of Nantes and Paris in the 56th consecutive week of riots. Shocking videos show a mass of so-called Yellow Vest protesters flooding streets in the French capital and setting roads and monuments on fire as demonstrations marked their one year anniversary since demonstrations were triggered by young French President Emmanuel Macron’s crippling 23 percent fuel hike.

IRAN - Iranians have been angrily protesting since last month over fuel price hikes. In a statement, the United Nations human rights office claimed to have “verified video footage” showing security forces firing on protesters with seeming intent to kill. The US envoy to Tehran, Brian Hook, claimed the brutal police crackdown has resulted in up 1,000 deaths. He told reporters the anti-government demonstrations were "the worst political crisis the regime has faced in its 40 years". Mr Hook added: “These protests have made clear what Secretary Mike Pompeo and I have been saying for quite some time. The Iranian people want the regime to focus on investing in people, not proxies. They are sick of the regime squandering its wealth on proxy warfare, which leads only to economic pressure and diplomatic isolation. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the Iranian regime continues to do."