Anyone who's ever tasted teargas will attest how unpleasant it is. I tasted it in Paris on Saturday 8 December as the city turned into a war zone.

I am writing these words in a hotel room in central Paris in the aftermath of a day of rage, unleashed by the self-styled gilets jaunes (yellow vests) mass movement of latter-day 'enrages' (angry ones) of French revolutionary repute. And it was indeed a day that bore the hallmarks of a revolution underway. Even now, just after 8pm, the unrest continues, with the sound of wailing police sirens and helicopters hovering overhead the unceasing mood music to my thoughts.

This chaos is taking place not in Syria, Venezuela or Ukraine but in Paris, the city most synonymous with the affluence, culture and liberalism of a European continent that increasingly finds itself beset by social unrest and political disruption.

The French capital is now, for all intents, the frontline in a growing struggle against neoliberalism and its bastard child, austerity, across a European Union whose foundations are crumbling. They are crumbling not due to the devilish machinations of Vladimir Putin (as an increasingly unhinged and out of touch Western liberal commentariat maintains), but instead as the result of a neoliberal status quo that provides far too few with unending comfort and material prosperity at the expense of far too many, for whom dire misery and mounting pain are its grim fruits.

The Yellow Vest Movement - weekend 8 and 9 December - Round 4. Some say, they are the worst riots in France since the student-driven mini-Revolution of May 1968. Over the four weekends, hundreds of thousands were in the streets, middle class people, from students to workers to outright employees and housewives. The police force increases by every new Round - and so do the demonstrators. Today - more than 8,000 police, a considerable increase from last weekend's 5,000-plus. Tens of thousands Yellow Vests demonstrated; police reported more than 1,600 arrests.

There are tanks in the streets - not seen for at least ten years - burning cars and shop fronts, vandalized buildings. The police are fighting them with teargas, water cannons and rubber bullets. Police brutality seems to be unavoidable, However, apparently more moderate than on other occasions. Nevertheless, a youtube is circulating, where a group of riot gear protected police beat up a helpless Yellow Vest, already on the ground and defenseless. These are the pictures you see on TV.


And the globalized 'everybodies' throughout Europe and the (western) world sit comfortably in their fauteuils, shaking their heads - "the French again; they are never content, always want more" - having apparently no idea that what they, the French workers, had rightfully accumulated in terms of social funds and public infrastructure - hospitals, schools - since WWII (instead of paying for a heavy army) is being 'legally' stolen by a small elite who put a Rothschild banker - Macron - in power to pass the necessary legislation to make the fraud legal.

Voilà. So simple. Most of the fauteuil warriors have no idea that the hangmen are stealthily coming to them too. By the time they wake up and see the light irradiated by the French Yellow Vests - it might be too late. It's not for nothing, that Europe, under the command of the unelected European Commission (EC), has become increasingly militarized and a conglomerate police state, to be ready when general discontent spreads and political and social upheavals start. We may be at that point.

Chinese courts have granted a preliminary injunction to US chip-maker Qualcomm which would effectively ban the majority of older iPhone models from sale in China, in a possible trade war counter attack.

On the surface, the battle is between two major name tech companies, Apple and Qualcomm, who have been engaged in high-stakes legal battles over intellectual property for years. Qualcomm's injunction claimed that Apple is violating two of its patents in technology used in the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. The granted injunction, if enforced, would essentially ban these models from being sold in China where Apple captured nearly 25% of the market share at the end of last year.

"Apple continues to benefit from our intellectual property while refusing to compensate us," said Don Rosenberg, the general counsel of Qualcomm. An opinion the Chinese courts surprisingly agreed with.

Such injunctions are very rarely granted, which has led to suspicion that the courts have had other motives than property rights in reaching the decision, namely that they were using the conflict in order to strike the next blow in the ongoing trade war between China and the US. The situation itself is somewhat ironic, given that Donald Trump has used claims that Chinese tech companies steal intellectual property in order to justify his aggressive economic policies.

The number of people arrested since the beginning of the massive popular protests that have gripped France for weeks has surpassed a staggering 4,500, with critics calling the actions of the authorities crackdown on democracy.

The French police have detained a total of 4,523 people in connection to the so-called Yellow Vests protests that united tens of thousands of people across the country discontent with taxes polices and fuel prices hikes. Of those almost 4,100 still remain in police custody, the French BFM TV broadcaster reported, citing police sources.

Earlier, the French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner confirmed that more than 1,900 people were arrested in connection to the protests in just one day - on Saturday, December 8. More than 1,700 of them were taken into custody. However, the French media later reported that the number of those arrested on that day might in fact have reached 2,000 people.

On December 7 after weeks of legal resistance, former FBI Director James Comey was forced to appear at a closed-door hearing convened by Republicans in the House of Representatives. The hearing was called to investigate political bias by Comey and other officials against then-candidate Donald Trump. In the last days the focus has begun to shift to the surprise of many to the Democratic Party DNC, to Hillary Clinton and James Comey.

For almost two years the world has been inundated with select leaks and claims of Russian bias on behalf of Trump's candidacy. We saw naming of a Justice Department Special Council to investigate and presentation of a dossier to the Democratic National Committee in 2015 from ex-British MI6 agent Christopher Steele of dubious quality. Now, in the wake of the November US mid-term elections where Republicans actually increased their Senate majority to 53-47, the focus is turning to Hillary Clinton, James Comey and to the controversial and highly-interesting Clinton Foundation.

Without repeating the details here, the basic facts revolve around major mainstream media accusations of Trump obstruction of justice and wrongful dismissal of Comey in addition to Trump's alleged Russian crimes that Special Counsel, ex-FBI head Robert Mueller, is supposedly investigating. For two years the public has been inundated with salacious details and leaks around those investigations against Trump and associates. Now, to the surprise of some, the spotlight seems to shift to misdeeds not of Trump but of Hillary Clinton, Comey and of the increasingly controversial Clinton Foundation.

US lawmakers could rush two bills into law that aim to silence and criminalize Palestine rights advocacy.

The legislation - the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act - could be tacked on to a spending bill, evading debate on the House and Senate floors. End-of-year spending bills are usually thousands of pages long and include legislation that could not pass earlier by regular means.

Both bills have been stalled in Congress amid First Amendment concerns, but sponsorship and support from Democratic and Republican representatives has been climbing. If passed, the bills would have a chilling effect on students and scholars who criticize Israel and bolster efforts by Israel lobby groups to blacklist, surveil and harass supporters of Palestinian rights.

Under threat of federal investigation, university administrations would be pushed to crack down harder on student Palestine solidarity groups. And churches, human rights organizations, corporations and investment fund managers could face fines if they decide not to invest in companies that profit from Israel's violations of human rights.

The Israel Anti-Boycott Act, which would criminalize the boycott of Israel, was introduced last year by Democratic Senator Ben Cardin. Cardin "is making a behind-the-scenes push" to slip the legislation into the last-minute spending bill, The Intercept reported last week.

The act would impose prison sentences and heavy fines on organizations or their personnel that participate in a boycott of Israel or its settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.

President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to pressure Democratic congressional leaders into supporting his demand for billions of dollars to build his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, threatening to have the military build it "if Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country."

Trump tweeted the threat hours before Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi were to meet with Trump at the White House in an effort to avert a partial government shutdown on Dec. 21, when funding for some agencies is scheduled to expire.

In a series of tweets Tuesday, Trump said immigration and border patrol agents and thousands of active-duty service members he sent to the border have done a "FANTASTIC" job. But he said "A Great Wall would be, however, a far easier & less expensive solution."

Trump said he looked forward to meeting with Schumer and Pelosi, but claimed they don't want border security for "strictly political reasons." "If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country, the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall. They know how important it is!" Trump said.

Schumer and Pelosi said Monday that Republicans have the power to keep the government open since they control Congress and the White House. "Our country cannot afford a Trump Shutdown," they said in a statement, adding that Trump "knows full well that his wall proposal does not have the votes to pass the House and Senate and should not be an obstacle to a bipartisan agreement."

A long-awaited milestone in the special counsel investigation into issues surrounding the 2016 election was reached on Dec. 4. Special counsel Robert Mueller's team made a court filing in which it gave recommendations to U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan about his forthcoming sentencing of former Trump national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, which is currently scheduled for Dec. 18.

I say currently scheduled because, thus far, Flynn's sentencing date has been delayed three times since he pleaded guilty to one count of perjury on Dec. 1, 2017. If you're keeping track, that's more than a year ago. So there's a chance it may be delayed yet again.

The chief revelation of this new filing that has grabbed the most media attention is that Mueller is recommending no jail time for Flynn, due to Flynn's extensive cooperation with the special counsel.

What's getting less coverage is that the filing reveals Flynn gave 19 interviews, not just to the special counsel team over the past year as he cooperated, but also to "other offices" within the Department of Justice (DOJ). That very likely means Flynn gave testimony to both DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and U.S. Attorney John Huber. Flynn pleaded guilty to giving a false answer during an FBI interview about some phone calls with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016.

The FBI agent who conducted the interview that led to the Flynn perjury charge from Mueller's team was none other than Peter Strzok, a name that is well-known to those who have followed the Spygate twists and turns over the past year.

Appointing Theresa May, who didn't believe in Brexit, as prime minister was a fatal flaw. That is why she deliberately sabotaged the negotiations and brought about this dog's Brexit, British politician George Galloway has told RT.

British Prime Minister Theresa May cancelled a crucial vote on her Brexit deal which was set to be decided on by the House of Commons this Tuesday. She admitted that the vote was cancelled as she feared she would lose it "by a significant margin." The Brexit vote will now happen "before January 21," her spokesperson said Tuesday.

RT asked political analysts what other possible twists and turns might be ahead.

George Galloway, British politician, broadcaster and writer, called the situation May is in an absolute chaos which is "humiliating the country, her own party and democracy itself." He thinks the appointment of a person who didn't believe in Brexit as Prime Minister was "a fatal flaw." "It is an Achilles heel of the entire thing...[May] deliberately sabotaged these negotiations and brought about this dog's Brexit," he added.

In his view, "this is not Brexit that she is proposing. And therefore a good one hundred of our own MPs will never vote for it, whatever reassurance she brings back. It is like Chamberlin waving his piece of paper promising peace in our time," said Galloway.

Israel has identified one more Hezbollah tunnel in the region close to the border with Lebanon, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) press service reported on Tuesday.

According to the IDF, this is the third tunnel exposed by the Israeli forces that was made by militants from the Hezbollah group.

The discovery of the third tunnel dug from Lebanon into Israel comes amid Operation Northern Shield, an Israeli campaign to find and destroy tunnels allegedly dug by Hezbollah militants to enable them to illegally transfer fighters and arms into Israel.