The US investment bank predicts the ruble will be on the list of good performing currencies next year along with the US dollar and the Mexican peso, Bloomberg reports. Goldman Sachs recommends buying Russian and Mexican currencies over South Africa’s rand and Chile’s peso. [...]

The Russian fleet in the Caspian Sea has launched 18 cruise missiles, hitting seven terrorist targets in Syria on Friday, Russian Defense Minster Sergey Shoigu has reported to President Vladimir Putin. “On November 20, the warships of the Caspian Fleet launched 18 cruise missiles at seven targets in the provinces of Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo. All targets were hit successfully,” he said. [...]

I’m sitting in the aftermath of Paris, feeling emotions tear me apart. One of the emotions is joy. My daughter, who lives there, is safe. Has “joy” ever felt so troubling? The aftermath of Paris seems likely to be intensified (“pitiless”) bombing raids in Syria, closed borders, heightened fear-based security and the deletion of “the gray zones of coexistence” across the planet. [...]

Echoing the post-9/11 era, intelligence officials and lawmakers are exploiting Friday's massacre to expand mass surveillance Despite no available evidence that terror suspects used encryption to plan the Paris attacks, U.S. intelligence officials and lawmakers are seizing on the massacre to demand access to protected communications—in what critics warn is a blatant attempt to exploit fear in [...]

The West is stepping up this war on ISIS partly because it doesn’t want to lose credibility in the war on terror to Russia, political analyst Dan Glazebrook told RT. Francois Hollande claimed France is at war with terrorists as a NATO member. Can France now expect help from the bloc? [...]

As entire demographic segments across the West wake up to the fact that their governments are heavily influenced by outside interests, many are looking to Russia – and Putin in particular – to pull the fat out of the fire. But is this realistic? If you hear the same story enough times you end up thinking there is no other. [...]

Around 500 fuel tanker vehicles transporting illegal oil from Syria to Iraq for processing have been destroyed by Russia’s Air Forces, the General Staff said. “In recent years, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other extremist groups have organized the operations of the so-called ‘pipeline on wheels’ on the territories they control,” Russian General Staff spokesman Colonel Ge [...]

The US is largely a country of immigrants. That is how this country was built, says US human and labor rights lawyer Dan Kovalik. It would be “un-American” and immoral not to take in more Syrian refugees, he adds. So far, 26 US governors, mostly Republicans, have announced they would block the acceptance of thousands of migrants into their states. [...]

The Russian economy and the financial sector are quite stable despite falling oil prices, a weaker ruble and sanction’s pressure, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on Wednesday.   [...]

On the day Moscow officially confirmed a terrorist attack as the cause of last month’s downing of a passenger plane in Egypt, the Russian military hit over 200 terrorist targets in Syria in 127 sorties. The escalated Russian operation involved not only warplanes flying from an airfield near Latakia, but also strategic bombers operating from Russian territory. [...]

The Finnish Parliament will debate next year on whether the country should abolish the euro. Disgruntled citizens raised the 50,000 votes necessary for a parliamentary debate on 'Fixit' - Finland's exit from the eurozone. "There will be signature checks early next year and a parliamentary debate will be held in the following months," Maija-Leena Paavola, who helps guide legislation through par [...]

Overwhelmed by the city’s growing homeless population, which has increased by 12 percent in just two years, and facing an increase in complaints from neighborhoods about encampments, the Los Angeles City Council has declared a “shelter crisis.” The measure was adopted by the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday in a 14-0 vote. [...]

Fluoride is one of the most dangerous health threats in our environment, and its widespread use makes it challenging to avoid. On this website, we regularly discuss the health concerns associated with water fluoridation and believe that the prevalence of fluoride in our water supply is not something to take lightly. Fortunately, many in the health and science fields are working toward change and m [...]

After the attacks in Paris, many Republicans have been calling for President Obama to use the term “radical islam.” They are outraged that his language isn’t to their liking, but Obama doesn’t seem to care. Cenk Uygur, host of the The Young Turks, breaks it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below. "The newest fault line in the 2016 presidential campaign is over two [...]

Americans are starting to melt down phone lines in Washington, D.C., as backlash explodes against President Obama’s migrant resettlement program. People are flooding social media to encourage Americans to call their congressional representatives to stop the resettlement of Middle Eastern migrants after government officials and contractors admitted the migrants cannot be tracked or vetted prop [...]

The US and its allies are playing a dangerous game in Syria as they count on Islamic State to weaken President Bashar Assad, but at the same time don’t want the terror group to seize power in the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. [...]

Israel wants to quash an arrest warrant prepared by a Spanish judge for Benjamin Netanyahu over the deadly 2010 IDF attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that killed ten people. The Israeli PM and six other former ministers would be arrested if they set foot on Spanish soil. [...]

US’ decision to deploy military advisors to Syria is a violation of the country’s sovereignty, according to a political scientist. Washington's attempts to battle the Islamic State in Syria can only succeed if they coordinate their efforts with the Syrian government and Russia, chief of the foreign relations department at Syrian Ministry of Higher Education Akil Mahfud said. [...]

Patient, consistent Russian diplomacy has trumped short-term Western hypocrisy. Reduced to desperation, NATO leaders finally attempted a rapprochement with Moscow at the G20. The current schism between Russia and the West began in September 2011. Speaking at the United Russia [...]