2021-12-14: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-12-14). Barbados declares a republic: British imperialism's legacy of slavery and colonialism. wsws.org None of the island's governments have been able to redress British imperialism's legacy of underdevelopment, dependency and above all economic hardship and social inequality.

Mark Gruenberg (2021-12-14). Parade of hurting people prods lawmakers to pass Build Back Better. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—One by one, advocating ending income inequality, strengthening and restoring voting rights, cutting military spending, extending the child care tax credit, raising the minimum wage, and more, a parade of people hurting from exploitation by corporations, the economic elite, and their political allies, took a hand-held microphone in D.C. Monday to campaign for their combined …

WSWS (2021-12-14). Soaring social inequality under New Zealand Labour government. wsws.org Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger warned recently that society is increasingly divided between the poor and the "obscenely rich," and that historically inequality was "the root cause of revolution."

Adam Ramsay (2021-12-14). Culture wars: identity politics and the fight against surveillance capitalism. zcomm.org For some, it's a left-wing adoption of neoliberalism. For others, it's authoritarian. But it's really just about equality…

Nina Hall (2021-12-14). Climate activism has gone digital and disruptive, and is facing up to racism within movement. zcomm.org Two new and powerful climate groups — Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion — have been particularly important. Our research suggests they have championed new models and tactics of activism, and also grappled with racism in their own ranks…

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2021-12-14). Cuba defeats COVID-19 with learning, science, and unity. peoplesworld.org Education is central to Cuba's brand of socialism. The revolutionary government's dedication to scientific knowledge and healthcare for all shows up now as Cubans cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States is not so lucky. Cubans have wholeheartedly carried out masking, social-distancing, testing and quarantining. Cuba' s bio-medical research and production facilities created five …

WSWS (2021-12-14). Australia: Evan Blake speaks at Committee for Public Education online meeting. wsws.org Blake reported on the spread of the Omicron variant internationally, the new dangers it represents and the significance of the Global Workers Inquest initiated by the WSWS.

Editor (2021-12-14). ACT-UP and Win: a riveting account of NYC activism during the AIDS crisis. mronline.org Sarah Schulman's recently released political history shines light on AIDS activism that often goes unrecognized.

Prabhat Patnaik (2021-12-14). India's post-pandemic economic recovery. mronline.org The pandemic alas is not yet over, but there are no economic disruptions in the current fiscal year in the form of lockdowns or workers' absence. The economy's performance therefore can no longer be attributed to the prevalence of the pandemic; whatever it is, it is caused by economic factors.

imperial.ac.uk (2021-12-14). Visually stunning tree of all known life unveiled online. imperial.ac.uk OneZoom is a one-stop site for exploring all life on Earth, its evolutionary history, and how much of it is threatened with extinction.

Alan MacLeod (2021-12-13). "Every option is on the table": U.S. prepping for Libya-style intervention in Ethiopia. mronline.org A considerable military buildup is now underway. Last week, the U.S. military announced it was sending over 1,000 National Guard members to nearby Djibouti.

_____ (2021-12-13). Assange's Fiancee Accuses US Of Using UK As 'Executioner' In Plot To Kill Him. popularresistance.org Earlier this year, reports surfaced detailing alleged plots in 2017 to either kidnap or assassinate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, when he was five years into his political asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. At the time, Assange's team hoped the revelation would helped their push to not have the publisher extradited to the US. | Stella Moris, the fiancee of Julian Assange, accused the UK on Sunday of playing the "executioner" in a US "plot" to kill the WikiLeaks publisher. | In a Statement to the Daily Mail Online, Moris stressed to the outlet that Assange's "incarceration is having a catastrophic…

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-12-13). They're killing him: Assange's stroke reveals the Western version of the Saudi bone saw. mronline.org They are killing Julian Assange. Experts agree that they are killing him. Assange's stroke is just another item on the mountain of evidence we already had for this.

_____ (2021-12-13). Columbia University Strikers Raise Hell. popularresistance.org New York City – Thousands of striking Columbia University graduate student workers are vowing to "shut down" the campus Wednesday with a major picket line aimed at highlighting the university's threat to fire those who are still on strike by December 10. In a year marked by labor strikes, one of the largest and most contentious is happening at one of the most elite bastions of American higher education. | The 3,000 members of the Student Workers of Columbia, members of UAW Local 2110, have been on strike since early November, seeking a livable wage, improved health and dental benefits, and stronger protections fr…

teleSUR (2021-12-13). 'I Defend Social Equity': Chilean Presidential Candidate Boric. telesurenglish.net With less than 7 days to go until the second round of the presidential elections, the "Approve Dignity" coalition candidate Gabriel Boric is consolidating himself as the politician who represents the desire for change in Chilean society. | RELATED: | Born in 1986 in Punta Arenas City, Boric joined the "Autonomous Left" organization and was elected the Chilean University Student Federation (FEH) councilor in 2008 w…

Sarah Anderson (2021-12-13). A Last-Ditch Effort to Eliminate a Tax Dodge for Super-Rich Private Equity Executives. inequality.org

Sarah Anderson (2021-12-13). Gig Workers are in the Driver's Seat in Europe. Is There Hope for the US? inequality.org

Norman Markowitz (2021-12-13). Rittenhouse acquittal is latest chapter in long and sinister history of racism. peoplesworld.org A jury in Kenosha, Wisc., on Nov. 19 acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old when he murdered two unarmed men and wounded a third. Rittenhouse was participating in an armed group of "volunteers" to "aid" the police and "protect property" from people protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake was an unarmed African-American …

_____ (2021-12-13). Workers At Activision Blizzard Lead Week-Long Work Stoppage. popularresistance.org On Friday, workers at video gaming company Activision Blizzard entered their fifth day of a work stoppage in response to layoffs at one of the company's subsidiaries. The stoppage comes on the heels of revelations of sexual harassment and discrimination at Activision Blizzard and amid fierce resistance to staff unionization efforts. | The work stoppage began on Monday when quality assurance (QA) workers at Raven Software, one of the main developers behind the hit Call of Duty video game series, began being laid off. Employees are demanding that these contractors be reinstated and given full-time contracts. The ex…

Editor (2021-12-13). The construction of Israel's Gaza concentration camp is complete. mronline.org Israel announced the completion of an underground wall and maritime barrier surrounding the besieged Gaza Strip. Not a single mainstream media outlet used the term "concentration camp" to report on it but they should have.

Medea Benjamin (2021-12-13). Ten contradictions that plague Biden's 'Democracy Summit'. mronline.org Biden hopes to secure his place at the head of the "Free World" table by coming out as a champion for human rights and democratic practices worldwide.

Simon Hanna (2021-12-13). COP26 was a failure… the future is in our hands now. mronline.org What does COP26 mean for the climate movement? simon hannah offers his assessment.

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2021-12-13: News Headlines

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-13). Guernica, Lidice, My Lai … and Now Talon Anvil. libya360.wordpress.com Patrick Martin US MQ-9 Reaper Drone (Image credit: U.S. Air Force/Paul Ridgeway public domain) On Sunday, the New York Times published a detailed report chronicling the systematic, years-long mass murder of civilians by the United States in Iraq and Syria, carried out by a death squad called Talon Anvil. The unit directed air strikes and…

New Atlas (2021-12-13). The US is Getting the Public Accustomed to the "Idea" of War with China. newatlas.report December 13, 2021 (The New Atlas) — It is becoming increasingly obvious that US propaganda aimed at demonizing China and poisoning the world against serves to set up a long-discussed limited, conventional conflict waged along China's shores to cripple its economy and prevent it from surpassing the West irreversibly. Western propaganda is even openly discussing this …

Associated Press (2021-12-13). Was the Kentucky tornado outbreak rooted in climate change? peoplesworld.org The calendar said December but the warm moist air screamed of springtime. Add an eastbound storm front guided by a La Nina weather pattern into that mismatch and it spawned tornadoes that killed dozens over five U.S. states. Tornadoes in December are unusual, but not unheard of. But the ferocity and path length of Friday night's tornadoes likely …

Bruce Schreiner, Dylan Lovan (2021-12-13). Thousands without infrastructure after tornadoes kill dozens. peoplesworld.org MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Residents of a Kentucky town devastated by a tornado could be without heat, water and electricity in chilly temperatures for a long time, the mayor warned Monday, as officials struggled to restore services after a swarm of twisters leveled neighborhoods and killed dozens of people in five states. Authorities are still tallying the …

Staff (2021-12-13). Eight Palestinian students from Al-Najah University seized by Israeli occupation forces. samidoun.net On Thursday, 9 December, Israeli occupation forces seized eight Palestinian students at An-Najah National University after raiding their homes in pre-dawn invasions. Following the arrests, occupation forces then sent threatening text messages to fellow students at the university, warning them that they too would be arrested if they participated in the activities of the Islamic […] | The article

John Pilger (2021-12-13). A Day in the Death of British Justice. dissidentvoice.org The pursuit of Julian Assange for revealing secrets and lies of governments, especially the crimes of America, has entered its final stage as the British judiciary — upholders of 'British justice' — merge their deliberations with the undeterred power of Washington. I sat in Court 4 in the Royal Courts of Justice in London with …

Binoy Kampmark (2021-12-13). How to Chill Free Speech: Defamation Down Under. dissidentvoice.org The free speech argument in Australia has always been skewed. Lacking the confidence, courage and maturity to have a bill of rights that might protect it, Australia's body politic has stammered its way to the frailest of protections. The Australian High Court has done its small bit to read an implied right into one of …

Staff (2021-12-13). Headlines for December 13, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Declares Major Federal Disaster in KY; 100+ Feared Dead After Tornadoes Rip Through 8 States, U.S. Health Officials Say Boosters Could Curb Winter COVID Surge as NY Tightens Mask Rules, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Tests Positive for COVID-19, Over Half a Billion People Faced Extreme Poverty Due to Healthcare Costs During Pandemic, SCOTUS Says Providers Can Sue over Texas Abortion Law But Limits Scope and Keeps Ban in Place, Gov. Gavin Newsom Says He Will Use Texas Abortion Ban as Model for CA Gun Control Laws, NYT: Secret Unit Launched 10,000s of Strikes Against ISIS, Killing Syrian Civilians in…

Pavan Kulkarni (2021-12-13). 'UN WFP and USAID have been using humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia to prepare grounds for Western intervention'. peoplesdispatch.org Horn of Africa TV's editor, Elias Amare, talks to Peoples Dispatch on the latest military developments in Ethiopia, the setbacks faced by the TPLF and the collusion of international aid agencies…

Alan MacLeod (2021-12-13). "Every option is on the table": U.S. prepping for Libya-style intervention in Ethiopia. mronline.org A considerable military buildup is now underway. Last week, the U.S. military announced it was sending over 1,000 National Guard members to nearby Djibouti.

_____ (2021-12-13). US Prepping For Libya-Style Intervention In Ethiopia. popularresistance.org Amid a bloody civil conflict and increasing great-power competition between the United States and China, there are a number of alarming signs that Ethiopia will become the next Libya — an African nation where the U.S. intervenes militarily under the pretext of stopping an impending genocide. | A considerable military buildup is now underway. Last week, the U.S. military announced it was sending over 1,000 National Guard members to nearby Djibouti. This is on top of the special operations forces already sent in November. Perhaps most notably, a government official told CNN that the aircraft carrier USS Essex…

_____ (2021-12-13). Assange's Fiancee Accuses US Of Using UK As 'Executioner' In Plot To Kill WikiLeaks Founder. popularresistance.org Earlier this year, reports surfaced detailing alleged plots in 2017 to either kidnap or assassinate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, when he was five years into his political asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. At the time, Assange's team hoped the revelation would helped their push to not have the publisher extradited to the US. | Stella Moris, the fiancee of Julian Assange, accused the UK on Sunday of playing the "executioner" in a US "plot" to kill the WikiLeaks publisher.

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-12-13). They're killing him: Assange's stroke reveals the Western version of the Saudi bone saw. mronline.org They are killing Julian Assange. Experts agree that they are killing him. Assange's stroke is just another item on the mountain of evidence we already had for this.

Editor2 (2021-12-13). Assange Suffered Stroke in UK Prison — Fiancee. orinocotribune.com WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has suffered a ministroke due to the extreme stress of fighting extradition to the US from the UK's maximum-security Belmarsh Prison, according to his fiancee Stella Moris. | Assange was diagnosed with a transient ischemic attack following one of his High Court appeal appearances via video link back on October 27, the mother of his two children

WSWS (2021-12-13). Australian government, Labor opposition greenlight US rendition of Julian Assange. wsws.org There is outraged opposition to Assange's persecution in Australia, but it will find no way forward within the parliamentary set-up.

WSWS (2021-12-13). Julian Assange suffered stroke during High Court appeal for extradition. wsws.org Assange's fiancée Stella Moris warned, "Look at animals trapped in cages in a zoo. It cuts their life short. That's what's happening to Julian."

Moderator (2021-12-13). Hedges: The Execution of Julian Assange. scheerpost.com Original illustration by Mr. Fish, "Mind Games." | By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost | Let us name Julian Assange's executioners. Joe Biden. Boris Johnson. Scott Morrison. Theresa May. Lenin Moreno. Donald Trump. Barack Obama. Mike Pompeo. Hillary Clinton. Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett and Justice Timothy Victor Holroyde. Crown Prosecutors James Lewis, Clair Dobbin and Joel Smith. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser. Assistant US Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia Gordon Kromberg. William Burns, the director of the CIA. Ken McCallum, the Director General of the UK Security Service or MI5. | Let…

John Pilger (2021-12-13). Justice denied: the judicial kidnapping of Julian Assange. greenleft.org.au The ruling to allow Julian Assange's extradition to the United States is based on fraudulent "assurances" scrabbled together by the Biden administration when it looked in January like justice might prevail, writes John Pilger.

Sapan Maini-Thompson (2021-12-13). USA successfully appeals Assange case. ukhumanrightsblog.com In Government of the United States v Julian Assange [2021] EWHC 3313 (Admin), the High Court allowed the appeal of the United States of America against the ruling of Westminster Magistrates' Court, thereby permitting the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the US where he faces criminal charges relating to the unlawful obtaining and publication …

_____ (2021-12-13). On Contact: Assange Can Be Extradited, Says Court. popularresistance.org Chris Hedges and Consortium News Editor-in-Chief Joe Lauria discuss the British High Court ruling to allow the extradition of Julian Assange. | On Friday, the British High Court in London overturned an earlier lower court decision blocking the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. The ruling sends the case back to the Magistrate's Court with instructions to allow the extradition to be approved or denied by British Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Stuart Rees (2021-12-13). No justice for Julian Assange, but plenty of cruelty. greenleft.org.au Cruelty has caught fire in Australian politics; cowardice has become the currency affecting exchange with Washington and London, argues Stuart Rees.

Ivan Timofeev (2021-12-13). Knights Close the Ranks: New Sanctions Against Belarus. moderndiplomacy.eu Another package of sanctions has been introduced against the Republic of Belarus. The USA, UK and Canada simultaneously announced restrictive measures against a number of Belarusian officials, security officials and persons close to the government structures. The restrictions also affected a number of Belarusian legal entities. These countries openly say that the imposed sanctions are …

Morning Star (2021-12-13). NATO and Lithuania talking tough as EU-Russia tensions loom over Ukraine. peoplesworld.org

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-13). Paper Tiger Imperialism and the US-Beijing Boycott. libya360.wordpress.com Miguel Garcia On Monday, December 6, 2021, the United States government announced they would not be sending government officials to the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. The diplomatic boycott is the latest move by Washington and the Biden administration in their all-out-blitz smear campaign against the People's Republic of China. White House…

Sonali Kolhatkar (2021-12-13). Amazon preparing its next offensive, but it can't bust unions forever. peoplesworld.org The National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, just ruled that a historic union vote among Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Ala., was not valid. The highly publicized vote resulted in a resounding defeat for the union in March 2021, with more than 70% of those voting choosing against union membership. The union accused Amazon of engaging in "efforts to gaslight its …

WSWS (2021-12-13). Germany's new chancellor and foreign minister visit Paris and Warsaw: Promoting European Great Power policy. wsws.org The new German government regards a strong European Union as a precondition for an aggressive military foreign policy. This calls for close collaboration with its largest neighbours, France and Poland.

Joris Leverink (2021-12-13). Mutual aid and solidarity in Nigeria's #EndSARS protests. roarmag.org Young people joining the #EndSARS protesters in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. October 20, 2020. Photo: Emmage / Shutterstock.com | On October 18, 2020, during the #EndSARS protests against police violence and state corruption in Nigeria's capital Abuja, a photo was shared on social media that quickly drew nationwide attention. The image showed passionate protesters with their fists pumped in the air, mouths wide open singing songs and chanting slogans. Some were holding placards that read "Our Lives Matter." | What drew the attention of the public, however, was the woman right at the center of the image. With a small N…

Dr. Andrey KORTUNOV (2021-12-13). The Russians Love Their Children Too. moderndiplomacy.eu Recently, there have been all the more articles with headlines screaming "What does Vladimir Putin really think about Donbass?" or "When will the war between Russia and Ukraine break out?" To be honest, I really envy the authors of such publications. All these contributors must have supernatural telepathic channels of communication with the Russian leadership, …

WSWS (2021-12-13). G7 foreign ministers summit in Liverpool threatens Russia, China. wsws.org The summit communiqué accused Russia of planning war with Ukraine and threatened Moscow with "massive consequences" if it did not bow to US demands.

_____ (2021-12-13). Honduras' Left-Wing Breakthrough. popularresistance.org What appeared impossible has been achieved: the people of Honduras have broken the perpetuation, through electoral fraud and thuggish violence, of a brutal, illegal, illegitimate, and criminal regime. | By means of sheer resistance, resilience, mobilization, and organization, they have managed to defeat Juan Orlando Hernandez's narco-dictatorship at the ballot box. Xiomara Castro, presidential candidate of the left-wing Libre party (the Freedom and Refoundation Party, in its Spanish acronym), obtained a splendid 50+ percent—between 15 to 20 percent more votes than her closest rival candidate, Nasry Asfura,…

teleSUR (2021-12-13). Honduras: Xiomara Castro Announces Inauguration Date January 27. telesurenglish.net The president-elect of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, announced this Sunday that she will be sworn in and take office on January 27, 2022. | In a message disseminated through social networks, the representative of the leftist party Libertad y Refundación (Libre) informed that the former prosecutor and deputy for that political party, Jari Dixon, will coordinate the transfer of power. | RELATED: | Together with the former m…

Chabeli Carrazana (2021-12-13). Build Back Better Could Help End Subminimum Wages for People With Disabilities. truthout.org Originally published by For almost a century, it has been completely legal for companies to pay workers with disabilities mere cents on the hour. Employees This practice of paying "subminimum wage," which the U.S. Departm…

Patrick McWilliams (2021-12-13). Six dead in Edwardsville, Illinois, after Amazon warehouse collapse. liberationnews.org At Amazon warehouses, speed is prioritized above all else, and this disregard for safety means that their facilities are some of the most dangerous places to work.

Tucker Davis, Zach Farber (2021-12-13). MLB execs shut down baseball industry in attempt to divide player's union. liberationnews.org At midnight on Dec. 2, Major League Baseball executives officially began a "lockout" of players from all team facilities. This results from the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement between the MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association which is the union representing around 1,200 players. Speaking for the MLBPA, executive director Tony Clark stated, "We remain committed to negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement that enhances competition, improves the product for our fans, and advances the rights and benefits of our membership."

_____ (2021-12-13). NATO's Indo-Pacific Expansion to Tackle China. journal-neo.org The most recent US decision to do a 'diplomatic boycott' of winter Olympics in Beijing has caused a new low in the US-China bi-lateral relations. The decision to boycott has firmly established the drastic failure of the US-China summit that Biden had only recently called to sort out some of the outstanding issues facing their …

_____ (2021-12-13). Vienna Talks and the Future of the Middle East. journal-neo.org The negotiations now opening in Vienna under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran on the one hand and, on the other, a number of countries including the E3 (France, Great Britain, and Germany), Russia, China, and the US, are not generally thought likely to make any major positive change to the stability …

_____ (2021-12-13). China And Nicaragua To Collab On New Multipolar World. popularresistance.org China and Nicaragua have resumed diplomatic relations in what Nicaragua's Presidential Advisor Laureano Ortega Murillo called "a historic date." The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua announced it had broken diplomatic relations with Taiwan, ceasing to have any contact or official relationship, in a statement by Foreign Minister Denis Moncada before Nicaraguan diplomats and press, on Thursday and effective immediately. Kawsachun News attended the meeting virtually.

_____ (2021-12-13). Columbia University Strikers Raise Hell, Saying School Plans To Illegally Replace Them. popularresistance.org Now, the brinkmanship has heightened. Late last week, Columbia Vice President of Human Resources Dan Driscoll emailed all of the student workers telling them that only strikers who returned to work by December 10 would be assured of work assignments for the spring term. (The email also said that "striking student officers who return to work after December 10, 2021 will be appointed/ assigned to suitable positions if available.") To the union, this was a clear threat to permanently replace striking workers‚Äâ—‚Äâand an illegal one.

_____ (2021-12-13). South Korea Declares Multilateral Agreement To End Korean War. popularresistance.org In a major development in the Korean peace process, South Korea, North Korea, China and the United States have agreed to declare an end to the Korean War. The announcement was made by South Korean president Moon Jae-in on Monday, December 13, who said the four parties to the Korean War agreed "in-principle" to formally declare its end, 71 years after it broke out in 1950.

_____ (2021-12-13). Workers At Activision Blizzard Lead Week-Long Work Stoppage. popularresistance.org The work stoppage began on Monday when quality assurance (QA) workers at Raven Software, one of the main developers behind the hit Call of Duty video game series, began being laid off. Employees are demanding that these contractors be reinstated and given full-time contracts. The exact number of workers participating in the work stoppage is unclear, but hundreds of both remote and in-person employees across studios and states participated, with many walkouts occurring virtually.

Brasil de Fato (2021-12-13). "You can feel it, Lula president": crowd welcomes former president in Buenos Aires. peoplesdispatch.org The presence of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva marked the return to the streets of the Day of Democracy mobilization in Buenos Aires on Friday November 10. The event began at 3pm in the historic Plaza de Mayo, a symbol of the struggle for human rights. With the slogan "Democracy forever", the mobilization gathered thousands of people. | Lula arrived in the country especially for the occasion. On the same stage where former Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica spoke, followed by vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and president Alberto Fernández, Lula listed the achievements of the so-called "deca…

Dr. Arshad M. Khan (2021-12-13). India And Pakistan: Leaders Then And Now. moderndiplomacy.eu In 1947, after decades of struggle, India became independent with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first prime minister. Educated at Harrow, an elite English school (Winston Churchill went there for example), he went on to Trinity College, Cambridge, and finally Inner Temple to become a barrister. During the struggle for independence, Nehru led the Indian National …

Dr. Thomas Binder (2021-12-13). The Prevailing Corona Nonsense Narrative. globalresearch.ca There has been no epidemic of COVID-19 of national scope in any country, no pandemic internationally, for the general population SARS-CoV-2 is not a killer virus, and it is the same in every country.

Editor (2021-12-13). The construction of Israel's Gaza concentration camp is complete. mronline.org Israel announced the completion of an underground wall and maritime barrier surrounding the besieged Gaza Strip. Not a single mainstream media outlet used the term "concentration camp" to report on it but they should have.

Editor (2021-12-13). Israel is Hell-Bent on Sabotaging U.S. Nuclear Negotiations With Iran. scheerpost.com Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Joint Commission negotiations in Vienna, Austria. (Askin Kiyagan / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | By Ariel Gold & Medea Benjamin / After a 5-month hiatus, indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran resumed last week in Vienna in an attempt to revise the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). The outlook isn't good. | Less than a week into negotiations, Britain, France, and Germany…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-13). Highland Resistance: How the Che Guevara Commune Confronts the Crisis. libya360.wordpress.com Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert First-hand accounts of the impact of the US sanctions on a coffee and cocoa growing commune in the Venezuelan Andes. The Che Guevara Commune lies on the fertile hillsides that rise up from the shores of Lake Maracaibo in western Venezuela. Historically this has been a cocoa-growing region but…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-13). Venezuela: Why Chavismo Must Win in Barinas. libya360.wordpress.com Eder Peña Santo Domingo river canyon, in Barinitas, Barinas state (Photo: Archive). From the valley of the Santo Domingo river comes a strong wind called "Barinés" that descends from the Andean mountain range in a west-east direction during the rainy season, against the prevailing trade winds in most of the country. Contrary to what a…

Jesús Rodríguez-Espinoza (2021-12-13). Venezuelan Central Bank Latest Figures: Hyperinflation Might be Officially Gone Next Month. orinocotribune.com Caracas, December 12, 2021 ( According to the most accepted definition of hyperinflation, a country gets out of this phenomenon aft…

Joris Leverink (2021-12-13). The Laura Flanders Show: A New Cooperative Business Model. roarmag.org This New Cooperative Business Model Could Change Everything: | Many of the world's most successful businesses began as someone's good idea. But the path from startup to conventional financial success typically involves going public, prioritizing shareholders' interests and ultimately selling to a giant conglomerate whose intentions are far from the original mission of the business's founders. | In this episode, Laura interviews guests who say this conventional path of success is desperately in need of an overhaul. Why must new and innovative ideas come to market through old and undemocratic platforms? Wha…

Norman Markowitz (2021-12-13). Rittenhouse acquittal is latest chapter in long and sinister history of racism. peoplesworld.org A jury in Kenosha, Wisc., on Nov. 19 acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old when he murdered two unarmed men and wounded a third. Rittenhouse was participating in an armed group of "volunteers" to "aid" the police and "protect property" from people protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake was an unarmed African-American …

2021-12-14 05:51 | 01:51 EST | jz | 52 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 

2021-12-12: News Headlines

Mohamed Ould Ghazouani (2021-12-12). The countries of the Sahel unite for universal access to quality education. moderndiplomacy.eu Authors: Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania; Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of the Republic of Burkina Faso; Mohamed Bazoum, President of the Republic of Niger; and Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa. In accordance with the rule and spirit of each of our Sahelian countries, …

Ken Hammond (2021-12-12). "Ten crises: The political economy of China's development," by Wen Tiejun. mronline.org Wen's vision is of a China which would be increasingly self-reliant, delinking from the American dominated global capitalism and developing its own key technologies and productive capacities, while at the same time continuing to engage with other emerging economies which share a desire to be free of Western neo-imperial control.

Editor (2021-12-11). The Maidan massacre in Ukraine: revelations from trials and investigations. mronline.org The Maidan massacre trial and investigation produced overwhelming evidence that Maidan protesters were massacred by snipers at Maidan-controlled buildings, rather than by government snipers or Berkut policemen—who were nevertheless charged with the crime.

Editor (2021-12-11). Opaque algorithms are creating an invisible cage for platform workers. mronline.org We live in a world run by algorithms. Nowhere is this more apparent than with platform companies, such as Facebook, Uber, Google, Amazon, and Twitter.

SAM (2021-12-11). Against Plutocrats, Platitudes — About Democracy — Will Always Be Pitiful. inequality.org

Newsroom (2021-12-11). Human Rights Day: Rebuild trust, expand freedoms, restore equality. moderndiplomacy.eu Despite significant progress since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 73 years ago, the COVID pandemic has "fed a frightening rise in inequalities", and laid bare "many of our failures to consolidate the advances made", said UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet, in a message marking Human Rights Day. Ms. Bachelet and …

WSWS (2021-12-11). Socialist Equality Party to continue campaign against Australia's anti-democratic electoral laws. wsws.org Whether the SEP is registered or not, the party will stand candidates in the looming federal election to take out to the broadest possible audience the fight for socialism and the overturn of capitalism.

WSWS (2021-12-11). "A lot of things come down to money": Race-based affirmative action and the furor over Canadian academic Carrie Bourassa's native identity claims. wsws.org The entire episode is a particularly foul expression of the consequences of race-based affirmative action, which is irreconcilably at odds with the interests of working people and the fight for social equality.

Ramzy Baroud (2021-12-11). On 'Gassing the Arabs' and Other Diseases: Is Israel a 'Sick Society'? zcomm.org Whether right-wing, left-wing or center, Israel is committed to its military superiority, its racism and to the military occupation more than ever before…

C.J. Polychroniou (2021-12-11). A Key Founder of Critical Race Theory Discusses the Right-Wing Panic Over It. truthout.org Critical race theory (CRT) has become a new bogeyman in conservative circles in the United States. Right-wing groups are applying the term indiscriminately, using it inaccurately as a catch-all buzzword to stand in for everything they oppose, including any discussion of systemic racism in the classroom. | But as critical race theorist Gary Pellar

WSWS (2021-12-11). Meeting of the Network of Action Committees for Safe Education in Germany: "We are at the beginning of great mass struggles of the working class" wsws.org At the meeting, nurses, educators, workers and students presented a terrible picture of the consequences of the official coronavirus policies.

Udani Samarasekera (2021-12-11). [Perspectives] Zarlasht Halaimzai: striving to provide a better future for refugees. thelancet.com When Zarlasht Halaimzai was 11 years old, she and her family were forcibly displaced from Kabul, Afghanistan, as the civil war in the early 1990s escalated. "When we left it was very sudden, done in a moment when everything was very insecure and hopeless. In Kabul, food was difficult, it was difficult to get water, there were militias everywhere. Normal life had completely collapsed", she recalls. Their displacement continued for 4 years, during which time the family became separated and Halaimzai missed out on much education.

ELEL (2021-12-11). [Department of Error] Department of Error. thelancet.com Jaffe S. Legal challenges threaten Biden's COVID-19 vaccine rule. Lancet 2021; 398: 1863—64—In this World Report, Michael Felsen's name was misspelled. This correction has been made to the online version as of Dec 9, 2021.

Editor (2021-12-11). From grassroots to lawmaker: a glimpse of China's 'whole-process democracy'. mronline.org The notion of Chinese democracy is not the same as that in the West. The political system in China is more about consensus building within a greater voice rather than the protracted bargaining to arrive at decisions common in the West.

Helena Sheehan (2021-12-11). Marxism and STS: From Marx and Engels to COVID-19 and COP26. mronline.org At the recent conference of the Society for the Social Study of Science, I came to the conclusion that the history of Marxism in relation to science and technology studies is an increasingly forgotten story.

Editor (2021-12-11). Systems thinking in COVID-19 recovery is urgently needed to deliver sustainable development for women and girls. mronline.org Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the gendered aspect of pandemics; however, addressing the gendered implications of the COVID-19 pandemic comprehensively and effectively requires a planetary health perspective that embraces systems thinking to inequalities.

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