Positive Universe: Data Heap

2021-11-20: News Headlines

_____ (2021-11-20). New Union-Busting Tracker Debuts Online. popularresistance.org On Nov. 6, a group of volunteers launched a Web page called the Union-Busting Tracker to post examples of union-busting. Eleven days later, they'd listed 180 separate cases, naming the employers and the union-busting outfits they'd hired. The project is intended to "embolden" workers, says Bob Funk, who founded the LaborLab.us Website, which opened on May 1. "A shocking amount of young workers think unions are illegal and don't know their rights," says Funk, who by day is communications director for a Montana union. "The union-busting industry takes advantage of people's lack of knowledge."

_____ (2021-11-20). Arbery's Killers Are Using The Logic Of Slave Patrols To Defend Themselves. popularresistance.org The testimony has concluded in the Georgia murder trial of the three white men who targeted Ahmaud Arbery because he was Black and then killed him. Evidence presented at trial transported us back to the days of the infamous slave patrols. Gregory McMichael, his son Travis, and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. are on trial for killing Arbery on February 23, 2020, during a purported "citizen's arrest." Racism has infected every aspect of this case — from the defendants' racial profiling of Arbery, to the 10-week delay in filing charges, to the seating of a nearly all-white jury, to the defendants' racist statements…

Ajamu Baraka (2021-11-20). COP26: greenwashing and Plutocratic misadventures. mronline.org COP26 reaffirmed what has been obvious from the beginning: the Northern colonial and capitalist states most responsible for creating the climate crisis are unwilling to place people before profits in order to address the planet's looming ecological collapse and humanitarian catastrophe.

Chris Nineham (2021-11-20). Philosophers with no clothes: A Review of 'The War Against Marxism'. mronline.org Tony McKenna's new book is an important defence of Marxism, against thinkers who have confused and obscured its revolutionary core, argues Chris Nineham…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-11-20). After a year of struggle by farmers, Indian government forced to withdraw farm laws. mronline.org Movements across India celebrated the struggle by the farmers during which they faced great repression and vilification. Around 750 people are believed to have died during the agitation which saw thousands camp on the borders of Delhi…

Anis Chowdhury (2021-11-20). WTO finished without TRIPS waiver. mronline.org The World Trade Organization (WTO) will soon decide on a conditional temporary waiver of Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Janine Jackson (2021-11-20). 'Moderna is trying to turn this people's vaccine into a rich people's vaccine'. mronline.org CounterSpin interview with Peter Maybarduk on NIH/Moderna patent…

Roger Kneebone, Will Houstoun, Natasha Houghton (2021-11-20). [Perspectives] Medicine, magic, and online performance. thelancet.com COVID-19 has transformed clinical practice; online consultation has become a daily reality for many doctors and clinicians have had to rethink what it means to perform. Patient-centred consulting requires the integration of knowledge, technical skill, and expert communication. This integration is partly achieved through performance. Yet clinical work is seldom framed in such terms within mainstream clinical curriculums. As part of the Royal College of Music—Imperial College London Centre for Performance Science, UK, our interdisciplinary research group investigates how skilled performers from diverse fields…

Vijay Prashad (2021-11-19). In the name of saving the climate, they will Uberise the farmlands: The Forty-Sixth Newsletter (2021). mronline.org The organisers of COP26 designated themes for many of the days during the conference, such as energy, finance, and transport. There was no day set aside for a discussion of agriculture; instead, it was bundled into 'Nature Day' on 6 November, during which the main topic was deforestation.

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-11-19). The Pandemic Treaty Proposal Expands Global Health Inequities. libya360.wordpress.com Nithin Ramakrishnan Meeting room at WHO headquarters. Photo : WHO The World Health Assembly Special Session in November will be considering the benefits of developing a new international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response. Rich countries are using the opportunity to sideline discussions on equity in public health The World Health Organization (WHO) is convening…

Peoples Health Dispatch (2021-11-19). The struggle for vaccine equity intensifies in Italy. peoplesdispatch.org The European Union has been at the forefront of the opposition that rich countries have shown towards the TRIPS waiver proposal for COVID-19 medical products. However, the EU's position in the international arena is not shared by the people of Europe, who wish to see vaccines accessible in the Global South…

Jyotsna Singh (2021-11-19). Vaccine inequity persists as African continent yet to surpass 10% vaccination rate. peoplesdispatch.org While the world is discussing ways to move on from the pandemic and return to normalcy, an entire continent is struggling to get even the first dose of vaccine, with little concern expressed by international bodies…

SAM (2021-11-19). Our New Art 'Appreciation,' Billionaire-Style. inequality.org

WSWS (2021-11-19). In speech before the court, Trotskyist leader indicts German state's revival of Nazi-style anti-socialist laws. wsws.org Christoph Vandreier, the deputy chairman of the Socialist Equality Party, defended the right to advocate for the socialist transformation of society in a speech at the Berlin Administrative Court on November 18.

WSWS (2021-11-19). Berlin Administrative Court rules socialist ideas are "anti-constitutional" wsws.org The court's ruling against the Socialist Equality Party stands in the tradition of National Socialist ideological jurisprudence and Bismarck's anti-socialist laws, and opens the door for the surveillance and suppression of all opposition to capitalism and arbitrary state power.

Mark Gruenberg (2021-11-19). AFT hits right-wing bounty offer targeting NH teachers. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON —A right-wing group's offer of a $500 bounty for turning in New Hampshire teachers who instruct students about racism and sexism, and especially critical race theory, has angered the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and upset the state's School Administrators affiliate, too. The controversy in the Granite State has mushroomed so much that even …

Staff (2021-11-19). Angela Davis: "Forces of White Supremacy" Are Behind Attacks on Teaching Critical Race Theory. democracynow.org We speak to legendary activist and scholar Angela Davis about the latest war waged by ultraconservative lawmakers against teaching the racist history of the United States. North Dakota's Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed legislation banning the teaching of critical race theory, defining it as any suggestion that racism is systemically embedded in American society. The law prohibits even discussion of the law in state schools. Critics say the ban also endangers honest narratives of slavery, redlining and the civil rights movement. "What we are witnessing are efforts on the part of the forces of white supremac…

Staff (2021-11-19). Punishments set for US troops who refuse vaccination. rt.com The US Army has threatened repercussions for soldiers who decline to receive Covid-19 vaccinations, saying that insubordinate troops will be barred from promotions, reenlistment, and a number of special military services. | Army personnel who refuse the jab, including reservists and Army National Guard troops, will now have their service records "flagged," preventing them from receiving "favorable personnel actions" such as reenlistment bonuses, promotions to higher ranks, decorations and other awards, attending military academies, as well as tuition assistance with higher education, according to an official m…

Staff (2021-11-19). "Miseducation": How Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Push Climate Denialism to Kids in U.S. Schools. democracynow.org We look at how the fossil fuel industry is shaping childrens' education in the United States. The Texas State Board of Education is set to vote on whether or not new science standards for middle schoolers should include climate change. The language they choose will ultimately dictate how textbooks nationwide address the issue. The Board already watered down the standards after fierce lobbying by fossil fuel companies, despite urging from climate scientists that school curriculums should reflect how human activity, such as the release of greenhouse gases, has affected the climate. We speak with investigative repor…

WSWS (2021-11-19). More New York City schools forced to close amid mounting COVID-19 outbreaks. wsws.org According to the city's Department of Education, there are currently 176 classroom closures for public schools and 17 for charter schools, while at least 6,193 students have been infected since the start of the school year.

Staff (2021-11-19). Reuters says Biden still 'the real president' despite VIDEO. rt.com Joe Biden is the real US president and not a computer-generated image, Reuters and AP have declared in fact-checks, after the presidential seal was blurred in one video that came from the Democratic National Committee (DNC). | Fact-checks of online commentary about Monday's signing of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill were the top Twitter trend on Friday morning. They addressed the questions and speculation about why the great seal of the US was blurred in one particular bit of footage. | "Claims that Biden event to sign a bipartisan bill used CGI or that he is not the real US president are baseless," Reut…

Staff (2021-11-19). NIH director wants consequences for vaccine conspiracy theorists. rt.com National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins thinks that people who spread misinformation about Covid-19 online and Dr. Anthony Fauci should be identified and "brought to justice." | "Conspiracies are winning here. Truth is losing. That's a really serious indictment of the way in which our society seems to be traveling," Collins, who will soon step down from his post at the head of the NIH, told the Describing an onslaught of angry m…

Editor (2021-11-19). Latin America: modest advice for a confused Left. mronline.org The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is a U.S. law passed in 1938 that requires individuals representing the interests of foreign governments, in "political or quasi-political capacity," to disclose their relationship to said foreign government and provide detailed information on its finances and activities to the U.S. authorities.

Editor (2021-11-19). There is one place in Cuba where torture occurs. mronline.org Chilling testimony of the torture and abuses committed against Majid Khan, at the illegal U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo, was recently presented by the prisoner.

Ari Paul (2021-11-19). Media's anti-'woke' mania moves social justice to the fringe. mronline.org "Woke" is the label the aggrieved conservative suburbanite puts on the indignity of having to call their Starbucks barista "they" and finding Ibram X. Kendi on their child's school reading list.

2021-11-20 21:12 | 17:12 EST | jz | 33 | 0 | 19 | 12 | 0 ∧

2021-11-19: News Headlines

SAM (2021-11-19). Our New Art 'Appreciation,' Billionaire-Style. inequality.org

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-11-18). Bloomberg CIA Apologia accidentally vindicates China's strict domestic policies. mronline.org Beijing's anti-corruption crackdowns, widespread surveillance and strict control over Chinese society is making it harder for the CIA to undermine that nation, and now the CIA is expressing its frustration through the billionaire media.

_____ (2021-11-18). Support The #MakeAmazonPay Day Of Action. popularresistance.org Amazon's size and power place the corporation at the very center of the crises of climate breakdown and economic inequality that grip our planet. The growth of CEO Jeff Bezos's astronomical wealth — up $100 billion since March, now surpassing that of any other human in history — is directly proportional to Amazon's human and environmental costs: his corporation mistreats its workers, wrecks the climate, and undermines the public institutions underpinning our democracies along the way. | Taking on Amazon, therefore, will require more than curbing Jeff Bezos's personal wealth or calling for corporate so…

Staff (2021-11-18). "The Dawn of Everything": David Wengrow & the Late David Graeber On a New History of Humanity. democracynow.org In an extended interview, we speak with archeologist David Wengrow, who co-authored the new book "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" with the late anthropologist David Graeber. The book examines how Indigenous cultures contributed greatly to what we have come to understand as so-called Western ideas of democracy and equality, but argues these contributions have been erased from history. "What the broad sweep of history shows is that living in large-scale, densely populated, technologically sophisticated societies really doesn't require people to simply give up social freedoms," says Wengrow. The t…

WSWS (2021-11-18). Australian Electoral Commission rejects SEP application for pandemic extension of registration deadline. wsws.org The AEC's pre-election refusal of an extension confirms the necessity for the determined campaign being conducted by the Socialist Equality Party against the new anti-democratic electoral laws.

Sarah Anderson (2021-11-18). We Can't Trust the World Bank to Stand Up to Powerful Fossil Fuel Companies. inequality.org

UnistotenCamp (2021-11-18). RCMP Set up Illegal Exclusion Zone Blocking Food, Medicine, and People from Reaching Healing Center and Homes on the Territory. dissidentvoice.org Is this what Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau meant when he told Indigenous leaders: It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations peoples, one that understands that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of First Nations in Canada are not an inconvenience but rather a sacred obligation.

Landless Rural Workers' Movement (2021-11-18). 100,000 people have become literate through MST education programs in Brazil. peoplesdispatch.org In 37 years of struggle, the MST has already enabled more than 100,000 people throughout Brazil to become literate. The work has been based on the Cuban literacy method "Yes, I can" and Paulo Freire's Brazilian Cultural Circle…

WSWS (2021-11-18). Biden infrastructure bill nixes all education funding as schools remain epicenter of COVID-19 spread. wsws.org The Biden administration's infrastructure bill puts to rest any claims that this president or the Democratic party as a whole has any real concern for the needs of public schoolchildren.

Staff (2021-11-18). US lawmaker accused of 'racial violence' over Halloween costume. rt.com A Boston legislator has apologized after a photo of her Asian-themed Halloween costume from two years ago triggered outrage, including accusations that she committed "racial violence." | The photo in question, which surfaced online earlier this week, shows Malden, Massachusetts City Councilor Jadeane Sica wearing a bamboo hat and an "Orchids of Asia" T-shirt while holding a bottle of lotion. Her husband is shown with her in the picture, wearing New England Patriots garb and holding a fake NFL championship trophy. Orchids of Asia is the Florida spa where Patriots owner Robert Kraft was accused of soliciting pro…

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-11-18). Australian war propaganda keeps getting crazier. mronline.org 60 Minutes Australia has churned out yet another fearmongering war propaganda piece on China, this one so ham-fisted in its call to beef up military spending that it goes so far as to run a brazen advertisement for an actual Australian weapons manufacturer disguised as news reporting.

WSWS (2021-11-18). Sri Lankan SEP/IYSSE to hold online meeting on Rajapakse government's austerity budget. wsws.org World Socialist Web Site readers, workers, youth and intellectuals are invited to participate in this crucial meeting and discussion on how to fight Colombo's brutal social attacks.

Staff (2021-11-18). Hoy comienza, Baila en Cuba online 2021. cubadebate.cu Con una programación musical de lujo, del 17 al 19 de noviembre se desarrollará online la edición XV de Baila en Cuba, 2021, Encuentro Mundial de Academia de Bailes y Bailadores de Casino y Salsa. Este año, debido al escenario pandémico a nivel internacional, el evento modificó su programa, para mantener las expectativas de sus más 3000 activos seguidores.

David Ruccio (2021-11-18). Capitalism and workers' power. mronline.org You don't have to read Marx to understand the lack of power workers have under capitalism.

2021-11-19 16:53 | 12:53 EST | jz | 24 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 0 ∧

2021-11-18: News Headlines

Staff (2021-11-17). 'Media narrative' could sway Rittenhouse verdict, Harvard law professor tells RT. rt.com The US corporate press may have had undue influence on Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz told RT, warning that media bias could sway the jurors' verdict. | Speaking to RT on Wednesday, as the jury continued their second day of deliberations in the Rittenhouse case, Dershowitz argued that media coverage of the trial and an outpouring of commentary online would be virtually impossible for jurors to ignore, potentially tainting their decision over the 18-year-old's fate. | "In this case, the jury wasn't even sequestered, so they know what's going on outside. They are told not…

rebekah (2021-11-17). Inflation Is Complicated, but Making It Better Doesn't Have to Be. inequality.org

Brittani Banks (2021-11-17). The Georgia Way: How to Win Elections. independentmediainstitute.org Corey Shackleford knew he could rely on Georgia's Prince Hall Masons—named after the freed slave who created the civic-minded group's first Black chapter in 1784. "We're in those corners of the state, those rural areas, where others don't normally go. But we are there." Shirley Sherrod, whose Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education has been …

Staff (2021-11-17). Professor who wants to 'destigmatize' pedophilia faces consequences. rt.com Old Dominion University has placed Dr. Allyn Walker on leave, after the non-binary professor spoke out in favor of erasing the "stigma" surrounding pedophilia. The professor's comments incited outrage online. | "Old Dominion University has placed Dr. Allyn Walker on administrative leave, effective immediately, from their position as assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice," read a statement from the Norfolk-based university on Tuesday. The statement added that "the controversy over Dr. Walker's research has disrupted the campus and community environment and is interfering with the institution's m…

Editor (2021-11-17). Fake 'shoplifting surge' is just the latest in crime wave propaganda. mronline.org The issue has become one of the key fronts in the development of law and order rhetoric. It is part of the backlash from pro-police elements of society to prevent any changes at all to the country's hyper militarized, mainly ineffective, racist, and brutal system of policing and the accompanying system of mass incarceration.

Editor (2021-11-17). The eco-politics of the sublime: nature, environmentalism, and Covid-ecology. mronline.org A conception of the sublime, liberated from its racist, sexist and domineering classic form, should form a part of any ecosocialist imaginary.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-11-17). 451 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians since early 2020, says new B'Tselem report. mronline.org The Israeli human rights group said that these settler attacks are used as a "major informal tool" by the state of Israel to displace Palestinians in order to confiscate and annex their lands.

2021-11-18 22:42 | 18:42 EST | jz | 16 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 ∧

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