(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.
(2021-11-19). China and Solutions to Climate Change. orinocotribune.com 
By K.J. Noh and Michael Wong — Nov 16, 2021 | The Earth's greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years, driving catastrophic climate change, and creating an existential threat to the planet. But there is a way out. | Last year, President Xi Jinping, pledged that China's CO2 emissions would peak before 2030, and China would become carbon neutral before 2060. | China has a track history of setting ambitious, nearly impossible goals and then achieving them—often before deadline—so this pledge is significant. Under the CPC, China has already created "an economic miracl…
(2021-11-19). Headlines for November 19, 2021. democracynow.org House to Vote on Build Back Better Act After Filibuster-Style Delay by Republican Leader, Julius Jones Granted Clemency Hours Before Scheduled Execution, Henry Montgomery, Sentenced to Life Term at 17, Leaves Angola Prison on Parole, Belarus Shelters Some Asylum-Seekers on Polish Border, Deports Iraqi Refugees, As COVID Surges in Europe, Austria Orders New Lockdown and National Vaccine Mandate, 18,000 Cut Off by Flooding in British Columbia; Millions of Kenyans at Risk of Hunger Amid Drought, Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Hits 15-Year Peak; Indigenous Groups in Ecuador Oppose Mining Plans, Delhi School Shutdown…
(2021-11-19). Federal agency reveals long-term consequences of Biden bill. rt.com 
A non-partisan agency has estimated that US President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure and climate spending package would increase the country's budget deficit by some $367 billion. | In a development that may put some moderate Democrats on the fence, the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan body in charge of estimating the cost of pending legislation, found that Biden's Build Back Better plan is likely to come at a heavy price for the US economy. | In its
(2021-11-19). Staten Island, N.Y./Amazon unleashes cops on union organizers. workers.org 
Nov. 18 press release from Movement Media has been slightly edited. The militant mood of workers, whose increasing strikes and union drives are making headlines, erupted Nov. 11 during a union-busting, captive-audience meeting called by Amazon bosses at the company's Staten Island facilities. Chris Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union, . . . |
(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.
(2021-11-19). 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…
(2021-11-19). Biden's pick for bank regulator grilled over Soviet past. rt.com 
US President Joe Biden's pick to be America's next Comptroller of the Currency, the country's top banking regulator, has faced down accusations that she is a communist, telling lawmakers that you can't choose where you're born. | At a hearing on Thursday, Dr Saule Omarova, Biden's nominee to be chief of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, received a grilling from Republicans, who accused the Kazakh-born lawyer of being a communist. | Three decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain…
(2021-11-19). Survivors of mass incarceration speak truth to power at 'Spirit of Mandela' tribunal. workers.org 
The following are excerpts from testimony given at the Oct. 23-25 "Spirit of Mandela" International Tribunal for Political Prisoners, held in New York City. The U.S. was found guilty of six counts of human rights violations, including mass incarceration—in particular of political prisoners and prisoners of war. These excerpts include . . . |
(2021-11-19). 21N Electoral Campaign Ends: Venezuelan Political Forces Ready for Elections. orinocotribune.com 
In the midst of a process of economic recovery following the blows inflicted by the United States and the European Union's criminal blockade, Venezuelan political parties complied with the close of the electoral campaign, and citizens prepared to participate in the regional and municipal mega-elections to be held on Sunday, November 21. | With multiple political rallies throughout the national territory, the revolutionary forces and all the opposition currents participated in the closing of their respective campaigns. | On this subject, the Samuel Robinson Institute for Original Thought, a research and analysis c…
(2021-11-19). CNE Extends International Observer Plan for 21N Elections. orinocotribune.com On Thursday, November 18, the president of Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE), Pedro Calzadilla, reported that the electoral authority has extended its international observation, oversight, and accompaniment plan to some 300 individuals from 55 countries, including four observation missions deployed throughout the country. | This was announced during a meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited in the country, in which Calzadilla offered a report on the activities carried out by CNE rectors since the call for the November 21 regional and municipal elections was issued. | He also noted that 87 organiza…
(2021-11-19). PSOE-Podemos sends police to attack Spanish metalworkers strike in Cádiz. wsws.org The strikes have mobilized 22,000 metalworkers together with oil workers, amid a mounting upsurge of the class struggle across Europe and internationally.
(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.
(2021-11-19). Rail and airport workers strike in France for wage increases. wsws.org The strikes are part of an international resurgence of working-class struggle against the attacks by the state and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2021-11-19). What conclusions must be drawn from French racist pundit Éric Zemmour's presidential bid? wsws.org The promotion of Zemmour marks a new and dangerous stage in the crisis of French democracy that must serve as a warning to workers in France and internationally.
(2021-11-18). WATCH: Rittenhouse judge bans MSNBC from courthouse. rt.com 
The Kenosha, Wisconsin judge presiding over the Kyle Rittenhouse trial has banned MSNBC employees from his courthouse, after police caught someone claiming to be a producer with the outlet tailing a jury bus. | "I have instructed that no one from MSNBC news will be permitted in this building, for the duration of this trial," Judge Bruce Schroeder said on Thursday. Following a jury bus is an "extremely serious matter and will be referred to the proper authorities," he added. | Schroeder identified by name both the producer and his supervisor in New York, and said the man was detained by Kenosha police on Wed…
(2021-11-18). The Russia-China-Iran Alliance. dissidentvoice.org NATO, the U.S. Government, and all other "neoconservatives" (adherents to Cecil Rhodes's 1877 plan for a global U.S. empire that would be run, behind the scenes, by the UK's aristocracy) have been treating Russia, China, and Iran, as being their enemies. In consequence of this: Russia, China, and Iran, have increasingly been coordinating their international …
(2021-11-18). Anti-Communism, Anti-Blackness, and Imperialism. libya360.wordpress.com Dr. Charisse Burden Stelley In this talk prepared for the Albuquerque Anti-War Coalition's Anti-Communism & Imperialism panel discussion, Dr. Charisse Burden Stelley discusses how anti-communism and anti-Blackness are intrinsically intertwined structures of white supremacist and capitalist control. Transcript Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Charisse Burden Stelley and I am a professor of Africana studies in political science…
(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). Lessons of the Buffalo, N.Y., mayoral election. workers.org 
By Ryan Lockwood Buffalo, N.Y. Nov. 14 — Under normal circumstances, Buffalo's mayoral election would have been little more than the 16-year incumbent Democrat Byron Brown's coronation ceremony. But India Walton, who declared herself a socialist, interrupted the well-rehearsed proceedings with a stunning June primary upset against Brown. Both candidates . . . |
(2021-11-18). Kamala Harris is no border czar, Texas Democrat says. rt.com 
A long-time Texas congressman representing a district along the US-Mexico border said he has "moved on" from Vice President Kamala Harris when it comes to illegal immigration and now wishes the US had a proper border czar. | "I've moved on from the vice president to say, 'OK, let's work with the ambassadors and let's work with the State Department. Let's work with the homeland secretary'," Representative Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told reporters on Wednesday. | "I wish we had a border czar. We've had border czars under different administrations," he added. | Though the media has "put a lot of focus on the vice pr…
(2021-11-18). Black teens caught beating up Asians in viral subway VIDEO. rt.com 
Philadelphia cops are probing a violent brawl involving teen students on a train. During the melee, one girl's head was brutally slammed against train doors, though police said there were no serious injuries. | A group of girls on board a SEPTA train attacked two others while the train was passing through a tunnel on Wednesday. The footage was apparently shot by a bystander as the train traveled by Erie Station. | The video shows one group repeatedly yelling at and punching another group of teens until one falls over. She is repeatedly whacked with a shoe after being brutally smashed into the train door, the a…
(2021-11-18). FBI hid evidence in Malcolm X murder trial, convictions tossed. rt.com 
A New York judge voided the convictions of two black men for the 1965 assassination of activist Malcolm X, after a re-investigation inspired by a Netflix documentary found the FBI had withheld evidence of their innocence. | State Supreme Court Justice Ellen Biben threw out the convictions of Muhammad A. Aziz (aka Norman 3X Butler) and Khalil Islam (aka Thomas 15X Johnson), who were charged with assassinating Malcolm X at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom and sentenced to life in prison in 1966. | "I am an 83-year-old man who was victimized by the criminal justice system," Muhammad Aziz says as DA moves to vacate hi…
(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…
(2021-11-18). Boston bus drivers take contract struggle to the street. workers.org 
WW photo credit: Steve Kirschbaum Executive Board, USW Local 8751 Boston, Nov. 14 — Banging drums and chanting "No contract, no work," hundreds of Boston school bus drivers from far-flung yards converged on their employer Transdev's office during their Nov. 9 morning break. With a week to go until their . . . |
(2021-11-18). Congress censures Republican Gosar for 'violent' anime video with Biden. rt.com 
US lawmakers have voted to censure Republican Representative Paul Gosar over a spoof video parodying a popular Japanese cartoon that featured his character attacking Democrats, including Joe Biden, over the border crisis. | The House of Representatives voted 223-207 to pass the censure resolution on Wednesday, with Representatives Adam Kinzinger (Illinois) and Liz Cheney (Wyoming) the only Republicans to break with their party and side with Democrats across the aisle. Ohio Republican David Joyce voted 'present', declining to take a position. | With the measure passed — the first formal censure in Congress…
(2021-11-18). Why It's So Hard to Tax Billionaires. scheerpost.com 
By Christopher Orlet / CounterPunch A recent NPR story attempted to explain why it is so hard to tax billionaires. The expert NPR interviewed for the story ticked off the usual ways the 1 percent avoids paying its fair share of taxes: Billionaires have the best accountants who know all the loopholes. Their wealth isn't in income, …
(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.
(2021-11-18). Pfizer gets new $5.3bn boost over Covid. rt.com 
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has agreed a $5.29 billion deal with the American government to provide 10 million doses of its new Covid-19 oral antiviral drug, Paxlovid. | "This promising treatment could help accelerate our path out of this pandemic by offering another life-saving tool for people who get sick with Covid-19," Xavier Becerra, secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, said on Thursday. | Read more | | Under the deal, Pfizer is to deliver some 10 mil…
(2021-11-18). COP26: Youth demand change, politicians protect fossil fuel industry. workers.org 
Two weeks of high-profile negotiations, against a background of climate catastrophes, ended Nov. 13 with little to show for the 26th "Conference of the Parties." Proposals included that "countries agree to accelerate the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels — a potential first acknowledgment of fossil fuels' . . . |
(2021-11-18). Release of US vaccine data 'may take till 2076'. rt.com 
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may take 55 years to release all the documents it used to declare Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine safe, a group of doctors and professors claim. | The FDA approved Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine for people aged 16 and over in August, and, last month, extended its emergency-use authorization to children as young as five. This week, FDA regulators are expected to permit booster doses of Pfizer's product for adults aged 18 and over. | Read more | | When a group of doctors, prof…
(2021-11-18). Another governor courts unvaccinated cops with relocation offer. rt.com 
Tennessee's Republican governor is calling on police officers across the US to join the state's highway patrol to skirt vaccine mandates elsewhere in the country, even offering to assist with moving expenses. | Governor Bill Lee made his pitch to out-of-state cops in a video message earlier this week, saying Tennessee's highway patrol "won't get between you and your doctor" with vaccination requirements, and offers a "full benefits package" along with free training, uniforms and gear. | "I've got a message today for cops in New York all the way to sheriff deputies out in Los Angeles: We want you to join the Te…
(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.
(2021-11-18). Washington Post calls for a COVID-19 cover-up. wsws.org The commission advocated by the Washington Post will be aimed at shielding the government and corporate officials responsible for the deaths of more than one million Americans, while scapegoating China for the pandemic.
(2021-11-18). President Maduro as 21N Elections Approach: 'This is Venezuelan Democracy'. orinocotribune.com 
As the protagonist of an intense and permanent battle in defense of the rights of oppressed peoples, President Nicolás Maduro defines the progressive forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Now, President Maduro is in the midst of the electoral process to choose regional and local offices. | The president addressed the issue this Wednesday, November 17, during his participation, via video-conference, in the World Day in Defense of Democracy and the Truth of Venezuela. The event was attended by more than 300 international guests of Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) who arrived in Venezuel…
(2021-11-18). Pfizer bullies governments worldwide in COVID-19 vaccine contracts: report. ecns.cn U.S. multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation Pfizer has been bullying governments around the world in COVID-19 vaccine contracts, said a recent report.
(2021-11-18). Whitney Webb Discusses Global Elites' Takeover Of Nature. popularresistance.org As world leaders, celebrities, business moguls and activists alike descended on Scotland for the COP26 climate summit, behind the scenes powerful financial groups were and are attempting to rewrite the rules of international trade and to privatize nature under the guise of sustainability. | While there has been a great deal of finger pointing, the enormous and tangible changes necessary to steer the planet away from devastation are yet to appear. The world is still on course to warm 2.4 ∞C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, according to a report from Climate Action Tracker. Anything abov…
(2021-11-18). Bolivia and Cuba: Protagonists and Events in the Heat of the Imperial Offensive. libya360.wordpress.com Misión Verdad Cuban police cars were rammed by violent demonstrators in Havana on July 11, 2021 (Photo: Yamil Lage / AFP) The onslaught of the Global North, led by the United States and its battery of unconventional warfare methods, continues to impact the stability of countries that are not aligned with the interests of domestic…
(2021-11-18). From Pegasus to Blue Wolf: How Israel's "Security" Experiment in Palestine Became Global. dissidentvoice.org 
The revelation, a few years ago, that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting mass surveillance on millions of Americans has reignited the conversation on governments' misconduct and their violation of human rights and privacy laws. Until recently, however, Israel has been spared due criticism, not only for its unlawful spying methods on …
(2021-11-18). Agency Tasked by Trump With $100M to Boost Supply Chain Hasn't Spent a Penny. truthout.org 
In 2020, former President Donald Trump tasked a government agency with giving loans to help ease supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic — but that agency hasn't spent a single penny of the $100 million it received, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) In a report released on Wednesday, the GAO found that the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has received 178…
(2021-11-18). Climate Action Pretense At COP26. popularresistance.org The 26th Conference of the Parties, COP26, climate summit ended with its president fighting back tears. Alok Sharma came to Glasgow, Scotland hoping for an agreement to end the extraction of coal. Instead he said this, "I apologize for the way this process has unfolded. I am deeply sorry." | The international climate conferences are a perennial disappointment to anyone who understands the depth of the world wide catastrophe. Every year the rich capitalist nations find a way to undermine the process and consign millions of people to misery and devastation. Activists from all over the world gather in an effort to h…
(2021-11-18). Anti-China propaganda gone mad: The bizarre case of the "Corgi killers" wsws.org A minor incident in China involving the death of a pet, while no doubt distressing to its owner, has been inflated for political purposes out of all proportion in the American and international media.
(2021-11-18). So Said, Not So Easily Done. libya360.wordpress.com Steve D. Whittaker, PhD, MSc Since the 2020 storm season started, the Caribbean region has seen (perhaps) unprecedented downpours disrupt the daily lives of many communities and citizens. Even the most unorganized of cyclonic systems resulted in substantial damages* to infrastructure in Dominica, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Trinidad…
(2021-11-18). Bernie opposes exorbitant defense spending bill. nationofchange.org "Isn't it strange how even as we end the longest war in our nation's history concerns about the deficit and national debt seem to melt away under the influence of the powerful Military Industrial Complex?"
(2021-11-18). A Dirty Occupation: The UN's Criminal Enterprise and Ecological Catastrophe in Haiti. libya360.wordpress.com Jemima Pierre UN tanker truck offloading the raw sewage of MINUSTAH Peacekeepers at Morne Cabrit sewage treatment plant in January 2013. Photo: Isabeau Doucet What are the environmental and ecological impacts of large-scale military occupations by the United Nations "peacekeeping" missions? The deadly cholera epidemic unleashed on the Haitian people by UN soldiers is an…
(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.
(2021-11-18). Sri Lankan teachers' unions shut down all protests. wsws.org Contrary to the unions' claims, the deal is a betrayal of the teachers, with a paltry wage increase that has already been wiped out by rampant inflation and the government's removal of price controls on all essentials.