(2021-12-04). Russian Foreign Ministry Statement on the Planned US 'Summit for Democracy'. orinocotribune.com In connection with the so called summit for democracy to be held on December 9-10 at the initiative of the US administration, we consider it necessary to make the following statement. | The organisers and enthusiasts behind this strange event claim to lead the world in advancing the cause of democracy and human rights. However, the track record and reputation of the United States, Great Britain, and the EU member states in terms of respecting democratic rights and freedoms at home, as well as in the international arena, are, to put it mildly, far from ideal. | The evidence suggests that the United States and its…
(2021-12-04). White supremacy, Nazism and fascism R U.S. mronline.org 
Despite many criticisms, white supremacy remains not only well and strong, but is also recognized and hailed by the United States on the world stage as an acceptable and legitimate ideology.
(2021-12-04). Bitcoin drops nearly $10,000 in an hour. rt.com 
The world's crypto pioneer, bitcoin, saw a sharp decline of nearly $10,000 in roughly an hour to as low as $42,000 before bouncing back to $45,000, extending the latest downtrend amid the emergence of the Omicron Covid-19 strain. | The price of bitcoin has dropped around $15,000 over the past 24 hours. It was trading at nearly $47,580 as of 08: 16 GMT, down 16.14% day over day, having dropped by 31.6% from the year's high of $69,000, which it reached on November 10. | Read more | | Meanwhile, ether, the sec…
(2021-12-04). Video: Workers must oppose Australian ruling elite's homicidal response to Omicron variant. wsws.org SEP Assistant National Secretary Max Boddy warns: "There is no viable way to stop the pandemic and save lives, other than a strategy of global elimination."
(2021-12-04). [World Report] Calls for international solutions to EU—Belarus border crisis. thelancet.com Humanitarian organisations warn that thousands of migrants are stuck, with many unable to access medical care, food, and water. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2021-12-04). The Supreme Council of Libyan Tribes Calls for Continued Protests in Sebha. libya360.wordpress.com The head of the Supreme Council of Tribes and Cities of Fezzan in Libya, Abu Sbeiha, called on the people of the south to demonstrate tomorrow, Sunday, in front of the headquarters of the High Electoral Commission in Sebha. In his Facebook post, Abu Sbeiha urged citizens to demonstrate to demand "the impartiality of the…
(2021-12-04). How To Picket Stores That Sell Your Employer's Products. popularresistance.org Picketing stores that sell an employer's products can publicize a strike and hurt earnings. It is also a good way to generate community support. Although the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) usually bars unions from picketing secondary (i.e., "neutral") employers, a narrow legal exception applies to retail stores and distributors—provided the union does not interfere with operations, only asks the public not to buy struck products, does not ask customers to stop doing all business with the retailer (unless the store only sells struck products), and does not demand that the store stop buying products from…
(2021-12-04). Australian government in "chaos" as pandemic intensifies political disarray. wsws.org The Liberal-National government is in tatters, yet there is low popular support for the Labor Party and rising distrust in the entire parliamentary establishment.
(2021-12-04). Backed by AFRICOM, Corporations Plunder DR Congo for "Climate-Friendly" Materials and Blame China. orinocotribune.com 
By T.J. Coles — Nov 30, 2021 | Cobalt, a key metallic element used in lithium batteries and other "green" technology, is sourced from slave labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As the West points the finger at China, the US Africa Command is indirectly policing mining operations that profit US corporations. | Ever since Belgium's King Leopold II (1835-1909) established the Congo Free State in 1885, international powers have exploited the region's vast resources. Leading a regime that went on to kill an
(2021-12-04). Xiomara Castro and the Rebirth of Honduras. orinocotribune.com By Ilka Oliva Corado — Nov 29, 2021 | The humiliations suffered by undocumented Central American migrants who try to cross Mexico to reach the United States, seeking to save themselves from the institutional violence of the narco-state, in the case of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, have hurt a lot. The famous northern triangle that is so much present here and there in discourses of politicians, in the discourse of transnational corporations that in exchange for a crumb that they throw from the rocking chair where they rock, placid and pompous; they take the entrails of the land that they are drying, be…
(2021-12-04). Indian courts continue to sanction open-ended imprisonment without trial. wsws.org The 15 surviving victims of the Indian state's Elgar Parishad terrorism frame-up case are being subjected to cruel and life-threatening punishment. They have been imprisoned for years without trial.
(2021-12-04). Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand. wsws.org India: State transport workers' still on strike in Maharashtra; Doctors walk out in Karnataka and Gujarat; Australia: Sydney bus drivers hold three days of strike action; New Zealand port workers vote to strike…
(2021-12-04). 'They want us dead': another year of devastating overdoses in Baltimore. mronline.org 
Little legislative movement in Maryland over the past two years has left people who use drugs more vulnerable and even less safe.
(2021-12-04). China wants its casino paradise to become tech Mecca. rt.com 
The Chinese government plans to transform its largest casino den, Macau, into a regional technology hub, the South China Morning Post reported, citing technology industry executives and officials. | This comes as the Venetian Macao Convention and Exhibition Centre this week hosted a big technology-themed trade fair, which is expected to give rise to new industries and revitalize the regional economy. | The event's website portrayed Macau as "the new centre of international technologies" to connect the Asia Pacific tech ecosystem with the rest of the world. | "The Guangdong-Macau in-depth cooperation zone in He…
(2021-12-04). US strike may have killed Syrian civilians, Pentagon says. rt.com 
The US military said it would open an investigation into the possibility a recent drone strike caused civilian casualties, with Pentagon officials claiming the attack had been intended to target a "senior al-Qaeda leader." | US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations across the Middle East, announced the upcoming probe on Friday, hours after an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle bombed an unspecified location in Idlib province in what CENTCOM described as a "precision strike." | "We abhor the loss of innocent life and take all possible measures to prevent them. The possibility of a civil…
(2021-12-04). Twitter's new censorship policy backfires. rt.com 
A new policy on personal information has apparently backfired, with the platform claiming it had resulted in a large number of "malicious" and "coordinated" reports against users, some of whom were suspended by "accident." | Twitter spokesman Trenton Kennedy said a new rule barring "the misuse of media" such as photos and videos "to harass or intimidate private individuals" had led it to suspend accounts in error, the Washington Post reported on Friday night. | Read more | | The platform ha…
(2021-12-04). Environment, human rights and class power. mronline.org 
Environment is human right, said and resolved a recent UN meet. It's a reiteration of an already discussed issue—essential to all of the human society.
(2021-12-04). 'Crisis of astronomical proportions' over Pearl Harbor contamination. rt.com 
The US Navy has confirmed that the water used by military families near Hawaii's Pearl Harbor is contaminated with "volatile petroleum products," forcing a shutdown that may leave taps dry for over a week. | Tests on the system that supplies drinking water to homes at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam showed "pretty conclusive indications that there are volatile petroleum products in the well," Rear Admiral Blake Converse told reporters on Thursday, referring to the Red Hill well servicing hundreds of military families. The well has been shut down since Sunday and will remain closed as the Navy purges the dangero…
(2021-12-04). [Editorial] Reinstating universal health coverage on the global agenda. thelancet.com Who remembers universal health coverage (UHC)? The World Health Organization defines UHC as all individuals and communities receiving the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving this target was a top priority in global health, as it underpins Sustainable Development Goal 3: to ensure health and wellbeing for all. But as countries focused on the pandemic, the world's health community has neglected to sustain the momentum needed to achieve UHC.
(2021-12-04). Backing Horses: Australia's Solomon Islands Intervention. dissidentvoice.org The history of humanitarian or policing missions is a history of taking sides, disruptive partiality and the forfeiture of the very object powers claim when intervening in another country. Things become particularly absurd when the individual or government pleading for such help to an outside force is struggling to survive yet making grand statements about …
(2021-12-04). Washington Cartel: Clíver Alcalá No Longer a Drug Trafficker According to OFAC. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, December 2, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) withdrew from its list of drug traffickers the name of Clíver Alcalá Cordones, fugitive from Venezuelan justice, despite the fact that he is allegedly detained in the US on charges related to drug trafficking. | Clíver Alcalá was inserted into the OFAC list in 2011, after being accused of abusing his position in the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) to exchange arms for drugs with Colombian paramilitary and drug traficking gangs. | The US government had offered $10 million for the capture of Alcalá, who finally had to turn h…
(2021-12-04). CNE Discusses Procedure to Include Venezuelan Migrants in Electoral Registry. orinocotribune.com Ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela has started to discuss how to incorporate Venezuela's migrant population into the electoral registry. | At a conference held on Friday, December 3, CNE rector Roberto Picón explained that the incorporation of migrants into the registry involves a series of technical and political procedures ranging from the normalization of consular relations with some countries, and the updating of host country immigration records, to an actual voter registration. | In his opinion, the first step need to be taken within the political a…
(2021-12-04). Nick Estes In Conversation With Jorge Arreaza. popularresistance.org Jorge Arreaza is the Minister of Industries and National Production in Venezuela. Red Nation Podcast co-host Nick Estes spoke to him in Caracas in late November 2021.
(2021-12-04). Moroccans protest normalization of ties with Israel. peoplesdispatch.org On November 29, the the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, protests were held in Rabat against the normalization of relations with Israel and an agreement that was signed between the countries a few days before…
(2021-12-04). Chile's election: Boric and pseudo-left offer no defense against threat of fascism. wsws.org International and historical experience demonstrates that once in power, the pseudo-left abandons all pretense of reform, bowing to the international financial and corporate elite.
(2021-12-04). Tuesday 1/18: Justice at Our Border: Addressing the Hazards of Living as Undocumented Women. indybay.org Online via Zoom…
(2021-12-04). BLM and Partners Break Ground on Cotoni-coast Dairies Recreational Trails. indybay.org SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central Coast Field Office and the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship (SCMTS) have begun developing the initial 19 miles of multiple-use trails in the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coastal National Monument north of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County.
(2021-12-04). Watsonville Community Hospital nurses to hold press conference to demand hospital remain open. indybay.org Nurses who work at Watsonville Community Hospital will hold a press conference on Friday, Dec. 3, to demand that the hospital remain open, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today. The event is being held in response to a recent letter from the hospital to employees citing plans to sell the facility as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process.
(2021-12-04). [Perspectives] Martin Griffiths: serving communities affected by violence. thelancet.com In 2019, Martin Griffiths, consultant trauma surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust in London, UK, was appointed the NHS's first Clinical Director for Violence Reduction in London and then National Clinical Director for Violence Reduction for NHS England and NHS Improvement. In both roles, Griffiths leads and coordinates the strategy and delivery of health-led programmes to reduce interpersonal violence. In part, his insights come from his own early life experiences. He describes his younger self as "a very naive but streetwise south London boy" who grew up on a council estate in Lewisham with a single mother who was…
(2021-12-04). World Must Not Blame Africa for Undervaccination While Denying Continent Shots – Expert. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The international community should not be blaming African nations for being undervaccinated while at the same time limiting their access to vaccines, South African expert Solly Moeng told Sputnik.
(2021-12-04). The lessons of the International Committee's 1995 global struggle to defend jobs at Kellogg's. wsws.org As workers at Kellogg's plants in the US prepare to vote on the rotten tentative contract agreement being pushed by the BCTGM they should take note of the critical effort to organize workers internationally in defense of jobs and conditions at Kellogg's that was launched by the International Committee in 1995.
(2021-12-04). Carers of the World vs. Covid-19 Criminals. zcomm.org The Progressive International is mobilizing nurses unions around the world to take on Big Pharma and the governments they have captured…
(2021-12-04). Two more Minnesota teachers die of COVID-19 as cases approach record highs. wsws.org The measures necessary to stop the spread of the virus—and put a halt to the deaths of teachers and students—can only come through workers developing rank-and-file committees in every workplace and factory in the US and internationally to enforce the shutdown of unsafe facilities and the closure of schools to in-person learning.
(2021-12-03). 'Omicron' the new Covid-19 variant: What is it all about? peoplesdispatch.org Immunologist Dr. Satyajit Rath and NewClick's Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha discuss the new variant, Omicron. They talk about its origin and the possible spread in the world, threats it poses to the people of the world and whether it can this lead to a third wave in India and other waves in other countries of the world. They also discuss the precautions to contain the new variant.
(2021-12-03). Strikers at John Deere win COLA adjustments. liberationnews.org 
One of the most significant gains by United Auto Workers members at John Deere as a result of their five-week strike against this multinational corporation was the restoration of quarterly cost of living adjustments (COLA) to their wages.
(2021-12-03). Puebla Group Rejects US Harsh Policy Against Cuba. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, Cuba's Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez welcomed that the Puebla Group condemned the U.S. smear campaign and economic blockade against his country. | RELATED: | "We appreciate the solidarity of the Puebla Group with our people, who suffer the consequences of coercive policies that go against international conventions and obey the anachronistic logic of the Cold War," Rodriguez stated. | The forum also condemned th…
(2021-12-03). Why Amazon Is Terrified of Its U.S. Workers Unionizing. independentmediainstitute.org The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has just ruled that a historic union vote held earlier this year among Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) was not valid. The highly publicized vote, which took place over several weeks in February and March 2021, resulted in a …
(2021-12-03). It's Time To Free Leonard Peltier, America's Longest Serving Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbish…
(2021-12-03). It's Time To Free Leonard Peltier, Longest Serving Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbish…
(2021-12-03). Russian-Indian Relations amid the "Radical Transformation of the World Order" journal-neo.org 
The visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to India scheduled for December 6, is poised to become a significant event which will undoubtedly have a serious impact not only on the development of the bilateral relations, but also on the ongoing "radical transformation of the world order." Such an assessment of the upcoming trip …
(2021-12-03). Kevin Sharp: It's Time to Free Leonard Peltier, America's Longest Serving Political Prisoner. scheerpost.com 
Leonard Peltier. [Gary Stevens] | Click to subscribe on: Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native Ameri…
(2021-12-03). Muncie, Indiana, students protest censorship of BLM in school. zcomm.org Students at Muncie Central High School marched from the school to Muncie City Hall Nov. 23 after their school's administration commanded a class to take down student posters that mention the Black Lives Matter social movement…
(2021-12-03). Progressives sweep Teamsters election ‚àí time to organize! workers.org 
In a major setback for top-down, corporate-model business unionism, Teamsters United candidate Sean O'Brien defeated Steve Vairma — the chosen successor to Teamsters President James Hoffa Jr. — by a two-to-one margin. The results were announced Nov. 18, with Fred Zuckerman, Teamsters United candidate for Secretary-Treasurer, and the entire "OZ" . . . |
(2021-12-03). Biden administration refuses to ban killer robots. rt.com 
US President Joe Biden has refused to sign a binding international agreement tightly regulating the use of "killer robots." Campaigners fear such devices will launch an unstoppable arms race toward "digital dehumanization." | The US prefers a "non-binding code of conduct" regarding Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS, aka killer robots), State Department official Joshua Dorosin said at a meeting in Geneva on Thursday. | His insistence on leaving the Pentagon's hands free to produce autonomous killer robots stands in line with years of US policy, which has long opposed a global moratorium on LAWS, denouncin…
(2021-12-03). Voters don't care about corporations' woke efforts — study. rt.com 
Most Americans, across political lines, do not want companies speaking out on wider social issues, according to a recent survey that found "out of step" corporate executives "vastly overestimate" the importance of taking a stand. | The poll results, released on Monday in a
(2021-12-03). Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect charged. rt.com 
Prosecutors have filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of the suspect in a Michigan high school shooting that left four dead. A fugitive warrant was issued for the couple hours after charges were filed. | The charges were announced by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald on Friday. The parents of the suspect, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have each been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. | "While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there are other individuals who contributed to the events on November 30 and it's my intention to…
(2021-12-03). We have to stand on our ground, the best ground from which to reach the stars: The Forty-Eighth Newsletter (2021). mronline.org 
During the pandemic, socialist projects—such as those of LDF government in Kerala, the Cuban educational programmes, and the MST literacy campaign—are flourishing, while other governments cut their educational funding. 'It's always time to learn', says the MST literacy programme, but this adage is not in use everywhere.
(2021-12-03). 'Be deaf & dumb': Epstein's ex-housekeeper recalls what he saw. rt.com 
A man who worked for late financier, convicted sex abuser and pedophiliac Jeffrey Epstein said alleged Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell often stayed at his Florida mansion and gave "degrading" obedience instructions. | Juan Alessi, 71, looked after one of Epstein's homes, having worked for him in Palm Beach for around a decade in the 1990s. On Thursday, he spoke about who and what he witnessed at the luxurious mansion during testimony in Maxwell's sex-trafficking trial. | The now 59-year-old socialite accompanied Epstein at his Florida residence "95% of the time," the man told the jury in Manhattan federal…
(2021-12-03). The American prison system's war on reading. mronline.org 
This April, the Iowa Department of Corrections issued a ban on charities, family members, and other outside parties donating books to prisoners.
(2021-12-03). Here's how many times Jeffrey Epstein visited the White House. rt.com 
Infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein visited then-President Bill Clinton's White House a whopping 17 times during his first term, according to visitor logs obtained by the Daily Mail. On some days, he visited three times. | Epstein mostly visited the West Wing, according to visitor logs acquired through a Freedom of Information Act by the Daily Mail, implying he primarily came to see President Clinton. Their relationship dates back to at least the start of Clinton's presidency, with logs placing Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell at the White House just a month after Clinton's inauguration in Februa…