(2021-12-17). Congress Passes Massive $778 Billion NDAA. popularresistance.org On Tuesday, the Senate passed the massive $778 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a vote of 89 to 10. | The legislation is a compromise version of the NDAA that was already passed by the House and now just needs President Biden's signature to become law. Congress added $25 billion more to the spending bill than Biden requested. | The bill authorizes $740.3 billion for the Pentagon, $27.8 billion for the Energy Department's nuclear weapons program, and $9.9 billion for "Defense-related Activities Outside NDAA Jurisdiction." | In September, the House passed a different version of the NDAA that inc…
(2021-12-17). Ethiopia: U.S. sanctions create misery and division. workers.org 
Washington plans to impose sanctions on the central government in Ethiopia starting Jan. 1. The sanctions remove Ethiopia's Special Trade Status, which enables Ethiopian goods to be sold in the U.S. free of import duty. Ethiopia's government is involved in a civil war with forces based in Tigray that had . . . |
(2021-12-17). Terror, Destabilization, Genocide: India's Imperialist Proxy Role. orinocotribune.com By Rainer Shea — Dec 10, 2021 | As the U.S. empire has continued intensifying its hybrid asymmetrical warfare against China, and has caused the world to divide between the U.S. and Sino blocs, I've been
(2021-12-17). Yes Virginia, there is a labor movement. workers.org 
Workers in Virginia flexed their organizing muscle in two separate industries recently. First, hospitality workers at the tourist attraction, Colonial Williamsburg village, held a rally in front of various sites within the complex. The majority of the workers are Black. Their grievances include low wages and long hours. Colonial Williamsburg . . . |
(2021-12-17). New Leader Pushes Teachers' Union to Take On Social Justice Role. zcomm.org Becky Pringle, the country's top Black labor leader, has plunged the National Education Association into the reckoning unfolding in public schools…
(2021-12-17). NYC opens first safe consumption sites. workers.org 
With fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses dramatically rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. needs a new strategy for countering this menace. In a number of cities, steps are underway to counteract this horrible loss of life. One is the foundation of safe consumption sites — places where addicted people . . . |
(2021-12-17). Red Star Over the Third World w/ Vijay Prashad: Lessons of Soviet History, Part 2. mronline.org 
Russia's October Revolution in 1917 and the rise of Soviet power reverberated across the world, from Latin America to Africa to Asia, and Middle East — that part of the world that lived under the ravages of colonialism and under-development.
(2021-12-17). Film review 'Attica' explores heroic prison uprising. workers.org 
The Attica documentary, co-directed by Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry, was released by Showtime in early November. The two-hour film is a powerful yet painful reminder of what took place over 50 years ago, Sept. 9-13, 1971, when thousands of prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York, . . . |
(2021-12-17). The Supreme Court, Abortion, and the New Dred Scott. scheerpost.com 
Photograph Source: John Ramspott — By David Schultz / Should the US Supreme Court next year overturn Roe v. Wade and limit abortion rights the decision will be the new Dred Scott, damaging both the remaining thread of legitimacy and respect the Court has, as well as propelling American politics into a divide it has not seen since the Civil War. | Dred Scott v. Sanford is the infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision which…
(2021-12-17). Six-week-long Maharashtra public transport workers strike endangered by unions' sabotage. wsws.org The trade unions and Stalinist parliamentary parties are systematically isolating the MSRTC workers as they courageously defy government threats and savage management reprisals.
(2021-12-17). Tel Aviv Insists on a Radical Solution to Iran's Nuclear Program. journal-neo.org 
On December 10, at the annual Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit in Miami, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with senior US functionaries about a radical solution to Iran's nuclear program. He warned his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces or the …
(2021-12-17). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Continuing strike wave of French transport workers over pay and conditions joined by waste collection workers and extracurricular school staff; national one-day strike across Italy against government's budget joined by teachers demanding more resources; strike by teachers across 100 Iranian cities over pay and conditions attacked by police; municipal and health workers strike in Free State, South Africa over pay and conditions…
(2021-12-17). Banksia Hill Detention Centre cruelty exposed. greenleft.org.au A protest outside the David Malcolm Justice Centre was part of the campaign in support of the National Suicide Prevention and Recovery Project. Alex Salmon reports.
(2021-12-17). Attack on The Electric System Prompts Blackout In Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Public Infrastructure and Services Vice Minister Nestor Reverol denounced that the Guri electrical complex was attacked in the early hours of Friday. | RELATED: | "We are at the forefront of actions to restore service. We ask for support from the Venezuelan people to overcome this vile and criminal attack, "he said, adding that the experience of the workers of the National Electric System (SEN) will allow to recov…
(2021-12-16). The UN's Human Rights Failure. strategic-culture.org Will the UN assume responsibility for failing to protect civilians as governments waged war and plunder? | On the occasion of International Human Rights Day which was marked on December 10, the UN pledged to accelerate the implementation of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), without taking into consideration the various global inequalities which make generic implementation impossible. | The UN's "Common Agenda Framework" which was published in September 2021 is one example of how the UN glosses over the international law violations emanating from within its institutions to portray a deceptively humanitaria…
(2021-12-16). A Litmus Test for Democracy? Democratic Deficits at the Summit for Democracy. orinocotribune.com By Alfred de Zayas — Dec 6, 2021 | The so-called "Summit for Democracy" should first agree on a definition of what democracy means. Whereas etymologically we know that the definition of democracy means rule by the people, instinctively we feel that people power must be more than a slogan, that it must be concretized by genuine public participation in the conduct of public affairs. | There are, of course, many manifestations or "models" of democracy, exercised nationally as well as locally in provinces and communities. The spectrum of democratic governance goes from direct democracy by way of citizen power of…
(2021-12-16). Report exposes dangerous conditions at Minnesota's Amazon warehouses. peoplesworld.org 
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, Minn. (PAI)—Amazon workers this week echoed the findings of a new report that paints a troubling picture of labor conditions and inequities at the retailer's Minnesota warehouses, prompting one state lawmaker to pledge action in the coming legislative session. In analyzing data from six Amazon facilities, researchers from the National Employment Law Project …
(2021-12-16). Omicron explodes in Australia as governments scrap nearly all safety measures. wsws.org As a result of truly criminal decisions taken by governments, Liberal-National and Labor Party alike, millions of people face infection within weeks.
(2021-12-16). UN-Habitat To Collaborate in Building Green Homes in Kenya. telesurenglish.net Jeremiah Ougo, an officer in charge of national projects at the UN-Habitat, announced to journalists in Nairobi that the organization will guarantee that the principles of sustainable housing are incorporated into the real estate project. | RELATED: | "We will provide technical assistance to ensure water and energy efficiency, as well as public spaces, are mainstreamed into the project," Ougo stated on Thursday. | He noted that the land for the…
(2021-12-16). Home care workers protest 24-hour work day in NYC. peoplesdispatch.org Workers employed with the United Jewish Council (UJC) home care agency rallied to end the 24-hour work day and demand their stolen wages on the morning of December 16. While home care workers in New York are being forced to work 24-hour shifts for poverty wages, 11 hours worth of that pay is stolen by their employers. A coalition of worker's rights organizations including the Ain't I A Woman Campaign and the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (NMASS) have been organizing alongside home care workers for years against these unjust labor practices. | "I am traumatized from working 24-hour shifts," said Epifani…
(2021-12-16). Black Alliance for Peace Condemns the US National Guard Deployment to Horn of Africa. orinocotribune.com
(2021-12-16). Zelensky invites NATO warships, warplanes, troops for more exercises in Black Sea. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Ukraine wants to boost number of international exercises in Black Sea "Ukraine initiated a negotiation process with partners in the Black Sea region to step up confidence-building measures, increase the number of exercises and training activities," President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, …
(2021-12-16). Max Boot: U.S. should use Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Afghan Mujahideen models against Russia. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com This is in response to an article from Max Boot, who is Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and regular contributor to The Washington Post; in fact from that newspaper's edition of December 15 entitled To deter a Russian attack, Ukraine needs to prepare for guerrilla …
(2021-12-16). Key Body Demands Complete Ban on Glyphosate in India. dissidentvoice.org In October 2020, Pesticide Action Network India and PAN Asia Pacific released the report 'State of Glyphosate Use in India'. It concluded that the use of the world's most widely used herbicide is rampant. Despite this, it noted that its disturbing effects on the environment and the health of farmworkers and the public are not …
(2021-12-16). Indiana University grad student workers seek union certification. wsws.org Graduate student workers have not had a university-wide wage increase since 2014 while tuition fees and living expenses have continued to rise.
(2021-12-16). 'The Truth of COVID-19 — The India Statement': Citizens and Experts Call for a Halt to COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout in India. globalresearch.ca The mass rollout of COVID-19 vaccines should be halted immediately. These experimental vaccines pose serious dangers. That is the message contained in a statement from concerned citizens soon to be forwarded to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. | The statement's signatories …
(2021-12-16). Rahul Gandhi's Speech Differentiating Hinduism and Hindutva Was a Watershed Moment. zcomm.org Where the Congress leader may have erred is in characterising all those present in the Jaipur audience as Hindus…
(2021-12-16). Whales will save the world's climate—unless the military destroys them first. mronline.org 
Pentagon documents estimate that 13,744 whales and dolphins are legally allowed to be killed as "incidental takes" during any given year due to military exercises in the Gulf of Alaska.
(2021-12-16). Ten Marxist classics for Xmas. mronline.org 
Lindsey German's Marxist holiday reading list…
(2021-12-16). Details of 1948 Massacres against Palestinians revealed in classified Israeli documents. mronline.org 
Israeli government discussions on the massacres perpetrated by Israeli soldiers in 1948 were declassified for the first time this week in an investigative report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research.
(2021-12-16). China-Africa friendship continues to flourish on vaccine, trade, renewable energy. mronline.org 
China-Africa friendship is expected to continue to flourish as cooperation is further deepened in various areas after the ongoing 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Dakar, Senegal.
(2021-12-16). Investor Pumps Dogecoin On Tik Tok But Describes A Technical Ponzi Scheme. moguldom.com A Dogecoin fan pumped the hugely popular meme coin on Tik Tok, and an observer reposted the video on Twitter with an accompanying comment saying that the man had just flawlessly described a Ponzi scheme. The unnamed Dogecoin enthusiast was keen to share what he said was "an incredible investment opportunity right now." The goal …
(2021-12-16). 'Fascists Out of the University': Students at Madrid's Complutense University Reject Leopoldo López. orinocotribune.com The widespread international rejection of fugitive from Venezuelan justice Leopoldo López was evident last Monday, December 13, in Madrid, where students received him at the Complutense University with slogans of "fascists out of the university," prior to López's participation in an event alongside Yunior García, fugitive from Cuba. | "Fascists out of the university!," "López, murderer!", and "out with the Miami coup plotters" were among the slogans written on banners and shouted by students in the political science faculty of Complutense University of Madrid. | Numerous students gathered on the campus to reject…
(2021-12-16). Profiting from Migration: Peru Requests $304 Million to 'Serve' Venezuelan Migrants. orinocotribune.com 
Through the "business" of migration, the government of Peru now intends to ensure its source of income for the year 2022, under the pretext of needing financing to "help" Venezuelan migrants. Peru intends to obtain the funds through a new program that they announced to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR. | According to official sources, the Peruvian administration requested $304 million, allegedly to assist some 900,000 Venezuelans in Peruvian territory. In Peru, Venezuelan migrants have faced serious acts of xenophobia, discrimination, mass deportations, and violence against Venezuelans…
(2021-12-16). Illinois Sets National Precedent in Banning Immigration Detention. truthout.org 
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Illinois Way Forward Act on December 6, 2021, making immigrant detention illegal in the state after the new law takes effect in the new year. The suit was filed by McHenry and Kankakee Counties, which were holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at their local jails. Pending any further court action, the counties will need to end their contracts with ICE by the end of this year. | Johannes Favi spent 10 months and two weeks inside the J…
(2021-12-16). Presentation of the Little Autonomous Community School "Agua de Lluvia" in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca. itsgoingdown.org 
In the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, in the pueblo of Agua de Lluvia, teachers, community members, and youth are building autonomous education through community organization. Dating back to the 2006 social revolt in Oaxaca, and a conflict between the radical section 22 of the CNTE (National Coordinator of Education Workers) and the right wing Section…
(2021-12-16). The issues in the Turkish health care workers national strike. wsws.org The Turkish Trotskyists support this strike movement and call on all workers and youth to draw the necessary lessons for the development of an independent political and social movement of the international working class.
(2021-12-16). Why Cuba Does Not Have an Anti-Vaccine Movement. libya360.wordpress.com Marc Vandepitte, Toon Danhieux Increasingly, large sectors of the European population, and in the US to a lesser extent, openly express their distrust towards their government's policies to combat COVID-19. The reaction of the traditional policy is one of panic and is characterized by paternalism and repression: general obligation to vaccinate and restricting freedom of…
(2021-12-16). "International solidarity once failed the people of Chile. It must not fail today." zcomm.org Parliamentarians and public figures from over 15 countries unite in defense of Chilean democracy ahead of 19 December elections.
(2021-12-16). Ethical faults in U.S. approach to the Beijing Winter Olympics. moderndiplomacy.eu Since 1924, the first Olympic Winter Games have carried on the legacy of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which embraces the idea of "building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal". Now as an integral part of the work of the organization, its strategic roadmap further aims to turn challenges into …
(2021-12-16). Libya: Military Mobilization in Sebha and the Looming Threat of War. libya360.wordpress.com The head of the Supreme Council of Tribes and Cities of Fezzan, Ali Misbah Abu Sbeiha, confirmed the presence of intensive military mobilizations in a number of locations in the city of Sebha by the General Command of the Army and the 166th Brigade of the Presidential Council led by Masoud Gedo. Abu Sbeiha said …
(2021-12-16). Storms Leave Over 510,000 Without Power In Central US. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, a powerful storm system swept through the central United States with high winds that kicked up dust storms, fueled wildfires and knocked down power lines, leaving more than 510,000 customers without power, with no mass casualties reported as of early Thursday. | RELATED: | The National Weather Service (NWS) reported a "confirmed tornado" near Rochester in southeastern Minnesota, the state's first on re…
(2021-12-16). South Africa Keeps Restrictions Low As COVID-19 Cases Rise. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) has retained lockdown restrictions at "adjusted level 1," which is the lowest of a five-tier system of restrictions. | RELATED: | "It makes sense to keep lockdown at this level as hospitals are not overwhelmed at this stage. We need to tighten lockdown measures when hospitalization admissions and ICU are higher," said Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the Sout…
(2021-12-16). New Project to Build a Climate-Resilient Landscape in Nigeria. moderndiplomacy.eu The World Bank today approved a $700 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA)* for the Nigeria Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project. The project will increase the implementation of sustainable landscape management practices in northern Nigeria and strengthen the country's long-term enabling environment for integrated climate-resilient landscape management. The productivity of major …
(2021-12-16). "No Food Available": Afghanistan Faces Catastrophe as Donors Cut Humanitarian Aid to Taliban Gov't. democracynow.org 
Afghanistan under the new Taliban government faces a humanitarian catastrophe this winter as the United States and other donors have cut off financial aid. The United Nations warns nearly 23 million people in Afghanistan — or more than half the population — face potentially life-threatening food shortages, with nearly 9 million already on the brink of famine. In addition, people face lack of proper healthcare, unemployment and housing shortages. "The international aid organizations, for them, it's just another country … where they take pictures and make their careers out of it," says Pashtana Durran…
(2021-12-16). Colombia and Venezuela: Where is There a Dictatorship? libya360.wordpress.com María Fernanda Barreto Photo: Carlos García Rawlins / Reuters What is democracy in the 21st century? Where is there a true democracy? They say that all comparisons are odious, but at the same time they are inevitable. In the case of Colombia and Venezuela, the comparison between their political systems is constantly made by the…
(2021-12-16). Russian official says Third World War underway in cyberspace. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Full-blown warfare in cyberspace in progress, says Russian diplomat Full-scale military activities are unfolding in cyberspace, Special Russian Presidential Representative for International Cooperation in Cybersecurity and Director of the Foreign Ministry International Security Department Andrey Krutskikh said at the 9th All-Russian congress of political scientists held at MGIMO University on Thursday. "The war [in cyberspace] …