(2021-12-18). "Julian Assange is an international hero to millions"—SEP supporters denounce British court ruling. wsws.org "If he is extradited, it will set a precedent for the oppression of all dissenting voices. He has fought for the truth and now we must fight for him."
(2021-12-18). The Closer on Netflix — Some valuable lessons with a pinch of transphobia. moderndiplomacy.eu Since the last few weeks there's been a mounting backlash against Comedian Dave Chapelle's Netflix Special The Closer which debuted on October 5th. The controversy erupted as some people alleged that the show was extremely transphobic & anti-women. Even the employees of Streaming giant staged protests & demanded the content must be removed from the …
(2021-12-18). WW Commentary: Drug users need unions, compassion clubs. workers.org 
Drug users and abusers, as a group of people, are among the most oppressed of our class. Because of this, we are in need of an organization or organizations that protect us and our human rights. We also need an organization that helps to combat the overdose epidemic, often caused . . . |
(2021-12-18). A Sino-Russian military alliance is gratuitous (as of now). mronline.org 
To apply a western analogy, while the Sino-Russian partnership has great potential to model itself after the European Union, neither Moscow nor Beijing desires an Eurasian NATO to create synergy for it.
(2021-12-18). Israel pushes U.S. into 'aggressive posture toward Iran that could spiral into war' — but mainstream press is indifferent. mronline.org 
Trump says, Netanyahu was 'willing to fight Iran to the last American soldier.' That ought to be big news, as Israel's defense minister gets unrivaled access in D.C. to threaten war and block the U.S. path to a new Iran deal.
(2021-12-18). Nicaragua: la costa caribeña / Parte 3: Visión de un sandinista sobre la autonomía/ 'Unidad, diversidad, interculturalidad'. workers.org 
Por Johnny Hodgson La siguiente es la tercera parte de una presentación realizada por Johnny Hodgson, Secretario Político del Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional para la Región Autónoma de la Costa del Caribe Sur (RACCS) el 6 de octubre en Managua, Nicaragua, a una delegación estadounidense compuesta por Coleen Littlejohn, . . . |
(2021-12-18). Pakistan: Brutal lynching of Priyantha Kumara. workers.org 
Sialkot, Pakistan — Last week a mob tortured and then lit Priyantha Kumara on fire. Kumara, a Sri Lankan, was a factory manager in Pakistan and was murdered outside of the factory in which he worked. In the aftermath of this horrific lynching, mob participants informed media outlets that they . . . |
(2021-12-18). US maintains support for Solomon Islands' opposition forces after failed coup attempt. wsws.org The Solomons' government has been in Washington's cross hairs since it announced in late 2019 that it was ending diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognising Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China.
(2021-12-18). Attacks on Brazilian scientists grow amid COVID-19 pandemic. wsws.org The Brazilian and international working class must oppose attacks on scientists whose work has helped educate the public and expose the criminal politics of the world's ruling elite during the greatest global health crisis in a century.
(2021-12-18). China Rescues Myanmar From Dangerous Dollar-Dominated Waters. newatlas.report December 18, 2021 (Brian Berletic — NEO) — For nearly a year now the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar has been racked by US-sponsored terrorism attempting to reinstall Washington's client regime of choice headed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Compounding the daily violence carried out by the US-sponsored …
(2021-12-18). Azerbaijan might be the champion that GUAM needs. moderndiplomacy.eu International organizations remain key venues where states with overlapping interests try to cooperate and find common ground. Such organizations range from all-encompassing global organizations to small thematic institutions. In order to remain operationally relevant and on the agenda, they may need to seek ways of reviving organizational structures with fresh methods and ideas that fit …
(2021-12-18). How a Group of Starbucks Workers Emerged Victorious in Their Union Fight. independentmediainstitute.org The iconic American coffee chain, Starbucks, employs hundreds of thousands of people in nearly 9,000 cafés nationwide. And yet, the news that a handful of Starbucks employees at one café in Buffalo, New York, recently voted to join Workers United—an affiliate of SEIU—made headlines nationally. The New York Times called it a "big symbolic win …
(2021-12-18). [Correspondence] Another public health catastrophe. thelancet.com The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is considering prescription of e-cigarettes on the National Health Service.1 This consideration heralds the next big revenue stream for big tobacco, whose lobbyists have campaigned for the prescription of e-cigarettes as UK smoking rates dwindle. We absolutely disagree that "doctors, medical leaders and health campaigners welcomed the move".2…
(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). Why We Must Defend Julian Assange. popularresistance.org December 10 is International Human Rights Day. It is always a sham holiday for the United States, which locks up its own people at rates exceeding those of every other country, and routinely makes war against the rest of the world. In 2021 the date was treated as even more of a mockery than in the past. Joe Biden convened a bizarre democracy summit, wherein he declared other nations good or bad based on whether they go along with the dictates of the U.S. empire. Although it was in London where the U.S. behaved in a particularly shameful manner, working with the United Kingdom to secure the right to extradite Juli…
(2021-12-17). First 'Summit For Democracy' Should Be The Last. popularresistance.org More than 100 nations' presidents, prime ministers, and kings met virtually at the Summit for Democracy on Dec. 9 and 10. It was the first meeting in history on this scale where the application — or ostensible application — of the democratic principle in the governance of national affairs was used as a criterion to invite participants to an international meeting. | There are three ways to look at the summit. | A naàØve view is to consider it as a meeting of like-minded states, interested in learning from each other about how to improve the application of democratic principles at home. (For that…
(2021-12-17). They won't ever find us because our love is bound to the rocks: The Fiftieth Newsletter (2021). mronline.org 
At the U.S. State Department's Summit for Democracy (9—10 December), U.S. President Joe Biden announced a range of initiatives to 'bolster democracy and defend human rights globally'.
(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). Home Care Workers Protest 24-Hour Work Day In New York City. popularresistance.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…
(2021-12-17). 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). Democratic Production and Self-Organized Labor: How the Che Guevara Commune Confronts the Crisis. libya360.wordpress.com Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert Part I: Highland Resistance: How the Che Guevara Commune Confronts the Crisis 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…
(2021-12-17). UAW members OK direct election of officers. peoplesworld.org 
(2021-12-17). Modi's Hindu Nationalism in Assam and Manipur. moderndiplomacy.eu The rise of nationalism is going global. From the success of Brexit, the popularity of the far-right movements across Europe, and to Donald Trump winning the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In India, the nationalist government is led by Narendra Modi. This article highlights the strategies of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its parent organization …
(2021-12-17). India's data privacy bill: Commercializing our data and weakening our privacy. peoplesdispatch.org India's government wants to club the commercial use of people's data with the protection of personal data, and create structures that allow the commercialization of our personal data collected by the government…
(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). 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). The U.S. experience: racism and COVID-19 mortality. mronline.org 
Not only did all the racial and ethnic populations, with the exception of Asians, experience far higher COVID-19 mortality rates than did whites, their respective rates were at least twice that of whites.
(2021-12-17). Joseph Carson: A Whistleblower and Constant Thorn in the U.S. Government's Side. scheerpost.com 
Joseph Carson. [Photo courtesy of guest] | Click to subscribe on:
(2021-12-17). A, Kent MacDougall 1931 — 2021. mronline.org 
Kent MacDougall, newspaper reporter, journalism professor and Berkeley radical, left this world November 6, 89 years after he entered it December 11, 1931.
(2021-12-17). Marc Garneau CI students say "NO" to silence. mronline.org 
Let's give credit to the roughly 200 brave students who walked out of Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute last month. They were protesting how the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has handled what it considers to be antisemitism within its schools.
(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). The pandemic response in Martinique and Guadeloupe: the looming shadow of colonialism. peoplesdispatch.org 
Since November 15 this year, a coalition of unions and professional associations in Guadeloupe, a group of islands that is one of the "French overseas departments", have been partaking in a strike action. This action, led by the health personnel of the Pointe-à -Pitre University Hospital and firefighters, was extended on November 22 to the neighboring island of Martinique at the call of 17 unions and people's organizations. | In response to the protests, the prefect of Guadeloupe introduced a curfew on November 19 and mobilized around 200 police officers to ensure it is respected. In spite of the curfew, proteste…
(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). NBA Star Kevin Durant Strikes Deal To Promote Crypto Exchange Coinbase. moguldom.com Basketball sharpshooter Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and his company, Thirty Five Ventures (35V), have partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in a deal to promote the platform. Durant, a National Basketball Association star, is now the face of Coinbase and is set to promote it across all his business ventures. The monetary value of …
(2021-12-17). Militias Threaten Military Escalation to Postpone the Libyan Elections. libya360.wordpress.com Editorial Comment: The Dabaiba government, following orders from Turkey, failed to prepare the security environment for holding elections. Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the Government of National Unity, Najla Al-Manqoush, is in Istanbul today, attending the Turkish-African Summit. — A.V. Libyan political circles described the military escalation that some militias…
(2021-12-17). Want to Know How to Beat COVID? Look at China. libya360.wordpress.com Scott Scheffer Guangzhou International Health Station, a complex built for accommodating international travelers, in southern China's Guangdong province. The world is now nearing the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States has the highest death toll in the world — 823,390 as of Dec. 16. With all the scientific resources…
(2021-12-17). Jordan: Reforms Critical to Resilient Recovery and Sustainable Growth. moderndiplomacy.eu Accelerated global recovery, improved vaccine rollout, and a full reopening of the domestic economy are the main drivers of a projected growth rate of 2.2% for this year in Jordan, according to the World Bank. However, rising COVID cases in some parts of the world, the slow pace of recovery of international tourism, and the …
(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). Over 83,000 Displaced Due to Violence in Sudan's Darfur Region. libya360.wordpress.com Pavan Kulkarni (Photo: Modesta Ndubi/UNHCR) Among the multiple factors driving the violence are alleged mining interests, contest over land and water, and the attempt to end the war with a power-sharing deal between the leadership of the fighting parties without addressing the root causes or involving the communities "Stop the bleeding of Darfur" and "All…
(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…
(2021-12-17). People of color in U.S. more likely to breathe six types of air pollution, study finds. nationofchange.org "For all years and pollutants, the racial/ethnic group with the highest national average exposure was a racial/ethnic minority group,"
(2021-12-17). The Fall of the Dream of Elections in Libya. libya360.wordpress.com Dr. Mustafa Al-Zaidi Many, including myself, did not believe that the international community managing the Libyan crisis was serious about establishing a Libyan national authority with popular legitimacy, so they looked with suspicion at the announcement of general elections on the twenty-fourth of December, especially since the so-called Dialogue Committee, appointed by the UN mission…
(2021-12-17). Kellogg Says It Has Tentative Deal With Union as It Faces Mounting Pressure. truthout.org 
With 1,400 cereal plant workers in the midst of their 11th week of striking, Kellogg Company says that it has reached a The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union has not yet put out a statement about the agreement, and workers rejected a dea…
(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). WB Supports Greater Access to Energy and Broadband Services in Rural Mozambique. moderndiplomacy.eu The World Bank approved today a $300 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) that will support the Government of Mozambique's efforts to increase access to energy and broadband services, as well as strengthen the operational performance of the country's electricity utility. "Mozambique's economy can benefit from systematically harnessing the synergies of energy and …