(2021-12-24). Wildfire surge of omicron confirms: Health care for profit more deadly than coronavirus. workers.org 
The ominous toll of 800,000 deaths from COVID-19, reached in the U.S. Dec. 14, confirms that health care for profit is more deadly than the virus itself. The U.S. has consistently had the most COVID-19 deaths of any country. (tinyurl.com/3nunmuv7) Since the omicron variant surfaced here Dec. 1, infection rates . . . |
(2021-12-24). Santa Claus rueful at imminent Christmas in India. moderndiplomacy.eu Ahead of Christmas, Indian police raided a shishu bhavan (infant house or orphanage) in Kolcatta (West Bengal) and another at Vdodra (Gujarat), Indian prime minister's home state. The Kolkatta orphanage was established by Mother Teresa herself, and was being run by the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata since February11, 2014. The raiding police claimed that …
(2021-12-24). Foxconn forced to close key Indian facility after worker protest over mass food poisoning. wsws.org Hundreds of workers had to be treated for vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness after eating their evening meal in a company-provided canteen.
(2021-12-24). Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia. wsws.org India: Delhi school teachers suspend online classes over unpaid salaries; Sri Lankan public sector doctors take national walkout; Australia: Rail workers and bus drivers continue industrial action in NSW.
(2021-12-24). Campaign calling for release of Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez gains momentum. peoplesdispatch.org Following the arrest of activist Khurram Parvez in November, a number of international human rights organizations have launched a solidarity campaign demanding his immediate and unconditional release.
(2021-12-24). A come to Jesus sermon from the Rev. Chris Hedges. scheerpost.com 
[Journalist and minister, Chris Hedges. [Photo courtesy of Chris Hedges] | Click to subscribe on: Another holiday season plagued with high Covid-19 rates and fears of infecting loved ones has come around, this time amid supply chain shortages and other economic woes. As runaway American capitalism tries to sell us consumerism as the answer to our current crises ev…
(2021-12-24). Assessing Russia-African Relations, its Setbacks and the Existing Challenges. moderndiplomacy.eu Last November, an expert group headed by Sergei A. Karaganov, the Honorary Chairman of the Presidium, Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, presented its final 150 paged assessment policy report with some recommendations intended to improve and scale up the existing Russia's influence in Africa. The report, put together by 25 academic researchers and experts, …
(2021-12-24). Workers, supporters demand'Amazon, recognize the Union now!'. workers.org 
Steps away from Broadway shows shut down by spiking COVID-19 numbers in New York City, a crowd of more than 80 people gathered in Times Square Dec. 22 to demand Amazon recognize the union being organized by the Amazon Labor Union at the company's Staten Island warehouse, as well as . . . |
(2021-12-24). Goodbye to All That and a Whole Lot More. scheerpost.com 
By Meghan Marohn / Original to ScheerPost | Editor's note: This piece was first published on ScheerPost on August 3, 2020. We're reprinting it now on the occasion of Joan Didion's passing at the age of 87 on Thursday. | I've known that I should like Joan Didion. Friends would share their perspectives on her work, so at some point I decided to dive into Slouching Towards Bethlehem. But I remember the feeling, after reading her famous essay "Goodbye to All That" about leaving New York City, that I had been left with a rendering of transience more than any specific comment on life in New York. Perhaps that's bec…
(2021-12-24). Por qué Cuba no tiene un movimiento antivacunas. workers.org 
Por Marc Vandepitte y Toon Danhieux Traducido del neerlandés por Sven Magnus. Versión cortada por Mundo Obrero. Cada vez más, amplios sectores de la población europea expresan abiertamente su desconfianza hacia las políticas para combatir en COVID-19. La reacción de la política tradicional es de pánico y se caracteriza por . . . |
(2021-12-24). Boring From Within the Bourgeois Press: Part One. mronline.org 
Eugene V. Debs may be my all-time favorite American and Karl Marx my all-time favorite journalist. But my employer for a decade was The Wall Street Journal, and for another decade it was the Los Angeles Times.
(2021-12-24). UK: Stuart delivery drivers in Sheffield strike into third week, spark action in other cities. wsws.org The potential for a national strike against Stuart is shown by the fact that the action in Sheffield has sparked similar walkouts in other cities. Delivery workers in Huddersfield and Blackpool have taken five days of strike action with workers in Sunderland carrying out a few hours' stoppage to stage a protest.
(2021-12-24). Pentagon Clamps Down on Extremism & White Supremacy. zcomm.org The Pentagon has announced new rules to slow the spread of extremism in the military, one of which will discipline soldiers for liking or resharing white nationalist and other extremist content on social media…
(2021-12-24). To oppose government austerity, Sri Lankan workers need to build action committees and fight for socialist policies. wsws.org The critical lesson of this year's strikes and protests is that determination and militancy is not enough. The working class cannot defend its rights without independently mobilising on a socialist program.
(2021-12-23). TPLF Announces Retreat. What Lies Ahead for Ethiopia? libya360.wordpress.com Elias Amare, editor of Horn of Africa TV, explains the situation in Ethiopia in light of the declaration by the TPLF that they are withdrawing to Tigray. He analyzes the situation over the past few months that led to this moment. The Tigray People's Liberation Front has announced that it will withdraw its forces to…
(2021-12-23). Indian army deployed to break Jammu and Kashmir power workers' strike. wsws.org Workers in India and around the world must take serious warning from the Indian government's rapid deployment of military and para-military forces to suppress an anti-privatization strike by 20,000 power workers in Jammu and Kashmir.
(2021-12-23). Structural Reforms Can Ease China's Transition to High-Quality Growth. moderndiplomacy.eu To achieve quality growth over the medium-term, China will need to rebalance its economy across several dimensions, according to Rebalancing Act, From Recovery to High-Quality Growth, the latest China Economic Update released today by the World Bank. Following a strong rebound in the first half of 2021, economic activity in China cooled rapidly in the …
(2021-12-23). Nord Stream 2 is a double-edged geopolitical tool. mronline.org 
The undersea Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been built at a cost of $11 billion. But the Kremlin kept its thought to itself. We now know why.
(2021-12-23). Absurd Guardian article declares China world's only imperialist power. mronline.org 
Another cartoonishly ridiculous anti-China propaganda piece has been published in the western mass media, this time by The Guardian, which at this point could arguably be labeled the single most destructive promulgator of empire propaganda in the western world.
(2021-12-23). Frederick Douglass and American Empire in Haiti. mronline.org 
Toward the end of his life, Frederick Douglass served briefly as U.S. ambassador to Haiti. The disastrous episode reveals much about the country's long struggle for Black sovereignty while always under the threat of U.S. empire.
(2021-12-23). Tom Engelhardt: Surviving Another Year in This Disturbed Country of Ours. scheerpost.com 
[ By Whether the pandemic that's swept the world started from In my neighborhood at least, as this year draws to a close, that old Lone…
(2021-12-23). Bourgeois Idealism & the Promotion of Anti-Intellectualism. mronline.org 
I know already as I'm writing this piece that it's not going to be a piece that's widely read and/or shared. I know this because I've written a number of pieces that have been read and shared by thousands.
(2021-12-23). Israeli army rule allowing shooting of stone-throwers will be applied to Palestinians, not Jews. mronline.org 
The Israeli military has changed its rules of engagement to allow its forces to fire on Palestinians who have thrown stones or firebombs even when they no longer pose any danger. The new rule is a sop to Israeli settlers, the IDF's clientele.
(2021-12-23). àÅlvaro García Linera: The Central Command of the Latin American Right is the US, not Spain. orinocotribune.com The conservative command of the Latin American right is in the United States, not in Spain. Vox is small and clumsy. On the other hand, Washington promotes a series of basic values: market, individuality, institutionality against social convulsions and wealth as the goal of life, affirms àÅlvaro García Linera. | The vice president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia between 2006 and 2019 is one of the most prominent contemporary leftist intellectuals. His extensive and provocative intellectual production is the result of a political commitment that led him to imprisonment for seven years and of a solid th…
(2021-12-23). Working towards development and peace: Imperial and SDG 16. imperial.ac.uk Sustainable energy solutions for peacebuilding and supporting academics from at-risk areas: how Imperial is meeting Sustainable Development Goal 16.
(2021-12-23). Mismeasuring progress: A critique of the growth paradigm. roarmag.org Cityscape of Johannesburg, South Africa in 2013. Photo: Nataly Reinch / Shutterstock.com | In recent years, more and more people have begun to question the received wisdom of "economic growth" — the idea that government policies can be measured a success or failure based on an increase in national income. Many, that is, except most economists. For them, growth is still the sacred benchmark on the road to development — for those countries deemed "undeveloped" — and something to be maintained and if possible expanded in all the OECD countries. | Governments follow suit and design their policies ar…
(2021-12-23). Venezuela Maintains 7 International Air Routes. orinocotribune.com Despite the fact that the state of emergency declared in Venezuela due to the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be lifted, the president of the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC), Juan Teixeira Díaz, announced that seven international air routes will continue to service the country. | He clarified that commercial flights to Mexico, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Russia, Bolivia, and Cuba will remain availa…
(2021-12-23). UK blocks Venezuela from accessing its international reserves. peoplesdispatch.org Britain's Supreme Court passed a ruling to continue blocking Venezuela from accessing 31 tons of Venezuelan gold valued at USD 2 billion. This gold is deposited at the Bank of England. The case went to court because the Bank has refused to release the gold reserves to the Bolivarian government stating that it recognizes the opposition activist Juan Guaidó as a legitimate authority.
(2021-12-23). Pentagon Clamps Down on Extremism & White Supremacy After Dozens of Jan. 6 Rioters Had Military Ties. democracynow.org 
The Pentagon has announced new rules to slow the spread of extremism in the military, one of which will discipline soldiers for liking or resharing white nationalist and other extremist content on social media. The Pentagon announcement comes just two weeks before the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, where more than 80 of the 700 individuals charged with the attack had ties to the U.S. military. Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project Susan Corke says these rule changes are welcomed by her organization but don't go far enough to stop extremism in the armed forces. "It sh…
(2021-12-23). Australia's "National Cabinet" sets course for mass Omicron infections. wsws.org "Living with COVID-19 means living with COVID-variants," the meeting's communiqué declared.
(2021-12-23). Israeli State Violence Intensifying as 2021 Proves Deadliest for Palestinians Since 2014. libya360.wordpress.com Jessica Buxbaum NABLUS, OCCUPIED WEST BANK — On December 10, Jamil Abu Ayyash, 31, was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during anti-settlement demonstrations in Beita, a village south of Nablus in the Occupied West Bank. Abu Ayyash succumbed to his injuries. Three days later, the Israeli army fatally shot Jamil al-Kayyal, also 31,…
(2021-12-23). Libya: Protests Mark the Postponement of Elections Amidst Threats of Deepening Chaos. libya360.wordpress.com Participants in the Friday of Salvation demand the overthrow of the existing political bodies A group of activists called on citizens to participate in a demonstration entitled "Friday of Salvation" in Tibesti Square in the city of Benghazi. Participants demand the overthrow of all political bodies currently in place, with parliament's work limited to legislative…
(2021-12-23). US on the Brink of Civil War. libya360.wordpress.com Alfredo Jalife-Rahme After three US generals warned of a fractured Army, a civil war scenario, as a coup attempt after the 2024 presidential election, CIA consultant Barbara Walter judges that the US exhibits several signs that foretell a "pre-civil war" insurgency. Three retired generals shocked public opinion in an article in The Washington Post, an…
(2021-12-23). Libya: National Committee for Human Rights Warns of the Political and Humanitarian Consequences of Aborting Elections. libya360.wordpress.com Demonstrations in Libya protest…
(2021-12-23). No One Is Safe Until Everyone Is Safe: Oxfam on Vaccine Equity & Taking On Moderna. democracynow.org 
Oxfam America has accused Moderna of misleading its investors about an ongoing dispute over whether it needs to share vaccine patent rights with the U.S. government. Oxfam filed a shareholders complaint against Moderna with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the company's resistance to recognizing the role played by three scientists with the National Institutes of Health in developing the vaccine. We speak with Robbie Silverman, senior corporate advocacy manager at Oxfam America, who says the federal government owns a right to license the vaccine to manufacturers. "It is simply not sufficient just to vac…
(2021-12-23). Imperialism: Unpacking the Primary Contradiction. libya360.wordpress.com Erica Caines Global and domestic repression under imperialism are counterparts. However, this truth gets distorted in the Global North, even by so-called leftists. Living in imperialist nations, we are constantly propagandized and thus forced to internalize and repeat anti-communist rhetoric. Unless we are vigilant about studying theory and history, this will continue. The best way…
(2021-12-23). Tunisia likely to see more protests against president Saied's power grab. peoplesdispatch.org Over the last few months, Tunisian president Kais Saied has consolidated his control over the executive and legislative authority in the country. His latest action was to announce the formulation of a new constitution to be put to a national referendum next year followed by general elections…
(2021-12-23). The Need for a Multidimensional Democracy. libya360.wordpress.com Javier Tolcachier Celebrating and reflecting are two actions that do not usually go hand in hand. Celebration implies an achievement, even if it is only the satisfaction of something well done, while reflection usually accompanies failure or error. Much more so in political terms, since it is not the euphoria of triumph but defeat that…
(2021-12-23). Why the Media Silence about Trudeau's Worst Foreign Policy Failure. libya360.wordpress.com Yves Engler Imagine if Nicolás Maduro's vice president quit and called for his government to be disbanded. Or if Venezuela's opposition won a landslide in regional elections or if 90% of member states voted against the government's UN credentials. The Canadian media would have splashed this news on front pages, but the shoe was on…
(2021-12-23). Oxfam Takes On Moderna in Fight for Vaccine Equity. truthout.org 
Oxfam America has accused Moderna of misleading its investors about an ongoing dispute over whether it needs to share vaccine patent rights with the U.S. government. Oxfam filed a shareholders complaint against Moderna with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the company's resistance to recognizing the role played by three scientists with the National Institutes of Health in developing the vaccine. We speak with Robbie Silverman, senior corporate advocacy manager at Oxfam America, who says the federal government…
(2021-12-23). Nigeria Destroys 1 Million Expired COVID-19 Vaccines. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Nigerian government destroyed over 1 million COVID-19 vaccines withdrawn from across the country after being identified for having a short shelf life. | RELATED: | The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) monitored the exercise at a dumpsite in a suburb of Abuja, the Nigerian capital. Authorities took the decision to join other African nations which earlier destroyed vaccines for the same reaso…
(2021-12-23). What are the Fundamental Differences Between Capitalist and Socialist Democracy? orinocotribune.com By Danny Haiphong — Dec 20, 2021 | Staying true to the theme of democracy, this article is an amended speech that analyzes the differences between Capitalist vs. Socialist democracies and advocates a defense of the latter. | The United States hosted a "Summit for Democracy" on December 9th and 10th in an obvious attempt to legitimize its unipolar and hegemonic claim of leadership over the so-called "rules-based international order." While on the surface this appeared to be an unproductive move on the part of the world hegemon, it aligned well with the U.S. strategy of cloaking its aggressive and exploitative…
(2021-12-23). The American deal with the popular decline in support of political Islam after Arab Spring revolutions. moderndiplomacy.eu Before answering this question, it is necessary to understand (the Brotherhood's grand strategy), which is based on the role of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood inside the United States of America, in Europe and around the world, through a strategy based on (the Brotherhood's penetration into the United States of America with its …
(2021-12-23). South African Hospitalization Rates Plunge Despite Omicron Onslaught: 'They Are At Very Low Levels'. moguldom.com The hospitalization rate of South Africans infected with the omicron variant is less than 80 percent compared to other variants of the disease, according to a study released by the country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). Covid-19 infections in South Africa have spiked in the fourth wave of the pandemic after scientists identified the …
(2021-12-23). Putin Says Peace in Ukraine Is Up to U.S. strategic-culture.org 
Putin told his annual press conference today that the U.S. had "tricked" Russia over NATO expansion and that it had to end, reports Len Bracken. | By Len BRACKEN | Russian President Vladimir Putin today told his annual year-end press conference that peace is up to the U.S. after Washington agreed this week to negotiate in January with Moscow on Russian demands to resolve tension over Ukraine. | "Our actions will depend not on the course of negotiations, but on the unconditional guarantees of Russian national security," Putin said. "We made it clear that NATO's expansion to the east is unacceptable. The U.S. is on…