(2021-12-17). U.S. military should account for killings globally: Chinese FM spokesperson. ecns.cn The U.S. military should be held accountable for its war crimes of killing innocent civilians worldwide, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.
(2021-12-17). Video: U.S. Senate Passes Colossal $770 Billion Military Bill. warisacrime.org By
(2021-12-17). How the Left Can Get Ethiopia Right: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with #NoMore. towardfreedom.org In the last few months, the left media outlets from various camps, in their sincere attempts to demonstrate solidarity and spotlight conflict in the Horn of Africa and internal developments in Ethiopia, got it wrong. They have been uncritically centering active ideological players on two opposing camps, writes blogger Filmon Zerai.
(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). They Won't Ever Find Us Because Our Love Is Bound to the Rocks. popularresistance.org At the US State Department's Summit for Democracy (9—10 December), US President Joe Biden announced a range of initiatives to 'bolster democracy and defend human rights globally'. These measures are to be funded by $424.4 million from the United States. This money will go towards the same institutions that have — for the past sixty years — intervened to undermine the sovereignty of democratic processes from Iran (1953) and Guatemala (1954) to Honduras (2009) and Bolivia (2019). The US focuses on falsely portraying governments that are unwilling to accept US leadership as corrupt — as was w…
(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). 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). Oliver Stone's New JFK Revisited Disproves Official Story: Reveals U.S. Intelligence Involvement in Assassination. covertactionmagazine.com Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone has come out with a new documentary film, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, which …
(2021-12-17). Cyprus: More awareness of Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic languages. moderndiplomacy.eu State authorities in Cyprus continue to support minority language speakers by funding existing cultural institutions and establishing new sports facilities where their languages can be used, according to a new report by the Committee of Experts for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. (see executive summary in Greek) The Charter had entered into …
(2021-12-17). German Chancellor Scholz's first speech: Praising Merkel, threatening Russia and committing to mass infection. wsws.org The new Chancellor's remarks confirmed the assessment of the WSWS that the programme of the so-called traffic light coalition of SPD (red), Liberals (FDP, yellow) and Greens is a declaration of war on the working class.
(2021-12-17). Climatologist award and medicinal cannabis: News from the College. imperial.ac.uk Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial.
(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). Scientists warn of looming catastrophe as Omicron spreads globally. wsws.org The most serious and principled scientists are issuing increasingly stark warnings of the coming tidal wave of infections, hospitalizations and deaths as winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere.
(2021-12-17). Mass murder: New victims, same old questions. zcomm.org What I fear is that, socially speaking, we're afraid of change. We're not afraid to wage war; we're not afraid to kill. But we're afraid of change…
(2021-12-17). Strikers at Battle Creek Kellogg's stand strong, Bernie Sanders to join Friday rally. fightbacknews.org Battle Creek, MI – Kellogg's workers are continuing the fight after a rejection of a proposed contract last week. At the Battle Creek headquarters, there is determination to hold the line despite the company's plan to permanently replace 1400 workers. | Jason Rose, a mechanic who has worked at Kellogg's for 15 years, said the company is going to have a difficult time filling all the positions. In Battle Creek, the plant's downward trend in working conditions is well known. "They had a hard enough time hiring people in the first place," said Rose. | The strikers are asking to abolish the two-tier system of hiring…
(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). U.S. Hypocrisy Exposed As It Massacres Civilians Abroad. warisacrime.org By By Any Means Necessary, December 16, 2021 In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by David Swanson, activist, journalist, radio host, Executive Director of World BEYOND War and author of the new book "Leaving World War II Behind" to discuss the recently revealed "Talon Anvil" …
(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). Stand up for Assange, stand up for press freedom. peoplesdispatch.org On December 10, Human Rights Day, a British court delivered a verdict that clears the way for the extradition of journalist and publisher Julian Assange to the United States. If the extradition goes through, Assange will face criminal prosecution in the US, including under the infamous Espionage Act, and if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. | Julian Assange and his organization WikiLeaks published vital information received from whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning that chronicled US war crimes and atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. These include 'Collateral Murder,' the horrifying video…
(2021-12-16). Inflation Fears Shouldn't Be a Pretext for Class War. cepr.net The specter of inflation is being invoked to obstruct vital social programs in the Build Back Better bill. That's a recipe for economic ruin.
(2021-12-16). "His freedom is a political question"—Australian SEP supporters demand Assange's release. wsws.org "The US, UK and Australian governments are all implicated in the crimes published by WikiLeaks. As a result, they are all playing a role in destroying an award-winning journalist right before the world's eyes."
(2021-12-16). Labor Activists Want To Know Why Workers Were Left To Die. popularresistance.org In the aftermath of a rare string of December tornadoes last Friday night that left 80 people dead across six states, labor activists are questioning why employees at two large worksites in the path of destruction were left exposed to danger. | A candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky was totally destroyed after sustaining a direct tornado hit with 110 workers inside. At least eight people died and dozens more were severely injured. At the same time, an Amazon delivery station in Edwardsville, Illinois was also hit by a tornado during a shift change, causing the roof to fly off and part of an exterior wall to colla…
(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). Black Alliance for Peace Condemns the US National Guard Deployment to Horn of Africa. orinocotribune.com
(2021-12-16). Neocons Bent On Starting Another Disaster In Ukraine. popularresistance.org If anything, Washington's neoconservatives have an unerring instinct for survival. Having brought about multiple disasters in the two decades since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, from the Iraq war to the twin debacles in Libya and Syria, the neocons seem to have perfected the art of failing up. | Harvard University's Stephen Walt once quipped that "Being a Neocon Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry." And in this regard, the story of the Kagan family is instructive. | Robert Kagan, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and author of pseudo-his…
(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). Xi meets with role models for building peaceful China. ecns.cn Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday afternoon met with representatives of a meeting commending role models in implementing the country's Peaceful China initiative in Beijing.
(2021-12-16). China-Russia cooperation contributes to world peace, stability. ecns.cn Following the video meeting on Wednesday between the leaders of China and Russia, experts shared their views on China-Russia cooperation, saying that their relations play an important role in sustaining world peace and stability.
(2021-12-16). 20th ALBA-TCP Summit Declaration. orinocotribune.com "17 years defending Latin American and Caribbean integration and peace" | The Heads of State and Government and the Heads of Delegations of the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America — Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), meet in Havana, Cuba, on December 14, 2021 to commemorate the 17th Anniversary of the Alliance. In signing this Declaration, we renew our commitment to strengthen this mechanism of political coordination based on the principles of solidarity, social justice, cooperation and economic complementarity, a result of the political will of its founders, the Commanders Fid…
(2021-12-16). Steve Coll on How the U.S. Pursued Withdrawal Over Peace in Afghanistan & Let the Taliban Take Over. democracynow.org 
As Afghanistan spirals into a humanitarian crisis after the abrupt U.S. withdrawal earlier this summer, we look at years of failed U.S. diplomacy that allowed the Taliban to seize power and leave the small nation in a state of disrepair. A New Yorker magazine investigation shows how the U.S. repeatedly undermined the Kabul-based government in a rush to leave the country. "I've been reporting in general and around Afghanistan for a long time. I was still shocked by the degree of cynicism that the United States often brought to this endeavor to seek peace, particularly during the Trump years," says New Yorker staff…
(2021-12-16). Greenpeace Demands immediate return of German plastic waste. moderndiplomacy.eu Greenpeace, Basel Action Network (BAN), Zero Waste Europe and other organizations are calling for illegally exported waste to be returned to Germany. On December 2, the environmental groups prevented 37 containers with German plastic waste from being loaded in the port of Piraeus (Greece), and the customs authorities there confiscated the containers. In a letter …
(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). 'Restraint, de-escalation and dialogue' needed to stem war in Yemen. moderndiplomacy.eu Yemen is teetering on a new "fragmented and bloody" chapter of war as military escalation and conflict escalates, Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council on Tuesday, calling for "restraint, de-escalation and dialogue". "Even as the conflict parties all profess to me their desire for peace, their focus remains on military options…[which] will not …
(2021-12-16). Russian Proposals for Dialogue Have Had No Answer From NATO. telesurenglish.net After numerous proposals by Russia's government for a security dialogue sent to NATO, it has not given a single answer, said Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday. | RELATED: | "We know what security issues are. This is why we are creating armed forces, calling on our Western partners to engage in talks on ways to make the world a safer and a more stable place, prevent conflicts and resolve issues peacefully," stated the Spokeswoman. | "Ho…
(2021-12-16). How Can We Expect Things to Change?>. anchor.fm In this episode I discuss the practical ways in which we can expect the world to change based on the ways in which it has historically changed; through people taking control of their circumstances and building a new tomorrow. However it comes, we know that a new tomorrow must come, but if we want that new tomorrow to lead us towards an actually better society, then we need socialism. So how do we get there? Well, let's discuss!
(2021-12-16). Going To Work Shouldn't Be A Death Sentence. popularresistance.org On Friday night, at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, an alarm sounded with a tornado warning. One employee, Elijah Johnson, approached his manager. "I asked to leave and they told me I'd be fired." "'Even with the weather like this, you're still going to fire me?'" he asked the manager. The manager replied, "Yes." | Workers who took shelter in hallways and bathrooms were ordered back to work. The bosses took a roll call to see if anyone had left. Three hours after the warning sirens began — more than enough time to send all employees home to seek shelter — the building was leveled by a tornado…
(2021-12-16). How The OPCW's Syria Probe Censored Science. popularresistance.org Senior OPCW officials doctored the original report; erased the conclusions of expert toxicologists who ruled out chlorine gas as the cause of death; and thwarted the key investigate area of forensic pathology, which could have helped determine how the dozens of civilian victims in Douma lost their lives. Instead of explaining the extensive suppression, OPCW Director General Fernando Arias has avoided questions; offered false excuses; and smeared the veteran scientists who challenged the cover-up from within. | Guest: Dr. Piers Robinson. Co-Director of the Organisation for Propaganda Studies, and convenor of the W…
(2021-12-16). How The US Government Segregated America. popularresistance.org For many years, I worked in Boston public housing with teams of residents, community organizations, public housing staff and other professors on reducing and removing the many asthma triggers that caused the highest rates of asthma and asthma attacks in the city. Living and working in the heart of the city neighborhoods, I was keenly aware of the apartheid nature of public and residential housing (black Roxbury, white South Boston, white gentrification overtaking Boston's mixed-income interracial neighborhoods, and white suburbs) | I had been familiar with the mid-20th century pattern of "white flight" from urban…
(2021-12-16). Wage Inequality Continued To Increase In 2020. popularresistance.org Newly available wage data from the Social Security Administration allow us to analyze wage trends for the top 1.0% and other very high earners as well as for the bottom 90% during 2020. The upward distribution of wages from the bottom 90% to the top 1.0% that was evident over the period from 1979 to 2019 was especially strong in the 2020 pandemic year, yielding historically high wage levels and shares of all wages for the top 1.0% and 0.1%. Correspondingly, the share of wages earned by the bottom 95% fell in 2020. | Two features of the pandemic economy distorted wage patterns in 2020 and led to faster wage growth…
(2021-12-16). It's high time for a new United Front Against Fascism. peoplesworld.org 
So many Americans, from lukewarm liberals to many on the left, and even some of the few honest conservatives that remain on the playing field, are in a mood of despair right now. We sense that the slow coup ushering in fascism is already in full swing and is inevitable. The United States, as well …
(2021-12-16). Meet Edward Isaacs, the student waging a campus war for Israel. electronicintifada.net Bristol Jewish Society president helped get academic David Miller fired.
(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). 89-10: Senate sends record-high $768 billion war budget authorization to White House. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com The Senate vote was 89-10.The House vote was 363-70.It's the highest-ever Pentagon budget in current dollars and the largest since World War II in constant dollars. Russian military spending for 2020 was an estimated $61.7 billion, less than 1/12 of next year's U.S. defense spending. Senate Passes $768 Billion Defense Bill, Sending It to Biden …
(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). Amazon workers and families recover and mourn after deadly tornado. america.cgtn.com 
Families and friends have started to say their last goodbyes to their loved ones who died when a tornado tore through an Amazon warehouse in the U.S. state of Illinois last week. CGTN's Toni Waterman spoke to the mother of one of those victims — …
(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] …
(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). Video: U.S.-led NATO battle group in Poland. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Video: enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Poland Comprised of units from four Allied nations: Croatia, Romania, the UK and US, NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Poland is a key asset….in the [NATO] eastern flank. As part of their mission, Battlegroup Poland is continuously executing training exercises to enhance their readiness and ability to operate as …
(2021-12-16). Health workers hang up their lab coats in protest. peoplesdispatch.org More than 300 health workers in Konjic in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided to hang up their lab coats at the entrance of Konjic General Hospital on 15 December, in protest against a financial crisis that the town's health institutions have been struggling with for months on end. Nurses, doctors, and other health workers warned the authorities that this was their last warning before they quit en masse, a move that would cause the collapse of health services in the area. | The protest is the latest in a series of workers' actions since late November this year. Until now, workers have engaged in striking…
(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…