(2021-12-18). [World Report] Russia—Ukraine tensions hampering health-care access. thelancet.com Humanitarian groups warn that medical care for civilians is being jeopardised amid a military standoff. Sharmila Devi reports…
(2021-12-18). Hedges: The Execution of Julian Assange. orinocotribune.com By Chris Hedges — Dec 13, 2021 | He committed empire's greatest sin. He exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption and innumerable war crimes. And empires always kill those who inflict deep and serious wounds. | Let us name Julian Assange's executioners. Joe Biden. Boris Johnson. Scott Morrison. Theresa May. Lenin Moreno. Donald Trump. Barack Obama. Mike Pompeo. Hillary Clinton. Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett and Justice Timothy Victor Holroyde. Crown Prosecutors James Lewis, Clair Dobbin and Joel Smith. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser.
(2021-12-18). "Workers around the world suffer the same conditions": A former Kellogg's worker in Australia sends a message of solidarity to US strikers. wsws.org Warwick Dove, a member of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) and former Kellogg's worker, has a message for striking Kellogg's workers in the United States on the eve of their vote on another concessions contract this weekend.
(2021-12-18). Leaked email exposes union-management conspiracy to defeat Kellogg's strike as Sanders attempts to deflect anger towards Mexico. wsws.org The entire bargaining committee should be kicked out in light of this exposure, and a new bargaining committee elected consisting of the most trusted rank-and-file workers from the shop floor.
(2021-12-18). The Sociopolitical and Economic Impact of the Pandemic. journal-neo.org 
Two years of the coronavirus pandemic have seriously changed the world around us economically and politically. The pandemic demonstrated that any mass epidemic is as much a generic challenge to society as war, a change in geological epochs, or economic stages. At this challenging time for everybody, all power structures and public institutions have faced …
(2021-12-18). [World Report] WHO and World Bank urge spending for UHC. thelancet.com Governments have been urged to strengthen public spending on health as COVID-19 stalls progress towards universal health coverage. John Zarocostas reports from Geneva.
(2021-12-18). [Correspondence] The global oral health workforce — Authors' reply. thelancet.com In response to our Comment,1 Gargi Sarode and Sachin Sarode point out the crucial role of human resources for oral health as well as the predominance of the private practitioner model to deliver oral health care. Frank Lobbezoo and Ghizlane Aarab suggest strengthening dental—medical integration as an additional strategy to address oral diseases. These are notable aspects to consider in the context of a future WHO global oral health strategy and country-level reforms of health-care systems towards universal oral health coverage.
(2021-12-18). [Editorial] COVID-19: where do we go from here? thelancet.com The end of 2021 brings a sense of uncertainty. Parts of the world are approaching a transition or a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The window for pursuing the elimination of SARS-CoV-2 has closed. Moving towards a so-called post-pandemic world will be far more complicated than scenarios such as "Zero COVID". The challenge now is to determine the level of COVID-19 that is acceptable for individual nations in a fundamentally interconnected world. In the first Lancet Editorial of 2021, we noted: "Countries might justifiably start to look inward to repair the damage after COVID-19.
(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). Scientists warn Canada's health care system could collapse within weeks as Omicron infections explode in Ontario and Quebec. wsws.org Amid dire warnings of a surging toll of mass infection and death over the coming weeks and months, Canada's official pandemic death toll surpassed the horrendous figure of 30,000 Thursday.
(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…
(2021-12-18). Massive Blackout Affects Caracas and Several Regions of Venezuela, Labeled as New Attack — Service Restored 100%. orinocotribune.com 
Caracas, December 17, 2021 ( Several parishes in Caracas, as well as various parts of the states of Zulia, Mérida, Carabobo, Miranda, Lara, Aragua, Apure, Anzoátegui, Vargas, Bolívar, Nueva Esparta, Barinas, Trujillo, Sucre, Táchira, Falcón, Yaracuy, and Portuguesa were affected by the blackout. | The b…
(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). Ethiopia: Historic battle for the Mother of Africa. nationofchange.org Hands off Ethiopia; hands off the countries of the region; hands off Africa, is the demand, loud and clear made upon the U.S. administration, her puppets, and the mouthpiece for war, the western media.
(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). 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). 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). 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). A Whistleblower And Constant Thorn In The Government's Side. popularresistance.org Joseph Carson, an Energy Department nuclear safety engineer originally from Brooklyn, NY, walked into the moral hazard of working for the U.S. government nearly as soon as his career started. The very first program he worked in during the Cold War led to the development of a nuclear weapon that could kill 20 million people in one fell swoop. The alarm bells immediately started ringing as the federal employee considered his work in the context of the engineering code of ethics he'd been educated in. What started as disclosures about the safety of federal workers in 1991—a report his manager immediately threw…
(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). US Unveils Legal Trigger For War With Russia. popularresistance.org A bill tabled this week in the Senate looks likely to pass into law because of the bilateral consensus of belligerence towards Russia. It is generally accepted as if fact that Russia is threatening to invade Ukraine despite Moscow's repeated denials and lack of evidence to support such sensationalized speculation. | Among other provocations, the lawmakers want to more than double the supply of lethal weaponry that the US is about to send Ukraine and to kill off the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. | On top of that — as if all that were not incendiary enough — the US Senators want to d…
(2021-12-17). Russia, China a Model of Inter-State Relations and Peace. strategic-culture.org Russia and China are proof that an alternative basis of international relations is possible. And fortunately, both are strong enough to prevail for the sake of peace. | For many observers around the world, the cordial and cooperative relations between Russia and China are inspiring, precisely at a time of mounting international tensions and belligerence. | Russia's President Vladimir Putin In a video…
(2021-12-17). US Threatening 6-Figure Fines for Contributing to 'Banned' Sites, Journalist tells RT. orinocotribune.com American journalists are being threatened with large fines by the US Treasury for writing for the 'wrong' websites, writer Daniel Lazare told RT, concerned his country's reputation as a defender of press freedom might be over. | Lazare and other US journalists who've written for the Strategic Culture Foundation, a website that describes itself as a "research platform on Eurasian global affairs," recently received threatening letters from the Treasury Department warning they could be on the hook for at least $300,000 in sanctions penalties, he told RT on Sunday. | "It's impossible to battle the US Treasury in t…
(2021-12-17). Jay-Z, Shaq And Martha Stewart Get Smoked On SPAC IPO Pump And Dumps. moguldom.com If you invested in a special-purchase acquisition company (SPAC) that was boosted by a celebrity name, you may have lost less on your investment than the SPAC category as a whole, but it still isn't a happy scenario. Of 33 SPACs tied to famous public figures and tracked by Bloomberg, 21 posted negative returns for …
(2021-12-17). Global WAR-NING! Geoengineering Is Wrecking Our Planet and Humanity. globalresearch.ca World leaders are meeting in Glasgow at COP-26. All eyes are now on "the imminent dangers of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions". The "climate emergency" is a timely instrument of propaganda used to distract people from questioning "the real crisis", namely the Covid-19 "plandemic".
(2021-12-17). Israel's war criminals spread fake cheer at Christmas. electronicintifada.net Many applications to travel from Gaza to Bethlehem will almost certainly be rejected.
(2021-12-17). Rusty Whistles: The Limits of Whistleblowing. davidswanson.org By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, December 17, 2021 I've been reading a book called Whistleblowing for Change, edited by Tatiana Bazzichelli, a beautifully put-together volume with numerous articles about whistleblowing, about art and whistleblowing, and about building a culture of whistleblowing: of supporting whistleblowers, and of making better known the outrages they've blown the …
(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). 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). 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). Over 83,000 displaced due to violence in Sudan's Darfur region: OCHA. peoplesdispatch.org 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…
(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). 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). Putin, Xi Running Circles around Biden's Hybrid War. globalresearch.ca Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin spent an hour and 14 minutes in a video conversation on Wednesday. Geopolitically, paving the way for 2022, this is the one that really matters — much more than Putin-Biden a week ago. | Kremlin press …
(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). The New Great Game Is Afoot — With All Of Us "Underfoot" journal-neo.org 
The western elites have finally pushed China and Russia too far. A long awaited independent trade network and alternative currencies will certainly go forward as Washington pushes NATO deeper into Eurasia. Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have now agree to accelerate attempts to create a system that cannot be influenced by 'third parties.' As …
(2021-12-17). 141 million suffering from food shortages in Arab world: FAO report. peoplesdispatch.org Out of the 420 million total population in the region, 69 million are currently severely malnourished due to extreme food scarcity, war-related famines and COVID-19, with Yemen and Somalia the worst-affected…
(2021-12-17). Bipartisanship at Whose Expense? Sen. Raphael Warnock Calls to End Filibuster, Pass Voting Rights Acts. democracynow.org 
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia implored conservative members of his party to stop obstructing voting rights legislation in a powerful speech on the floor of the Senate Tuesday. While Warnock did not name Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, the two have come out against doing away with the filibuster in order to allow Democrats to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Warnock said there was no chance of Republicans joining the effort to safeguard democracy and that only a change to the filibuster could secure passage of the bills. "Who is being asked to…
(2021-12-17). Mr. Blue and Maria: A Musical Dream. globalresearch.ca Sixty years ago in the late fall and early winter, a seventeen-year-old blue-eyed Bronx boy went by himself to see an afternoon showing of West Side Story on Fordham Road in the north Bronx. | . | He took the bus to …
(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). Sen. Raphael Warnock Urges End to Filibuster, Passage of Voting Rights Bills. truthout.org 
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia implored conservative members of his party to stop obstructing voting rights legislation in a powerful speech on the floor of the Senate Tuesday. While Warnock did not name Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, the two have come out against doing away with the filibuster in order to allow Democrats to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Warnock said there was no chance of Republicans joining the effort to s…
(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). 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). 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). Dems face 2022 nightmare, critics warn, if student debt payments restart and child credit ends. nationofchange.org "These are policy choices," said one economic justice group. "We don't have to choose this. All of this is 100% unnecessary and avoidable."
(2021-12-17). Headlines for December 17, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Warns of "Winter of Severe Illness and Death" for Unvaccinated Americans, CDC Recommends Moderna and Pfizer Vaccines Over Johnson & Johnson, Citing Rare Blood Clots, Thousands of ICE Prisoners Denied Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters, FDA Relaxes Restrictions on Access to Abortion Pills , Federal Judge Throws Out Opioid Settlement That Shielded Sackler Family from Lawsuits, Lucía Hiriart, Widow of Chilean Dictator Pinochet, Dies on Eve of Presidential Election, At Least Seven Die as Super Typhoon Rai Slams Philippines with 160 MPH Winds, Workers at Candle Factory Destroyed by Tornado Sue Company over "Fla…
(2021-12-17). UN warns of vaccine hoarding by rich countries, again. peoplesworld.org 
(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…