Daily Archives: December 3, 2021

2021-12-03: News Headlines

David Swanson (2021-12-03). Why We Should Oppose the Democracy Summit. warisacrime.org By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, December 2, 2021 The exclusion of certain countries from the U.S. "democracy summit" is not a side issue. It is the very purpose of the summit. And excluded countries have not been excluded for failing to meet the standards of behavior of those that were invited or the one …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-03). Saudi Arabia extensively lobbied to derail war crimes probe in Yemen, says report. peoplesdispatch.org A report by The Guardian said that an extensive Saudi lobbying effort was one of the reasons behind the defeat of a resolution to extend the term of an independent war crimes investigation into human rights violations in Yemen…

teleSUR (2021-12-03). Puebla Group Rejects US Harsh Policy Against Cuba. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, Cuba's Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez welcomed that the Puebla Group condemned the U.S. smear campaign and economic blockade against his country. | RELATED: | "We appreciate the solidarity of the Puebla Group with our people, who suffer the consequences of coercive policies that go against international conventions and obey the anachronistic logic of the Cold War," Rodriguez stated. | The forum also condemned th…

Editor (2021-12-03). The American prison system's war on reading. mronline.org This April, the Iowa Department of Corrections issued a ban on charities, family members, and other outside parties donating books to prisoners.

Ana Malinow (2021-12-03). An Obscure Agency Is Threatening to Hand Medicare Over to Wall Street. truthout.org In the face of massive support for Medicare for All and the failure of the U.S.'s for-profit health care system, the inevitable fall of the medical-industrial complex can be predicted, if not with precision, with certainty. Everyone is aware of the impending demise, none more so than those in charge of the for-profit health care system and their supporters in Congress, as evidenced by the frenetic activity at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to transfer the traditional Medicare p…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-03). Rights organizations call for renewed probe into possible war crimes in Yemen. peoplesdispatch.org The call by rights organizations comes a day after The Guardian revealed that Saudi Arabia had used a mixture of threats and inducements to persuade countries to vote down an extension of the probe into possible war crimes in Yemen…

WSWS (2021-12-03). ECDC warns Omicron variant to become dominant in Europe in a "few months" wsws.org European governments are refusing critical social distancing measures and relying exclusively on vaccinations, which the Omicron variant may largely evade.

F. William Engdahl (2021-12-03). Who Gains from Ethiopia Tigray War? dissidentvoice.org If you want to know who is likely to be at war, just look at who is given the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian (NATO) Parliament. Obama got it just days into office before he escalated the war in Afghanistan. Henry Kissinger got it in the 1970'S. And two years ago the Prime Minister …

Brittani Banks (2021-12-03). Why Amazon Is Terrified of Its U.S. Workers Unionizing. independentmediainstitute.org The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has just ruled that a historic union vote held earlier this year among Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) was not valid. The highly publicized vote, which took place over several weeks in February and March 2021, resulted in a …

Sam Wainwright (2021-12-03). WA Labor's electoral reforms: one step forward, two steps back. greenleft.org.au Under the cover of applying "one vote, one value" to elections for the Legislative Council, last month WA Labor also pushed through legislation that disadvantages smaller political parties, writes Sam Wainwright.

Fred Fuentes (2021-12-03). Adani protester given suspended prison sentence, latest example of escalating repression. greenleft.org.au A new report by Greenpeace, Global Warning: the threat to climate defenders in Australia, has identified an alarming escalation in repression against climate activists. Fred Fuentes reports.

_____ (2021-12-03). South Korean Dictator Dies, Western Media Resurrects A Myth. popularresistance.org General Chun Doo Hwan was the corrupt military dictator that ruled Korea from 1979-1988, before handing off the presidency to his co-conspirator General Roh Tae Woo. Chun took power in a coup in 1979, and during his presidency he perpetrated the largest massacre of Korean civilians since the Korean war. He died on November 23rd, in pampered, sybaritic luxury, impenitent and arrogant to the very last breath. | Many western media outlets have written censorious, chest-beating accounts of his despotic governance and the massacres he perpetrated (here, here, here, and here)– something they rarely bothered to do when…

Eric Walberg (2021-12-03). Afghan Emirate's Challenge to the World. dissidentvoice.org What happened to news about Afghanistan? After their spectacular sweep of the entire country and overnight victory, there is no news now. And Taliban websites remain closed. Just human interest stuff about traitors/ cowards/ whatevers fleeing to the US or wherever. A convening of Afghan women parliamentarians, holding a mock Afghan parliament in exile (a …

Ivan Stoiljkovic (2021-12-03). 'It was once our home': Socialist Yugoslavia before the breakup. peoplesworld.org On November 29, 1943, in the midst of the Second World War, a beautiful, big, and strong socialist Yugoslavia was established in the town of Jajce in central Bosnia. It was established by the Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ), at its second session, as a state of equal nations and peoples …

Phillip Smith (2021-12-03). How Oregon is turning the page on America's disastrous drug war. nationofchange.org "Our immediate focus is to ensure every Oregonian knows these critical harm reduction and recovery services are being invested in and expanded so that they will be available to anyone who wants and needs them, and that they can feel comfortable and safe accessing them."

Toward Freedom Editor (2021-12-03). Why Does Independent Media Matter? A Webinar on Nicaragua, Haiti, Venezuela, Honduras and the Black Liberation Struggle. towardfreedom.org Toward Freedom hosted a webinar December 2 to welcome new editor, Julie Varughese, who reported on her time covering Nicaragua's November 7 elections. Regular contributors Danny Shaw and Jacqueline Luqman discussed the Pink Tide in Latin America, Haiti and how Hollywood depicts the Black liberation struggle.

WSWS (2021-12-03). US and NATO ramp up anti-Russia war drive. wsws.org US and NATO representatives are pressing ahead with hysterical anti-Russian rhetoric and threats of war.

WSWS (2021-12-03). Referendum on direct election of UAW officers passes. wsws.org A little over 140,000 voted out of close to 1 million eligible active workers and retirees, a mere 14 percent turnout, reflecting the deep alienation felt by workers toward the UAW.

teleSUR (2021-12-03). Gunmen Attack Four Libyan Election Centers. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, the Libyan High National Elections Commission (HNEC) said that four of its election centers have been attacked by a group of gunmen. | RELATED: | Said Al-Qasabi, head of the main operations chamber of the HNEC, said that gunmen in civilian clothes launched the attacks on Wednesday, taking away 2,312 voter cards and damaging 69 others. Interior Minister Khaled Mazen on Tuesday warned that obstructing the…

Staff (2021-12-03). From Abortion Bans to Anti-Trans Laws, a Christian Legal Army is Waging War on America. democracynow.org As the Supreme Court looks poised to uphold Mississipi's 15-week abortion ban and possibly overturn Roe v. Wade we speak to The Nation's Amy Littlefield about her investigation into the Christian legal army behind the Mississippi law as well as anti-trans laws across the country. She also critiques the mainstream pro-choice movement's failure to center the poor and people of color. "There is a change coming within the movement because of its reckoning with these past missteps including, frankly, the failure to adequately protect Black women and to stand up for the safety of the people whose rights were eroded fir…

Ana Perdigón (2021-12-03). 21N Elections: Scrutiny of Vote Count for Indigenous Representatives Concludes. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, December 2, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that it had concluded the tabulation of the voting minutes issued in the elections to choose Indigenous representatives for legislative councils and municipal councils. | The voting minutes were issued in each of the 74 authorized voting centers in eight states of the country. | "The Ad Hoc commission for the 2021 elections…

Staff (2021-12-03). Opposition Deputy José Brito Asks CNE to Repeat Elections in Pariaguán, Anzoategui State. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, December 2, José Brito, a deputy representing Justice First in Venezuela's National Assembly, asked the National Electoral Council (CNE) to repeat the regional and municipal elections in Pariaguán (Anzoátegui State) after the disqualification of the victor Tomás Bello. | In the company of the candidate for the Democratic Alliance for mayor of the Miranda municipality of Pariaguán, Tomás Bello, Brito went to the headquarters of the CNE to challenge the electoral process of that jurisdiction. He denounced that, following the disqualification of the elected candidate, a substitution of candidates was…

Staff (2021-12-03). Opposition's Presumed Candidate for Barinas State Re-election. orinocotribune.com With the opening of the new electoral process in the state of Barinas, following the controversial decision issued by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) that confirmed the disqualification of Freddy Superlano as the opposition (MUD) candidate—even when Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) forecast his victory—it is presumed that they will nominate his wife, Aurora Silva de Superlano, to run as candidate for governor. | The CNE authorities have already announced that the period for political organizations to present their offers is underway. For their part, regional media reported on the possib…

teleSUR (2021-12-02). Israel Is Unwilling To Genuinely Investigate Its War Crimes. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, the Israeli NGO Betselem and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) denounced that Israel covers up the truth and protects the political and military officials responsible for the murder of over 200 Palestinians between 2018 and 2019. | RELATED: | The Israeli authorities did not carry out a real and comprehensive investigation into the crackdown on the Great March of Return protests, through which Palestinians called for an end to the…

Andreína Chávez Alava (2021-12-02). Venezuela: Maduro Reinforces Vaccination Over Omicron Variant, Condemns Western 'Political' Response. venezuelanalysis.com The United Nations also criticized Western nations for imposing a "travel apartheid" against southern Africa following the Omicron Covid-19 variant appearance.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2021-12-02). The Covid-19 Omicron Variant: Towards a Fourth Wave Lockdown? Pretext to Introduce New Repressive Policy Measures. globalresearch.ca Global Research is the object of censorship. | Please forward this article to friends and colleagues, post on your blog and on social media. *** | Both the governments and the media in chorus are now engaged in a …

Staff (2021-12-02). Headlines for December 2, 2021. democracynow.org Supreme Court's Conservatives Signal Support for Mississippi Anti-Abortion Law , U.S. Detects Omicron Coronavirus Variant in California, U.N. Chief Blasts "Travel Apartheid" as Nations Deny Entry to Africans Over Omicron Variant, Russia Expels Some US Ambassadors as Blinken Warns Russia Against Invading Ukraine, Burmese Military Helicopters Attack Villagers in Region Where Resistance to Coup Remains Strong, Women's Tennis Association Suspends Tournaments in China Over Peng Shuai Case, 15-Year-Old Suspect in Michigan High School Shooting to be Tried as an Adult, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams to Run for Governor i…

William Rivers Pitt (2021-12-02). With Omicron in US, GOP Hard-Liners Are Still Trying to Thwart Vaccine Mandates. truthout.org Stop me if you've heard this one before: The current federal spending agreement that funds many operations of government is set to expire at midnight on Friday. Absent a new deal, or at least a vote to kick the can down the road a bit, much of the federal government will shut down, again. M*A*S*H didn't get this many reruns. | The last one ran 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, and happened because then-President Donald Trump wanted to staple funding for his draconian bor…

Staff (2021-12-02). Spain's Zapatero Urges Resumption of Mexico Talks. orinocotribune.com Former head of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, urged a resumption of the meetings between the government of Venezuela and the opposition, in the dialogue known as the Mexico Talks, which were suspended after the kidnapping of diplomat Alex Saab by the United States. | During his participation in the assembly of the Puebla Group, the former Spanish prime minister said that "it is the only way" to advance in solving the problems that the country faces. | "My opinion is that the dialogue that has been taking place in Mexico between the opposition and the government of Venezuela is a fundamental…

In Defense of Liberation! (2021-12-02). Socialism in the Global South w/ Comrades Ramiro Sebastián Fúnez and Libre X. Sankara. anchor.fm In this episode I have on Comrades Libre X. Sankara from Troika Kollective (@troikakollectiv on Instagram and Twitter) and Ramiro Sebastián Fúnez, host of Unmasking Imperialism on Youtube, director of "Nicaragua Against Empire" (youtu.be/-wUDr0tQxqs) | We discuss the situations in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua briefly, touching mostly upon the recent elections in Nicaragua and Venezuela, as well as the false accusations levied by the US Empire against these nations at this time. We also go in depth to discuss the overall situation facing Central and South America, as colonized nations, and how their figh…

_____ (2021-12-02). Revival of Class Politics in the U.S…. Will It Be Socialism or Fascism? strategic-culture.org The U.S. empire, like the USSR, is imploding out of its own corruption, says Harriet Fraad in an interview with Finian Cunningham. | Over the past year, the massive upheaval in the United States from workers going on industrial strike and walking off jobs signifies an increasing awareness of class politics. In the following interview, Harriet Fraad says that American workers are overcoming decades of suppression from anti-communist propaganda as well as a betrayal by the two main political parties. | Workers are becoming aware of their rights and their conditions of exploitation under the corporate capitalist sys…

_____ (2021-12-02). Potential Legislation On China Amounts To A New Cold War. popularresistance.org Congress is itching to pass a sweeping bipartisan package that threatens to enshrine a new Cold War, this time against China, and they're counting on the American public's inattention to get it through by the end of the year. After months of stalling in the House, and a failed attempt to attach the legislation to the annual defense bill, majority leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi struck a deal this week for a bicameral conference on the anti-China legislation. | The US Innovation and Competition Act is a massive piece of legislation purporting to make the United States more "competitive" with China ec…

WSWS (2021-12-02). National Labor Relations Board orders new union election at Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. wsws.org The Biden administration is intervening not to defend workers' democratic rights, but to impose a labor police force over this decisive section of the working class…

_____ (2021-12-02). Hondurans Break The US-Imposed Narco Siege Of Their Government. popularresistance.org Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, visited Honduras the week before the presidential elections. His stated purpose was to "encourage the peaceful, transparent conduct of free and fair national elections." He did not meet with the de facto President, Juan Orlando Hernández. | The gesture was clear and illuminating on two levels. | First, it showed that the U.S. government had already accepted the irrefutable truth that the center-left coalition led by Xiomara Castro would earn the votes of the Honduran people (as we go to publication, she was in the lead with 53.6%). Hondur…

teleSUR (2021-12-02). Honduran President Hernandez Accepts Victory of Xiomara Castro. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez congratulated President-elect Xiomara Castro, who won 52.31 percent of the votes in the Nov. 28 general elections. | RELATED: | "I want to congratulate Castro and all our compatriots, whose civic display in these elections strengthened democracy," Hernandez stated, recalling that the electoral process took place in peace and order. | "The will of Hondurans is s…

_____ (2021-12-02). Activists Make Last-Minute Bid To Stop Blasting In Whale Breeding Grounds. popularresistance.org Activists have made a last-minute bid to stop Royal Dutch Shell from exploring for oil and gas in whale breeding grounds off the coast of South Africa. | The fossil-fuel giant had planned to search for oil and gas reserves by setting off underwater explosions along a stretch of South Africa known as the Wild Coast, according to MSN. The explorations were slated to begin December 1. However, four environmental and human rights organizations filed a legal challenge Monday night to stop the blasting, Greenpeace Africa said. | "Shell's activities threaten to destroy the Wild Coast and the lives of the people living t…

PSL Asheville (2021-12-02). Activists bring message of climate justice to Asheville Holiday Parade. zcomm.org "Today, we marched for peace and a future for our children; what could be more in the spirit of the season than that?"

Editor (2021-12-02). How to picket stores that sell your employer's products. mronline.org Note: Consumer picketing can be directed against all products that a struck employer manufactures, processes, distributes, transports, or otherwise enhances in value.

Juan Cole (2021-12-02). Israel Squatter Violence toward Palestinians is Escalating. zcomm.org UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, delivered alarming remarks about the dangers of an outbreak of further violence on the part of the Israeli state…

_____ (2021-12-02). The Right-Wing Story About Human Nature Is False. popularresistance.org One common view of human beings is that we are "by nature" selfish, violent, cruel, and untrustworthy, and that, to the extent we manage to restrain these base instincts, it is because we are taught to be generous, and punished if we go around hurting others. Sometimes this view is accompanied by a story about human development: once upon a time, life was nasty, brutish, and short, a war of all against all. Prehistoric human beings were violent barbarians. Fortunately, civilization has gradually brought out the better angels of our nature. Free markets can actually direct humans' natural selfishness toward social…

Ana Perdigón (2021-12-02). CNE's Roberto Picón Issues Statement on Electoral Ruling in Barinas. orinocotribune.com One of the five rectors of Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE), Roberto Picón, issued a statement regarding the ruling that ordered new elections to be held in the state of Barinas. According to Picón, the electoral authority was not made aware of the disqualification of the opposition candidate Freddy Superlano at the time of his registration. | Through a statement published on his Twitter account, Picón wrote that the CNE was unaware of Freddy Superlano's ineligibility condition, pursuant to a resolution of the comptroller general dated August 17, 2021. | "I put on record that the disqualification of c…

Andy Kroll (2021-12-02). Countdown to World War III? tomdispatch.com When the Department of Defense released its annual report on Chinese military strength in early November, one claim generated headlines around the world. By 2030, it suggested, China would probably have 1,000 nuclear warheads — three times more than at present and enough to pose a substantial threat to the United States. As a Washington Post headline put it, typically enough: "China accelerates nuclear weapons expansion, seeks 1,000 warheads or more, Pentagon says." The media, however, largely ignored a far more significant claim in that same report: that China would be ready to conduct "intelligentized" wa…

Ann Brown (2021-12-02). The Sneaky And Hidden Tax: How High Inflation Can Heavily Tax Your Cash. moguldom.com There's more to inflation than just rising prices. Some economists say inflation is actually another way to tax your dollars. Back in February, Larry Summers, former director of the National Economic Council and an alumnus of both the Clinton and Obama administrations, warned President Joe Biden that more spending could easily trigger a spike in …

Binoy Kampmark (2021-12-02). Where there are Tailings, No Grass Grows: Serbians Protest against Rio Tinto. dissidentvoice.org Another fault line has opened in the mining wars. In Serbia, resistance is gathering steam against various deals made between Belgrade and companies that risk environmental degradation and lingering spoliation. In this regard, the globe's second largest metals and mining corporation, features prominently. Rio Tinto, bruised in reputation but determined in business, finds itself in …

Johanna Kichton (2021-12-02). People's Action: Bloated Military Budget Proves Congress Needs a Reality Check on Priorities. peoplesaction.org Contact: Johanna Kichton, press@peoplesaction.org, 202.660.0605 WASHINGTON, D.C.—People's Action today released the following statement by Director of Federal Affairs Megan Essaheb as the Senate debates the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act: "It's rich that some senators will soon greenlight a bill, written and lobbied for by defense contractors and corporations who profit off forever wars, …

teleSUR (2021-12-02). Colombia: Piedad Cordoba Decries Persecution Towards Opposition. telesurenglish.net Former Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba presented this Thursday before the transitional justice system her second report on the political persecution of Colombian opposition leaders by the current governments in the country. | "I claim myself as a participant of the historical political opposition to the regime. First in the struggle from the popular bases of the Liberal Party for the dismantling of the National Front and the democratic opening that was embodied in the constituent process of 1991, but that was frustrated early on," explained in the report the former candidate to the Colombian Presidency. | RE…

_____ (2021-12-02). Is the World On the Brink of DEFCON 1? journal-neo.org The looming apocalypse is shaping up nicely as Russia and China expand strategic cooperation to offset the NATO war planes apparently in the works. The propaganda war having already begun with fear mongering over false claims Russia intends invasion, now the "accident scenario" takes shape in the skies over Russia's frontiers. We've addressed the so-called …

Editor2 (2021-12-02). Cuba, China, Latin America and US Hybrid War. orinocotribune.com By John Ross — Nov 26, 2021 | This analysis by John Ross of the Renmin University of China looks at the long relationship between China and Cuba. He analyzes why it is important to defeat the US attack on Cuba. | Foreword by China Environment editors | Cuba joined Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2019, hoping it would assist in strengthening its troubled economy, which has been badly hit by aggressive US sanctions for decades. China already become Cuba's main trading partner in 2017. In October this year (2021) Cuba officially became a member of the Alliance for Energy of the Belt and Road Initiative, a pr…

John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead (2021-12-02). The War Over Life, Liberty, and Privacy Rights. dissidentvoice.org Abortion on demand is the ultimate State tyranny; the State simply declares that certain classes of human beings are not persons, and therefore not entitled to the protection of the law. The State protects the 'right' of some people to kill others, just as the courts protected the 'property rights' of slave masters in their …

WSWS (2021-12-02). Titian: Women, Myth & Power at the Gardner Museum in Boston: The great Renaissance painter comes in for "moral scrutiny" from the New York Times. wsws.org The exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston (until January 2) must be counted as one of the most significant art shows today.

2021-12-04 00:06 | 20:06 EST | jz | 52 | 0 | 27 | 23 | 0