Daily Archives: November 19, 2021

2021-11-19: News Headlines

Editor2 (2021-11-19). China and Solutions to Climate Change. orinocotribune.com By K.J. Noh and Michael Wong — Nov 16, 2021 | The Earth's greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years, driving catastrophic climate change, and creating an existential threat to the planet. But there is a way out. | Last year, President Xi Jinping, pledged that China's CO2 emissions would peak before 2030, and China would become carbon neutral before 2060. | China has a track history of setting ambitious, nearly impossible goals and then achieving them—often before deadline—so this pledge is significant. Under the CPC, China has already created "an economic miracl…

Staff (2021-11-19). Federal agency reveals long-term consequences of Biden bill. rt.com A non-partisan agency has estimated that US President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure and climate spending package would increase the country's budget deficit by some $367 billion. | In a development that may put some moderate Democrats on the fence, the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan body in charge of estimating the cost of pending legislation, found that Biden's Build Back Better plan is likely to come at a heavy price for the US economy. | In its

Abdul Rahman (2021-11-19). Saudi attempts to play regional hegemon face tough resistance in Lebanon. peoplesdispatch.org Hezbollah's resistance to Israel and criticism of the war in Yemen has infuriated Saudi Arabia which is now using its economic leverage to punish the common Lebanese people at a time when they are going through the worst crisis in the history of the country since the civil war…

A Guest Author (2021-11-19). Staten Island, N.Y./Amazon unleashes cops on union organizers. workers.org Nov. 18 press release from Movement Media has been slightly edited. The militant mood of workers, whose increasing strikes and union drives are making headlines, erupted Nov. 11 during a union-busting, captive-audience meeting called by Amazon bosses at the company's Staten Island facilities. Chris Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union, . . . |

WSWS (2021-11-19). Amazon Labor Union withdraws Staten Island certification petition. wsws.org In a half-year campaign that did not offer workers a true way forward, the ALU failed to gather the necessary minimum number of signatures to schedule an NLRB-sponsored union representation election at the Amazon warehouse complex on Staten Island.

WSWS (2021-11-19). Australian PM touts sweeping character of AUKUS pact aimed at preparing war with China. wsws.org Morrison stressed that Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines was just one aspect of an all-sided alliance with Britain and the US, which will involve stepped-up military-intelligence collaboration across the board.

imperial.ac.uk (2021-11-19). Boosted economy and decentralised science: News from the College. imperial.ac.uk Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial.

José Manuel Blanco Diaz (2021-11-19). 21N Electoral Campaign Ends: Venezuelan Political Forces Ready for Elections. orinocotribune.com In the midst of a process of economic recovery following the blows inflicted by the United States and the European Union's criminal blockade, Venezuelan political parties complied with the close of the electoral campaign, and citizens prepared to participate in the regional and municipal mega-elections to be held on Sunday, November 21. | With multiple political rallies throughout the national territory, the revolutionary forces and all the opposition currents participated in the closing of their respective campaigns. | On this subject, the Samuel Robinson Institute for Original Thought, a research and analysis c…

Jan Egeland (2021-11-19). "Hell on Earth": Millions of Afghans Face Starvation. zcomm.org The country has fallen into an economic crisis after the U.S. and other Western countries cut off direct financial assistance to the government following the Taliban takeover in August…

WSWS (2021-11-19). Conference produces no solution for Treasury market shocks. wsws.org While the onset of the pandemic was the trigger for the March 2020 crisis, it was not the underlying cause, with two previous incidents raising considerable concerns in financial regulatory circles.

WSWS (2021-11-19). South Asian leaders join other heads of state to back bogus climate targets at COP26. wsws.org The ruling classes in South Asia see investment in renewable energy and climate adaptation measures not as essential steps to save the planet's ecosystem, but as financial lifelines for their failing business interests.

Staff (2021-11-19). Biden's pick for bank regulator grilled over Soviet past. rt.com US President Joe Biden's pick to be America's next Comptroller of the Currency, the country's top banking regulator, has faced down accusations that she is a communist, telling lawmakers that you can't choose where you're born. | At a hearing on Thursday, Dr Saule Omarova, Biden's nominee to be chief of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, received a grilling from Republicans, who accused the Kazakh-born lawyer of being a communist. | Three decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain…

WSWS (2021-11-19). Unite celebrates £1 over minimum wage pay rise at Stagecoach South Wales wage rise as major victory. wsws.org According to Stagecoach, the pay agreement reached is based on a two-year settlement, which includes productivity strings.

WSWS (2021-11-19). Unite celebrates £1 over minimum wage rise at Stagecoach South Wales as major victory. wsws.org According to Stagecoach, the pay agreement reached is based on a two-year settlement, which includes productivity strings.

WSWS (2021-11-19). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org French public transport workers continue wave of strikes over pay and conditions, including bus drivers and rail workers; shop workers at major South African retailer Massmart on indefinite strike over low pay and redundancies; rail workers in Nigeria hold three-day strike over wages unpaid since 2019 and demolition of homes…

Jim McIlroy (2021-11-19). Toll warehouse workers end strike over wages, job security. greenleft.org.au United Workers Union members across seven Toll Group distribution centres accepted a new offer from Toll. Jim McIlroy reports.

WSWS (2021-11-19). Berlin Administrative Court rules socialist ideas are "anti-constitutional" wsws.org The court's ruling against the Socialist Equality Party stands in the tradition of National Socialist ideological jurisprudence and Bismarck's anti-socialist laws, and opens the door for the surveillance and suppression of all opposition to capitalism and arbitrary state power.

WSWS (2021-11-19). Savage exploitation at flagship plant of "green" Canadian capitalism. wsws.org The dangerous conditions described by the worker at the Gaspé, Quebec, plant of the General Electric subsidiary LM Wind Power were exacerbated by management's decision to keep the plant open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WSWS (2021-11-19). In speech before the court, Trotskyist leader indicts German state's revival of Nazi-style anti-socialist laws. wsws.org Christoph Vandreier, the deputy chairman of the Socialist Equality Party, defended the right to advocate for the socialist transformation of society in a speech at the Berlin Administrative Court on November 18.

The Socialist Program (2021-11-18). Islamophobia, the Surveillance State & U.S. Wars of Aggression w/ Dr. Nazia Kazi. liberationnews.org Dr. Nazia Kazi, an activist and professor of Anthropology at Stockton University, explains how the managers of the U.S. empire foment Islamophobia and other racist ideas at home as an integral part of waging war abroad.

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-11-18). Anti-Communism, Anti-Blackness, and Imperialism. libya360.wordpress.com Dr. Charisse Burden Stelley In this talk prepared for the Albuquerque Anti-War Coalition's Anti-Communism & Imperialism panel discussion, Dr. Charisse Burden Stelley discusses how anti-communism and anti-Blackness are intrinsically intertwined structures of white supremacist and capitalist control. Transcript Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Charisse Burden Stelley and I am a professor of Africana studies in political science…

Blake Skylar (2021-11-18). Tom Morello's new song is anthem of solidarity with union workers. peoplesworld.org Musician Tom Morello has added new music to his catalogue that carries on the longstanding pro-labor tradition of protest songs, this time in collaboration with Canadian rock artist Grandson. Called "Hold the Line," the song dropped Oct. 15, and a special version called the Union Strong Edit debuted Nov. 12, replete with photos of striking …

_____ (2021-11-18). The World Stands With Cuba. popularresistance.org The US-backed counter-revolutionary protests planned for November 15 in Cuba fell flat as the Caribbean country reopened its borders to tourists and its schools on the same day. The Cuban people blatantly rejected being a part of the US destabilization attempt and proved that they are more concerned about the reopening of the economy and the return to normalcy after a year and a half of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | A small number of people in a few cities took to the streets as a part of the "Civic March for Change", called for by an NGO called Archipiélago in 10 cities across Cuba. Videos shared…

Brittani Banks (2021-11-18). Don't Blame Government Benefits for Inflation—Blame the Modern Economy. independentmediainstitute.org Headlines are screaming that inflation is here to stay. Consumer prices have risen by an average of 6.2 percent in the past year, the sharpest increase since 1991. Although Americans are supposedly—in the words of the New York Times—"flush with cash and jobs," they are also deeply unhappy with the state of the economy. It's …

Economic Policy Institute (2021-11-18). Moral policy = Good economics. zcomm.org Lifting up poor and working-class people—and our whole economy…

_____ (2021-11-18). Support The #MakeAmazonPay Day Of Action. popularresistance.org Amazon's size and power place the corporation at the very center of the crises of climate breakdown and economic inequality that grip our planet. The growth of CEO Jeff Bezos's astronomical wealth — up $100 billion since March, now surpassing that of any other human in history — is directly proportional to Amazon's human and environmental costs: his corporation mistreats its workers, wrecks the climate, and undermines the public institutions underpinning our democracies along the way. | Taking on Amazon, therefore, will require more than curbing Jeff Bezos's personal wealth or calling for corporate so…

WSWS (2021-11-18). 3.6 million UK families worse off after budget cuts. wsws.org The entire edifice of UC is based on workers receiving poverty level wages. The tapering system is effectively a tax on the lowest paid.

Moderator (2021-11-18). Why It's So Hard to Tax Billionaires. scheerpost.com By Christopher Orlet / CounterPunch A recent NPR story attempted to explain why it is so hard to tax billionaires. The expert NPR interviewed for the story ticked off the usual ways the 1 percent avoids paying its fair share of taxes: Billionaires have the best accountants who know all the loopholes. Their wealth isn't in income, …

Dana Sanchez (2021-11-18). Report: Bitcoin Bears Are Looking To Manipulate Price Below 60,000 Before Friday's Options Expiry. moguldom.com Bitcoin bears have their sights set on prices below $60,000 ahead of Friday's $1.1 billion options expiry and hope the current price downturn is a chance to turn the tables on the bulls, who were caught by surprise when the No. 1 crypto lost 9 percent of its value in 24 hours on Nov. 16. …

_____ (2021-11-18). Whitney Webb Discusses Global Elites' Takeover Of Nature. popularresistance.org As world leaders, celebrities, business moguls and activists alike descended on Scotland for the COP26 climate summit, behind the scenes powerful financial groups were and are attempting to rewrite the rules of international trade and to privatize nature under the guise of sustainability. | While there has been a great deal of finger pointing, the enormous and tangible changes necessary to steer the planet away from devastation are yet to appear. The world is still on course to warm 2.4 ∞C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, according to a report from Climate Action Tracker. Anything abov…

WSWS (2021-11-18). Sri Lankan teachers' unions shut down all protests. wsws.org Contrary to the unions' claims, the deal is a betrayal of the teachers, with a paltry wage increase that has already been wiped out by rampant inflation and the government's removal of price controls on all essentials.

Grace Woods (2021-11-18). Community rallies for wrongfully charged Queens, NY, man at 90th court appearance. liberationnews.org Churaman is raising funds to maintain stable housing and support his family since he is barred from gainful employment. Supporters are asked to donate to Churaman on GoFundMe, to help him pay for living and legal expenses…

Andrew Emett (2021-11-18). Bernie opposes exorbitant defense spending bill. nationofchange.org "Isn't it strange how even as we end the longest war in our nation's history concerns about the deficit and national debt seem to melt away under the influence of the powerful Military Industrial Complex?"

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-11-18). Australian war propaganda keeps getting crazier. mronline.org 60 Minutes Australia has churned out yet another fearmongering war propaganda piece on China, this one so ham-fisted in its call to beef up military spending that it goes so far as to run a brazen advertisement for an actual Australian weapons manufacturer disguised as news reporting.

Ajamu Baraka (2021-11-18). COP26: Greenwashing, Plutocratic Misadventures and the Possibilities of Radical Transformation. dissidentvoice.org COP26 reaffirmed what has been obvious from the beginning: the Northern colonial and capitalist states most responsible for creating the climate crisis are unwilling to place people before profits in order to address the planet's looming ecological collapse and humanitarian catastrophe. We need justice. But that word — Justice! — despite all of the philosophical …

WSWS (2021-11-18). Michigan nurse speaks on the conditions in hospitals as COVID-19 cases surge. wsws.org Danielle, a nurse at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor recently discussed staffing shortages, working conditions and the impact of the profit motive on health care with the WSWS.

Monica Cruz (2021-11-18). John Deere workers approve contract, ending 5-week strike. peoplesdispatch.org Last night, John Deere workers in the US voted to ratify a contract offer and ended the biggest private sector strike in recent years. The 10,000 workers are members of the United Autoworkers (UAW) and approved the contract by a vote of 61% to 39%. Workers had been Workers had cited that while the company made record profits, they were forced to work 12 hour shifts, six days a week and were not given sufficient pay raises.

_____ (2021-11-18). Judge Keeps Oil Pipeline Case In Federal Court. popularresistance.org A federal judge retained jurisdiction Tuesday in a dispute over a Canadian oil pipeline that runs through a section of the Great Lakes, rejecting Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's contention that the case belongs in state court. | The clash over whether Enbridge Energy's Line 5 should continue operating raises issues "under consideration at the highest levels of this country's government" involving a U.S.-Canada treaty and federal pipeline safety regulation, U.S. District Judge Janet Neff ruled. | The matter "is properly in federal court," she wrote in a 15-page opinion that drew praise from Enbridge. Whitmer's of…

Devin Cole (2021-11-18). Marxist-Leninist revolutionary Thomas Sankara ‚àí unconquered. workers.org Thomas Sankara In April 2021 a military court in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, finally indicted Blaise Compaore in the murder of revolutionary Marxist-Leninist and former Burkinabe president Thomas Sankara. Sankara established a revolutionary government in Burkina Faso in August 1983. In October 1987 Compaore oversaw a coup d'etat that resulted in . . . |

David Ruccio (2021-11-18). Capitalism and workers' power. mronline.org You don't have to read Marx to understand the lack of power workers have under capitalism.

Sharon Zhang (2021-11-18). John Deere Strike Ends as Workers Win Higher Wages, Bonus and Better Pension. truthout.org Union workers for equipment manufacturer John Deere voted to approve a new contract on Wednesday, ending a strike sustained by over 10,000 workers at 14 locations for nearly five weeks. | The new agreement lasts six years, and

WSWS (2021-11-18). Kaiser nurses furious at unions' decision to call off strike. wsws.org Despite their powerful position, the nurses unions called off the strike Saturday morning after they reached an eleventh-hour deal and announced a deal which amounts to a four-year decline in real wages, in exchange for millions of dollars in corporate funding for the unions.

In Defense of Liberation! (2021-11-18). What does "Democracy" mean under a Capitalist system?>. anchor.fm Given the propaganda and lies the US and UN continue to spread about countries like Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba, I and others continue to express and explain why these countries are FAR more democratic than even the supposed "bastion of democracy and freedom", aka the Settler-Colonial, Imperialist, capitalist project we now call "the United States". Democracy under Capitalism is a sham, as is the Democratic and Republican Party Duopoly that we consider as the foundation to our "Democracy".

Richard Falk (2021-11-18). Climate Challenge Cannot be Overcome in an Unjust World. zcomm.org Can the world's awakening youth, exert enough pressure to make the political class in the Global North to cut themselves off from the militarized belief systems of political realism and capitalism…

José Manuel Blanco Diaz (2021-11-18). President Maduro as 21N Elections Approach: 'This is Venezuelan Democracy'. orinocotribune.com As the protagonist of an intense and permanent battle in defense of the rights of oppressed peoples, President Nicolás Maduro defines the progressive forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Now, President Maduro is in the midst of the electoral process to choose regional and local offices. | The president addressed the issue this Wednesday, November 17, during his participation, via video-conference, in the World Day in Defense of Democracy and the Truth of Venezuela. The event was attended by more than 300 international guests of Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) who arrived in Venezuel…

Ryan Lockwood (2021-11-18). Lessons of the Buffalo, N.Y., mayoral election. workers.org By Ryan Lockwood Buffalo, N.Y. Nov. 14 — Under normal circumstances, Buffalo's mayoral election would have been little more than the 16-year incumbent Democrat Byron Brown's coronation ceremony. But India Walton, who declared herself a socialist, interrupted the well-rehearsed proceedings with a stunning June primary upset against Brown. Both candidates . . . |

WSWS (2021-11-18). Australian Electoral Commission rejects SEP application for pandemic extension of registration deadline. wsws.org The AEC's pre-election refusal of an extension confirms the necessity for the determined campaign being conducted by the Socialist Equality Party against the new anti-democratic electoral laws.

WSWS (2021-11-18). Sri Lankan SEP/IYSSE to hold online meeting on Rajapakse government's austerity budget. wsws.org World Socialist Web Site readers, workers, youth and intellectuals are invited to participate in this crucial meeting and discussion on how to fight Colombo's brutal social attacks.

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