Daily Archives: December 3, 2021

2021-12-03: News Headlines

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…

WSWS (2021-12-03). Canadian Armed Forces providing military training to Ukrainian neo-Nazis. wsws.org The Canadian military has been training and collaborating with neo-Nazi groups active in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with the knowledge and tacit approval of successive Canadian governments.

Stavroula Pabst (2021-12-03). Flattening the curve or flattening the global poor? How Covid lockdowns obliterate human rights and crush the most vulnerable. thegrayzone.com Marketed as life-saving public health measures, lockdowns triggered death and economic devastation on a global scale while doing little to slow the spread of Covid-19. Now, they're back with a vengeance. In October 2021, it seemed as though the lockdowns that still paralyzed societies from Australia to New Zealand and Singapore were coming to an end, as these countries threw in the "Zero-COVID" towel following a year and a half of rolling restrictions and closures. But with COVID-19 cases rising …

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…

WSWS (2021-12-03). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Danish nurses organise wildcat stoppage and mass resignation in protest at pay and working conditions in defiance of government and unions; French transport workers, including bus, tram and train drivers, continue wave of strikes over pay and conditions; South African gold miners at Sibanye-Stillwater poised to join strikes of Clover dairy and Massmart store workers over pay; protests in Lebanon over continuing economic crisis plunging six million into poverty…

Staff (2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Del Rio Bridge Now Face Inhumane Conditions in New Mexico ICE Jail. democracynow.org The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their own lives," says immigration attorney Allegra Love of the El Paso Immigration Collaborative.

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.

Dean Baker (2021-12-03). Marginalized Workers Facing Labor Market Discrimination See Largest Jobs Gains. truthout.org The unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points in November, even though the economy added just 210,000 jobs. The drop in the unemployment rate went along with an increase in the employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) of 0.4 percentage points, corresponding to a rise in employment of more than 1.1 million in the household survey. The unemployment rate had not fallen this low following the Great Recession until September 2017. | The 210,000 job growth in the establishment survey is slower th…

Derek Royden (2021-12-03). "Only the people can save the people!" Xiomora Castro's presidential win in Honduras. nationofchange.org "I believe firmly that the democratic socialism I propose is the solution to pull Honduras out of the abyss we have been buried in by neo-liberalism, a narco-dictator and corruption."

David L. Wilson (2021-12-03). Media don't factcheck right-wing migration myths. mronline.org Increases and declines in unauthorized immigration mostly correlate with changes in job opportunities and other economic conditions in the United States and in nearby countries.

teleSUR (2021-12-03). Peru's Officers Must Put Aside Political Differences: Castillo. telesurenglish.net On Friday and Monday, Peru's President Pedro Castillo will meet with lawmakers to coordinate policies to promote economic reactivation, political stability and help the citizens affected by the 7,2-magnitude earthquake, which shook the country on Nov. 28. | RELATED: | "We need to put aside political differences to work together in favor of our people," Castillo said and condemned the position assumed by the Attorney General'

imperial.ac.uk (2021-12-03). David Miles to become top forecaster at UK fiscal watchdog. imperial.ac.uk Professor David Miles has been appointed to one of the most influential roles in UK economic policy.

_____ (2021-12-03). We Have to Stand on Our Ground, the Best Ground from Which to Reach the Stars. popularresistance.org The geographical distribution of low and high-income countries reveals the same old divides. This was the main focus of dossier no. 43 (CoronaShock and Education in Brazil: One and a Half Years Later, August 2021), summarised in our seven theses on the present and future of education in Brazil. These regional and gender inequalities predated the pandemic but have been exacerbated because of the lockdowns. Signs of improvement are not yet visible. Earlier this year, the World Bank and UNESCO noted that, since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-thirds of developing countries have cut their education budget…

WSWS (2021-12-03). Go-Ahead drivers in London win support for petition against Unite collusion over Remote Sign On. wsws.org RSO is opposed by an overwhelming majority of bus drivers across London—84 percent according to a recent Unite survey. Bus companies plan to introduce it across the network to slash payroll costs and introduce full labour force "flexibility".

_____ (2021-12-03). COP26: On The Outside, Always Looking In. popularresistance.org "It wasn't long until I realized why this was the case: even if I came from a country that is continuously being ravaged by the climate crisis, I wasn't the target audience of this conference. I wasn't white, I did not come from a position of power or wealth, and I wasn't significant enough to be let inside the negotiations. I did not belong in this theater of performative climate "action". So much for COP26 being the most inclusive COP ever."

Laura Finley (2021-12-03). Facing the Facts About Gun Violence in the U.S. zcomm.org U.S. gun-related homicide rates are 25 times greater than other wealthy nations…

Chris Walker (2021-12-03). Using Inflation as an Excuse, Corporations Raised Prices & Increased Profits. zcomm.org "Corporations are seizing the opportunity to engage in massive profiteering because they can…they don't care you have to pay more for your groceries"

WSWS (2021-12-03). Tentative agreement announced in Kellogg's strike. wsws.org The BCTGM union is bringing a contract for a vote by 1,400 workers striking at four company cereal plants on Sunday, December 5, proposing to preserve the two-tier system and to accept wage increases below the rate of inflation.

teleSUR (2021-12-03). US House Approves Funding Bill Ahead Of Shutdown Deadline. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a short-term spending bill that would keep federal agencies running through February, averting a partial shutdown just a day before government funding is set to expire. | RELATED: | The Democrats-held lower chamber approved the bill by a vote of 221-212. The measure now heads to the Senate, where a group of Republicans have threatened to delay the passage o…

WSWS (2021-12-03). Sri Lankan public sector workers hold nationwide protests to demand higher wages. wsws.org The island-wide actions, held on consecutive days beginning Monday, are another indication of mounting working-class opposition to the Rajapakse government's austerity measures and its escalating anti-democratic attacks.

WSWS (2021-12-03). New Zealand rail union enters talks ahead of national strike. wsws.org Driven by the rising cost of living and stagnant wages, Kiwirail workers have voted overwhelmingly for a nationwide strike. The RMTU, however, has resumed talks with management.

Rubén Armendáriz (2021-12-03). Argentina — Procesaron al expresidente Macri por espiar a familiares del submarino hundido. globalizacion.ca El expresidente neoliberal argentino Mauricio Macri fue procesado sin prisión preventiva, pero con un embargo de 100 millones de pesos sobre sus bienes, por el juez federal de Dolores Martín Bava, quien consideró al político y empresario de 62 años…

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 …

Vijay Prashad (2021-12-03). We have to stand on our ground, the best ground from which to reach the stars: The Forty-Eighth Newsletter (2021). mronline.org During the pandemic, socialist projects—such as those of LDF government in Kerala, the Cuban educational programmes, and the MST literacy campaign—are flourishing, while other governments cut their educational funding. 'It's always time to learn', says the MST literacy programme, but this adage is not in use everywhere.

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…

Dana Sanchez (2021-12-02). Gold Investor Peter Schiff: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Just Admitted Biden Wants To Empower IRS To Go After Low-Income Tax Cheats. moguldom.com The Biden administration in November dropped its unpopular proposal from the $2.2 trillion Build Back Better plan to make banks share data about customers with the Internal Revenue Service for accounts with total annual deposits or withdrawals of $10,000-plus. However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she still supports the concept. The bank reporting idea was …

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…

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…

teleSUR (2021-12-02). Humanity Demands The Abolition of Modern Slavery Every Dec. 2. telesurenglish.net On the International Day for The Abolition of Slavery, the United Nations (UN) recalled that over 40 million people across the globe are victims of modern slavery, a practice that includes forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. | RELATED: | "These forms of slavery are the result of long-standing discrimination against vulnerable social sectors such as undocumented immigrants, LGBT people, and Indi…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-02). Over 1.5 Million Bolivians March in Defense of Democracy and President Arce's Government. libya360.wordpress.com Tanya Wadhwa Over 1.5 million Bolivians took part in a rally in La Paz on November 29, in defense of democracy and President Luis Arce's government. Photo: Luis Arce/Twitter President Luis Arce thanked Bolivian citizens for their overwhelming support, and promised to continue working to rebuild the country and the economy with the people Thousands…

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…

WSWS (2021-12-02). "The laws are ultimately censorship"—SEP electoral members support campaign against Australia's anti-democratic legislation. wsws.org "The government does not care about the health and wellbeing of the population; they just want to keep the economy 'healthy'"

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 …

Staff (2021-12-02). Puebla Group Calls for Unity in the Face of Far-Right Maneuvers in Latin America. orinocotribune.com On Wednesday, December 1, the Puebla Group called for leaders to close ranks in the face of extreme right-wing maneuverings in Latin America, in order to defend the victories of the progressive currents in various regional electoral processes. | At a conference held in Mexico with some 200 regional political leaders in attendance, including five former presidents and representatives of 19 countries of the continent, the group debated the day before on the political, economic, and social challenges to be faced in the immediate future. | They also reviewed the main political events that have hampered the advance of…

teleSUR (2021-12-02). CELAC Celebrates 10 Years Facing US Interference In LATAM. telesurenglish.net At the "Unity Summit" held in Mexico in 2010, the heads of state of the Latin American and Caribbean countries decided to create a multilateral institution that truly responds to their economic, political, and cultural interests. | RELATED: | Fulfilling this common desire on Dec 2, 2011, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) was born in Caracas, where 33 nations met to form a space to promo…

Martin Hart-Landsberg (2021-12-02). The dollar costs of inequality: they are greater than you think. mronline.org Pretty much everyone accepts that inequality is a big problem in the U.S. But it is doubtful that most people truly grasp how successfully U.S. elites have captured the benefits of economic growth and, as a result, how much the resulting inequality has cost them.

_____ (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…

Anis Chowdhury (2021-12-02). Profiting from the carbon offset distraction. mronline.org Carbon offset markets allow the rich to emit as financial intermediaries profit. By fostering the fiction that others can be paid to cut greenhouse gases (GHGs) instead, it undermines efforts to do so.

Peter Certo (2021-12-02). Greed Is Prolonging the Pandemic. fpif.org Stop me if this sounds familiar. | It's been kind of a hard year, but I felt optimistic about the holidays. My wife and I had just scheduled our COVID-19 boosters. Even better, we'd been able to get our young child vaccinated. | We imagined a cautious return to simple family pleasures like indoor dining — and maybe playdates at indoor play centers during the long Midwestern winter. Maybe we'd even test our kid's appetite for air travel and visit relatives in different parts of the country. | Then — another COVID-19 variant. Possible breakthrough infections. Travel bans and tumbling stock markets. And…

Carolina V N Coll, Thiago M Santos, Karen Devries, Felicia Knaul, Flavia Bustreo, Anne Gatuguta, Gbenankpon Mathias Houvessou, Aluísio J D Barros (2021-12-02). Identifying the women most vulnerable to intimate partner violence: A decision tree analysis from 48 low and middle-income countries. thelancet.com Starting with well-known predictors of IPV, the decision-tree approach provides important insights about subpopulations of women where IPV prevalence is high. This information can help designing targeted interventions. For a large proportion of women who experienced IPV, however, no particular risk factors were identified, emphasizing the need for population wide approaches conducted in parallel, including changing social norms, strengthening laws and policies supporting gender equality and women ¥s rights as well as guaranteeing women ¥s access to justice systems and comprehensive health services.

Gauri Gandbhir (2021-12-02). India: Victory for farmers protesting fascist farm laws. greenleft.org.au The Indian farmer's movement is a demonstration that people power can preserve the public sector and has become an inspiration for labourers around the world to take on neoliberalism and fascism, writes Gauri Gandbhir.

Johanna Kichton (2021-12-02). People's Action Proudly Endorses Sonia Chang-Díaz for Governor of Massachusetts. peoplesaction.org WASHINGTON, D.C.—People's Action today announced its endorsement of Sonia Chang-Díaz for Governor of Massachusetts. Chang-Díaz is running a movement politics, people-powered campaign and will work to advance the People's Action People's Platform once elected. Chang-Díaz is also endorsed by People's Action member organization, Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts Action Fund. "Profiteers and the ultra-wealthy have dominated …

Staff (2021-12-02). Three Reasons Why Congress Must Pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Now. aclu.org Although Congress outlawed pregnancy discrimination in 1978, far too many employers still routinely deny pregnant workers the temporary job modifications they need to keep working and have a healthy pregnancy. These requests for "accommodations" — such as more frequent breaks, schedule changes, and reassignment of hazardous tasks — often are denied to pregnant workers, and can result in severe consequences for their health and financial security. Nobody should have to choose between a healthy pregnancy and a job. | The bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) would outlaw such discrimination…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-02). Bolivia Has the Lowest Inflation in Latin America. libya360.wordpress.com Kawsachun News Bolivia's accumulated inflation for 2021 is just 0.54%, says a new report by the Bolivian Institute for Foreign Trade (IBCE), a private research center. Meanwhile, the regional average, according to the IMF, has reached 9.3% across Latin America. Bolivia's 0.54% is in stark contrast to Central Bank figures of its neighbors, such as…

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, …

Steve O'Brien (2021-12-02). Newcastle socialist candidate: It's time to put people before profit. greenleft.org.au Community-minded people can successfully challenge powerful interests, and the governments that serve them, to create communities that are sustainable, affordable, socially just and inclusive, writes Steve O'Brien.

WSWS (2021-12-02). Philippine government ramps up campaign for "living with the virus" wsws.org Like capitalist governments around the world, the Duterte administration aims to force workers to "live with the virus" and remove all barriers to the profit-making of the capitalist class.

WSWS (2021-12-02). Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz and Germany's federal states reject necessary pandemic restrictions. wsws.org All the parties in the new coalition government to be headed by Scholz are aggressively pursuing the "profits before lives" policies that have already resulted in more than 100,000 deaths in Germany alone and are creating an ever-expanding catastrophe.

WSWS (2021-12-02). Anger among Mississippi Ingalls shipbuilders on eve of contract extension vote. wsws.org Workers want higher wages and safer conditions at the giant military shipbuilding facility, located on Mississippi's Gulf Coast…

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