(2021-12-25). The Climate Won't Survive Our Current Appetite for Consumerism and Consumption. truthout.org 
Confession time: this year, I don't want to buy my kids anything for Christmas. Big one, right? Okay, let me soften that just a bit. I have bought a few modest, useful things. But that's it! No new games, no new toys, no new clothes (other than socks)… nothing. They already have too much. We have too much. Our nation is drowning in stuff and, in reality, need almost none of it. | There, I've said it! It feels good to get that off my chest, even if it makes me sound like a cold-hearted Grin…
(2021-12-25). Warrior Met Coal Miners Are Spending Christmas 2021 on Strike. truthout.org 
This article was first published by This Christmas, as millions of families settle in to adorn fir trees, the children of striking coal miners in Alabama have asked mainly for practical gifts. Shoes and clothes top their lists, followed by Barbies and Rainbow High dolls, Legos, Nerf guns, and makeup kits. | Roughly 300 children will receive these gifts through donations collected by the Min…
(2021-12-25). Venezuela's Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Evaluates Measures to Deal with Omicron. orinocotribune.com 
Venezuela's presidential task force for the prevention and control of COVID-19 met this Thursday, December 23, to evaluate mechanisms to deal with the Omicron variant that has recently been detected in the country. | The meeting, chaired by Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade. | Various officials of the government were also present at the meeting, including the Minister for Health, Carlos Alvarado; the Minister for Communication and Information, Freddy àëáñez; and the Minister for Science and Technology, Gabriela Jiménez…
(2021-12-25). Pandemic Drives Need for Technology Adoption Among SMEs but Barriers Remain. moderndiplomacy.eu A survey by World Economic Forum indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for more adoption and integration of digital technology among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). However, they face numerous barriers to adopting technology at a critical time of need. While 97% of global companies have accelerated adoption of technology to get …
(2021-12-25). China's success against covid dwarfs The West's. Here's how & why. moderndiplomacy.eu Libertarians/neoliberals in The West can't believe the enormous extent of China's success at keeping down the rates of disease, and of death, and of unemployment, from covid-19, because China's policies on covid are, and have been, the exact opposite of libertarian/neoliberal. (What's called "libertarian" in America is called "neoliberal" throughout the rest of the world.) …
(2021-12-25). How Public Workers Can Stop the Privatization of Everything. orinocotribune.com By Steve Early — Dec 21, 2021 | In new book,The Privatization of Everything, Cohen and Mikaelian, describe and debunk the vast array of privatization schemes that now litter the landscape, from private prisons and charter schools to for-profit water treatment and trash collection. | Several years ago, Don Cohen, a former central labor council staffer from San Diego, appeared on a panel discussing the privatization threats faced by union members across the country. He and other speakers were addressing a conference of state, county, and municipal workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (C…
(2021-12-25). Ordering my thoughts about the "Back Better Act" zcomm.org I've been trying to read the history of the processing of "The Back Better Act" in the Wikipedia. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_Back_Better_Act?wprov=sfti1). The Bill derived (it was an extracted part) from the American Jobs Plan, together with the Law for Investment in Infrastructure and Labor, and was part of a package of 3.5 trillion dollars, (later reduced to
(2021-12-25). The Real Antidote To Inflation. popularresistance.org The Federal Reserve is caught between a rock and a hard place. Inflation grew by 6.8% in November, the fastest in 40 years, a trend the Fed has now acknowledged is not "transitory." The conventional theory is that inflation is due to too much money chasing too few goods, so the Fed is under heavy pressure to "tighten" or shrink the money supply. Its conventional tools for this purpose are to reduce asset purchases and raise interest rates. But corporate debt has risen by $1.3 trillion just since early 2020; so if the Fed raises rates, a massive wave of defaults is likely to result. According to financial advisor…
(2021-12-25). Help Save Spartacus Books in Vancouver, BC. itsgoingdown.org 
Call to support long-running radical infoshop and bookstore Spartacus Books in so-called Vancouver, BC. Spartacus Books is a non-profit, volunteer and collectively run infoshop on unceded Coast Salish territories. We have been running for almost 50 years and provide access to radical books and zines that are hard to find anywhere else in so-called Vancouver,…
(2021-12-24). Wildfire surge of omicron confirms: Health care for profit more deadly than coronavirus. workers.org 
The ominous toll of 800,000 deaths from COVID-19, reached in the U.S. Dec. 14, confirms that health care for profit is more deadly than the virus itself. The U.S. has consistently had the most COVID-19 deaths of any country. (tinyurl.com/3nunmuv7) Since the omicron variant surfaced here Dec. 1, infection rates . . . |
(2021-12-24). Amazon Warehouse Workers Walk Off The Job In Illinois. popularresistance.org On Wednesday morning, several dozen Amazon workers at two separate Chicago-area delivery stations staged a walkout to demand raises and safer working conditions, making it the first time the tech giant has seen a multi-site work stoppage in the United States. | Coming just three days before Christmas to ensure maximum impact, the action caps a year of intense organizing and protest by Amazon warehouse workers who have been on the frontlines of both the Covid-19 pandemic and extreme weather events. | Organized by the labor network Amazonians United, the walkouts occurred during the morning shifts at the company's…
(2021-12-24). COVID-Omicron is Killing Christmas — And Beyond. Financial Crash, Inflation, Digitization. globalresearch.ca First Delta, then Omicron. Neither one of the two has ever been isolated. The vast majority of people of the 193 UN member countries — swallow the lie with fear and respect, as if it were the truth…
(2021-12-24). The Sinister Convergence of Klaus Schwab's Great Reset with the Vatican and Liberation Theology. journal-neo.org 
Amid the 2020 global covid lockdowns and economic dislocations it has caused, Klaus Schwab, a previously low-profile founder of a Swiss-based business forum, emerged on the world stage calling for what he called a Great Reset of the entire world economy, using the pandemic as driver. He even published a book in July 2020 outlining …
(2021-12-24). Austria: Boost labour supply and foster green and digital transitions. moderndiplomacy.eu Austria's economy is recovering well from the COVID-19 crisis thanks to decisive policy action, although challenges remain in the form of labour and skills shortages. Efforts should now focus on increasing the labour force participation of women and older workers, adjusting public finances once the recovery is fully self-sustained, and accelerating the shift to a …
(2021-12-24). The Frenzied Economy of Turkey: Erdogan Unfazed by the Ineluctable Financial Collapse. moderndiplomacy.eu Inflation is a ubiquitous word nowadays in almost every discussion worldwide. While the concept is tricky to quantify objectively, the subjective interpretation (at least to a layman) is straightforward: prices rise, goods become expensive, and money loses value. Ever since the pandemic upended routine life, inflation has garnered attention from almost every walk of life. …
(2021-12-24). A come to Jesus sermon from the Rev. Chris Hedges. scheerpost.com 
[Journalist and minister, Chris Hedges. [Photo courtesy of Chris Hedges] | Click to subscribe on: Another holiday season plagued with high Covid-19 rates and fears of infecting loved ones has come around, this time amid supply chain shortages and other economic woes. As runaway American capitalism tries to sell us consumerism as the answer to our current crises ev…
(2021-12-24). Markets continue to rise as Omicron spreads. wsws.org Wall Street's S&P 500 reached a new record high yesterday on the back of a speech by US President Biden indicating that nothing meaningful would be done to reduce the growing Omicron threat.
(2021-12-24). Youth, Women Among Most Vulnerable to Job Loss in Southeast Asia During COVID-19. moderndiplomacy.eu Southeast Asia's youth and women bore the brunt of job losses during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released today. The report, A Crisis Like No Other—COVID-19 and Labor Markets in Southeast Asia, finds that people ages 15 to 24, who represent less than 15% of the workforce …
(2021-12-24). Former Hunger Strikers Reflect On Their Experiences. popularresistance.org The huelga de hambre has been used for thousands of years. It has won many struggles," said Ana Ramirez, 42, who fasted for 24 days this spring to demand that undocumented people and other excluded workers in New York receive stimulus and unemployment money. "Esther the reina won a battle with the hunger strike." | Ramirez is referring to Queen Esther of the Old Testament's Book of Esther. The queen and her supporters fasted for three days in advance of going to ask her husband, Persian King Ahasuerus, for permission to have her enemies — who were trying to wipe out all Jews in the empire — killed. Sh…
(2021-12-24). Workers, supporters demand'Amazon, recognize the Union now!'. workers.org 
Steps away from Broadway shows shut down by spiking COVID-19 numbers in New York City, a crowd of more than 80 people gathered in Times Square Dec. 22 to demand Amazon recognize the union being organized by the Amazon Labor Union at the company's Staten Island warehouse, as well as . . . |
(2021-12-24). The Coronavirus Pandemic has Widened Global Inequalities. zcomm.org The prices asked by Big Pharma for Covid vaccines are exorbitant…
(2021-12-24). Currency market turmoil impoverishes millions of Turkish workers. wsws.org The eruption of class battles is inevitable, as government measures in the interest of the financial aristocracy worsen the plight of millions of workers.
(2021-12-24). The Real Antidote to Inflation: Stoking the Fire Without Burning Down the Barn. dissidentvoice.org The Fed has options for countering the record inflation the U.S. is facing that are more productive and less risky than raising interest rates. The Federal Reserve is caught between a rock and a hard place. Inflation grew by 6.8% in November, the fastest in 40 years, a trend the Fed has now acknowledged is not …
(2021-12-24). Sanders Takes Aim at Manchin's Argument Against Build Back Better: "Not True" truthout.org 
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday countered fellow Sen. Joe Manchin's recent Fox News appearance with an "Manchin, the Republicans, and corporate America say this bill will add to our national debt and make inflation worse. Not true," wrote Sanders (…
(2021-12-24). 3 Simple Ways To Understand And Explain Bitcoin To Your Grandma Or Parents. moguldom.com Bitcoin has been the craze of the investment world this year and everyone, including school-age children, is talking about it. But how exactly do you explain Bitcoin to your grandmother this festive season over a mouthful of cookies? The largest cryptocurrency by market value was invented in 2008 and launched in 2009 on the heels …
(2021-12-24). What Role Did White 'No Jumper Podcast' Profiteering Have In YG And Drakeo Beef Before Murder? moguldom.com Questions are swirling around the death of Los Angeles hip-hop artist Drakeo the Ruler, who was stabbed backstage on Dec. 18 before he was due to perform at the Once Upon A Time In L.A. Festival at Exposition Park. Many people were mingling around and no one noticed the murderer, who was somehow given admission …
(2021-12-24). Here's to our Health: Well, To the Health of the Profiteers! dissidentvoice.org 
"You know what I think?" she says. "That people's memories are maybe the fuel they burn to stay alive. Whether those memories have any actual importance or not, it doesn't matter as far as the maintenance of life is concerned. They're all just fuel. Advertising fillers in the newspaper, philosophy books, dirty pictures in a …
(2021-12-24). Ethical aspects relating to cyberspace: Utilitarianism and deontology. moderndiplomacy.eu Obviously web ethics must primarily be behavioural in nature. Its task is to serve as a tool for making decisions in morally difficult situations. However, as long as web ethics is seen only as one of the mechanisms of the Internet normative self-regulation, based on the spontaneously formed ethos of cyberspace, it will lack the …
(2021-12-24). Boring From Within the Bourgeois Press: Part One. mronline.org 
Eugene V. Debs may be my all-time favorite American and Karl Marx my all-time favorite journalist. But my employer for a decade was The Wall Street Journal, and for another decade it was the Los Angeles Times.
(2021-12-24). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Riot police use stun guns against occupation of Kavali Oil plant by Greek workers; Romanian miners hold wildcat strike to demand early retirement and rail workers walk out spontaneously over pay; teachers demonstrate across Iran in 120 cities over wages, conditions and state repression; strike by South African Clover food workers against pay, conditions and job cuts enters second month…
(2021-12-24). Capitalism Contributed To Factory Workers Deaths. popularresistance.org The weekend of December 10-11, 2021, saw a reported 30 tornadoes hitting several states from Arkansas to Illinois; as of this writing, 74 people are confirmed dead and several buildings severely damaged or totally demolished. | All the cases of death and destruction are devastating; however, the most telling and unconscionable are the deaths of eight people at a candle-making factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, and six in an Amazon facility in Edwardsville, Illinois. What makes these two cases significant is that they most likely could have been avoided, but once again capitalism's insatiable greed is significantly re…
(2021-12-24). Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia. wsws.org India: Delhi school teachers suspend online classes over unpaid salaries; Sri Lankan public sector doctors take national walkout; Australia: Rail workers and bus drivers continue industrial action in NSW.
(2021-12-24). To oppose government austerity, Sri Lankan workers need to build action committees and fight for socialist policies. wsws.org The critical lesson of this year's strikes and protests is that determination and militancy is not enough. The working class cannot defend its rights without independently mobilising on a socialist program.