2022-01-13: News Headlines

Vijay Prashad (2022-01-13). A Programme for a Future Society That We Will Build in the Present. dissidentvoice.org Chittaprosad, Indian Workers Read, n.d. In October 2021, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a report that received barely any attention: the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021, notably subtitled Unmasking disparities by ethnicity, caste, and gender. 'Multidimensional poverty' is a much more precise measurement of poverty than the international poverty line of $1.90 per …

WSWS (2022-01-13). December inflation surge leaves US workers' wages even further behind. wsws.org Rising prices for food, used cars, rent and medical care amounted to a 2.3 percent cut in real wages from December 2020 to December 2021, according to official figures.

Kenzo Shibata (2022-01-13). Teachers in Chicago Are Up Against a Wall of Neoliberal Cruelty. zcomm.org The current struggle is a symptom of the larger problem of neoliberal school reform — a virus whose only vaccine is democracy…

Staff (2022-01-13). John Nichols on How "Coronavirus Criminals & Pandemic Profiteers" Hurt World's Response to COVID-19. democracynow.org We speak with The Nation's national affairs correspondent John Nichols on the occasion of his new book, "Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis," which takes aim at the CEOs and political figures who put profits over people during the coronavirus pandemic. The chapters cover notorious figures such as former President Trump, Mike Pompeo, Jared Kushner and Jeff Bezos. "In the United States alone, hundreds of thousands of deaths occurred that did not have to occur," says Nichols. "Globally it's in the millions, and the U.S. could have played a huge role in addre…

Staff (2022-01-13). Confessions of a "Human Guinea Pig": Professor Quits Vaccine Trial over Moderna's Corporate Greed. democracynow.org Jeremy Menchik, a self-described "human guinea pig" who volunteered for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine trials, dropped out to protest the company's greed in reaping profits from the ongoing pandemic while doing little to resolve global vaccine inequity. Menchik is launching a new website — mrna4all.org — where other vaccine trial participants can join the effort to pressure vaccine makers to scale up production to vaccinate the world. "That they have to be accountable to their guinea pigs and they have to advance policies for public health not just private profit … I think that must be unnerving to them…

_____ (2022-01-13). China and Latin America: Washington is Losing Ground. journal-neo.org The global Sino-American confrontation that has unfolded in recent years affects all spheres of the world economy and all regions. China stubbornly squeezes the United States in every area, including its traditional sphere of influence in Latin America. At the moment, the United States is the leading trading partner of Latin American countries as a …

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2022-01-13). How Bolivia's Economy Was Saved. libya360.wordpress.com Kawsachun News We spoke to Zenón Mamani, Bolivia's Vice Minister for Budget and Public Accounts, about what the country's economic recovery looks like following the restoration of the socialist model at the end of 2020, with the landslide victory of Luis Arce and the Movement Towards Socialism. What are the core principles behind the economic…

Staff (2022-01-13). President Maduro Reports COVID-19 Case Spike due to Omicron. orinocotribune.com This Tuesday, January 11, during a brief on the fight against COVID-19 and the return to classes, the Venezuelan head of state pointed out that Venezuela has had a slight increase in the rate of infections, rising from five cases to six cases for every 100,000 inhabitants. Likewise, he pointed out that the new daily cases of COVID-19, which in the first days of January fell to 110, rose to 598 cases this Tuesday. For the moment, classes will not be suspended nor will the reopening of the economy be affected, but he urged Venezuelans not to be careless. He called for those who have not yet done so to get vaccinate…

WSWS (2022-01-13). World Bank downgrades global growth forecast. wsws.org The summary of the World Bank's report on the state of the world economy reads like an indictment of the political and financial authorities responsible for economic policies.

_____ (2022-01-13). MTC between India and Russia: A Stable Development Against the Backdrop of New Threats. journal-neo.org There has been global confrontation between the US and China for many years. Against this background, the regional confrontation between China and India continues. The two mighty neighboring Asian powers have long been competitors, having territorial issues and vying for influence in neighboring states. Fortunately, the struggle is mainly in the economic sphere, but to …

Ana Perdigón (2022-01-13). Venezuela Begins 2022 with Oil Production Increase (+Alex Saab). orinocotribune.com Despite the economic blockade imposed by the United States regime, Venezuela began 2022 by increasing its oil production in its domestic refineries to almost 160,000 barrels per day (bpd), a source revealed to Reuters. | With the help of Iran, which provided tankers of fuel, Venezuela was able to satisfy its internal demand for gasoline a few months ago. In addition, technicians from Iran helped to replace equipment and effectuate repairs at several refineries in Venezuela. | Processing was revamped to handle a more diverse list of crude grades, to produce more gasoline and diesel. | Venezuela has been heavily af…

Subodh Varma (2022-01-13). UP Elections: Double engine has left urban youth stranded. peoplesdispatch.org In the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh which is set to see elections soon, urban youth in the15-29 age range are facing lethal unemployment, with rates above 20% for the past three years…

WSWS (2022-01-13). New Zealand scientists express alarm over Omicron threat. wsws.org Amid the danger of an imminent Omicron outbreak, scientific experts are increasingly voicing concerns that contradict the "herd immunity" policies of the Labour-led government.

Editor (2022-01-13). Labor power and wages after women's labor market incorporation in Argentina. mronline.org In the past years, there has been a very much welcomed flourishing of Marxist Feminist analyses.

_____ (2022-01-13). More Than 8,000 Kroger Grocery Workers Strike In Colorado. popularresistance.org On the heels of a new report showing significant financial insecurity, including homelessness, among workers at Kroger grocery stores, more than 8,000 of the chain's employees in Colorado went on strike Wednesday to demand fair wages and better healthcare benefits. | Amid a recent wave of successful strikes at companies including John Deere and Kellogg's, the work stoppage is taking place at nearly 80 King Sooper grocery stores, which are owned by the Kroger Company, across the Denver metropolitan area. According to the Colorado Sun, 10 additional stores in Colorado Springs could also go on strike in the coming w…

Editor (2022-01-13). Private SoCal Prison Remains Open Despite Ban. scheerpost.com Photo by By George Franco / A for-profit

WSWS (2022-01-13). Communist Party of the Philippines opposes mandatory vaccination, demands school re-openings. wsws.org The concern of the CPP is not public health or the mass infection of workers, but the continued profits of corporations.

WSWS (2022-01-13). French teachers launch one-day strike against Macron's COVID-19 policy. wsws.org An international mobilization of the working class is emerging against capitalist governments' subordination of health and life to profit during the pandemic.

WSWS (2022-01-13). Sri Lankan educators' safety committee supports Chicago teachers fight against union sellout. wsws.org The TSPSC welcomes the courageous fight by Chicago teachers to protect school communities from COVID infection, which constitutes a major fightback against the capitalist classes around the globe who place profits above human lives.

WSWS (2022-01-13). Thousands of Colorado grocery workers strike at King Soopers as opposition continues to build in the working class. wsws.org Roughly 8,400 workers walked off the job at 5 a.m. on Wednesday. Workers are prepared to fight back against a major corporation that has profited from their sacrifice during the pandemic.

In Defense of Liberation! (2022-01-13). Internationalism: True International Proletarian Revolution. anchor.fm In this episode I try to give an overview again as always of many things that are going on across the world right now in order to connect them and be able to get folks to see how universal a lot of the struggles we are facing are. I want people to understand that the best way that we can be able to build a struggle is together, we have to have solidarity with not only our communities our neighborhoods, and our own people groups, but also the international proletariat who is suffering and struggle is the basis to the Wests privileges and benefits from capitalism. We have to see that a true proletarian revolution c…

The Socialist Program (2022-01-13). Fascism in the USA and Strategies to Fight It. liberationnews.org One year after the attack attempted to overturn the election, the architects of that plan have yet to face prosecution and a movement of the far-right consolidates.

Peoples Dispatch (2022-01-13). Anti-imperialists call on UK govt. to return Venezuelan gold held at Bank of England. peoplesdispatch.org As part of the US-backed imperialist maneuvers to destabilize the socialist government in Venezuela, the UK authorities blocked the country from accessing 31 tons of gold, valued at around USD 2 billion, which is deposited at the Bank of England…

WSWS (2022-01-13). UK Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee holds meeting on threat of Omicron. wsws.org Tania Kent, a Socialist Equality Party member, special needs teacher and chairperson of the Educators Committee explained, "We are in the midst of the greatest public health disaster for over 100 years."

Nino Pagliccia (2022-01-13). In Barinas Venezuela Responds with the Dignity of a Good Loser in Fair Elections. orinocotribune.com By Nino Pagliccia — Jan 11, 2022 | Last Sunday, January 9, many Venezuelans received the news of an electoral result that undoubtedly disappointed those who support Chavismo and made opponents happy. That was the election for governor of the state of Barinas that was repeated following the irregularities detected on November 21 in the previous candidacy presented by the extreme right. | Jorge Arreaza himself, the candidate of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), broke the news with the following words: "Dear Barinas. The information we receive from our PSUV organization indicates that, although…

Brian Tashman (2022-01-12). Two-Thirds of Voters Want to Stop the Expansion of For-Profit Immigrant Detention. aclu.org A Preside…

Walden Bello (2022-01-12). Bin Laden and Trump: Two Bookends to America's Imperial Decline. fpif.org The end of 2021 and the beginning of a new year is a convenient time to take stock of the causes of America's decline. | This past year saw both Washington's inglorious exit from Afghanistan after 20 years in the country that had served as the launching pad for its direct military intervention in the Middle East and an historic insurrection at the very heart of the empire. Add to this the absolute lack of traction for President Biden's recent "Democracy Summit" in contrast to Beijing's surefooted diplomacy, the erosion of an already weak U.S. economy by COVID-19 followed by uncontrolled inflation, and the deepeni…

Peter Certo (2022-01-12). In OtherWords: January 12, 2021. otherwords.org Our country has changed a lot in the last half-century since the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. — but not in every way. | As our contributors note this week, there's plenty the late civil rights giant would recognize about our country in 2022 — from poverty and inequality to a sustained assault on voting rights and a federal government that still puts militarism before human needs. And there are newer, potentially more serious challenges as well, from climate change to the pandemic. | It's a lot to live with, more still to overcome. But as Dedrick Asante-Muhammad writes this week, that never…

sputniknews (2022-01-12). Kazakh President: Withdrawal of CSTO Peacekeeping Forces to Begin on Thursday. sputniknews.com The CSTO forces were deployed to Kazakhstan amid mass protests that turned violent in the country in early January following a twofold rise in fuel prices.

Godfree Roberts (2022-01-12). China's Excellent, Very Good Year. dissidentvoice.org 2021 was the best year. Ever. The robust growth of the domestic market also further stabilises the economy. Amidst global gloom, 2021 was the best year in modern Chinese history. Here's what they accomplished: Eliminated extreme poverty. Reached 98% home ownership. Kept Covid death rate at 0.6% of America's. Grew the economy $2 trillion PPP, …

ecns.cn (2022-01-12). China's agriculture and related industries take up 16.47 pct of economy in 2020. ecns.cn The added value of China's agriculture and related industries accounted for 16.47 percent of the gross domestic product in 2020, official data showed Wednesday.

Ricardo Vaz (2022-01-12). Venezuela to Establish 'New Map of Cooperation' with Nicaragua. venezuelanalysis.com The two countries will reportedly collaborate in economic, political and cultural matters.

_____ (2022-01-12). Why Do NATO States Commit Energy Hara Kiri ? journal-neo.org There is a great paradox in the increasingly aggressive US and NATO military stance towards Russia, and China, when measured against the clearly suicidal national Green Agenda economic policies of the USA as well as the EU NATO states. An astonishing transformation of the economies of the world's most advanced industrial economies is underway and …

teleSUR (2022-01-12). Chile: Lawyer Meza-Lopehandia Appointed As Boric's Staff Chief. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Chile's President-elect Gabriel Boric appointed the human rights and Indigenous movements expert lawyer Matias Meza-Lopehandia as his cabinet chief. | RELATED: | A left-wing Social Convergence (CS) party militant, Meza-Lopehandia has a master's degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science and currently works as a researcher at the Chilean Congress Library. | He had a…

ecns.cn (2022-01-12). RCEP to benefit Taiwan compatriots, businesses on mainland: spokesperson. ecns.cn Taiwan-funded enterprises on the mainland will enjoy better opportunities for development after the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.

F. William Engdahl (2022-01-12). Will the Federal Reserve Crash Global Financial Markets As a Means to Implementing Their "Great Reset"? globalresearch.ca First published on December 16, 2021 | It's looking increasingly likely that the US Federal Reserve and the globalist powers that be will use the dramatic rising of inflation as their excuse to bring down the US financial markets and with …

Colleen Wessel-McCoy (2022-01-12). Continuing King's 'Revolution of Values'. otherwords.org On January 15, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was leaving a planning meeting for the Poor People's Campaign when he was called back into the room. It was his birthday — his last, it would turn out. | The staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference would usually give King a new suit, but this year they wanted to make him laugh. | Xernona Clayton teased, "We know how fond you are of our president Lyndon Johnson," which got a laugh. Then she pulled out a metal cup engraved: "We are cooperating with Lyndon's War on Poverty. Drop coins and bills in cup." | King laughed deeply, but the joke was all too t…

Natalia Marques (2022-01-12). "How many more people gotta die?" ask Bronx residents. peoplesdispatch.org 17 New Yorkers are dead and 15 remain in critical condition after a fire blazed through Twin Parks North West, a housing complex in the Bronx on Sunday morning. The tragic fire is one of the worst in New York's recent history and has been widely criticized by activists and residents for having its root in systemic neglect by the city and landlords. The city on the other hand, has attempted to deflect blame for the tragedy and point fingers at the low income tenants themselves. | For its part, the New York City Fire Department stated that a resident's faulty space heater is the culprit. The US Consumer Product Saf…

Raging Grannies in Solidarity with Labor (2022-01-12). Wednesday 1/12: Protest Amazon Union Busting. indybay.org Whole Foods | 774 Emerson St. | Downtown Palo Alto…

Staff (2022-01-12). US Chamber of Commerce says what can help tackle inflation. rt.com Many industries across the US are currently facing labor shortages | The US Chamber of Commerce has called for doubling the number of legal immigrants into the country, saying that could ease inflation and the worker shortage crisis. | "We need more workers. We should welcome people who want to come here, go to school and stay," Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday. "That is a place the government could be particularly helpful and we do believe it would be anti-inflationary." | Clark added that bringing in more foreign workers would help to ease the supply c…

Karen Conner (2022-01-12). Vehicle Prices and Continued Supply Chain Problems Drive December Inflation. cepr.net The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.5 percent in December, and the core up 0.6 percent. Year-over-year, the overall CPI is up 7.0 percent, core 5.5 percent.

sputniknews (2022-01-12). EU Reportedly Prepares Large-Scale Cyber Drills Amid Supply Chain Jitters. sputniknews.com Countries the world over have been impacted by the global supply chain crisis, with Covid blamed for factory and port shut downs causing empty shelves, rising prices and galloping inflation.

teleSUR (2022-01-12). World Bank: Slashes Global Growth Forecast Given the Pandemic. telesurenglish.net The World Bank slashed the global growth forecast for the current year, saying that based on the pandemic waves the world is facing, the perspectives of the possibility of unanchored inflation expectations, and financial stress in a context of record-high debt levels, the perspectives are "clouded by various downside risks." | RELATED: | On Tuesday, the World Bank Group, warned of various downside risks to global growth prospects for 2022 amid…

Peter Koenig (2022-01-12). The COVID-Omicron Crisis: The Roadmap Towards a Worldwide 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…

WSWS (2022-01-12). Fed chair's confirmation testimony focuses on wages. wsws.org Fed chair Powell indicated the central bank would use interest rate hikes and other measures to tighten monetary policy to push down on wage demands if other methods fail and inflation continues to climb.

Binoy Kampmark (2022-01-12). Anachronistic Frivolity: Australia's Recent Tank Purchase. dissidentvoice.org The operating doctrine of many a defence ministry is premised on fatuity. There is the industry prerogative and need for employment. There are the hectoring think tanks writing in oracular tones of warning that the next "strategic" change is peeking around the corner. Purchases of weapons are then made to fight devils foreign and invisible, …

Nora Barrows-Friedman (2022-01-12). Boycott of Israel-sponsored Sydney Festival gains momentum. electronicintifada.net Dozens of artists refuse to cross the international picket line.

Gloria Novovic (2022-01-12). Canada's dangerous COVID delusion. canadiandimension.com Canada's pandemic response needs to prioritize public health over profits, uphold lived experiences, trust technical experts and remain adaptive, writes Gloria Novovic. Photo by Alberto Giuliani/ Global problems require global solutions. With COVID-19, however, we're seeing that our governance mechanisms don't drive global solutions even when our lives depend on it. | This is a problem because it will lead to diminishing trust in public institutions and a dragged-out pandemic response, as we fail to preve…

Marjorie Cohn (2022-01-12). Conservatives on Supreme Court Poised to Block Biden's Vaccine and Mask Mandates. zcomm.org The reactionary "justices" seem more inclined to shield corporate profits and red states' rights than to protect the health and safety of the people…

WSWS (2022-01-12). Modi indicates no lockdown even as COVID-19 tsunami rips through India. wsws.org The Modi government's policies of the pandemic are nakedly based on prioritizing profit interests of big business over human lives.

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