(2022-12-24). As political crisis of US rulers deepens, Socialist Workers Party speaks out. themilitant.com Following the 2022 elections, working people face both a deepening crisis in the capitalist economy — a slowdown in hiring at the same time prices continue to rise — and attacks on living conditions and constitutional freedoms by the capitalist rulers and their two political parties, the Democrats and Republicans. | The Socialist Workers Party is organizing to build solidarity with workers in battle against boss and government attacks, from the rail yards nationwide to strikes by Case New Holland workers in Wisconsin and Iowa and miners at Warrior Met Coal in Alabama. The party fields candidates posin…
(2022-12-24). Afghan Taliban order NGOs to ban female employees from work. tribune.com.pk 
Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to stop female employees from coming to work, according to an economy ministry letter, in the latest crackdown on women's freedoms. | The letter, confirmed by economy ministry spokesperson Abdulrahman Habib, said the female employees were not allowed to work until further notice because some had not adhered to the administration's interpretation of Islamic dress code for women. | It was not immediately clear whether the order applied to United Nations agencies, which have a large presence in…
(2022-12-24). Wednesday 12/21: Environmental economics for dummies featuring THE LORAX. indybay.org ZOOM: us05web.zoom.us/j/84595777949?pwd=cEpMVFUxNXRPRUJEVU5OSnhXOXZGdz09…
(2022-12-24). Friday 12/23: Environmental Economics for Dummies, featuring The Lorax. indybay.org ZOOM: us05web.zoom.us/j/84595777949?pwd=cEpMVFUxNXRPRUJEVU5OSnhXOXZGdz09…
(2022-12-24). Resilient China injects certainty into global economic recovery. ecns.cn
(2022-12-24). Iran, Guinea officials discuss expansion of bilateral ties. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (MNA) — In a meeting with the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for the Economic Diplomacy, the foreign minister of Guinea Morissanda Kouyaté stressed his country's willingness to develop ties with Tehran.
(2022-12-24). Iran deputy FM reviews Tehran-Bamako ties with Malian FM, PM. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (MNA) — Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy discussed the latest status of Iran-Mali economic cooperation in separate meetings with the foreign minister and prime minister of the African country.
(2022-12-24). Defend Ukraine independence! Demand Putin get out now! themilitant.com The Ukrainian people are withstanding some of the heaviest aerial bombardment since Moscow's war began as they fight tenaciously to drive back its invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to demoralize working people by crippling Ukraine's power supplies as winter begins, but this only encourages greater determination to resist. | The conflict is the largest ground war fought by two states in Europe since 1945. It has set in motion realignments among capitalist powers across the world, and exacerbated the global economic crisis. The Kremlin is banking on Russia's bigger military resources to wear Ukrainia…
(2022-12-24). Iran Supreme Court accepts rapper Yasin's appeal against death sentence. tribune.com.pk 
Iran's Supreme Court has accepted the death sentence appeal of rapper Saman Seydi Yasin even as it confirmed a death sentence against another protestor, the country's judiciary said on Saturday. | Yasin, a Kurd who raps about inequality, oppression and unemployment, had been accused of attempting to kill security forces, setting a rubbish bin on fire and shooting three times into the air, charges which he denied. | Yasin's mother last week pleaded in a video for help to save her son. "Where in the world have you seen a loved one's life is taken for a trash bin?" she said in the video posted on social media.
(2022-12-24). "Ticket To Mars" Concert At Elon's Twitter San Francisco Headquarters: Oligarchs Gone Wild. indybay.org The first "Get Your Ticket To Mars" concert took place at Elon Musk's Twitter headquarters on December 18, 2022. Musicians, poets, tech and labor organizers spoke and artists painted a mural on the side of the building.
(2022-12-24). Protesters: "No Democracy With Oligarchy" at Twitter HQ. indybay.org Dozens of artists, labor advocates, and climate campaigners answered a call from Climate Justice Arts on Sunday, arriving at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco to paint the company's famed bird logo on the street outside along with pro-democracy messages.
(2022-12-24). Rail workers protest as gov't imposes contract, bars strike. themilitant.com CHICAGO — In rail yards and on locomotives across the country discussion and debate continue among rail workers over how to respond to the ongoing attacks from the rail bosses and the government. These include grueling schedules, draconian attendance policies, unsafe conditions, a renewed push to run engineer-only trains and the anti-union Railway Labor Act. | On Dec. 2 President Joseph Biden signed legislation passed overwhelmingly by a bipartisan majority in Congress imposing a contract on 115,000 rail workers and proscribing union strike action. Members of four unions — representing a majority of t…
(2022-12-24). Ohio workers at GM battery plant vote 710-16 to join UAW. themilitant.com Workers at an electric vehicle battery factory near Warren, Ohio, overwhelmingly voted to join the United Auto Workers. The 710-16 vote, announced by the National Labor Relations Board Dec. 9, marks the first time workers have won union representation in this burgeoning industry. | The plant is owned by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and South Korean-owned LG Energy Solution. Ultium has announced plans to build two more battery factories, in Lansing, Michigan, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. As part of the auto bosses' competition to take the lead in electric car sales, Ford says it will build t…
(2022-12-24). University of California teaching assistants strike for over a month. themilitant.com LOS ANGELES — As the strike of University of California workers reached its 31st day, hundreds of striking academic workers rallied at the U.C. campus here Dec. 14. They were joined by supporters, including faculty, students and members of UNITE HERE and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. They marched around the campus, chanting and singing labor solidarity songs. | Nearly 48,000 University of California researchers, teaching assistants, graders and others went on strike Nov. 14 demanding higher wages, improved benefits and better working conditions. | "When I was a stu…
(2022-12-24). Top 10 Inequality Victories of 2022. scheerpost.com 
(2022-12-24). China's ODI rises on multiple fronts. ecns.cn China's non-financial outbound direct investment, or ODI, rose 7.4 percent year-on-year to 687.86 billion yuan during the first eleven months of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.
(2022-12-24). China's non-financial ODI up 7.4 pct in first 11 months. ecns.cn China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) reached 687.86 billion yuan in the first 11 months of the year, up 7.4 percent year on year, official data showed Friday.
(2022-12-24). Hong Kong to launch online platform of talents service. ecns.cn The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will launch an online platform of talents service on Dec. 28 to facilitate entry application as the financial hub steps up efforts to trawl for talents.
(2022-12-24). Healthy for the Holidays: Mayo Clinic Health System provides tips for combatting stress this season. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org MANKATO, Minn. ‚Äï During the holiday season, it is easy to get caught up in the stress and chaos that can accompany this time of the year. Already demanding lives become even more hectic as last-minute shopping, cooking and spending combine to add even more anxiety. For many people, the result can be overwhelming. "What if there was a way you could plan ahead to counter the stress? Start with identifying the issue," says Lisa Hardesty,…
(2022-12-24). The Gigantic Defense Bill Does More Harm than Good. americanthinker.com A strong and free America is secured by a strong national defense, and that requires spending money. But America is at risk with legislation like this.
(2022-12-24). China angered, Taiwan cheered by new US defence act. tribune.com.pk 
China expressed anger on Saturday at a new US defence authorisation law that boosts military assistance for Taiwan, while Taipei cheered it for helping boost the island's security. | China, which considers democratically governed Taiwan its own territory, expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" regarding the US National Defence Authorisation Act, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. | It said the $858 billion military spending measure, which authorises up to $10 billion in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan, contained provisions that "cause serio…
(2022-12-24). China's FDI inflow up 9.9% in Jan-Nov. ecns.cn Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland, in terms of actual use, rose 9.9 percent year-on-year to 1.16 trillion yuan in the first 11 months of 2022.
(2022-12-24). China's FDI inflow up 9.9 pct in first 11 months. ecns.cn Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 9.9 percent year on year to nearly 1.16 trillion yuan in the first 11 months of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.
(2022-12-24). Big Pharma's Obscene Profits, Not Striking Nurses, Are Killing the NHS. scheerpost.com 
(2022-12-24). Critique of Religion and Market Religion and Post-colonialism. indybay.org Critique of religion as critique of fetishism is a critique of earthly gods, which are false gods. "Man is the highest being for man." Marx develops it further in other words and formulates his idea of the liberation of man in the Communist Manifesto. There he says: "In place of the old bourgeois society with its classes and class antagonisms comes…the free development of all. "
(2022-12-24). Iran protests for rights, against executions stoke gov't divisions. themilitant.com 
Organizing Council of Oil Contract Workers of IranWorkers in Ahvaz, in Iran's Khuzestan province, join Dec. 17 strike at seven oil complexes for higher wages, pensions, health care. Some unions have condemned gov't use of death penalty. | More than three months of daily protests are widening rifts between rival factions among Iran's capitalist rulers. The execution of two protesters, death sentences for 11 others and charges that carry the death penalty against six more have expanded demonstrations across the country and internationally. | In the face of these actions, at least two of the executions…
(2022-12-24). Holiday greetings to workers behind bars. themilitant.com New Year greetings to our readers behind bars! | The Militant will continue to tell the truth about the conditions you face and keep getting news about the struggles of working people worldwide into your hands. 2022 was quite a year! Millions took to the streets to defend themselves. | From the Ukrainian people's courageous defense of their nation's sovereignty against Moscow's invasion, to working people inside Russia who are protesting the war. From working people and youth in Iran standing up to assaults by government thugs, to thousands of workers here who are using unions to strike for better wages and condi…
(2022-12-24). The Holidays are the Most Painful Time of the Year to be Behind Bars. scheerpost.com Every holiday season, prisoners suffer spikes in suicides, violence, and depression. Eddie Conway, who spent 44 years locked up, explains what people on the outside can do to help.
(2022-12-24). El conflicto en Ucrania agota las reservas de armas de la OTAN, asegura The Washington Post. cubadebate.cu Según refleja The Washington Post en un material pubicado este viernes en el que analiza la ayuda bélica que Occidente presta a Kiev, los combates en Ucrania han puesto al descubierto "fallos en la planificación estratégica" de Estados Unidos. Asimismo, han revelado "lagunas significativas" en la base industrial militar de Washington y de la OTAN.
(2022-12-24). Vietnam, Afghanistan precedents for Poland: U.S. sells recovery vehicles for (366) Abrams tanks disabled in combat. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Polish Press AgencyDecember 21, 2022 Poland signs recovery vehicle deal for Abrams tanks Poland has signed a deal for the purchase of 26 Hercules armoured recovery vehicles from BAE Systems to support the US-made Abrams tanks Warsaw bought earlier. The Hercules is designed to recover tanks while under fire, and has been used in conflicts …
(2022-12-24). Communist League: 'Down with Canadian rulers' Emergencies Act'. themilitant.com 
MONTREAL — Six weeks of mandatory public hearings on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government imposition of the never-before-used Emergencies Act concluded Nov. 25. The act aimed to crush the three-week-long truckers' "Freedom Convoy" protest in Ottawa and at border-crossing bridges with the U.S. last February. It was convened by the Public Order Emergency Commission to determine if the government's assault against the rights of the truckers was legal under the law. Their report to Parliament is due by Feb. 20. | Over 75 witnesses appeared before the commission, including police, government minist…
(2022-12-23). War, Terrorism and the Global Economic Crisis. Ninety-nine Interrelated Concepts. globalresearch.ca Everything is interrelated: war, terrorism, the police state, the global economy, financial fraud, corrupt governments, poverty and social inequality, media disinformation, war propaganda, WMD, international law,…
(2022-12-23). Ultimate Battle Between Pro-Japan South Korea and Nationalist South Korea: Democracy at Stake, Economy in Crisis, Security at Risk. globalresearch.ca
(2022-12-23). Bidenomics in action: November leading economic indicators down. americanthinker.com Democrats who will spend, spend, spend other peoples' money to distribute to themselves and their believers.
(2022-12-23). The 5G Roll Out: EMF Radiation, Devastating Health Impacts, Social and Economic Implications. Crimes Against Humanity? globalresearch.ca
(2022-12-23). West Opposes Rest Of World In UN Votes For Fairer Economic System, Equality. popularresistance.org Most countries on Earth voted at the United Nations General Assembly to support a call for a new international economic order that is based on sovereign equality and cooperation, that rejects unilateral sanctions and advocates for debt relief for the Global South. | The only countries that opposed this widely popular proposal were the West and its allies. | The United States and its proxies were also the lone votes against common-sensical resolutions promoting sustainable development, biological diversity, and basic civil rights for Palestinians. Almost the entire world supported these proposals. Washington showe…
(2022-12-23). Factors Behind the Support for Castillo That Lima Refuses to Understand. orinocotribune.com 
By Francesca Emanuele  ; Dec 20, 2022 | Neither the unfulfilled promises, the indications of corruption, nor the coup attempt could make Castillo's supporters turn their backs on him. Despite the former president no longer representing hope for change, he still symbolizes—perhaps today more than ever—the structural discrimination in Peru. | In Lima, the political, economic, and intellectual elites are intrigued, still searching for an explanation for the large number of Peruvian men and women protesting in demand of freedom for Pedro Castillo. They are even more puzzled by the smaller group demandi…
(2022-12-23). Saudi Arabia's Overtures to China, BRICS not Against a Third Country. infobrics.org Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world value their relationship with China as the region's biggest economic partner with Riyadh even contemplating joining the BRICS group of emerging economies as the Gulf Kingdom recalibrates its global vision amid shifting geopolitics and world order…
(2022-12-23). 2022 California State Capitol Kwanzaa in the wake of the 2022 US-Africa Summit. indybay.org Dr. Karenga utilized struggle creating Kwanzaa. He and the US Organization continues to rectify the cultural and economic exploitation perpetrated against us during the months of October, November, and December (the Christmas season) as we prepare for a New Year.
(2022-12-23). Zelensky's diaspora delegation led by economic hit-woman who led plunder of Ukraine. thegrayzone.com The Grayzone intercepted Volodymyr Zelensky's Ukrainian diaspora delegation outside the US Capitol and encountered Natalie Jaresko, the corporate operative who helped guide Wall Street's pillaging from Kiev to Puerto Rico. Jaresko indignantly justified Zelensky's banning of his political rivals as a necessary wartime measure. Steel fencing and police barricades ringed the perimeter of the US Capitol Building hours ahead of the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president appeared in Washington DC in the early afternoon on December 21, 2022, …
(2022-12-23). The Perils Of Pious Neoliberalism In The Austerity State. popularresistance.org The International Labour Organisation's Global Wage Report 2022—23 tracks the horrendous collapse of real wages for billions of people around the planet. The gaping distance between the incomes and wealth of 99% of the world's population from the incomes and wealth of the billionaires and near-trillionaires who make up the richest 1% is appalling. During the pandemic, when most of the world has experienced a dramatic loss in their livelihoods, the ten richest men in the world have doubled their fortunes. This extreme wealth inequality, now entirely normal in our world, has produced immense and dangerous soc…
(2022-12-23). Corruption scandal engulfs Philadelphia IBEW union. wsws.org The scandal is not a case of a few bad apples. Such corruption is endemic, part and parcel of the misnamed "American labor movement."
(2022-12-23). Rally To Save Labor And Delivery Department At St. Francis Hospital. popularresistance.org Milwaukee, Wisconsin – More than 60 workers and union members from Ascension St. Francis Hospital (SFH), together with community supporters, gathered outside Milwaukee's city hall on the evening of December 20. The event was called for by the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (WFNHP) Local 5000, the union which represents nurses and technical and service employees at the hospital. The purpose for the rally was to raise awareness around the services being cut at the hospital, specifically management's decision to close down the labor and delivery department. | This closure isn't only signific…
(2022-12-23). Citizenship, Not Surveillance, For Farmworkers. popularresistance.org This week, I joined farmworkers across the country in sounding the alarm on legislation that would make us even more vulnerable. We have defeated it for now. | However, the agricultural lobby has been pushing for this legislation since 2019, and we know they will continue to propose legislation that ties immigration reform to labor exploitation. | I know just how grueling year-round agricultural work is and how difficult it can be to make ends meet as an undocumented farmworker. After coming to the United States from Oaxaca, Mexico, I spent years picking grapes and after that, working on dairy farms. Farm work wa…
(2022-12-23). Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas convoca al Global Game Jam. cubadebate.cu La Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas convoca al Global Game Jam, el mayor evento colaborativo de creación de juegos del mundo, que reúne cada año a decenas de miles de desarrolladores para crear en un lapso de 48 horas, un prototipo de videojuego funcional. La nueva edición se celebrará entre el 30 de enero y el 6 de febrero.
(2022-12-23). Continúan labores para extinguir incendio en Barranquilla, Colombia. telesurtv.net El funcionario aseveró que se trabaja en extinguir las llamas para la madrugada de este viernes para que no se siga extendiendo en el tiempo y aumentando los daños.
(2022-12-23). The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, cryptocurrency, and the financial crisis. wsws.org In the trial of the FTX founder, the prosecution will produce a vast array of documents and witnesses, but one of the purposes is to obscure a central issue: how was this operation able to be carried out in plain sight?
(2022-12-23). Plant closures and mass layoffs in Germany continue at Christmas. wsws.org Amid the ongoing war in the East, rampant inflation, bankruptcies and job cuts are piling up. Thousands of workers are facing the loss of their jobs and the livelihood of their families.
(2022-12-23). Health Workers in UK Intensify Their Fight for Fair Wages and Dignity. scheerpost.com 
Underpaid and overworked, workers of the UK's National Health Service are demanding a wage hike on par with inflation. Both nurses and ambulance workers went on strike in recent days.
(2022-12-23). Meet the Grinch Stealing the Future of Gen Y and Z. scheerpost.com 
Salaries in the U.S. aren't keeping up with inflation, despite pandemic-related increases in some sectors. That's a major threat to the future for all working Americans — especially the youngest.
(2022-12-23). As NYT's Friedman Laments end of Israel-Palestine Two-State Solution, the Bantustan Alternative Looms. juancole.com Montreal (Special to Informed Comment)  ; In a New York Times Dec. 18, 2022, opinion piece, Thomas L. Friedman, echoing many other mainstream commentators, bemoans that Israel's aggressive settlement policies and growing religious nationalism "could bury the two-state solution and the one-state solution in the same grave." However, what Mr. Friedman and other commentators fail to …
(2022-12-23). Our health care system is broken—fixing it is not hard. nationofchange.org If only the health care system received the same treatment that military spending gets from politicians and the public.
(2022-12-23). Democrats Are Making a Devil's Bargain on Pentagon Funding. It's Not Paying Off. truthout.org The year 2022 confirmed yet again that accepting massive military budget increases in exchange for a smattering of social benefits funding — a common devil's bargain struck by Democrats in Congress — will never deliver the kind of world we dream of. The military budget deal just reached by Congress will put Pentagon spending at $858 billion — more than $118 billion higher than when President Biden… |
(2022-12-23). Headlines for December 23, 2022. democracynow.org Jan. 6 Committee Releases Report on Capitol Insurrection, Recommends Barring Trump from Office, Senate Approves $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill, Polar Vortex Brings Winter Weather Advisories to 200 Million Across U.S., Asylum Seekers Remain Stuck at U.S.-Mexico Border Amid Freezing Temperatures, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Agrees to Dismantle Illegal Border Wall, Afghan Taliban Assault and Arrest Women Protesting University Ban, Report Finds U.S. Did Not Compensate Foreign Workers Injured or Killed in Afghanistan, Car Bomb Kills Pro-Kremlin Official in Russian-Occupied Ukraine, Putin Calls Russian Invasion of Ukr…
(2022-12-23). Congress, Biden boost war spending at the expense of social programs. wsws.org The $1.7 trillion budget bill passed by Congress and headed for Biden's signature cuts social spending in real terms while increasing military spending and pumping another $ billion into the war with Russia in Ukraine.
(2022-12-23). After spending $20 M, oil industry gathers enough signatures for initiative against setbacks law. indybay.org If the Secretary of State formally qualifies the oil industry's petition, the issue of neighborhood drilling in California will go before voters on the 2024 ballot.
(2022-12-23). Japanese politician calls on Biden to apologise for US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. infobrics.org Japan's defence spending will surpass India, the UK and France.
(2022-12-23). American Weapons Manufacturers Profit from Making Ukrainian Conflict Perpetual. globalresearch.ca
(2022-12-23). USW forces through wage concessions at US Steel after isolating workers for months. wsws.org On Tuesday afternoon, the United Steelworkers union announced a four-year concessions contract which cuts wages for 11,000 workers at facilities owned by steel producer US Steel across the US after isolating the workers for moths and actively blacking out information on negotiations.
(2022-12-23). Chapeando: El mito de la superioridad cubana (+ Podcast). cubadebate.cu La alfabetización de Cuba es la primera piedra del crecimiento y el talento de los cubanos. Así se desnuda el mito del triunfo cubano en el capitalismo. El cubano no sobresale en los países a donde emigra porque sea un fenómeno de la naturaleza, sino porque hubo una alfabetización, una universalización de la enseñanza.
(2022-12-23). Australia: Nurses at two private hospitals in NSW take industrial action. wsws.org This is the first industrial action by nurses at the two private hospitals in more than 20 years, amid a broader struggle by healthcare workers across the country, who have carried out strikes throughout the year.
(2022-12-23). Serial killer Charles 'Serpent' Sobhraj freed from Nepal prison. tribune.com.pk 
Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj was freed from prison in Nepal on Friday after serving most of his sentence for killing American and Canadian backpackers and was taken to the airport for a flight back to Paris, his attorney said. | His alleged killings were dramatized in a series co-produced by the BBC and Netflix called "The Serpent," which aired last year. | A ticket was purchased with money received from a friend and the French Embassy in Kathmandu prepared the necessary travel documents allowing him to take the flight Friday evening, attorney Gopal Siwakoti Chitan said. | Sobhraj was driven…
(2022-12-23). Australia: Victorian Socialists cover for union sell-out at Pampas. wsws.org The endorsement by the pseudo-left of the wage-slashing deal at Pampas demonstrates their role as an adjunct and defender of the union bureaucracy and its attacks against workers.
(2022-12-23). Int'l Women's Alliance honors Ka Joma. workers.org 
The following statement was released Dec. 23 by the International Women's Alliance, a global grassroots women's organization. Go to internationalwomensalliance.wordpress.com/. Credit: internationalwomensalliance.wordpress.com The International Women's Alliance is deeply grieved by the passing of one of the greatest militant leaders of our times, the founding leader of the Communist Party of . . . |
(2022-12-23). U.S. holds meeting with African states: promises and realities. workers.org 
The author, a veteran of the liberation movement in Guinea and Cape Verde, is a regular contributor of articles on Africa to Avante, the weekly newspaper of the Portuguese Communist Party. This article was published Dec. 22, 2022. Translation: John Catalinotto. U.S. strategists aimed at winning African states' support for . . . |