2021-10-21: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-10-21). Australian Greens keep their mouths shut on the new anti-democratic electoral laws. wsws.org The Greens' silence on the electoral laws dovetails with their pitch to form another de facto coalition government with the Labor Party, as they did under Julia Gillard from 2010 to 2013.

WSWS (2021-10-21). Australian Labor governments push homicidal "live with the virus" program. wsws.org The Victorian Labor government is ending a lockdown amid more than 2,000 infections a day, while its Queensland counterpart is the first administration in Australia to adopt policies aimed at reintroducing COVID in a jurisdiction where it has been eliminated.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2021-10-21). Science Saturday: An inside look at the state-of-the-art supports enabling invention. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Throughout Mayo Clinic, innovation is the thread that weaves through countless initiatives aimed at improving patient care. While Mayo's most cutting-edge discoveries are often widely known, the vast majority of innovative endeavors occur behind the scenes. One of the more low-profile assets in Mayo Clinic Laboratories' innovation arsenal is the media kitchen, where specialized media and reagents used in some of the laboratories' most esoteric assays come to life. "Nationally, there aren't many media labs," says…

teleSUR, JCM (2021-10-21). Organización sindical en Ecuador presenta propuesta de ley. telesurtv.net El Frente Unitarios de Trabajadores entregará su proyecto de ley laboral en el marco de las protestas contra Guillermo Lasso.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2021-10-21). Mayo Clinic celebrates 35 years in Florida. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In the 35 years since its opening, Mayo Clinic in Florida has become one of the premier medical destination centers in the Southeast while garnering the No. 1 spot in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" rankings in Florida and contributing more than $2 billion annually to Florida's economy. In 1986, Mayo Clinic brought its team approach to health care from Rochester, Minnesota, to the Southeast when it opened the clinic…

WSWS (2021-10-21). John Deere workers in Mannheim, Germany, support striking workers in US. wsws.org Workers at Deere's largest tractor factory in Germany expressed support for their striking brothers and sisters in the United States, saying they faced the same fight against eroding wages and economic insecurity.

Fight Back (2021-10-21). Students say, 'The uprising continues' at 15th Annual SDS Conference in Minnesota. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On the weekend of Oct. 16-17, almost 170 students convened at the University of Minnesota for the 15th National Convention of National Students for a Democratic Society. It was the first time SDS organizers had gathered together physically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Last year, SDS hosted a series of national webinars, but this experience was vastly different. Student organizers gathered together to discuss the four crises of the last two years – pandemic, economic crisis, police killings, and environmental disasters. Another theme was "From George Floyd to Winston Smith, The Upr…

Fight Back (2021-10-21). Students say, 'The uprising continues' at 15th Annual SDS Conference in Minnesota. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On the weekend of Oct. 16-17, almost 170 students convened at the University of Minnesota for the 15th National Convention of National Students for a Democratic Society. It was the first time SDS organizers had gathered together physically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Last year, SDS hosted a series of national webinars, but this experience was vastly different. Student organizers gathered together to discuss the four crises of the last two years – pandemic, economic crisis, police killings, and environmental disasters. Another theme was "From George Floyd to Winston Smith, The Upr…

WSWS (2021-10-21). New Zealand government sending thousands back to school during worsening COVID-19 outbreak. wsws.org The Labour Party-led government's push to reopen schools, while the deadly virus spreads, highlights the importance of the SEG's public meeting on Saturday to oppose the reopening and fight for COVID-19 elimination.

Dan Osborn (2021-10-21). Kellogg's cereal workers strike for employees who have been left behind. zcomm.org Workers at Kellogg's are proud to feed the country with the cereal they make, but they say that the company's exploitative two-tier employment system keeps many of their coworkers from earning a fair wage…

Jessica Corbett (2021-10-21). Total Knew About Climate Threat From Fossil Fuels for Decades, But Denied It. zcomm.org "The dire consequences of climate change we are now experiencing could have been avoided if Total executives 50 years ago had decided that the future of the planet is more important than their profits."

WSWS (2021-10-21). Build action committees to fight for better wages and the defence of free education! wsws.org The unions anti-democratic shutdown of the long-running Sri Lankan teachers' strike was imposed without any discussion by rank-and-file teachers.

Phil Jones (2021-10-21). When wage becomes wager: the dark side of microwork sites. zcomm.org Microwork sites are modern-day digital sweatshops reintroducing piece rate that regularly steal wages while employers remain hidden behind opaque interfaces…

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-10-21). Refreshingly Honest Billionaire Says Media Purchase Will be Used for Propaganda. orinocotribune.com By Caitlin Johnstone — Oct 18, 2021 | The billionaire CEO of the multibillion-dollar corporation that In a

WSWS (2021-10-21). Mobilize the working class to eliminate COVID-19! Attend the October 24 meeting on "How to end the pandemic!" wsws.org The New York City Educators Rank-and-Files Safety Committee is calling on educators, parents and all workers to attend the October 24 webinar "How to end the pandemic," which is being hosted by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees.

Ann Brown (2021-10-20). U.S. Government Fines Facebook For Discrimination Against U.S. Workers, Preferring Immigrants. moguldom.com Facebook will pay more than $14 million to settle a case for allegedly denying employment to U.S. workers because it reserved jobs for foreign workers with temporary visas in 2018 and 2019, according to the Justice Department. In December 2020, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Facebook for setting aside jobs for temporary visa holders through …

Staff (2021-10-20). Bye, evil Facebook? Zuckerberg reportedly wants new name for his VR 'metaverse' to show that it's bigger than just social media. rt.com The scandal-plagued tech giant Facebook is said to be about to change its name to a secret new one that would better reflect Mark Zukerberg's aspiration to be a technology visionary. | The rebranding may be announced on October 28 during the annual Connect conference or even sooner, according to the Verge. The outlet compares the looming switch to how Google renamed its parent company Alphabet in 2015 to stress that it is more than a search engine showing its users some ads. Facebook likewise wants to distance itself from its social media origins and highlight its heavy investments in projects like virtual rea…

Mark Gruenberg, Emile Schepers (2021-10-20). Virginia labor: Turnout key to preventing a right-wing gubernatorial victory. peoplesworld.org RICHMOND, Va.—When it comes to the Virginia governor's race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, the theme for both parties might well be "all hands on deck." But the question is whether there will be an enthusiasm gap on Election Day between the two sides. McAuliffe's narrowly leading in opinion polls, in a …

Kevin Mwanza (2021-10-20). What Is Web 3.0? Separating The Hype From The Actual Facts. moguldom.com Web 3.0, the next step of the internet, has no established definition yet on what it is or what it will be because it is still being built. Unlike previous versions of the web, there is no inventor of Web 3.0. It has grown as a collaboration of different individuals and organizations building on top …

_____ (2021-10-20). Labor Unions Band Together To Tackle High Hospital Prices. popularresistance.org The Coalition for Affordable Hospitals launched Friday morning and held a rally in Manhattan's City Hall Park ahead of a City Council hearing on hospital costs. The effort includes nine unions that represent New Yorkers as well as the New York State Council of Churches and PatientRightsAdvocate.org, a nonprofit that promotes transparency in health care prices. The group is pushing legislation in Albany that would give health plans — including those managed by labor unions — more leverage to haggle over the price of health care. | New York City has come to be dominated in recent years by a handful of l…

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2021-10-20). Science Saturday: An inside look at the state-of-the-art supports enabling invention. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Throughout Mayo Clinic, innovation is the thread that weaves through countless initiatives aimed at improving patient care. While Mayo's most cutting-edge discoveries are often widely known, the vast majority of innovative endeavors occur behind the scenes. One of the more low-profile assets in Mayo Clinic Laboratories' innovation arsenal is the media kitchen, where specialized media and reagents used in some of the laboratories' most esoteric assays come to life. "Nationally, there aren't many media labs," says…

Staff (2021-10-20). Striketober: Labor Militancy Grows as U.S. Workers Walk Off the Job & IATSE Members Get Tentative Deal. democracynow.org We begin our coverage of what some are calling "Striketober" with a look at how the union of 60,000 television and film production workers averted a strike just hours before a midnight deadline on Saturday, when it reached a tentative agreement with an association of Hollywood producers representing companies like Walt Disney, Netflix and Amazon. The tentative deal brings members of IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, higher pay, longer breaks, better healthcare and pension benefits. Some members say the deal doesn't go far enough, and about 40,000 members from 13 Hollywood locals mus…

WSWS (2021-10-20). Australian state Labor government accelerates schools' reopening in Melbourne, pandemic epicentre. wsws.org The government is rushing ahead with its reopening plan because it is being guided not by public health calculations but by class calculations.

Staff (2021-10-20). Striketober: Labor Militancy Grows as U.S. Workers Walk Off the Job & IATSE Members Get Tentative Deal. democracynow.org We begin our coverage of what some are calling "Striketober" with a look at how the union of 60,000 television and film production workers averted a strike just hours before a midnight deadline on Saturday, when it reached a tentative agreement with an association of Hollywood producers representing companies like Walt Disney, Netflix and Amazon. The tentative deal brings members of IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, higher pay, longer breaks, better healthcare and pension benefits. Some members say the deal doesn't go far enough, and about 40,000 members from 13 Hollywood locals mus…

WSWS (2021-10-20). Maritime Union of Australia rushes to end industrial action at Qube Ports before government intervention. wsws.org Federal Attorney-General Michaelia Cash threatened to step in to ban industrial action after an appeal from the state Labor government.

Julia Conley (2021-10-20). Sanders Rails Against John Deere Threat to Striking Workers' Health Coverage. truthout.org Sen. Bernie Sanders was among the labor advocates in Congress on Tuesday who condemned reports that farm equipment manufacturer John Deere plans to force 10,000 striking workers and their families off their health insurance plans next week — a punitive measure to coerce the employees into ending their strike over what they say is an unfair contract. | The Vermont independent senator called the company's plan "beyond outrageous," noting that John Deere's profits have gone up by 67% in the…

Brian Wakamo (2021-10-20). 5 Charts on Taxing Wealth to Pay for the Build Back Better Agenda. inequality.org

Sister Karen M. Donahue (2021-10-20). The Hypocrisy of the Federal Spending Debate. otherwords.org Right now, the United States is locked in a contentious debate over the Build Back Better plan, which will make a significant difference in the lives of millions of individuals and families. | Even though the provisions included in the plan — including universal child care, home care for seniors, better Medicare benefits, green jobs, fairer taxes on the wealthy, and more — are supported by majorities across the political spectrum, certain interests are determined to derail this historic legislation. | What I find particularly discouraging and disheartening is the disingenuousness and hypocrisy that su…

Peter Certo (2021-10-20). In OtherWords: October 20, 2021. otherwords.org From the look of things, Democrats are caving to a few conservative members of their caucus and considerably scaling back their plans to create jobs and strengthen America's social safety net. A major sticking point has been the 10-year cost of the package. | But as Sr. Karen Donahue writes this week, the annual cost of the full Build Back Better Act is less than half of our annual spending on the Pentagon, which just got another big budget increase with virtually no debate. Why, she wonders, is federal spending only controversial when it's supposed to help people? | Meanwhile, LeeAnn Hall takes a closer look at…

LeeAnn Hall (2021-10-20). Public Transit, Built Back Better. otherwords.org If you follow the news about President Biden's Build Back Better agenda, you might have heard a lot about its 10-year price tag. But you probably haven't heard much about what it would actually do. | The bill will invest in care for children and seniors, cover more health care under Medicare, make the tax system more fair, and address the climate crisis. Those parts get some coverage, and they're all worth doing. | But there's one key thing that's gotten almost no attention: the bill's historic investment in public transit. This would have a tremendous positive impact on communities across the country. | The ongo…

Monica Cruz (2021-10-20). Puerto Ricans resist austerity measures and corporate corruption. peoplesdispatch.org 5 years after PROMESA was signed into law which established the control of the Fiscal Control Board over the island's economy, conditions in Puerto Rico are worse than ever before…

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2021-10-20). Mayo Clinic celebrates 35 years in Florida. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In the 35 years since its opening, Mayo Clinic in Florida has become one of the premier medical destination centers in the Southeast while garnering the No. 1 spot in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" rankings in Florida and contributing more than $2 billion annually to Florida's economy. In 1986, Mayo Clinic brought its team approach to health care from Rochester, Minnesota, to the Southeast when it opened the clinic…

Tom Crofton (2021-10-20). Supply Chain Blues: Who's Pulling Yours? counterpunch.org We are now witnessing the collapse of a supply chain based on the globalization we were all told would save us money. We'd ship all those low paying jobs away and become a booming service economy. A few facts that demonstrate how this has worked out: The other day there were 76 container ships off

Peter Ulrich (2021-10-20). There is an alternative to maximizing profits. indybay.org In a new encyclical, the Pope denounces the pursuit of profit. The Sonntagszeitung spoke about this with the business ethicist Peter Ulrich. He defends the Holy Father, criticizes the managers and calls for economy for fifth graders… Ultimately, the essence of these products is to make money out of money, without taking the inconvenient detour via the real economy.

WSWS (2021-10-20). "Workers are now being forced to die for the economy"—SEP (Australia) electoral members oppose homicidal reopening agenda. wsws.org "Health and safety must come first. But this can only come from the workforce, not the corporations"

Tom Crofton (2021-10-20). Supply Chain Blues: Who's Pulling Yours? counterpunch.org We are now witnessing the collapse of a supply chain based on the globalization we were all told would save us money. We'd ship all those low paying jobs away and become a booming service economy. A few facts that demonstrate how this has worked out: The other day there were 76 container ships off

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies (2021-10-20). Our Future vs. Neoliberalism. dissidentvoice.org (Photo: Tom Pennington) In country after country around the world, people are rising up to challenge entrenched, failing neoliberal political and economic systems, with mixed but sometimes promising results. Progressive leaders in the U.S. Congress are refusing to back down on the Democrats' promises to American voters to reduce poverty, expand rights to healthcare, education and …

Matt Sedlar (2021-10-20). Eileen Appelbaum's Testimony on "Protecting Companies and Communities from Private Equity Abuse" cepr.net Thank you, Senator Warren, Ranking Member Kennedy, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. I am pleased to be here today, at this important hearing, to discuss how the Stop Wall Street Looting Act will rein in excesses and end abuses by private equity firms, keep American companies strong, and protect the economic vitality of communities. | By way of background, I am currently the Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Prior to joining CEPR, I held academic p…

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies (2021-10-20). Our Future vs. Neoliberalism. dissidentvoice.org (Photo: Tom Pennington) In country after country around the world, people are rising up to challenge entrenched, failing neoliberal political and economic systems, with mixed but sometimes promising results. Progressive leaders in the U.S. Congress are refusing to back down on the Democrats' promises to American voters to reduce poverty, expand rights to healthcare, education and …

Matt Sedlar (2021-10-20). Eileen Appelbaum's Testimony on "Protecting Companies and Communities from Private Equity Abuse" cepr.net Thank you, Senator Warren, Ranking Member Kennedy, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. I am pleased to be here today, at this important hearing, to discuss how the Stop Wall Street Looting Act will rein in excesses and end abuses by private equity firms, keep American companies strong, and protect the economic vitality of communities. | By way of background, I am currently the Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Prior to joining CEPR, I held academic p…

Kevin Mwanza (2021-10-20). NFT Bubble Heats Up: Investors Are Borrowing Against Their NFTs And Defaulting. moguldom.com Investors are borrowing against their non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the market bubble heats up but some are defaulting on their repayments due to the volatility of the new asset class. NFTs are a blockchain-based record of ownership of digital items such as an image or a video. The NFT market is considered a bubble — an economic cycle marked …

Staff (2021-10-20). Fundalatin Submits New Evidence to ICC on Damaging Effects of US Blockade on Venezuela. orinocotribune.com The Latin American Foundation for Human Rights and Social Development (Fundalatin) has submitted to the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) new evidence regarding the economic blockade imposed by the United States on Venezuela and how it is ending the lives of patients with chronic diseases. | Through a post published on Twitter, Fundalatin informed that it has requested the ICC that those responsible for the blockade and its damaging impact be sanctioned for committing crimes against humanity. | Entregamos a la Fiscalía de la Corte Penal Internacional nuevas evidencias de cómo el bloque…

_____ (2021-10-20). Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire With Economist Michael Hudson. strategic-culture.org Economist Michael Hudson discusses the update of his book "Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire" and the financial motivations behind the US new cold war on China and Russia. | By Ben NORTON, Max BLUMENTHAL | Economist Michael Hudson has published a new,

_____ (2021-10-20). Bob Gill Outlines The US Corporate Takeover Of The British NHS. popularresistance.org The British National Health Service (NHS) once stood as an internationally renowned example of a tax-funded health system that delivered public-health services to millions of British citizens, lifting a huge burden from the sick. However, the rise of neoliberal policies in the United Kingdom has targeted the NHS to become the latest victim of a U.S.-U.K. economic trade deal that would put health care services in the hands of private U.S. corporations. | This means that private U.S. healthcare corporations would capitalize on the taxpayer funded budget, "creating private insurance-style funding pools" similar to h…

John Feffer (2021-10-20). Can We Avoid a War with China? fpif.org When he was running for office in 2008, Barack Obama wanted to put an end to the war in Iraq in order to focus U.S. troops and resources on the conflict in Afghanistan. This August, the Biden administration finally withdrew the remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan. It's hard not to get the sense that it has done so in order to perform a similar military pivot—this time toward China. | After all, U.S. policy toward China remains as provocative today as it was under Trump. Tariffs and economic sanctions against Beijing remain largely intact. Little has been done to resolve disputes on trade, security, and h…

Colin Todhunter (2021-10-20). Dystopian "Great Reset": "Own Nothing and Be Happy", Being Human in 2030. globalresearch.ca With foresight, this incisive article by Colin Todhunter was published by Global Research on November 9, 2020 The World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, Switzerland, brings together international business and political leaders, …

Song Yang (2021-10-20). China's road to economic development. indybay.org While we were all enthusiastically looking at Afghanistan and Central Asia, China has built a railway to the border of Myanmar with an access to the Indian Ocean for transiting goods.

Kenneth Surin (2021-10-20). The Trial Of Thomas Sankara's Killers. counterpunch.org Sankara took power in the landlocked West African state of Upper Volta after a coup in 1983, changing the name of the former French colony to Burkina Faso ("the land of upright people" in Mossi, the language of the country's largest ethnic group) the following year. | Sankara's government, using a synthesis of Pan-Africanism and Marxist politics, initiated a string of far-reaching economic and social reforms that included nationalizations, land redistribution, reforestation, infrastructure and public housing construction, expanded access to education, vaccination campaigns, and advancing the rights of women by ba…

Medea Benjamin (2021-10-20). Our Future vs. Neoliberalism. zcomm.org In country after country around the world, people are rising up to challenge entrenched, failing neoliberal political and economic systems, with mixed but sometimes promising results…

_____ (2021-10-20). Klaus Schwab's Marx: A Sorcerer With the Powers of the Netherworld. strategic-culture.org Combining Marxian ideas of historical materialism and technological determinism with fascist-futurist ideas of technocracy and bureaucratic managerial scientism, the World Economic Forum pursues a path of 'inclusivity' for the managerial class elite. | "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." | — The Holy Bible (Luke 16: 13) | "Modern bourgeois society, with its relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of prod…

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