Let Everybody Vote, Even If They're Incarcerated
Patrick Stephens | commondreams.org | 2020-12-13
What value is a democracy that actively seeks to silence the voices of its most vulnerable citizens? | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/prison_5_0.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/12/13/let-everybody-vote-even-if-theyre-incarcerated?cd-origin=rss
A Roadmap for the Biden-Harris Administration: Redesigning Farm Systems for the Climate Crisis
Ben Lilliston | commondreams.org | 2020-12-13
A just transition for farming must not only consider reforms to farm policy, but also aligned reforms in financial, trade, environmental, and competition policy. | www.flickr.com/photos/suziesfarm/11438035863…
commondreams.org/views/2020/12/13/roadmap-biden-harris-administration-redesigning-farm-systems-climate-crisis?cd-origin=rss
"Corona Procurements": Tory Corruption Is Eroding UK Democracy
Megan Sherman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-13
The UK's governing Tory party is dishonestly flouting the rules of free and fair competition for Coronavirus related procurements, by unfairly selecting commissions, awarding contracts to class allies instead of the best or cheapest service provider. | The party frequently uses …
globalresearch.ca/tory-corruption-eroding-uk-democracy/5732076
Philippines: Labor movement demands release of Human Rights Day 7
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-12-13
Fight Back News Service is circulating this December 11 joint statement from the Council of Global Unions Philippine affiliates. | PH affiliates of global unions demand release of HRD7, stop arrests of PH unionists | We strongly deplore the simultaneous raids of residences and the consecutive arrests of trade union organizers, Dennise Velasco of Defend Jobs Philippines, Romina Astudillo, Deputy Secretary-General of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Metro Manila, Mark Ryan Cruz, Regional Executive Committee of KMU-Metro Manila, Jaymie Gregorio Jr. of KMU-Metro Manila, Joel Demate of Solidarity of Labor Rights and Welfare (SOLAR)…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/12/12/philippines-labor-movement-demands-release-human-rights-day-7
Go Vote Yourself a Raise, Georgia—You've Long Earned It
Ralph Nader | commondreams.org | 2020-12-12
Candidates should be pushed to say if they stand with the super-rich profiteering, callous Big Business tycoons or with the people who work for pitiful wages, on the rugged frontlines, and keep our society running. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/georgia_primary.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/12/12/go-vote-yourself-raise-georgia-youve-long-earned-it?cd-origin=rss
[Comment] Offline: The coming technocracy
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-12-12
As 2020 draws to a close, one trend among nations most severely hit by COVID-19 bears some discussion. It is that democracies are evolving into technocracies, by which I mean a form of governance where those with political power are appointed on the basis of their scientific expertise. It would be hard to deny that scientists have assumed a role in political decision making unparalleled in recent memory. The French public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy was the first to raise the issue of medical power.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32668-4/fulltext?rss=yes
Biden solidifying a more aggressive neoliberal and militarist administration
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-12
From former war commanders and representatives of the military-industrial complex to Clinton loyalists to oil lobby-funded, the appointments made so far gives us very little change to be expected from the upcoming Biden administration.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/12/biden-solidifying-a-more-aggressive-neoliberal-and-militarist-administration/
Qiao Collective on challenging U.S. aggression on China, the role of the Western left
Qiao Collective | mronline.org | 2020-12-12
On the domestic front, the U.S. propaganda machine mostly works instead to position China as this great, menacing oriental Other. We've seen this during the COVID-19 pandemic in Trump's rhetoric about the "China virus" and in Biden's attempts at one-upmanship.
mronline.org/2020/12/12/qiao-collective-on-challenging-u-s-aggression-on-china-the-role-of-the-western-left/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=qiao-collective-on-challenging-u-s-aggression-on-china-the-role-of-the-western-left
Government study shows taxpayers are subsidizing "starvation wages" at McDonald's, Walmart
Igor Derysh | salon.com | 2020-12-12
Sen. Bernie Sanders called the findings "morally obscene"
salon.com/2020/12/12/government-study-shows-taxpayers-are-subsidizing-starvation-wages-at-mcdonalds-walmart/
Many Workers at Largest Corporations in US Depend on Federal Benefits to Survive
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-12-12
Millions of Americans employed at some of the country's largest companies have had to rely on food stamps and Medicaid, with giants like Walmart and McDonald's employing the most workers whose income is subsidized by taxpayers, according to a new study. | The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, released a study commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., last month based on data provided by 11 states.
truthout.org/articles/many-workers-at-largest-corporations-in-us-depend-on-federal-benefits-to-survive/
Roaming Charges: Negative Creep
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-11
Under Biden we're going to experience four years (if he lasts that long) of negative creep, a steady recrudescence of the same policies–economic, social, environmental and military–which led us to into the very quagmire where nearly all of us are now inexorably sinking.
counterpunch.org/2020/12/11/roaming-charges-9/
Critics Pan Time's Choice of Biden-Harris for 2020 Person of the Year Award
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-12-11
"This is Joe Biden's year. He not only managed to stay alive until the election, he also did other things, presumably." — YouTube creator Shaun…
mintpressnews.com/critics-time-choice-of-joe-biden-kamala-harris-2020-person-of-the-year/273557/
U.S. Recognizes Morocco's Occupation of Western Sahara in Latest Betrayal of Sahrawi People
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-12-11
We continue to examine the U.S.-brokered deal between Morocco and Israel to normalize relations. As part of the deal, the U.S. will become the first country in the world to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, which Morocco has occupied since 1975 in defiance of the international community. We convene a roundtable to discuss developments: Mouloud Said, a representative of the Polisario Front in Washington; Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco; and Sahrawi journalist and activist Nazha El-Khalidi.
www.democracynow.org/2020/12/11/morocco_israel_western_sahara_sahrawi
Andrew Bacevich on Why Retired General and Raytheon Official Lloyd Austin Should Not Head Pentagon
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-12-11
Joe Biden's nominee for defense secretary, retired four-star Army General Lloyd Austin, would make history as the first African American to lead the Pentagon if confirmed by the Senate. But Austin can only be confirmed if he secures a waiver from Congress due to laws designed to preserve the civilian control of the military, and several leading Democratic senators have indicated they would oppose granting a waiver. Andrew Bacevich, president and co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says he shares those concerns. "The general is not a civilian, and it seems to me if we're serious about ci…
www.democracynow.org/2020/12/11/joe_biden_lloyd_austin_pentagon
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Mark Fiore | progressive.org | 2020-12-11
President Trump is trashing democracy on his way out the door and congressional Republicans are complicit.
progressive.org/dispatches/america-second-fiore-201211/
Biden to Mandate Mask Wearing, Mandatory Mass Vaxxing to Follow?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-11
Porous face masks offer no protection from minuscule covid spores. | Extended wearing is potentially hazardous to human health. | Mass vaxxing could be catastrophic if ordered. | Covid is a form of seasonal flu/influenza. | Protection comes from good health habits, including proper …
globalresearch.ca/biden-mandate-mask-wearing-mandatory-mass-vaxxing-follow/5731964
Biden Must Restore Citizenship for Black and Brown People
Manar Waheed | aclu.org | 2020-12-11
President Trump's relentless destruction of our immigration system is well documented. However, the myriad ways in which he attacked and targeted Black and Brown people seeking immigration benefits or citizenship, and even U.S. citizens is less discussed. , , There have been three substantial attacks on citizenship for Black and Brown immigrants: | Indefinite delays of immigration benefits, including citizenship, through the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CARRP), which has targeted Muslims and people from Muslim-majority countries since 2008;Blocking the expedited path to citizenship fo…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/biden-must-restore-citizenship-for-black-and-brown-people
Silencing Black radicalism since the Cold War
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-12-11
Describing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as socialist and accusing them of fomenting disorder in America's urban areas invoked racial disorder for the majority white voters who cast their ballots for an avowed white supremacist.
mronline.org/2020/12/11/silencing-black-radicalism-since-the-cold-war/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=silencing-black-radicalism-since-the-cold-war
What is the United States of America? A Military Democracy
John Stanton | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-11
counterpunch.org/2020/12/11/what-is-the-united-states-of-america-a-military-democracy/
Biden's cabinet picks are a pittance–Representation in the capitalist government is not enough
Claudia De la Cruz | liberationnews.org | 2020-12-11
If we study the political careers of Kamala Harris and Avril Haines we find that these women have consistently made decisions that harm workers…
liberationnews.org/bidens-cabinet-picks-are-a-pittance-representation-in-the-capitalist-government-is-not-enough/
The upcoming battle over US student debt cancellation
Eli J. Campbell | nationofchange.org | 2020-12-11
President-elect Biden will be able to cancel nearly all student debt without congressional approval. If he refuses, organized debtors are preparing to strike.
nationofchange.org/2020/12/11/the-upcoming-battle-over-us-student-debt-cancellation/
My Take on the US Elections: Voting for Corporate Figureheads is not Democracy
Alfred de Zayas | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-11
Interview with Prof. Dr. iur. et phil. Alfred de Zayas, international law expert and former UN mandate holder | *** | Thomas Kaiser: Zeitgeschehen im Fokus Professor de Zayas, you are an American citizen. What do you think about the course of …
globalresearch.ca/take-us-elections-interview-swiss-german-journal-zeitgeschehen-im-fokus/5731907
Thai democracy activists defy escalating repression
Peter Boyle | greenleft.org.au | 2020-12-11
Despite growing number of democracy activists facing charges under Thailand's notorious lèse majesté law, the youth-led movement keeps up its mass mobilisations, reports Peter Boyle.
greenleft.org.au/content/thai-democracy-activists-defy-escalating-repression
2020 National Juneteenth Holiday Bill still in process
US Senate, Senator Johnson Objection | indybay.org | 2020-12-11
Texas Republican Senator Cornyn. As in legislative session, I ask unanimous | consent that the Senate Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. 4019; Juneteenth National Holiday; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/10/18838881.php
Mike Lee becomes lone Republican to block bipartisan bill creating American Women's History Museum
Igor Derysh | salon.com | 2020-12-11
The Utah Republican's move to block the museum comes on the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage…
salon.com/2020/12/11/mike-lee-becomes-lone-republican-to-block-bipartisan-bill-creating-american-womens-history-museum/
Thoughts on the Silence of Republican Lawmakers