(2020-12-06). Millions of Venezuelans are set to vote today in historic National Assembly elections. peoplesdispatch.org The election for the 277-member National Assembly is vital considering how sections of the legislature were in the forefront of coup attempts against the democratically elected government of Nicolás Maduro…
(2020-12-06). Review of Hensman's 'Indefensible'. zcomm.org Defense of the Easily Defensible By Dave Markland In 2018 Haymarket Books published Rohini Hensman's Indefensible: Democracy, Counter-revolution and Anti-imperialist Rhetoric. Its focus is on left journalists and analysts like John Pilger and the late Edward S. Herman who have committed the inexcusable sin of being overly suspicious of United States foreign policy. Many readers
(2020-12-06). Bryan Cranston is breaking bad in familiar ways for Showtime's dark thriller "Your Honor" salon.com The actor's new Showtime series casts him as a character very much like the one in his old AMC series…
(2020-12-06). Ecuador's Democracy Threatened by Efforts to Exclude Popular Presidential Candidate Andrés Arauz. indybay.org "It is important to understand the goals of the current government in regards to the election. First, they want to stop our presidential ticket from being on the ballot…removing us from the ballot would set a disastrous precedent for all of our Americas," said Andres Arauz, leading candidate for President of the Union for Hope. | Photo credit: @ecuarauz Twitter…
(2020-12-06). Democracy 'Has To Be Defended': It Is Possible and Necessary, Critics Say, To Stop Trump From Running in 2024. commondreams.org "In a society fully committed to democracy, Congress would use this lame-duck period to impeach, convict, and disqualify Donald Trump from pursuing public office in the future, as the Constitution allows." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_georgia2.jpg …
(2020-12-06). Protesting Farmers 'Are Being Misled'. Really? zcomm.org From how the Green Revolution actually harmed farmers from Punjab and Haryana to what needs to be done now, farmers seem pretty well-versed with their agriculture. New farm laws are feared to be leading to a 'corporatisation' of rural India…
(2020-12-05). Thursday 12/10: Nancy Pelosi Support US HR 1175/1162: Drop Charges Against Assange & Snowden. indybay.org Nancy Pelosi's house – contact organizer for details or please show up if you know location…
(2020-12-05). The Road to a More Just Society Runs Through Congress. commondreams.org Think about all the dreams for a better world that could come to be realized if our elected officials worked for the big majority of Americans instead of for Big Business interests. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/congress_5.jpg …
(2020-12-05). US House of Representatives votes to decriminalise cannabis at federal level. thecanary.co The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has approved a bill to decriminalise and tax marijuana in the US at the federal level. | HISTORIC MOMENT: The U.S. House of Representatives just passed the MORE Act to comprehensively reform our federal marijuana laws! | — Marijuana Policy Project (@MarijuanaPolicy) Opponents of the bill mocked Democrats for bringing it up at a time when thousands of Americans are dying from the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. But Democrats said they can work…
(2020-12-05). Biden's Young Hawk: The Case Against Jake Sullivan. popularresistance.org Harry Truman. That's who Jake Sullivan listed as his "political hero/inspiration," in a Time Magazine "40 Under 40" profile. Fed a question so vague that he could've chosen anyone from Cleopatra to Clinton, that Sullivan selected a consummate product of Kansas City's backroom "machine" politics, and liberal hawk exemplar, is more than instructive — it's downright disturbing. "Give 'em Hell" Harry unnecessarily dropped two atomic bombs on babies, and bombastically blundered into a Cold War that nearly ended the world on more than one occasion.
(2020-12-05). Ecuador's Democracy Threatened by Efforts to Exclude Popular Presidential Candidate Andrés. indybay.org "It is important to understand the goals of the current government in regards to the election. First, they want to stop our presidential ticket from being on the ballot…removing us from the ballot would set a disastrous precedent for all of our Americas," said Andres Arauz, leading candidate for President of the Union for Hope. | Photo credit: @ecuarauz Twitter…
(2020-12-05). As Biden Considers Climate Nominations, He Must Go Beyond an Obama-Era Reboot. truthout.org The Biden campaign won on a slogan to "build back better." But when it comes to tackling the climate crisis, the next administration seems to think "better" simply means hitting rewind. The world needs more than an Obama era reboot to be saved from climate chaos. | So far, a bevy of the leading contenders for key climate and energy nominees are holdovers from the Obama administration. The fact that former Secretary of State John Kerry has already been tapped for a key international post [mdas…
(2020-12-05). Iran, Congo discuss expansion of bilateral relations. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 05 (MNA) — The new Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Minister of Industry of the Democratic Republic of Congo conferred on boosting bilateral ties in the field of industry.
(2020-12-05). Journalism Lesson for Ron Elving at NPR's Weekend Edition: You Don't Know What Republican Members of Congress "Think" About Aid to State and Local Governments. cepr.net I'm not sure why it is so hard for reporters to just tell us what politicians say and do, instead of telling us what they think and believe. This may be news for reporters, but politicians don't always believe the things they say. For example, almost 90 percent of the Republicans in Congress will not …
(2020-12-05). Trump Demands Names of 27 Congressional Republicans Who Acknowledged Biden's Victory. commondreams.org Two right-wing lawmakers insist Trump won the election, while 220 GOP members of the House and Senate—roughly 88 percent of congressional Republicans—refuse to say either way. "Send me a list," Trump tweeted, "of the RINOs" who recognize Biden as the winner. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_melania.jpg …
(2020-12-05). Corporations Paying Lawmakers to Outlaw Protest Is a Crime Against Democracy. commondreams.org More communities are standing up to pipelines. The fossil fuel industry wants to make that a felony. We need to push for "Protesters' Bills of Rights" in state legislatures to codify the right to protest. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/line3_protest.jpg …
(2020-12-04). Colonization Fueled Ebola: Dr. Paul Farmer on "Fevers, Feuds & Diamonds" & Lessons from West Africa. democracynow.org 
We continue our conversation with medical anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer, whose new book, "Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds," tells the story of his efforts to fight Ebola in 2014 and how the history of slavery, colonialism and violence in West Africa exacerbated the outbreak. "Care for Ebola is not rocket science," says Dr. Farmer, who notes that doctors know how to treat sick patients. But the public health response was overwhelmingly focused not on care but containment, Dr. Farmer says, which "generated very painful echoes from colonial rule."
(2020-12-04). Dr. Paul Farmer: Centuries of Inequality in the U.S. Laid Groundwork for Pandemic Devastation. democracynow.org 
As the United States sets new records for COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, we speak with one of the world's leading experts on infectious diseases, Dr. Paul Farmer, who says the devastating death toll in the U.S. reflects decades of underinvestment in public health and centuries of social inequality. "All the social pathologies of our nation come to the fore during epidemics," says Dr. Farmer, a professor of medicine at Harvard University, chair of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, and co-founder and chief strategist of Partners in Health.
(2020-12-04). Unity needed to win post-election fights against GOP obstruction. peoplesworld.org 
As a nation, we've arrived at what some call an "inflection" point. We face immense, overlapping, and intersecting economic, social, and inequality crises, as well as a climate emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic intensifies all of them. To address them and the ongoing threat to democracy, the broad and diverse coalition of forces and voting blocs …
(2020-12-04). The Biden Administration's Women's Rights To-Do List. aclu.org Over the past four years, the Trump administration has gone out of its way to launch attacks on women — including in housing, the workplace, and schools. When President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris take office, their administration and Congress must make it a top priority to not just undo the damage, but to push forward an agenda that will ensure everyone has the freedom to live, work, learn, and serve free from discrimination based on sex., , Here are just a few of the many items that should top the Biden administration's to-do list: , , Assure safe and stable housing for women and famili…