(2020-12-17). Push Blue No Matter Who. realprogressives.org This sole focus on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is ridiculous. She's not the only "progressive" in Congress. She can't do anything on her own even if one operates under the woefully absurd assumption that all change must come from within the capital. "The squad" is up to, what, seven members now? I think we can start including other names in our critique. Having said that… | Everyone who defends AOC is guilty of a variety of sins. We don't have any time left for a cult of personality. These people are not heroes. They're not rock stars. We are not supposed to be fans. | We are suffering. | We are dying.
(2020-12-17). Ilhan Omar Says Congress Is "Not Embarrassed Enough" for Failing on COVID Relief. truthout.org With a coronavirus relief deal finally coming together after months of disastrous inaction from Congress and In an interview on "The Me…
(2020-12-17). "The Planet's Problem from Hell": Will Joe Biden Appoint Samantha Power to Head USAID? globalresearch.ca Just when it seemed that Joe Biden's coming administration couldn't be more of ahorror show,
(2020-12-17). Virus deaths, joblessness soar as Senate's ruling Republicans dither. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—New data on both coronavirus deaths and rising numbers of people getting unemployment compensation checks again point up how the U.S. Senate's ruling Republicans are dithering over helping them even as national misery rises. And even if lawmakers finally pass a stripped-down economic aid bill, there will still be a one-week gap, from Dec. 26-Jan. …
(2020-12-17). China's Economy of Peace. dissidentvoice.org 
In the context of China's webinar on 14 December 2020, on the topic of "China's New Development Paradigm and High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation", organized by the China Center for Contemporary World Studies, International Department of CPC Central Committee and the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, my presentation was on China's …
(2020-12-17). Ecuador: Popular Progressive Alliance Wins Election Certification. indybay.org "#ThePresidentialTicketOfHope will be on the ballot on #7thFebruary. Thanks to everyone who was vigilant and mobilized! Thanks for international solidarity! The Ecuadorian people have enforced their right to choose in democracy," tweeted Andrés Arauz, candidate for President for UNES in response to his ticket being given firm certification by the election authorities. | Photo credit: Wikipedia…
(2020-12-17). Saturday 12/19: Let Dairy Die – Protest at Costco. indybay.org Franklin Square Park | 16th St & Bryant St, San Francisco, CA 94110…
(2020-12-17). AOC: Nancy Pelosi Needs to Go, but There's Nobody to Replace Her Yet. zcomm.org "We are currently negotiating to get and work towards real material concessions for the left that can move things into place, to help build power for the next two years"
(2020-12-17). The Votes of Black Americans Should Count Twice. thenation.com The Votes of Black Americans Should Count Twice…
(2020-12-16). Video: Biden's Pyrrhic Election Victory. globalresearch.ca As predicted, the election turned out to be considerably closer than most pundits and polls predicted. In spite of polling that suggested Biden leading Trump by a margin of 5%-15%, in actuality the popular vote margin of victory turned out …
(2020-12-16). Trump Is Prolonging the Civil War in Syria. progressive.org Under the Obama and Trump administrations, the unending war has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. But will Biden be any different?
(2020-12-16). Week of solidarity with Haiti confronts U.S. imperialism. liberationnews.org 
December 16 is the 30th anniversary of the first free and democratic election in Haitian history.
(2020-12-16). Resistance in the face of repression: India's striking farmers share their stories. peoplesworld.org 
DELHI—Across the rows of concrete barricades at the Tikri border blocking the entrance into New Delhi from the neighboring state of Haryana, a stretch of more than ten kilometers of Rohtak Road remains occupied by caravans of tens of thousands of farmers. They have journeyed hundreds of kilometers from different parts of Punjab and Haryana. …
(2020-12-16). Groups Provide Biden With Draft Climate Emergency Order to Help Put Out 'Fire Fanned by Trump'. commondreams.org The president-elect "must take bold action the moment he steps into the Oval Office, without punting to a dysfunctional Congress." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/biden-draft-order-climate-emergency.jpeg …
(2020-12-16). Iran's Rouhani to Biden: We Will Fulfill Our Nuclear Obligations on Day One if You Return to 2015 Deal. globalresearch.ca
(2020-12-16). Jimmy Trending because AOC against Fighting for Medicare for All. dissidentvoice.org  …
(2020-12-16). Civil Rights Groups Urge Biden to Nominate Attorney General Dedicated to 'Bedrock Principle of Equal Justice'. commondreams.org "We need an attorney general… committed to ending discrimination; addressing white supremacy and hate violence; and advancing racial, gender, disability, ethnic, religious, immigrant, and LGBTQ justice." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/black_lives_matter_solidarity.png …
(2020-12-16). 500+ Groups Call on President-Elect Biden To Order Fossil Fuel Lease Ban. counterpunch.org WASHINGTON Hundreds of conservation, Native American, religious, and business groups today sent President-elect Joe Biden text for a proposed executive order to ban new fossil fuel leasing and permitting on federal public lands and waters. "For our health and prosperity, President-elect Biden needs to make transitioning from fossil fuels a number one priority," said Jeremy Nichols, Climate
(2020-12-16). What the US Constitution Specifies about Choosing the New President. dissidentvoice.org Regardless of the traditional bluster about the Founding Fathers and the world historic nature of the US Constitution, the electoral system it set up to choose a new president is far from democratic. We now find Trump attempting to use the Constitution as written to be "re-elected." Those who laud "our great democracy," claiming Trump …
(2020-12-16). As Trump Continues Killing Spree, Pressley Leads Call for Biden to Immediately Abolish Death Penalty. commondreams.org "Your historic election with record turnout represents a national mandate to make meaningful progress in reforming our unjust and inhumane criminal legal system," wrote the lawmakers to Biden. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1228243173_1.jpg …
(2020-12-16). 350.org Responds to Biden's Selection of Brenda Mallory to lead White House Council on Environmental Quality. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-12-16). A Notable Death in 2020: American Democracy. commondreams.org America has two political parties. When one no longer believes in counting the votes, it's not a democracy. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/steal.jpg …
(2020-12-16). Democrats Make Wreck Of Covid-19 Relief Negotiations. popularresistance.org A senior Democratic congressional aide is irate tonight. | "The Democrats," the aide seethed, "have just done the worst negotiating in modern history." | At issue: a pair of new Covid-19 relief bills, just submitted by a bipartisan group of Senators. Republican Senator Susan Collins gushed that a"Christmas Miracle" allowed the two parties came together on the twin bills, which the press describes as totaling $748 billion and $160 billion, respectively. "Bipartisanship and compromise is [sic] alive and well in Washington," clucked West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin. | It sure is. With the election over, the Democr…
(2020-12-16). Top US House Foreign Affairs Lawmakers Accuse Turkey of Undermining NATO. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) – The chairman and ranking Republican on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee urged other NATO nations to join the US in demanding in a press release that Ankara halt actions that damage the Western alliance.
(2020-12-15). The Most Lethal Virus is Not COVID. It is War. counterpunch.org 
In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Boris Johnson has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defence spending — a figure that would restore the under-resourced NHS many times over.
(2020-12-15). Bolivia: Electoral Fraud Case Against Ex-President Morales Voided. telesurenglish.net A Bolivian court Monday overturned the case filled by de facto authorities against former President Evo Morales (2006-2019), former Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, and other ex-ministers for alleged electoral fraud during the elections held in October last year. | RELATED: | The decision was approved by judge Claudia Castro who pointed out that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) failed to determine the occurrence of fraud in the 2019 presidentia…
(2020-12-15). Brexit Bluster Exposes the Waning of English Power. counterpunch.org 
I met pleased and gloomy people in the first half of last year when I travelled around the UK writing about the potential impact of Brexit. But by far the happiest of those I interviewed were veteran Irish republicans in Belfast, mostly present or past members of Sinn Fein, who had devoted their lives to
(2020-12-15). Frederick Wiseman's 'City Hall': Let us now praise democracy. peoplesworld.org 
Director Frederick Wiseman has gifted us with a movie for our times. City Hall is all about democracy—how it works, who does it, and why it is so vital. In a time of authoritarian challenges, it could not be more important. Wiseman's documentary is a brilliant mosaic. He pieces together the work of civil servants …
(2020-12-15). The Heat: U.S. politics and COVID-19. america.cgtn.com 
The Electoral College votes to confirm the next president of the United States. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 deaths passes 300,000 in the U.S. as the first vaccinations begin. Nearly six weeks after Americans cast their ballots to elect Joe Biden as the next president, …
(2020-12-15). Trump Still Contesting Stolen Election 2020. globalresearch.ca "We wuz robbed" applies to US Election 2020 — decided by brazen fraud for losers Biden/Harris over winner Trump. | An illegitimate process prevailed over an open, free and fair one — the latter prohibited in all US federal elections for …
(2020-12-15). Rouhani Tells Biden How to Get the Iran Deal Back on Track. scheerpost.com Asia Society / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Iranian president Hassan Rouhani was asked Tuesday in an interview with a state-owned news outlet under what conditions Iran would return to the 2015 nuclear deal with the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5), including the U.S., plus Germany (+1) He replied, "A thing we are saying today is that if tomorrow morning the… |
(2020-12-15). Biden Can End the Mass Detention of Immigrants. aclu.org This piece was originally published in
(2020-12-15). Regardless of Who Occupies the White House, The Decadent Trajectory of Neoliberalism Continues. globalresearch.ca November 3rd has passed and slightly more than a third of the eligible electorate chose the Democrat, slightly less than a third the Republican, and the remaining third chose none of the above by either not voting or casting …
(2020-12-15). Biden and the JCPOA: Lessons from Arab and Iranian Public Opinion. globalresearch.ca With Joe Biden as President-elect and Donald Trump soon leaving the White House, analysts are engaging in endless speculation about what this change in administrations will mean for the future of the JCPOA, the "nuclear deal" negotiated between the P5+1 …
(2020-12-15). That Wall Street Journal op-ed about Dr. Jill Biden isn't just sexist — it's classist, too. salon.com There's nothing "unpromising" about caring for community college students. Prestige-chasing is drowning us in debt…
(2020-12-15). Serenade Behind a Floating Stage. thenation.com Serenade Behind a Floating Stage…
(2020-12-14). Germany Unlikely to Pursue Independent Foreign Policy. Will Follow Biden. globalresearch.ca
(2020-12-14). Borrel says EU should find ways to return US to JCPOA. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 14 (MNA) — The European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, says the bloc should find a way with the Biden administration to return the US to its commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
(2020-12-12). [Comment] Offline: The coming technocracy. thelancet.com 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.