(2021-10-01). Biden signs last-minute stopgap funding bill, averting government shutdown. ecns.cn The Congressional approval of the bill came after days of partisan fights over a debt limit provision, as Democrats had intended to incorporate a suspension of the debt limit into the short-term government spending bill, a move opposed by Republicans.
(2021-10-01). For America's Sake, We Can't Afford to Cut $3.5 Trillion Spending Plan. zcomm.org This reconciliation bill is being opposed by every Republican in Congress as well as the drug companies, the insurance companies, the fossil fuel industry and the billionaire class…
(2021-10-01). Tone Deaf: Obama, Biden, AOC and the Swiss Purchase of F-35s. counterpunch.org The dictionary defines tone deaf as "having or showing an obtuse insensitivity or lack of perception particularly in matters of public sentiment, opinion, or taste." Four recent examples fit the definition perfectly: Obama's 60th birthday party; President Biden's jilting the French with a surprise submarine deal with Britain and Australia; AOC's attending the posh Met
(2021-10-01). Dozens of activists, Cubans in Miami rally against Cuban blockade. fightbacknews.org Miami, FL – In the morning hours of Sunday, September 26, roughly 60 protesters gathered outside of Miami City Hall as part of a National Day of Action to demand President Biden end the decades-long blockade of Cuba. The national call was put out by the Cuban solidarity organization Puentes de Amor (Bridges of Love) and was attended locally by Cuban Americans, anti-war activists and community members. | Protesters met outside of the city hall building, holding a large banner that read, "Abajo el bloqueo," and chanting, "Puentes de amor" and "Biden, end the embargo!" They also listened to a lineup of speakers out…
(2021-10-01). U.S. Congressional Support for More War spending and AUKUS Anti-China Pact Exposes Cynicism of Biden's UN Speech Calling for More Diplomacy. dissidentvoice.org In the same week that Biden delivered a speech at the United Nations where he argued that force had to be "our tool of last resort, not our first," and that "many of our greatest concerns cannot be solved or even addressed by the force of arms," the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), that represented …
(2021-10-01). Biden and Trump's United States of Chaos. counterpunch.org Rarely a week seemed to go by during the Trump years when the sky wasn't falling. The cable news already has a tendency of covering every single day like it could be the last, but this was different. Even powerful people seemed legitimately confused and nobody seemed to know what the fuck was going on.
(2021-10-01). Roaming Charges: The Dirtiest Word of All. counterpunch.org There are, of course, quieter ways to kill than in a gun battle on the streets of London and Biden, no less eager to claim Julian Assange's head than Trump, seems to have settled on a more insidious method: allowing Assange to waste away in the dark chambers of a prison, whether in Belmarsh, where he is now confined, or, if extradited, in some even more austere Supermax in the American outback.
(2021-10-01). Inside the CIA plot to kidnap, kill Julian Assange. thegrayzone.com As the Biden administration continues to seek the extradition of Julian Assange, new details have emerged about the Trump administration's secret CIA-led war against Assange and his organization, Wikileaks. Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News discusses on Pushback. Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News discusses his team's reporting on the CIA plot to surveil, kidnap, and even kill Assange — all overseen by Michael Pompeo. In response, Pompeo has called for the prosecution of all the sources involved. The story builds on …
(2021-10-01). Headlines for October 1, 2021. democracynow.org Congress Extends Gov't Funding as Pelosi Delays House Infrastructure Vote Amid Democratic Split, Court Allows Biden to Continue Mass Expulsions Without Due Process Under Title 42, Merck Applies for Emergency Use of Antiviral Drug That Could Halve Number of Severe COVID Cases, Rep. Cori Bush Opens Up About Having an Abortion After Rape as House Members Share Abortion Stories, Over 50% of Police Killings Go Unreported, Police Kill Black People at 3.5x Higher Rate Than Whites, Protesters Demand Accountability After Officials Suspend Probe into 2020 Beirut Port Blast, Salvadorans Protest New Cryptocurrency, Power Gra…
(2021-10-01). Nearly 50,000 Medicare Patients Died Soon after Getting COVID Shot: Whistleblower. globalresearch.ca
(2021-10-01). How the "Polarized" Political Parties Work Together Against the Public Interest. counterpunch.org "Polarization" is the word most associated with the positions of the Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The mass media and the commentators never tire of this focus, in part because such clashes create the flashes conducive to daily coverage. The quiet harmony between the two parties created by the omnipresent power of Big Business and
(2021-10-01). Was the G.I. Bill of Rights a Safety Net Bill? Talking About the Democrats' Big Bill. cepr.net It is unlikely that many reporters at the time described the GI Bill of Rights as a "safety net" plan. They shouldn't describe the Democrats' package this way either.
(2021-10-01). SEP electoral members denounce Australia's anti-democratic laws: "We need a political voice for the working class" wsws.org "The numerous inequalities that are currently acceptable must be challenged and overturned. The SEP is the future," said a former Labor Party member.
(2021-10-01). German Elections: a Rough Loss and a Triumph. counterpunch.org Germany's long election campaign, full of ups and downs, marked the end of 16 more or less placid years with Angela Merkel, 67, and her Christian double party, known as the "Union" (its Bavarian component stays somewhat separate). Until now it had joined up with the Social Democrats (SPD) as increasingly uncomfortable junior partners. But
(2021-10-01). Corporate Media Myths About the Chaos on Capitol Hill. counterpunch.org If you get your news about politics from corporate media, you're getting myths from journalists and pundits instead of clarity. At Thursday's boisterous news conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a reporter used the phrase "the two biggest spending bills of this Congress" to describe the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIF) and the Democrat-only Build Back
(2021-10-01). Media Attacked, Journalists Murdered: Democracy Eroded. counterpunch.org The media occupies a crucial space within all societies. It always has, but in an uncertain age, dominated by social media with its proliferation of opinions and "facts", and the trend towards increasingly polarized, controlling governments, it is more important than ever. In order to serve the interests and needs of the people, media organizations
(2021-10-01). The defense of abortion rights requires a struggle against capitalism. wsws.org The working class cannot rely on the capitalist Democratic Party to defend its democratic rights.
(2021-10-01). Colleagues of Michael Ratner Blast Samuel Moyn's Claim That He Helped Sanitize the "War on Terror" democracynow.org 
Friends and relatives of the late radical attorney Michael Ratner respond to the recent controversy over Yale University professor Samuel Moyn's claim that Ratner "prioritized making the war on terror humane" by using the courts to challenge the military's holding of prisoners at Guantánamo. Ratner's longtime colleagues blast Moyn for failing to recognize how the late attorney had dedicated his life to fighting war and U.S. imperialism. "Michael opposed war with every fiber of his being in every medium he had access to: the courtroom, the classroom, in the media," says Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for…
(2021-10-01). Don't Pursue War, Pursue War Crimes: Michael Ratner's Decades-Long Battle to Close Guantánamo. democracynow.org 
We look at the life and legacy of the late Michael Ratner, the trailblazing human rights lawyer and former president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, with three people who knew him well: Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights; Vince Warren, the organization's executive director; and Lizzy Ratner, Ratner's niece and a senior editor at The Nation magazine. Michael Ratner spent decades opposing government abuse and fought to close the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, first in the 1990s when it was used to hold thousands of Haitian asylum seeke…
(2021-10-01). No consequences for political misdeeds. asiatimes.com 
One of the more fascinating things about Donald Trump's tenure in the White House is that those four years of outrage, tumult, and perpetual prevarication made us forget just how awful the previous Republican administration had been. While the media was busy amplifying and kvetching over Trump's non-stop effrontery, the memory of the damage that …
(2021-10-01). Tuesday 11/9: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz with Steve Wasserman: Not a Nation of Immigrants. indybay.org Online webinar…
(2021-09-30). Top Cuban Diplomat Speaks To The Grayzone About Renewed US Assault. popularresistance.org Anya Parampil: Director General Carlos de Cossio, thank you so much for speaking with me this afternoon. President Miguel Díaz-Canel just gave an address before the UN General Assembly, in which he denounced what he described as US attempts to reinstate a Monroe Doctrine policy. This was a policy explicitly articulated by Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton, when he famously declared the Monroe Doctrine is back. Yet is Biden actually continuing this policy? | Carlos De Cossio: The Biden administration has not said a word that we know about it. But in practical terms, what we see of the Biden government…
(2021-09-30). Sinema's sabotage of Build Back Better agenda blasted in Arizona. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—With Democratic President Joe Biden's Build Back Better progressive agenda hanging in the balance in Congress, D.C.'s attention has focused on one of the two key and openly hostile Senate Democrats, West Virginian Joe Manchin. The other, Arizonan Krysten Sinema, is now emerging, however, as likely the biggest threat to the president's agenda. Corporate donors …
(2021-09-30). Biden Admin Denies Entry To Chartered Rescue Flight Carrying American Citizens & Afghans. southfront.org 
Illustrative Image | Originally published on A nonprofit organized by a loose network of veterans and current service members to help evacuate vulnerable Americans and Afghans from Kabul is seeing a chartered flight with more than 100 Americans and green-card holders being denied entry to the US by the Department of Homeland Security, according to a Reuters report. | Bryan Stern, a founder of non-profit group Project Dynamo, which organized the flight, told Reuters d…
(2021-09-30). Pentagon Leaders Told Senators US in Talks to Use Russian Bases for Afghan Ops – Reports. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley told lawmakers in a classified briefing that the Biden administration is in talks about using Russian bases in Central Asia to conduct counterterrorism missions against targets in Afghanistan, Politico reported on Wednesday.
(2021-09-30). Biden administration reverses rule that gutted protections for migratory birds. nationofchange.org The "now-defunct rule" will continue to protect birds from incidental take and other activities specifically intended to kill birds.
(2021-09-30). Sanders to House Progressives: Hold Strong or Senate Will Tank Biden's Agenda. zcomm.org Dozens of Progressive Caucus members remain steadfastly opposed to a bipartisan infrastructure bill unless paired with a more expansive reconciliation package…
(2021-09-30). Headlines for September 30, 2021. democracynow.org As Government Shutdown Looms, Biden's Legislative Agenda Hangs in the Balance, Second Alaska Hospital to Ration Care Amid Surge in Unvaccinated COVID Patients, YouTube to Ban Anti-Vaccine Misinformation, CDC Urges Pregnant People to Get Vaccinated, Protesters Target Moderna CEO and Top Biden Aide, Demanding Vaccine Equity , U.N. Warns Tigray Blockade Leading to Famine, Dire Medical Shortages for Millions, Pentagon Knew U.S. Drone Strike in Kabul Missed Target, Hit Civilians Weeks Before Public Admission, Ecuador Prison Riot Claims 116 Lives , North Korea Says It Tested New Hypersonic Missile, La Palma Residents L…
(2021-09-30). Rich countries prolong the pandemic: what Biden must do. mronline.org 
Most rich countries have opposed most developing countries' request to temporarily suspend World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property (IP) rules to more quickly contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Expectations were high as Biden had supported a patent waiver, albeit only for vaccines.
(2021-09-30). Biden Administration to Issue New Memo to Terminate Trump-Era Remain in Mexico Policy. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release it will issue a new memorandum to terminate the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols after a Texas judge ordered the federal government to reinstate the rule, which required asylum-seeking migrants to stay in Mexico while awaiting court proceedings.
(2021-09-30). When Will the US Break Free from the Clutches of Its Grifters? counterpunch.org Trump just unleashed an unhinged, barely coherent rant about the possibility President Biden might reveal what was going on in the White House on January 6th, the day Trump tried to finally end, once and for all, any possibility of governmental oversight of his ongoing criminal career. He believed he could follow in the footsteps
(2021-09-30). Erdogan accuses senior Biden official Brett McGurk of 'supporting terrorism'. middleeasteye.net 
Erdogan accuses senior Biden official Brett McGurk of 'supporting terrorism' | Turkish president claims White House official is working hand-in-hand with groups such as the outlawed PKK | Thu, 09/30/2021 – 11: 55 | McGurk raised eyebrows in Turkey after accepting an award from a YPG commander in early 2016 (AFP) | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has directly accused a senior Biden administration o…
(2021-09-30). New Biden Rules Would Limit Arrest, Deportation of Migrants. latinorebels.com WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bipartisan criticism over its approach to immigration, the Biden administration on Thursday announced new rules that require authorities to only pursue migrants who recently crossed into the country without permission or are deemed to pose a threat to public safety.
(2021-09-30). Borders, Blackness, and Empire. orinocotribune.com By Jemima Pierre — Sep 22, 2021 | It took two days. It took two days for the United States government to deport more than 6,000 asylum seekers to Haiti. Almost 15,000 people, all presumably Haitian, have been encamped on the banks of the Rio Grande River between Del Rio, Texas and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. On September 18, the mainstream media of the US proclaimed a border "crisis" with "Haitian migrants" flooding the border; by September 20, the Biden administration moved to get rid of them, deploying hundreds of Homeland Security agents, supported by both the US Coast Guard and the Department of Defense. "This…
(2021-09-30). US-Palestine: Biden snubbed meeting with Abbas at UN, says report. middleeasteye.net 
US-Palestine: Biden snubbed meeting with Abbas at UN, says report | White House denied a request from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet on the sidelines of UN General Assembly or in Washington afterwards, Axios reports | Thu, 09/30/2021 – 13: 35 | US President Joe Biden rejected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' request despite holding three bilateral meetings with other countries participating in…
(2021-09-30). AUKUS makes workers pay for war with China. mronline.org 
We are witnessing an aggressive build-up by the U.S. and its allies for a confrontation with China. The Biden administration is making massive upgrades to the US's military capacity, and sharply reorienting it to focus on China.
(2021-09-30). Biden's Vax Mandate to be Enforced by Fining Companies $70,000 to $700,000? globalresearch.ca
(2021-09-30). OPINION: Without In-Home Care, I Don't Know How I'll Continue Caring for My Grandmother. latinorebels.com President Biden's proposal for home care would invest billions into the home- and community-based care industry to raise caregivers' wages, improve training, and increase the supply of caregivers.
(2021-09-30). Schumer Announces Deal Reached With GOP Senators to Fund Government Through Dec. truthout.org 
On Wednesday evening, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) announced that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate had reached a deal to avert a government shutdown this week. | On Monday,
(2021-09-30). Save Build Back Better Act from corporate Democrats holding it hostage. peoplesworld.org 
In the name of protecting corporations and billionaires from fair taxes, two corporate Democrats are holding the fate of America's families—from seniors to children—in their hands. The budget reconciliation bill now being held hostage by Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema would make it possible for every kid in the United States to go to pre-school. …
(2021-09-30). $21 trillion for 20 years of war: But no money for human infrastructure? peoplesworld.org 
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has spent a mindboggling $21 trillion on foreign and domestic militarization. Meanwhile, the entire Republican Party and a handful of centrist Democrats are trying to block or whittle down a $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill that covers the next ten years because, they say, the nation can't afford it. …
(2021-09-30). New Chapter in Stormy 21N Opposition Electoral Battle: Lara State (Marquina vs. Florido). orinocotribune.com 
A new chapter was written this week in the turbulent chronicle of frequent clashes between factions of the Venezuelan opposition. The most recent tensions occurred in the ongoing competition for nominations to the candidacy of governorships and mayoralties among right-wing politicians, this time in Lara state. | The spat involved Alfonso Marquina and Luis Florido, as the former expressed his annoyance on social media networks at what he considered the imposition of the latter by the self-styled Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), which brings together several opposition parties. … Yo pedí una explicación y rec…
(2021-09-30). Seize Big Pharma: Nationalize and Internationalize All Medicine! liberationnews.org 
As part of the proposed social spending budget, Congress is considering a measure to negotiate hundreds of billions of dollars of savings on prescriptions covered by Medicare. This would fund major expansions to Medicaid and Medicare services, but right-wing Democrats backed by big pharma are doing everything they can to block it.
(2021-09-30). Democratic Congresswomen Testify About Their Personal Abortion Stories. truthout.org 
Reproductive rights advocates on Thursday expressed gratitude to three Democratic congresswomen ahead of their testimonies at a House Oversight Committee hearing on protecting abortion access, as Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) planned to share their own personal stories of obtaining abortion care. | "Thank you for your vulnerability to advance justice,"
(2021-09-30). Congressional Armed Services committee hearings skirt January 6 coup attempt. wsws.org In the first public hearings in which Gen. Mark Milley has testified under oath since the publication of books detailing his fears that Trump would stage a fascistic coup, both Democrats and Republicans skirted the issue.
(2021-09-30). Progressives Stand United on Holding Democrats to Infrastructure Promises. truthout.org 
The progressive activists in the stands at Wednesday night's congressional baseball game held up a series of banners, one of which said "Dems Don't Fuck This Up," and another that read "Our Lives Are a Game: Pass $3.5T." A third banner declared: "Reconciliation First / Hold the Line." | While the Democrats went on to lose the charity game to their Republican opponents, the messaging from the crowd mirrored the overnight blitz of messaging ahead of a still uncertain vote in the House tentatively…
(2021-09-30). It's What the Babies Eat: Inflammatory Capitalism in Mush. dissidentvoice.org 
Again, you can't shuttle through the headlines, the so-called news, without having spasms and fits. You will not get journalists doing shit to really go after the capitalists, uh? Baby food. And these transnational Wall Street thieves, these stockholding companies, not even a slap on the wrist. So, if I as an unjabbed person goes …
(2021-09-30). The Media Myth of 'Once Prosperous' and Democratic Venezuela Before Chávez. zcomm.org The following piece is adapted from the authors' new book, Extraordinary Threat: The US Empire, the Media and 20 Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela, published by Monthly Review Press.
(2021-09-30). Missing White Woman Syndrome: Media Obsess Over Some Cases as Black, Brown & Indigenous Women Ignored. democracynow.org 
Wall-to-wall coverage of the case of Gabby Petito — a 22-year-old white woman and blogger who went missing while traveling with her fiancé Brian Laundrie and whose remains were found in a national park in Wyoming — has renewed attention on what some call "missing white woman syndrome," the media's inordinate focus on white female victims and the disparity in coverage for women of color. We host a roundtable discussion with Amara Cofer, host and executive producer of the podcast "Black Girl Gone"; Mary Kathryn Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lawyer focused on tribal sovereignty; and Melissa…
(2021-09-30). Europe After Angela Merkel: Is the Atlantic Era Over. strategic-culture.org James W. CARDEN | Just what shape Germany's governing coalition will take is still unclear in the aftermath of the September 26 election, which saw the Social Democrats (SPD), led by finance minister Olaf Scholz, come away with just over a quarter of the The o…
(2021-09-30). In Anti-Reconciliation Blitz, Exxon Spent $275,000 on Facebook Ads in One Week. truthout.org 
Oil giant ExxonMobil is pouring millions into Facebook advertisement purchases in a wider lobbying effort against the Democrats' reconciliation bill, which is slated to include a corporate tax raise and proposals to address the climate crisis. | As of Thursday,
(2021-09-30). "A Moral Crisis": Reverend William Barber on Why Congress Must Pass $3.5 Trillion Bill. democracynow.org 
Activists continue to call on Democratic leaders to pass the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, which expands the social safety net and includes measures to address the climate crisis. Progressives remain resolute in their opposition to passing a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill unless it is paired with the larger package. The Build Back Better Act represents "economic investment in the lives of poor and low-wealth people in this country," says Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. "The question here is not 'What will it cost if we do this?' What will it cost if we don't do…
(2021-09-30). DRC receives a batch of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines. ecns.cn The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday received a batch of Chinese Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines offered by the Chinese government at the N'djili Airport in the capital city Kinshasa.
(2021-09-30). Video: Internationally acclaimed model Andreja Pejic discusses Australia's anti-democratic electoral laws. wsws.org "We deserve to have a revolutionary movement that lifts the world out of the dark ages."
(2021-09-30). Marc Lamont Hill: I Am Recovering From A Mild Heart Attack. moguldom.com Marc Lamont Hill — award-winning journalist, author, activist, academic and media personality — said he was home recovering after being hospitalized due to suffering a mild heart attack. Hill made the announcement about his medical condition on Instagram, Wednesday, Sept. 29, along with a photo of himself in a hospital bed. "I am home and …
(2021-09-30). Is the US Global Empire Actually in Decline? Part 3. orinocotribune.com By Stansfield Smith and Roger D. Harris — Sep 25, 2021 | PART 4: THE WORLD IF THE US WERE IN DECLINE | Revolutions on the International Stage | A weakened US imperialism would encourage peoples and nations to "seize the time" and score significant gains against this overlord's hold on their countries. Yet since shortly after 1975, with the victories in Vietnam and Laos, a drought in socialist revolutions has persisted for almost half a century. If the US empire were in decline, we would find it handicapped in countering victorious socialist revolutions. However, the opposite has been the case, with the US ru…
(2021-09-30). YouTube Censorship Police Ban Covid Vaccine Skeptics Including RFK Jr. moguldom.com YouTube censorship is increasing as the company announced plans to ban more anti-vaccine content, including the channels of prominent anti-vaxxers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Joseph Mercola. Google-owned YouTube announced on Wednesday, Sept. 29 that it was "expanding our medical misinformation policies" in a blog post titled, "Managing harmful vaccine content on YouTube." The policy …
(2021-09-30). US default is global economy's ticking time bomb. asiatimes.com 
TOKYO — In July, Fitch Ratings analyst Charles Seville put out a rather perfunctory report on how the US Congress might handle America's credit rating. Like most, he assumed lawmakers would be prudent. He spelled out, though, what might transpire if Republicans acted as irresponsibly as they did in 2011, back when Standard & Poor's …
(2021-09-30). Out of the shadows: female Leninists and Russian socialism. mronline.org 
In 1922, the great radical journalist Louise Bryant observed that Lenin drew great strength from the women close to him. Her observation contrasts sharply with the exploitative Lenin who has come to dominate historical studies and biographies.
(2021-09-30). The Hidden Hunger in Morocco. libya360.wordpress.com Madaar An Informal housing settlement in Karyan Touma, Ain Sebaa, Casablanca. It is very hot during the summer and floods in the winter. Photo: Madaar While official statistics suggest the North African country does not suffer with hunger, the reality is a different story covered up by lack of reliable data and social stigma Hunger…