(2021-10-28). Tariq Ali: WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Must Not Be Extradited for Exposing War Crimes in Afghanistan. democracynow.org 
As an appeals court in London is deciding whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to the United States for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes, we go to London to speak with British writer and activist Tariq Ali. Assange faces up to 175 years in prison in the U.S. under the Espionage Act for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ali calls the case "a political trial" and a "punitive attempt by the British government … to try and punish Julian on behalf of the United States." We also discuss the significance of Wiki…
(2021-10-28). China Blasts US-Taiwan Military Contacts After President Tsai Confirms American Presence on Island. sputniknews.com Tensions over the Taiwan issue have escalated over the past month, as Beijing deployed around 150 military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence zone for drills. In the meantime, Taipei has warned that mainland China may be fully prepared to attack the island by 2025, while US President Joe Biden pledged to defend Taiwan from Beijing, if necessary.
(2021-10-28). Democrats abandon plans to tax corporations and the wealthy. wsws.org The collapse of various tax plans demonstrates the absolute power of the financial aristocracy over Congress and the White House.
(2021-10-28). Headlines for October 28, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Set to Announce "Framework" for Revised Social Spending and Climate Bill, Iran to Rejoin Talks to Restore Nuclear Deal Abandoned by Trump, Top U.S. General Compares Chinese Hypersonic Missile Test to "Sputnik Moment", U.S. Voices Rare Criticism as Israel Announces Plans to Further Expand Illegal Settlements, COVID-19 Sickened Nearly 60,000 Meat Industry Workers During Pandemic's First Year, Inexpensive Antidepressant Fluvoxamine Shows Promise as COVID-19 Therapeutic, Merck to Allow Generic Manufacturing of Pill That Reportedly Can Cut COVID-19 Deaths by Half, Nor'easter Rips Through New England, Cutting Pow…
(2021-10-28). Taiwan's President Admits U.S. Trainers Present As She Claims "Threat From China" Increasing Every Single Day. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On October 27th, Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen gave an exclusive interview to CNN, saying that the "threat from China" is increasing every single day. | She also admitted that US military trainers are present on the island. | "Here is this island of 23 million people trying hard every day to protect ourselves and protect our democracy and making sure that our people have the kind of freedom they deserve," she said. | "If we fail, then that means people that believe in these values wou…
(2021-10-28). Texas Senate Committee Investigates School Libraries' Books on Racism and Sexuality. sputniknews.com The news has caused anger and indignation among Democratic lawmakers as well as teachers, who accused the committee of attempting to whitewash US history and censor the voices of people of colour. The probe comes a month after the Lone Star State passed legislation that restricts how teachers can discuss racism in schools.
(2021-10-28). Why is the pseudo-left silent on Australia's anti-democratic electoral laws? wsws.org The pseudo-lefts have mounted no campaign because they are tied by a thousand threads to the very political establishment that the anti-democratic electoral laws seek to defend.
(2021-10-28). Vaccine Inequity: Meet the Doctor Refusing a Booster as Rich Nations Get 16x More Doses Than Poor. democracynow.org 
Wealthy nations have received over 16 times more COVID-19 vaccines per person than poorer nations dependent on the COVAX program backed by the World Health Organization, according to a new Financial Times analysis. COVAX, which was set up to ensure global equitable access to vaccines, has delivered only 400 million doses after promising 1.4 billion this year. Higher-income countries struck separate vaccine deals with manufacturers, leaving COVAX with less negotiating power. While the United States rolls out booster shots and stockpiles six vaccines per person, less than 3% of people in low-income countries have r…
(2021-10-28). South Korean KCTU union confederation holds phony general strike. wsws.org The KCTU rally last week was designed to limit the impact on big business while serving as a safety value for the anger of workers and directing them behind the Democratic Party.
(2021-10-27). Hunger Striker Out of Hospital Demands Biden Keep All Climate Provisions in Build Back Better Plan. democracynow.org 
We speak with one of the group of five climate activists who have entered their eighth day of hunger strike demanding President Biden pass the full $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan to combat the climate crisis and expand the U.S. social safety net. The climate programs drafted in the bill face opposition from Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who has made millions of dollars from coal companies in his home state of West Virginia since taking office. "I'm on hunger strike for my family and my future and the promises that the president made to young people who put him in…
(2021-10-27). America as Tax Haven: It's Becoming Part of US Foreign Policy. cepr.net Opening up the shell companies of Latin America's oligarch politicians in the United States would match Biden's well-received words with concrete action.
(2021-10-27). Jerusalem's "Liveliest Parties": Has Biden Proved Different from Trump on Palestine? dissidentvoice.org 
When Joe Biden was declared the winner in the US elections last November, expectations in Ramallah were high. A Biden Administration, compared to the brazenly pro-Israel Trump Administration, would surely be much fairer to Palestinians, was the conventional wisdom at the time. Hence, unsurprisingly, Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, was among the first …
(2021-10-27). Biden administration steps up war threats against Iran. wsws.org Washington's special envoy for Iran warned Monday that if diplomacy fails, the US will "use other tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."
(2021-10-27). Headlines for October 27, 2021. democracynow.org U.N.'s Guterres Warns World on Track for Climate Catastrophe, Even with Gov't Pledges Ahead of COP26, Brazilian Senators Back Report Accusing Bolsonaro of Crimes Against Humanity for Pandemic Response, Deborah Birx Says 130,000 Lives Could Have Been Saved, But Trump Admin "Distracted" by Election, FDA Panel Recommends Pfizer Vaccine for Children Aged 5-11; Moderna to Sell 110M Vaccines to African Countries, Afghanistan Heading Toward Collapse as Half the Country Faces Acute Food Insecurity, Four People, Including 3 Children, Drown Off Greek Coast, Dozens Arrested as Protesters in Ecuador Condemn Fuel Price Hike,…
(2021-10-27). Right-wing LDP expected to maintain majority in upcoming Japanese election. wsws.org The likely victory of the Liberal Democratic Party is not an endorsement of their policies but stems from the political bankruptcy of the "progressive" bloc in Japan.
(2021-10-27). Bad Economic News: Reality Trumps Capital-Centered Anticonsciousness. dissidentvoice.org 
For months, the ruling elite at home and abroad have used their media to incessantly repeat the nonsense that economies around the world are doing very well and rebounding nicely. Endless headlines from around the globe screamed wantonly about how economies everywhere were breaking all kinds of growth records and that everything looked bright and …
(2021-10-27). Major media black out Rolling Stone report on role of Trump aides, Republican lawmakers in January 6 coup. wsws.org The wall of silence on the part of the major media outlets and top Democratic leaders remains intact.
(2021-10-27). "No Way Out": Taxi Drivers, Allies Enter 2nd Week of Hunger Strike Against Crushing Medallion Debt. democracynow.org 
New York City taxi drivers have entered their second week of hunger striking outside City Hall to demand that the mayor grant debt relief for thousands of drivers impacted by the taxi medallion price crash. Many drivers purchased taxi medallions, the permits required to drive a taxi, for upwards of $1 million. After the incursion of ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft, as well as more recent plummeting demand for taxis due to the pandemic, they are now only worth about $100,000. Faced with massive debt and financial ruin, at least nine drivers have died by suicide. Taxi driver Augustine Tang, who has been on hun…
(2021-10-27). White Nationalists on Trial in Charlottesville over Deadly Rally After Victims Sued Under KKK Act. democracynow.org 
Four years after the deadly white supremacist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a federal civil trial charges the organizers with an unlawful conspiracy to commit violent acts. Defendants include Jason Kessler, the main organizer, and Richard Spencer, a white nationalist who spoke at the event. Neo-Nazi James Alex Fields, who slammed his car into a crowd of antiracist counterprotesters during the rally and killed activist Heather Heyer, has already been sentenced to life in prison. Plaintiffs in the case cite the careful advance planning done in online chatrooms to wreak irreparable harm. We l…
(2021-10-27). What's behind the record-breaking surge of gun violence in Portland, Oregon? wsws.org In the first ten months of this year, Portland's homicides have already matched the record of 70 in 1987. Unable to address the social causes of violence, Democratic Party politicians are using the tragedies as a pretext to expand staffing and funding for the police.
(2021-10-27). Lawyer Steven Donziger, Who Sued Chevron over "Amazon Chernobyl," Ordered to Prison After House Arrest. democracynow.org 
The environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger joins us just before he is ordered to report to jail today, after a years-long legal battle with the oil company Chevron and 813 days of house arrest. In 2011, Donziger won an $18 billion settlement against Chevron on behalf of 30,000 Indigenous people in Ecuador for dumping 16 billion gallons of oil into their ancestral land in the Amazon. Since the landmark case, Donziger has faced a series of legal attacks from Chevron and a New York federal judge, who has employed a private law firm linked to the oil company to prosecute him. Earlier this month, he was…