(2021-10-30). Australian government deepens assault on democratic rights with voter ID bill. wsws.org This bill to disenfranchise thousands of working-class voters underscores the reactionary content of the party deregistration laws that were passed with the opposition Labor Party's backing in August.
(2021-10-30). Biden again lashes out against China over Taiwan. wsws.org Biden's remarks are the latest in a rising drumbeat of inflammatory statements from Washington that undermine the diplomatic and strategic status quo in the Taiwan Strait that has existed for four decades.
(2021-10-30). Attorney Steven Donziger reports to federal prison. wsws.org Donziger, who won a $9.5 billion lawsuit against the oil monopoly Chevron in 2011 on behalf of Ecuadorian farmers and indigenous people, turned himself in to US federal prison authorities on Wednesday to begin serving a six-month sentence on a trumped-up contempt of court conviction.
(2021-10-29). Julian Assange Exposes Western Corruption More Than Ever, Even While in Solitary Confinement. strategic-culture.org The iniquity must stop. Julian Assange must be freed immediately. | The longer that the travesty of Julian Assange's imprisonment goes on, the more his plight exposes the corruption of the United States government and its Western allies. | He has been persecuted under three U.S. presidencies: Obama, Trump, and now Biden. That shows the continuity of a systematic criminal policy to destroy free speech and independent journalism. | This week saw the U.S. government appealing an earlier British court ruling in January against Assange being extradited to the United States. There were two days of hearings at the High…
(2021-10-29). Biden's DOJ Dismissed Suicide Risk for Assange in Appeal of Extradition Denial. truthout.org 
The Biden administration asked two United Kingdom High Court judges to overturn the British district judge's denial of extradition of journalist Julian Assange this week during an October 26-27 appeals hearing in London. If extradited to the United States, the WikiLeaks founder would face 175 years in prison for
(2021-10-29). Indigenous Leaders in Nicaragua Speak Out Against Western Media and NGOs. dissidentvoice.org 
Nicaragua has an election to choose their president and national assembly on November 7. According to polls, the Sandinista Front (FSLN) currently in government is expected to win the presidency and a majority of seats in the assembly. At the same time, the Sandinista government is intensely disliked by Washington and there has been a …
(2021-10-29). Blockade Against Venezuela Makes US Businesses Suffer: US Exports Dropped by 93% from 2012 to 2020. orinocotribune.com 
Nine months after Joe Biden's inauguration as the president of the United States, his government is at the center of international public opinion, with great expectations regarding its relations with Venezuela and different versions about the handling of illegal sanctions and the blockade affecting millions of Venezuelans. | In this situation, Venezuelan media recently published a journalistic investigation, according to which US business owners are currently exerting pressure on President Biden. These groups are also suffering the consequences of the unilateral coercive measures that are supposedly applied again…
(2021-10-29). ACT UP Boston demands 'Housing & health care, not jails!'. workers.org 
Boston ACT UP Boston with the SIF MA NOW! Coalition at the Boston Science March, April 22, 2017. A SIF is a medically supervised injecting facility, a harm-reduction strategy for drug users. WW PHOTO: Steve Gillis. On Oct. 19, Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker, Democrat Attorney General Maura Healy and . . . |
(2021-10-29). Video: The social crisis facing young people and the fight against Australia's anti-democratic electoral laws. wsws.org IYSSE members say, "Students and youth the world over are bearing the brunt of a social crisis brought on by the pro-business official response to the pandemic."
(2021-10-29). Peru: Democracy under attack from right-wing forces. greenleft.org.au Pedro Castillo, leader of the left-wing Peru Libre party, was sworn in as Peru's president on July 28, reports Ben Radford. Since then, his government has faced a campaign of destabilisation from the right-wing opposition.
(2021-10-29). 'Childish Remarks': Iran Slams Israeli Envoy to India For Accusing It of 'Destabilising' West Asia. sputniknews.com Besides the UAE, Israel last year also normalised ties with Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. All the diplomatic agreements were mediated by the US under former President Donald Trump. Iran has labelled the so-called Abraham Accords as "strategic idiocy" and a "stab on the back" of Palestinian people.
(2021-10-29). Headlines for October 29, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Unveils Stripped-Down Build Back Better Act After Sens. Manchin, Sinema Demand Cuts, Big Oil Executives Grilled by House Democrats over Deception on Climate Crisis, As Climate Crisis Worsens, 10 World Heritage Forests Become Net Carbon Emitters, China Won't Commit to New Emissions Targets Ahead of COP26 Climate Summit , Protesters at Site of COP26 Climate Summit Demand Real Action to Limit Warming to 1.5 ∞C, Ahead of G20, Protesters Demand Biden Make COVID-19 Vaccines Available to Poor Countries, Sudanese Protester Deaths Mount After Monday's Military Coup, Guantánamo Bay Prisoner Describes Surviving…
(2021-10-29). Karen Dolan on Build Back Better, Tim Karr on Changing Facebook. fair.org 
This week on CounterSpin: An early October survey showed that while 60% of those polled knew that the Build Back Better legislative package was "$3.5 trillion," only 10% had any sense of what was in it. That is many things, but preeminently a failure of news media—the demonstrably harmful effect of months of reporting …
(2021-10-29). 'Meta as in METAstasizing': Democrats Dunk on Facebook Following Rebrand. sputniknews.com Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday that his company would be renamed 'Meta', ostensibly to bring the tech giant into line with its 'metaverse' concept — a vision of a futuristic online world accessible to users through virtual and augmented reality technologies.
(2021-10-29). Seeing the forest, and the trees: Labor backs trimmed Build Back Better. peoplesworld.org 
"Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made." —Attributed, erroneously, to famed German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck "Politics is the art of the possible." —A real Bismarck quote, from 1867 WASHINGTON—There's been a lot of sausage-making going on at the White House and on Capitol Hill over the last several months …
(2021-10-29). FILM SCREENING: SHADOW WORLD. peoplesforum.org Join us on Friday, October 29th, from 6: 00 to 8: 00pm EDT for a screening of Shadow World, a documentary on the billion-dollar global arms trade! Based on the book The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade, Johan Grimonprez and Anadil Hossain collaborate with the author, Andrew Feinstein, to explore how the international weapons industry undermines democracy and perpetuates human suffering. This screening will also feature an introduction by the author and filmmaker, Andrew Feinstein! | Due to capacity limitations, we are asking that folks put in a $6 deposit per seat to reserve a spot. The screenings are fre…
(2021-10-29). US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh feigns support for Kellogg's strike in visit to picket line. wsws.org Walsh, the former mayor of Boston and ex-union bureaucrat, exemplifies the corrupt corporatist relations between the unions, the corporations and the capitalist state which Biden is seeking to develop in order to strangle the growing movement of the working class.
(2021-10-29). Biden Folds On Election Promise Of Paid Family Leave, Some Democrats Angry He Won't Fight For It. moguldom.com Another election promise seems to have bitten the dust. While campaigning, President Joe Biden vowed to institute paid family level. He included it in his massive Build Back Better spending package, but the initiative appears headed for the scrap heap. There have been weeks of negotiations and the Democrats have had to keep whittling the …
(2021-10-29). Biden's Plan For Mass IRS Surveillance Of US Bank Accounts Fails, Blocked By Sen. Manchin. moguldom.com After President Joe Biden made significant concessions on his Build Back Better economic plan, another of his proposals which calls for mass IRS surveillance of bank accounts has been blocked — and this time it's with the help of a member of his own party — Sen. Joe Manchin. The Biden administration said it proposed …
(2021-10-29). "A Pivotal Change": Economist Darrick Hamilton on What the Build Back Better Act Could Accomplish. democracynow.org 
Democrats in Washington remain divided over two key bills at the center of President Biden's domestic agenda: a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $1.85 trillion Build Back Better plan, which has been cut down from $3.5 trillion. Even though Biden's latest framework is almost half the size of the original proposal, conservative Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are still refusing to commit to its passage. The new proposal strips out several key provisions, including paid family leave, free community college, expanded Medicare coverage for dental and vis…
(2021-10-29). The Centerpiece of the Build Back Better Climate Plan Has Been Stripped Out. truthout.org 
Months into the Democrats' messy, public internal debates on President Joe Biden's Build Back Better spending plans — and despite a massive effort by Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speak Nancy Pelosi to seal the deal this week — it is still far from clear whether the factions of the party will work out a way to pass the reconciliation bill, which has already been chiseled down beyond recognition. | In an effort to prevent the bill from being gutted even furth…
(2021-10-29). Biden's incredible shrinking social "reform" bill. wsws.org The "Build Back Better" legislation has been reduced to a fig leaf of reformist pretense, without a single dollar of additional taxation on the wealthy.
(2021-10-29). Tough choices for Biden administration: Which empty words to approve? electronicintifada.net Settlements and Israeli human rights crackdown highlight Washington's complicity.
(2021-10-29). Biden Is Considering Payments Of $450,000 Per Person To Those Impacted By Trump's Zero-Tolerance Border Policies. moguldom.com Black Twitter users have questions about an unconfirmed report that the Biden administration is in talks to offer money to immigrant families who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump administration. Tweets reflect frustration that immigrant families, most of whom crossed into the U.S. illegally, may be compensated while H.R. 40, a proposed, …
(2021-10-29). Activists Stage All-Night Vigil at COVID Response Coordinator Zients' House in DC, Demand Action From Biden to Vaccinate the World. peoplesaction.org Days Before G20 Summit, Protesters Demand Vaccine Equity as Biden and Pharma-Friendly Politicians Prolong the Pandemic Contact: Johanna Kichton, press@peoplesaction.org, 202.660.0605 WASHINGTON, D.C.—Just days before the G20 Summit in Rome, a progressive coalition of public health, global justice, and faith advocates led by Justice is Global, a project of People's Action, staged an all-night vigil …
(2021-10-29). Despite A Slowing Economy, Inflation Remains: And Americans Find New Ways To Heckle Joe. southfront.org 
Illustrative Image | Written by William Stroock, observer, author of military fiction | American politics keep getting sillier. For a few months now fans at sporting events across the nation have taken up an obscene anti-Joe Biden chant. On 2 October, NASCAR driver Brandon Brown won the Xfinity Race series at Talladega Super Speed way, in Alabama. Alabama is a deep red state in the Deep South and a hotbed of anti-Joe Biden resistance. As Brown was being interviewed by NBC Sports Network, fans behind him took up the anti-Joe Biden chant. The interviewer said, '…as you can hear the chants from the crowd, let's go…
(2021-10-29). Should Parents Get a Say in Education? strategic-culture.org Who decides what is taught in the public schools that are paid for with the tax dollars of the parents who send their children there? | By Patrick J. BUCHANAN | Virginia is a newly blue state, with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, that Joe Biden won by 10 points. Hence, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe was an early and solid favorite to regain the office he vacated in 2017. But if McAuliffe loses Tuesday, the defeat will be measured on the Richter scale. | For if he does lose, it will be because of an elitist belief McAuliffe blurted out during a debate with Republican rival Glenn Youngkin: "I'm n…
(2021-10-29). Virginia Governor's Race Tightens as Focus Grows on "Parents' Rights," Abortion & Trump. democracynow.org 
We look at the Virginia gubernatorial race, where former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe is facing Republican Glenn Youngkin, the former CEO of a private equity firm. President Joe Biden, who has campaigned with McAuliffe, warns Youngkin is an extremist in the vein of former President Trump. A major point of contention is Youngkin's push for "parents' rights" — a catch-all phrase adopted by right-wing opponents of vaccine and mask mandates, transgender rights and critical race theory. Julia Manchester, national politics reporter for The Hill, says that Youngkin has essentially portrayed elected school b…
(2021-10-29). Panel report, Dr. Birx: Trump ignored coronavirus deaths in meatpacking plants. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The GOP Trump White House officials assigned to direct the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic concentrated instead on his re-election campaign, a new report, and insider testimony shows. The result was needless deaths, including in the meatpacking industry. Specifically, the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus and its impact reviewed company data, medical records, and …
(2021-10-29). Campaign for Venezuela's 21N Regional Elections Begins: How Many Candidates are There? orinocotribune.com According to the schedule established by Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE), the campaign for Venezuela's November 21 regional and municipal "mega-elections" officially began today. Venezuelans will select governors, mayors, city councilors, and regional legislators during the process. | It is an event that brings together almost 68,000 male and female candidates from the different opposition groups against 3,072 candidates nominated by the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP). This last alliance, that of Chavismo, has as its strength the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Venezuela's leading party since…
(2021-10-29). GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Suspended from Twitter after Posting Bounty on a Critic. itsgoingdown.org 
Support: CashApp/Venmo: $vishalsinghfilms A failed candidate for governor of California was suspended from Twitter for making "violent threats" after posting a $2,500 bounty; specifically asking for the name and address of a critic from Twitter. Anthony Trimino ran a failed campaign for governor of California during the recall special election this year. As a Republican…
(2021-10-29). Prospects for Chile: New president, new constitution, continuing turmoil. peoplesworld.org 
The 1973 U.S.-supported military coup against Chile's socialist government and the murder of President Salvador Allende may be old history. The Pinochet dictatorship ended in 1988 and democratic forms—elections, political parties, debate—are in place. And Chile's economy, recovering from the pandemic, is booming. For the U.S. State Department, Chile is now "a leader in promoting …
(2021-10-29). CNE President Meets with Head of EU Election Observation Mission. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, October 28, the president of Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE), Pedro Calzadilla, received Isabel Santos, head of the Election Observation Mission (EOM) of the European Union (EU), and Xabier Melián, Santos' attaché in the presidency of the team that will survey municipal and regional elections scheduled for November 21. | The meeting was reported by the electoral authority through its Twitter account, @cneesvzla, where it was explained that the meeting was the first point on Santos' agenda to define the details regarding the deployment of the mission during the upcoming electoral proces…
(2021-10-29). EU Election Observers Arrive In Venezuela, Legitimizing Upcoming Vote. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | The European Union has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Venezuela to observe the regional and local elections. | Campaigning has kicked off for regional and municipal elections scheduled for November 21, which are set to include opposition candidates as well. | More than 3,000 positions — including governors, mayors and municipal councillors — are up for grabs next month, according to Venezuela's elections authority. Some 21 million voters are eligible to…
(2021-10-29). Iraq: Elections are Over; What's Next? journal-neo.org 
Iraqis voted for a new parliament in the October 10 election, but it could be weeks or months before a viable new government takes office. This is why locals didn't go dancing in the streets at all after the last election. Still, a healthy democratic process seems to have resulted in the best possible outcome, …
(2021-10-29). Meadows's Delay to Comply With Jan. 6 Subpoena May Lead to Contempt Charges. truthout.org 
Members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building are growing weary with Mark Meadows, a former Trump aide who has delayed sending key documents and submitting testimony. | Meadows, who served as Trump's chief of staff during the Capitol attack,
(2021-10-29). US Limits Immigration Arrests at Schools, 'Protected' Areas. latinorebels.com WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities will limit arrests at schools, hospitals and other "protected" areas under guidelines issued Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security, part of a broader effort to roll back the approach to enforcement under President Donald Trump.
(2021-10-29). Review: The Alienation of Love. mronline.org 
More than just bear it, capitalists today demand we love our exploitation. Sara Bennett reviews a new book on the new emotional demands on workers, arguing it aid us in our understanding of modern class relations.
(2021-10-29). How U.S. Interference in Cuba Creates a False Picture of Its Society. zcomm.org The attempt on Raúl Castro's life is one of many projects by the U.S. government to overthrow the Cuban Revolution, including 638 attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro and the invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961…
(2021-10-29). The 'Smoke And Mirrors' Billionaires Tax. popularresistance.org With the introduction of these two 'smoke and mirrors' tax measures, negotiations enter the 'end game' phase of the corporate strategy to beat back the two stimulus bills—the traditional Infrastructure Bill (now $0.55T new spending reduced from $2.3T) and the Human Infrastructure/Reconciliation Bill (now $1.75T reduced from $3.5T). | The strategy to slash the level of spending in both bills has been driven behind the scenes by the corporate wing of the Democrat party, with Senators Manchin and Sinema as their negotiating 'point persons'. The strategy has always been to cut the magnitude of spending on both…
(2021-10-29). Democratic Eco-Socialism in Australia. zcomm.org Today, we again face a stark choice between global ecocide — today's barbarity and democratic eco-socialism as outlined by Hans A. Baer. The choice is ours to make…
(2021-10-29). Democrats' Budget Deal Will Collect Billions from the Wealthy to Invest in Human Needs. inequality.org
(2021-10-29). "Shadow Units": How Secretive Border Patrol Teams Shield Agents from Accountability. democracynow.org 
A human rights network of 60 organizations working along the U.S.-Mexico border released a letter to Congress on Wednesday urging them to investigate "shadow police units" that have helped cover up beatings and killings by Border Patrol agents for more than three decades. The shadow units, identified in the letter as "Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams," are said to possibly be "the largest and longest standing shadow police unit that is operating today in the federal government." New details came to light when attorneys investigating the 2010 Border Patrol killing of Mexican father Anastasio Hernández Rojas f…
(2021-10-29). Democrats Will Subpoena Big Oil to Force Disclosure of Climate Denial Campaigns. truthout.org 
In a historic hearing on Thursday, House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) announced her plan to subpoena documents from oil and gas companies to discern their role in spreading climate denial and disinformation. | Oil giants Exxon, BP, Chevron and Shell, as well as the trade association American Petroleum Institute and the lobbying group Chamber of Commerce
(2021-10-29). Australia: University of Newcastle Student Association promotes management, defends anti-democratic guidelines. wsws.org The new clubs and societies guidelines serve the purpose of suppressing left-wing student opposition to militarism, inequality and a sweeping pro-business restructure of the university.
(2021-10-29). GOP Efforts to Ban Toni Morrison's "Beloved" Now at Center of Virginia Governor's Race. democracynow.org 
Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin caused public uproar this week when he released a political ad featuring a white mother who advocated banning Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved" from schools. The woman, Laura Murphy, describes the book as "some of the most explicit material you can imagine." In 2013, Murphy fought to have the "Beloved bill" passed, which was eventually vetoed by Governor Terry McAuliffe, who is running again for governor against Youngkin in the current race. Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel tells the story of a family of former enslaved people set after the America…
(2021-10-29). Panopticon: How Mainstream Academia Normalized Mass Imprisonment. strategic-culture.org 
The panopticon of the Smart City is a system set up so that free citizens police, interrogate, and report on each other. | Academia, with its woke newspeak, is a god-awful thing. Only through the complete destruction of language can actually fascist policies, which threaten to eradicate humanity, be passed off as progressive, even social-democratic. Our aim is to build upon our previous chapters to show that these were not intellectual fishing expeditions — we're here with the receipts. | Jeremy Bentham's horrific theory and model of the Panopticon is openly presented as a 'positive vision of the future' wh…
(2021-10-29). 10 Top Quotes From Legendary Political Thinker Fannie Lou Hamer. moguldom.com Fannie Lou Hammer isn't a legend by happenstance. The passionate civil, voting and women's rights activist rose to iconic status because she did iconic things. The youngest of 20 children born to sharecropper parents, Hamer wasn't a stranger to being trampled by white supremacy. As a result, she dedicated her life to fighting for economic …
(2021-10-29). Efforts to Ban Toni Morrison's "Beloved" Are at Center of Virginia Governor Race. truthout.org 
Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin caused public uproar this week when he released a political ad featuring a white mother who advocated banning Toni Morrison's novel Beloved from schools. The woman, Laura Murphy, describes the book as "some of the most explicit material you can imagine." In 2013, Murphy fought to have the "Beloved bill" passed, which was eventually vetoed by Governor Terry McAuliffe, who is running again for governor against Youngkin in the current ra…