Daily Archives: December 14, 2021

2021-12-14: News Headlines

_____ (2021-12-14). The United States Is Using Nazis In Ukraine To Provoke War With Russia. popularresistance.org If you listen to the corporate media in the United States, you may believe the lies that say Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. In reality, it is the United States, led by then vice president Joe Biden, that conducted a coup to replace the elected president of Ukraine in 2014 and has been training and arming Nazis to attack the ethnically Russian Donbass Region in eastern Ukraine ever since. There is daily violence against civilians and basic infrastructure. The Biden administration is escalating this aggression and trying to blame Russia with the support of the same corporate media that defended US attacks o…

William Boardman (2021-12-14). Ukraine Is a Problem Only as Long as the West Makes It One. dissidentvoice.org Ukrainian servicemen take part in a drill of the airborne troops taking place in Zhytomyr region on November 21, 2018. (photo: AFP) Since the fall of the Soviet Union thirty years ago, US policy on Ukraine has been an ugly mix of inconsistency, quiet aggression, fear-mongering and stupidity. Now President Biden is recklessly intensifying the …

Alexander Rubinstein (2021-12-14). US Shouldn't Be Invited to Summit for Democracy, Let Alone Be its Host. orinocotribune.com By Alexander Rubinstein — Dec 8, 2021 | In every one of the countries the United States has intervened in over the past decades, anti-democratic means are almost always used towards anti-democratic ends, all in the name of promoting democracy. | This week, the United States is convening a virtual "Summit for Democracy," the first of its kind in what the State Department hopes to make an annual event. | "The summit will focus on challenges and opportunities facing democracies and will provide a platform for leaders to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend demo…

Jamil Dakwar (2021-12-14). Over a Year After His Election, President Biden's Human Rights Commitments Fail to Meet the Moment. aclu.org Throughout his presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden The United States' meager commitments presented before last week's Summit for Democracy are illustrative. Instead of undertaking new initiatives to protect democracy, advance racial justice, and implement U.S. obligations on human rights, the Biden adm…

WSWS (2021-12-14). Government crisis in Sweden strengthens far-right. wsws.org For the first time, the Swedish parliament voted for a budget drafted by the conservative Moderate Party in collaboration with the far-right Sweden Democrats.

Newsclick (2021-12-14). Mapping Faultlines: After Biden-Putin summit, what next for Ukraine and the region? peoplesdispatch.org NewsClick's Prabir Purkayastha talks about the recent call between US president Joe Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin and the emerging situation in Ukraine…

Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan (2021-12-14). Summit for U.S. styled Democracy. moderndiplomacy.eu President Joe Biden has called a virtual summit on democracy, but, has invited only chosen democracies, not all well-established democracies. Since its inception, the idea inviting only of like-minded nations was valid proof of evil designs. Of course, it is the intentions, which decide good or bad outcomes. It is believed that the intention was …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-14). Tunisian president announces constitutional referendum and general elections in 2022. peoplesdispatch.org The constitutional referendum is scheduled to be held on July 25, 2022, exactly a year after president Kais Saied took control of all executive and legislative powers in Tunisia through a series of exceptional measures. Critics and opposition political parties have called his actions a "presidential coup"

WSWS (2021-12-14). Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows referred for criminal contempt of Congress in January 6 probe. wsws.org The report by the House Select Committee recommending the contempt charges reveals that Meadows was in close contact with the Pentagon throughout January 5-6 and expected the military to intervene on the side of Trump's coup plans.

WSWS (2021-12-14). Philippine Supreme Court upholds anti-democratic Anti-Terrorism Law. wsws.org The ruling greenlights the full implementation of the draconian law, which targets social unrest and authorizes surveillance, wire-tapping, and arrests without warrant.

Mark Hallim (2021-12-14). Nationalism and Liberal Democracies: The Rise of Nationalism in Brazil. moderndiplomacy.eu Twenty-five years ago, liberal democracies rose; the Berlin Wall had fallen, the Soviet Union collapsed, and new democracies emerged in Europe. In South Africa, the apartheid regime was removed. Even though the Chinese government brutally crushed a democracy, the belief existed that a more educated and wealthy middle class would demand democratic reforms. The 2008 …

Staff (2021-12-13). Headlines for December 13, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Declares Major Federal Disaster in KY; 100+ Feared Dead After Tornadoes Rip Through 8 States, U.S. Health Officials Say Boosters Could Curb Winter COVID Surge as NY Tightens Mask Rules, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Tests Positive for COVID-19, Over Half a Billion People Faced Extreme Poverty Due to Healthcare Costs During Pandemic, SCOTUS Says Providers Can Sue over Texas Abortion Law But Limits Scope and Keeps Ban in Place, Gov. Gavin Newsom Says He Will Use Texas Abortion Ban as Model for CA Gun Control Laws, NYT: Secret Unit Launched 10,000s of Strikes Against ISIS, Killing Syrian Civilians in…

John Pilger (2021-12-13). Justice denied: the judicial kidnapping of Julian Assange. greenleft.org.au The ruling to allow Julian Assange's extradition to the United States is based on fraudulent "assurances" scrabbled together by the Biden administration when it looked in January like justice might prevail, writes John Pilger.

Moderator (2021-12-13). Hedges: The Execution of Julian Assange. scheerpost.com Original illustration by Mr. Fish, "Mind Games." | By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost | Let us name Julian Assange's executioners. Joe Biden. Boris Johnson. Scott Morrison. Theresa May. Lenin Moreno. Donald Trump. Barack Obama. Mike Pompeo. Hillary Clinton. Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett and Justice Timothy Victor Holroyde. Crown Prosecutors James Lewis, Clair Dobbin and Joel Smith. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser. Assistant US Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia Gordon Kromberg. William Burns, the director of the CIA. Ken McCallum, the Director General of the UK Security Service or MI5. | Let…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-13). Paper Tiger Imperialism and the US-Beijing Boycott. libya360.wordpress.com Miguel Garcia On Monday, December 6, 2021, the United States government announced they would not be sending government officials to the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. The diplomatic boycott is the latest move by Washington and the Biden administration in their all-out-blitz smear campaign against the People's Republic of China. White House…

_____ (2021-12-13). Honduras' Left-Wing Breakthrough. popularresistance.org What appeared impossible has been achieved: the people of Honduras have broken the perpetuation, through electoral fraud and thuggish violence, of a brutal, illegal, illegitimate, and criminal regime. | By means of sheer resistance, resilience, mobilization, and organization, they have managed to defeat Juan Orlando Hernandez's narco-dictatorship at the ballot box. Xiomara Castro, presidential candidate of the left-wing Libre party (the Freedom and Refoundation Party, in its Spanish acronym), obtained a splendid 50+ percent—between 15 to 20 percent more votes than her closest rival candidate, Nasry Asfura,…

teleSUR (2021-12-13). Honduras: Xiomara Castro Announces Inauguration Date January 27. telesurenglish.net The president-elect of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, announced this Sunday that she will be sworn in and take office on January 27, 2022. | In a message disseminated through social networks, the representative of the leftist party Libertad y Refundación (Libre) informed that the former prosecutor and deputy for that political party, Jari Dixon, will coordinate the transfer of power. | RELATED: | Together with the former m…

Brittani Banks (2021-12-13). Whales Will Save the World's Climate—Unless the Military Destroys Them First. independentmediainstitute.org The U.S. military is famous for being the single largest consumer of petroleum products in the world and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Its carbon emissions exceed those released by "more than 100 countries combined." Now, with the Biden administration's mandate to slash carbon emissions "at least in half by the end of the …

Medea Benjamin (2021-12-13). Ten contradictions that plague Biden's 'Democracy Summit'. mronline.org Biden hopes to secure his place at the head of the "Free World" table by coming out as a champion for human rights and democratic practices worldwide.

_____ (2021-12-13). NATO's Indo-Pacific Expansion to Tackle China. journal-neo.org The most recent US decision to do a 'diplomatic boycott' of winter Olympics in Beijing has caused a new low in the US-China bi-lateral relations. The decision to boycott has firmly established the drastic failure of the US-China summit that Biden had only recently called to sort out some of the outstanding issues facing their …

Carlos Fazio (2021-12-13). Biden vs. Maduro: øCambio de ruta? globalizacion.ca El reconocimiento del gobierno de Nicolás Maduro como representante legítimo de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas y las contradicciones emergentes dentro de los sectores más extremistas del antichavismo, exhiben el fracaso de…

Vijay Prashad (2021-12-13). La férrea determinación de la gente común de construir un mundo extraordinario. globalizacion.ca El presidente de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, ha convocado a 111 países para que asistan a su Cumbre por la Democracia los días 9 y 10 de diciembre, que finalizará el Día de los Derechos Humanos. "Damos la bienvenida a…

Staff (2021-12-13). "This Isn't a Natural Disaster": Climate Scientist Michael Mann on Deadly Tornadoes in 8 States. democracynow.org At least 100 people are feared dead after 30 deadly tornadoes devastated towns in eight states, from Kentucky to Arkansas, in a supercell thunderstorm that raged more than 200 miles, leaving behind scenes some compared to a war zone. President Biden has declared a major federal disaster and called for an investigation into the role climate change played in the storms. We speak to climate scientist Michael Mann about the role of climate change in the storms and climate denialism among Republican leaders. "Make no mistake, we have been seeing an increase in these massive tornado outbreaks that can be attributed to…

Pedro Miguel (2021-12-13). Estados Unidos: øCuál democracia? globalizacion.ca El presidente Joe Biden inauguró un encuentro virtual sobre democracia en el que se dieron cita representantes de más de un centenar de gobiernos, algunos tan cuestionablemente democráticos como Pakistán, Brasil y Turquía; Taiwán, un país legalmente inexistente, además de …

Toward Freedom Editor (2021-12-13). Danny Shaw on Honduras & Venezuela Elections + Movements in Haiti. towardfreedom.org Danny Shaw reported back on the Venezuela elections and his latest journey to meet with the movements in Haiti during Toward Freedom's December 2, 2021 webinar.

teleSUR (2021-12-13). 'I Defend Social Equity': Chilean Presidential Candidate Boric. telesurenglish.net With less than 7 days to go until the second round of the presidential elections, the "Approve Dignity" coalition candidate Gabriel Boric is consolidating himself as the politician who represents the desire for change in Chilean society. | RELATED: | Born in 1986 in Punta Arenas City, Boric joined the "Autonomous Left" organization and was elected the Chilean University Student Federation (FEH) councilor in 2008 w…

teleSUR (2021-12-13). Colombia: Commons Party Presents 21 Candidates For Senators. telesurenglish.net On Sunday, Colombia's Commons Party (PC) presented 21 candidates for senators to contest in the 2022 elections. Whatever the results of the vote, the 2016 Peace agreement signed between the Colombian State and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) secures this party 10 seats in the Senate. | RELATED: | "Our list of candidates has gender parity and is representative since it comprises politicians from 20…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-13). Moussa Ibrahim: Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi Has the Widest Support Heading into Libyan Elections. libya360.wordpress.com We speak to Moussa Ibrahim, the former spokesperson for late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He discusses the overturning of the decision banning Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi (the son of Muammar Gaddafi) from running in the Libyan Presidential elections, current polling for the elections and why he believes the polls are wrong, why Saif Al-Islam is the…

teleSUR (2021-12-13). Tunisian President Announces Referendum and Elections for 2022. telesurenglish.net President Kais Saied announced on Monday that Tunisia would hold a constitutional referendum next July, months after he seized broad powers in moves his opponents called a coup. | In a national address, President Saied announced that parliament will remain suspended until fresh elections are held a year from now on December 17, 2022 and that there will be a national referendum on July 25 after public consultations next month.

WSWS (2021-12-13). Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant declares "apparent victory" in recall election. wsws.org The latest results from the recall election, which ended December 7, show Sawant with a narrow lead, with 50.3 percent opposing the recall.

Robert S. Becker (2021-12-13). Right, Trump gangster buffoons can pull off the first ever American coup d'état? Wanna buy a bridge? nationofchange.org Despite scary extremist brouhaha, authoritarian rule by coup won't come to America because an inept, phony orange impresario waves his shiny baton.

Chris Walker (2021-12-13). Jan. 6 Committee Issues Contempt Charges for Former Trump Aide Mark Meadows. truthout.org The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack has issued a scathing report on Trump's former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, asserting that his refusal to testify before the commission requires contempt of Congress charges. |

Staff (2021-12-13). "A Bigger Picture": Ugandan Activist Vanessa Nakate on Bringing New Voices to the Climate Fight. democracynow.org We go to Kampala, Uganda, to speak to climate activist Vanessa Nakate on the occasion of her first book being published, "A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis." In an extended interview, she describes the challenges of being a young Ugandan woman from a continent that contributes less than 4% of the world's carbon emissions yet suffers the worst consequences of the climate crisis and is often ignored by the Global North. "There won't be climate justice if specific groups of people are being left behind," says Nakate, founder of the Africa-based Rise Up Movement. "We are fa…

Joris Leverink (2021-12-13). The Laura Flanders Show: A New Cooperative Business Model. roarmag.org This New Cooperative Business Model Could Change Everything: | Many of the world's most successful businesses began as someone's good idea. But the path from startup to conventional financial success typically involves going public, prioritizing shareholders' interests and ultimately selling to a giant conglomerate whose intentions are far from the original mission of the business's founders. | In this episode, Laura interviews guests who say this conventional path of success is desperately in need of an overhaul. Why must new and innovative ideas come to market through old and undemocratic platforms? Wha…

WSWS (2021-12-13). Unionization vote passes at Starbucks in Buffalo, New York. wsws.org Despite the small number of workers involved, the unionization drive has drawn substantial attention in the national press and from top Democratic Party politicians.

Brasil de Fato (2021-12-13). "You can feel it, Lula president": crowd welcomes former president in Buenos Aires. peoplesdispatch.org The presence of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva marked the return to the streets of the Day of Democracy mobilization in Buenos Aires on Friday November 10. The event began at 3pm in the historic Plaza de Mayo, a symbol of the struggle for human rights. With the slogan "Democracy forever", the mobilization gathered thousands of people. | Lula arrived in the country especially for the occasion. On the same stage where former Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica spoke, followed by vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and president Alberto Fernández, Lula listed the achievements of the so-called "deca…

Sharon Zhang (2021-12-13). Investigation Finds At Least 48 Members of Congress Have Violated STOCK Act. truthout.org At least According to the Insider report, members of both major parties have violated the STOCK Act, with violations between Democrats and Republicans a…

Isheka N. Harrison (2021-12-13). Back on The Move: Morris Brown Students Get Permission to Apply for Federal Aid. moguldom.com Morris Brown College has accomplished another impressive feat in its comeback story. The Atlanta-based HBCU announced that its students now have the ability to receive federal financial aid again. "We have been waiting for the day for a very long time," Morris Brown President Dr. Kevin James told Fox 5 on Thursday, Dec. 9. "For …

Isheka N. Harrison (2021-12-13). Cut The Check: Viral 104-Year-Old Black Grandma Shares How Her Farm Wages Were Robbed. moguldom.com A 104-year-old Black Grandma has become a viral sensation after her granddaughter began sharing videos of the elder talking about her past — including the time she spent working from 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. in cotton fields for little to no money. Madie Scott first entered the public eye when her granddaughter, Shanika Bradshaw, …

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-13). Former Officials of Lima's Oligarchy Torpedo RUNASUR. libya360.wordpress.com Ollantay Itzamná In the XXI century, internal colonizers continue to repeat fallacies seeking to stop our emancipatory processes. And what is worse, the subalterns still believe their fallacies as if they were truths. But, as time goes by, increasingly more people are willing to free themselves from the bicentennial republican colonies. The second meeting of…

2021-12-14 16:02 | 12:02 EST | jz | 42 | 0 | 29 | 11 | 0