Daily Archives: December 20, 2021

2021-12-20: News Headlines

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-20). Left candidate Gabriel Boric wins presidential elections in Chile. peoplesdispatch.org This Sunday December 19 over eight million Chileans voted to decide who will be the next president of Chile. According to Chile's electoral service SERVEL, with 96.75% of the votes processed, Gabriel Boric of the left-wing Approve Dignity coalition won with 55.8% of the votes over far-right José Antonio Kast of the Christian Social Front who received 44.19% of the votes. | At around 7: 20pm (Chilean time) when the first electoral bulletins were being released, Kast accepted his defeat in a message on

WSWS (2021-12-20). West Virginia Senator Manchin kills Biden's already stripped-down "Build Back Better" legislation. wsws.org Announcing his opposition to the measure on Fox News Sunday, the right-wing Democrat ensured that the meager social, tax and climate bill will not be passed in anything like its current form.

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-20). Belarus ready to host nuclear weapons in face of NATO threat: foreign minister. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com FM: Belarus ready to host nuclear weapons if under threat from NATO ==== Zelensky says if Russia deploys nuclear arms to Belarus, Ukraine will "know where they are located" NATO threat to redeploy nuclear arms led to Belarus to moot basing Russian nuclear weapons — analyst Insane, sociopathic or sadists: Tulsi Gabbard blasts U.S government, …

Staff (2021-12-20). "Unacceptable": Rep. Jamaal Bowman Slams Manchin After Senator Says No to Build Back Better Plan. democracynow.org President Biden's signature $1.75 trillion Build Back Better package appears to be dead after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced on Fox News this Sunday he would not support the plan to expand the social safety net and combat the climate crisis. Without Manchin, Senate Democrats do not have enough votes to pass the landmark legislation, which has already been approved by the House. We speak with Congressmember Jamaal Bowman, who is one of six progressive Democrats in the House who correctly predicted that his party's decision to vote on the infrastructure bill prior to the Build Back Better…

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-20). Senate approves Brzezinski to initiate conflict with Belarus. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com US Senate approves Mark Brzezinski as ambassador to Poland ==== Brzezinski spawn vows to complete cordon around Russia, unite Ukraine, "democratize" Belarus Brzezinski brothers want Biden, NATO to reprise father's confrontation with Russia over Poland Ukraine reprised: Victoria Nuland discusses Belarus with Ukrainian official ==== The US Senate confirmed more than 30 ambassadors on Saturday, …

WSWS (2021-12-20). UN report documents massive attacks on democratic rights in Ukraine. wsws.org Limited as it is, the UN report exposes attempts to frame a potential war between a "free Ukraine" against an "aggressive" Russia as a "war for democracy" as a complete fraud.

Staff (2021-12-20). Gabriel Boric Victory Speech: 'I will be the President of all Chileans'. orinocotribune.com "Today, hope won against the campaigns of fear," the Chilean president-elect asserted. | The president-elect of Chile, Gabriel Boric, thanked the people this Sunday, December 19, for their support in the second round of the presidential elections, in which he defeated the extreme right-wing Pinochet-admirer José Antonio Kast, becoming the new president of Chile for the 2022-2026 term. | According to data from the Chilean Electoral Service (Servel), with 99.72% of the votes counted, Boric obtained 4,608,362 votes, representing 55.86% of the votes. His extreme-right opponent from the Christian Social Front coalitio…

Staff (2021-12-20). Headlines for December 20, 2021. democracynow.org Build Back Better in Jeopardy After Sen. Joe Manchin Announces He Will Not Vote in Favor, Federal Company Vaccine Mandate Reinstated; New Data Show Moderna Booster Helps Fight Omicron, Southwest CEO Tests Positive After Senate Hearing; Sens. Booker and Warren Announce They Have COVID, Omicron Sends COVID Cases Surging, Prompts New Restrictions in Israel, U.K., the Netherlands, 35-Year-Old Progressive Activist Gabriel Boric Will Be Chile's Next President, Death Toll from Super Typhoon Rai Rises to 375 in Philippines; Floods Kill 8 in Malaysia, Hong Kong's "Patriots Only" Election Sees Record Low Turnout, Hundreds…

Ahmed Saber Abbas (2021-12-20). Military alliance requires ideological cover. moderndiplomacy.eu Weeks after the announcement of the Aukus Alliance, which aims to confront China in the Asia- Pacific region, the United States launched a summit for democracy, aimed at uniting the countries of the region and building more military alliances, which must be based on an ideological cover that gives them legitimacy. Why does the United …

_____ (2021-12-20). Is Money For Nukes More Important Than Paid Family Leave? popularresistance.org On December 15, the U.S. Senate passed a gargantuan, single-year, $768 billion defense bill on an 88‚Äâ—‚Äâ11 vote. The passage clears the way for President Biden's signature, after the bill moved through the U.S. House with a landslide 363‚Äâ—‚Äâ70 vote earlier in the month. The agreement reaffirms that the only truly bipartisan issue in Washington is militarism.

WSWS (2021-12-20). The Biden administration is lying: Scientists warned about Omicron threat. wsws.org The claim by Vice President Kamala Harris that "We didn't see Omicron coming" is a lie aimed at evading responsibility for the catastrophic outcome of a policy of sacrificing human life for private profit.

Staff (2021-12-20). "A Big Relief": Haitian Immigrant Rights Leader Jean Montrevil Wins Victory in Fight to Stay in U.S. democracynow.org Longtime immigrant rights leader Jean Montrevil has been granted three years of protection from deportation as part of a settlement for the First Amendment lawsuit Montrevil filed against the U.S. government that argued federal immigration officials targeted him for deportation due to his activism. Montrevil was abruptly deported to Haiti in 2018 but was allowed under the Biden administration to return home to New York in October to reunite with his family. We speak with Jean Montrevil, who says the news has given him "peace of mind" to enjoy the holiday season without fear of getting detained or deported, as wel…

Jamal Rich (2021-12-20). Youth election observers share Nicaragua experience at D.C. event. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Challenging the narrative parroted by U.S. corporate media about Nicaragua's November elections was the focus of an event here on Sunday, Dec. 12 Solidarity activists and friends from the D.C. metropolitan area gathered for a session co-hosted by the Friends of Latin America and the Claudia Jones School for Political Education. Youth observers who participated …

Staff (2021-12-20). Dr. Carlos del Rio on Omicron Surge, COVID Testing Crisis & the Need to Vaccinate the World. democracynow.org With the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the United States is now averaging over 130,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, and health officials warn the U.S. could see a million new cases a day by February. We speak with health expert Dr. Carlos del Rio, who says that vaccination complemented by booster shots is the best defense against severe illness. "Everybody's going to get infected. You're going to be exposed to this virus because it's essentially going to be everywhere," says del Rio.

teleSUR (2021-12-19). Chile: Kast and Boric Before the Count of the Votes. telesurenglish.net The campaign coordinators of José Antonio Kast and Gabriel Boric, Cristian Valenzuela and Giorgio Jackson, respectively, maintained contact to coordinate the acts to be carried out once the next president's name is known. | Second round presidential elections in Chile between Gabriel Borinc and José Antonio Kast takes place on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021…

Common Dreams Staff (2021-12-19). Manchin Rejects Build Back Better Bill, Likely Killing Social and Climate Agenda. truthout.org "I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation," Mr. Manchin said on "Fox News Sunday, "I've tried everything humanly possible. I can't get there. This is a no." | The comments from Mr. Manchin dealt a fatal blow to the legislation that is central to President Joe Biden's agenda. | "I think he's gonna have a lot of explaining to do to the people of West Virginia," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union." | Sanders said Manchin "doesn't have the…

teleSUR (2021-12-19). Trump: China Should Pay Trillions of Dollars for COVID Damages. telesurenglish.net Donald Trump, former U.S. President, claimed once again that China is responsible for the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. He calls for China to pay 60 trillion dollars for the damage caused by the epidemic worldwide. | RELATED: | "China has to pay, they have to pay reparations, and China does not have the money to pay those reparations," Trump declared during an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartir…

Margaret Kimberley (2021-12-19). Why We Must Defend Julian Assange. orinocotribune.com By Margaret Kimberley — Dec 14, 2021 | Julian Assange is one of the political prisoners that the US claims not to have. The UK is again the good vassal, keeping him locked up until the Biden administration finds an opportune time to ship him off to a kangaroo court. Everyone who believes in press freedom and who opposes imperialism must be a staunch Assange defender. | December 10 is International Human Rights Day. It is always a sham holiday for the United States, which locks up its own people at rates exceeding those of every other country, and routinely makes war against the rest of the world. In 2021 the…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-19). "Summit for Democracy" and the Empire's New Weapons. libya360.wordpress.com William Serafino On December 9 and 10, the so-called "Summit for Democracy" took place, an online event sponsored by the Biden administration as part of a new attempt to revive the global hegemony of the empire, weakened for several years now by a polycentric architecture of international actors of different sizes, influence and geopolitical scope,…

David Sirota (2021-12-19). The Democrats Are Trying To Lose. dailyposter.com

Ted Glick (2021-12-19). It's Time to Occupy Biden. zcomm.org Let's turn our sadness, anger and frustration into the organized power of the people which, alone, can win victories and bring into being a new world…

Marco Teruggi (2021-12-19). Venezuela: What Country Will it Be? orinocotribune.com By Marco Teruggi — Dec 8, 2021 | The economic and financial catastrophe that relentlessly devastated the Venezuelan population during the last few years seems to be easing, while the government of Nicolás Maduro encourages the return of the old entrepreneurial forms of accumulation. Harassed by the imperial powers, the recent elections revealed a decrease in the hard core of the Chavista hardliners and at the same time revealed the fragmentation of the opposition. From Caracas, a chronicle brimming with questions, about the country that mocks forecasts and closed conclusions. | "This was the richest country,…

teleSUR (2021-12-19). 'Hope Has To Beat Fear' in the Chilean Elections, Bachelet Says. telesurenglish.net On Sunday, Chile's Former President Michel Bachelet said "hope has to beat fear" after voting for leftist presidential candidate Gabriel Boric. | RELATED: | The current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also asked the winner to be "president of all" and "seek dialogue with all sectors to continue building a country in which we can all feel part of it." | "It is important that the country continue to pro…

WSWS (2021-12-19). Morenoites promote pseudo-left-Stalinist candidate in Chile's election. wsws.org The center-left parties that dominated the transition to civilian rule from Chile's military dictatorship three decades ago have all but collapsed.

teleSUR (2021-12-19). Chile Election Update: Polls Have Closed and Vote Count Begins. telesurenglish.net Over 2,500 voting centers opened this Sunday in Chile to start the second round of the presidential election in which left-wing leader Gabriel Boric and the far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast compete to replace President Sebastian Piñera. | RELATED: | 4: 00 pm: Polls close in Chile's runoff presidential elections | Polls have officially closed at 6pm local time in Chile's second round runoff presidential elections. The vote count…

teleSUR (2021-12-19). Historic Win for Gabriel Boric in Chile Presidential Elections. telesurenglish.net Left-wing former student leader Gabriel Boric has beat out far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast with nearly 100% of the votes tallied, according to figures published by Chile's electoral authorities SERVEL. | RELATED: | Winning 55,86% of the votes cast thus far, compared to Kast's 44,214%, Boric has a wide enough margin of over 11.5 percentage points to be declared winner of this Sunday's democratic exercise. | Polls…

teleSUR (2021-12-19). Chileans Denounce Lack of Public Transportation on Election Day. telesurenglish.net Using social networks to make themselves heard on Sunday morning, Chileans denounced that businessmen are prompting a shortage of transport services in Santiago City to sabotage an election in which the leftist presidential candidate Gabriel Boric is the favorite to defeat the far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast. | RELATED: | The absence of transportation occurs on a day with temperatures above 96.8 ∞F and…

teleSUR (2021-12-19). I Won't Disappoint Chilean People: Presidential Candidate Boric. telesurenglish.net After casting his vote in Chile's run-off presidential elections on Sunday, the left-wing Social Convergence (CS) party candidate Gabriel Boric reaffirmed that he will assist the population and defend its rights if elected President. | RELATED: | "I will not lead a government locked in its headquarters but one that has dirty shoes of walking all over Chile to listen to its people," Boric said and promised to su…

_____ (2021-12-19). The Dangerous Misuse Of 'Natural Immunity' Against Covid Vaccination. popularresistance.org One particularly pernicious myth going around in the US is the notion that "natural immunity," gained from contracting Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, is preferable to getting vaccinated. One prominent politician, Sen. Rand Paul (R.—Ky.), has declared that he refuses to get vaccinated, because of his belief that he has "natural immunity" since he's "already had the disease" (Slate, 5/23/21). | Now, the Republican Party is officially embracing its position as the anti-vaccine political party, advocating what they call "natural immunity" as an alternative or substitute to getting vaccina…

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