(2021-12-23). "Civilian Casualty Files" documents the barbarism of US imperialism in Iraq and Syria. wsws.org The Civilian Casualty Files are evidence of extensive war crimes. They reveal that the US military, under the Obama and Trump administrations, deliberately killed civilians, including children.
(2021-12-23). Life expectancy in the US dropped by an astounding 1.8 years during the first year of the pandemic. wsws.org Despite President Biden's claim that the US is in a better place since March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that life expectancy in 2020 dropped by nearly two years. By all indications, this trend will worsen in 2021.
(2021-12-23). The Hypersonic Fall of US Prestige. journal-neo.org 
Even against the backdrop of recent events, the US stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that "American credibility" in the world is falling apart. It is not just a question of political credibility or the collapse of 20 years of American military intervention in Afghanistan. This fall did not begin with Biden or Trump, but with the …
(2021-12-23). Video: Reflections on Chile's presidential election. greenleft.org.au Alborada Online presents an analysis of Chile's December 19 presidential election results and the historic victory of left candidate, Gabriel Boric.
(2021-12-23). Trump Thinks He's Still President: What Is the Evidence? dissidentvoice.org Donald Trump thinks he's still president according to no more reliable a source than Rachel Maddow on her February 5th show. This was confirmed in May by Vanity Fair. Right-wing conspiracy theorists echo this analysis as recently as this month. Left-liberals are smugly confident that Kamala Harris's running mate is in the White House, snoozing …
(2021-12-23). If only Assange had been Navalny. zcomm.org The different treatment of these two heroes is a fine example of the flexibility of the concepts of 'human rights' and 'freedom of the press' which the western media trumpet at every opportunity…
(2021-12-23). Democrats are NOT your friends! anchor.fm In this episode I discuss the duopoly between Republicans and Democrats and how the continued "fumbling" by the Democrats is not unintentional. They have direct interests and reasons as to why they continue to do things only for themselves. Stay well you all, and get organizing!
(2021-12-23). Australia's housing crisis and the new anti-democratic electoral laws. wsws.org The meteoric rise in housing and rental prices across Australia is fueling mounting social discontent, which the party deregistration laws seek to stifle.
(2021-12-23). What are the Fundamental Differences Between Capitalist and Socialist Democracy? orinocotribune.com By Danny Haiphong — Dec 20, 2021 | Staying true to the theme of democracy, this article is an amended speech that analyzes the differences between Capitalist vs. Socialist democracies and advocates a defense of the latter. | The United States hosted a "Summit for Democracy" on December 9th and 10th in an obvious attempt to legitimize its unipolar and hegemonic claim of leadership over the so-called "rules-based international order." While on the surface this appeared to be an unproductive move on the part of the world hegemon, it aligned well with the U.S. strategy of cloaking its aggressive and exploitative…
(2021-12-23). Pentagon Clamps Down on Extremism & White Supremacy After Dozens of Jan. 6 Rioters Had Military Ties. democracynow.org 
The Pentagon has announced new rules to slow the spread of extremism in the military, one of which will discipline soldiers for liking or resharing white nationalist and other extremist content on social media. The Pentagon announcement comes just two weeks before the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, where more than 80 of the 700 individuals charged with the attack had ties to the U.S. military. Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project Susan Corke says these rule changes are welcomed by her organization but don't go far enough to stop extremism in the armed forces. "It sh…
(2021-12-23). "It's a Win for Us": Striking Kellogg's Workers Get Raises, Improved Benefits & Avoid Two-Tier System. democracynow.org 
In a major victory for labor rights, 1,400 unionized Kellogg's workers have ended their nearly three-month strike across four states after approving a new contract that provides a wage increase and enhanced benefits for all. The prior agreement that Kellogg's tried to bargain only offered wage increases and improved benefits to longtime workers, whereas the new agreement ensures newer workers have a guaranteed option to receive the same improvements. We speak with Kellogg's worker Kevin Bradshaw, who will return to work on Monday alongside his co-workers. "We didn't have any takeaways and no concessions, so I wou…
(2021-12-23). Headlines for December 23, 2021. democracynow.org South Africa Says Omicron Coronavirus Surge Has Peaked, WHO Warns Blanket Booster Programs Divert Vaccine Supply, Prolonging Pandemic, FDA Approves COVID-19 Pill; Most Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Fail Against Omicron, New York Coronavirus Cases Surge to Record High; Supreme Court to Weigh Vaccine Mandates, Proud Boys Member Pleads Guilty to Capitol Riot Conspiracy, Will Cooperate with FBI, FBI Undercover Teams Infiltrated Portland Racial Justice Protests, U.S. Relaxes Limits on Aid as Afghanistan Faces Dire Humanitarian Crisis, U.N. Calls for Probe into Reports That Sudanese Security Forces Raped Anti-Coup Pro…
(2021-12-23). No One Is Safe Until Everyone Is Safe: Oxfam on Vaccine Equity & Taking On Moderna. democracynow.org 
Oxfam America has accused Moderna of misleading its investors about an ongoing dispute over whether it needs to share vaccine patent rights with the U.S. government. Oxfam filed a shareholders complaint against Moderna with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the company's resistance to recognizing the role played by three scientists with the National Institutes of Health in developing the vaccine. We speak with Robbie Silverman, senior corporate advocacy manager at Oxfam America, who says the federal government owns a right to license the vaccine to manufacturers. "It is simply not sufficient just to vac…
(2021-12-23). Tea Party Redux: How the Koch Network Funds and Fuels the Anti-Lockdown Movement. democracynow.org 
A new report titled "How The Koch Network Hijacked The War On COVID" reveals how a right-wing network linked to billionaire Charles Koch has played a key role in fighting public health measures during the pandemic, including mask and vaccine mandates, contact tracing and lockdowns. The groups include the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), Donors Trust, the Hoover Institution and Hillsdale College. We speak about the contents of the report with co-author Walker Bragman, who says the right-wing network's attack on public health is designed to "maintain…
(2021-12-23). Democratic Progress in Honduras, Setbacks in El Salvador. zcomm.org The last decade saw democratization in El Salvador and brutal repression in Honduras. Suddenly, those trends appear to have reversed…
(2021-12-23). Who Actually Owns Corporations, Anyway? popularresistance.org According to elementary students of economics and Wall Street financiers alike, the answer to this question is as simple as it is intuitive: the shareholders. The standard narrative goes like this: a share is a "piece of a company." Accordingly, the holders of those shares are the company's collective owners. Shareholder ownership explains why an army of retail investors coordinating trades on Reddit could claim they "owned a piece" of the struggling video game retailer GameStop and why Warren Buffet is as certain he "owns" companies as varied as GEICO and Dairy Queen as less wealthy Americans are certain they ow…
(2021-12-22). Two Olympic boycotts: Human rights in the service of imperialist gangsterism. wsws.org The 1980 boycott of the Moscow games was bound up with the US agenda of weakening and fracturing the former Soviet Union, which is precisely the Biden administration's strategy toward China in its boycott of the Beijing Olympics.
(2021-12-22). Trump announces event to celebrate one-year anniversary of the violent January 6 attack on Capitol Hill. wsws.org In a brief statement, the former president reiterated his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged" and that the storming of Capitol by fascist militia members was a "completely unarmed protest."
(2021-12-22). A Pentagon Cover-Up: Azmat Khan on How U.S. Hid Thousands of Civilian Deaths in Middle East Air War. democracynow.org 
U.S. air power has been central in the country's wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, with officials promising that drones and other sophisticated weapons allow the U.S. military to carry out precision airstrikes that spare civilians caught in war zones. But a groundbreaking investigation by The New York Times reveals the U.S. military's air wars have been plagued by bad intelligence, imprecise targeting and a lack of accountability for thousands of civilian deaths, many of them children. The two-part series by reporter Azmat Khan is based on a trove of internal Pentagon documents, as well as on-the-gr…
(2021-12-22). Civilian Casualty Files Reveal U.S. Hid Thousands of Deaths in Middle East Air War. democracynow.org 
U.S. air power has been central in the country's wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, with officials promising that drones and other sophisticated weapons allow the U.S. military to carry out precision airstrikes that spare civilians caught in war zones. But a groundbreaking investigation by The New York Times reveals the U.S. military's air wars have been plagued by bad intelligence, imprecise targeting and a lack of accountability for thousands of civilian deaths, many of them children. The two-part series by reporter Azmat Khan is based on a trove of internal Pentagon documents, as well as on-the-gr…
(2021-12-22). Biden's Summit on Democracy Hypocrisy. workers.org 
With great publicity, President Joe Biden called a grand, international Summit on Democracy for Dec 9-10. This gathering, held on Zoom, was hardly more than a Washington D.C., webinar with a few hundred well-chosen invitees and a well-controlled microphone. U.S. Marines in Syria — "democracy" or imperialist domination? Biden invited . . . |
(2021-12-22). Trump Thinks He's Still President — What Is the Evidence? popularresistance.org Donald Trump thinks he's still president according to no more reliable a source than Rachel Maddow on her February 5th show. This was confirmed in May by Vanity Fair. Right-wing conspiracy theorists echo this analysis as recently as this month. Left-liberals are smugly confident that Kamala Harris's running mate is in the White House, snoozing in the presidential bedroom. Inquiring minds ask what is the evidence nearly a year into the alleged Biden presidency that there has been a change of guard in Washington? | +The Obama-Biden union card check proposal was not on Mr. Trump's political horizon, nor is it on tha…
(2021-12-22). Corporations Flood Senator Joe Manchin's PAC After Blocking Biden Agenda. moguldom.com Corporations, business leaders and groups have been pressuring West. Virginia conservative Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin to oppose President Joe Biden's agenda since the Dems gained a majority in the Senate. Manchin's political action committee saw a gush of corporate contributions before his decision to oppose Biden's $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act for a social …
(2021-12-22). Affordable Child Care Is the Boost Our Economy Needs. otherwords.org Child care is one of the biggest expenses many families face — in much of the country, it can run higher than college tuition. Could a national child care program ease that burden? | We've come close before. During World War II, the federal government provided child care around the clock to enable more women to work in the war industries. In 1971, we nearly got a national child care program until President Richard Nixon vetoed legislation that had strong bipartisan support. | Now, with Senator Joe Manchin stalling President Biden's Build Back Better Act, we could be on the brink of another disappointment. O…
(2021-12-22). Biden Announces More Measures To Battle Omicron in the US. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new plan to increase testing, speed up vaccination, and boost the capacity of hospitals that could be strained in the coming weeks amid surging cases driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. | RELATED: | He said that vaccinated individuals, especially those with a booster shot, are "highly protected" against the virus, while reassuring the country can avoid lockdowns or school closure. | To that end, new federa…
(2021-12-22). Vaccinating 200 million Americans. zcomm.org The Commonwealth Fund finds that without Biden's vaccination drive, a million and a half Americans would have died this year…
(2021-12-22). Headlines for December 22, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Announces New Measures, Defends Vaccine Mandates, Amid Omicron Surge, TX Man Is 1st Omicron-Linked U.S. Death; States Announce Incentives, New Rules to Fight Surge, Rep. Barbara Lee, Govs. Hogan and Walz Announce Breakthrough COVID Infections, U.S. Military to Announce Highly Effective COVID Vaccine, Israel Rolling Out 4th Dose of COVID Vaccine; France Expected to Reach 100,000 New Cases Per Day, Oxfam Files Complaint Against Moderna; EU Approves Novavax COVID Vaccine, Biden Says There Is Still Hope for Build Back Better as Mining Union Urges Manchin to Support Bill, Kellogg's Workers End 11-Week Strike Aft…
(2021-12-22). As Omicron Surges, People in Jail and Detention are More Vulnerable Than Ever. aclu.org Twenty-one months into the pandemic, many people outside of jails, prisons, and civil detention centers in the U.S. are rushing to get their booster vaccines and are spending time with friends and family in ways that felt impossible less than a year ago. The pandemic is far from over, as the omicron variant has made clear. Still, heralding vaccines and rapid tests, public officials are urging vaccinated Americans to celebrate the holidays together, carefully. "We'll get through this," President Biden said in his address this week. | Yet for people who are incarcerated, the risks of COVID-19 infection remain ex…
(2021-12-22). Democracy Summit: Joe Biden Draws a New 'Iron Curtain' on China and Russia. journal-neo.org 
The so-called 'Democracy Summit' that the Biden administration recently held was not only divisive, but was also more of a geo-political rather than a normative event aimed at deliberating about the state of democracy as a system of government and politics. The fact that the US deliberately excluded certain countries and then used the summit …
(2021-12-22). Haitian Asylum Seekers Sue U.S. Government for "Anti-Black Racism Within the Immigration System" democracynow.org 
A group of 11 Haitian asylum seekers is suing the Biden administration, accusing the U.S. government of physical abuse, racial discrimination and other rights violations when they were forced to shelter under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas. The class-action lawsuit comes after images of Border Patrol agents whipping Haitian asylum seekers from horseback went viral in September, drawing outrage from rights groups. The plaintiffs in the case are also demanding the U.S. government allow the return of the thousands of Haitian asylum seekers deported from the Del Rio encampment. Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive di…
(2021-12-22). The Omicron surge: Scientific facts vs. Biden's fictions. wsws.org Beyond telling the unvaccinated to get inoculated, Biden advanced no plan to stop the ongoing massive spread of the Omicron variant and the infection of millions of people in the coming weeks.
(2021-12-22). Omicron: The Lockdowners' Last Stand. globalresearch.ca Just as President Biden's unconstitutional vaccination mandates were being ripped up by the courts, authoritarian politicians, public health bureaucrats, and the mainstream media, announced a new Covid variant to justify another round of lockdowns and restrictions. The things that didn't …
(2021-12-22). Haitian Asylum Seekers Sue US Government for Racial Discrimination. truthout.org 
Image Credit: USA Today Network/Reuters | A group of 11 Haitian asylum seekers is suing the Biden administration, accusing the U.S. government of physical abuse, racial discrimination and other rights violations when they were forced to shelter under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas. The class-action lawsuit comes after images of Border Patrol agents whipping Haitian asylum seekers from horseback went viral in September, drawing outrage from rights groups. The plaintiffs in the case are also demanding the U.S.
(2021-12-22). Sanders Urges Biden to Cancel All Student Loans After Biden Announces Freeze. truthout.org 
After the Debt advocates and lawmakers have been pressuring Joe Biden to follow through with his campaign promise to cancel up to $10,000 of student debt per borrower,…
(2021-12-22). Sign a petition to legalize abortion once and for all. liberationnews.org 
Progressive legislation is won through struggle. We need to demand that the Democrats stop treating women's rights as a debate or bargaining chip for re-elections and defend abortion now!
(2021-12-22). United States Still Strongarming 'Democracy' Onto Libya. towardfreedom.org The Western imperialist forces responsible for the overthrow and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, as well as the destruction of Libya, are now trying to force elections and so-called "democracy" onto the country, writes Netfa Freeman.
(2021-12-22). Nicaragua's evidence-based democracy threatens U.S. oppression domestically and abroad. mronline.org 
Despite Washington's best effort to derail Nicaragua's electoral process through hybrid warfare, strong voter turnout resulted in a decisive victory by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), and the reelection of President Daniel Ortega with 75.92% of the votes cast. Nicaragua's non-partisan, independent Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) reported on Monday, November 8th that 65.23% of …
(2021-12-22). Progressive campaigns influence City of Sydney election results. greenleft.org.au Long-term Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has been returned to the position in the local government elections, along with four others from her Independent Team. Andrew Chuter reports.
(2021-12-22). Turkey: Elections Delayed Because of the Lira Rate Collapse. telesurenglish.net Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's President, announced that the presidential and parliamentary election would be held in June 2023, rejecting the possibility of early elections, given the record fall in the Turkish lira exchange rate. | Turkish elections would be delayed given the record fall in the Turkish lira exchange rate. Dec. 22, 2021.
(2021-12-22). Venezuelans Start Campaign To Elect Barinas State Governor. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Venezuelan political organizations began their campaigns for the election of governor in Barinas, the state where late Commander Hugo Chavez was born. | RELATED: | From Dec. 22 to Jan. 6, candidates will be able to carry out political acts in compliance with the provisions set forth in the Electoral Processes Law and its regulations. | Then, on Sunday, January 9, the people of Barinas will elect th…
(2021-12-22). A Perfect Storm for Democrats in 2022. zcomm.org Analysis of voters in the 2016 elections indicates that Covid and political money will lead to many lost Democratic seats in 2022…
(2021-12-22). Libya Postpones Its Presidential Election. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, the Libyan High National Elections Commission (HNEC) announced a proposal to postpone the upcoming presidential elections to January. | RELATED: | "The Commission proposes, in coordination with the House of Representatives, to postpone the first round of voting in the presidential election to Jan. 24, 2022, provided that the House of Representatives takes the necessary measures to lift the state of force majeure that obstructs the electora…
(2021-12-22). Black America Blasts New US Government Program For Using 'Freedman Bank' Theme For People Of Color, Not Black Americans Specifically. moguldom.com A forum that was held at the U.S. Treasury Department is being blasted by Black America for using the Freedman Bank theme to introduce an initiative that will not specially benefit Black Americans, but people of color as a whole. Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hosted the annual Freedman's Bank Forum …
(2021-12-22). Michael Flynn Sues January 6 Commission, Seeking to Block Subpoena. truthout.org 
Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor to former President Donald Trump, is suing the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack. | Flynn's lawsuit contends that the…
(2021-12-22). Trump's COVID Army Boos Him for Revealing That He Received a Booster Shot. truthout.org 
One of the most notorious moments of the presidency of Donald J. Trump has to be that visit he made to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on March 6th of 2020. COVID-19 hadn't even been named yet and the World Health Organization (WHO) hadn't yet designated it a pandemic but we all knew that something very bad was happening. Cases had shown up in Washington state and California. The whole country was riveted by the plight of a cruise ship sailing off the West Coast with sick people aboard and n…
(2021-12-22). Big Business Defeated as Sawant's Victory Certified in Seattle. zcomm.org "We have defeated Big Business and the right wing in their attempt to use… trumped-up charges against me personally in order to push back against the success of working-class movements in Seattle."
(2021-12-22). Relief for Boric's victory. Uncertainty regarding the social democratization of his discourse. mronline.org 
At 35 years of age, Gabriel Boric is the youngest president-elect (he will be 36 when he takes office on March 11) and the most voted in Chilean history, with an unprecedented 55% of electoral participation.
(2021-12-22). Thousands head home voluntarily from Zambia to DR Congo. moderndiplomacy.eu Nearly 5,000 refugees who fled violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) four years ago, are opting to head home voluntarily from Zambia over the coming months, with the first 100 people setting out on Tuesday. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that security had improved sufficiently in DR Congo's Pweto territory, Haut-Katanga province, for them to go home …
(2021-12-22). GOP Set to Ramp Up Voter Suppression Efforts in 2022. truthout.org 
Republican state lawmakers are showing no signs of slowing down the "tidal wave of restrictive voting legislation" that ramped up across the country in 2021, The past year saw an undeniable acceleration of the passage of anti-democratic state laws, the Brennan Cen…
(2021-12-22). After Selling Brand For An Estimated $70 Million, Diddy Wins Bid To Buy Back Sean John From Bankrupt Owner. moguldom.com Five years after selling a majority stake in his signature streetwear brand Sean John, Sean "Diddy" Combs has regained full ownership and control of the company. The hip-hop mogul once again became the sole owner after the previous majority owner, Global Brands Group, went bankrupt. Diddy won a bidding war against four other parties, purchasing …