(2021-12-24). CEPR Spotlight: Revolving Door Project. cepr.net Late last year, Politico described the Revolving Door Project's Executive Director Jeff Hauser as "the thorn in the Biden transition's side" for trying to push the Biden administration to reject standard, corporate-friendly, revolving door appointees in favor of those who would zealously fight for the broad public interest. In 2021, RDP has only become thornier …
(2021-12-24). A reply to President Biden from California health care workers: "No, the country is not better prepared for COVID than last year!" wsws.org We issue this blunt warning to workers and the general public: The hospital system is worse off now than it was in March 2020. We have been worn to the bone after two years of the pandemic.
(2021-12-24). Senate Told to Act on Voting Rights Bills After Biden Backs Filibuster Exception. zcomm.org "Every senator should have to go on the record and decide whether to stand with the Jim Crow filibuster or our freedom to vote."
(2021-12-24). Markets continue to rise as Omicron spreads. wsws.org Wall Street's S&P 500 reached a new record high yesterday on the back of a speech by US President Biden indicating that nothing meaningful would be done to reduce the growing Omicron threat.
(2021-12-24). Erdogan is Actively Trying to Score Points in Africa. journal-neo.org 
Amid growing accusations against the Turkish government and calls for early presidential and parliamentary elections from the local population due to the intensifying domestic crisis in Turkey in recent days, there has been a surge in publications in the West about the impending power transition in Turkey. Thus, American edition Foreign Policy says that even …
(2021-12-24). What can we Expect from Boric? (Interview). orinocotribune.com 
We spoke to Bruno Sommer, founder of I imagine there is still a sense of elation on the streets of Chile now! | Of course, the victory of Boric and his Frente Amplio group is not only a victory for their sector, but for all the social movements that came out to back him. This election was unique, it had the highest rate of participation since the…
(2021-12-24). Why the media silence about Trudeau's worst foreign policy failure. dissidentvoice.org 
Imagine if Nicolás Maduro's vice president quit and called for his government to be disbanded. Or if Venezuela's opposition won a landslide in regional elections or if 90% of member states voted against the government's UN credentials. The Canadian media would have splashed this news on front pages, but the shoe was on "our guy's" …
(2021-12-24). Anger mounts as New York Democrats fail to protect population from Omicron surge. wsws.org New York City has plunged into a health crisis this week as record numbers of people test positive for COVID-19, primarily its Omicron variant.
(2021-12-24). Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald & Chris Hedges on NSA Leaks, Assange & Protecting a Free Internet. democracynow.org 
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Glenn Greenwald and Chris Hedges discuss mass surveillance, government secrecy, internet freedom and U.S. attempts to extradite and prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. They spoke together on a panel moderated by Amy Goodman at the virtual War on Terror Film Festival after a screening of "Citizenfour" — the Oscar-winning documentary about Snowden by Laura Poitras.
(2021-12-24). Forget Manchin. Sanders says entire Democratic party must show 'guts' against corporate interests. nationofchange.org The focus of the party, says the Vermont senator, must be "to restore faith with the American people that they actually stand for something."
(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). Biden's appeasement strategy in social program talks nears total failure. liberationnews.org 
The Biden administration wasted valuable time conducting secret, backroom negotiations with Manchin when conditions called for organizing a movement to force the passage of the bill.
(2021-12-23). NAACP President Sends Message To Biden: If You Can Afford To Pause Student Loan Payments Over And Over, You Can Cancel Them. moguldom.com Some rejoiced when President Joe Biden announced that he was extending the pause on making student loan payments for three additional months while others urged Biden to go further and cancel student loan debt altogether. Among the latter group are NAACP president Derrick Johnson and renowned wealth inequality expert and economist William "Sandy" Darity. Biden …
(2021-12-23). Biden Says He's Running for Reelection in 2024, With a Big "If" Added. truthout.org 
President Joe Biden recently said that he will run for reelection in 2024 under one condition: that he remains in good health. | Biden made comments alluding to running for a second term as president "Do you plan to run for reelection?" Muir asked Biden this week. | "Yes," Biden responded, adding that he would only run for a second term if he was in the righ…
(2021-12-23). Sanders Urges Biden to Demand DeJoy's Resignation Over USPS "Sabotage" truthout.org 
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday urged President Joe Biden to immediately request the resignation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, citing the In a statement, Sanders (I-Vt.) argued that "by any objective measure, Louis DeJoy, a top campaign contributor of Donald Trump, has been, by far and away,…
(2021-12-23). American Civil War: Of Roman Plagues, Handmaid's Tales & the Real Geopolitics of Fiction. strategic-culture.org 
Biden's foreign policy and his attitude to the EU seems to be a clone of Trump's. Which oddly and incredibly, lends more to the Handmaid scenario than it does Black Mirror. | How can we explain how Australia, Britain, Austria, Italy, and more have gone the path of arbitrary and capricious detention and exclusion from society? The Austrian government mobilized perhaps 500 people into the streets in support of lockdown and apartheid measures, colluding with media to inflate that number by a massive factor of sixty. | The reactions to this certainly represent an extreme polarization of society. Yet in politics, ther…
(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). Libya: National Committee for Human Rights Warns of the Political and Humanitarian Consequences of Aborting Elections. libya360.wordpress.com Demonstrations in Libya protest…
(2021-12-23). Libya: Protests Mark the Postponement of Elections Amidst Threats of Deepening Chaos. libya360.wordpress.com Participants in the Friday of Salvation demand the overthrow of the existing political bodies A group of activists called on citizens to participate in a demonstration entitled "Friday of Salvation" in Tibesti Square in the city of Benghazi. Participants demand the overthrow of all political bodies currently in place, with parliament's work limited to legislative…
(2021-12-23). Libyan presidential elections postponed. peoplesdispatch.org The Libyan election committee has proposed January 24 as the new date for the elections due to unresolved disputes regarding the electoral laws and the presence of foreign troops in the country…
(2021-12-23). Tunisia likely to see more protests against president Saied's power grab. peoplesdispatch.org Over the last few months, Tunisian president Kais Saied has consolidated his control over the executive and legislative authority in the country. His latest action was to announce the formulation of a new constitution to be put to a national referendum next year followed by general elections…
(2021-12-23). US on the Brink of Civil War. libya360.wordpress.com Alfredo Jalife-Rahme After three US generals warned of a fractured Army, a civil war scenario, as a coup attempt after the 2024 presidential election, CIA consultant Barbara Walter judges that the US exhibits several signs that foretell a "pre-civil war" insurgency. Three retired generals shocked public opinion in an article in The Washington Post, an…
(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). Trump Asks Supreme Court to Block Presidential Records From Jan. 6 Committee. truthout.org 
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump Earlier this year, the committee requested communications and other presidential records from…
(2021-12-23). January 6 Committee Requests That Jim Jordan Speak With Them. truthout.org 
The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack has requested that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) appear before them to answer questions regarding his communications with former President Donald Trump. |
(2021-12-23). Trump's 2024 Campaign Will Likely Be: "I Did the Vaccines All by Myself!" truthout.org 
The key to understanding Donald Trump's core belief system is found in the proper placement of three letters: i, m and a; two vowels and a consonant. A person is said to be immoral if they share a value set with a community but fail to follow those values. A person is said to be amoral if they have no personal value set whatsoever, and give not a single fig for what society has to say about right and wrong. | Trump is amoral to a nearly pitch-perfect degree. His existence is entirely transactional: n…
(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). 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). "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). UK Gold Ruling Based On 'Illegal Interference' In Venezuela. popularresistance.org Mexico City, Mexico, December 20, 2021 — The United Kingdom's highest court issued a ruling on Monday favoring opposition figure Juan Guaidó and his efforts to wrest control of US$1.7 billion worth of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England (BoE). | The Monday decision is the latest episode in the legal struggle by the democratically-elected Nicolás Maduro government to regain access to the reserves. Following what the court described as the "one voice principle," the court ruled that under the UK's constitutional arrangements political recognition of foreign states falls to the country's executive.
(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). The Need for a Multidimensional Democracy. libya360.wordpress.com Javier Tolcachier Celebrating and reflecting are two actions that do not usually go hand in hand. Celebration implies an achievement, even if it is only the satisfaction of something well done, while reflection usually accompanies failure or error. Much more so in political terms, since it is not the euphoria of triumph but defeat that…
(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). 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). 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). Nine into two: The Failure of the US Two-Party System. orinocotribune.com By Greg Godels — Dec 21, 2021 | When the so-called "Founding Fathers"— the elites who constructed the US republic — unfolded their unique vision of republicanism and political decision-making, they went long on stability and continuity and short on broad participation and social change. | Accordingly, most of them opposed political factions or parties, but very soon after the new government came into existence, major differences arose, leading to factions and swiftly into parties. | Predictably, the break in unanimity came with the formation of two parties, in the US, a Federalist and an anti-Fed…
(2021-12-23). All They Want for the Holidays Is for Their Loved Ones to Come Home From Prison. truthout.org 
When she was 8 years old, Bryanna Rose had one item on her Christmas wish list — for her father, Jose Colon, to come home. | Ten years later, 18-year-old Bryanna is still waiting. "What would it mean for him to come home now? It would mean the wish I had asked for would come true. It would make me happy now, it would make my younger self really happy, and it would make us whole as a family," she told Truthout. | On December 14, Bryanna watched as her mother, Janette Colon, emceed a r…
(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…