Daily Archives: December 29, 2021

2021-12-29: News Headlines

David Swanson (2021-12-29). Surveillance Concerns: The Good, the Bad, and the Xenophobic. warisacrime.org By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, December 28, 2021 Thom Hartmann has written an enormous number of great books, and the latest is no exception. It's called The Hidden History of Big Brother in America: How the Death of Privacy and the Rise of Surveillance Threaten Us and Our Democracy. Thom is not the least …

WSWS (2021-12-29). CDC backs corporate demands to force the sick back to work. wsws.org The Biden administration has made clear that preventing Americans from contracting, and dying from, COVID-19 is no longer a goal of public policy.

WSWS (2021-12-29). National Labor Relations Board agreement expands union access to Amazon workers. wsws.org The NLRB ruling is the latest effort by the Biden administration to install a union at Amazon, which can be relied on to contain worker unrest in this critical industry.

Jake Johnson (2021-12-29). It Is 'Strange,' Says Greta Thunberg, That Biden Is Seen as a Climate Leader. zcomm.org "I've met so many people who give me very much hope and just the possibility that we can actually change things."

Badri Raina (2021-12-29). If Modi Was the Star of Biden's Democracy Summit, Why Are His Followers Wrecking His Image? zcomm.org Narendra Modi has allocated to himself the world-historical burden of exporting India's great democratic civilisational values to the floundering globe at large. But rogue functionaries of high status seem hell bent on getting in the way…

Laura Carlsen (2021-12-29). Honduras: The End of the Nightmare? zcomm.org The election of the leftist Xiomara Castro as Honduras's first female president means a significant rupture with the country's recent right-wing — even fascist — past,…

Staff (2021-12-28). Headlines for December 28, 2021. democracynow.org World Coronavirus Cases Hit Record High as Omicron Surges, Israel Tests Fourth Vaccine Doses as COVID Surges in Largely Unvaccinated African Nations, Biden Warns Governors of Looming Shortages of Hospital Beds as COVID-19 Cases Near Pandemic Highs, CDC Recommends Shorter Isolation for People with Asymptomatic Coronavirus Infections, Afghan Taliban Bans Women from Road Trips Without Male Escort, Talks on Reviving Iran Nuclear Deal Resume in Vienna, Iraq's Top Court Ratifies Results of October's Contested Election, Russia to Hold Talks with U.S. and NATO Allies over Ukraine Border Tensions, New German Government Mo…

Staff (2021-12-28). Angela Davis on Imagining New Worlds, the Campaign to Free Mumia and the Biden Presidency. democracynow.org World-renowned author, activist and professor Angela Davis talks about navigating the pandemic and an inadequate two-party political system during a time of racial uprising in the United States. She also talks about imprisoned journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, the Biden presidential campaign and the protests that erupted from the police killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Moderator (2021-12-28). The Pentagon Just Got $778 Billion, But USAID Is Running Out of Money for COVID-19 Vaccines? scheerpost.com By Brett Wilkins / Common Dreams Sharply contrasting with the $778 billion in new military spending authorized Monday by President Joe Biden, the U.S. Agency for International Development reportedly can't find the funds to pay for the Biden administration's effort to help vaccinate the world's population against COVID-19, according to two agency officials interviewed by Politico. In an article published Monday …

Editor (2021-12-28). Can Democrats Break the Midterm Curse? scheerpost.com Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) | By Matthew Rozsa / Now that Joe Manchin has sounded the death knell — at least for the moment — for Joe Biden's Build Back Better package, Democrats are doomed in the 2022 midterm elections. | Or, wait: Are they? Sometimes the "laws" of politics (or economics) are characterized as immutable, akin to the laws of physics. They're not, of course. Not a single ballot has b…

Dana Sanchez (2021-12-28). Biden Pivots And Shirks Accountability: No US Government Solution For Covid, Take It Up With States. moguldom.com Critics have slammed President Joe Biden, accusing him of pivoting and shirking accountability after he said on Monday that he is letting states lead the way on testing for the omicron variant of covid-19 spreading like wildfire across the U.S. Biden was in a conference call with some U.S. governors when Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson …

teleSUR (2021-12-28). PM Mia Mottley Calls Snap Elections in Barbados. telesurenglish.net On Monday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for early elections for next January 19, in what will be the first elections of Barbados as a republic after cutting ties with the British monarchy. | RELATED: | In a speech given to the nation, Mottley shared that she had met earlier in the day with President Sandra Mason and had advised that Parliament be dissolved with immediate effect. The Prime Minister added that Mason had also been advised to issue writs for t…

Editor2 (2021-12-28). US on the Brink of Civil War. orinocotribune.com By Alfredo Jalife-Rahme — Dec 23, 2021 | 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 establishment newspaper, that "the military should prepare now for an insurrection in 2024". | On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the lethal insurrection on Capitol Hill, former Generals Paul Eaton, Antonio Taguba and Steven Anderso…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-28). Libyan parliament postpones vote to fix new date for elections. peoplesdispatch.org The schedule for elections is highly uncertain with a parliamentary commission suggesting that the process be abandoned and a new constitution be framed instead. Electoral authorities had recommended that the elections be held on January 24…

Chris Walker (2021-12-28). GA Inquiry Into "Dead People" Voting Reaffirms That Trump's Claims Were Bogus. truthout.org Georgia election investigators have just announced that only

Medea Benjamin (2021-12-28). Yes, There Were 10 Good Things About 2021. dissidentvoice.org Photo credit: peace-justice.org This year, 2021, began with a huge sense of relief as Trump left office. We hoped to emerge from the ravages of COVID, pass a hefty Build Back Better (BBB) bill, and make significant cuts to the Pentagon budget. But, alas, we faced a January 6 white nationalist insurrection, two new COVID …

William Rivers Pitt (2021-12-28). Donald Trump Has Spent the Last Two Weeks Offending His Closest Allies. truthout.org There is a

Tom Ferguson (2021-12-28). In 2020, Elites Bailed on Trump, Not on Republican Party. zcomm.org By Jan 6th events, the majority of corporate America wanted Trump gone, but money continued to flow to GOP…

Staff (2021-12-28). "People Have the Power": Poet & Singer Patti Smith Awarded Key to New York City. democracynow.org Legendary poet, singer, author and activist Patti Smith has been awarded a key to New York City. Smith's music has inspired countless bands and helped earn her the title of the queen of punk. Her song "People Have the Power" has become an anthem at protests across the globe. Patti Smith has also been a longtime activist, performing regularly at antiwar rallies and political benefits. She gave an emotional acceptance speech during a ceremony Monday with outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. We also air a clip of her live performance with singer Michael Stipe at Democracy Now!'s 20th anniversary celebration…

_____ (2021-12-28). After Years Of Setbacks, US Labor Demonstrates Its Power. popularresistance.org 2021 was a historic year for labor in the US. An eruption of strikes, major contract wins, and workers quitting low-wage jobs in unprecedented numbers all signaled that workers en masse are ready to reclaim their power. Workers organized union drives across nearly every industry, pushed for union reforms, and elected new union leadership, speaking volumes to their desire for a more democratic workplace. | For many workers, the pandemic revealed the cruelty of capitalism. Mainstream media and politicians campaigned for a return to business as usual during this second year of COVID. In particular, workers, called "

Amy Goodman (2021-12-28). Angela Davis Speaks on Abolition, Justice for Palestine and Critical Race Theory. truthout.org World-renowned author, activist and professor Angela Davis talks about the prison abolition movement from her time as a Black Panther leader to today. In her tireless efforts as an abolitionist and a teacher, Davis continues to be a fierce advocate of education and the interconnected struggles of oppressed peoples. Davis talks about Indigenous genocide, Palestine, critical race theory and the role of independent media. "Democracy Now! helps us to place our own domestic issues and struggles wi…

Staff (2021-12-28). Scholar Angela Davis on Prison Abolition, Justice for Palestine, Critical Race Theory & More. democracynow.org World-renowned author, activist and professor Angela Davis talks about the prison abolition movement from her time as a Black Panther leader to today. In her tireless efforts as an abolitionist and a teacher, Davis continues to be a fierce advocate of education and the interconnected struggles of oppressed peoples. Davis talks about Indigenous genocide, Palestine, critical race theory and the role of independent media. "Democracy Now! helps us to place our own domestic issues and struggles within the context of global battles against fascism," says Davis.

Editor (2021-12-28). A Few Amazing Progressive Wins That Happened in 2021. scheerpost.com Former Chilean student leader Gabriel Boric will be Chile's next left-wing president. [ By It would be easy to survey the end of 2021 and see another year in wreckage. There's the pandemic that won't end. Rising inflation. Climate disasters. A democracy that looks creakier by the day. | And that was before West Virginia Senat…

_____ (2021-12-28). PEN America And The Betrayal Of Julian Assange. popularresistance.org Nils Melzer, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, is one of the very few establishment figures to denounce the judicial lynching of Julian Assange. Melzer's integrity and courage, for which he has been mercilessly attacked, stand in stark contrast to the widespread complicity of many human rights and press organizations, including PEN America, which has become a de facto subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee. | Those in power, as Noam Chomsky points out, divide the world into "worthy" and "unworthy" victims. They weep crocodile tears over the plight of Uyghur Muslims persecuted in China while demoniz…

Staff (2021-12-28). "His Spirit Reflected a Giant": Mumia Abu-Jamal Remembers Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Visit on Death Row. democracynow.org Mumia Abu-Jamal remembers South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday at the age of 90. Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting to end apartheid in South Africa. In 2007, Tutu visited Mumia when he was still on death row. "His spirit reflected a giant," says Abu-Jamal. "He struggled for change with his prophetic voice, his sweet humor, his deep love and his boundless sense of compassion."

Editor (2021-12-28). The Oligarchy's Ultimate Political Weapon (Video). scheerpost.com Robert Reich / If you're discouraged by what's happening in the country, that is by design. The forces undermining our democracy, polluting our planet, and stoking hatred are counting on you to give up. But we must not let them. | They use their allies in political office to grind the gears of government to a halt, so people see government as the problem, not the solution. But if there's one thing we learned from this wretched pandemic, it's that government intervention can reduce poverty and suffering, and we can afford to pay for it. | They want us t…

_____ (2021-12-28). A Referendum that was Held in Taiwan. journal-neo.org On December 18, a referendum was held in Taiwan, to which four questions were submitted. Since both leading parties of the country, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese National Party (Kuomintang), in increasingly tough opposition to each other in almost all aspects of domestic and foreign policy, called for directly opposite answers to …

Isheka N. Harrison (2021-12-28). Howard University Plans To Delay Spring Semester Amid Area Covid Case Surge. moguldom.com Howard University has delayed the start of its Spring 2022 semester due to a surge of covid-19 cases in the region. The university made the announcement on Monday, Dec. 28 that it will push the start of classes to Jan. 18 in a news release. In the release, Howard notes its public health teal is …

Isheka N. Harrison (2021-12-28). Black America Questions CDC Guidelines Change To Only 5 Days Of Quarantine. moguldom.com The U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shortened the quarantine time it recommends after a positive covid-19 test from 10 days to five. The agency made the announcement about the new CDC guidelines on Monday, Dec. 27 in a news release and Black America is weighing in with their thoughts. "Given what …

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