(2022-01-05). We Dance into the New Year Banging our Hammers and Swinging our Sickles. orinocotribune.com 
By Vijay Prashad — Dec 30, 2021 | Bittersweet is the passage of this year. There have been some immense victories and some catastrophic defeats, the most terrible being the failure of the Global North countries to adopt a democratic attitude towards confronting the COVID-19 pandemic and creating equitable access to key resources, from life-saving medical equipment to vaccines. Tragically, by the end of this pandemic, we will have learnt the Greek alphabet from the
(2022-01-05). Occupy Biden Demonstrates How To Hold Politicians Accountable. popularresistance.org During the 2020 presidential campaigns, it was common for people who planned to vote for Joe Biden to say that they recognized he was a corporate-friendly candidate but that we just needed to elect him and then he could be pressured to act in the interests of the people. Well, unlike the marches after President Trump was elected, that mass pressure on Biden has not materialized. Now, a coalition of smaller climate justice groups (not the Big Greens) has just completed a weeklong occupation of land close to the President's home with two demands: that he declare a climate emergency and that he stop any new fossil f…
(2022-01-05). In Search of Shallow Doctrines: Joe Biden and Trumpism Shorn. dissidentvoice.org The US presidential doctrine is an odd creature. Usually summoned up by security wonks and satellite personnel who revolve around the President, these eventually assume the name of the person holding office. They are given the force of a Papal bull and treated by the priest pundits as binding, coherent and sound. Much of this …
(2022-01-05). Chile: Election of Constitutional Assembly President is Delayed. telesurenglish.net Chile's Constitutional Convention will restart the election of its new president on Wednesday after over-18-hour-lasting voting that ended without any candidate obtaining 78 votes needed to replace current President Elisa Loncon, whose six-month term of office ended on Jan. 4. | RELATED: | Besides being related to the lack of agreement between the lawmakers, the delay in the paraliamentary decision process is du…
(2022-01-05). Andrés Arauz on CDBCs and Sovereignty. cepr.net Interview with Andres on Bitcoin, the broader world of crypto & NFTs, how to think about digital and monetary sovereignties together, the geopolitics of the global payment systems, China's efforts to control FinTech, the situation in El Salvador, and the possible ways to democratize central banking.
(2022-01-05). House Select Committee plans open televised hearings on January 6 attack. wsws.org Democratic and Republican leaders discussed the evidence being amassed in appearances on television Sunday.
(2022-01-04). Right-wing hate speech runs rampant in India's elections. peoplesdispatch.org The upcoming elections in three Indian states will be a contest between the BJP's polarizing, violent, Islamaphobic messages and efforts to create a more plural, more democratic India…
(2022-01-04). We dance into the New Year banging our hammers and swinging our sickles: The Fifty-Second Newsletter (2021). mronline.org 
Bittersweet is the passage of this year. There have been some immense victories and some catastrophic defeats, the most terrible being the failure of the Global North countries to adopt a democratic attitude towards confronting the COVID-19 pandemic and creating equitable access to key resources, from life-saving medical equipment to vaccines.
(2022-01-04). Bernie to Biden: Dump DeJoy before he harms anti-virus fight. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., has finally had it up to here with Trumpite Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The senator, a longtime supporter of the U.S. Postal Service and its workers, wants Democratic President Joe Biden to dump DeJoy before the exec's destruction at the USPS endangers the nation's fight against the coronavirus. In a December …
(2022-01-04). Marxist IQ: Democracy hypocrisy. cpusa.org 
The Biden administration hypocritically portrays the U.S. as the leader of world forces advancing "democracy" against "authoritianism," holding global forums to propagate these ideas, yet targets the People's Republic of China with boycotts of the Olympics, Cuba with the continuation of a 60-year blockade, and other nations with covert and overt support for factions …
(2022-01-04). Judge rules on US Navy SEALs vaccination dispute. rt.com 
US judge rules in favor of Navy SEALs refusing vaccination on religious grounds | A Texas court ruled that it would be unconstitutional for the US Navy to punish service members seeking a religious exemption from President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate. | District Judge Reed O'Connor issued a preliminary order on Monday blocking the Navy and the Department of Defense from enforcing their vaccine rules. | "The Navy service members in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect," the judge wrote in his decision. "The Covid-19 pandemic provides the government no license to…
(2022-01-04). "Essential But Excluded": Pandemic Aid Left Out Undocumented Immigrants & Their U.S. Citizen Kids. democracynow.org 
Pandemic relief programs have helped millions of families get through the economic shocks of COVID-19, but undocumented immigrants — many of whom are essential workers — have been largely shut out of such federal aid. Those undocumented workers who have received limited assistance are now losing the pandemic aid they had only started receiving in August through the Biden administration's expanded child tax credit program, which expired and is being blocked from further implementation into Build Back Better legislation. "These families, in spite of the fact that they were essential workers, endured thi…
(2022-01-04). Capitalism Is Preventing Bold Steps to Curb COVID as Cases Skyrocket. truthout.org 
The conversation on shutting down massive swaths of the economy and daily life, in order to corral the dual COVID-19 variant explosions of Delta and Omicron, has become brittle. President Biden has stated repeatedly that the U.S. is not " Their hesitancy, while not as scientifica…
(2022-01-04). Immigrants Held in ICE Jails at Risk Amid New Omicron Surge. truthout.org 
Image Credit: Cynthia Briones | As the Omicron variant sets record-high COVID-19 infection rates across the United States, we look at the conditions in the sprawling network of jails run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement where the Biden administration is holding more than 22,000 people. "There's still a lot of people detained. There's no social distancing. People are still facing COVID," says longtime immigrant activist Maru Mora Villalpando, who adds that most COVID infections are coming from unvaccinated…
(2022-01-04). Top Pentagon official declares Taiwan critical to "vital US interests" wsws.org Under the pretext of defending "democratic" Taiwan, the Biden administration is actively preparing for war with China to prevent it challenging American global hegemony.
(2022-01-04). "There's No Social Distancing": Immigrants Held in ICE Jails at Risk Amid New Omicron Surge. democracynow.org 
As the Omicron variant sets record-high COVID-19 infection rates across the United States, we look at the conditions in the sprawling network of jails run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement where the Biden administration is holding more than 22,000 people. "There's still a lot of people detained. There's no social distancing. People are still facing COVID," says longtime immigrant activist Maru Mora Villalpando, who adds that most COVID infections are coming from unvaccinated workers who are coming from outside of the jails. She describes how people held in GEO Group's Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacom…
(2022-01-04). Marching to Biden's House on New Year's Day. zcomm.org People and the planet need action now, and working class people of all colors and cultures need to be given reasons to come out and vote…
(2022-01-04). US moves to shut down case reporting to cover up Omicron disaster. wsws.org The Biden administration and state governments are working to cripple the reporting of COVID-19 testing to cover up their massive failure to protect the population from the pandemic.
(2022-01-04). VIDEO: Severe winter weather disrupts Biden's return to DC. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 04 (MNA) — The staircase Biden uses got stuck in the snow, temporarily preventing the president and his staff from getting off Air Force One.
(2022-01-04). President Biden Talks to Nation About Omicron. telesurenglish.net U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris gave statements about the fast-spreading of Omicron and the increase in COVID-19 cases caused by this new strain. | Joe Biden called for every one in the country to get vaccinated and boosted after the record of number of COVID-19 cases registered. Jan. 4,2022.
(2022-01-04). The Monómeros Case Becomes a Factor in Colombia's Presidential Campaign. orinocotribune.com With the presidential elections in Colombia only five months away, the political climate has begun to intensify and new arguments are arising regarding the destiny of the country. For example, the many mistakes of current President Iván Duque are recurrently referenced on social media by leftist candidate Gustavo Petro. | Petro recently mentioned the responsibility that Duque has for the theft of the Venezuelan fertilizer company Monómeros headquartered in Barranquilla, Colombia, which was stolen in complicity with self-proclaimed "interim president" of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó. On this subject, Petro also commente…
(2022-01-04). Venezuela: Arreaza Leads Massive Rallies In Barinas Campaign. telesurenglish.net The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) candidate to Barinas state governor Jorge Arreaza continues his political campaign for the elections to be held on Sunday. | RELATED: | On Monday, Arreaza took part in popular assemblies in Cruz Paredes, Obispos, and Barinas, where he listened to what citizens expect of him as governor and confirmed the effectiveness of government programs. | "Our policy proposals stem from suggestions made by citizens in these assemb…
(2022-01-04). New Poll Shows Democrats Barely Ahead of Republicans in 2022 Midterms. truthout.org 
A new poll demonstrates that previous projections of the 2022 midterm elections may have been premature in concluding that Republicans will likely win control of Congress later this year. | A USA Today/Suffolk University poll,
(2022-01-04). Thursday 1/13: Recall Reform Proposed for San Francisco. indybay.org Zoom How to Join the HANC | Meeting. Please join us on Thursday, January | 13, at 7: 00 pm. Aaron Peskin | will discuss a ballot measure to | reform the recall process. (We | are not discussing the specific | upcoming recall elections.) | • To join the meeting, copy this | link: zoom.us/j/97001985 | 280?pwd=Nkx2UVFPSTRVWG | VXUVZEbFRkb0xwQT09 | • Or, with the Zoom app: | Meeting ID: 970 0198 5280 | Passcode: 333544 | • Zoom also provides telephone | numbers. These are not toll free | numbers. Check with your | phone company before you | incur charges.
(2022-01-04). Philippine election in crisis, as COVID cases skyrocket. wsws.org This year opened with a skyrocketing COVID-19 infection rate, soaring food and oil prices and rival ruling class candidates for the presidency openly plotting against democracy.
(2022-01-04). Tuesday 1/11: Inside Trump's Attempted Election Steal and the People Who Stopped It. indybay.org Online event…
(2022-01-04). House Dems Expect 'More Decentralised, Younger And Diverse' Leadership in Post-Nancy Pelosi Era. sputniknews.com Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the only woman in US history to lead the House of Representatives, has served twice each as Minority Leader (2003—2007 and 2011—2019) and as Speaker (2007—2011 and since 2019). In 2018 Pelosi said she would agree not to serve as speaker beyond another four years.
(2022-01-04). FBI Is Recklessly Misusing Trump-Era Espionage Policy To Create 'Climate Of Fear' Among Scientists. popularresistance.org On the Tuesday before Christmas, Dr. Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard's Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department, was convicted by a federal jury of lying to the U.S. about his involvement with China's government and failing to disclose income from China on his tax returns. He faces up to five years in federal prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. | Lieber had been prosecuted as part of the Justice Department's China Initiative, which was established in 2018 to crackdown on Chinese economic and scientific espionage. | An investigation by MIT Technology Review found that instead of focu…
(2022-01-04). NBC News Uses Ex-FBI Official Frank Figliuzzi To Urge Assange's Extradition. popularresistance.org Two of the television outlets on which American liberals rely most for their news — NBC News and CNN — have spent the last six years hiring a virtual army of former CIA operatives, FBI officials, NSA spies, Pentagon chiefs, and DOJ prosecutors to work in their newsrooms. The multiple ways in which journalism is fundamentally corrupted by this spectacle are all vividly illustrated by a new article from NBC News that urges the prosecution and extradition of Julian Assange, claiming that the WikiLeaks founder, once on U.S. soil, will finally provide the long-elusive proof that Donald Trump criminally con…
(2022-01-04). Assange offered asylum just across US border. rt.com 
Mexico's leader extends asylum offer to WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange | Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he sought a pardon for Julian Assange under the Trump administration but was ignored, while reiterating an asylum proposal he first floated last year. | President Obrador described efforts he made to secure the anti-secrecy activist's freedom and repeated an offer for political asylum during a Monday press conference, following a December 10 decision by the UK High Court of Justice which ruled that Assange could be extradited to the United States on a series of espionage charges link…
(2022-01-04). Trump Blasts Twitter as a 'Disgrace to Democracy' For Booting Off Marjorie Taylor Greene. sputniknews.com US Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene labelled Twitter "an enemy to America" after she had her personal account permanently suspended over repeated violations of the social media platform's policy regarding COVID-19 misinformation.
(2022-01-04). Puebla Group Supports AMLO's Offer to Grant Asylum to Assange. telesurenglish.net Julian Assange is a victim of political persecution by U.S. authorities after revealing in 2010 crimes against humanity committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. | "Mexican President AMLO said he had sought a pardon for Julian Assange from former U.S. President Donald Trump before he left office last year and repeated his offer of asylum for the Wikileaks founder on Monday."
(2022-01-04). FBI is recklessly misusing Trump-era espionage policy to create "Climate of Fear" among scientists—terrorizing families and ruthlessly destroying careers. mronline.org 
On the Tuesday before Christmas, Dr. Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard's Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department, was convicted by a federal jury of lying to the U.S. about his involvement with China's government and failing to disclose income from China on his tax returns.
(2022-01-04). Mexican Newspaper Warns About the Rise of Fascism in the US. telesurenglish.net In the United States, the constant deterioration of public trust in the so-called institutions of democracy is not surprising. According to Gallup surveys in 2021, only 39 percent of the population trusts the federal government to address national problems. | "Trumpism is beginning to closely resemble European fascism in its 'contempt for the rule of law and glorification of violence,' though Trump may 'just be a warm-up act' for what is to come."
(2022-01-04). As Iran honors Qassem Soleimani, Ebrahim Raisi demands that Trump be put on trial. peoplesdispatch.org Mobilizations were held across Iran on Monday on the second anniversary of the assassination of major general Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a drone attack sanctioned by then US president Donald Trump…
(2022-01-04). Citan a Trump a declarar por presunto fraude fiscal en EE.UU. telesurtv.net La Organización Trump forma parte de una investigación civil debido a inflación de valores, donde se vincula a dos hijos del expresidente estadounidense.
(2022-01-04). Dolph Rempp of Studio Instrument Rentals (S.I.R.) is a Trump supporter. indybay.org Ken Berry and Dolph Rempp, co-founders of Studio Instrument Rentals (S.I.R.) some major players in the music industry.
(2022-01-04). Headlines for January 4, 2022. democracynow.org Global Coronavirus Cases Hit Record High, U.S. Logs 1M Daily Coronavirus Cases for First Time; FDA Approves Booster Shots for Teens, Schumer Promises Senate Vote on Filibuster Reform by MLK Holiday as Voting Rights Bills Languish, Protests Erupt on Anniversary of Trump's Assassination of Qassem Soleimani, Haitian PM Ariel Henry Says He Survived Assassination Attempt, Brazilian Far-Right President Jair Bolsonaro Hospitalized with Intestinal Blockage, Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Found Guilty of Defrauding Investors, Court Unseals Settlement Between Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew Accuser Virginia Giuffre, C…
(2022-01-04). Trump slams 'low-life' Twitter & Facebook. rt.com 
The former US president responded to Marjorie Taylor Greene's ban by blasting Twitter and Facebook's 'radical left' slant | Donald Trump has branded Twitter a "disgrace to democracy" after it permanently suspended the personal account of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) for allegedly violating its Covid-19 misinformation rules. | In a
(2022-01-04). Sanders: Spiraling military spending pushes nation toward 'spiritual death'. peoplesworld.org 
Sen. Bernie Sanders delivered a warning to his colleagues that they are pushing the nation toward "spiritual death" in approving $778 billion for the Pentagon in 2022. It is more, he charged, than the arms budgets of the next 13 nations combined. The goal of this misguided Pentagon allocation is total global domination by U.S. imperialism, …
(2022-01-04). Raúl Castro y Díaz-Canel envían ofrendas florales a despedida de combatiente revolucionaria. cubadebate.cu Ofrendas florales del General de Ejército Raúl Castro y del presidente cubano, Miguel Díaz-Canel, acompañaron este lunes, en Granma, el último adiós a Edemis Tamayo Núñez, integrante del pelotón femenino Mariana Grajales, creado en la Sierra Maestra por iniciativa de Fidel Castro y Celia Sánchez, en septiembre de 1958.
(2022-01-04). Thursday 1/6: Half Moon Bay: January 6th Day of Remembrance & Action Vigil for Democracy & Voter Rights. indybay.org HALF MOON BAY: Sidewalk intersection at Hwy 92 and Main Street, Half Moon Bay 94019 | Please wear a mask and be vaccinated/boosted. Follow all COVID safety guidelines, especially w/ omicron variant: www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Omicron-Variant-Fact-Sheet.aspx…
(2022-01-04). The dairy industry is determined to pour itself down our throats. nationofchange.org This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life, a project of theIndependent Media Institute. When author and historian James Truslow Adams introduced "the American dream" into common parlance in his 1931 book The Epic of America, he wasn't suggesting that fulfilling it would require the democratically elected U.S. government to dictate what Americans …
(2022-01-04). Make No Mistake, Fascism Is on the Ballot in 2022. zcomm.org The biggest battle for the survival of American democracy is before us now…
(2022-01-04). Amid record-breaking COVID infections, Pennsylvania governor and teacher unions call for in-person learning to continue. wsws.org The COVID catastrophe throughout the state is being fueled by unsafe school openings, which Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers president and Democratic Governor Tom Wolf are demanding begin January 4 so that parents can return to work.
(2022-01-04). Thursday 1/6: Davis: January 6th Day of Remembrance & Action Vigil for Democracy & Voting Rights. indybay.org DAVIS: Central Park, 5th Street & B Street, Davis, CA 95616 | Please wear a mask and be vaccinated/boosted. Follow all COVID safety guidelines, especially w/ omicron variant: www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Omicron-Variant-Fact-Sheet.aspx…
(2022-01-04). As Tax Credit Expires, "Huge Increase" in Child Poverty Feared Amid Omicron Wave. truthout.org 
The lapse of Democrats' expanded child tax credit program at the end of last month has progressive lawmakers and advocates vocally warning of a major spike in child poverty in the new year just as the Omicron variant wreaks havoc across the U.S., fueling a staggering rise in infections and hospitalizations. | While some
(2022-01-04). North Korea Fires Unidentified Missile Towards Eastern Waters. telesurenglish.net The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) aka North Korea fired an unidentified projectile towards eastern waters, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday. | Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 25, 2019 shows the test-firing of newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Aug. 24, 2019.
(2022-01-04). Big Pharma Hikes Prices on 442 Drugs. scheerpost.com 
By Jake Johnson / Common Dreams Patient advocates on Monday condemned the U.S. pharmaceutical industry for ushering in the new year with price hikes on more than 440 medications, a move that came as congressional Democrats' plan to lower prescription drug costs remained stuck due to Sen. Joe Manchin's persistent obstruction. According to the healthcare firm GoodRx, the prices …
(2022-01-04). France and U.K. Sued for Manslaughter After 27 Migrants Seeking Help Drowned in English Channel. democracynow.org 
The French humanitarian group Utopia 56 has filed a manslaughter lawsuit against British and French officials for failing to help 27 migrants who drowned to death in the English Channel in November. The only two survivors say they were ignored when they made distress calls and told their location to French and English rescue services after their boat capsized and started sinking in the freezing waters off the French port city of Calais. We speak with NikolaàØ Posner of Utopia 56, who says the lawsuit is meant to "bring the truth and the transparency on what happened."