(2021-12-15). UN Report Raises Concern Over Human Rights Crisis In Colombia. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report demonstrating that the Colombian State must urgently reform its way of handling protests so as to avoid massive human rights violations. | RELATED: | The report entitled "The 2021 National Strike: Lessons for the Exercise of the Right of Peaceful Assembly in Colombia" exhaustively analyzes the behavior of security…
(2021-12-15). Saudi-led coalition launches airstrike on Sana'a. en.mehrnews.com Saudi coalition launched heavy airstrike on Yemeni capital of Sana'a on Wednesday.
(2021-12-15). Cuba Hosts 20th ALBA-TCP Summit to Promote Regional Unity. orinocotribune.com The 20th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) was inaugurated this Tuesday in Havana, Cuba, on the occasion of its 17th anniversary, to reaffirm regional unity and solidarity, and reject US interference in regional affairs. | Among other topics to be discussed are the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the alliance's action program for the coming year. Its objective is to defend the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, approved in Havana in accordance with the 2nd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbea…
(2021-12-15). Will Ethiopia Become Biden's Libya 2.0 or a Driver for an African Renaissance? dissidentvoice.org 
Many westerners trying to make sense of the events in the "dark continent" of Africa have many barriers standing in the way of their minds and reality. This must be the case, for without such filters of spin proclaiming Africa's problems to be self-induced (or the consequence of Chinese debt slavery), we in the west, …
(2021-12-15). SEP (Australia) Emergency Public Meeting: British court decision puts Assange's life in danger. Demand his immediate release! wsws.org The Socialist Equality Party (Australia) has called an online public meeting to fight for the immediate freedom of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, after the British High Court last week ordered his extradition to the US.
(2021-12-15). Union battles at Amazon and Starbucks are hot news. zcomm.org Which can only be good for the labor movement…
(2021-12-15). Honduras' Left-Wing Breakthrough. orinocotribune.com By Francisco Dominguez — Dec 10, 2021 | Since a US-backed coup toppled Mel Zelaya in 2009, Honduras has faced a clampdown on democracy and serious human rights abuses. But the election of socialist Xiomara Castro is a chance to break the cycle. | What appeared impossible has been achieved: the people of Honduras have broken the perpetuation, through electoral fraud and thuggish violence, of a brutal, illegal, illegitimate, and criminal regime.By means of sheer resistance, resilience, mobilisation, and organisation, they have managed to defeat Juan Orlando Hernandez's narco-dictatorship at the ballot box. Xio…
(2021-12-15). Victory for Starbucks Workers United! workers.org 
Starbucks workers made history here Dec. 9 by winning the first union election at a corporate-owned Starbucks store in the United States. Starbucks Workers United gained a sweeping victory at the Elmwood Starbucks store with a greater than two-to-one margin (19 yes, 8 no). The win comes on the heels . . . |
(2021-12-15). Keep your filthy SCOTUS hands off our bodies!!! workers.org 
In a just world, who would ever think that a known rapist would have the power to compel pregnant rape survivors, including minors, to carry their forced pregnancy to term? But that's exactly what happens in "the good old USA." Supreme Court of the U.S. "Justice" Brett Kavanaugh was part . . . |
(2021-12-15). Activists 'march' to abolish Texas death penalty. workers.org 
By Workers World Houston bureau Houston, Texas Though virtual for a second year due to the pandemic, the 22nd Annual March and Rally to Abolish the Death Penalty on Dec. 4 in Texas kept the fighting spirit alive here in the killing capital of the U.S. Demonstrators at Texas annual . . . |
(2021-12-15). "Amazon won't let us leave": Latest US tornado disaster exposes ruling elite's indifference to life. wsws.org In scenes reminiscent of conditions in the early 1900s, workers report that they were trapped in their factories by management in the hours and minutes before the storms bore down on them.
(2021-12-15). What workers are striking against: A global profile of the Kellogg Company. wsws.org The company's threats to fire strikers en masse is the product of its ruthless struggle to cut costs and expand its international market share.
(2021-12-15). "There is no reason people should have been scrambling last minute to get to shelter": Sister of worker killed in Amazon warehouse crushed by tornado speaks out on lack of safety. wsws.org Rachel Cope's brother, Clayton Lynn Cope, was killed in an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois while trying to alert his coworkers to seek cover as a tornado barreled down upon the facility.
(2021-12-15). Stagecoach Yorkshire bus drivers in UK reject revised pay deal and launch second week-long strike. wsws.org Stagecoach Yorkshire bus workers should view the company's favourably citing agreements it has reached with Unite across its UK network to end pay disputes as a warning.
(2021-12-15). Kaiser workers: To prepare for our fight for safe staffing during Omicron, we must learn the lessons of the AHCU contract betrayal! wsws.org The Alliance of Health Care Unions may have succeeded in ramming through the latest concessions contract, but that does not change the fact that we still need a fully staffed health care system now to handle the impending surge of COVID-19 cases.
(2021-12-15). After Big Win in Buffalo, Starbucks Workers in Massachusetts File to Unionize. zcomm.org If they're successful, they'll join Buffalo workers in being the first of the company's roughly 9,000 corporate-owned locations to form a union…
(2021-12-15). Sri Lankan port and free trade zone workers back global inquest into pandemic. wsws.org "No one is taking responsibility for the virus. It is not the people who should be held accountable, but the authorities who hold office."
(2021-12-15). The only way to deal effectively with a pandemic is socialistic. moderndiplomacy.eu The two extremes of ideology are libertarianism (anarchy) versus government (socialism). (Pure embodiments of either are rare if not non-existent.) A democratic government represents the public; an aristocratic government represents the wealthiest 0.1% as its actual dictators and beneficiaries. The two types of libertarianism are: the pure form, in which everyone is free to destroy …
(2021-12-15). China, Russia to expedite cooperation on cutting-edge technologies: Xi. ecns.cn Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China and Russia should take the opportunities brought by the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and expedite industrial cooperation on cutting-edge technologies.
(2021-12-15). Teachers across Iran take strike action demanding jailed trade unionist is freed. mronline.org 
Thousands of protesting teachers assembled in front of the Majlis, or Iranian parliament building, in central Tehran today demanding justice and the release from prison of a leading teacher trade unionist.
(2021-12-15). Australian university union holds back industrial action. wsws.org The votes for strike action reflect the anger and disgust that has built up over the past two years as managements continue to exploit the COVID pandemic to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs.
(2021-12-15). New York nurses' union stages impotent protests against understaffing. wsws.org At its "days of action," the union has proposed no actions other than fruitless appeals to Democratic politicians.
(2021-12-15). Audio: Cover-Up in Kabul Strike. davidswanson.org By Political Misfits, December 15, 2021 LISTEN HERE. David Swanson, activist, journalist, radio host and author of the book "Curing Exceptionalism," talks to us about how the Pentagon "cover-up" in the Kabul drone killing of a family continues, with the news that no US troops will be punished for deadly Kabul strike, how impunity is …
(2021-12-15). Wealth, Capitalism and Ideology. zcomm.org As an almost classical consequence of capitalist markets, sovereignty in monetary terms exists only for big players…
(2021-12-15). In OtherWords: December 15, 2021. otherwords.org On December 15, the families of 65 million U.S. children received their last monthly payment under the expanded Child Tax Credit, which expires this month. | Those payments have kept millions out of poverty, writes West Virginia mom Kristen Olsen. Unfortunately, the GOP is unanimously opposed to extending them — and so far, they've had an ally in West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin. | Will the multimillionaire senator, Kristen wonders, really vote to send millions of kids back into poverty — including in his home state, whose kids are among the poorest in the country? The answer will have national impl…
(2021-12-15). Liberating Frankness, Enlightening Irreverence. dissidentvoice.org The liberating power of irreverent "black comedy": breaking false idols, mocking prevailing hypocrisies, and calling forth a massive revolt against mass delusion and folly—through laughter. It was, of course, in the Sixties, just when people were beginning to "raise their consciousness" — that various forms of spirited and subversive humor appeared on the scene. Things …
(2021-12-15). UNGA President Says Vaccinating World New Year's Top Priority. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), said that his first goal for the New Year is to vaccinate the world and achieve vaccine equity. | RELATED: | "My top priority is going to be on vaccine. That is why I am convening this high-level meeting on Jan. 13. That is why I want to make my New Year resolution on vaccine," the UNGA president told reporters while responding to the question regarding his top pr…
(2021-12-14). "Talon Anvil" U.S. military unit exposed for role in massive Syrian civilian deaths. liberationnews.org 
Damning new information has come to light about systematic disregard for civilian casualties in U.S. airstrikes on Syria…
(2021-12-14). No action against personnel responsible for killing Afghan civilians in August drone strike, says US defense department. peoplesdispatch.org 
Several human rights groups have questioned the internal investigation by the Pentagon which called the drone strike inside a residential building in Kabul an "honest mistake". 10 Afghan civilians including seven children, were killed in the US drone strike in August…
(2021-12-14). Headlines for December 14, 2021. democracynow.org Eight Killed by Tornado at Kentucky Factory Whose Workers Were Ordered to Remain on Site, Ice Sheet Holding Back Vast Antarctic Glacier Poised to Collapse Within Five Years, U.K. Reports First Death Linked to Fast-Spreading Omicron Coronavirus Variant, New York City to Require Proof of Vaccination for Kids 5 and Up to Enter Public Spaces, Pentagon Won't Punish Anyone over Kabul Drone Strike That Killed 10 Civilians, Sudanese Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters Demanding End to Military Rule, Report: Colombian Police Killed at Least 11 People Protesting Police Brutality, Danish Ex-Minister Gets Prison for Illegally…
(2021-12-14). Capitalism and Imperialism: A Global System of Death. liberationnews.org 
Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how workers are bearing the deadly brunt of the devastating tornadoes that ripped across the country and new revelations about US war crimes in Syria…
(2021-12-14). US Shouldn't Be Invited to Summit for Democracy, Let Alone Be its Host. orinocotribune.com 
By Alexander Rubinstein — Dec 8, 2021 | In every one of the countries the United States has intervened in over the past decades, anti-democratic means are almost always used towards anti-democratic ends, all in the name of promoting democracy. | This week, the United States is convening a virtual "Summit for Democracy," the first of its kind in what the State Department hopes to make an annual event. | "The summit will focus on challenges and opportunities facing democracies and will provide a platform for leaders to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend demo…
(2021-12-14). Asian Hiring Manager At FAANG Company Says He Gives Black Candidates Tougher Questions To Strike Back At Affirmative Action. moguldom.com A person who described himself as an Asian hiring manager at a FAANG company — an acronym for stocks of U.S. tech companies Facebook, Amazon, Apple Netflix and Google — admitted that he gives "URM" job candidates a hard time during interviews, according to a post on an anonymous community workplace app. URM or "Underrepresented Minority" …
(2021-12-14). Barbados declares a republic: British imperialism's legacy of slavery and colonialism. wsws.org None of the island's governments have been able to redress British imperialism's legacy of underdevelopment, dependency and above all economic hardship and social inequality.
(2021-12-14). Who is Responsible for the Deteriorating Situation in Lebanon? journal-neo.org 
For many years, Lebanon was considered the safe haven of the Middle East plagued by wars, instability, and colored revolutions. Many have referred to the country as the Middle East's Switzerland, including investments in Lebanon's economy from countries of the region where the political crises were raging. The country's banks were especially valued, prosperous and …
(2021-12-14). Workers At Warren General Hospital Vote To Strike. popularresistance.org Workers at Allegheny Health Network affiliate Warren General Hospital voted Saturday to strike, straining already fragile medical resources in rural northwest Pennsylvania. | The 114 nurses and health care workers, who are members of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, issued a 10-day strike notice at the 87-bed hospital — the only acute care facility in the county. | The labor agreement with workers expired in September, and negotiations were scheduled to continue Monday, hospital CEO Rick Allen said. | The hospital has offered pay increases of 4.2% to over 16%, plus enha…
(2021-12-14). Equal Pay For Equal Work! Kellogg Bakers Local 3G Striker Donovan Williams Speaks At UAW 5. indybay.org Kellogg Battle Creek BCTGM Local 3g striker Donovan Williams reported on their national strike to UAW 5 members and supporters on December 10, 2021…
(2021-12-14). "Vaccines: Truths, Lies, and Controversies." On the Basic Essay-Study of Dr. Peter Gotzsche. libya360.wordpress.com Damian Mazzotti "Vaccines: Truth, Lies, and Controversies" is a resounding essay that is very useful to all physicians and those involved in evaluating health policies (Peter C. Gotzsche, twitter.com/pgtzsche1, 2020, http: //www.fioritieditore.com/prodotto/vaccini-verita-bugie-e-controversie; 196 pages, euro 18). Peter Gotzsche has a unique professional experience gained from a double degree in Chemistry and Medicine. Through his collaborations and…
(2021-12-14). Government crisis in Sweden strengthens far-right. wsws.org For the first time, the Swedish parliament voted for a budget drafted by the conservative Moderate Party in collaboration with the far-right Sweden Democrats.
(2021-12-14). Strike Wave in the U.S.? Labor Historian Nelson Lichtenstein on Union Drives & Worker Revolts. democracynow.org 
As unionizing efforts have taken the U.S. by storm, we look at the history of the U.S. labor movement and how unions have acted as a bulwark against corporate power. Worker organizing at Starbucks, Kellogg's and Amazon shows that unions help enforce health and safety measures and protect workers who speak out. "A working-class consciousness ebbs and flows," says Nelson Lichtenstein, director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor, and Democracy at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "A union is a way of capturing that consciousness and making it the law of the land."
(2021-12-14). White House Hosts Democracy Summit and Highlights Global Anti-Corruption Commitments. indybay.org More than 100 leaders showcase initiatives to counter dictatorships, fight corruption and promote human rights at a virtual summit the White House hosts December 9-10.
(2021-12-14). Ukraine Is a Problem Only as Long as the West Makes It One. dissidentvoice.org 
Ukrainian servicemen take part in a drill of the airborne troops taking place in Zhytomyr region on November 21, 2018. (photo: AFP) Since the fall of the Soviet Union thirty years ago, US policy on Ukraine has been an ugly mix of inconsistency, quiet aggression, fear-mongering and stupidity. Now President Biden is recklessly intensifying the …
(2021-12-14). Family Policies in the Build Back Better Act Would Reduce Burdens on Families and Provide a Better Buffer to Economic Instability. cepr.net Many US workers could not say exactly when or how much they will be working two weeks from today. As one might imagine, this situation makes it difficult to plan and control one's nonwork life. It also can lead to financial hardship for low- and moderate-income households when they experience a decline in earnings due …
(2021-12-14). Understanding the Historical Moment We're in Takes Practical Action! anchor.fm In this episode I go into a discussion about the political, social, and economic placement we as working class people seem to find ourselves in today, not simply in the US but in some sense around the world. We are all hurting in a very similar way, added onto by our own individual struggles or difficulties we might face because of the color of our skin, our gender, our ability or willingness to be taken advantage of, etc. We are all suffering very difficult situations which none of us can take on alone, but if we want to do something about these things, we can't just pick up a gun and go, we'll be killed, or mos…
(2021-12-14). Support the Turkish health care workers' strike movement! wsws.org This strike movement, amid a raging pandemic, is internationally significant and deserves support from all sections of the working class.
(2021-12-14). José Antonio Kast: Chile's left paves the way for a fascist. wsws.org The political descendants of the forces that bore responsibility for straitjacketing the working class ahead of the September 11, 1973 coup are today playing the same role.
(2021-12-14). Amazon Under Fire After Warehouse Collapse Kills At Least Six People. popularresistance.org Amazon was accused Saturday of putting corporate profits above worker safety following the tornado-caused partial collapse of a St. Louis-area warehouse that left at least six people dead. | "Time and time again Amazon puts its bottom line above the lives of its employees," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), in a statement. "Requiring workers to work through such a major tornado warning event as this was inexcusable." | Appelbaum's remarks came after an outbreak of over 20 devastating tornadoes late Friday tore through multiple states and killed dozens of…
(2021-12-14). UAW members vote strongly in favor of 'One worker, one vote' referendum. liberationnews.org 
In voting results announced on December 2, members of the United Auto Workers overwhelmingly voted to change the union's method of choosing its top leadership…
(2021-12-14). MIT graduate employees announce majority support for unionization — will MIT commit to contract negotiations? liberationnews.org 
The graduate student workers of MIT have spoken. Will President L. Rafael Reif listen?>
(2021-12-14). Massive workers' mobilization in Turkey demands fair minimum wage. peoplesdispatch.org 
In a massive rally in Istanbul called by the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DiSK), workers demanded an increase in the minimum wage in the country to at least 5,200 Turkish Lira (USD 358.80) in order to meet their basic needs…