(2021-12-21). Senior Economist At Moody's, Mark Zandi: I'm Lowering My Economic Forecast For US Due To Omicron Variant. moguldom.com Moody's Analytics is expected to downgrade its U.S. economic forecast by as much as one percentage point in the coming days due to the double blow from the intensifying pandemic and Sen. Joe Manchin's opposition to President Joe Biden's signature Build Back Better legislation. Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told CNN on Monday that …
(2021-12-21). The US Fights Asia, Not Just China. journal-neo.org 
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken cut short his tour of Southeast Asia due to concerns over COVID-19, the New York Times would report. The aborted trip comes at a time when the US finds itself struggling for relevance in a region it had once held considerably more sway over. This most recent turn for …
(2021-12-21). Want to Know How to Beat COVID? Look at China. orinocotribune.com By Scott Scheffer — Dec 17, 2021 | The world is now nearing the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States has the highest death toll in the world — 823,390 as of Dec. 16. | With all the scientific resources available, and billions of dollars in the vaults of the richest capitalist class in history, the U.S. should have been able to succeed in a vaccination campaign and treat everyone before they were infected. Vaccines should have made their way throughout the world, including the global south where the challenges of poverty magnify the horrors of the pandemic. | Instead, the W…
(2021-12-21). Global Study: 4 In 10 With Covid Are Spreading It Unknowingly. moguldom.com Four out of 10 people who are infected with covid-19 are spreading the disease unknowingly, according to a global study. Findings of a study by researchers from Peking University showed that more than 40 percent of the tested population confirmed to be infected with coronavirus were asymptomatic, exhibiting no symptoms of the disease. The study, …
(2021-12-21). Headlines for December 21, 2021. democracynow.org WHO Urges Cancellation of Holiday Gatherings as Omicron Spreads at Record Pace, Omicron Variant Surpasses Delta, Now Accounts for Three-Quarters of U.S. Cases, New York Confirms Record Number of Coronavirus Infections for Fourth Straight Day, NHL Cancels Hockey Games Amid COVID Surge; Record Number of NFL Players Test Positive, White House to Make Half-Billion COVID-19 Home Test Kits Available for Free, Himalayan Glaciers Melt at Accelerating Rate as Climate Emergency Deepens, EPA Rule Would Require Gas-Powered Cars to Average 55 Miles Per Gallon by 2026, Burmese Military Massacred 40 Men and Buried Bodies in Mas…
(2021-12-21). 2022 Must Be the Year the Left Proactively Shapes the COVID Agenda. truthout.org 
As we head into the winter holidays nervously checking news about the Omicron variant and rising COVID-19 case numbers, let's take a moment to think of how a more just society might handle the coming weeks. | Schools and many workplaces would offer remote options for the final week before Christmas to slow the spread just before people gather with older relatives and immunocompromised loved ones. Airports and bus stations would have free rapid tests for all passengers traveling for the holidays. Finall…
(2021-12-21). We Temporarily Interrupt this Blog. cepr.net Hi everyone, this is Dean's colleague Dawn, CEPR's Development Director. I am hijacking Dean's blog as I do on occasion to make sure you saw this post I wrote about Dean's work on vaccines and intellectual property and to point out why that work is worthy of your support. I was thinking as I began …
(2021-12-21). Biden administration doubles down on "vaccine-only" strategy as Omicron emerges as dominant strain in US. wsws.org Biden is delivering a nationally televised address this evening that will be focused on reassuring Wall Street that no measures will be taken to stop the transmission of the Omicron variant.
(2021-12-21). Brazil flying blind in Omicron surge as Bolsonaro attacks child vaccinations. wsws.org Preparing a response to the Omicron variant that will be a full-blown catastrophe, Bolsonaro announced plans to require medical prescriptions for child vaccinations.
(2021-12-21). German elderly care workers report dramatic pandemic experiences. wsws.org The World Socialist Web Site spoke with caregivers in nursing and retirement homes as part of the Global Workers' Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic.
(2021-12-21). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Teachers in two districts are planning walkouts over stalled contract talks while London, Ontario city workers are discussing work refusals amidst the latest COVID wave.
(2021-12-21). UK Tesco workers—reject USDAW-Unite pay sellout! wsws.org USDAW and Unite are recommending workers call off their offensive and accept an effective pay cut in conditions in which they occupy a powerful economic position and confront the serious dangers of COVID-19 in the workplace.
(2021-12-21). COVID-19 explodes in Spain as PSOE-Podemos government refuses action. wsws.org The surge in infections in Spain is a warning of the dangers posed by the virus, which the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government has let spread unchecked.
(2021-12-21). Michigan legislature passes bill that would keep kids in schools without teachers. wsws.org The bipartisan legislation is a blatant attempt to undermine teachers' recent successful efforts to force the closure of schools to stop the spread of COVID-19.
(2021-12-21). Mack Trucks and UAW continue to push for profits at Macungie, Pennsylvania plant after worker dies of COVID-19. wsws.org Mack and the United Auto Workers have continued with operations even after William Domitrovitsch Jr., who had an elderly parent and young child, died on December 15 after catching COVID-19.
(2021-12-21). Over 1,000 children have died from COVID-19 in the United States. wsws.org Despite staggering levels of infections and deaths among children in the US, the Biden administration has doubled down on keeping schools open.
(2021-12-21). In a Pennsylvania prison, a COVID-19 related death. workers.org 
A 52-year-old man, Melvin James Anderson IV, died while incarcerated in the Chester County Correctional Complex and Youth Center in Pocopson, Pennsylvania, Dec. 7. He was jailed while waiting to be tried for a charge of burglary, which he may or may not have committed. How did he die? He . . . |
(2021-12-21). As UK Omicron cases and deaths surge, Johnson government does nothing to protect population. wsws.org Despite warnings from his own advisers that the ineffectual "Plan B" measures currently in place will allow the population to be overwhelmed by an avalanche of COVID cases and deaths, Johnson announced no new measures yesterday after meeting with his Cabinet.
(2021-12-21). Green Party Assembles Circular Firing Squad With its Support of Mandated COVID-19 Jabs. covertactionmagazine.com On December 8th the Green's nine-member Steering Committee, its administrative arm, released a press statement in support of mandatory Covid-19 …
(2021-12-21). Omicron surge threatens to overwhelm health systems across the United States. wsws.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that the more transmissible variant now accounts for 73 percent of all COVID-19 infections in the United States.
(2021-12-21). Scientists warn European governments' inaction on Omicron variant threatens social collapse. wsws.org Warnings that unprecedented numbers of workers may fall ill, leading to mass deaths and infrastructure collapse, point to the urgent need to halt transmission of the virus.
(2021-12-20). Headlines for December 20, 2021. democracynow.org Build Back Better in Jeopardy After Sen. Joe Manchin Announces He Will Not Vote in Favor, Federal Company Vaccine Mandate Reinstated; New Data Show Moderna Booster Helps Fight Omicron, Southwest CEO Tests Positive After Senate Hearing; Sens. Booker and Warren Announce They Have COVID, Omicron Sends COVID Cases Surging, Prompts New Restrictions in Israel, U.K., the Netherlands, 35-Year-Old Progressive Activist Gabriel Boric Will Be Chile's Next President, Death Toll from Super Typhoon Rai Rises to 375 in Philippines; Floods Kill 8 in Malaysia, Hong Kong's "Patriots Only" Election Sees Record Low Turnout, Hundreds…
(2021-12-20). VIDEO: Assange's life is in danger. Attend emergency online meeting to demand his immediate release. wsws.org "The campaign for Assange's freedom must turn to the emerging struggles of the working class against social inequality and the murderous policies of mass infection."
(2021-12-20). US Health Infrastructure Once Again Unprepared for COVID-19 Surge. libya360.wordpress.com Natalia Marques New Yorkers are now having to face hours-long lines in the cold for COVID-19 testing, potentially exposing themselves to others carrying the virus. In the nation with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths, people in the US are confronting a third wave of coronavirus cases as the Omicron variant surges through the country….
(2021-12-20). "The Cuban Soberana vaccine is not due to a miracle but the consequence of political decisions" peoplesdispatch.org From November 15 to 25, 35 Italian volunteers participated in a clinical trial on the Soberana vaccine in Havana, Cuba. Thanks to its public and high quality biotechnological research and health care system, the Caribbean island is the only low-income country worldwide to have made its own COVID-19 vaccines…
(2021-12-20). Thailand eases restrictions despite Omicron warnings. wsws.org Thailand joined a rapidly growing list of countries when it first detected an imported case of the more transmissible and vaccine-resistant Omicron variant on December 6.
(2021-12-20). Getting Ready for the Next Pandemic: Can We Get Patent Monopolies on the Table? cepr.net From the way our policy types talk about patents, or refuse to talk about them, they must think that the constitution guarantees life, liberty, and people getting incredibly rich from patents. Even as this pandemic has been needlessly prolonged by patent restrictions on the spread of technology for vaccines, tests, and treatments, resulting in millions …
(2021-12-20). CEPR Spotlight: Vaccines, Patents and Copyrights. cepr.net CEPR Co-founder and Senior Economist Dean Baker has written extensively on how government-granted patent monopolies allow pharmaceutical companies to extract billions from everyday people using drug research that is already publicly funded at a fraction of the cost. He has long been a critic of patents and copyrights, pointing to other incentives and means of …
(2021-12-20). Video: Digital Tyranny and the Rockefeller-Gates WHO "Vaxx-Certificate Passport": Towards a World War III Scenario. globalresearch.ca It's an electronic ID-program using the Covid-19 "vaccine as a platform for digital identity, linking everything to everything of each individual (records of health, banking, personal and private, etc.), managed by a state agency or in extremis, by the private sector.
(2021-12-20). Bombshell Document Dump on Pfizer Vaccine Data. globalresearch.ca What is contained in Pfizer's confidential report is detailed evidence on the impacts of the "vaccine" on mortality and morbidity. This data which emanates from the Horse's Mouth can be used to confront as well formulate legal procedures against Big Pharma, the governments, the WHO and the media.
(2021-12-20). Pharmacists Stage Walkout In Early Unionization Effort. popularresistance.org Today, a fledgling independent union of pharmacists is launching the first-ever nationwide walkout of these critical health care workers. | After being forced to work on the pandemic front lines distributing medicines to millions of sick COVID patients, including hundreds of millions of vaccines, pharmacists have had enough, and are fighting back in unprecedented ways.
(2021-12-20). Emerging Omicron Variant Has Health Officials Urging World Vaccination. truthout.org 
With the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the United States is now averaging over 130,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, and health officials warn the U.S. could see a million new cases a day by February. We speak with health expert Dr. Carlos del Rio, who says that vaccination complemented by booster shots is the best defense against severe illness. "Everybody's going to get infected. You're going to be exposed to this virus because it's essentially going to be everywhere," says del…
(2021-12-20). Dr. Carlos del Rio on Omicron Surge, COVID Testing Crisis & the Need to Vaccinate the World. democracynow.org 
With the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the United States is now averaging over 130,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, and health officials warn the U.S. could see a million new cases a day by February. We speak with health expert Dr. Carlos del Rio, who says that vaccination complemented by booster shots is the best defense against severe illness. "Everybody's going to get infected. You're going to be exposed to this virus because it's essentially going to be everywhere," says del Rio.
(2021-12-20). The Prevailing Corona Nonsense Narrative. globalresearch.ca There has been no epidemic of COVID-19 of national scope in any country, no pandemic internationally, for the general population SARS-CoV-2 is not a killer virus, and it is the same in every country.
(2021-12-20). Our Age Of Uprisings: We Are A World Remaking Itself. popularresistance.org The global pandemic unfolds amidst a world of uprisings. Some have seen huge numbers gather in the streets and become ungovernable, including the victorious farmer's strike in India, the efforts to expropriate the landlords in Berlin, the mass refusal of anti-Black police violence in the US, and the mobilizations against the neoliberal regime in Chile. | Elsewhere, in Chiapas, Kerala, Rojava and an archipelago of smaller "zones to defend," the uprisings take more sustained forms as people reinvent or reclaim life in common. Indigenous people around the world are refusing to allow their lands and lives to be sacri…
(2021-12-20). Support the #pizzaisnotworking walkouts by pharmacy workers! Trillions for public health, not pandemic profiteering! wsws.org The actions taken by pharmacists in the US are an early sign of a new phase in the growth of working-class resistance, driven by the deadly winter surge and the emergence of the hyper-infectious Omicron variant.
(2021-12-20). Socialist Equality Party (Australia) holds health workers' forum on the Global Workers' Inquest into the COVID-19 pandemic. wsws.org Speakers outlined the necessity for the Workers' Inquest to cut through the cover-ups and falsifications being used to justify the removal of even the most basic measures to halt the worsening of the pandemic fuelled by the Omicron variant.
(2021-12-20). How the Mighty Culinary Union Survived the Apocalypse. zcomm.org After facing 98% unemployment in the depths of the pandemic, the strongest union in Las Vegas has risen again…
(2021-12-20). A Timeline of "The Great Reset" Agenda. globalresearch.ca Incisive article. First posted on GR on May 15, 2021 | Visit and …
(2021-12-20). COVID-19 cases and deaths in the Americas triple in 2021. moderndiplomacy.eu Compared to the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was "undoubtedly worse" for the Americas, where infections and deaths tripled, the top UN health official there reported on Wednesday. Dr. Carissa Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), delivered her final briefing of the year, providing a regional update and reflections on …
(2021-12-20). Trump White House Deliberately Undermined Efforts to Contain COVID, Report Says. truthout.org 
On Friday, a congressional committee tasked with examining the nation's COVID-19 response announced that it had uncovered evidence that the Trump administration purposely undermined efforts to manage the spread of the virus in order to personally benefit the former president. |
(2021-12-20). UK reaches "hundreds of thousands" of daily COVID cases as education unions demand schools reopen in January. wsws.org With the backing of the education unions, the government refused to close schools before the Christmas break, even though many had to partially close as COVID took its toll among staff and pupils.
(2021-12-20). Towards Another Devastating Worldwide Crisis? The WEF's "Cyber Attack With Covid-like Characteristics". Paralysis of the Power Supply, Communications, Transportation? globalresearch.ca First published on December 15, 2021 | The World Economic Forum (WEF) which represents the Western financial elites, played a key role in the launching of the March 11, 2020 lockdown, which was conducive to a Worldwide process of economic and …
(2021-12-20). Omicron: School closures must be 'avoided whenever possible'. moderndiplomacy.eu COVID-19 cases are spiking all over the world, but the Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday that despite the rise of the highly transmissible Omicron variant "nationwide school closures should be avoided whenever possible." "When COVID-19 community transmission increases and stringent public health measures become a necessity, schools must be the …
(2021-12-20). Manchin Says He Opposes Sick Leave Because People Will Use It for Hunting Trips. truthout.org 
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) evidently told colleagues in the Senate that he opposes universal paid sick time because he thinks workers would pretend to be sick in order to go on hunting trips — despite the fact that the country just hit a tragic milestone of 800,000 deaths due to COVID-19. | The news comes just after Manchin announced on "Fox News Sunday" that he is officially killing the Democrats' reconciliation bill, which includes a proposal for universal paid sick leave a…
(2021-12-20). COVID-19: WHO urges Europeans to be smart and safe this holiday season. moderndiplomacy.eu The World Health Organization (WHO) is reminding Europeans to remain vigilant against COVID-19 spread as they round out the year with friends and family. In a message on Thursday, WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge urged Europeans to "be smart, be kind, be safe this holiday season." The COVID-19 threat remains high across the continent, which …
(2021-12-20). Death toll rises in Germany even before Omicron variant takes hold. wsws.org With about 2,000 COVID-19 deaths per week, more people are currently dying than at the peak of the third wave in spring 2021. The situation threatens to worsen with the spread of the even more infectious Omicron variant.
(2021-12-20). Philadelphia high school switches to virtual learning after teachers threaten sickout strike. wsws.org Late Sunday night, the administration of Olney Charter High School in North Philadelphia gave in to teachers' demands that the school switch to virtual learning in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19 on campus.
(2021-12-20). World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2022 Deferred. moderndiplomacy.eu The World Economic Forum will defer its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in the light of continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak. The Annual Meeting was scheduled to take place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland between 17-21 January, 2022. It is now planned for early summer. Participants will instead join a headline series of State of the …
(2021-12-20). 'Fortress Conservation' Is Driving Us From Our Homes. popularresistance.org Kaziranga is also a World Heritage site recognized by UNESCO and listed as a global hotspot of biodiversity by the IUCN. However, all that is under threat thanks to an increasingly militarized form of conservation. This is being promoted by the Indian Forest Department, in a feudal, colonial setup, assisted by large international and national NGOs. A flawed and exploitative idea has emerged: the plan to turn 30 per cent of the world's surface into Protected Areas by 2030 (30×30). This idea, being pushed by the IUCN, has been greenwashed, whitewashed and sold to the world, alongside 'nature-based solutions' (NBS),…