2021-12-28: News Headlines

_____ (2021-12-28). Richard Wolff: US Capitalism Has Peaked And Is On The Way Down'. popularresistance.org For the end of the year, Clearing the FOG speaks with economist Richard Wolff about the current state of United States capitalism. Wolff explains that the United States is experiencing the greatest crisis in its history – a severe economic crisis at the same time as a pandemic, as well as the climate crisis. This is unprecedented. Unlike the great depression in the last century, when the wealth divide shrank, inequality is worsening. On top of that, US empire is in decline. Wolff discusses the current state of inflation and supply chain disruption and the forces behind them. Instead of facing up to these realitie…

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…

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 …

_____ (2021-12-28). US Sends Potentially Deadly Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan. journal-neo.org Although the official death toll from COVID-19 currently exceeds 5.4 million, it is estimated by individual experts that the actual fatality statistics could be as high as 15.2 million. Unfortunately, many countries of the world have found themselves particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, especially the poorest countries and states affected …

WSWS (2021-12-28). French parent calls for rank-and-file committee to fight state COVID-19 policy. wsws.org Raphaà´lle, a mother of two, called to support Lisa Diaz's struggle in the UK against sending children into schools where they risk being infected by the coronavirus.

WSWS (2021-12-28). French parents call for rank-and-file committee to fight state COVID-19 policy. wsws.org Raphaà´lle, a mother of two, called to support Lisa Diaz's struggle in the UK against sending children into schools where they risk being infected by the coronavirus.

WSWS (2021-12-28). "Opposition to the herd immunity policy is overwhelming": European Network of Rank-and-File Committees for Safe Education meeting outlines strategy to end pandemic. wsws.org Amid the exponential spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus across Europe, an online meeting of the Network of Rank-and-File Committees for Safe Education expressed the immense opposition and willingness to fight against the criminal herd immunity policies of governments everywhere.

WSWS (2021-12-28). Making a killing: Pfizer's domination of the market for COVID jabs. wsws.org Blocking the transfer of vaccine technology, together with the practice of selling to the highest bidder, creating grotesque levels of vaccine inequality, have been critical factors in enabling the conditions for the Omicron variant to emerge.

teleSUR (2021-12-28). Saint Vincent & The Grenadines To Use Cuba's Abdala Vaccine. telesurenglish.net On Monday, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) became the first country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to authorize the use of Abdala, a COVID-19 vaccine made in Cuba. | RELATED: | Previously, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves announced that Cuba had donated 300 Abdala doses to his country, which would be used immediately on teachers and other workers who are on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic. | "God and the Cuba…

Ethan Huff (2021-12-28). Covid vaccines "most dangerous biological medicinal product rollout in human history," says Dr. Peter McCullough. globalresearch.ca At a recent online symposium on covid science that was organized by Doctors for COVID Ethics, the most This international group, which has long opposed the …

WSWS (2021-12-28). For a "Zero COVID" policy in Canada's schools!—an appeal from a special-needs educator. wsws.org To oppose the disastrous profit-before-lives pandemic policy pursued by Canada's governments, I urge my colleagues to join with the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee in organizing independent rank-and-file committees in all schools to fight for a science-based Zero COVID strategy.

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.

WSWS (2021-12-28). UK Johnson government takes no new measures against pandemic. wsws.org The decision was a fait accompli. Johnson is under instruction from his party's most fascistic wing in the COVID Recovery Group to ignore all warnings that the Omicron variant of the virus is surging out of control, infecting millions and rapidly overwhelming the National Health Service.

WSWS (2021-12-28). COVID-19 danger persists in Japan as Omicron variant takes hold. wsws.org The government's response to the latest COVID-19 dangers in contrast to public sentiment demonstrates the need for an international strategy to end the pandemic.

_____ (2021-12-28). The World is Turning to Nuclear Power amid the Raging Energy Crisis. journal-neo.org The energy crisis is perhaps the worst since 1973, when the Arab countries imposed an oil embargo, protesting against Western support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Combined with a pandemic, new strains, and a lockdown relapse threat, it is a deadly blow to economies and industries worldwide. Bloomberg sounds the alarm: problems with …

Canadian Tire Fire (2021-12-28). Canadian Tire Fire #24: Coyote Camp Retaken as Solidarity Actions Multiply, COVID Spreads in Prisons, Another Winter of Housing Crisis. itsgoingdown.org This week we're covering two weeks worth of struggle news. On December 21st, 1492 Land Back Lane got another small win when the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down the permanent injunction against them and ordered the failed developer pay spokesperson Skyler Williams $20,000 to cover the costs of the appeal. Though a temporary injunction…

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 …

WSWS (2021-12-28). Australian governments let loose soaring COVID-19 infections. wsws.org There is shock and outrage among health workers, medical experts and working-class people as governments wash their hands of the developing disaster.

WSWS (2021-12-28). More workers died of COVID-19 at one Michigan auto plant than all of China in 2021. wsws.org Xavier Anderson, a worker at Stellantis' Sterling Stamping Plant north of Detroit, is the fifth to die from COVID-19 at the plant.

WSWS (2021-12-28). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Air traffic controllers in Peru struck to demand better work conditions and COVID protections while over 250 workers at Republic Services in Chula Vista, California, walked out over contract issues.

WSWS (2021-12-28). Omicron surge intensifies crisis in Washington state public schools. wsws.org The rapid spread of the Omicron variant in Washington state is deepening the crisis in public education and threatening to provoke an independent movement of educators and parents to close schools in order to prevent further COVID-19 infections.

WSWS (2021-12-28). French government rejects lockdown as COVID-19 cases skyrocket past 100,000. wsws.org The seven-day rolling average of cases in France is now over 70,000, more than 50 percent higher than the previous peak in November 2020.

WSWS (2021-12-28). CDC surrenders US population to the spread of Omicron. wsws.org The US health agency is effectively ending any effort to stop the spread of COVID, in order to meet business demands for workers.

WSWS (2021-12-28). Florida sees alarming growth of COVID-19 infections fueled by Omicron variant. wsws.org New cases jumped nearly 333 percent as more than 125,000 cases were reported last week compared to just 28,841 cases the week prior.

Global Research News (2021-12-28). Selected Articles: Video: "Imagine All the People": The COVID-19 Omicron Christmas and New Year Lockdown. globalresearch.ca By We are told by our governments that It's Christmas under Lockdown. To protect you and your loved ones against …

Lord Sumption (2021-12-28). Video: Government by Decree — COVID-19 and the Constitution. Lord Jonathan Sumption. globalresearch.ca First published on October 29, 2020 | On 27 October 2020 Lord Sumption delivered the 2020 Cambridge Freshfields Lecture entitled "Government by decree — Covid-19 and the Constitution". | The disputes over Brexit last year saw an attempt to make the executive, …

WSWS (2021-12-28). Thousands of flights canceled worldwide due to rising infections among airline workers. wsws.org The airlines lobbied the CDC to change its guidelines so airline workers could be forced to work even if they are infected or exposed.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-27). Houthis continue to advance amid fresh airstrikes and other stories. peoplesdispatch.org In today's episode of the Daily Round-up we take a look at the latest from Yemen where the Houthis seem to have won another victory even as the Saudi-led coalition continues bombing raids. We also look at a proposal by Israel to double the settler population in the occupied Golan Heights, and the impact of the setback to US president Joe Biden's Build Back Better Plan.

Brasil de Fato (2021-12-27). Amidst the chaos of 2021, movements remember victories that helped the people of Brazil. peoplesdispatch.org The year 2021 was full of bad news for Brazilians. The effects of the global pandemic were made much worse due to the gross negligence of the federal government of Jair Bolsonaro leaving no sector untouched. The country reached the sad milestone of 600,000 deaths by coronavirus, the Bolsonaro administrations's avaricious quest for natural resource wealth coupled with the expansion of agribusiness made the country's forests, green areas, and Indigenous and traditional communities victims of this violent offensive. | Despite this scenario, were there any victories? Brasil de Fato asked this question to four popular…

Staff (2021-12-27). Headlines for December 27, 2021. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Cases Skyrocket as Omicron Spreads at Unprecedented Pace, China Orders Lockdown for 13 Million in Xi'an; Pope Francis Calls for Universal Access to Vaccines, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Who Battled Apartheid and Championed Human Rights, Dies at 90, Israel Plans to Double Population of Illegal Settlements in Occupied Golan Heights, Burmese Military Accused of Massacring Dozens of Civilians , Iraqi Kurds Hold Funerals for Family Members Who Drowned Crossing English Channel , Dams Burst After Torrential Rains in Brazil; U.S. Records Record High December Temperatures, Sarah Weddington, Who Successfully…

teleSUR (2021-12-27). US: Medical Personnel Mobilized to Help Hospitals. telesurenglish.net On Monday, the U.S president said on a call with the National Governors Association, that Washington would call on medical personnel to help prevent the congestion in hospitals with coronavirus infections by unvaccinated individuals. | RELATED: | "With rising cases, we still have tens of millions of unvaccinated people, and we're seeing hospitalizations rise. It means our hospitals in some places are going to get o…

Rosalind English (2021-12-27). Enforced quarantine in hotels: a breach of the right to liberty? ukhumanrightsblog.com Hotta and others, R(on the application of) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and another [2021] EWHC 3359 (Admin) This was an application for permission to challenge to the Managed Hotel Quarantine (MHQ) scheme. MHQ was put into place under Schedule 11 to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Operator Liability) …

teleSUR (2021-12-27). Bolsonaro Won't Vaccinate 11-Year-old Daughter Against COVID-19. telesurenglish.net "I hope there is no interference from the Judiciary (to force the vaccination) because my daughter will not be vaccinated, (I want to) make it very clear, she is 11 years old", said the president in statements to the press, according to the local newspaper O Globo. | RELATED: | The president added that there are "many doubts" about vaccines for children in the world, even though several countries have already started vaccinating this age group.

teleSUR (2021-12-27). Italy: Economic Paralysis Due to Quarantine Measures. telesurenglish.net On Monday, health experts asked the Italian government to reduce the severity of COVID-19 quarantine measures to avoid economic paralysis. | RELATED: | According to the rules, people who have been in contact with infected ones have to self-isolate for seven days if they are vaccinated already; if not, they must spend ten days in self-isolation. | The head of the Gimbe health foundation, Nino Cartabellotta, explained that every p…

teleSUR (2021-12-27). Venezuela: 87% Of Vaccinated Against COVID-19. telesurenglish.net Regarding the omicron variant, he indicated that this Monday, two other new cases were detected in people coming from flights coming from the United Kingdom and Panama, both asymptomatic. | RELATED: | He pointed out that while Spain, for example, registers 1,200 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants, in Venezuela, 6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants are reported "thanks to the fact that we take care of ourselves collectively, thanks to…

Ibrahim Tanner (2021-12-27). A Crime Covered In Color: Freedman's Savings And Trust Bank Plunder In The 21st Century. moguldom.com Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced at the Freedman's Bank Forum a plan to loan $9 billion of the previously secured $12 billion to underserved communities and those whose small businesses have been disproportionately damaged during the covid pandemic. Harris started the panel discussion by honoring Viola Fletcher and …

Jamal Rich (2021-12-27). Homeless for the holidays: D.C. to continue encampment evictions during pandemic. peoplesworld.org

imperial.ac.uk (2021-12-27). The ten most popular Imperial news stories of 2021. imperial.ac.uk Well into the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic Imperial research continues to save lives and generate headlines around the world.

_____ (2021-12-27). Will 2022 be Better Than the Outgoing Year? journal-neo.org As 2021 is approaching its end, efforts are being made to assess it and gain insight into what the New Year, 2022, holds in store for us. In 2021, the world has still been reeling under the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, but it has turned out to be more hectic: the old conflicts have flared …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2021-12-27). Bombshell: CDC No Longer Recognizes the PCR Test As a Valid Method for Detecting "Confirmed Covid-19 Cases" globalresearch.ca Smoking Gun: The CDC Says that the PCR Test is Invalid. Does not differentiate between Covid-19 and Seasonal Influenza. Does not detect or identify SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. If the PCR test is invalid the 260 Million "Confirmed Covid-19 Cases" collected Worldwide are meaningless. There is no Pandemic.

Mike Ludwig (2021-12-27). We Are Not Returning to "Normal." 2022 Must Be a Year of Change. truthout.org President Joe Biden cast his successful election as a signal of a return to some semblance of normalcy after the chaos that defined the reign of Donald Trump, as if "normal" could describe Instead, 2021 was a year of pandemic uncertainty and harsh, right-wing backlash to any small amount of progress made by the social movem…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2021-12-27). Bombshell: CDC No Longer Recognizes the PCR Test As a Valid Method for Detecting "Confirmed Covid-19 Cases"? globalresearch.ca Smoking Gun: The CDC Says that the PCR Test is Invalid. Does not differentiate between Covid-19 and Seasonal Influenza. Does not detect or identify SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. If the PCR test is invalid the 260 Million "Confirmed Covid-19 Cases" collected Worldwide are meaningless. There is no Pandemic.

_____ (2021-12-27). Improvements For NYC's Delivery Workers' Safety And Working Conditions To Start In January. popularresistance.org Above Photo: Choongky / Shutterstock. This holiday weekend, as many New Yorkers once again hunker down at home during the latest surge of Covid cases, the city's intense reliance on delivery apps for essential goods is highlighting advocates' call for better protections for the delivery workers who have toiled without a safety net. A slate of city …

teleSUR (2021-12-27). Flight Cancellations Continue Amid Omicron Advance. telesurenglish.net A total of 1,033 Monday flights within, into and out of the United States were canceled and 2,982 faced delays as of 1: 20 p.m. East Time, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, as the recent Omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge has resulted in crew shortages and disrupted the operations of some airlines. | RELATED: | The cancellations on Monday included 264 by SkyWest, 141 by Alaska Airlines, 93 by United an…

WSWS (2021-12-27). The FDA grants emergency use authorization to Pfizer and Merck's anti-COVID pills. wsws.org The two pills are the first for treating patients at early stages of a COVID infection of mild or medium severity. The CDC is expected to endorse the FDA recommendations.

Byul Ryan-Im (2021-12-27). The Weekly Round-Up: New COVID-19 rules for three nations and no investigation into Met on Downing Street Christmas party. ukhumanrightsblog.com In the news: From 26 December new Covid rules came into effect in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. All three nations have limited the size of public events and face coverings are compulsory in most indoor public spaces. Covid passports or proof of a negative test result is required at many venues. Nightclubs will close in Wales and Scotland from 27 December and in …

Eric A. Gordon (2021-12-27). 'The Red Raven': A quartet of crime fiction novels ends in AIDS-era L.A. peoplesworld.org Steve Neil Johnson's collective magnum opus, The L.A. After Midnight Quartet, comprising four crime novels set in the gay community over successive decades, the 1950s, '60s,'70s and '80s, has come to a stunning and satisfying end with The Red Raven. The last book took Johnson the longest to write, as he lived very much through …

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