Workers Struggles: The Americas
wsws.org | 2020-12-22
Members of the Confusam health workers union in Chile walked out December 16 over paltry pay raises while train conductors in Argentina plan a national work stoppage December 22.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/22/wrkr…
As pandemic surges, California hospitals move to ration care
wsws.org | 2020-12-22
With health care systems being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases and intensive care units filled to capacity, hospitals are starting to ration care, withholding it from those deemed unlikely to survive the disease.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/22/rati…
The vaccine: class division and chaos
Martha Grevatt | workers.org | 2020-12-22
To spotlight the need for COVID-19 vaccinations of hospital workers, Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., staged a photo op on Dec. 18. Front line medical residents and fellows demand vaccine access, Dec. 18. A group of medical residents created a media event of their own to protest their . . . | Continue reading The vaccine: class division and chaos at Workers.org…
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Cleveland baseball team finally retires racist name, mascot
Martha Grevatt | workers.org | 2020-12-22
Cleveland It’s official. And it’s about time. After months of discussions and rumors, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team announced Dec. 14 that 2021 would be the last season for the racist, offensive name “Indians.” With it will go the team’s demeaning mascot, which was being phased out after it was . . . | Continue reading Cleveland baseball team finally retires racist name, mascot at Workers.org…
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Countries impose UK travel restrictions as more infectious Covid strain threatens to spread worldwide
wsws.org | 2020-12-22
Even if the spread of the mutation is limited, it is already active on the continent and is only one of thousands of mutations worldwide–some of which have similar characteristics.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/22/ukco…
Too little, too late — better than nothing?
Editor | workers.org | 2020-12-22
The reported reaction of many to the CARES Act 2 — which is about to be passed as we write this editorial — is that it’s too little, too late and, sigh, better than nothing. In truth it is the minimum that a ruling-class dominated Congress could pass — just . . . | Continue reading Too little, too late — better than nothing? at Workers.org…
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New Boss, Same Story
Brad Sandler | realprogressives.org | 2020-12-22
Guess what? Joe Biden won the Electoral College vote, and now is officially the President-Elect! And it’s about time too. What has it been, 3 years since his electors won the November election so they could put his name on their ballot? And still Donald Trump has not yet conceded to Joe’s superior campaigning skills. Of course not, the Donald cannot imagine that anyone could do better at fooling the American electorate than himself. But when it comes to fooling the American electorate all we need to do is look at the biggest fool who served as President and his wise, but foolish words. “Fool me once, shame on…
realprogressives.org/new-boss-same-story…
Baseball’s racist legacy today as MLB finally recognizes ‘Negro Leagues’ — a WW commentary
Monica Moorehead | workers.org | 2020-12-22
Twitter feed: @mmashcat Major League Baseball first announced on Dec. 9 that it would finally incorporate all of the players, statistics and records from the “Negro Leagues” (NL) into its present-day records. Many said it was about time and that this recognition is long overdue. Both sentiments are justified. Pennsylvania’s . . . | Continue reading Baseball’s racist legacy today as MLB finally recognizes ‘Negro Leagues’ — a WW commentary at Workers.org…
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Militarized Pandemic Science: Why is the Pentagon Funding the EcoHealth Alliance?
Sam Husseini | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-21
“Pandemics are like terrorist attacks: We know roughly where they originate and what’s responsible for them, but we don’t know exactly when the next one will happen. They need to be handled the same way — by identifying all possible sources and dismantling those before the next pandemic strikes.” This statement was written in the…
counterpunch.org/2020/12/21/militarized-…
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Doctors in Kenya’s public hospitals join nurses in strike
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-21
Health workers are demanding payment of salaries, comprehensive health insurance, quality PPEs, increase in risk allowances, and conversion of contract workers into permanent employees with access to pensions…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/21/doctors-i…
Losing Your Health Care to COVID-19
Sharon Johnson | progressive.org | 2020-12-21
The pandemic has forced workers off of employer-sponsored plans and into the unknown.
progressive.org/magazine/losing-health-c…
What We Have Here is a Failure to Negotiate
Richard Moser | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-21
No relief worth a damn? No healthcare? What we have here is a failure to negotiate. And that is a direct outcome of the failure to challenge power. I was only chief negotiator once but I sat at enough bargaining tables to know an epic failure to negotiate when I see one. The Congressional progressives…
counterpunch.org/2020/12/21/what-we-have…
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Chris Hedges: The Great Delusion
Chris Hedges | mintpressnews.com | 2020-12-21
The real lesson we should learn from the rise of a demagogue such as Trump and a pandemic that our for-profit health care industry proved unable to contain is that we are losing control as a nation and as a species.
mintpressnews.com/chris-hedges-biden-sys…
“Don’t Become A Pharma Guinea Pig”: The FDA Gives Greenlight to Experimental Moderna Covid Vaccine
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-21
The Trump regime, its FDA, Pharma, and press agent media are playing fast and loose with human health. | On Thursday, the FDA authorized emergency use of Moderna’s experimental covid vaccine after doing the same for Pfizer days earlier. | The FDA …
globalresearch.ca/dont-become-a-pharma-g…
Community concern in Washington state over hospital merger
Les Sánchez and Greg Plancich | liberationnews.org | 2020-12-21
Liberation News spoke with Susan Young and Carollynn Zimmers, DVM, two activists with Save Secular Healthcare WA, a grassroots organization of concerned citizens, volunteering their time to raise serious concerns over the proposed merger.
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Parkland massacre parents give Xmas cookies with “bullet holes” to NRA
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-22
Miami, Dec 21 (efe-epa).- The parents of students killed in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, this week will send Christmas cookies shaped like human figures, but with “bullet holes” in them, to the National Rifle Association. Venezuelan-US couple Manuel and Patricia Oliver, the parents of Joaquin Oliver, decided …
laprensalatina.com/parkland-massacre-par…
What If the Christ Child Had Been Born in the American Police State?
John W. Whitehead | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-12-22
When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/12/what-if-the-c…
Still no deal in Brexit talks as working class faces catastrophe
wsws.org | 2020-12-22
Amid a deadly catastrophe unparalleled in Europe since the end of the Second World War, the UK and the EU governments are locked in an intractable struggle for economic and political advantage.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/22/brex…
No, Joe, Don’t Roll out the Red Carpet for Torture Enablers
Medea Benjamin, Marcy Winograd | commondreams.org | 2020-12-21
We need political leaders and intelligence community officials who acknowledge that torture is illegal under international law, inhumane, and ineffective. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/12/21/no-joe…
US to offer Covid vaccines at some 4,000 sites nationwide
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-22
By Alex Segura Lozano Los Angeles, Dec 21 (efe-epa).- The United States already has the capacity to administer the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines at some 4,000 sites around the country, according to official figures, after on Monday Americans began being inoculated against the sometimes deadly viral disease. US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex …
laprensalatina.com/us-to-offer-covid-vac…
Biden publicly receives Covid vaccine, tells public not to worry
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-22
Washington, Dec 21 (efe-epa).- President-elect Joe Biden on Monday received a Covid-19 vaccination in public in an attempt to build confidence among Americans about its safety. “There’s nothing to worry about,” said Biden before television cameras after receiving the first dose of the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech at the ChristianaCare Hospital in Newark, Delaware, the …
laprensalatina.com/biden-publicly-receiv…
Sydney COVID-19 outbreak highlights global threat but Australian governments oppose effective safety restrictions
wsws.org | 2020-12-21
Once again, the myth of Australia being an exception to the worldwide health emergency has been shattered.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/21/sydd…
Donald Trump Administration’s Approval of “Radioactive Roads”: Lawsuit against EPA
Environmental, public health and union groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for approving the use of radioactive phosphogypsum in roads. The groups also petitioned the agency to reconsider its Oct. 20 approval. | The EPA has long prohibi…
globalresearch.ca/donald-trump-administr…
Thousands of Americans “Negatively Affected” Following COVID-19 Vaccination
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-21
Thousands of people have been unable to work or perform daily activities, or required care from a healthcare professional, after getting the new COVID-19 vaccine, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). | As of …
globalresearch.ca/thousands-of-americans…
“Health is not a Super basic right”
Niko Harting | indybay.org | 2020-12-21
What has to change with regard to the handling of our fundamental rights from a legal, but also from a political point of view? The federal government’s Corona policy is not without alternatives, and it has by no means always been successful, as the unsuccessful “partial lockdown” has shown. Nor is there “science” that agrees on necessary measures; there are also many critical voices among medical experts.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/21/1883902…
Homeless Dead in Santa Cruz County 2020
posted by Norse | indybay.org | 2020-12-21
This is the list given out at the on-line 2020 Homeless Memorial on December 17, 2017, sponsored by Housing Matters, the Santa Cruz County Homeless Persons Health Project, Wings and the Salvation Army. It was updated for the in-person Memorial held today at the Food Not Bombs meal location at Front and Laurel Sts.
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Britain’s right-wing government under fire as new COVID strain rapidly spreads
Morning Star | peoplesworld.org | 2020-12-21
LONDON–Failing to introduce COVID-19 restrictions earlier was an “act of gross negligence,” Britain’s Labour Party charged Sunday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson sprung new measures on millions just days before Christmas. Johnson’s announcement altering public health measures came following the identification of a new, more contagious strain of the virus spiraling out of control. Tough …
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Shielders told not to go to work in Tier 4 areas in updated guidance
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-21
Clinically extremely vulnerable people in Tier 4 areas are being told not to go to work even if they are unable to work from home in new guidance published on shielding. | People across London, the South East and the East of England received further guidance online on Monday after the areas moved into Tier 4 restrictions over the weekend. | Those who are at very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus, including people with specific cancers and severe respiratory conditions, are being urged to stay at home and only leave to exercise or attend health appointments. | Here’s information on Tier 4: Stay At Home.
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/21/shielder…
New COVID-19 variants under the microscope as travel bans mount over UK strain
news.un.org | 2020-12-21
The UN health agency chief said on Monday that scientists have been working to understand new COVID-19 variants that have been reported in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1…
Covid-19: Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait close borders to tackle new strain
MEE and agencies | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-21
Covid-19: Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait close borders to tackle new strain | Freight operations not affected by new measures, which are to be reviewed after a week | MEE and agencies | Mon, 12/21/2020 – 14: 23 | The first Saudi citizen prepares to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in the capital Riyadh, 17 December 2020 (AFP) | Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman have announced that they are suspendi…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/covid-saudi-a…
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Covid-19: Qatar and Oman to receive vaccine this week
MEE and agencies | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-21
Covid-19: Qatar and Oman to receive vaccine this week | Doha expected to receive shipments of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday | MEE and agencies | Mon, 12/21/2020 – 10: 06 | Qatar and Oman to receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipment this week (AFP) | Qatar’s health ministry granted emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and is due to recei…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/covid-qatar-o…
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No reason to worry? WHO says new Covid-19 strain found in UK is no deadlier & only slightly more infectious than others
rt.com | 2020-12-21
The World Health Organization has come forward to calm things down amid the anxiety over a new potentially ‘highly infectious’ Covid-19 strain found in the UK, saying it is not that different from other coronavirus strains. | “There is zero evidence that the new coronavirus variant increases severity of the disease,” the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program Chief Mike Ryan told at a press conference on Monday, citing data received from British scientists. | The risks faced by the people that catch this particular strain of the virus are pretty much the same as odds faced by other people suffering from Covid-19. Ac…
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Covid-19: Mass Testing Is Inaccurate and Gives False Sense of Security: British Medical Journal Report
The BMJ | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-21
Mass testing of people without covid-19 symptoms is “not an accurate way of screening the general population,” a senior figure at the Department of Health and Social Care has said in a letter seen by The BMJ (see Related content)….
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-mass-testing-…
Warning: Covid Vaccines! Huge Risks, Huge Injuries — Huge Compensations?
Peter Koenig | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-21
Did you know that the US Government since 1988 paid as of 1 December 2020 more than 4.4 billion dollars to vaccine-injury victims? — It’s your money — Taxpayers Money. This is Health Services and Service Administration Vaccine Injury Compensation …
globalresearch.ca/warning-covid-vaccines…
Fruits and vegetables crucial for healthy lives, sustainable world: Guterres
news.un.org | 2020-12-21
The United Nations is marking 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, spotlighting their vital role in human nutrition and food security, as well as urging efforts to improve sustainable production and reduce waste.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1…
Two local infections among 23 new Covid-19 cases in China
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-21
Shanghai, China, Dec 21 (efe-epa).- China on Monday said health officials have found two local infections among the 23 new coronavirus cases in the country. The two local cases were registered by health officials in Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces in northeastern China. The 22 imported cases, recorded since Sunday morning, are from Shanghai, Inner Mongolia, …
laprensalatina.com/two-local-infections-…
Japan’s Covid-19 cases go past 200,000, deaths near 3,000 mark
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-21
Tokyo, Dec 21 (efe-epa).- Japan on Monday crossed the grim milestone of 200,000 Covid-19 cases, including 2,930 deaths, with the pandemic surging since the caseload touched 100,000 less than two months ago. The data, anticipated by state broadcaster NHK hours before the health ministry officially confirmed the figures, showed that on Monday the total number …
laprensalatina.com/japans-covid-19-cases…
COVID-19: Mid-South Hospitals Nearing Capacity
Site Administrator | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-21
Vivian Fernández-de-Adamson — LPL MEMPHIS, TN (LPL) — Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in the U.S. are reaching full capacity, including those in the Mid-South. In fact, as reported by the Shelby County Health Department, as of Tuesday, December 15, there were only about 11 ICU beds available in Shelby County and adjoining counties …
laprensalatina.com/covid-19-mid-south-ho…
No Co-Sponsor of ‘Medicare for All’ Has Lost Reelection in the Past Decade (Even in GOP-Leaning Districts)
Richard Lachmann, Michael Schwartz, and Kevin Young | commondreams.org | 2020-12-21
Every single Congressional co-sponsor of these bills in the House and Senate who were up for reelection beat their Republican opponents in 2020. And in 2018. And in 2016. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
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The Great Divider: Covid-19 Reflects Global Racism, Not Equality
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-21
The notion that the COVID-19 pandemic was ‘the great equalizer’ should be dead and buried by now. If anything, the lethal disease is another terrible reminder of the deep divisions and inequalities in our societies. That said, the treatment of the disease should not be a repeat of the same shameful scenario.
counterpunch.org/2020/12/21/the-great-di…
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Building Its Own Delivery Network, Amazon Puts the Squeeze On Drivers
Jake Alimahomed-Wilson | zcomm.org | 2020-12-21
Amazon’s logistics infrastructure relies upon the exploitation and hyper-surveillance of both warehouse workers and contracted delivery drivers. In global labor organizing, joining these two groups together will be critical to worker power…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/building-its-own-d…
Imperial Intent: Destroying India’s Farm Sector
Colin Todhunter | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-21
Agriculture in India is at a crossroads. Indeed, given that over 60 per cent of the country’s 1.3-billion-plus population still make a living from agriculture (directly or indirectly), what is at stake is the future of India. Unscrupulous interests are intent on destroying India’s indigenous agri-food sector and recasting it in their own image. Farmers are rising up in protest.
counterpunch.org/2020/12/21/imperial-int…
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TV’s forgotten: Indigenous and working-class series
Dennis Broe | peoplesworld.org | 2020-12-21
Few series on television focus either on the Earth’s first inhabitants, the Indigenous, now mostly quartered in slums across the world, or on workers, their lives, and daily concerns. We’ll be discussing the series Mystery Road, Don’t Forget the Driver, The Conners, and Superstore. The Australian series Mystery Road, now back for its second season, …
peoplesworld.org/article/tvs-forgotten-i…
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First Meeting of Peoples and Organizations of Abya Yala concludes in Bolivia
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-21
The meeting of Indigenous organizations, social movements and trade unions from 11 countries of the region concluded with a call for the creation of a new regional integration mechanism: the Union of South American Nations of the People…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/21/first-mee…
A Covid Christmas in Palestine
Joseph Gedeon | thenation.com | 2020-12-21
A Covid Christmas in Palestine…
thenation.com/article/world/palestine-is…
House Oversight Chair Says ‘Grave Concerns’ Trump Team Trashing White House Records
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-12-21
In a letter to the U.S. government archivist, Rep. Carolyn Maloney says her committee “has no visibility into what is happening” in terms of record-keeping for administration documents. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/12/21/house-o…
Brexit, Billionaires, and the Little People
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-12-21