Rent: Why We Say Don’t Pay
David Rovics | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-12-24
As 2020 draws to a close, an open letter to Portland with particular regards to the renters, and the peculiar beauty of the notion of a rent strike during an eviction moratorium. Dear Portland, And dear anyone else, particularly in other localities that have passed similar laws to the eviction moratorium that was just renewed …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/12/rent-why-we-s…
dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/20…
Since Paris Agreement — the five hottest years ever
| workers.org | 2020-12-23
By Mayana Ashley-Carner On Dec. 12, 2015, politicians and world leaders signed the Paris Agreement, an international pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to decrease the effects of climate change. But as climate activist Greta Thunberg reported in a recent video, data shows that the past five years have . . . | Continue reading Since Paris Agreement — the five hottest years ever at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53384/?utm_source=rs…
www.workers.org/wp-content/uploads/clima…
COVID-19 Lockdowns Are in Lockstep with the ‘Great Reset’
Dr. Mathew Maavak | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-23
Who benefits from lockdowns that are destabilizing all facets of our society? Look no further than the emerging global oligarchy. | In October 2019, a pandemic simulation exercise called Event 201 — a collaborative effort between Johns Hopkins Center for Health | …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-lockdowns-loc…
Arkansas Politicians’ Relentless Push to End Abortion Access, and Humiliate and Shame Abortion Patients
Chelsea Tejada | aclu.org | 2020-12-23
This week, the ACLU is back in court working to protect the constitutional right to abortion in Arkansas. In 2017, the state legislature passed four anti-abortion laws to severely restrict access to abortion. If allowed to take effect, these laws would ban the only method of abortion provided in Arkansas after approximately 14 weeks in pregnancy; require that patients’ partners or others be notified of their abortion; force the health care center to report teenage patients’ abortion to local police where there is no reason to suspect a crime; and force physicians to request a vast number of medical records for…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/arkan…
Worthless PCR Tests for COVID. “Almost all” PCR Tests Produce False Positives
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-23
PCR tests are a scam. They don’t work as claimed. | Yet their widespread use provides a foundation for manipulating people to be vaxxed with experimental, hazardous to human health vaccines. | PCR tests produce false positive results up to 90% of …
globalresearch.ca/worthless-pcr-tests-co…
Iran witnessing declining trend in COVID-19 deaths
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-23
TEHRAN, Dec. 23 (MNA) — Iran on Wednesday recorded 153 coronavirus deaths, showing a declining trend compared to the previous day, said an official at the country’s Health Ministry.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167568/Iran-witness…
Health Min. says no UK Covid-19 case observed in Iran
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-23
TEHRAN, Dec. 23 (MNA) — Stating the British Government delayed the announcement of the new mutated UK coronavirus, the Iranian Health Minister said that no UK coronavirus cases have been observed in Iran so far.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167573/Health-Min-s…
Singapore confirms 1st case of new Covid-19 strain
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-24
Bangkok Desk, Dec 24 (efe-epa).- Singapore has confirmed its first case of a person infected with the new variant of Covid-19 discovered in the United Kingdom. The patient is a 17-year-old Singaporean who returned to the city state on Dec. 6 from the UK, where she had been studying since August, the Ministry of Health …
laprensalatina.com/singapore-confirms-1s…
Japan prosecutors decide against charging Abe over party spending
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-24
Tokyo, Dec 24 (efe-epa).- The Japanese prosecutor’s office decided Thursday not to file charges against former prime minister Shinzo Abe over the alleged illicit use of funds by his office. The prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into Abe’s private office following complaints over alleged financing of part of the costs of private events held with …
laprensalatina.com/japan-prosecutors-dec…
Ecuador’s indigenous people turn to ancestral remedies against Covid-19
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-24
By Domenica Enriquez Miwaguno, Ecuador, Dec 23 (efe-epa).- Residents of some indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon are choosing to rely on the natural remedies used by their ancestors as they battle the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 3,200 indigenous people have contracted the coronavirus and 49 have perished, according to figures from Ecuador’s Health Ministry, …
laprensalatina.com/ecuadors-indigenous-p…
Brazilian institute announces vaccine exceeds minimum efficacy, safety levels
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-24
Sao Paulo, Dec 23 (efe-epa).- The vaccine against Covid-19 developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. laboratory, in cooperation with the Butantan Institute in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, has exceeded the minimum levels of safety and efficiency demanded by Brazilian and international health authorities, government sources in Sao Paulo reported on Wednesday. The Coronavac vaccine “reached …
laprensalatina.com/brazilian-institute-a…
No bottled O2 until further notice: Mexico City Covid patients’ dilemma
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-24
By Eduard Ribas i Admetlla Mexico City, Dec 23 (efe-epa).- The sign reading “No oxygen available” is being seen more and more frequently hanging on the doors of establishments selling medical equipment in Mexico City, where hospitals are rapidly filling and many people with sick relatives at home must look high and low for medical …
laprensalatina.com/no-bottled-o2-until-f…
China opens anti-monopoly investigation into e-commerce giant Alibaba
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-24
Beijing, Dec 24 (efe-epa).- China’s top market watchdog announced Thursday that it has opened an anti-monopoly investigation into e-commerce giant Alibaba. The “suspected monopolistic conduct” includes trying to make wholesalers choose a single platform between two competitors, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a brief statement. The news had an immediate effect on …
laprensalatina.com/china-opens-anti-mono…
El Salvador works to save endangered sea turtles that hatch along its coast
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-24
By Sara Acosta San Salvador, Dec 23 (efe-epa).- On the coasts of El Salvador at least four species of sea turtles, two of them in critical danger of extinction, lay their eggs and are protected by the residents of the areas together with environmental NGOs. In central ?La Libertad, specifically on San Diego beach, the …
laprensalatina.com/el-salvador-works-to-…
The UN is not above playing politics with its mortality (and other) statistics
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2020-12-24
It’s clear that technical departments within the UN have their work corrupted by the US government and its allies. Consider recent reporting by the Grayzone on OPCW whistleblowers who exposed manipulation of an investigation into alleged chemical weapons use in Syria in 2018. Going further back, Hans Blix, the Swedish diplomat who was in charge Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/the-un-is-not-above-pla…
UN agencies not above playing politics with statistics
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2020-12-24
It’s clear that technical departments within the UN have their work corrupted by the US government and its allies. Consider recent reporting by the Grayzone on OPCW whistleblowers who exposed manipulation of an investigation into alleged chemical weapons use in Syria in 2018. Going further back, Hans Blix, the Swedish diplomat who was in charge Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/the-un-is-not-above-pla…
Medicare for All Would Save Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Annually
Matt Bruenig | zcomm.org | 2020-12-23
The most exhaustive study on Medicare for All just came out. Its conclusion: a single-payer system would guarantee health insurance to all people while reducing overall health spending by hundreds of billions of dollars every year…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/medicare-for-all-w…
US Airports Are Portals for Disease Spread. Venezuela Shows Another Way
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-12-23
I recently traveled to Venezuela to be an observer for its National Assembly election and was struck by a stark difference between the ways Venezuela and the United States are handling the COVID-19 pandemic. | My experience at the airport in Caracas, Venezuela, gave me a taste of what a coordinated public health approach looks like in practice, compared to the disjointed politicized approach in the United States. Airports in the United States are currently serving as uncontrolled portals of disease…
truthout.org/articles/us-airports-are-po…
truthout.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/…
Racist practices at the SF Health Service System will no longer be tolerated: Remove Mitch
Malik Washington | indybay.org | 2020-12-23
SF Bay View Editor Malik Washington reports on systemic racism in the SF Health Service System…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/22/1883906…
Homeless Dead in Santa Cruz County 2020
posted by Norse | indybay.org | 2020-12-23
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.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/21/1883904…
Populists and Experts
Thomas Frank | indybay.org | 2020-12-23
Privilege versus equality. | “The central issue in the conflict between the government and doctors in Saskatchewan is not health insurance, but democracy,” noted the Toronto-based newspaper The Globe and Mail after the strike began. “The experts, no matter what their specialty, must always ultimately be subordinate to the laity, or democracy can’t work.”
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/22/1883905…
2020 In Review: Workers Struggle Under The Weight Of The Pandemic
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-23
Workers will feel the ramifications of this unprecedented year long into the future. | The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 300,000 lives, destroyed millions of jobs, busted gaping holes in public budgets, and magnified the myriad inequalities that have come to define life in the United States. | Notwithstanding a few bright spots, the labor movement struggled to find its footing in the biggest workplace health and safety crisis of our lifetimes. | The year started with 3.5 percent unemployment–the lowest in a half-century–and hopes that workers might be able to use the tight labor market to recover s…
popularresistance.org/2020-in-review-wor…
Unions Call For L.A. County Shutdown In January
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-23
In a move that reflects the desperation of teachers, nurses, healthcare, grocery and hotel employees, their influential unions are calling for a strict month-long Los Angeles County shutdown in January to control the raging COVID-19 pandemic, save lives and ultimately allow for a quicker reopening of schools and the economy. | Evidence of mounting frustration and anxiety has also emerged in newly released surveys of teachers and parents as most campuses across L.A. County remain closed to in-person classes. | The union coalition called for what it described as a “circuit breaker” in a letter Wednesday night to th…
popularresistance.org/unions-call-for-l-…
Israel detects new Covid-19 strain, health ministry says
MEE and agencies | middleeasteye.net | 2020-12-23
Israel detects new Covid-19 strain, health ministry says | Four people diagnosed with coronavirus variant that first emerged in the United Kingdom | MEE and agencies | Wed, 12/23/2020 – 16: 04 | An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man gets vaccinated against Covid-19 at Clalit Health Services Center in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, on 21 December 2020 (AFP) | Israel has detected four cases of a new Covid-19 strain, a highl…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/covid-new-str…
www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/file…
Singapore Airlines tests Covid health verification system
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2020-12-23
Bangkok Desk, Dec 23 (efe-epa).- Singapore Airlines announced Wednesday that it has begun testing a digital verification system of Covid-19 test results and vaccinations, anticipating future requirements from governments around the world. It is the first airline to apply this technology based on the Covid-19 Travel Pass designed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), …
laprensalatina.com/singapore-airlines-te…
COVID and prisons: No walls, no borders in the workers’ struggle
Johnnie Lewis | workers.org | 2020-12-23
Texas “It’s a nonviolent protest going on right now because the officers [in an unnamed Texas prison], in the middle of the coronavirus, have refused us electricity for several hours, no showers or anything.” The voice is that of an incarcerated human being on video taken inside a Texas prison. . . . | Continue reading COVID and prisons: No walls, no borders in the workers’ struggle at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53381/?utm_source=rs…
www.workers.org/wp-content/uploads/photo…
COVID and prisons / No walls, no borders in the workers’ struggle
Johnnie Lewis | workers.org | 2020-12-23
Texas “It’s a nonviolent protest going on right now because the officers [in an unnamed Texas prison], in the middle of the coronavirus, have refused us electricity for several hours, no showers or anything.” The voice is that of an incarcerated human being on video taken inside a Texas prison. . . . | Continue reading COVID and prisons / No walls, no borders in the workers’ struggle at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53381/?utm_source=rs…
www.workers.org/wp-content/uploads/photo…
A Tale of Two Elections: U.S. and Bolivia
Mark Weisbrot | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-23
In recent weeks, Donald Trump has been ridiculed, slathered with contempt, and repeatedly branded a “liar,” as well as an existential threat to democracy in the United States, by the biggest media outlets in the country. This is in response to his attempts to reverse the results of the U.S. presidential election, and claiming–without evidence–that…
counterpunch.org/2020/12/23/a-tale-of-tw…
www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/dropzone…
The Gold Comes Off: A COVID-19 Outbreak in Sydney
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | asia-pacificresearch.com | 2020-12-23
asia-pacificresearch.com/covid-19-outbre…
Covid Lockdowns and “Cancelling Christmas”
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-23
The mind changer in Downing Street has struck again. With UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the helm, changes of direction are compulsive, natural and sudden. The U-Turn has become the prosaic expectation. “Too often it looks like this government …
globalresearch.ca/yuletide-lockdowns-can…
Why Progressives Must Not Give Biden a Political Honeymoon
Norman Solomon | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-23
The third time would not be a charm. People on the left did very little to challenge Bill Clinton after he won the presidency in 1992. Two years later, a big Republican wave took control of Congress. People on the left did very little to challenge Barack Obama after he won the presidency in 2008.
counterpunch.org/2020/12/23/why-progress…
Las vacunas mundiales de China: un cambio revolucionario
Sara Flounders | workers.org | 2020-12-23
En Estados Unidos, con menos del 5% de la población mundial, existe poca preocupación por el destino del otro 95% del mundo que se enfrenta a la pandemia. Cuándo, cómo y bajo qué condiciones se distribuirá una vacuna en los EE. UU. es la mayor preocupación de los EE.UU. Las . . . | Continue reading Las vacunas mundiales de China: un cambio revolucionario at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53388/?utm_source=rs…
www.workers.org/wp-content/uploads/China…
Spain’s Podemos deliberately downplayed COVID-19 danger starting in January
wsws.org | 2020-12-23
While Podemos officials downplayed the dangers from COVID-19, the Spanish Ministry of Defence was buying up personal protective equipment in anticipation of a pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/23/pode…
Death toll rises to 11 at General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico
wsws.org | 2020-12-23
José Luis H., who worked in the plant’s car body area, was the last confirmed death, on December 19. The plant’s Human Resources manager, who had overseen the firing of workers for challenging the lack of protections against COVID-19, also died earlier this month.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/23/sila…
US COVID relief package: Too little, too late
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-23
After much wrangling, the US Congress managed to pass the a COVID-19 relief package. However, it offers only a pittance at a time when large sections of the population are facing an unprecedented economic crisis…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/23/us-covid-…
Is the U.S. facing a revolutionary situation?
Makasi Motema | workers.org | 2020-12-23
The inescapable duty of a socialist revolutionary is to perceive the changes taking place in society which sharpen the class struggle and act on those changes without hesitation. Any socialist or socialist organization which fails to do so cannot be considered a defender of the proletariat (the working class), much . . . | Continue reading Is the U.S. facing a revolutionary situation? at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53391/?utm_source=rs…
www.workers.org/wp-content/uploads/Food_…
Buffalo protesters denounce capitalist failure in COVID-19 crisis
Workers World Buffalo, N.Y., bureau | workers.org | 2020-12-23
Community members gathered at the steps of Buffalo City Hall Dec. 19 to mourn the victims of COVID-19. To emphasize that Erie County has reached over a thousand dead from the virus, the demonstrators read the names of 1,000 of the deceased over a loud speaker. People stood silently with . . . | Continue reading Buffalo protesters denounce capitalist failure in COVID-19 crisis at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/12/53423/?utm_source=rs…
www.workers.org/wp-content/uploads/Buffa…
Cook County public sector workers carry out one-day strike for hazard pay and safer working conditions
wsws.org | 2020-12-23
One of the top demands is hazard pay for all essential frontline workers, as well as an additional $5 per hour for workers directly tasked with caring for COVID-19 patients or working in COVID-19 units.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/23/cook…
Are There Any Good Cops?
Kim Petersen | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-12-23
Yes, there is a pandemic. And, yes, the COVID-19 numbers and deaths are rising in certain locales. In the Canadian province of Alberta, lockdown measures were put into effect that include shutting all casinos, gyms, dine-in restaurants, and bars. Mask wearing, despite what science says, has been mandated. As well, all outdoor and indoor social …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/12/are-there-any…
dissidentvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/20…
Pioneering country music singer Charley Pride (1934-2020) dies of COVID-19
wsws.org | 2020-12-23
Pride was the first African American artist to achieve major success in country music. He produced at least 30 chart-topping country songs through the late 1980s and sold over 70 million records worldwide.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/23/prid…
Half a million dead in Europe from COVID-19 pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-12-23
No European government is proposing a serious policy to urgently address the growing death toll and advance a scientific response.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/23/euro…
The UK’s COVID-19 mutation: The deadly result of a “herd immunity” policy
wsws.org | 2020-12-23
As at every other stage in this pandemic, the Johnson government had ample time to take the necessary measures required to save lives and avoid a catastrophic situation. Yet they did nothing.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/23/couk…
Staff at Hospitals in DC, Texas Turn Down COVID-19 Vaccine
Ayla Ellison | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-23
Many employees at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., have reservations about taking the COVID-19 vaccine, and CEO Anita Jenkins is trying to get workers to follow her lead by getting vaccinated, according to CNN. | The hospital, a major …
globalresearch.ca/staff-hospitals-dc-tex…
Labor creates all value, including vaccine value
Tim Wheeler | peoplesworld.org | 2020-12-23
As I watched the rollout of the first COVID-19 vaccines on television recently, I thought of that old line, “Labor creates all value.” Above all, it is labor power–mental labor and muscle labor–that is producing safe, effective vaccines in quantities sufficient to vaccinate the 340 million people of the United States. People mistakenly credit Karl …
peoplesworld.org/article/labor-creates-a…
www.peoplesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/…
Australian educators call for the defence of COVID-19 whistleblower Rebekah Jones
wsws.org | 2020-12-23
Teachers and support staff at Footscray High in Melbourne met in the final days of the school year to show their support for Jones.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/23/jone…
How dangerous is the new COVID-19 strain?
Newsclick | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-12-23
News of a new strain of the COVID-19 disease has stoked fears in the UK and the rest of the world. A number of countries, including India, have banned or restricted travel to the country. Immunologist Dr. Satyajit Rath and Newsclick’s Prabir Purkayastha discuss the new strain and its implications.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/12/23/how-dange…
Second ‘more transmissible’ mutation of COVID-19 found in UK
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-23
TEHRAN, Dec. 23 (MNA) — Britain is already moving to widen lockdown regarding the emergence of a separate new strain of COVID-19 identified in SE England last week. That strain is said to be more transmissible, but no more severe than original virus.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167588/Second-more-…
IranAir resumes flights to Ankara after months of hiatus