(2021-12-17). They Won't Ever Find Us Because Our Love Is Bound to the Rocks. popularresistance.org At the US State Department's Summit for Democracy (9—10 December), US President Joe Biden announced a range of initiatives to 'bolster democracy and defend human rights globally'. These measures are to be funded by $424.4 million from the United States. This money will go towards the same institutions that have — for the past sixty years — intervened to undermine the sovereignty of democratic processes from Iran (1953) and Guatemala (1954) to Honduras (2009) and Bolivia (2019). The US focuses on falsely portraying governments that are unwilling to accept US leadership as corrupt — as was w…
(2021-12-17). Red Star Over the Third World w/ Vijay Prashad: Lessons of Soviet History, Part 2. mronline.org 
Russia's October Revolution in 1917 and the rise of Soviet power reverberated across the world, from Latin America to Africa to Asia, and Middle East — that part of the world that lived under the ravages of colonialism and under-development.
(2021-12-17). Six-week-long Maharashtra public transport workers strike endangered by unions' sabotage. wsws.org The trade unions and Stalinist parliamentary parties are systematically isolating the MSRTC workers as they courageously defy government threats and savage management reprisals.
(2021-12-17). Latin America Must Unite To Fight US Interference: Llorenti. telesurenglish.net In an interview to TeleSUR on Thursday, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) Secretary Sacha Llorenti pointed out that Latin American integration is essential to fight regional issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | "Only united, we will be able to fight recession, which has increased the capitalist system's social inequalities and the impact of the U…
(2021-12-17). Water Scarcity Fuels Violence and Mass Displacement in Cameroon. telesurenglish.net On Friday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that clashes between communities have forced over 100,000 people to flee their homes in northern Cameroon since December 5. | RELATED: | "While over 85,000 people have fled to Chad in recent days, at least 15,000 Cameroonians left their homes but remain within their country," UNCHR Spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said, adding that the figures c…
(2021-12-17). China Refutes US Claim Concerning AUKUS Cooperation. telesurenglish.net On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin refuted a U.S. claim concerning Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation, urging the three countries not to go ahead with the cooperation. | RELATED: | "Nuclear submarine cooperation under the AUKUS trilateral security partnership poses a serious risk of nuclear proliferation, and clearly violates the objective and purpose of…
(2021-12-17). Attack on The Electric System Prompts Blackout In Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Public Infrastructure and Services Vice Minister Nestor Reverol denounced that the Guri electrical complex was attacked in the early hours of Friday. | RELATED: | "We are at the forefront of actions to restore service. We ask for support from the Venezuelan people to overcome this vile and criminal attack, "he said, adding that the experience of the workers of the National Electric System (SEN) will allow to recov…
(2021-12-17). Black Lives Matter: The Power Of Activism & Citizen Journalism. telesurenglish.net The year 2021 is drawing to a close, leaving untouched American structural racism, a legacy of the slave age that capitalism preserves to ensure the reproduction of social inequalities, which have been exacerbated by a pandemic that continues to hit workers in various ways. | RELATED: | In Minnesota, for example, the rate of coronavirus infection in citizens of African descent has remained between 25 and 30 percent…
(2021-12-17). Antonio Gramsci y el balotaje en Chile. globalizacion.ca Recientemente he leído y escuchado a alguna gente autoidentificada con —o referenciada en- la izquierda en Chile y en otros países de la región proponiendo para el crucial balotaje del próximo domingo la abstención electoral, o el voto nulo o…
(2021-12-17). WEF Develops Framework to Transition Colombia to Data-Driven Economy. moderndiplomacy.eu The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a multistakeholder community have developed a technology and governance framework for trustworthy and commercially sustainable public-private data exchanges in Colombia. This new public-private resource will give individuals greater control over how their data is used and serve as a means for responsible value creation. The multistakeholder community …
(2021-12-17). Peruvian President Pedro Castillo presents a bill to reduce poor families' electricity bills. peoplesdispatch.org The energy bill, presented in the Peruvian Congress by President Pedro Castillo, will provide over 21 million vulnerable families with a discount of up to 15% on their monthly electricity bills…
(2021-12-17). COVID-19: Los países de bajos ingresos han administrado la mitad de dosis totales que las dosis de refuerzo administradas en las naciones ricas. cubadebate.cu Un año desde que se administraron las primeras vacunas COVID-19, muchas partes del mundo permanecen peligrosamente desprotegidas. La propagación de la variante Omicron del coronavirus ha significado que muchos países están intensificando sus campañas de refuerzo. El aumento ha sido tan rápido que el análisis de Sky News ha encontrado que el número de dosis de refuerzo administradas por persona en los países ricos es el doble del número total de todas las dosis de la vacuna COVID administradas en los países de bajos ingresos.
(2021-12-16). Headlines for December 16, 2021. democracynow.org Unprecedented December Storms Hit Central U.S. as Biden Tours Kentucky Tornado Damage, U.K. and South Africa Set Coronavirus Records as Omicron Spreads Rapidly, Senate Approves Record $778 Billion Pentagon Budget, Build Back Better Act Stalls in Senate Again as Joe Manchin Rejects Expanded Child Tax Credit, Civil Rights Leaders Demand Senate Democrats Pass Federal Voting Rights Legislation, Democrats Call on Biden to Extend Student Loan Pause, Grant Debt Forgiveness, Syrian Conflict Has Stripped Civilians of Access to Healthcare, Created Humanitarian Disaster, Protesters Demand Mexico Decriminalize Immigration to…
(2021-12-16). The US Is At A Loss In Central America. popularresistance.org In November 2008, while ambassador to Nicaragua, death-squad manager nonpareil John Negroponte's long time torture and terror campaign sidekick, Robert Callahan, remarked to a reporter in Managua, "US foreign policy toward Latin America has not changed in 50 years and is unlikely to do so under President Obama". Just months later, the June 2009 coup in Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya proved him to be right. In fact, the veteran US war crimes insider's comment explained unwittingly why US and allied foreign policy lurches from one mass murdering catastrophe to another. | Callahan and Negroponte, himself a…
(2021-12-16). Cuba Timely Isolates Four Imported Omicron Cases. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, Cuba's Tropical Medicine Institute Pedro Kouri (IPK) detected four Omicron COVID-19 strain cases in travelers who came from Africa and remain asymptomatic. | RELATED: | Two of the confirmed cases are Cubahidraulica Company workers who returned from South Africa and tested positive for COVID-19 while staying in mandatory quarantine. | The other cases correspond to an Ethiopian citizen and a Somalian to…
(2021-12-16). More Than 100 Firms Across the World Can Make the mRNA Vaccine If Tech Is Shared. truthout.org 
Image Credit: Facebook: Global Justice Now | As the coronavirus variant Omicron spreads across the world at an unprecedented rate, a group of vaccine experts has just released a list of over 100 companies in Africa, Asia and Latin America with the potential to produce mRNA vaccine. They say it is the one of the most viable solutions to fight vaccine inequity around the world and combat the spread of coronavirus variants, including Omicron. We speak to Achal Prabhala, one of the vaccine exper…
(2021-12-16). UN-Habitat To Collaborate in Building Green Homes in Kenya. telesurenglish.net Jeremiah Ougo, an officer in charge of national projects at the UN-Habitat, announced to journalists in Nairobi that the organization will guarantee that the principles of sustainable housing are incorporated into the real estate project. | RELATED: | "We will provide technical assistance to ensure water and energy efficiency, as well as public spaces, are mainstreamed into the project," Ougo stated on Thursday. | He noted that the land for the…
(2021-12-16). 20th ALBA-TCP Summit Declaration. orinocotribune.com "17 years defending Latin American and Caribbean integration and peace" | The Heads of State and Government and the Heads of Delegations of the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America — Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), meet in Havana, Cuba, on December 14, 2021 to commemorate the 17th Anniversary of the Alliance. In signing this Declaration, we renew our commitment to strengthen this mechanism of political coordination based on the principles of solidarity, social justice, cooperation and economic complementarity, a result of the political will of its founders, the Commanders Fid…
(2021-12-16). Gabriel Boric and the New Left's Old Problem. zcomm.org The Chilean candidate represents a class of Latin American politicians who appear more revolutionary than they really are…
(2021-12-16). As Omicron Spreads, 100+ Firms in Africa, Asia & Latin America Can Make mRNA Vaccine If Tech Shared. democracynow.org 
As the coronavirus variant Omicron spreads across the world at an unprecedented rate, a group of vaccine experts has just released a list of over 100 companies in Africa, Asia and Latin America with the potential to produce mRNA vaccine. They say it is the one of the most viable solutions to fight vaccine inequity around the world and combat the spread of coronavirus variants, including Omicron. We speak to Achal Prabhala, one of the vaccine experts who compiled the list. If mRNA technology could be shared with the listed companies, "we could vaccinate the world in as close to six months from now," says Prabhala.
(2021-12-16). Derek Chauvin pleads guilty to violating civil rights of George Floyd and 14-year-old boy. nationofchange.org "This is important and historic. His admissions mark another important moment of accountability and another step on the road to justice."
(2021-12-16). Presentation of the Little Autonomous Community School "Agua de Lluvia" in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca. itsgoingdown.org 
In the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, in the pueblo of Agua de Lluvia, teachers, community members, and youth are building autonomous education through community organization. Dating back to the 2006 social revolt in Oaxaca, and a conflict between the radical section 22 of the CNTE (National Coordinator of Education Workers) and the right wing Section…
(2021-12-16). Russian Proposals for Dialogue Have Had No Answer From NATO. telesurenglish.net After numerous proposals by Russia's government for a security dialogue sent to NATO, it has not given a single answer, said Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday. | RELATED: | "We know what security issues are. This is why we are creating armed forces, calling on our Western partners to engage in talks on ways to make the world a safer and a more stable place, prevent conflicts and resolve issues peacefully," stated the Spokeswoman. | "Ho…
(2021-12-16). US Ambassador Withdraws Visas From 'Narco Generals' in Ecuador. telesurenglish.net In an interview published on Monday, the U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Michael Fitzpatrick expressed his "concern" about drug trafficking activities in this South American country and communicated the decision to cancel US visas to 19 police generals whom he described as "narco generals. ". | RELATED: | He did not give the names of the generals allegedly linked to illegal activities, arguing that they were under investigation. Subsequently, Pres…
(2021-12-16). 114 US Congressmen Urge Biden to Restore Engagement with Cuba. telesurenglish.net Led by Representatives Jim McGovern (MA), Barbara Lee (CA), Bobby Rush (IL) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (NY), 114 members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to advance a Cuba policy that addresses humanitarian needs, the economic crisis and engagement in areas of mutual interest. | "The Obama Administration's Cuba policy was very popular, not only among Americans in general, but also within the Cuban American community," 114 U.S. Congressional representatives wrote.
(2021-12-16). Peru: Left-wing Lawmaker Aks To Dismiss Congress President Alva. telesurenglish.net On Monday, Peruvian left-wing lawmaker Guillermo Bermejo requested that Congress President Maria Alva be dismissed for questioning the legitimacy of Pedro Castillo's government before the Spanish Parliament. | RELATED: | Bermejo considered that the Congress President's attitude is unconstitutional since it violates the principle of power separation and promotes foreign interference in Peruvian internal affairs.
(2021-12-16). Venezuela Slams the Intrusion of the EP in Cuban Affairs. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia denounced the European Parliament's interference in Cuba matters. | RELATED: | In his Twitter account, Plasencia slams the intentions of the European Parliament to use the Human Rights issue in that Caribbean nation as a political instrument. | His statement came right after the European organization introduced Cuba's situation on the Thursday debate once agai…
(2021-12-16). Poll Affirms Lula Would Win in First Round of Brazil Elections. telesurenglish.net A new poll shows the former president as the winner with a 27-point lead over the current head of state. | The recent IPEC survey indicated that, considering two scenarios and taking into account only valid votes, former president Lula (2003-2010) has 56 percent of the electoral preference, so he would not need a runoff in order to win in 2022.
(2021-12-16). US Announces Climate Leadership and AUKUS as 2021 Achievements. telesurenglish.net The Biden administration listed on its rank of foreign policy achievements in 2021, the development of the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) partnership, reclaiming global issues and climate leadership. | RELATED: | White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki took to Twitter to list as many as three of the accomplishments the White House is "proud of" this year, as a response to a journalist's question, referring to the single big…
(2021-12-16). Bolivia: The Attempt To Carry Out a Second Coup Was a Failure. telesurenglish.net The president of the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies, Freddy Mamani, highlighted the failure of the right-wing in its attempt to carry out a second coup d'etat, the Bolivian Information Agency (ABI) reported today. | Bolivia lawmaker Freddy Mamani stressed that with these coup actions the opponents not only tried to establish a coup, but also sought to cover up those responsible for the 2019 massacres in the South American country.
(2021-12-16). Russia To Build More Soyuz Ships To Develop Space Tourism. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, the director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitri Rogozin announced that his country will manufacture up to four Soyuz manned spacecraft per year in order to develop the space tourism industry. | RELATED: | He also indicated that Energuía Corporation, Russia's leading manufacturer of rockets and spacecraft, will present a plan to increase production. | After the cancellation of the NASA shutt…
(2021-12-16). Wildfires Killed 17 Million Vertebrates in Brazilian Pantanal. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, Scientific Reports magazine published a report that claims that some 16.9 million lizards, birds, primates, rodents, and other vertebrates died due to wildfires that took place in the Pantanal. | RELATED: | Between January and November 2020, wildfires caused an enormous damage to the world's largest tropical wetland. To reach this conclusion, scientists Walfrido Moraes Tomas (Embrapa Pantanal) and Ronaldo Morato (S…
(2021-12-16). Haiti: Transporters Get Compensation for Fuel Subsidies Removal. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Prime Minister Henry Ariel's administration agreed with Haitian transport unions to set measures to compensate them for the increase in their operating costs caused by the elimination of fuel subsidies. | RELATED: | Those compensations include the creation of a new oil market control institution that will be in charge of stabilizing public transport fares, regularizing wages of transport operators, co…
(2021-12-16). Lucia Hiriart, Widow of Dictator Augusto Pinochet, Dies at 99. telesurenglish.net "On Thursday, December 16, the widow of dictator Augusto Pinochet, Lucia Hiriart, died at the age of 99," Chilevisión reported. | According to initial reports, Hiriart died at her home, suffering from multiple medical complications, specifically respiratory complications, which led her to be hospitalized on several occasions in the last few years. | RELATED: | Hiriart spent her last days at home and surrounded by her…
(2021-12-16). President Arce Grants Loans To the Añez Regime's Victims. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Bolivian President Luis Arce created a trust worth US$1 million that provides loans to the 2019 Senkata and Sacaba massacre's victims and their relatives. | RELATED: | "The beneficiaries, who must be registered by the Justice and Health Ministries, will receive 10-year loans with an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent," Justice Minister Ivan Lima explained, adding that the Productive Develop…
(2021-12-16). Storms Leave Over 510,000 Without Power In Central US. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, a powerful storm system swept through the central United States with high winds that kicked up dust storms, fueled wildfires and knocked down power lines, leaving more than 510,000 customers without power, with no mass casualties reported as of early Thursday. | RELATED: | The National Weather Service (NWS) reported a "confirmed tornado" near Rochester in southeastern Minnesota, the state's first on re…
(2021-12-16). South Africa Keeps Restrictions Low As COVID-19 Cases Rise. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) has retained lockdown restrictions at "adjusted level 1," which is the lowest of a five-tier system of restrictions. | RELATED: | "It makes sense to keep lockdown at this level as hospitals are not overwhelmed at this stage. We need to tighten lockdown measures when hospitalization admissions and ICU are higher," said Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the Sout…
(2021-12-16). Kast "Will Only Bring Instability, More Hatred and Violence" to Chile, Says Boric. telesurenglish.net "We are the heirs of those who have fought to make Chile a more just and dignified country," Boric said at a massive rally. | In Almagro Park, a few blocks from the presidential palace of La Moneda, Boric closed his campaign for the second round, in which he will face the far-right José Antonio Kast, with a very close result, according to polls. | RELATED: | In the first round of November 21, Kast won 27.9% of the vot…
(2021-12-16). Profiting from Migration: Peru Requests $304 Million to 'Serve' Venezuelan Migrants. orinocotribune.com 
Through the "business" of migration, the government of Peru now intends to ensure its source of income for the year 2022, under the pretext of needing financing to "help" Venezuelan migrants. Peru intends to obtain the funds through a new program that they announced to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR. | According to official sources, the Peruvian administration requested $304 million, allegedly to assist some 900,000 Venezuelans in Peruvian territory. In Peru, Venezuelan migrants have faced serious acts of xenophobia, discrimination, mass deportations, and violence against Venezuelans…
(2021-12-16). Illinois Sets National Precedent in Banning Immigration Detention. truthout.org 
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Illinois Way Forward Act on December 6, 2021, making immigrant detention illegal in the state after the new law takes effect in the new year. The suit was filed by McHenry and Kankakee Counties, which were holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at their local jails. Pending any further court action, the counties will need to end their contracts with ICE by the end of this year. | Johannes Favi spent 10 months and two weeks inside the J…
(2021-12-16). Marighella, film on Brazil's urban guerrilla leader, screened after two-year delay. wsws.org A target of far-right attacks for centering on Brazil's foremost guerrilla leader in the late 1960s, the movie offers neither clarity on his life and times nor a perspective for those seeking to counter the current threat of dictatorship.
(2021-12-16). Marighella, film on Brazil's urban guerrilla leader screened after two-year delay. wsws.org A target of far-right attacks for centering on Brazil's foremost guerrilla leader in the late 1960s, the movie offers neither clarity on his life and times nor a perspective for those seeking to counter the current threat of dictatorship.
(2021-12-16). "International solidarity once failed the people of Chile. It must not fail today." zcomm.org Parliamentarians and public figures from over 15 countries unite in defense of Chilean democracy ahead of 19 December elections.
(2021-12-16). Chile Is at the Political Crossroads: Social Renewal or Decades of Painful Neoliberal Policy. independentmediainstitute.org "If [Augusto] Pinochet were alive, he would vote for me," said José Antonio Kast in 2017, during the Chilean presidential election when he ran as an independent candidate. This was an especially provocative statement made by him out of the many he has made over the years—he had also said that "Chileans need God," during …
(2021-12-16). Colombia and Venezuela: Where is There a Dictatorship? libya360.wordpress.com María Fernanda Barreto Photo: Carlos García Rawlins / Reuters What is democracy in the 21st century? Where is there a true democracy? They say that all comparisons are odious, but at the same time they are inevitable. In the case of Colombia and Venezuela, the comparison between their political systems is constantly made by the…
(2021-12-16). As UN recognizes Maduro, Canada increasingly isolated on world stage. canadiandimension.com 
In this UNTV image, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro speaks in a pre-recorded video message during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, September 23, 2020, at UN headquarters in New York. Still image courtesy UNTV. | This month, there were two important developments at the United Nations that, taken together, shed a punishing light on the hypocrisy of Canadian foreign policy. | The first was a December 7 vote at the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In this vote, the UNGA voted overwhelmingly to confirm the credentials of Venezuelan diplomats representing the government of Presi…
(2021-12-16). 'Fascists Out of the University': Students at Madrid's Complutense University Reject Leopoldo López. orinocotribune.com The widespread international rejection of fugitive from Venezuelan justice Leopoldo López was evident last Monday, December 13, in Madrid, where students received him at the Complutense University with slogans of "fascists out of the university," prior to López's participation in an event alongside Yunior García, fugitive from Cuba. | "Fascists out of the university!," "López, murderer!", and "out with the Miami coup plotters" were among the slogans written on banners and shouted by students in the political science faculty of Complutense University of Madrid. | Numerous students gathered on the campus to reject…
(2021-12-16). Why Cuba Does Not Have an Anti-Vaccine Movement. libya360.wordpress.com Marc Vandepitte, Toon Danhieux Increasingly, large sectors of the European population, and in the US to a lesser extent, openly express their distrust towards their government's policies to combat COVID-19. The reaction of the traditional policy is one of panic and is characterized by paternalism and repression: general obligation to vaccinate and restricting freedom of…
(2021-12-16). Brasil: Lula ganaría en primera vuelta elecciones según encuesta de la firma IPEC. cubadebate.cu Si las elecciones se realizaran este miércoles, el exmandatario Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ganaría la presidencia de Brasil, en primera vuelta, con el 56 por ciento de los votos válidos, de acuerdo con una encuesta de la firma IPEC que fue divulgada la víspera. Según los resultados de la encuesta Lula no necesitaría de un balotaje para llegar al Palacio de Planalto en 2022.
(2021-12-16). At least 77 dead and dozens injured after gas tanker explodes in Haiti's second largest city. wsws.org Most of the deaths happened as a result of passers-by rushing to the tanker moments after it tumbled to collect the escaping fuel.