(2021-12-24). Campaign calling for release of Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez gains momentum. peoplesdispatch.org Following the arrest of activist Khurram Parvez in November, a number of international human rights organizations have launched a solidarity campaign demanding his immediate and unconditional release.
(2021-12-24). To oppose government austerity, Sri Lankan workers need to build action committees and fight for socialist policies. wsws.org The critical lesson of this year's strikes and protests is that determination and militancy is not enough. The working class cannot defend its rights without independently mobilising on a socialist program.
(2021-12-23). Cuba Denounces US Allegations of Human Trafficking. orinocotribune.com Cuba firmly rejected the allegations fabricated by the US accusing the Caribbean island of involvement in human trafficking, and has assured that these claims are simply another way of justifying the aggressive measures which continue to be taken against Havana. | "The declarations made by the US government, regarding human trafficking, terrorism and human rights abuses, have no relation with the reality of out country," responded Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez through his Twitter account. "The US is trying to justify—with lies—the abusive and aggressive measures taken against the Cuban popul…
(2021-12-23). Panamanians demand justice for the victims of the 1989 US invasion. peoplesdispatch.org 
According to official data, 516 Panamanians soldiers and civilians were killed during the US invasion, but human rights groups say the real number is much higher, between 1,000 and 3,000…
(2021-12-23). Libya: National Committee for Human Rights Warns of the Political and Humanitarian Consequences of Aborting Elections. libya360.wordpress.com Demonstrations in Libya protest…
(2021-12-23). American Civil War: Of Roman Plagues, Handmaid's Tales & the Real Geopolitics of Fiction. strategic-culture.org 
Biden's foreign policy and his attitude to the EU seems to be a clone of Trump's. Which oddly and incredibly, lends more to the Handmaid scenario than it does Black Mirror. | How can we explain how Australia, Britain, Austria, Italy, and more have gone the path of arbitrary and capricious detention and exclusion from society? The Austrian government mobilized perhaps 500 people into the streets in support of lockdown and apartheid measures, colluding with media to inflate that number by a massive factor of sixty. | The reactions to this certainly represent an extreme polarization of society. Yet in politics, ther…
(2021-12-23). New Anti-Protest Laws Cast A Long Shadow On First Amendment Rights. popularresistance.org Tiffany Crutcher was worried. | Oklahoma lawmakers had passed a new measure stiffening penalties for protesters who block roadways and granting immunity to drivers who unintentionally hit them. The state NAACP, saying the law was passed in response to racial justice demonstrations and could chill the exercising of First Amendment rights, filed a federal lawsuit challenging portions of it. But the new law was only weeks from taking effect. | Crutcher, an advocate for police reform and racial justice, was moderating a virtual town hall about it, featuring panelists who brought the lawsuit. At the end, she asked a q…
(2021-12-23). No One Is Safe Until Everyone Is Safe: Oxfam on Vaccine Equity & Taking On Moderna. democracynow.org 
Oxfam America has accused Moderna of misleading its investors about an ongoing dispute over whether it needs to share vaccine patent rights with the U.S. government. Oxfam filed a shareholders complaint against Moderna with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the company's resistance to recognizing the role played by three scientists with the National Institutes of Health in developing the vaccine. We speak with Robbie Silverman, senior corporate advocacy manager at Oxfam America, who says the federal government owns a right to license the vaccine to manufacturers. "It is simply not sufficient just to vac…
(2021-12-23). Sudan protests: Security forces in spotlight over sexual violence allegations. moderndiplomacy.eu In Sudan, reports of serious sexual violence and the use of live ammunition against protesters at the weekend must be investigated immediately, the UN rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday. The allegations surfaced after demonstrations in Khartoum on Sunday, where tens of thousands had massed to mark the third anniversary of protests that led to the …
(2021-12-23). "It's a Win for Us": Striking Kellogg's Workers Get Raises, Improved Benefits & Avoid Two-Tier System. democracynow.org 
In a major victory for labor rights, 1,400 unionized Kellogg's workers have ended their nearly three-month strike across four states after approving a new contract that provides a wage increase and enhanced benefits for all. The prior agreement that Kellogg's tried to bargain only offered wage increases and improved benefits to longtime workers, whereas the new agreement ensures newer workers have a guaranteed option to receive the same improvements. We speak with Kellogg's worker Kevin Bradshaw, who will return to work on Monday alongside his co-workers. "We didn't have any takeaways and no concessions, so I wou…
(2021-12-23). Oxfam Takes On Moderna in Fight for Vaccine Equity. truthout.org 
Oxfam America has accused Moderna of misleading its investors about an ongoing dispute over whether it needs to share vaccine patent rights with the U.S. government. Oxfam filed a shareholders complaint against Moderna with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the company's resistance to recognizing the role played by three scientists with the National Institutes of Health in developing the vaccine. We speak with Robbie Silverman, senior corporate advocacy manager at Oxfam America, who says the federal government…