2021-12-04: News Headlines

Dave DeCamp (2021-12-04). At Democracy Summit, US Will Urge Countries to Use Sanctions. news.antiwar.com At the upcoming Summit for Democracy hosted by President Biden, the US will urge other countries to start using sanctions against government officials Washington deems to be "corrupt," Citing unnamed Biden administration officials, the report said the US will slap sanctions on foreign-government officials and other people the US accuses of corruption and human rights abuses ahead of the virtual summit that will be held on Thursday and Friday. | "Over the course of the week, Treasury will take a series…

Editor2 (2021-12-04). Russian Foreign Ministry Statement on the Planned US 'Summit for Democracy'. orinocotribune.com In connection with the so called summit for democracy to be held on December 9-10 at the initiative of the US administration, we consider it necessary to make the following statement. | The organisers and enthusiasts behind this strange event claim to lead the world in advancing the cause of democracy and human rights. However, the track record and reputation of the United States, Great Britain, and the EU member states in terms of respecting democratic rights and freedoms at home, as well as in the international arena, are, to put it mildly, far from ideal. | The evidence suggests that the United States and its…

Editor2 (2021-12-04). 2021: Political Turning Point in Central America and the Caribbean. orinocotribune.com By Mision Verdad — Dec 1, 2021 | With the background noise of migration to the United States and the recent victory of Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, Central America and the Caribbean are at a turning point that will play an important role in the years to come in Latin America and the Caribbean. | The region comes from processes of civil wars, historical colonization and systematic impoverishment; however, the facts are woven with this historical thread in which democracy and human rights are used in the interest of the hegemonic narrative to intervene and capture geostrategic resources. Three of the multiple pro…

Farooque Chowdhury (2021-12-04). Environment, human rights and class power. mronline.org Environment is human right, said and resolved a recent UN meet. It's a reiteration of an already discussed issue—essential to all of the human society.

Juan Cole (2021-12-04). Urgent UN Action needed on Yemen Atrocities to end "Pandemic of Impunity" juancole.com Human rights Watch — (New York) — The United Nations General Assembly should act swiftly to establish an investigative mechanism to gather and preserve evidence of serious human rights abuses and violations of the laws of war in Yemen, a coalition of more than 60 organizations said. Failure to act would not only be a …

Ana Perdigón (2021-12-04). Washington Cartel: Clíver Alcalá No Longer a Drug Trafficker According to OFAC. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, December 2, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) withdrew from its list of drug traffickers the name of Clíver Alcalá Cordones, fugitive from Venezuelan justice, despite the fact that he is allegedly detained in the US on charges related to drug trafficking. | Clíver Alcalá was inserted into the OFAC list in 2011, after being accused of abusing his position in the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) to exchange arms for drugs with Colombian paramilitary and drug traficking gangs. | The US government had offered $10 million for the capture of Alcalá, who finally had to turn h…

Liberation Staff (2021-12-04). Defenders of abortion rights rally as Supreme Court hears arguments. liberationnews.org Around the U.S., advocates for reproductive justice rallied in cities large and small in support of the fundamental right to abortion care…

Curt Wechsler (2021-12-04). Stop the Fascist Assault on Abortion Rights! indybay.org Now is the time for everyone, everywhere, to get in the streets to | stop this fascist assault on abortion rights!

Ezekiel J Emanuel, Cécile Fabre, Lisa Herzog, Ole F Norheim, Govind Persad, G Owen Schaefer, Kok-Chor Tan (2021-12-04). [Correspondence] Obligations in a global health emergency — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Felipe de Carvalho Borges da Fonseca and colleagues, and Kayvan Bozorgmehr and Rosa Jahn for their comments on our Viewpoint.1 We agree with de Carvalho Borges da Fonseca and colleagues about the need for "a more equitable, sustainable, and accountable medical innovation system". Whether waiving patent rights will meaningfully improve access to COVID-19 vaccines for low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in the short term, is an empirical matter. There is wide agreement that intellectual property (IP) for mRNA vaccines is not a primary barrier to vaccinating the world;2,3 vaccine pr…

WSWS (2021-12-04). Indian courts continue to sanction open-ended imprisonment without trial. wsws.org The 15 surviving victims of the Indian state's Elgar Parishad terrorism frame-up case are being subjected to cruel and life-threatening punishment. They have been imprisoned for years without trial.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-03). Rights organizations call for renewed probe into possible war crimes in Yemen. peoplesdispatch.org The call by rights organizations comes a day after The Guardian revealed that Saudi Arabia had used a mixture of threats and inducements to persuade countries to vote down an extension of the probe into possible war crimes in Yemen…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-03). Saudi Arabia extensively lobbied to derail war crimes probe in Yemen, says report. peoplesdispatch.org A report by The Guardian said that an extensive Saudi lobbying effort was one of the reasons behind the defeat of a resolution to extend the term of an independent war crimes investigation into human rights violations in Yemen…

Staff (2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Del Rio Bridge Now Face Inhumane Conditions in New Mexico ICE Jail. democracynow.org The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their own lives," says immigration attorney Allegra Love of the El Paso Immigration Collaborative.

_____ (2021-12-03). It's Time To Free Leonard Peltier, America's Longest Serving Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbish…

_____ (2021-12-03). It's Time To Free Leonard Peltier, Longest Serving Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbish…

Stavroula Pabst (2021-12-03). Flattening the curve or flattening the global poor? How Covid lockdowns obliterate human rights and crush the most vulnerable. thegrayzone.com Marketed as life-saving public health measures, lockdowns triggered death and economic devastation on a global scale while doing little to slow the spread of Covid-19. Now, they're back with a vengeance. In October 2021, it seemed as though the lockdowns that still paralyzed societies from Australia to New Zealand and Singapore were coming to an end, as these countries threw in the "Zero-COVID" towel following a year and a half of rolling restrictions and closures. But with COVID-19 cases rising …

Anonymous103 (2021-12-03). Middle Eastern Autocrats Sigh Relief: The US Signals Democracy Summit Will Not Change Policy. southfront.org Click to see full-size image | Written by The United States has signalled in advance of next week's Summit for Democracy that it is unlikely to translate lip service to adherence to human rights and democratic values in the Middle East into a policy that demonstrates seriousness and commitment. | In

Amy Goodman (2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Bridge Now Face Inhumane ICE Jail Conditions. truthout.org The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their…

Staff (2021-12-03). "The Facility": Meet the Former Prisoner Who Details Fight for His Life Inside ICE Jail During COVID. democracynow.org We go inside a notorious ICE jail at the height of the pandemic to see how people held there spoke out against dangerous conditions, and faced retaliation before they were ultimately released with no notice. Their story is captured in a new documentary called "The Facility." It investigates the inhumane conditions at Irwin County Detention Center using footage from video calls, where cameras installed in cell blocks to enable pay-per-minute video calls "functioned almost like a portal for a moment in and out of a place meant not to be seen in this way," says director, Seth Freed Wessler. "How can your own governm…

Katie Miernicki (2021-12-03). Supreme Court prepares to decimate abortion rights — Here's why it's not too late. liberationnews.org This attack could have been prevented had the Democrats taken any of its many opportunities over the decades to definitively legalize abortion through an act of Congress. There is no reason why the legality of abortion has to be left up to SCOTUS…

Staff (2021-12-03). From Abortion Bans to Anti-Trans Laws, a Christian Legal Army is Waging War on America. democracynow.org As the Supreme Court looks poised to uphold Mississipi's 15-week abortion ban and possibly overturn Roe v. Wade we speak to The Nation's Amy Littlefield about her investigation into the Christian legal army behind the Mississippi law as well as anti-trans laws across the country. She also critiques the mainstream pro-choice movement's failure to center the poor and people of color. "There is a change coming within the movement because of its reckoning with these past missteps including, frankly, the failure to adequately protect Black women and to stand up for the safety of the people whose rights were eroded fir…

teleSUR (2021-12-03). Taliban Supreme Leader Issues Decree On Women's Rights. telesurenglish.net On Friday, the Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada issued a special decree regarding women's rights and directed relevant authorities to take actions to safeguard these rights. | RELATED: | "The Islamic Emirate's leadership directs all relevant institutions, Ulema-e Karam (scholars), and tribal elders to take serious action to enforce women's rights," Afghan caretaker government spokesman Zabihullah Mu…

Lisa Chiu (2021-12-03). How will the Supreme Court rule on the Mississippi abortion law? america.cgtn.com As the U.S. Supreme Court debates an important abortion rights case, protestors outside share their thoughts on what could happen.

2021-12-04 21:39 | 17:39 EST | jz | 25 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 0 

2021-12-03: News Headlines

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-03). Saudi Arabia extensively lobbied to derail war crimes probe in Yemen, says report. peoplesdispatch.org A report by The Guardian said that an extensive Saudi lobbying effort was one of the reasons behind the defeat of a resolution to extend the term of an independent war crimes investigation into human rights violations in Yemen…

Stavroula Pabst (2021-12-03). Flattening the curve or flattening the global poor? How Covid lockdowns obliterate human rights and crush the most vulnerable. thegrayzone.com Marketed as life-saving public health measures, lockdowns triggered death and economic devastation on a global scale while doing little to slow the spread of Covid-19. Now, they're back with a vengeance. In October 2021, it seemed as though the lockdowns that still paralyzed societies from Australia to New Zealand and Singapore were coming to an end, as these countries threw in the "Zero-COVID" towel following a year and a half of rolling restrictions and closures. But with COVID-19 cases rising …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-03). Rights organizations call for renewed probe into possible war crimes in Yemen. peoplesdispatch.org The call by rights organizations comes a day after The Guardian revealed that Saudi Arabia had used a mixture of threats and inducements to persuade countries to vote down an extension of the probe into possible war crimes in Yemen…

Staff (2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Del Rio Bridge Now Face Inhumane Conditions in New Mexico ICE Jail. democracynow.org The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their own lives," says immigration attorney Allegra Love of the El Paso Immigration Collaborative.

_____ (2021-12-03). It's Time To Free Leonard Peltier, America's Longest Serving Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbish…

Amy Goodman (2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Bridge Now Face Inhumane ICE Jail Conditions. truthout.org The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their…

Staff (2021-12-03). "The Facility": Meet the Former Prisoner Who Details Fight for His Life Inside ICE Jail During COVID. democracynow.org We go inside a notorious ICE jail at the height of the pandemic to see how people held there spoke out against dangerous conditions, and faced retaliation before they were ultimately released with no notice. Their story is captured in a new documentary called "The Facility." It investigates the inhumane conditions at Irwin County Detention Center using footage from video calls, where cameras installed in cell blocks to enable pay-per-minute video calls "functioned almost like a portal for a moment in and out of a place meant not to be seen in this way," says director, Seth Freed Wessler. "How can your own governm…

Katie Miernicki (2021-12-03). Supreme Court prepares to decimate abortion rights — Here's why it's not too late. liberationnews.org This attack could have been prevented had the Democrats taken any of its many opportunities over the decades to definitively legalize abortion through an act of Congress. There is no reason why the legality of abortion has to be left up to SCOTUS…

Staff (2021-12-03). From Abortion Bans to Anti-Trans Laws, a Christian Legal Army is Waging War on America. democracynow.org As the Supreme Court looks poised to uphold Mississipi's 15-week abortion ban and possibly overturn Roe v. Wade we speak to The Nation's Amy Littlefield about her investigation into the Christian legal army behind the Mississippi law as well as anti-trans laws across the country. She also critiques the mainstream pro-choice movement's failure to center the poor and people of color. "There is a change coming within the movement because of its reckoning with these past missteps including, frankly, the failure to adequately protect Black women and to stand up for the safety of the people whose rights were eroded fir…

teleSUR (2021-12-02). Israel Is Unwilling To Genuinely Investigate Its War Crimes. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, the Israeli NGO Betselem and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) denounced that Israel covers up the truth and protects the political and military officials responsible for the murder of over 200 Palestinians between 2018 and 2019. | RELATED: | The Israeli authorities did not carry out a real and comprehensive investigation into the crackdown on the Great March of Return protests, through which Palestinians called for an end to the…

teleSUR (2021-12-02). US, EU, UK and Canada Place New Round of Sanctions on Belarus. telesurenglish.net The United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Canada placed further sanctions on Belarus, accusing the government of President Alexander Lukashenko of human rights violations based on allegedly "orchestrating" irregular migration at the EU's border. | The U.S. and its allies have imposed more sanctions on Belarus, its industries and top officials.

_____ (2021-12-02). Revival of Class Politics in the U.S…. Will It Be Socialism or Fascism? strategic-culture.org The U.S. empire, like the USSR, is imploding out of its own corruption, says Harriet Fraad in an interview with Finian Cunningham. | Over the past year, the massive upheaval in the United States from workers going on industrial strike and walking off jobs signifies an increasing awareness of class politics. In the following interview, Harriet Fraad says that American workers are overcoming decades of suppression from anti-communist propaganda as well as a betrayal by the two main political parties. | Workers are becoming aware of their rights and their conditions of exploitation under the corporate capitalist sys…

WSWS (2021-12-02). National Labor Relations Board orders new union election at Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. wsws.org The Biden administration is intervening not to defend workers' democratic rights, but to impose a labor police force over this decisive section of the working class…

_____ (2021-12-02). Activists Make Last-Minute Bid To Stop Blasting In Whale Breeding Grounds. popularresistance.org Activists have made a last-minute bid to stop Royal Dutch Shell from exploring for oil and gas in whale breeding grounds off the coast of South Africa. | The fossil-fuel giant had planned to search for oil and gas reserves by setting off underwater explosions along a stretch of South Africa known as the Wild Coast, according to MSN. The explorations were slated to begin December 1. However, four environmental and human rights organizations filed a legal challenge Monday night to stop the blasting, Greenpeace Africa said. | "Shell's activities threaten to destroy the Wild Coast and the lives of the people living t…

Kim Petersen (2021-12-02). Have British Politicians No Shame? dissidentvoice.org Members of the Devon Regiment round up local people in a search for Mau Mau fighters in Kenya in 1954. Photograph: Popperfoto/Popperfoto/Getty Images The UK government is considering boycotting China's winter Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. The British foreign office cites "international efforts to hold China to account for its human rights violations …

In Contempt (2021-12-02). In Contempt #11: 2021 Comes to a Close. itsgoingdown.org Welcome! It's December! In this month's column, we've got lots of updates on political prisoners, George Floyd uprising defendants, and prison rebels. As we get closer to the new year, remember there is a call for noise demos outside of jails, detention facilities, and prisons and also take time to write to prisoners and keep…

NYC Anarchist Black Cross (2021-12-02). International Call For New Year's Eve Noise Demonstrations. itsgoingdown.org Call from New York City Anarchist Black Cross for yearly New Year's Eve noise demonstrations outside of jails, detention centers and prisons. This is a call for a night of strong solidarity with those imprisoned by the state. Historically, New Year's Eve is one of the noisiest nights of the year. This year, most of…

Isheka N. Harrison (2021-12-02). Stacey Abrams Will Run For Governor Of Georgia Again, Potential Rematch With Brian Kemp. moguldom.com Stacey Abrams is hoping the second time will be the charm. The prominent Democrat politician and voting rights activist announced she's running for governor of Georgia again in 2022. "I'm running for Governor because opportunity in our state shouldn't be determined by zip code, background or access to power," Abrams announced in a tweet on …

Mark Gruenberg, John Wojcik (2021-12-02). Trump Supreme Court justices all but admit that they'll kill women's choice. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Declaring they would never give up the fight for reproductive choice and legal abortion, approximately 1,000 pro-choice advocates literally ringed the Supreme Court building to publicize their cause, hours after the six right-wing justices on the nine-member Court indicated they were ready to end abortion rights in much if not all of the country, starting …

Matthew Brown, Janet McConnaughey (2021-12-02). Millions of acres of Gulf of Mexico could be given to fossil fuel industry. peoplesworld.org NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Energy companies including Shell, BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil offered a combined $192 million for drilling rights on federal oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, as the first government lease auction under President Joe Biden laid bare the hurdles he faces to reach climate goals dependent on …

Sophie Beiers (2021-12-02). Here are the States We're Watching as Redistricting Begins. aclu.org Since the nation's founding, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color have faced disenfranchisement. As redistricting begins, we're watching to make sure our political leaders don't continue to disenfranchise these same communities. | Every 10 years, district maps are redrawn according to the census to ensure fair and equal representation for the population. The 2020 census was a historic population count of the United States. Virtually all of the population growth in our country between 2010 and 2020 was due to growth in communities of color. Overall, the population of people who identify as non-Hispanic…

Staff (2021-12-02). Three Reasons Why Congress Must Pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Now. aclu.org Although Congress outlawed pregnancy discrimination in 1978, far too many employers still routinely deny pregnant workers the temporary job modifications they need to keep working and have a healthy pregnancy. These requests for "accommodations" — such as more frequent breaks, schedule changes, and reassignment of hazardous tasks — often are denied to pregnant workers, and can result in severe consequences for their health and financial security. Nobody should have to choose between a healthy pregnancy and a job. | The bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) would outlaw such discrimination…

Staff (2021-12-02). As France Honors Black Artist Josephine Baker, Far-Right Pundit Éric Zemmour Launches Presidential Bid. democracynow.org On the same day France celebrated the induction of American-born singer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker into the Pantheon, far-right xenophobic writer and pundit Éric Zemmour announced he will run for president of France in the upcoming April 2022 election. Many have pointed out the contradiction in these opposing events, even in President Emmanuel Macron's speech that painted Baker as a model of colorblind unity, when in reality she was outspoken about racial justice. "Celebrating Josephine Baker who was an immigrant … while making things difficult for immigrants of today to access to France is a con…

John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead (2021-12-02). The War Over Life, Liberty, and Privacy Rights. dissidentvoice.org Abortion on demand is the ultimate State tyranny; the State simply declares that certain classes of human beings are not persons, and therefore not entitled to the protection of the law. The State protects the 'right' of some people to kill others, just as the courts protected the 'property rights' of slave masters in their …

Jessica Glenza (2021-12-02). A Timeline of US Abortion Rights Since Roe v Wade. zcomm.org When the all-male supreme court ruled to protect abortion rights in 1973, activists didn't foresee the fight that lay ahead…

Carolina V N Coll, Thiago M Santos, Karen Devries, Felicia Knaul, Flavia Bustreo, Anne Gatuguta, Gbenankpon Mathias Houvessou, Aluísio J D Barros (2021-12-02). Identifying the women most vulnerable to intimate partner violence: A decision tree analysis from 48 low and middle-income countries. thelancet.com Starting with well-known predictors of IPV, the decision-tree approach provides important insights about subpopulations of women where IPV prevalence is high. This information can help designing targeted interventions. For a large proportion of women who experienced IPV, however, no particular risk factors were identified, emphasizing the need for population wide approaches conducted in parallel, including changing social norms, strengthening laws and policies supporting gender equality and women ¥s rights as well as guaranteeing women ¥s access to justice systems and comprehensive health services.

teleSUR (2021-12-02). Zimbabwean Businesses Bear Brunt Of West-Imposed Sanctions. telesurenglish.net Amid the impacts of an unprecedented global pandemic, Zimbabwean business owners still have to navigate their way through a myriad of challenges posed by Western sanctions. | RELATED: | Stressing the direness of the situation resulting from the sanctions, Zimbabwean business and political leaders have urged the United States and other Western countries to promptly ease the burden on the Zimbabwean people. | Real pai…

teleSUR (2021-12-02). Iran Not Optimistic About US and E3 Disposition in Vienna. telesurenglish.net Iran stresses its serious will and logical agenda in Vienna talks for lifting sanctions, even if the counterparts are not reciprocal. | During the Iran-G4+1 Vienna Talks inaugural, one of the delegations implied the Israeli regime's destructive role in Iran cooperation with IAEA, mentioning the damage to IAEA cameras & equipment as a result of a sabotage attack by a third party.

Editor2 (2021-12-02). Cuba, China, Latin America and US Hybrid War. orinocotribune.com By John Ross — Nov 26, 2021 | This analysis by John Ross of the Renmin University of China looks at the long relationship between China and Cuba. He analyzes why it is important to defeat the US attack on Cuba. | Foreword by China Environment editors | Cuba joined Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2019, hoping it would assist in strengthening its troubled economy, which has been badly hit by aggressive US sanctions for decades. China already become Cuba's main trading partner in 2017. In October this year (2021) Cuba officially became a member of the Alliance for Energy of the Belt and Road Initiative, a pr…

2021-12-03 22:21 | 18:21 EST | jz | 31 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 0