Daily Archives: December 15, 2021

2021-12-15: News Headlines

ecns.cn (2021-12-15). U.S. politicians must stop playing with fire on Taiwan-related issues: mainland spokesperson. ecns.cn A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday called on certain individuals from the U.S. side to stop playing with fire on Taiwan-related issues, urging them to adhere to the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques.

Morteza Ahmadi Al Hashem (2021-12-15). There is no alternative to JCPOA: Russia UN envoy. en.mehrnews.com Emphasizing that there is no alternative to the JCPOA, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to UN Russia views as dangerous and irresponsible attempts to portray JCPOA on Iran's nuclear program as outdated.

MK Bhadrakumar (2021-12-15). Crunch time coming after Biden-Putin meet. asiatimes.com Moscow is reiterating its "red lines," seeking long-term legal guarantees against NATO's further advancement to the east and the deployment of weapons on Russia's western borders. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on December 10, putting on record its expectation that long-term legal guarantees must be given "within a specific timeframe and on the …

Staff (2021-12-15). Saudi-led coalition launches airstrike on Sana'a. en.mehrnews.com Saudi coalition launched heavy airstrike on Yemeni capital of Sana'a on Wednesday.

James Carden (2021-12-15). Neocons bent on starting another disaster in Ukraine. asiatimes.com If anything, Washington's neoconservatives have an unerring instinct for survival. Having brought about multiple disasters in the two decades since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, from the Iraq war to the twin debacles in Libya and Syria, the neocons seem to have perfected the art of failing up. Harvard University's Stephen Walt once quipped that …

David Swanson (2021-12-15). Audio: Cover-Up in Kabul Strike. warisacrime.org By Political Misfits, December 15, 2021 LISTEN HERE. David Swanson, activist, journalist, radio host and author of the book "Curing Exceptionalism," talks to us about how the Pentagon "cover-up" in the Kabul drone killing of a family continues, with the news that no US troops will be punished for deadly Kabul strike, how impunity is …

ecns.cn (2021-12-15). 12 hospitalized after major fire at Hong Kong's World Trade Center. ecns.cn Twelve people were hospitalized after a major fire broke out inside the World Trade Center in Hong Kong at around noon on Wednesday.

Staff (2021-12-15). Nuevo hallazgo podría explicar por qué la ómicron puede transmitirse con mayor rapidez que variantes anteriores. cubadebate.cu La variante ómicron de la covid-19 contagia y se multiplica 70 veces más rápido en los bronquios humanos que la delta y que el virus original del SARS-CoV-2, comunicó este miércoles un equipo de investigación dirigido por científicos de la Universidad de Hong Kong (China).

Amjed Jaaved (2021-12-15). Some truths about the 1971 East-Pakistan war. moderndiplomacy.eu India is busy celebrating Swarni Vijay Parv (golden-victory festival) to commemorate its "victory" against Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pak War. India's defence minister Rajnath Singh thinks that this victory is even greater than the two world wars fought. It was "the most decisive" as the "Indian Armed Forces in the 1971 War changed the history …

Editor (2021-12-15). Teachers across Iran take strike action demanding jailed trade unionist is freed. mronline.org Thousands of protesting teachers assembled in front of the Majlis, or Iranian parliament building, in central Tehran today demanding justice and the release from prison of a leading teacher trade unionist.

Jeff J. Brown (2021-12-15). The Two Michaels, Canada's Kovrig and Spavor, Caught Red-Handed Spying Against China and North Korea. covertactionmagazine.com Western Politicians and Media, However, Made It Seem Like They Were Innocent Victims of China's Authoritarianism On December 1, 2018, …

WSWS (2021-12-15). South Korea, Australia forge closer military ties. wsws.org Moon declared that his visit had "nothing to do with our position over China," but stronger ties with Australia inevitably draw South Korea more closely into the web of US alliances directed against Beijing.

WSWS (2021-12-15). Sri Lankan port and free trade zone workers back global inquest into pandemic. wsws.org "No one is taking responsibility for the virus. It is not the people who should be held accountable, but the authorities who hold office."

Newsroom (2021-12-15). Digital Technology Key to Supporting Thailand's Recovery from COVID-19. moderndiplomacy.eu After being severely hit by a surge of COVID-19 cases in the third quarter of 2021, Thailand's economic activity has subsequently rebounded and is expected to grow by 1.0 percent this year, according to the World Bank's latest Thailand Economic Monitor "Living with COVID in a Digital World" published today. Going forward, the adoption of …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-15). Protests continue in Thailand demanding the recall of lèse-majesté law. peoplesdispatch.org The contentious provision that is at the heart of the protests is Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code or the lèse-majesté law which criminalizes a broad range of actions concerning defamation or insult to the monarchy and the larger royal family.

Prof. Pankaj Jha (2021-12-15). Vietnam's Economic Policy and adaptation to COVID-19. moderndiplomacy.eu Vietnam which was seen as a success story in terms of countering COVID-19 is facing challenges with regard to re-invigorating its economy given the fact that the constraints related to international travel, trade and investment are still looming large on the horizon. As part of the initiative to provide the necessary support to the economy, …

David Swanson (2021-12-15). Reducing the Need for Poetry. warisacrime.org By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, December 15, 2021 Edward Tick's book, Coming Home in Vietnam, is made up of lovely and powerful poems. But I can't help wishing they weren't needed. Just as some members of Veterans For Peace talk about honoring veterans by ceasing to create any more veterans, I wish we could …

Sameena Rahman (2021-12-14). "Talon Anvil" U.S. military unit exposed for role in massive Syrian civilian deaths. liberationnews.org Damning new information has come to light about systematic disregard for civilian casualties in U.S. airstrikes on Syria…

Brett Wilkins (2021-12-14). No punishment for US troops who slaughtered 10 Afghan civilians, says Pentagon chief. nationofchange.org "If the Pentagon wants to come clean about this horrific event, it will release documents and videotapes that show who was responsible for key decisions and what technological failings were responsible."

Staff (2021-12-14). Headlines for December 14, 2021. democracynow.org Eight Killed by Tornado at Kentucky Factory Whose Workers Were Ordered to Remain on Site, Ice Sheet Holding Back Vast Antarctic Glacier Poised to Collapse Within Five Years, U.K. Reports First Death Linked to Fast-Spreading Omicron Coronavirus Variant, New York City to Require Proof of Vaccination for Kids 5 and Up to Enter Public Spaces, Pentagon Won't Punish Anyone over Kabul Drone Strike That Killed 10 Civilians, Sudanese Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters Demanding End to Military Rule, Report: Colombian Police Killed at Least 11 People Protesting Police Brutality, Danish Ex-Minister Gets Prison for Illegally…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-14). No action against personnel responsible for killing Afghan civilians in August drone strike, says US defense department. peoplesdispatch.org Several human rights groups have questioned the internal investigation by the Pentagon which called the drone strike inside a residential building in Kabul an "honest mistake". 10 Afghan civilians including seven children, were killed in the US drone strike in August…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-14). US military in Syria attacked hours after its alleged involvement in killing and kidnapping of civilians. peoplesdispatch.org The US forces aided by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out an alleged anti-ISIS operation in Syria's eastern Deir al-Zor province in the early hours of December 13. At least three civilians were killed in the operation and several others were kidnapped…

The Socialist Program (2021-12-14). Capitalism and Imperialism: A Global System of Death. liberationnews.org Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how workers are bearing the deadly brunt of the devastating tornadoes that ripped across the country and new revelations about US war crimes in Syria…

_____ (2021-12-14). The Creeping Privatization Of Medicare. popularresistance.org In the early 1970s, Senator Ted Kennedy and Congresswoman Martha Griffiths introduced Medicare for All legislation in the Congress. | It could have passed but for the efforts of a doctor from Minnesota by the name of Paul Elwood. | Elwood believed that unless the Republicans did something to control health care costs, Medicare for All single payer would soon become the law of the land. | So in February 1970, Elwood traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with officials in Richard Nixon's administration to present his proposal for what he called health maintenance organizations (HMOs). | The seeds for a managed care…

Editor (2021-12-14). "Every Option Is on the Table": U.S. Prepping for Libya-Style Intervention in Ethiopia. scheerpost.com A protester from Ethiopia's community in Lebanon holds a placard against the U.S. and other western country's intervention in her country in Beirut, Lebanon, Dec. 5, 2021. (Hussein Malla / AP) | By Alan MacLeod / Amid a bloody civil conflict and increasing great-power competition between the United States and China, there are a number of alarming signs that Ethiopia will become the next Libya — an African nation where the U.S. intervenes militarily under the pretext of st…

Ann Brown (2021-12-14). Asian Hiring Manager At FAANG Company Says He Gives Black Candidates Tougher Questions To Strike Back At Affirmative Action. moguldom.com A person who described himself as an Asian hiring manager at a FAANG company — an acronym for stocks of U.S. tech companies Facebook, Amazon, Apple Netflix and Google — admitted that he gives "URM" job candidates a hard time during interviews, according to a post on an anonymous community workplace app. URM or "Underrepresented Minority" …

Prabir Purkayastha (2021-12-14). Why poorer nations aren't falling for green-washed imperialism. canadiandimension.com Streets in the district of Satkhira, in southern Bangladesh, are flooded after months of heavy rain. Photo by Rafiqur Rahman Raqu/Department for International Development/ Fighting global warming is not just about providing a path to net-zero carbon emissions for all countries. It is also about figuring out how best to meet the energy needs of people across the world while working toward net-zero emissions. If fossil fuels have to be given up, which has now become an urgent need given the current environmental challenges, co…

_____ (2021-12-14). Who is Responsible for the Deteriorating Situation in Lebanon? journal-neo.org For many years, Lebanon was considered the safe haven of the Middle East plagued by wars, instability, and colored revolutions. Many have referred to the country as the Middle East's Switzerland, including investments in Lebanon's economy from countries of the region where the political crises were raging. The country's banks were especially valued, prosperous and …

Brittani Banks (2021-12-14). How Do We Stop the Neocons From Starting Another Disaster in Ukraine? independentmediainstitute.org If anything, Washington's neoconservatives have an unerring instinct for survival. Having brought about multiple disasters in the two decades since 9/11—from the Iraq War to the twin debacles in Libya and Syria—the neoconservatives seem to have perfected the art of failing up. Harvard University's Stephen Walt once quipped that "Being a Neocon Means Never Having …

Kerry Smith (2021-12-14). Protesters Say 'No' to AUKUS, Nuclear Submarines and War with China. asia-pacificresearch.com

M. K. Bhadrakumar (2021-12-14). India-Bangladesh Ties at Inflection Point. asia-pacificresearch.com

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana (2021-12-14). A new transport agenda to carry Asia and the Pacific towards sustainable development. moderndiplomacy.eu Transport ministers from across Asia and the Pacific are meeting this week to consider a potentially transformational agenda for how people and goods are moved around the region and across the globe. Pre-COVID-19 transport connectivity weaknesses in the Asia-Pacific region became even more apparent during the pandemic: landlocked developing countries, least developed countries and small …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-14). President of Azerbaijan visits NATO HQ, attends 30-nation North Atlantic Council session. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev Welcome back to the NATO Headquarters.It is good to see you at again.This is actually your second time in the new building. We have just had a very constructive discussion.And you will now participate in a meeting of the …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-14). Video: President of Azerbaijan visits NATO HQ, attends 30-nation North Atlantic Council session. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev Welcome back to the NATO Headquarters.It is good to see you at again.This is actually your second time in the new building. We have just had a very constructive discussion.And you will now participate in a meeting of the …

Prabhat Patnaik (2021-12-14). India's post-pandemic economic recovery. mronline.org The pandemic alas is not yet over, but there are no economic disruptions in the current fiscal year in the form of lockdowns or workers' absence. The economy's performance therefore can no longer be attributed to the prevalence of the pandemic; whatever it is, it is caused by economic factors.

Newsclick (2021-12-14). After year long struggle and historic victory, Indian farmers head home. peoplesdispatch.org These protest sites had become a home for these farmers. Now, they are returning home joyous, yet vowing to continue the fight and keep their union strong…

Morning Star (2021-12-14). Iranian teachers strike, demand money for education and freedom for jailed union leader. peoplesworld.org Thousands of protesting teachers assembled in front of the Majlis, or Iranian parliament building, in central Tehran Tuesday demanding justice and the release from prison of a leading teacher trade unionist. Teachers staged rallies too at the headquarters of education authorities in 25 provinces and 60 cities across Iran. The gatherings in Tehran and Shiraz …

Medea Benjamin (2021-12-14). Israel Is Hell-Bent on Sabotaging US Nuclear Negotiations With Iran. zcomm.org You'd think that Israel might feel obligated not to drag the United States into another disastrous military conflict in the Middle East…

_____ (2021-12-14). Toronto High School Students Walk Out In Solidarity With Palestine. popularresistance.org Let's give credit to the roughly 200 brave students who walked out of Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute last month. They were protesting how the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has handled what it considers to be antisemitism within its schools. | They were fed up with the way their Board — supposed to represent them — puts the brakes on statements, information or discussions that might offend some members of the Jewish community in Toronto who regard certain criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic. As I mentioned in an article a month ago, the Board has simply adopted the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal…

Maureen Clare Murphy (2021-12-14). Israel kills two in West Bank. electronicintifada.net Deadliest year for Palestinian children since 2014.

Anonymous (2021-12-14). Video: How Israeli bombing poisoned Gaza's water. electronicintifada.net Destruction of warehouses released toxic chemicals into environment.

Editor2 (2021-12-14). Details of 1948 Massacres Against Palestinians Revealed in Classified Israeli Documents. orinocotribune.com Israeli government discussions on the massacres perpetrated by Israeli soldiers in 1948 were declassified for the first time this week in an investigative report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research. | Entitled, 'Classified Docs Reveal Massacres of Palestinians in '48 — and What Israeli Leaders Knew', the report exposes two large-scale operations launched by the Israeli army in October 1948, one based in the south, known as Operation Yoav, which opened a road to the Negev; and another in the north, Operation Hiram. | As part of the lat…

Raymond Wolfe (2021-12-14). Vaccines Pose 7 Times Higher Death Risk than COVID for Young People, Japanese Experts Warn. globalresearch.ca To receive Global Research's Daily Newsletter (selected articles), Visit …

IGD Worldwide (2021-12-14). War Isn't Funny: a Comedy of Errors. itsgoingdown.org syndicated from The Transmetropolitan Review If everyone fought for their own convictions, there would be no war. —Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace Hey. Are you there? It's me, Barabule Cuterescu, the Moldovan peasant, your humble potato. This will be my fourth dispatch from northeastern Romania, and to be totally fucking honest, it could very…

Khubaka, Michael Harris (2021-12-14). Kwanzaa: Exploring the Origins of Agriculture as we BuildBackBetter. indybay.org Central to our remembering, reflection and recommitment to our Kwanzaa Holiday Celebration is a renaissance of Black Agriculture in the "Greatest Garden in the World." Womanity is our theme for 2022, assigned by Queen Mother and we begin the journey.

Patrick Peralta (2021-12-14). Spectacles of Amnesia: YouTube Populism and the Rehabilitation of the Marcoses. fpif.org In the hills of Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines, a massive head hovers above the trees. Carved on the side of Mount Pugo, La Union, the 30-meter concrete bust overlooks the northern provinces, as if gazing over its vast domain. The head is of former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Yet today, his effigy is hardly recognizable. Shortly after the 1986 People Power Revolution that deposed and exiled the Marcos family, indigenous groups displaced by the bust's construction returned to smear pig's blood across the leader's face. Three years later, communist rebels bombed the same bust, leaving in…

Aaron Maté (2021-12-14). How the OPCW's Syria probe censored science. thegrayzone.com New reports explore how the OPCW suppressed findings that undermined US-led allegations of a chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria in April 2018. Piers Robinson and Aaron Maté discuss the latest revelations on how the OPCW censored science. Senior OPCW officials doctored the original report; erased the conclusions of expert toxicologists who ruled out chlorine gas as the cause of death; and thwarted the key investigate area of forensic pathology, which could have helped determine how the dozens of civilian …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-14). NATO's full-court press: Turkey denounces Republika Srpska as threat to "the whole of Europe" antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Turkey says Serb move to start quitting Bosnia's key institutions "dangerous" A vote by Serb lawmakers to start pulling their autonomous Serb Republic out of Bosnia's armed forces, judiciary, and tax system is "wrong, dangerous" and could threaten regional stability, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday. His comments came after Germany's new government …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-14). Massive workers' mobilization in Turkey demands fair minimum wage. peoplesdispatch.org In a massive rally in Istanbul called by the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DiSK), workers demanded an increase in the minimum wage in the country to at least 5,200 Turkish Lira (USD 358.80) in order to meet their basic needs…

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