(2021-12-18). [World Report] Russia—Ukraine tensions hampering health-care access. thelancet.com Humanitarian groups warn that medical care for civilians is being jeopardised amid a military standoff. Sharmila Devi reports…
(2021-12-18). Hedges: The Execution of Julian Assange. orinocotribune.com By Chris Hedges — Dec 13, 2021 | He committed empire's greatest sin. He exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption and innumerable war crimes. And empires always kill those who inflict deep and serious wounds. | Let us name Julian Assange's executioners. Joe Biden. Boris Johnson. Scott Morrison. Theresa May. Lenin Moreno. Donald Trump. Barack Obama. Mike Pompeo. Hillary Clinton. Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett and Justice Timothy Victor Holroyde. Crown Prosecutors James Lewis, Clair Dobbin and Joel Smith. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser.
(2021-12-18). "Julian Assange is an international hero to millions"—SEP supporters denounce British court ruling. wsws.org "If he is extradited, it will set a precedent for the oppression of all dissenting voices. He has fought for the truth and now we must fight for him."
(2021-12-18). Australian governments ramp up "reopening drive" amid record COVID-19 infections. wsws.org As Labor and Coalition governments alike scrap public health measures, to satisfy the demands of the corporate elite, there are signs of mounting public concern and hostility.
(2021-12-18). The Dangerous Ignorance of Germany's New Foreign Minister. moderndiplomacy.eu Germany's new Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock came into office on December 8th without her knowing that America's stationing missiles in Ukraine on Russia's border, and only a 7-minute flying distance away from Moscow, would be even more unacceptable to Moscow than, in 1962, would have been, to Washington, the Soviet Union's stationing missiles in Cuba, …
(2021-12-18). Leaked email exposes union-management conspiracy to defeat Kellogg's strike as Sanders attempts to deflect anger towards Mexico. wsws.org The entire bargaining committee should be kicked out in light of this exposure, and a new bargaining committee elected consisting of the most trusted rank-and-file workers from the shop floor.
(2021-12-18). [Comment] Offline: The origin story—division deepens. thelancet.com After more than a year of contentious debate about the origins of SARS-CoV-2, David Relman and colleagues, including Alina Chan and Michael Worobey, published a letter in Science on May 14, 2021, arguing that a more forensic examination was needed. They noted that an inquiry commissioned by WHO had concluded that a lab leak was "extremely unlikely". But they criticised WHO for not taking this possibility more seriously. They called for a more transparent, objective, and independent investigation.
(2021-12-18). China Rescues Myanmar From Dangerous Dollar-Dominated Waters. newatlas.report December 18, 2021 (Brian Berletic — NEO) — For nearly a year now the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar has been racked by US-sponsored terrorism attempting to reinstall Washington's client regime of choice headed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Compounding the daily violence carried out by the US-sponsored …
(2021-12-18). "The raises are insulting in this economy": Postal workers oppose union-brokered tentative agreement. wsws.org The agreement continues decades of attacks on workers by offering meager raises and expanding the second tier of lower-paid postal employees.
(2021-12-18). EU summit threatens Russia. wsws.org The escalating coronavirus pandemic and threats against Russia were the focus of the EU summit that met on Thursday in Brussels.
(2021-12-18). PSOE-Podemos government arrests Cádiz workers as strikes spread in Spain. wsws.org The PSOE-Podemos government's arrests in Cádiz are a blatant attempt to intimidate workers to prevent them from exercising their right to strike and to protest.
(2021-12-18). US maintains support for Solomon Islands' opposition forces after failed coup attempt. wsws.org The Solomons' government has been in Washington's cross hairs since it announced in late 2019 that it was ending diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognising Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China.
(2021-12-18). Castillo government unleashes police against mining protest in Peru. wsws.org The peasant blockade of the giant Chinese-owned Las Bambas copper mine in Peru's southern Andes is creating a growing crisis for the Castillo government.
(2021-12-18). Teamsters union shuts down Southern California sanitation workers strike. wsws.org In coastal Orange County, south of Los Angeles, 400 sanitation workers went on strike December 9 against Republic Services, the second-largest waste management firm in the US. The strike was abruptly ended by the Teamsters after seven days.
(2021-12-18). As COVID-19 cases skyrocket in New York City, schools, offices remain open. wsws.org The rapid growth in infections this week have not deterred the Democratic mayor and governor of New York from keeping schools, government offices and other public institutions open.
(2021-12-18). Michigan educators call for immediate end to in-person schooling as COVID-19 infections surge. wsws.org At an urgent meeting of the Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee Friday afternoon, educators passed a resolution calling for the immediate end to in-person to stop the transmission of the virus and protect lives.
(2021-12-18). "Workers around the world suffer the same conditions": A former Kellogg's worker in Australia sends a message of solidarity to US strikers. wsws.org Warwick Dove, a member of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) and former Kellogg's worker, has a message for striking Kellogg's workers in the United States on the eve of their vote on another concessions contract this weekend.
(2021-12-18). Retail chain pharmacy staff to stage walkout over unsafe working conditions, low pay. wsws.org Thousands of CVS and other retail pharmacy staff organize to protest abhorrent working conditions and chronic understaffing.
(2021-12-18). Committee for Public Education (Australia) holds successful online meeting on the COVID crisis. wsws.org The event, titled "COVID-19 spreads through Australian schools: Lives before profit! Stop the pandemic!" featured a report from Evan Blake, a member of the US SEP and a leading WSWS writer.
(2021-12-18). Australian budget update flies in face of pandemic disaster. wsws.org The government's mid-year review directly reflects the demands of the corporate elite for a full reopening of the economy, in the interest of profit, regardless of the human cost.
(2021-12-18). Attacks on Brazilian scientists grow amid COVID-19 pandemic. wsws.org The Brazilian and international working class must oppose attacks on scientists whose work has helped educate the public and expose the criminal politics of the world's ruling elite during the greatest global health crisis in a century.
(2021-12-18). Palestinian female prisoners prepare campaign to address abuse in Israeli prisons. peoplesdispatch.org Detainees in Israeli prisons have launched a protest to reject the decision by Israeli prison authorities to isolate two prisoners Shorouk Dwayat and Marah Bakir in the Damon Prison and the attack by the Nashon* forces on Nafoud Hammad according to the Palestinian Prisoner's Society. | The Prisoners Information Office confirmed that there has been a climate of high tension in the prisons in response to the systematic attacks launched by the Israeli prison authorities against Palestinian female prisoners, pointing out that "prisoners have refrained from leaving the rooms for security checks, and a state of alert i…
(2021-12-18). Massive Blackout Affects Caracas and Several Regions of Venezuela, Labeled as New Attack — Service Restored 100%. orinocotribune.com 
Caracas, December 17, 2021 ( Several parishes in Caracas, as well as various parts of the states of Zulia, Mérida, Carabobo, Miranda, Lara, Aragua, Apure, Anzoátegui, Vargas, Bolívar, Nueva Esparta, Barinas, Trujillo, Sucre, Táchira, Falcón, Yaracuy, and Portuguesa were affected by the blackout. | The b…
(2021-12-18). A Sino-Russian military alliance is gratuitous (as of now). mronline.org 
To apply a western analogy, while the Sino-Russian partnership has great potential to model itself after the European Union, neither Moscow nor Beijing desires an Eurasian NATO to create synergy for it.
(2021-12-18). Azerbaijan might be the champion that GUAM needs. moderndiplomacy.eu International organizations remain key venues where states with overlapping interests try to cooperate and find common ground. Such organizations range from all-encompassing global organizations to small thematic institutions. In order to remain operationally relevant and on the agenda, they may need to seek ways of reviving organizational structures with fresh methods and ideas that fit …
(2021-12-18). Ethical aspects relating to cyberspace: Web ideologies. moderndiplomacy.eu The ethos of web culture is based on the principles of: unlimited and unrestricted freedom of information, privacy, general availability, quality of information, no harm, limitation of the excessive use of web resources and the principle of inviolability of intellectual property. The actual implementation of these principles is possible through a number of institutional measures: …
(2021-12-18). The Closer on Netflix — Some valuable lessons with a pinch of transphobia. moderndiplomacy.eu Since the last few weeks there's been a mounting backlash against Comedian Dave Chapelle's Netflix Special The Closer which debuted on October 5th. The controversy erupted as some people alleged that the show was extremely transphobic & anti-women. Even the employees of Streaming giant staged protests & demanded the content must be removed from the …
(2021-12-18). The Sociopolitical and Economic Impact of the Pandemic. journal-neo.org 
Two years of the coronavirus pandemic have seriously changed the world around us economically and politically. The pandemic demonstrated that any mass epidemic is as much a generic challenge to society as war, a change in geological epochs, or economic stages. At this challenging time for everybody, all power structures and public institutions have faced …
(2021-12-18). Understanding the Modern State: An Interview with Eric Laursen. itsgoingdown.org Anarchist Agency speaks with Eric Laursen, author of The Operating System: An Anarchist Theory of the Modern State. It's become increasingly common to see news stories about the record levels of dissatisfaction and distrust in governments and institutions. One of the most recent came from a Harvard Kennedy School poll of young people in the…
(2021-12-18). Help CrimethInc. Recover from a Catastrophic Fire. itsgoingdown.org Call to support CrimethInc. as they recover from a massive fire which destroyed their mail order space. Donate here. On December 15, 2021, the mail-order space of the CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective was destroyed in a catastrophic fire that reduced three large buildings to burned-out shells in downtown Olympia, Washington. Thousands of our books, posters, and…
(2021-12-18). How a Group of Starbucks Workers Emerged Victorious in Their Union Fight. independentmediainstitute.org The iconic American coffee chain, Starbucks, employs hundreds of thousands of people in nearly 9,000 cafés nationwide. And yet, the news that a handful of Starbucks employees at one café in Buffalo, New York, recently voted to join Workers United—an affiliate of SEIU—made headlines nationally. The New York Times called it a "big symbolic win …
(2021-12-18). Light at the End of his Tunnel: A Tribute to Paul Theodore Hellyer. globalresearch.ca
(2021-12-18). [Correspondence] The global oral health workforce. thelancet.com Habib Benzian and colleagues1 aptly put forth the six key recommendations for the new WHO global strategy for oral health. We take this opportunity to address some key issues that can affect the action plan.
(2021-12-18). Public health sacrificed for business as usual. greenleft.org.au The COVID-19 catastrophe presents a challenge of planetary proportions. You would expect it would elicit a response drawing on all our skills, compassion and collective resources. But, as Andrew Smart, argues, we are seeing the opposite.
(2021-12-18). [Comment] Winner of the 2021 Wakley Prize: something good enough. thelancet.com Earlier this year, inspired by George Eliot's Middlemarch,1 we invited readers to enter the Wakley Prize, The Lancet's annual essay competition, and tell us about those "unhistoric acts—small incidents of kindness, care, compassion, and conscience" that had made a difference and "can provide a shield against the evils of the world, and be a potent force for good".2 There were many impressive entries and we were engaged by the wide-ranging topics explored in the submitted essays. We thank all the writers who entered this year's competition.
(2021-12-18). How Washington led the Purge of Christians from its 'New Middle East'- Part 1. orinocotribune.com By Tim Anderson — Dec 14, 2021 | In pursuit of its declared aim to create a 'New Middle East', it was Washington that masterminded the purge of Christians from the region, under the guise of its pseudo-Christian 'crusade' of the 21st century. | Behind its pseudo-Christian That purge made use of…
(2021-12-18). [Correspondence] The global oral health workforce — Authors' reply. thelancet.com In response to our Comment,1 Gargi Sarode and Sachin Sarode point out the crucial role of human resources for oral health as well as the predominance of the private practitioner model to deliver oral health care. Frank Lobbezoo and Ghizlane Aarab suggest strengthening dental—medical integration as an additional strategy to address oral diseases. These are notable aspects to consider in the context of a future WHO global oral health strategy and country-level reforms of health-care systems towards universal oral health coverage.
(2021-12-18). Close schools and nonessential businesses! Workers must act to stop Omicron! wsws.org In just two weeks, all of the lies of the government and media have been exposed. Omicron is not "mild," and it is not "manageable." The irresponsible policies being carried out today will result in a wave of deaths in January and beyond.
(2021-12-18). Mental health workers speak out about pandemic challenges. greenleft.org.au Mental health workers Dr Nikola Leka and Sarah Ellyard spoke to Green Left about the mental health crisis exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2021-12-18). Democrats allow child tax credit to lapse as Omicron surges. wsws.org The elimination of the last social support measures implemented during the pandemic threaten destitution to working class families facing dislocation as a new, deadly wave of the virus gathers force.
(2021-12-18). YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: The Sacklers Strike Out. dailyposter.com 
(2021-12-18). [Perspectives] Highlights 2021: line of sight. thelancet.com Earlier this year The Lancet invited readers to submit arresting images that illuminate health stories for our annual photography competition, Highlights. We wanted to see what was in your line of sight and we were delighted by the rich variety of images submitted. 17 winning images are published in this issue.
(2021-12-18). La revuelta popular argentina de 2001 y su impacto en América Latina. globalizacion.ca Veinte años después del 19 y 20 de diciembre de 2001 en la Argentina vale la pena recordar el impacto que tuvo la revuelta popular en América Latina y el Caribe. Hoy soplan otros vientos en la región, pero el…
(2021-12-18). Donald Trump invokes antisemitic tropes in interview with Israeli journalist. wsws.org In newly-aired clips from an audio interview by an Israeli journalist, Donald Trump articulated a series of antisemitic tropes including that Jews control the US Congress and media and have "dual loyalty" to both Israel and America.
(2021-12-18). [World Report] 2021: a year in review. thelancet.com COVID-19, climate, conflict, and good news for malaria. Farhat Yaqub looks back at the major stories in health and medicine in 2021.
(2021-12-18). [Correspondence] Mental and physical exhaustion of health-care practitioners. thelancet.com Health-care workers are experiencing mental and physical exhaustion after coping with 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many dedicated staff members are retiring from the field and leaving their jobs. This occurrence is now widespread. A recent study by The Physicians Foundation found that doctors were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: 61% reported often experiencing feelings of burnout; 57% had experienced inappropriate feelings of anger, tearfulness, or anxiety; 46% had isolated themselves from others; and more than 55% know of a physician who has either considered, attempted, or died by suicide.
(2021-12-18). [Comment] COV-BOOST: evidence to support rapid booster deployment. thelancet.com With accruing evidence that the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines wanes over time,1—4 and the recent emergence of the omicron (B.1.1.529) variant,5 some countries are rapidly deploying vaccine boosters.6 In the UK, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign launched in December, 2020, and began with prioritised population groups, including people most likely to be at higher risk for severe outcomes or those providing health services or care for these individuals. With emerging evidence from Israel and the UK of vaccine waning, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in September, 2021, recommende…
(2021-12-18). El progresismo en su laberinto. globalizacion.ca El Grupo de Puebla nació para juntar líderes progresistas al momento del reflujo de la "primera ola" mientras algunos gobiernos de derecha (Argentina, Brasil, Ecuador, Colombia) destruían la Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR) y los cimientos de la integración regional….
(2021-12-18). Israel pushes U.S. into 'aggressive posture toward Iran that could spiral into war' — but mainstream press is indifferent. mronline.org 
Trump says, Netanyahu was 'willing to fight Iran to the last American soldier.' That ought to be big news, as Israel's defense minister gets unrivaled access in D.C. to threaten war and block the U.S. path to a new Iran deal.
(2021-12-18). Scientists warn Canada's health care system could collapse within weeks as Omicron infections explode in Ontario and Quebec. wsws.org Amid dire warnings of a surging toll of mass infection and death over the coming weeks and months, Canada's official pandemic death toll surpassed the horrendous figure of 30,000 Thursday.