2021-01-08: News Headlines

Minnie Bruce Pratt (2021-01-08). Cuba's revolution continues during the pandemic. workers.org During the first week of January, Cubans celebrated the 61st anniversary of their great Revolution, marking the day when Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and the revolutionary forces entered Havana and ousted the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Since the victory in 1959, Cuba has resisted attack after attack by . . . |

teleSUR (2021-01-08). Haiti To Hold Elections and Constitutional Referendum This Year. telesurenglish.net Provisional Electoral Committee (CEP) President Guylande Mesadieu on Thursday announced the dates for a constitutional referendum and general elections to take place in Haiti this year. | RELATED: | The referendum on the Constitution is scheduled for April 25, while the first round of presidential and legislative elections will be held on September 19. Subnational elections will be also held on November 21. | "I wan…

Devin Cole (2021-01-08). Long live the Haitian Revolution! workers.org January 1 marked the 217th year of independence for the Republic of Haiti. The Haitian Revolution was led by formerly enslaved Black revolutionary Franàßois-Dominique Toussaint Louverture and later by Jean-Jacques Dessalines. A majority of Louverture's army had been born in Africa. The Haitian Revolution began in 1791 after a Vodou . . . |

Ariel Gold (2021-01-08). Is Israel Practicing Vaccine Leadership or Medical Apartheid? counterpunch.org Israel has a population of around 9 million. About 20 percent of Israel's population are Palestinian citizens of Israel. These people can vote in elections, have representation in the Knesset, and are being vaccinated against COVID-19. But, there are another around 5 million Palestinians who live under Israeli rule, without rights, and like the rest of the world, are suffering from the pandemic.

Morning Star (2021-01-08). Compelling account of inspirational Black activist Claudia Jones in new booklet. peoplesworld.org Claudia Jones (1915-1964) is hardly unsung, given the growing number of books and film documentaries on the woman who, on indisputable merit, is interred immediately to the left of Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery. In this account of an extraordinary Caribbean communist, David Horsley's focus is on Jones's life in advancing class, race, and gender …

Staff (2021-01-08). Plunge in Restaurant Jobs Due to COVID Leads to First Job Loss Since April. truthout.org The economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, all of which can be attributed to a plunge in restaurant employment of 372,000. Other sectors highly sensitive to the pandemic, such as hotels and recreation, also lost jobs. The unemployment rate and employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) were both unchanged at 6.7 percent and 57.4 percent, respectively. | The resurgence of the pandemic further heightened the two-track nature of this recession. Construction and manufacturing, two sectors normally hard…

Matt Sedlar (2021-01-08). Pandemic-Caused Plunge in Restaurant Jobs Leads to First Job Loss Since April. cepr.net The pain from the recession is heavily concentrated among the long-term unemployed. The economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, all of which can be attributed to a plunge in restaurant employment of 372,000. Other sectors highly sensitive to the pandemic, such as hotels and recreation, also lost jobs. The unemployment rate and employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) …

Reese Erlich (2021-01-08). Foreign Correspondent: U.S. Hypocrisy on Cuba Continues. progressive.org State Department "terror list" includes countries that aren't terrorists and excludes those who are.

teleSUR (2021-01-08). Venezuela Reaffirms Its Sovereign Rights Over the Essequibo. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Thursday signed a presidential decree setting the country's maritime and territorial borders in order to protect national jurisdiction rights, especially on the disputed Essequibo territory. | RELATED: | He informed that the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was notified about his government rejections over the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling…

Christoph Spehr (2021-01-08). For a borderless pragmatism. Outline of a Progressive Migration Policy. indybay.org Immigration leads to stronger economic growth, which in turn creates jobs, Without migration, we would all be sitting in Olduvia in East Africa, as we were 100,000 years ago. About 3% of the world's population, about 215 million people, live in a state other than the one in which they were born. Migration has always existed. Not everything has become more right-wing in the last 50 years.

_____ (2021-01-08). New Venezuelan Parliament: Those Responsible For Political Instability And Looting Should Be Behind Bars. popularresistance.org Caracas, Venezuela – Today, the first Vice President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Iris Varela, requested the creation of a special commission so that within 48 hours an arrest warrant could be issued for those who attacked the political stability of the country over the last two years. | However, she stated that by virtue of the nature of the parliament, agreed to by the Board of Directors, within a period of one month the special parliamentary commission must present the draft exhortation to the Judiciary to issue arrest warrants against deputies and members of the previous board of directors for damages…

_____ (2021-01-08). Open Society Tries To Stage A Counterrevolution In Cuba. popularresistance.org On November 28, 2020 Cuban Television abruptly ended the Cuban State media's reluctance to publicly expose the U.S. attempts to fund and organize a new counterrevolution to bring about a soft coup in the island nation. The TV special was followed by episodes on Mesa Redonda, segments on NTV, news programs, articles in Granma and Cubadebate, as well as follow-up in various government-run media outlets. The ins and outs of this new counterrevolution, including the use of social media and digital outlets, acts of terrorist vandalism carried out to destabilize Cuban society, and the web of connections behind it, had…

Workers World Party (2021-01-07). PDF of January 7 issue. workers.org Download the 12-page PDF. Alabama prisons: ON STRIKE! 'Relief' bill offers little; Outrage at year's end; Workers as 'contractors'; Massive hack; Historic postal strike; Editorial: COVID unpreparedness. GLOBAL: Cuban and Haitian revolutions; Brexit crisis; Long live DPRK; Argentina: abortion rights victory. TEAR DOWN THE WALLS: Exonerate Mumia! Letter from Pennsylvania . . . |

_____ (2021-01-07). The EU Avoids Treating Guaido As 'President' Of Venezuela. popularresistance.org The European Union avoided referring to the opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela's "acting president" once the mandate of the National Assembly over which he presided expired on Tuesday. | "Venezuela urgently needs a political solution to end the current impasse through an inclusive process of dialogue and negotiation leading to credible, inclusive, and democratic processes," said Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. | He added that the EU will maintain its engagement with all Venezuelan political and social actors, including "Juan Guaido and…

Tanya Wadhwa (2021-01-07). Bolivia approves emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. peoplesdispatch.org Bolivia hopes to vaccinate up to 20% of its population in the first quarter of this year. The health ministry has endorsed Russia's Sputnik V and China's CoronaVac vaccines against COVID-19…

teleSUR (2021-01-07). Cuba: Infant Mortality Stayed Low in 2020. telesurenglish.net Cuba's Health Ministry (MINSAP) reported an infant mortality rate of 4.9 per 1,000 live births in 2020 despite the pressures put by the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. sanctions on the health system. | RELATED: | The Medical Records and Statistics Division informed that 105,030 children were born on the island, which represents 4,686 fewer births than in 2019. | Experiencing a reduction in the under-five years' mortality rate, the Carib…

Noam Chomsky (2021-01-07). Class Struggle or Get it in the Neck, Part 1. zcomm.org Unless working people, the general population, take part in the class struggle, they're going to get it in the neck…

Zach Conti (2021-01-07). White House Announces Puerto Rico Disaster Rebuilding Aid. indybay.org Washington DC — The White House announced a $3.7 billion disaster grant for Puerto Rico to rebuild reservoirs, dams and wastewater facilities.

Nikos Raptis (2021-01-07). Nazis, 'Commies', etc (Part 1). zcomm.org So, on the basis of my experience on Nazis and on assorted dictators, my guesstimate as to the number of Nazis and crypto-Nazis in any given population is: around 30 %…

teleSUR (2021-01-07). In Cuba, All International Travelers to Receive Nasalferon. telesurenglish.net As announced during a session of Havana's Provincial Defense Council, the medicine will be administered in Boyeros and Diez de Octubre's municipalities. It then will be extended gradually to the rest of the capital city. | RELATED: | The director of Science and Technological Innovation at the Ministry of Public Health, Ileana Morales, explained that a drop of Nasalferon would be administered nasally in the morning a…

teleSUR (2021-01-07). Venezuela's New Parliament Holds Its First Legislative Session. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's new Parliament held its first legislative session on Thursday and approved the creation of three special commissions set to promote a national reconciliation dialogue, the defense of the disputed Essequibo territory, and investigations into damages caused by the previous Assembly. | RELATED: | Dialogue, Peace, and National Reconciliation Special Commission will be presided over by the Parliament's chairman Jorge…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-07). European Union will no longer recognize Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela. peoplesdispatch.org The EU announced the position following the swearing-in of Venezuela's new National Assembly which was the body from which Guaidó rendered his claim to interim presidency…

Alison Colette Bodine (2021-01-06). Venezuela Elections: A key victory for anti-Imperialist Movement in Latin America. mronline.org The people of Venezuela have dealt another decisive blow against U.S. domination in Latin America. The successful continuity of two decades of Venezuelan Bolivarian revolutionary process has turned Venezuela into the backbone of the Latin American anti-imperialist and revolutionary movement.

Manuela Solé (2021-01-06). Venezuela: New National Assembly Takes Office as Guaido Loses EU Recognition. venezuelanalysis.com Washington doubled down on its support for the opposition leader.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-06). Chavismo back in Venezuela's National Assembly, Guaidó further weakened. peoplesdispatch.org The 277 members of Venezuela's National Assembly were sworn in yesterday January 5. The body has vowed to take swift measures to address the deepening economic crisis in the country, fight back against the economic and financial blockade imposed on the country and work towards reconciliation. The swearing in of the legislators also officially put an end to Juan Guaidó's mandate as deputy, which prompted the European Union to withdraw their recognition of Guaidó as interim president.

Santa Cruz News (2021-01-05). Police Chief Mills says New Homeless Camping Ordinance will go to City Council this Month. indybay.org In the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has the local homeless population scrambling for places to camp and shelter in place, Santa Cruz Police Chief Andrew Mills is soliciting support from the public for a new camping ordinance that he says will go before the City Council for approval in January. "It will need our support," Mills said. "We Have not had an ordinance to enforce due to a SCOTUS decision and council suspending our ordinance," he added. (Photo: Correspondence between Police Chief Mills and a member of the public concerning the homeless.)…