2021-01-22: News Headlines

Sarah Volpenhein (2021-01-22). Wisconsin Nursing Home Staff Laid Off for Declining COVID-19 Vaccine. anti-empire.com Employees at a Janesville nursing home risk losing their job if they do not take the COVID-19 vaccine, a policy that has caused outrage among many staff members. | Officials at Rock Haven, a Rock County-owned facility, issued a memo in December telling employees that the vaccine was "a requirement for all staff" and that employees who failed to get the vaccine would be laid off. A copy of the memo was obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel through an open records request. | According to the memo, a laid-off employee will not be eligible to return to work until they complete the two-dose vaccine regimen. | Roc…

Rev. John Dear (2021-01-22). 'I Never Thought I'd Live to See This Day': The Beginning of the End for Nuclear Weapons. commondreams.org Few antiwar activists ever thought they'd see nuclear weapons banned, but thanks to dedicated organizing, a historic UN treaty goes into effect today. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Pepe Escobar (2021-01-22). The Making of US Empire at the Dawning of Its End. globalresearch.ca This article was originally published on As the Exceptional Empire gets ready to brave a destructive — and self-destructive — new cycle, with dire, unforeseen consequences bound to reverberate across the world, now more than ever it …

Dave DeCamp (2021-01-21). Over 18,000 Pentagon Contractors Remain in Afghanistan. anti-empire.com While US troop numbers in Afghanistan are down to 2,500, a deep US presence According to a report released by the US military this week, there are over 18,000 contractors in Afghanistan. The numbers mean that the Pentagon employs about seven contractors for each US service member in Afghanistan. | At the height of President Obama's Afghanistan surge, there was about one contractor for each US soldier. As troop numbers decreased, the Pentagon increased reliance on contractors. | About 4,700 of the current contra…

Ethan Yang (2021-01-21). Study: Lockdowns Caused 15 Thousand Deaths of Despair Among US Men Aged 15 to 55. anti-empire.com It should be common knowledge by now that younger people are

Schiff Gold (2021-01-21). European Central Bank Takes Bond Market Manipulation to the Next Level. anti-empire.com Peter Schiff According to

Suzanne Downing (2021-01-21). Class Warfare: Pupils in Anchorage Will Kneel in Front of Their Chairs, No Recess. anti-empire.com Some of the youngest students returning to classes today in Anchorage will enter a dystopian classroom world, where they must kneel for hours on end on the floor while masked, and have no recess or art or physical expression. | Pre-K—2, K—6, self-contained special needs programs, and the Whaley School are returning to in-person learning at Anchorage School District classes on Tuesday, Jan. 19. | Parents who viewed the classroom their students will be returning to expressed shock: All desks have been removed. Students will kneel on gardening pads and use chairs as their desks for 5.5 hours. | [Parents,…

Field Empty (2021-01-21). People Are Flocking to South Dakota. anti-empire.com South Dakota is dealing with A survey by United Van Lines this month

Martha Grevatt (2021-01-21). Flint water scandal charges: Slap on the wrist for ex-governor. workers.org Activists demand justice for Flint, 2016. In April 2014 the city of Flint, Mich., made the fatal decision to switch its water supply from Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the heavily contaminated Flint River. Flint residents have waited almost seven years for the responsible parties — in particular former . . . |

IMEMC & Agencies (2021-01-21). Major Victory for BDS Movement in Spanish Court Ruling. imemc.org The Electronic Intifada Activists in Spain are celebrating a big legal win against Israel lobby efforts to punish support for Palestinian rights. Their victory also exposes a lie that European Union officials are spreading to discredit BDS — the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. On 11 January a court in Valencia dismissed a criminal complaint …

Rebecca Gordon (2021-01-21). The US Empire Is Crumbling Before Our Eyes. thenation.com The US Empire Is Crumbling Before Our Eyes…

Pip Hinman (2021-01-21). Medevac refugees released from torture centres, activists vow to continue the campaign. greenleft.org.au The release of refugees from detention has given activists hope that there will be a change in policy. But, as Chloe DS writes, they won't stop organising until all refugees are released from onshore and offshore prisons and given permanent protection.

Jackie Salo (2021-01-20). Israel's Fauci Says Pfizer Vaccine's First Dose Less Effective Than Drugmaker Indicated. anti-empire.com A single dose of Pfizer's vaccine may be less effective than the drugmaker had indicated, Israel's COVID-19 czar has warned. | Nachman Ash — Israel's equivalent of Dr. Anthony Fauci — said the protection offered by the first dose is "less effective than we had thought," "Many people have been infected between the first and second injections of the vaccine," Ash said, adding that the protective effect appears "lower than [the data] presen…

Michael Day (2021-01-20). Italian Doctors Sanctioned for Raising Questions About COVID Vaccine. anti-empire.com An Italian doctors association has warned or disciplined 10 medics for promoting anti-vaccination propaganda and is considering sanctions against three others who are accused of downplaying the gravity of covid-19. | This comes amid growing concern that public scepticism over covid-19 vaccines could undermine Europe's fight against the coronavirus pandemic. | Antonio Magi, president of the Ordine dei Medici di Roma (Rome Doctors Guild), said that inquiries into 10 medics accused of unwarranted criticism of vaccinations had been completed, with punishments ranging from warnings to two month suspensions. The other…

The Guardian (2021-01-20). Parler Back Online Thanks to Servers in Russia. anti-empire.com Parler, the social network popular with The network vanished from the internet after it was

Rachel Sharp (2021-01-20). Retired General McChrystal Compares MAGA Protesters to Al-Qaeda. anti-empire.com Editor's note: One gets the impression the generals wouldn't mind moving their permanent occupations to the homeland and save on commute. |
| Retired Army General Stanley McChrystal has compared the MAGA riot to the evolution of Al-Qaeda saying in both instances people followed a 'powerful leader' who 'justified their violence', as he warned America is headed for a homegrown insurgency. | McChrystal, the former commander of American troops in Afghanistan, said there are terrifying parallels between the birth of the terrorist group responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks and the violent siege on th…

Dave DeCamp (2021-01-20). Trump Administration Designates Cuba a State Sponsor of Terrorism. anti-empire.com After weeks of rumors, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that the Trump administration is Cuba was first designated as a state sponsor of terror by the Reagan administration in 1982. This move was reversed in 2015 by President Obama, who took other steps to normalize with Havana, including lifting travel res…

Jon Miltimore (2021-01-20). Study: Lockdowns Will Cause 890,000 Excess US Deaths Over the Next 15 Years Just From Effects of Raised Unemployment. anti-empire.com The toll of the coronavirus has been severe. But a new study has found that the collective response to the virus may ultimately claim more lives than the virus itself. | In "Our results suggest that the toll of lives claimed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus…

Eds. (2021-01-20). Capitalism and the Telos of the Neoliberal Civilizing Mission. mronline.org In 1931 the British Colonial Office submitted a special report to the Council of the League of Nations on the "Progress of Iraq" in the previous decade. Since the First World War had ended with the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the confiscation of its territories, Iraq had been governed as a British mandate, …

Juan Cole (2021-01-20). An Admiring Review of Cole, 'Muhammad: Prophet of Peace,' in Algeria's Echorouq. juancole.com The Algerian newspaper Echorouq [al-Shuruq] has published a positive review of the Arabic translation of my book, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires Available at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor And Hachette And Barnes and Noble And Amazon Juan says: In turbulent era, I am most gratified that Muslim readers on the …

Rebecca Gordon (2021-01-20). The Rubble of Empire: Doctrines of Disaster and Dreams of Security as the Biden Years Begin. juancole.com ( Tomdispatch.com ) — How can you tell when your empire is crumbling? Some signs are actually visible from my own front window here in San Francisco. Directly across the street, I can see a collection of tarps and poles (along with one of my own garbage cans) that were used to construct a makeshift …

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2021-01-20). 'Pure Sadism': Biden Blasted for Continuing Trump's Recognition of Guaid√≥ Coup Regime and Deadly Sanctions in Venezuela. commondreams.org "How about a new Good Neighbor Policy on non-interference?" asked CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Eliza Egret (2021-01-20). It's one rule for the rich as fox hunters again evade prosecution despite damning evidence. thecanary.co 2021 is business as usual for fox hunters, who continue to evade prosecution when blatantly breaking the law. Footage given to The Canary shows a terrified fox cub being chased by dozens of hounds, while men in their red coats, belonging to the The harrowing footage, taken by Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, was filmed on 21 October 2020. But on 8 January 2021, the activists learned from the police that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was refusing to take any action against the hunt. | The video shows a tiny fox being chased, while…

John Whitehead (2021-01-20). The Deep State's Stealthy, Subversive, Silent Coup to Ensure Nothing Changes. mintpressnews.com Donald Trump swore to drain the swamp in Washington DC, instead, he paved the way for lobbyists, corporations, and the military industrial complex. Here's why Joe Biden will be no different.

organizingupgrade (2021-01-20). Building Class Power by Fighting for the Common Good. organizingupgrade.com As activists orient to…

Colin Todhunter (2021-01-20). Indian Farmers on the Frontline Against Global Capitalism. counterpunch.org In a short video on the empirediaries.com YouTube channel, a protesting farmer camped near Delhi says that during lockdown and times of crisis farmers are treated like "gods", but when they ask for their rights, they are smeared and labelled as "terrorists". He, along with thousands of other farmers, are mobilising against three important pieces of farm legislation that

Jordan Schachtel (2021-01-19). Two Years to Stop the Spread: Australia to Shut Borders Until 2022 Despite Vaccine. anti-empire.com Australians and Kiwis are looking at the very real possibility of being shut off from the rest of the world for at least another year. | The two countries, often touted by the media and the "public health expert" class as a COVID-19 response success story (and In a conversation with the Australian Broadcasting Corpora…

Om Marathe (2021-01-19). Russia Withdraws From Open Skies Treaty After US Departure. anti-empire.com In what experts fear could lead to growing mistrust between global powers, Russia on Friday announced that it was leaving the Open Skies Treaty (OST), an accord between over 30 countries that allows participants to fly unarmed reconnaissance flights over any part of their fellow member states. | In November, the United States left the OST first after accusing Russia of violating the pact— allegations that Russia denied. Moscow has now blamed Washington for its own decision of leaving the treaty. | What is the Open Skies Treaty?: | First proposed in 1955 by former US President Dwight Eisenhower as a…

Raul Diego (2021-01-19). Native Activists File Suit After Trump Officials Hand Sacred Land to Foreign Mining Firm. mintpressnews.com The land swap deal between the U.S. government and British-Australian corporate mining giant Rio Tinto and its subsidiary, Resolution Copper, went into effect last week. But, the true Native owners of the land are not about to give up a battle they have been fighting for centuries. | On Friday, January 15, the U.S. Forest Service, under pressure of the outgoing Trump administration,