Daily Archives: December 15, 2020

2020-12-15: News Headlines

John Catalinotto (2020-12-15). A look at Venezuela's National Assembly election. workers.org Venezuela's December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections overcame the prior pro-imperialist majority in that body and catapulted the ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) into an overwhelming majority. President Nicolás Maduro, also of the PSUV, won big. Voting is smooth and fair in Venezuela. The imperialist politicians and corporate media, especially . . . |

Federico Fuentes (2020-12-15). Socialist election win masks deeper problems. mronline.org With a majority of the opposition boycotting and an abstention rate of almost 70%, the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) obtained 69% of the vote in the country's December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-15). Concern in Peru over the increase in number of missing women and girls. peoplesdispatch.org According to a recent report by the ombudsman's office, more than 5,000 women, girls and adolescents have been reported missing in Peru between January and November 2020…

Zoe PC (2020-12-15). Elections and building socialism under hybrid war: A Venezuelan perspective. peoplesdispatch.org Hernán Vargas of the Movimiento de Pobladores y Pobladoras discusses the legislative elections in Venezuela held on December 6 and what they mean for politics in the country…

teleSUR (2020-12-15). United Nations Sounds Alarms About Rising Violence in Colombia. telesurenglish.net The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday condemned the increase in violence in Colombia, urging President Ivan Duque's administration to take concrete actions to effectively protect the population. | RELATED: | Bachelet noted that the Indigenous Nasa community has been one of the most affected by the violence in 2020, with 66 of its members reported having been killed in the northern Cauca regi…

_____ (2020-12-15). Lessons To Be Learned From Washington's Lethal War Against The World. popularresistance.org The latest book from Indian Marxist Vijay Prashad is a passionate critique of the "US-led liberal international order," in which Washington has fired — and still fires — its bullets at the peoples of the Global South and the socialist world. | In Guatemala, Congo, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, Haiti, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Yemen, Sudan, Grenada, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Angola and so many other countries, Washington's bullets have been deployed in the pursuance of regime change, the protection of US hegemony and opposition to the emergence of truly sovereign post-colonial nations, all in fl…

news.un (2020-12-15). UN documents 375 killings in Colombia in 2020, urges Government action. news.un.org The United Nations has recorded the deaths of 255 people in 66 massacres in Colombia this year, as well as the killing of 120 human rights defenders, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-15). Iranian short film "Limbo" wins at Brazilian FilmFest. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — Iranian short film "Limbo" directed by Ghasideh Golmakani wins at Brazilian Film Festival.

Progressive International (2020-12-15). IMF austerity is strangling Ecuador — again. zcomm.org Members of the Progressive International's Debt Justice working group call on IMF President Georgieva to deliver on the promise of a just recovery…

Alan Macleod (2020-12-14). US Embassy Caught Scrubbing Tweets Urging Venezuelans Not To Vote. mintpressnews.com It is not clear why the embassy decided to go back and delete its posting history, especially as undermining Venezuela's elections continues to be the official line of the US government.

Paul Dobson (2020-12-14). [UPDATED] Venezuela Investigates Maritime Accident on Migrant Route. venezuelanalysis.com An estimated twenty died presumably travelling to Trinidad and Tobago in a small boat.

Orinoco Tribune (2020-12-14). Venezuelan Gold Seized by the Bank of England: British Court Accepts Guaidó's Appeal. globalresearch.ca Thursday December 10 the British Supreme Court accepted the appeal issued by the lawyers of the opposition for exiting deputy Juan Guaidó, and ruled in favor of hearing his appeal regarding control of Venezuela's gold reserves, valued at $1.3 …

Fight Back (2020-12-14). Maradona, worldwide soccer icon and outspoken anti-imperialist, dies at age 60. fightbacknews.org Diego Armando Maradona died November 25. One of the most universally known people in the world, Maradona passed away at age 60 while recovering from surgery. | Maradona, who wore number 10 on the Argentinian national soccer team, is widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time. At his peak he led Argentina to a 3-2 World Cup victory in 1986 over West Germany. And he nearly accomplished an incredibly rare back-to-back World Cup victory in the 1990 World Cup, leading Argentina back to the finals in a rematch between Argentina and West Germany. In that game Argentina lost to West Germany 1-0 on…

RT (2020-12-13). More questions than relief: Brazil vaccination plan promises jab to less than quarter of population, no timetable set. rt.com Brazilian authorities have rolled out a vaccination plan which has been met with skepticism due to the lack of concrete data, and was even criticized by the researchers who helped to draw it up. | Local media noted that Brazil's plan has no specific launch date in mind for the vaccinations and does not detail the timetable of the supplies. The country's initial goal is to vaccinate some 51 million people, which is less than a quarter of the population. The document itself admits it's significantly lower than the number required to stop the spread of the coronavirus — at least 70 percent of the population.

Max Blumenthal (2020-12-13). Rafael Correa on Venezuela, Assange, and 'preventing the total destruction of our homeland'. thegrayzone.com Max Blumenthal interviews former Ecuador President Rafael Correa, who was in Venezuela to observe its legislative elections and show support to a government under sustained economic and political attack by the US. Correa addresses issues ranging from the repression in his country under the watch of its outgoing neoliberal president, Lenin Moreno, to the persecution of Julian Assange and the role of a CIA contractor in targeting him and the Wikileaks founder. Blumenthal and Correa also discuss the prospect of …

sputniknews (2020-12-13). Brazil's Bolsonaro Branded as 'Homicidally Negligent' Over COVID-19 Vaccine Planning, Reports Say. sputniknews.com Jair Bolsonaro has reportedly been accused of ignoring the experimental Chinese COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac for what many suspect are political reasons.

Amy Booth (2020-12-12). [World Report] Bolivia's new health minister promises universal health care. thelancet.com Once implemented, the system will guarantee free health care to Bolivians, but critics say more funding is needed. Amy Booth reports.

2020-12-15: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

United Nations Sounds Alarms About Rising Violence in Colombia
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-15
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday condemned the increase in violence in Colombia, urging President Ivan Duque's administration to take concrete actions to effectively protect the population. | RELATED: | Antioquia: Colombia Counts 83rd Massacre of 2020 | Bachelet noted that the Indigenous Nasa community has been one of the most affected by the violence in 2020, with 66 of its members reported having been killed in the northern Cauca regi…
telesurenglish.net/news/United-Nations-Sounds-Alarms-About-Rising-Violence-in-Colombia-20201215-0004.html

Chile: President Piñera Has No Intention To Pardon Protesters
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-15
Chile's President Sebastian Piñera on Monday announced he will reject a bill to pardon citizens who are in police custody due to their participation in the protests that took place in October 2019. | RELATED: | Chile: Deal on Indigenous People's Seats To Write Constitution | Claiming that the bill threatens public order, citizen security, and the rule of law, Piñera announced that if necessary, he will use his veto prerogatives to prevent the pardon's approval by the Senate. | S…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-President-Pinera-Has-No-Intention-To-Pardon-Protesters-20201215-0005.html

The Most Lethal Virus is Not COVID. It is War
John Pilger | counterpunch.org | 2020-12-15
In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Boris Johnson has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defence spending — a figure that would restore the under-resourced NHS many times over.
counterpunch.org/2020/12/15/the-most-lethal-virus-is-not-covid-it-is-war/

UN documents 375 killings in Colombia in 2020, urges Government action
news.un.org | 2020-12-15
The United Nations has recorded the deaths of 255 people in 66 massacres in Colombia this year, as well as the killing of 120 human rights defenders, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1080082

A look at Venezuela's National Assembly election
John Catalinotto | workers.org | 2020-12-15
Venezuela's December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections overcame the prior pro-imperialist majority in that body and catapulted the ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) into an overwhelming majority. President Nicolás Maduro, also of the PSUV, won big. Voting is smooth and fair in Venezuela. The imperialist politicians and corporate media, especially . . . | Continue reading A look at Venezuela's National Assembly election at Workers.org
workers.org/2020/12/53236/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-look-at-venezuelas-national-assembly-election

Socialist election win masks deeper problems
Federico Fuentes | mronline.org | 2020-12-15
With a majority of the opposition boycotting and an abstention rate of almost 70%, the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) obtained 69% of the vote in the country's December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections.
mronline.org/2020/12/15/socialist-election-win-masks-deeper-problems/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=socialist-election-win-masks-deeper-problems

Iranian short film "Limbo" wins at Brazilian FilmFest
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-15
TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (MNA) — Iranian short film "Limbo" directed by Ghasideh Golmakani wins at Brazilian Film Festival.
en.mehrnews.com/news/167211/Iranian-short-film-Limbo-wins-at-Brazilian-FilmFest

IMF austerity is strangling Ecuador — again
Progressive International | zcomm.org | 2020-12-15
Members of the Progressive International's Debt Justice working group call on IMF President Georgieva to deliver on the promise of a just recovery…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/imf-austerity-is-strangling-ecuador-again/

Chile: Deal on Indigenous People's Seats To Write Constitution
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-14
The Chilean Senate's Joint Commission reached an agreement on the number of seats reserved for the representatives of the Indigenous Peoples in the convention that will draft the new constitution. | RELATED: Chile: | Piñera at Lowest Approval Rate Since Becoming President | The final proposal established 17 seats for the Indigenous peoples and 1 for the Afro-descendant population, all within the 155 quotas already convened. | It was also included that each political alliance must…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-Deal-on-Indigenous-Peoples-Seats-To-Write-Constitution-20201214-0002.html

Brazil's Supreme Court Demands a COVID-19 Vaccination Calendar
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-14
Brazil's Supreme Court judge Ricardo Lewandowski Sunday gave President Jair Bolsonaro's administration 48 hours to publish details of the national vaccination campaign against the new coronavirus. | RELATED: | President Luis Arce Travels to Brazil for Medical Check-up | His decision comes after the Executive presented a vaccination plan that did not specify the dates for the beginning and the closure of a national campaign nor the steps for ensuring the vaccination of 70 percent o…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazils-Supreme-Court-Demands-a-COVID-19-Vaccination-Calendar-20201214-0006.html

Venezuelan Gold Seized by the Bank of England: British Court Accepts Guaidó's Appeal
Orinoco Tribune | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-14
Thursday December 10 the British Supreme Court accepted the appeal issued by the lawyers of the opposition for exiting deputy Juan Guaidó, and ruled in favor of hearing his appeal regarding control of Venezuela's gold reserves, valued at $1.3 …
globalresearch.ca/venezuelan-gold-seized-bank-england-british-court-accepts-guaido-appeal/5732135

Max Blumenthal Meets Rafael Correa In Venezuela
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-14
Max Blumenthal interviews former Ecuador President Rafael Correa, who was in Venezuela to observe its legislative elections and show support to a government under sustained economic and political attack by the US. | Correa addresses issues ranging from the repression in his country under the watch of its outgoing neoliberal president, Lenin Moreno, to the persecution of Julian Assange and the role of a CIA contractor in targeting him and the Wikileaks founder. | Blumenthal and Correa also discuss the prospect of a left-wing victory in Ecuador's upcoming national elections, and what the US-backed government is doi…
popularresistance.org/max-blumenthal-meets-rafael-correa-in-venezuela/

John Pilger: The Most Lethal Virus Is Not COVID. It Is War
John Pilger | mintpressnews.com | 2020-12-14