Daily Archives: December 23, 2020

2020-12-23: News Headlines

Online News Editor (2020-12-24). Ecuador's indigenous people turn to ancestral remedies against Covid-19. laprensalatina.com By Domenica Enriquez Miwaguno, Ecuador, Dec 23 (efe-epa).- Residents of some indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon are choosing to rely on the natural remedies used by their ancestors as they battle the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 3,200 indigenous people have contracted the coronavirus and 49 have perished, according to figures from Ecuador's Health Ministry, …

Mark Weisbrot (2020-12-23). A Tale of Two Elections: U.S. and Bolivia. counterpunch.org In recent weeks, Donald Trump has been ridiculed, slathered with contempt, and repeatedly branded a "liar," as well as an existential threat to democracy in the United States, by the biggest media outlets in the country. This is in response to his attempts to reverse the results of the U.S. presidential election, and claiming—without evidence—that

Staff (2020-12-23). US Airports Are Portals for Disease Spread. Venezuela Shows Another Way. truthout.org I recently traveled to Venezuela to be an observer for its National Assembly election and was struck by a stark difference between the ways Venezuela and the United States are handling the COVID-19 pandemic. | My experience at the airport in Caracas, Venezuela, gave me a taste of what a coordinated public health approach looks like in practice, compared to the disjointed politicized approach in the United States. Airports in the United States are currently serving as uncontrolled portals of disease…

Vijay Prashad (2020-12-23). Colombia's President shows his disdain for democracy and Venezuelans. peoplesdispatch.org On December 8, a Conviasa flight prepared to take off from Caracas, Venezuela, for Mexico City. It planned to carry 200 election observers and journalists who came to Venezuela from a range of countries to monitor the National Assembly elections that were held on December 6. The plane sat on the tarmac, luggage on board, with the passengers ready to board—at which point, the delay began. Hours went by. The airline had previously filed a flight plan, which included using Colombian airspace; now, hours before the flight was to take off, the government of Colombia denied the aircraft the right of transit (a…

José Carlos Llerena (2020-12-23). Peruvian agricultural workers' strike met with violent repression. peoplesdispatch.org Agricultural workers are mobilizing to demand that the Peruvian government and Congress follow through on their promise to pass a law granting labor rights and ensuring better working conditions for workers in this sector…

Zoe PC (2020-12-23). Colombian social organizations hail release of peasant leaders, condemn 'frame-up'. peoplesdispatch.org Following mobilizations calling for their release, the judge overseeing the case ruled that the three leaders – Teófilo Acuña, Adelso Gallo and Robert Daza – will not be held in preventative detention while they await trial…

Fred Fuentes (2020-12-23). Podcast: Politics in Brazil today — Eyewitness discussion with journalist Michael Fox. greenleft.org.au Green Left sits down with long-time multimedia journalist and radio reporter Michael Fox to discuss politics in Brazil.

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-23). Guzmán sees no time limitation on narrating documentaries. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (MNA) — Chilean director of documentaries Patricio Guzmán Lozanes at his master class in 14th Iran International Documentary Film Festival "Cinema Verite" said that there is no limitation on narrating a documentary.

teleSUR (2020-12-22). Venezuela Receives Chinese Medical Supplies To Fight COVID-19. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Tuesday welcomed the arrival of medical supplies donated by China to support the fight against the pandemic. | RELATED: | After pointing out that it was the ninth shipment sent by Chinese authorities, she recalled that over 274 tons of equipment, medical inputs, and medicines have been received so far this year. | Rodriguez also mentioned that Venezuela is nowadays a victim of U.S. bl…

news.un (2020-12-22). COVID-19: Support to frontline workers part of UN response in Brazil. news.un.org UN agencies in Brazil are supporting national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including by providing thousands of protective items for health workers, the global organization reported on Tuesday.

Tanya Wadhwa (2020-12-22). IMF approves disbursement of 2 billion USD for Ecuador. peoplesdispatch.org Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno says the funds will be used for "social protection and economic reactivation", however, the deal calls for a lower minimum wage, higher sales taxes, labor reform, and limited public investment…

WSWS (2020-12-22). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Members of the Confusam health workers union in Chile walked out December 16 over paltry pay raises while train conductors in Argentina plan a national work stoppage December 22.

Sam Husseini (2020-12-21). Militarized Pandemic Science: Why is the Pentagon Funding the EcoHealth Alliance? counterpunch.org "Pandemics are like terrorist attacks: We know roughly where they originate and what's responsible for them, but we don't know exactly when the next one will happen. They need to be handled the same way — by identifying all possible sources and dismantling those before the next pandemic strikes." This statement was written in the

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-21). First Meeting of Peoples and Organizations of Abya Yala concludes in Bolivia. peoplesdispatch.org The meeting of Indigenous organizations, social movements and trade unions from 11 countries of the region concluded with a call for the creation of a new regional integration mechanism: the Union of South American Nations of the People…

Alan Macleod (2020-12-21). Trump Enacts Sweeping New Sanctions on China, Iran, Venezuela. Biden Promises More To Come. mintpressnews.com The new sanctions come even as an estimated 100,000 people have been killed by American sanctions in Venezuela alone as vital medical equipment and lifesaving drugs have been blocked from entering the country.

Mà¥nica Nunes (2020-12-21). Davi Kopenawa, Yanomami leader and shaman, elected to Brazilian Academy of Sciences. peoplesworld.org From December 2018 to April 2019, the Yanomami people were the subject of an extraordinary exhibition in Sà£o Paulo, The Yanomami Struggle, by photographer Claudia Andujar and the Moreira Sales Institute [IMS] which presented the Yanomamis' courageous and painful story. Claudia Andujar lived among these people in the 1970s when they were still isolated in …