Our House: Why China’s New South Asian Trade Deal is Making Washington Sweat

REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

Raul Diego

MintPress News | November 17, 2020

For most Americans, the mention of Hanoi elicits memories of the Vietnam war and the peak of the antiwar movement in the United States. Nearly half a century later, unexploded ordnances  (UXO) left behind by U.S. soldiers are still killing and maiming Vietnamese people, but a new day has arrived for the long-suffering southeast Asian country along with fourteen regional countries, including powers China and Japan, with a blockbuster trade agreement that is sure to spark controversy in Washington, which was excluded from the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

RCEP hops on the New Silk Roads

REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

Pepe Escobar

ASEAN leaders are seen on a screen as they attend the virtual 4th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Summit as part of the 37th Asean Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday. (Bangkok Post photo)

Ho Chi Minh, in his eternal abode, will be savoring it with a heavenly smirk. Vietnam was the – virtual – host as the 10 Asean nations, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, on the final day of the 37^th Asean Summit.

To Advance, Workers Must Break the Law: A Reply to John Kerr

CLASS STRUGGLE

Don Franks

Red Line | November 18, 2020

In response to my piece NZ union structure past its use by date John Kerr wrote:

Bit of a cop out of an article: some penetrating analysis of what’s wrong (echoed in other pieces by Trotter et al) but no concrete suggestions around possible solutions…

I agree that ‘if we really want to be addressing child poverty we would do so by lifting wages, decreasing rents and increasing benefits.’

And I agree the current union model ‘isn’t working’ in this regard, but there are no suggestions in this piece of an alternative that might…

Don complains about there being no structures where workers can get involved,

Thousands of People Continue To Cheer Evo’s Return To Bolivia (Pictures)

EVO MORALES RETURNS

teleSUR | November 10, 2020

A woman works on the installation of a podium in the town of Villazon, on the border with Argentina, Bolivia, Nov. 8, 2020.Photo:EFE

A Hero’s Welcome: Inside Evo Morales’ Triumphant Return Tour

EVO MORALES RETURNS HOME

Oliver Vargas

MintPress News | November 13, 2020

The return of Evo Morales to Bolivia on Monday, November 9, one day after President Luis Arce’s inauguration, marked the formal end of last year’s U.S.-backed coup. What does his return mean for Bolivia, and for the world? Is he just a former president who the media will turn to periodically for comment? Is he yesterday’s news to his party? The answers to those questions remain unclear, but what is clear is that his three-day return tour was a statement that he intends to provide strong leadership for social movements in Bolivia and abroad.

Cuba Could be on the Brink of a Revolutionary COVID Vaccine, But US Sanctions Are Slowing It Down

IMPERIALIST AGGRESSION AGAINST CUBA

Alan Macleod

MintPress News | November 13, 2020

Cuba has announced positive and promising results for a number of separate COVID-19 vaccines it is currently developing, but U.S. sanctions against the small island nation are hampering the development and rollout of the potentially life-saving treatments.

Two candidates, named Sovereign 1 and Sovereign 2, have generated antibodies blocking infection in animals and are showing similarly encouraging signs on tests on human subjects. Meanwhile, a separate vaccine, based on a protein from the hepatitis B virus, is unique in that it is delivered through the nasal tract and does not require a needle to administer.

Meet the Filthy Rich War Hawks That Make up Biden’s New Foreign Policy Team

U.S. IMPERIALISM

Alan Macleod

MintPress News | November 13, 2020

After triumphing in a bitterly contested presidential election, all eyes are on President-Elect Joe Biden and who he will choose to run his new administration. For much of October, media spent their time dissecting the news that, despite living a lavish billionaire lifestyle, Donald Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. In contrast, little was made of Biden’s self-published tax documents. This is surprising because the returns show that he is rich. Filthy rich.

Yes, Election Fraud is Real. And its a Longstanding Tradition on Both Sides of the Aisle

THE FARCE THAT IS U.S. DEMOCRACY

Raul Diego

MintPress News | November 17, 2020

American democracy is in limbo after the long-anticipated, contested election has finally come to pass. More than a week removed from November 3, Democrats and Republicans peddle their own version of events as a corporate media blitzkrieg tries to manufacture consent for Joe Biden as president-elect in true Guaidó style. Trump plays the villain, ensconced in the Oval Office while his cabinet officials pitch weak legal challenges that fail to address substantive issues of electoral fraud and serve to simply prolong the stalemate and build up the tension for the grand finale.

Buying and Distributing A COVID-19 Vaccine will Involve Hard Ethical and Practical Choices

COVID-19 VACCINE

Barbara Allen and Michael Macaulay

The Conversation | November 18, 2020

The world was ablaze with hope following the announcement last week that a vaccine developed by Pfiser and BioNTech may be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19.

New Zealand politicians were quick to point out 1.5 million doses had already been pre-purchased through a legally binding agreement signed in late September to buy any vaccine to emerge from the multilateral COVAX facility.

Never Another Trump: Why We Need a Working Class Party

CLASS STRUGGLE

Tom Crean

Socialist Alternative | November 09, 2020

Working people in the U.S. are facing a crisis of massive proportions. Decades of neoliberal attacks on unions and the gains of working people have created the greatest level of inequality in a century and massive precarity. The deep cuts to public hospitals over the past years on top of millions being without health insurance has left the country, especially the poor, dangerously unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic.

In the immediate sense, there is no national plan to deal with the pandemic with new cases reaching record numbers and hospitals across many parts of the Midwest heading towards a breaking point. The failure of the Republicans and Democrats to agree to an extension of the $600 unemployment top-up means that millions are living on their credit cards and are only able to stay in their homes because of the federal eviction moratorium. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses will fail without further aid.