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Category: Politics

Western countries are destroying surplus doses of Covid vaccine while the poorest nations go without

Western countries are destroying surplus doses of Covid vaccine while the poorest nations go without

Gordon Brown writes: Despite the repeated warnings of health leaders, our failure to put vaccines into the arms of people in the developing world is now coming back to haunt us. We were forewarned – and yet here we are. In the absence of mass vaccination, Covid is not only spreading uninhibited among unprotected people but is mutating, with new variants emerging out of the poorest countries and now threatening to unleash themselves on even fully vaccinated people in the…

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The West’s hoarding of vaccines set the stage for the Omicron variant to emerge

The West’s hoarding of vaccines set the stage for the Omicron variant to emerge

The New York Times reports: In poorer African nations, the cascade of travel closures triggered a wave of resentment among people who believed that the continent was yet again bearing the brunt of panicked policies from Western countries, which had failed to deliver vaccines and the resources needed to administer them. Richer countries, having already hoarded vaccines for much of 2021, were now penalizing parts of the world that they had starved of shots in the first place, scientists said….

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Corruption: Biden’s FDA nominee returns with deeper Big Pharma ties

Corruption: Biden’s FDA nominee returns with deeper Big Pharma ties

Bloomberg reports: President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration made millions of dollars from health and drug companies since his last stint in government, raising new questions about his ties to firms the agency oversees. Robert Califf was paid $2.7 million by Verily Life Sciences, the biomedical research organization operated by Alphabet Inc., and sits on the boards of two pharmaceutical companies, AmyriAD and Centessa Pharmaceuticals PLC. He also reported ties to 16 other research organizations…

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The only nation in the world where civilian guns outnumber people

The only nation in the world where civilian guns outnumber people

CNN reports: Atlanta. Orlando. Las Vegas. Newtown. Parkland. San Bernardino. Ubiquitous gun violence in the United States has left few places unscathed over the decades. Still, many Americans hold their right to bear arms, enshrined in the US Constitution, as sacrosanct. But critics of the Second Amendment say that right threatens another: The right to life. America’s relationship to gun ownership is unique, and its gun culture is a global outlier. As the tally of gun-related deaths continue to grow…

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Democrats can’t be the party of both the working and the millionaire classes

Democrats can’t be the party of both the working and the millionaire classes

Rep. Jared Golden writes: For years, Democrats have made promises to American voters: Elect us, and we will lower the cost of prescription drugs. Elect us, and we will expand access to affordable health care. Elect us, and we will strengthen labor laws to protect the rights of workers. Elect us, and we will deliver important, common-sense reform to make life better for people in the working middle class. Last week, we found out that Democratic party leaders also have…

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GOP cements hold on legislatures in battleground states

GOP cements hold on legislatures in battleground states

The New York Times reports: Republicans are locking in newly gerrymandered maps for the legislatures in four battleground states that are set to secure the party’s control in the statehouse chambers over the next decade, fortifying the G.O.P. against even the most sweeping potential Democratic wave elections. In Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and Georgia, Republican state lawmakers have either created supermajorities capable of overriding a governor’s veto or whittled down competitive districts so significantly that Republicans’ advantage is virtually impenetrable…

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Ahmaud Arbery’s murder: The system only worked because it was pushed

Ahmaud Arbery’s murder: The system only worked because it was pushed

Adam Serwer writes: The men who killed Ahmaud Arbery will not get away with it. Yet the most surprising aspect of the trial is not the verdict, but the fact that the trial happened at all. On Wednesday, a Georgia jury convicted Travis McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and their friend William Bryan of felony offenses after the trio chased down and then shot Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, in February of last year. The men claimed that they were attempting…

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Americans need to be nudged out of the pandemic

Americans need to be nudged out of the pandemic

Juliette Kayyem writes: Perhaps you’ve figured this out already: The pandemic will not have a discrete end. The coronavirus will not raise a white flag. There will be no peace treaty, no parade, no announcement from the CDC that the United States is done worrying about COVID. You will not get closure. The signs remain too mixed. The virus continues to spread, even as widening vaccine eligibility, booster shots, and improved medical treatments limit the damage the virus can do….

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When people thought the first Thanksgiving was too woke

When people thought the first Thanksgiving was too woke

Joshua Zeitz writes: In late 1863, President Abraham Lincoln unwittingly launched what would soon become a cherished American tradition. A well-wisher had sent a turkey to the White House for the first family’s holiday meal. When Lincoln’s son, Tad, begged his father to spare the bird’s life, the president — ever an indulgent parent — pulled out a piece of paper and wrote out a presidential pardon. Thus was a venerable presidential practice born. But the mood was not light…

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UAE general accused of torture appointed head of Interpol

UAE general accused of torture appointed head of Interpol

France 24 reports: An Emirati general accused of torture was elected president of Interpol Thursday, the global police agency said, despite the concerns of human rights organisations and members of the European Parliament. “Mr Ahmed Nasser AL RAISI of the United Arab Emirates has been elected to the post of President (4-yr term),” Interpol said on Twitter. General Al-Raisi, head of the United Arab Emirates’ security forces, will take on a largely ceremonial and voluntary role. [Continue reading…] Reuters reports:…

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Can Biden mobilize support in defense against the threats to democracy?

Can Biden mobilize support in defense against the threats to democracy?

Molly Jong-Fast writes: Less than a year ago, America was led by a man who governed to please the Fox News host Tucker Carlson and toyed with the idea of imposing martial law. After Donald Trump, you’d think the American people would just enjoy having a normal president who doesn’t use his Twitter account to threaten neighboring countries or corporations. But they don’t. Take one look at national polling numbers and you’ll see that Americans are unhappy with Joe Biden:…

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The Democratic brand is broken. The infrastructure bill isn’t fixing it

The Democratic brand is broken. The infrastructure bill isn’t fixing it

Politico reports: In the days after the Democratic Party’s collapse in the Virginia governor’s race, party strategists descended on the commonwealth to figure out what went wrong and understand just how bad the national outlook might be next year. What they discovered, largely through focus groups and polling, was even worse than expected. The problems cut far deeper than the failings of their gubernatorial nominee, Terry McAuliffe, or President Joe Biden’s flagging approval ratings. Rather, the Democratic Party’s entire brand…

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Jury finds rally organizers responsible for Charlottesville violence

Jury finds rally organizers responsible for Charlottesville violence

The New York Times reports: Jurors on Tuesday found the main organizers of the deadly right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 liable under state law for injuries to counterprotesters, awarding more than $25 million in damages. But the jury deadlocked on two federal conspiracy charges. The verdict in the civil trial, though mixed, was a rebuke for the defendants — a mix of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. They were found under Virginia law to have engaged in…

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Representation for taxpayers: New York moves to allow 800,000 legal permanent residents to vote in local elections

Representation for taxpayers: New York moves to allow 800,000 legal permanent residents to vote in local elections

The New York Times reports: New York City lawmakers are poised to allow more than 800,000 New Yorkers who are green card holders or have the legal right to work in the United States to vote in municipal elections and for local ballot initiatives. The bill, known as “Our City, Our Vote,” would make New York City the largest municipality in the country to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. The legislation, expected to be approved by the City…

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U.S. added to list of ‘backsliding’ democracies for first time

U.S. added to list of ‘backsliding’ democracies for first time

The Guardian reports: The US has been added to an annual list of “backsliding” democracies for the first time, the International IDEA thinktank has said, pointing to a “visible deterioration” it said began in 2019. Globally, more than one in four people live in a backsliding democracy, a proportion that rises to more than two in three with the addition of authoritarian or “hybrid” regimes, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. “This year we coded…

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Al Gore ‘was a man’ about his election loss, unlike Trump, federal judge says

Al Gore ‘was a man’ about his election loss, unlike Trump, federal judge says

CNN reports: A federal judge took aim at former President Donald Trump on Monday for lying about voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, saying that former Vice President Al Gore had a better standing to challenge the 2000 election results but that he was “a man” and walked away. “Al Gore had a better case to argue than Mr. Trump, but he was a man about what happened to him,” Senior District Judge Reggie Walton said of Gore’s decision…

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