(2022-12-26). Program to beef up plastics recycling. ecns.cn A joint working group consisting of industrial associations, plastics producers and recyclers has initiated a program to beef up the recycling of flexible plastics in China, a move experts believe will reduce waste and help with national climate targets.
(2022-12-26). Santa Cruz Homeless Death List for 2023: Follow-Up. indybay.org Two public ceremonies were held December 21st where the names of the unhoused dead for the year (some of them) were read. My response was the attached flyer, reprinted in the Serf City Times, suggesting some obvious but likely to be ignored remedies to ward off the 2023 deaths list. Also attached is the Homeless Persons Health Project/County report.
(2022-12-26). Wednesday 12/21: Ninth Annual Homeless Person's Interfaith Memorial Service in San Jose. indybay.org Plaza of SCC Gov. building | 70 W. Hedding Street | San Jose, CA 95110…
(2022-12-26). The Top 10 Inequality Victories of 2022. juancole.com By Sarah Anderson | Inegality.org | Congratulations to everyone who worked to move the country and the world towards greater equity in 2022. Herewith are 10 of the most inspiring economic inequality victories of the year. 1. The Union Boom No question. The union organizing surge has been this year's top story. Petitions for …
(2022-12-25). Why We Need The Solidarity Economy. popularresistance.org We are living in a time of multiple crises. The climate emergency seriously threatens the continued survival of humanity, exacerbating injustice, exploitation, poverty and vulnerability. And the global cost of living crisis is driving more and more people into precarity. Although these crises are often portrayed as novel and contemporary rather than cumulative consequences of centuries-old destructive systems, those that have been at the frontlines of marginalization caused by the current world order, rooted in colonization and capitalism, have always known, to quote the Zapatistas, that this house has been on fi…
(2022-12-25). UK's Sunak criticised for asking homeless man if he 'works in business'. tribune.com.pk 
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism on Saturday for seeming out of touch with ordinary people when he asked a homeless man at a charity whether he "worked in business" and wanted to get into the finance industry. | Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs banker and one of Britain's wealthiest people, was serving breakfast at a homeless shelter in London on Friday, when he began chatting with a man who identified himself as Dean. | "Do you work in business?" the prime minister asks the man at one point during the conversation, as he hands him a plate of sausages, toast and eggs. | "No, I'm homeless. I'm ac…
(2022-12-25). Tax Policy Is Helping Wall Street Gobble Up Single-Family Homes. truthout.org Janine Jackson interviewed CSG Advisors' Gene Slater about the affordable housing crisis for the November 11, 2022, episode of "CounterSpin." This is a lightly edited transcript. Janine Jackson: Home ownership is a key ingredient in what is still called the "American Dream." Beyond the meaningful symbolism of having one's own patch, home ownership is instrumental in wealth creation — the… |
(2022-12-25). Why Chinese 'Debt Trap Diplomacy' is a Lie. orinocotribune.com By Amanda Yee Dec 19, 2022 | U.S. politicians and corporate media often promote the narrative that China lures developing countries into predatory, high-interest loans to build infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. As the story goes, China anticipates that the borrowing country will default on that loan, so that it can then seize that asset in order to extend its military or geostrategic influence — evidence of China's so-called colonizing of the Global South. | The concept of Chinese "debt trap diplomacy" finds its origins in a 2017 academic article published by a think tan…
(2022-12-25). Women staff ban: Top UN, NGO officials to meet over Taliban policy. tribune.com.pk 
Top officials from the United Nations and dozens of NGOs operating in Afghanistan are meeting Sunday to discuss the way ahead after the Taliban authorities ordered all NGOs to stop women employees from working, aid officials said. | The hardline Islamists on Saturday threatened to suspend the operating licences of NGOs if they failed to implement the order. | The Ministry of Economy, which issues these licences, said it had received "serious complaints" that women working in NGOs were not observing a proper Islamic dress code. | "A meeting of Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) is scheduled later today to consult…
(2022-12-25). Global South Artists Are Upending 72 Years Of CIA Influence On Art. popularresistance.org His mouth is frozen in anguish, an infinite scream. His eyes bulge upward, overcome by horror, hands clutching his head. I cannot look away. His face is too forlorn, his backdrop too wretched. | I inch toward the banner, dated 2005, which spans the full gallery wall. With my phone's translation app, I make out some Indonesian text: "Iapa yang peduli dengan kejadian damai dan perang"‚Äâ—‚Äâ"who cares about the events of peace and war." Surrounding these words are a contented crowd of children swinging from trees, farmers working fields, and musicians serenading their communi…
(2022-12-25). US 'Justice' System Trashes Diplomatic Immunity & Rules Against Alex Saab, Defense Working on Appeal. orinocotribune.com Caracas, December 24, 2022 ( "The Maduro regime has been deemed illegitimate … Any claim of diplomatic immunity asserted by a representative of the Maduro regime must also be considered illegitimate," Scola ruled. | The ruling was reported by AP journalist, Joshua Goo…
(2022-12-25). Three foreign NGOs suspend Afghan operations after Taliban ban on female staff. tribune.com.pk 
Three big international aid agencies including Save the Children said on Sunday they were suspending their humanitarian programmes in Afghanistan in response to the Taliban-run administration's order to stop female employees from working. | The administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to send female staff home until further notice. It said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had not adhered to the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic dress code for women. | Three NGOs – Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and CAR…