(2022-01-15). Attend Committee for Public Education meeting to fight the deadly reopening of Australia's schools amid COVID surge. wsws.org Rank-and-file safety committees need to be formed in every school, independent of the unions, to organise the widest discussion on the necessary steps going forward to take up the fight for remote learning, as part of a global fight for the elimination of the virus.
(2022-01-15). [Comment] Offline: The incontestable moral value of health. thelancet.com In March, 2020, chief science advisers from 12 countries, including the US, the UK, and Germany, issued a call to scholarly publishers "to voluntarily agree to make their COVID-19 and coronavirus-related publications, and the available data supporting them, immediately accessible in PubMed Central and other appropriate public repositories." That same month, over 30 publishers, including The Lancet, signed up to this request. The call reflected the urgency of the pandemic and "the associated global health crisis." We have made all of our coronavirus-related content freely available through a COVID-19 Resource Cent…
(2022-01-15). Inflation hits a 40-year high as record corporate profits roll on. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Wednesday, January 12 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that prices of consumer goods rose 7% in 2021. This is the highest rate of inflation in 40 years. With workers' wages only up by 4.7% last year, the purchasing power of workers' earnings fell by more than 2%. | One important cause of higher prices was the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While spending on services, which involve more human contact and a greater possibility of infection lagged, spending on goods surged. This was the case for used cars, where prices went up 37.3% last year, as travel on mass transit decli…
(2022-01-15). Thousands of Chicago students walk out to protest unsafe return to schools. wsws.org Thousands of Chicago students walked out across more than 30 schools to protest the unsafe return to classrooms enforced by Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
(2022-01-15). Hundreds of Boston students walk out to protest lack of remote learning option amid COVID-19 surge. wsws.org Hundreds of Boston public school students walked out of classes Friday morning to protest the state of Massachusetts' policy that all classes must be held in person. The lack of a remote option for students comes as the state sees a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
(2022-01-15). Students and teachers in Oakland, California, speak on planned strike against unsafe schools. wsws.org High school students in Oakland are threatening to strike if school is not taken online or conditions made safer.
(2022-01-15). German student Yasmin's protest against unsafe in-person teaching sparks wave of solidarity. wsws.org The case of 13-year-old Yasmin from North Rhine-Westphalia shows the growing opposition to government pandemic policies.
(2022-01-15). Seattle students and teachers stage walkouts over lack of COVID-19 safety protocols in schools. wsws.org As infections rise throughout Seattle and Washington state, students and teachers have initiated sickouts at two high schools in defiance of the local, state and federal governments' policy of mass infection and death.
(2022-01-15). Baton Rouge, Louisiana teachers stage sickout as COVID-19 ravages the South. wsws.org At least 760 teachers and school staff in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, called out sick Wednesday to protest the alarming spread of COVID-19 and the district's refusal to offer virtual learning.
(2022-01-14). The Rule Of Law Must Finally Evolve Into The Rule Of Justice. popularresistance.org Many politicians, academics, media pundits are wont of invoking the "rule of law", a "rules-based international order", "values diplomacy" etc. But what do all these benevolent-sounding slogans actually mean in practice? Who makes the rules, who interprets them, who enforces them? What transparency and accountability accompany these noble pledges? | In a very real sense, we already have a "rules based international order" in the form of the UN Charter and its "supremacy clause", article 103 of which grants it priority over all other treaties and agreements. The norms established in the Charter are rational, but e…
(2022-01-14). No letup in economic and social decline. mronline.org 
Economic and social conditions have been worsening for decades at home and abroad, especially in the context of the neoliberal antisocial offensive which was launched more than 40 years ago by the international financial oligarchy. But they have been getting even worse in recent years and over the past two years in particular.
(2022-01-14). A Program For A Future Society That We Will Build In The Present. popularresistance.org In October 2021, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a report that received barely any attention: the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021, notably subtitled Unmasking disparities by ethnicity, caste, and gender. 'Multidimensional poverty' is a much more precise measurement of poverty than the international poverty line of $1.90 per day. It looks at ten indicators divided along three axes: health (nutrition, child mortality), education (years of schooling, school attendance), and standard of living (cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets). The team studie…
(2022-01-14). Mothers, teachers demand sex education & counselors for Boston Public Schools. liberationnews.org 
Andira Ture asked for sex education at the Timilty Middle School, and her son faced retaliation. After her concerns were dismissed by administrators, Ture began a campaign to demand better from Boston Public Schools, and she wants parents and teachers to join her. Some already have.
(2022-01-14). Saturday 2/26: Words That Made the Difference: Brown vs the Board of Education, A play written and direct. indybay.org Rhythmix Cultural Works | 2513 Blanding Ave | Alameda, CA…
(2022-01-14). Afghanistan in Freefall: Deadly U.S. Sanctions Blamed for Shocking Humanitarian Crisis. democracynow.org 
As Afghanistan faces a dire humanitarian crisis, we look at how more Afghans may die from U.S. sanctions than at the hands of the Taliban. The U.S.'s attempts to block support for the new de facto government have prevented vital funding from flowing to the nation's civil servants, particularly in education and the health sector. Dr. Paul Spiegel says conditions in the hospitals he visited in Kabul as part of a World Health Organization emergency team are rapidly deteriorating, and he describes the lack of heat and basic amenities as winter descended. "There's been a drought. There's food insecurity. And all of th…
(2022-01-14). Biden admin tells state to mask up kids or forfeit Covid relief. rt.com 
Government tells Arizona to lift ban on masks in schools or lose billions in federal Covid aid | The US Treasury Department has told Arizona's Republican governor to abolish two programs aimed at discouraging school mask mandates within 60 days, or give back over $1 billion in federal Covid-19 relief and forfeit the rest. | The Biden administration is taking issue with Arizona's Education Plus-Up Grant Program, which offered $163 million in funding to schools in the state, but made districts that require masking ineligible. | Another initiative, dubbed the Educational Recovery Benefit Program, offers up to $7,…
(2022-01-14). "Who We Are": New Film Chronicles History of Racism in America Amid Growing Attack on Voting Rights. democracynow.org 
As the United States heads into the Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend, attempts by Democrats to pass major new voting rights legislation appear to have stalled. We examine the new award-winning documentary "Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America," which follows civil rights attorney Jeffery Robinson as he confronts the enduring legacy of anti-Black racism in the United States, weaving together examples from the U.S. Constitution, education system and policing. "The entire purpose of this film is to ask people to take a long hard look at our actual history of white supremacy and anti-Black racism," says…
(2022-01-14). Pennsylvania moves forward with a vicious attack on the public university system as enrollment collapses. wsws.org The state's higher education system cuts school programs and staff while the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen enrollment plummet by over 5,000 students.
(2022-01-14). Dr. Cheryl Grills Appointed to National Reparations Commission. indybay.org On the ground, in the streets of Sacramento County, seat of the Capitol of the Great State of California, "Racism" declared a Public Health Crisis by Sacramento County Supervisors. Slavery in California cloaked, authentic California History by people of African Descent distorted, discredited and being destroyed as Dr. Carter G. Woodson suggested in his seminal work, "Mis-Education of the Negro" – oftern it is darkest before the dawn.
(2022-01-14). How Education International is pushing teachers' unions into the 4th Industrial Revolution. mronline.org 
Why have teachers' unions been pushing ed-tech that is driving schools into the 4IR? Look no further than Education International, a global federation tied to UNESCO & the WEF that dominates most teachers' unions in the U.S. and beyond.
(2022-01-14). More Afghans May Die From US Sanctions Than at the Hands of the Taliban. truthout.org 
As Afghanistan faces a dire humanitarian crisis, we look at how more Afghans may die from U.S. sanctions than at the hands of the Taliban. The U.S.'s attempts to block support for the new de facto government have prevented vital funding from flowing to the nation's civil servants, particularly in education and the health sector. Dr. Paul Spiegel says conditions in the hospitals he visited in Kabul as part of a World Health Organization emergency team are rapidly deteriorating, and he describes the la…
(2022-01-14). "Bastille 2022": Building a Worldwide Movement Against "Corona Tyranny" globalresearch.ca Bastille 2022 pertains to the restoration of fundamental rights. It seeks to reverse the criminal COVID-19 agenda which in the course of the last two years has triggered economic, social and political chaos Worldwide, coupled with bankruptcies, unemployment, mass poverty and despair.
(2022-01-14). Spike in proportion of UK babies in hospital with Omicron. rt.com 
Researchers urge calm despite noting the rise in infants infected with Covid's most contagious variant | Data published on Friday by the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies has warned the percentage of children aged under one in hospital with Covid has risen from 30% to 42% following the outbreak of the Omicron strain. | A study by the Coronavirus Clinical Characterisation Consortium and Covid-19 Clinical Information Network found that, compared with previous waves of the pandemic, there has been a recent sharp rise in the proportion of infants requiring hospital treatment. | One reason proposed is…
(2022-01-14). Selected Articles: "Different Batches" and "Lethal Doses", "The Vaccines Are Designed to Kill" globalresearch.ca 
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(2022-01-14). Signal Warning?: Why Moxie's Departure is Not the End of Signal. itsgoingdown.org Technical discourse almost always generates an odd sort of distortion when it collides with life outside of disciplinary separations. This is very much the case when it comes to radicals and information security. Communications, computer science and cryptography are highly complex, to the point that even people working in the security industry full time have…
(2022-01-14). 15-minute tumble dry can release hundreds of thousands of microfibers into the air. nationofchange.org Every time you stick a load of clothes into a tumble dryer, you may be releasing hundreds of thousands of microfibers into the air. That's the conclusion of a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters Wednesday, which measured the fibers that escape from a household vented tumble dryer into the surrounding air. …
(2022-01-14). Joe Rogan is a 'menace to public health', doctors claim in letter to Spotify. rt.com 
Hundreds of health experts accuse the service's top podcaster of spreading "baseless conspiracy theories" about Covid-19 | A group of 270 health and science professionals have signed an open letter to the audio streaming service Spotify, demanding a stricter policy on misinformation to combat podcaster Joe Rogan's alleged Covid "conspiracy theories." | The
(2022-01-14). 1 Million Students Drop Out Of College During Covid, 465,000 In 2021. moguldom.com Overall undergraduate college enrollment dipped for the second year in a row due to the covid-19 pandemic but HBCUs reached near-record enrollment numbers in 2021. Colleges lost a whopping 465,000 students in the fall of 2021, according to a new report. There has been a 6.6 percent decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2019, according to …
(2022-01-14). Navient To Cancel Student Debt Of Over 400,000 Borrowers In $1.7B Deal With States. moguldom.com Student loan servicer Navient will provide debt cancellation and relief to over 400,000 borrowers after years of being embroiled in lawsuits. One of the country's largest student loan servicing companies, Navient agreed to a $1.85 billion settlement after being sued by 39 states' attorneys general for unfair, deceptive and predatory lending practices. According to a Jan. …
(2022-01-14). Try Harder: Biden Makes His Case For Voting Rights. moguldom.com I remember sitting in a meeting many years ago when I was serving in a counselor role for a school. I and a few other staff members were called into a meeting by the principal to discuss how to support students who were "at-risk" for failing for the year. When working for another school as …
(2022-01-14). French teachers strike vs. COVID-19 policies. wsws.org Italian students are to walk out Friday, joining the rising international movement against the government refusal to fight the pandemic.
(2022-01-14). Microsoft Accused of Going Woke After Company Introduces Language Checker to Promote Inclusiveness. sputniknews.com In 2021, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates raised eyebrows when he gave a $1 million grant to an organisation called Equitable Math, which aims to "dismantle racism in mathematics" as well as help Black, Latinx, and multilingual students thrive in school.
(2022-01-14). Students, educators and parents angered over Chicago Teachers Union deal to reopen schools. wsws.org As Chicago students prepare walkouts, opposition is growing to the CTU's deal to reopen schools in the midst of the deadly Omicron surge.
(2022-01-14). Opposition by educators and students to in-person classes mounts as COVID-19 infections surge across US. wsws.org Educators and students in Oakland, California, took part in job actions and protests Thursday as part of a national and international campaign to close schools and stop the spread of COVID-19.
(2022-01-14). Hundreds of Thousands of Children Are Homeless — and the Problem Is on the Rise. truthout.org 
This article was originally published by the During the pandemic's first year, schools across the country lost track of more than 400,000 homeless students. | As schools reopened their doors for in-person learning this year, the number of students identified as homeless began to creep back up. | But, with the end of the federal eviction moratorium, t…
(2022-01-14). Thousands of students in Chicago and across the US protest unsafe return to schools. wsws.org There is now a growing wave of struggles by students and educators across the US to force schools to switch to remote learning to save lives.
(2022-01-14). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org School students in Italy in COVID safety strike demand return to remote learning and free tests and masks; protests in major cities in Lebanon and teachers strike as currency continues to fall; hundreds of striking South African Clover Foods dairy workers out for eight weeks protest wage cuts, retrenchments and restructuring…
(2022-01-14). Strikes And Student Walkouts Spread Across US As Omicron Surges. popularresistance.org Across the US, Omicron infections continue to explode, as "more children are being admitted to hospitals than ever before," according to *CNN.* Vaccination rates among children remain low and community spread, accelerated by the holiday season and the return to in-person instruction, is rippling across the social terrain; hitting teachers, parents, and family members. In just the Los Angeles school district, "Approximately 65,000 students and staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, according to mandatory testing conducted by the district during the winter break." The drastic spike in COVID cases has also…
(2022-01-14). Massachusetts principal admonishes students for sharing photos of their COVID-19 rapid tests. wsws.org In a remarkable email, a principal of one K-8 public school in Brookline, Massachusetts, demanded that parents of middle grade students tell their children to stop worrying about their friends catching COVID-19—and stop complaining.
(2022-01-14). Students in Portland, Oregon issue call to action to close schools. wsws.org Students have issued an open letter calling for the closure of their school in order to stop the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant and for a temporary shift to online learning.