Today's Liberal News

Indian Farmers Lead Historic Strike & Protests Against Narendra Modi, Neoliberalism & Inequality

As COVID rages through India, which has the second-highest number of reported cases worldwide, hundreds of thousands of farmers are converging on the capital New Delhi to demand the government repeal new laws that deregulate agricultural markets, saying the reforms give major corporations power to set crop prices far below current rates and devastate the livelihoods of farmers. Agriculture is the leading source of income for more than half of India’s 1.3 billion people.

Ethnic Cleansing Feared as Ethiopia Wages War on Tigray Region Amid Communication Blackout

The United Nations has reached a deal with Ethiopia’s government to allow humanitarian access to the northern Tigray region and start providing aid. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched military action against regional forces one month ago, setting off a bloody conflict and adding to the already alarming number of displaced people and refugees in the country and neighboring nations.

A Massacre in Lagos: Nigerian Military Forced to Admit It Fired Live Rounds at Peaceful Protesters

A CNN investigation has exposed the Nigerian Army’s role in a deadly attack on protesters in the capital city of Lagos in October, when soldiers opened fire on protesters gathered at Lekki toll gate, a key roadway and protest site. At least 12 people were killed in the massacre, which the Army initially denied, and capped weeks of demonstrations against the notorious Nigerian police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS.

World AIDS Day Is Grim Reminder of an Ongoing Epidemic, with 700,000 Dead from HIV/AIDS in 2019

December 1 is World AIDS Day, and as the world waits on an effective vaccine for COVID-19, we look at the ongoing AIDS epidemic and how the coronavirus has threatened treatment for those living with HIV. Author and journalism professor Steven Thrasher says the coronavirus has amplified racial, class and other disparities, just as AIDS has done for decades, and that treatments must have an antiracist and anti-capitalist foundation in order to be successful.

Britain’s Vaccine Nationalism

“This is going to be a fantastic year for Britain,” read the tweet, posted by Boris Johnson. Underneath, the prime minister was pictured staring resolutely into the camera, both thumbs up in the air. The date was January 2, 2020—11 months ago, but seemingly from a different world.

Wednesday Night Owls. Jason Furman: What it will take to build back a better economy?

Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

Jason Furman is professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. He served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration. At Foreign Affairs, he writes—The Crisis Opportunity.  What It Will Take to Build Back a Better Economy:

[…] The natural disaster is not over.

Betsy DeVos’ family keeps a $40M yacht all over America but dodges taxes by flying Cayman flag

One of the many good things about a new president is that most, if not all, of the people one associates with the last president leave office. That includes the secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. DeVos came into her position, like most of the Trump Cabinet, based on either being a billionaire or having close relationships with billionaires. Like most billionaires, DeVos has been successful at one thing: Making a billion dollars.

The Darkest Stretch of the Pandemic Is Here

Today the United States blew by two grim pandemic milestones. The country recorded a record 195,695 coronavirus cases and reported 100,226 hospitalizations, passing the 100,000 mark for the first time, according to the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic. While the 2,733 deaths today did not break the all-time record, this was the first day since May with more than 2,500 deaths, as well as the day with the second-most deaths so far.

Once a Democratic bastion, West Virginia is now one of the GOP’s best states up and down the ballot

Our project to calculate the 2020 presidential results for all 435 congressional districts nationwide hits West Virginia, a once solidly blue state that has become one of the most Republican areas in the country. You can find our complete data set here, which we’re updating continuously as the precinct-level election returns we need for our calculations become available.

‘They were wearing rhinestones’: Trump’s witnesses in Michigan fraud hearing make ridiculous claims

On Tuesday, Michigan lawmakers dedicated more than six hours to allowing evidence-free testimony on the unproven and, frankly, unprovable election fraud claims of Trump supporters. A good summary of these kinds of events came from a man named Bill Schmidt, who according to The Detroit News, had considered himself a lifelong Republican before this year’s election.

“Evil can be seen by evil people,” he said.

The Atlantic Daily: Trump Might Fade Away

Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inboxCHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTYThe Trumpian vortex isn’t what it used to be. Weeks after Donald Trump’s defeat, the current is slowing: The president is commanding far less attention in his last weeks of office.That’s not, as my colleague David A.