Newsletter 8.3.21

Hi all, hope you are having a good summer. Here's this fortnight's newsletter. Thanks a million again for your support and look out for tomorrow's episode--it's a beast!

Thanks again!

- Marco, Julianne, Adam, Florence, and Nima 

------

We Need a Movement Against Vaccine Apartheid Leigh Phillips, Jacobin (July 29, 2021)

As variants of concern make their way across the world, Poorer countries face issues with low vaccine access and less ability to care for patients. Advocates for global vaccine access must be more willing to directly confront holdouts on vaccine patent waivers that enrich shareholders over vaccinating the Global South.

Democrats Are Sticking to Trump’s Cuba Policies Aída Chávez, The Nation (July 28, 2021)

Democratic leadership killed an amendment that ended the limit on remittances that Cuban Americans could send to families back in Cuba and have resisted calls to end the embargo amid protests over lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines and economic hardship in Cuba. Democrats are going back on promises Biden made to end Trump’s aggressiveness towards Cuba.

The Story of “El Chapo” and Why the Drug War Will Never End Zachary Siegel, The Nation (August 2, 2021)

Noah Hurowitz, the author of a new book about El Chapo, discusses how mainstream drug coverage paints a lurid picture of the drug trade while downplaying its similarities to mostly legal capitalistic enterprises. Hurowitz also expounds on how individual kingpins are less important to the continuation of the drug war than the pockets of agencies that carry it out

The Pandemic Cliff Is a Manufactured Crisis Esther Wang, The New Republic (July 26, 2021)

The eviction moratorium has expired as the Biden Administration and Democrats put little effort into extending it. The return of evictions, along with the end of policies like a supplemental child tax credit, could send many Americans into financial hardship that could have been easily prevented.

Biden's Climate Pledges Are Incompatible with His Belligerence Toward China Lorah Steichen, In These Times (July 27, 2021)

The Biden Administration has made several promises to be an international leader on climate change, however his administration’s saber rattling on China could be harmful to that mission. Rather than collaborate with China in facing down climate change, the Biden Administration has ramped up criticisms of China that coils hurt the relationship between the two countries.

Guatemalan Communities Turn Out for Indigenous-Led Nationwide Shutdown Sandra Cuffe, The Intercept (July 30, 2021)

A nationwide protest movement demanding for the resignation of the attorney general and president in Guatemala has arisen in Guatemala with the country’s Indigenous population taking the lead. The movement was spurred by the firing of a prosecutor investigating corruption and crimes committed in the decades of conflict within the country

Democrats’ New Midterm Strategy: Knocking the GOP for Vote Against Police Funding Akela Lacy, The Intercept (July 28, 2021)

As part of their midterm strategy, Democratic leadership is planning to criticize Republicans as the party that opposes police funding because they voted against the American Rescue Plan, which is being used to fund police departments. The strategy is seen as a way to give cover for conservative Democrats who complained about the defund the police slogan.

Biden Has Abandoned His Covid Worker Safety Pledge Christopher D. Cook, In These Times (July 29, 2021)

Joe Biden had previously pledged to expand protections to workers who face increased risk of COVID-19, but industry pressure has led to Biden narrowing those protections. Meatpacking and grocery workers say their bosses do little to keep them safe as barriers still exist for many in getting vaccinated.

Gushing Coverage of the Billionaire’s Space Race James Baratta, FAIR (July 24, 2021)

Mainstream media, including the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post, praised Bezos’ 11-minute suborbital flight and adopted Bezos’ narrative of the flights as a door to a new frontier in space travel. The media did little to cover any environmental impacts of space tourism.

They All Scream Over Ben & Jerry’s Not Selling Ice Cream on the West Bank Ari Paul, FAIR (July 27, 2021)

Pro-Israel editors were quick to condemn Ben & Jerry’s decision to not sell ice cream in occupied West Bank settlements and invoke Unilever’s business ties to China to accuse the company of hypocrisy. The reaction to a mild boycott of violent and illegal settlements underscores how US media is quick to shield Israel from any form of direct protest.