Dear Progressive Reader,

The COP27 global climate conference in Egypt concluded in an overtime session on Sunday, November 20. Agreements were reached, but as German journalist David Goeßman reports for The Progressive, “Despite new promises to pay for climate damages, the annual summit is increasingly losing touch with reality.” He continues, “The question is: how can we use the negotiating framework to set and meet the necessary targets? The history of climate diplomacy clearly shows that this cannot be achieved if major powers keep blocking necessary action.” 

Meanwhile, about 1700 miles away in the Gulf nation of Qatar, another controversial gathering began. The World Cup of soccer held its opening match on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. local time. The host country lost to Ecuador 0-2. As sports columnist Dave Zirin writes in the latest issue of The Progressive (now on its way in the mail to subscribers), “Qatar's event is a human rights disaster—and a spectacle of sportswashing in an age of capitalist decay. . . . If there is any silver lining to this repugnant spectacle, it is that the ruling family’s attempts to keep its country’s abuses in the dark have prompted even more people to denounce this sad affair and relay the truth to the rest of the world.”

This week, Bill Blum looks at the appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland of a “Special Counsel” to investigate former President Donald Trump. Jeff Abbott brings news of the first-ever gathering of the U.S.-based Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Latin America and what it portends. Michaela Brant reports on a court ruling that will chill the free speech of Starbucks workers when they are speaking to journalists. And Rebecca Wolf of Food & Water Watch pens an op-ed on the dangers for consumers and producers in a proposed grocery store mega-merger. Plus, Paul Buhle reviews the new memoir by labor media activist Frank Emspak, and cartoonist Mark Fiore skewers the billionaire turkeys of this Thanksgiving weekend.

Finally, according to the website GivingTuesday.org, “Giving Tuesday is a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. Giving Tuesday reimagines a world built upon shared humanity and generosity.” This year is the tenth anniversary of the day that was started in 2012 by Henry Timms at the 92nd Street YMCA in New York City. The 501(c)(3) organization was co-founded with the United Nations Foundation. In 2021, an estimated 35 million people participated in Giving Tuesday, raising $2.7 billion in the United States alone, plus additional funds in at least eighty different countries worldwide. The Progressive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and we survive on your generous donations which enable us to continue to produce our bi-monthly magazine, daily website, and our signature projects Progressive Perspectives and Public Schools Advocate. Please give generously to support The Progressive this year at this special Giving Tuesday link.

Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.

Sincerely,

Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. - The new 2023 Hidden History of the United States calendar is now available. You can order one online and get it mailed in time for the holidays.

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