'No to Dictatorship': Why Haitians are protesting US-backed MoàØse
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2021-02-18
As tens of thousands of Haitians defy repression to protest Jovenel MoàØse's power grab, the Biden administration's support for MoàØse continues a long US tradition of backing right-wing autocrats and undermining Haiti's popular movements. Haitian president Jovenel MoàØse has cracked down on a wave of popular protest as he tries to cling to power. While tens of thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in the face of government repression, the Biden administration is backing MoàØse's effort to remain …
thegrayzone.com/2021/02/17/no-to-dictato…

Haiti: Black Despots And White Rulers
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
The past week has seen growing protests against the contested presidency of Haiti's Jovenel MoàØse. An unpopular figure who has ruled without a mandate, and, increasingly, by decree , MoàØse refused to relinquish power when his presidential term expired on February 7, 2021. While claiming that his term ends in February 2022, MoàØse has lashed out against his political rivals, arresting his critics, members of opposition political parties, and supreme court judges, all the while consolidating his draconian, some would say dictatorial, rule over Haiti. | How Haiti arrived at this moment is pred…
popularresistance.org/haiti-black-despot…

Haiti: 'No To Dictatorship'
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
Haitian president Jovenel MoàØse has cracked down on a wave of popular protest as he tries to cling to power. While tens of thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in the face of government repression, the Biden administration is backing MoàØse's effort to remain in office for at least another year. | Haitian activist and radio host Daoud Andre discusses the background to MoàØse's power grab; the continued US deportations to Haiti; how the US coerced Haiti into betraying longtime ally Venezuela; the enduring popularity of Jean-Bertrand Aristide — twice overthrown in US-backed co…
popularresistance.org/haiti-no-to-dictat…

Philadelphia postpones public school reopenings to March 1
wsws.org | 2021-02-18
The decision to push back reopening is an indication that both the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the school district recognize they need more time to bring the opposition of teachers under control.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/18/phil…

Teachers in US state of Georgia herded back into unsafe classrooms
wsws.org | 2021-02-18
In spite of four teacher deaths and strident opposition, the state of Georgia is denying educators vaccinations and sending them back to unsafe schools.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/18/217g…

Techno-Censorship: The Slippery Slope from Censoring 'Disinformation' to Silencing Truth
John W. Whitehead | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to | …
globalresearch.ca/techno-censorship-the-…

Video: The 2020 Worldwide Corona Crisis
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
We bring to the attention of our readers, the English version of this PANGEA TV program which was broadcast live in several regions of Italy. | Maya Nogradi of PANGEA TV interviews Prof. Michel Chossudovsky pertaining to his E-Book entitled: | | The …
globalresearch.ca/video-the-2020-worldwi…

COVID, Austerity & Ending U.S. Interference
Andres Arauz | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
Left-wing economist Andrés Arauz secured nearly 33% of the vote in the first round of Ecuador's presidential election on February 7 but fell short of the 40% needed to win outright…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/covid-austerity-en…

Will Andrés Arauz Be The Next President Of Ecuador?
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
In Ecuador's presidential election held on February 7, 2021, Andrés Arauz won the largest number of votes but could not prevail in the first round against 15 other candidates; he won 32.71 percent of the vote, short of the 40 percent needed to win the election outright (a winner also requires a 10 percent lead over the second-place candidate, which Arauz did achieve). More than a week after that first round, it remains unclear which of the two candidates who most closely trailed Arauz will go head-to-head against him in the second round on April 11. Both of these candidates–Guillermo Lasso and Yaku Pérez[md…
popularresistance.org/will-andres-arauz-…

COVID Deaths in the US Lead to Biggest Drop in Life Expectancy Since WWII
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-18
Life expectancy in the United States has dropped by a full year, according to new figures released on Thursday. | The current life expectancy of an individual in the U.S. is now 77.8 years, down from 78.8 years in 2019. | While there have been drops in life expectancy in recent years due to increases in drug overdoses, the decline over the past year, in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic, is the biggest drop i…
truthout.org/articles/covid-deaths-in-th…

Life Lies of the Islands of Prosperity
Stephan Lessenich | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
The embarrassing secret of the 'Western' model of society and development is that it only works under very specific political and economic, ecological and social conditions. Preconditions that lie essentially outside this model and are hidden or made invisible by the social actors of its glorifying preservation. 'Our' prosperity, 'our' democracy & 'our' peace are based on poverty & disenfranchisement.
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884013…

Crisis In Buenaventura
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
Buenaventura is the main port for Colombian foreign trade and the second largest city in the prosperous state of Valle del Cauca. Historically, the territory has been inhabited by Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, and campesinos. Despite the diversity and cultural richness of this territory, it is primarily known for its high levels of poverty, difficulties in accessing public services, health, decent housing, and education. These conditions have derailed the lives of the inhabitants to unimaginable extremes. | Violence and threats against the inhabitants of the poorest neighborhoods of Buenaventura have beco…
popularresistance.org/crisis-in-buenaven…

Freedom From Poverty Should Be a Human Right
Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
Freedom From Poverty Should Be a Human Right…
thenation.com/article/world/poverty-huma…

N. Zelanda to provide free feminine hygiene products in schools
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-18
Sydney, Australia, Feb 18 (efe-epa).- New Zealand announced Thursday it would provide free feminine hygiene products in all schools in the country from June with the aim of tackling "menstrual poverty." The measure continues and expands on a national scale the successful pilot program implemented last year in 15 schools in the Waikato region, on …
laprensalatina.com/n-zelanda-to-provide-…

How the Gates Foundation seeded America's COVID-19 policy catastrophes
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2021-02-18
The nursing home death warrants were signed by panicked governors using Gates-funded forecasting. | By Jordan SCHACHTEL | New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is finally facing the heat for his botched and criminally negligent coronavirus response policies, yet no one seems to be asking why Cuomo and select governors made the fateful decisions that led to the excess deaths — and the coverup campaigns — of tens of thousands of senior citizens in New York and elsewhere across the United States. | After being awarded an Emmy and writing a book on his supposedly heroic response to the pandemic, Cuomo is finally…
strategic-culture.org/news/2021/02/18/ho…

US initial jobless claims rise more than expectation
yenisafak.com | 2021-02-18
Analysts expected 765,000 for the week ending Feb. 13, while the previous week was revised up 55,000 from 793,000 to 848,000.Despite the fall in claims, there are 10.1 million jobless Americans since the coronavirus pandemic-hit US economy shed 22 million positions in March and April.President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion relief plan, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks for individuals and aid for vaccine distribution efforts, still faces opposition from Republicans.The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives plans to pass the bill before the end of the month but are likely to try to push it through the Senat…
yenisafak.com/en/world/us-initial-jobles…

US lawmakers press military over data purchases from Muslim apps
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
US lawmakers press military over data purchases from Muslim apps | Military and intelligence chiefs asked to disclose whether any US citizens were surveilled when military bought user information from popular apps | MEE staff | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 19: 08 | The effort was led by Congressman Mark Pocan, with representatives Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna signing on to it (AFP) | US lawmakers…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-lawmakers-…

Politico's Defense News, Brought to You by Northrop Grumman
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2021-02-18
Does taking Northrop Grumman's money make Politico less likely to call out the Pentagon's enormous and bloated military budget, war crimes committed overseas, or the gross wastage of public funds?
mintpressnews.com/politico-defense-news-…

Israel: Election of New ICC Prosecutor Raises Questions for War Crimes Probe
Alex McDonald | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | The election of Karim Khan, a British lawyer, as chief prosecutor …
globalresearch.ca/israel-election-of-new…

Sri Lanka stifles dissent to block justice for war crimes, Amnesty says
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-18
Colombo Feb 18 (efe-epa).- Sri Lanka has launched a new crackdown to stifle dissent and hinder justice for the crimes committed during the nation's civil war, says an Amnesty International report released Thursday. The report alleges that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa government's concerted effort to target human rights bodies, media, lawyers, political opponents, and law enforcement …
laprensalatina.com/sri-lanka-stifles-dis…

Prisons Prime Testing Ground for Dehumanizing Hi-Tech "Advances"
Raul Diego | mintpressnews.com | 2021-02-18
A new form of exploitation, known as "stakeholder capitalism," is already being tested in many places around the world and prisons are among the main targets for its implementation, as they provide an ideal and literally captive market for its proof of concept.
mintpressnews.com/prisons-prime-testing-…

International Alert Message about COVID-19. United Health Professionals
United Health Professionals | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
We bring to the attention of our readers, this important international statement by health professionals, medical doctors and scientists, which has been sent to the governments of thirty countries | Below is the complete text which was sent to the governments. …
globalresearch.ca/international-alert-me…

Andalucía: Un brote en una residencia de Los Barrios provoca 46 muertes por coronavirus
Soraya Fernández | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
El Covid-19 no da tregua. El inicio de la campaña de vacunación en las residencias de mayores no está evitando un reguero de muertes. En Los Barrios (Cádiz) lo saben bien. Desgraciadamente, la residencia Nuestra Señora del Rosario sumaba ayer …
globalizacion.ca/andalucia-un-brote-en-u…

COVID + Capitalism: Life expectancy plunges and unemployment surges
Kenya Elliott | liberationnews.org | 2021-02-18
Data released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that following that report, life expectancy had dropped by a full year by June of 2020…
liberationnews.org/covid-capitalism-life…

Cuomo and Newsom Symbolize the Rot of Corporate Democrats and the Dire Need for Progressive Populism
Norman Solomon | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
The governors of New York and California — the most populous states led by Democrats — now symbolize how slick liberal images are no substitute for genuinely progressive priorities. After 10 years as New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo is facing an uproar over revelations that his administration intentionally and drastically undercounted the deaths from COVID in nursing homes. Meanwhile,…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/cuomo-and-ne…

International Alert Message about COVID-19. United Health Professionals
United Health Professionals | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
We are more than 1,500 members (including professors of medicine, intensive care physicians and infectious disease specialists) from more than 30 countries. The lockdown has not only killed people, it has destroyed physical and mental health, economy, education and other aspects of social life.
globalresearch.ca/international-alert-me…

The Heat: South Africa's Challenges
Anand Naidoo | america.cgtn.com | 2021-02-18
As South Africa battles COVID-19, it is also dealing with a series of challenges on several fronts including the economy and jobs.
america.cgtn.com/2021/02/18/the-heat-sou…

WHO seeks $1.96 billion for 2021 Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Response
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking nearly $2 billion to fund its 2021 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for COVID-19 response which, was launched on Thursday in Geneva.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

UN chief calls for 'new social contract' as part of post-pandemic recovery
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing social and economic inequalities rooted in racism, discrimination and xenophobia, recovery must lead to more inclusive societies, the UN Secretary-General told Member States on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

WHO seeks $1.96 billion for 2021 Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Response
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking nearly $2 million to fund its 2021 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for COVID-19 response which was launched on Thursday in Geneva.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

Make 'every effort' to save COVID-19 response from corruption, UN Assembly President urges
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
Every effort must be taken to ensure that corrupt and unscrupulous practices do not prevent or impede the equitable availability and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the President of the United Nations General Assembly said on Wednesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

5 Questions To Ask Your Friends Who Plan To Get The Covid Vaccine
Kit Knightly | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
Many of us have friends or family who plan on getting the vaccine. Maybe they truly believe they are in danger. Maybe they think it's better safe than sorry. Maybe they just want to be able to go to the …
globalresearch.ca/5-questions-to-ask-you…

Antonio Guterres criticizes unequal global access to COVID-19 vaccines, calls it 'wildly unfair'
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-02-18
The UN secretary general pointed out that 75% of all vaccinations so far have been administered in just 10 rich countries, whereas 130 mostly poor countries have not received a single dose of vaccine…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/02/18/antonio-g…

Rising Inequality: the 'Pre-Existing Condition' That Doomed the U.S. COVID Response
Sam Pizzigati | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
Back in April 2017, only a few months after Donald Trump's inauguration, one of world's most prestigious medical journals, the London-based Lancet, established a special commission to keep tabs on "Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era." The panel's 33 commissioners — medical professionals of all sorts, along with assorted notables in legal and…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/rising-inequ…

Asking Russia for Sputnik and getting ANAL SWABS in China: US diplomats vent over State Department's Covid-19 vaccine roll-out
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Even though the State Department received almost enough US-made Covid-19 vaccines for every employee, some diplomats have had to ask host countries for jabs and suffered indignities such as anal tests in China, a new report says. | The State Department has received "roughly" 73,000 doses of the US-made Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but "declined to say" how many of its estimated 75,000 employees it has vaccinated, the Washington Post reported. | Some of the diplomats stationed in Moscow have asked Russia for its Sputnik V vaccine, after Foggy Bottom "could not promise delivery" of American vaccines "in the near…
rt.com/usa/515987-state-department-vacci…

Pfizer, BioNTech launch global trials of their Covid-19 vaccine in pregnant women
rt.com | 2021-02-18
US pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have kicked off an international study into the safety and effectiveness of their coronavirus vaccine in pregnant women, with 4,000 volunteers from nine countries taking part. | Healthy pregnant women in the US have already received their first shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab as part of the research, the companies announced on Thursday. They'll soon be joined by fellow test subjects in Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mozambique, South Africa, the UK and Spain. | Women aged 18 and older are to be inoculated during weeks 24-34 of gestation, the later stag…
rt.com/news/515983-pregnant-vaccine-tria…

An Improbable Vanguard Of Poor People Is 'Reclaiming' Vacant Homes
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
On the night before Thanksgiving last year, Sasha Atkins, a 31-year-old hair stylist and single mom, hauled a few carefully chosen belongings — her phone, blankets, pillows and a laptop — into a vacant duplex on Shelley Street in Los Angeles' El Sereno neighborhood and held her breath. Busting into an empty house was a last resort, but the pandemic has turned her precarious housing situation into an emergency. For three years, she and her son couch surfed or occasionally landed a motel room. But work had become scarce, and friends and family feared COVID-19 if they let new people into their homes. So,…
popularresistance.org/an-improbable-vang…

Fast Food Workers Went On Strike For $15 An Hour In 15 Cities
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
Fast food workers in 15 cities across the country went on a one-day strike on February 16, to demand that their employers–including McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's–pay them $15 an hour and give them union rights. | The effort, which is part of the nationwide Fight for 15 movement, comes as lawmakers in Washington debate enacting a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage as part of President Biden's first COVID-19 relief package. | The strikes also honor Black History Month by emphasizing the generations of low pay and lacking workplace protections among Black workers, historical inequities that have bee…
popularresistance.org/fast-food-workers-…

More Than Half of All Inmates in Wisconsin Prisons Have Tested Positive for Covid
Arvind Dilawar | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
More Than Half of All Inmates in Wisconsin Prisons Have Tested Positive for Covid…
thenation.com/article/society/prisons-in…

Selected Articles: Pandemic Revelations
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
International Alert Message about COVID-19. United Health Professionals | By United Health Professionals, February 18 2021 | We bring to the attention of our readers, this important international statement by health professionals, medical doctors and scientists,…
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-pand…

The NHS and care workers who have died during the coronavirus pandemic
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2021-02-18
At least 244 frontline health and care workers have been identified after dying with coronavirus (Covid-19). | This chronological list contains people who were working in roles shortly before their deaths where they were likely to come into contact with patients. | The figure is likely to be lower than the true number of workers who have died, as the names of some victims will not yet be in the public domain. | Through tributes from loved ones and confirmation through sources such as local NHS trusts and other authorities, the names of health and social care workers who have died after contracting Covid-19 since…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2021/02/18/the-nhs-…

How to Wear a Mask & When to Wear Two to Reduce COVID Transmission & Increase Vaccine Effectiveness
Staff | democracynow.org | 2021-02-18
While COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations appear to be waning, the United States has a long way to go before people can safely return to everyday life without masks. Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease physician and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says it's vital to stay vigilant even as vaccinations ramp up.
www.democracynow.org/2021/2/18/mask_covi…

Climate change bigger threat than pandemic: EU official
yenisafak.com | 2021-02-18
Climate change is a "bigger" threat than the COVID-19 pandemic in the long run, and it requires immediate and collective action, said the head of the EU delegation to Turkey."Climate change is not only a risk in itself, but it is also a risk multiplier for all of our societies," Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut told the meeting held with the theme of "Tackling Climate Change" in the Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday.The global community, he said, has passed the stage of questioning the causes of climate change, however, it still has an advantage as it knows a way to address the problem: the decarbonization of countries'…
yenisafak.com/en/news/climate-change-big…

Firms allowed to buy vaccines for employees in Indonesia
yenisafak.com | 2021-02-18
Indonesia on Thursday gave the nod for a private COVID-19 vaccination scheme in the country, allowing companies to purchase jabs for workers.More than 5,000 firms have registered for the campaign, according to a statement by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.Rosan Roeslani, head of the trade body, said the scheme will speed up Indonesia's inoculation drive as companies can directly provide vaccines to their employees without having to wait for the government.A majority of the companies that have applied to join the program are from labor-intensive industries such as textile, which have been hit hard…
yenisafak.com/en/news/firms-allowed-to-b…

Iranian press review: Iran plans to export Covid-19 vaccine to the world
MEE correspondent | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Iranian press review: Iran plans to export Covid-19 vaccine to the world | Meanwhile, Tehran indicates readiness for Qatar to play mediator role in nuclear talks, and, as the pandemic spreads, the number of Iranians working without a contract rises to seven million | MEE correspondent | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 10: 58 | A member of the Imam Khomeini Hospital medical personnel receives a dose of Russia's Sputnik V…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/covid-iran-va…

Pathologist: FDA 'Misled the Public' on Pfizer Vaccine Efficacy
Children's Health Defense | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | Pfizer's announcement in November 2020 that clinical trials showed its COVID-19 …
globalresearch.ca/pathologist-fda-misled…

Huge Victory: Under Pressure, New York Ends Mandatory COVID Testing in Schools
Children's Health Defense | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | The New York State Education Department issued a letter Feb. 16 …
globalresearch.ca/huge-victory-under-pre…

[Department of Error] Department of Error
thelancet.com | 2021-02-20
Li X, Mukandavire C, Cucunubà ZM, et al. Estimating the health impact of vaccination against ten pathogens in 98 low-income and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2030: a modelling study. Lancet 2021; 397: 398–408–In appendix 2, the table legends for appendix 3 p 1 (d–f) and p 2 (d–f) should have been for under-5s by calendar view, and the table legends for appendix 3 p 1 (g–i) and p 2 (g–i) should have been for all ages by cohort view. The titles of the tables have also been corrected. These corrections have been made as of Feb 18, 2021.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(21)00398-6/fulltext?rss=yes

[Department of Error] Department of Error
thelancet.com | 2021-02-20
Baas P, Scherpereel A, Nowak AK, et al. First-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab in unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (CheckMate 743): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet 2021; 397: 375–86–The appendix for this Article has been corrected as of Feb 18, 2021.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(21)00369-X/fulltext?rss=yes

Schools Need More Help to Reopen Safely
Nicholas Johnson | progressive.org | 2021-02-18
Though the next stimulus bill would increase federal funding for schools, it's still not enough to prepare schools for in-person classes.
progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/…

Why Politicians and Doctors Keep Ignoring the Medical Research on Vitamin D and Covid
Jonathan Cook | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
It is probably not a good idea to write while in the grip of anger. But I am struggling to suppress my emotions about a wasted year, during which politicians and many doctors have ignored a growing body of evidence …
globalresearch.ca/why-politicians-and-do…

Why Politicians and Doctors Keep Ignoring the Medical Research on Vitamin D and Covid
Jonathan Cook | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
It is probably not a good idea to write while in the grip of anger. But I am struggling to suppress my emotions about a wasted year, during which politicians and many doctors have ignored a growing body of evidence suggesting that Vitamin D can play a critically important role in the prevention and treatment…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/why-politici…

Mexico out front in pressuring UN to guarantee anti-Covid vaccine access
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-18
By Cristina Sanchez Reyes Mexico City, Feb 18 (efe-epa).- Mexico has positioned itself as one of the countries exerting the most pressure on the United Nations to guarantee universal access to anti-Covid-19 vaccines, denouncing vaccine hoarding and/or monopolization by the richest nations and creating links with other Latin American nations like Argentina. "What was raised …
laprensalatina.com/mexico-out-front-in-p…

Russia admits to lacking capacity to meet Sputnik V vaccine demand abroad
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-18
Moscow, Feb 18 (efe-epa).- Russia does not have the capacity to meet international demand for the Sputnik V Covid vaccine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday. "The demand for the Russian vaccine abroad is very high. It is so high that it considerably exceeds production capacity," he said at his daily press conference. The Russian …
laprensalatina.com/russia-admits-to-lack…

Hong Kong to kick off citywide vaccination program
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-18
Hong Kong, Feb 18 (efe-epa).- Hong Kong is set to roll out a citywide Covid-19 vaccination program, with the government approving the use of China's Sinovac vaccine Thursday. Health authority confirmed Thursday morning their approval of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by mainland Chinese bio-pharmaceutical firm Sinovac for emergency use. The decision came after a panel …
laprensalatina.com/hong-kong-to-kick-off…

Italian lawmakers ratify new gov't led by Draghi
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-18
Rome, Feb 18 (efe-epa).- The lower house of Italy's parliament voted overwhelmingly Thursday to ratify former European Central Bank (ECB) head Mario Draghi as prime minister amid the dual challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and the worst economic slump since World War II. A day after getting the nod from the Senate, the 73-year-old economist …
laprensalatina.com/italian-lawmakers-rat…

Capitalism in Crisis: An Absurd & Deadly System
The Socialist Program | liberationnews.org | 2021-02-18
This interview is an episode of The Socialist Program with Brian Becker, a podcast providing news and views about the world for those who want to change it. You can follow the show on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss how deeply dependent big banks and corporations are on government assistance, the …
liberationnews.org/capitalism-in-crisis-…

Your National Political Committee newsletter — reflections on Black socialists and revolutionaries
claudia | dsausa.org | 2021-02-18
Enjoy your February National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected eighteen-person body (including two YDSA members who share a vote) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. Make sure to check out the NPC's updated national priorities, including attracting, retaining, and supporting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) organizers…
dsausa.org/news/feb2021npc_newsletter/

Bayer and US officials pressure Mexico to overturn glyphosate ban
Marlee Kokotovic | nationofchange.org | 2021-02-18
"Will they continue the pattern of doing the bidding of global biotech/seed firms like Monsanto? Or, will the USTR respect other countries' rights to protect the environment and indigenous crops?"
nationofchange.org/2021/02/18/bayer-and-…

As Israel aims for 1 mn. Squatters on Palestinian Territory, Settler Violence against Indigenous Palestinians Spikes
Middle East Monitor | juancole.com | 2021-02-18
By Osama Othman | — ( Middle East Monitor) — Terrorist attacks by Israeli settlers have become more frequent in the occupied West Bank. One of the latest victims was Bilal Shehadeh Bawatna, 52, from Al-Bireh, who was killed last Friday when he and his companions were run over by a car driven by a …
juancole.com/2021/02/palestinian-indigen…

Violence Against Indigenous Peoples Is Happening In Plain Sight
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
It's been just over one year since the RCMP raided Wet'suwet'en camps along the route of the Coastal Gas Link (CGL) LNG pipeline in Northern B.C. Brandishing guns and tactical gear, the RCMP arrested dozens of Indigenous land defenders and supporters who defied an injunction obtained by CGL to not impede the construction right of way. | The raids evoked outrage that saw supporters across Canada erect railway blockades and highway shutdowns. Demonstrators gathered by the thousands in the streets demanding governments, police and industry to uphold Indigenous rights and stop construction of the pipeline.
popularresistance.org/violence-against-i…

'Put Syrians first…finally', UN rights investigators urge after deadly decade of conflict
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
Along with an end to the "instrumentalization" of humanitarian aid, victims of Syria's decade-long civil war and their families need justice to help rebuild their lives, Human Rights Council-appointed investigators said on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

If It Were a Narco Lab, It Would be Working
John Perry | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
On the day he was inaugurated, Joe Biden halted the construction of Trump's Mexican border wall. A few days earlier, 1500 miles to the south, a new 'caravan' of at least eight thousand Honduran migrants had set off northwards, partly in the hope that by the time they tried to cross into Texas, Biden's promised…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/if-it-were-a…

If It Were a Narco Lab, It Would be Working
John Perry | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
On the day he was inaugurated, Joe Biden halted the construction of Trump's Mexican border wall. A few days earlier, 1500 miles to the south, a new 'caravan' of at least eight thousand Honduran migrants had set off northwards, partly in the hope that by the time they tried to cross into Texas, Biden's promised softening of immigration policy might have taken effect.
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/if-it-were-a…

Lebanon announces plan to vaccinate thousands of migrant workers
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-18
Beirut, Feb 18 (efe-epa).- The Lebanese government on Thursday announced a plan to vaccinate migrant workers in the country, many of whom are there illegally and are often the victims of abuse by their employers. Following a meeting of government representatives, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs, the chairman of the National Committee …
laprensalatina.com/lebanon-announces-pla…

Atlantic Council Urges Biden to Enforce Regime Change in Belarus
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | A recent online meeting hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank …
globalresearch.ca/atlantic-council-urges…

As Macron Courts the Far-Right, France Launches Crackdown on "Islamo-Leftism"
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2021-02-18
Islamo-leftism is a label coined by the far-right, with many pointing out the distinct similarities between it and "Judeo-Bolshevism," a term created by German Nazis linking religion with a set of political beliefs. Yet it has quickly been taken up by many in France's political center.
mintpressnews.com/macron-courts-far-righ…

Failed State: Texas Power Grid Collapse Impacts Millions. Black & Brown Communities Are Worst Hit
Staff | democracynow.org | 2021-02-18
Millions of people in Texas were plunged into freezing cold and darkness as a major winter storm overwhelmed the state's power grid. More than 12 million Texans face water disruptions and have been ordered to boil tap water for safe consumption, and some parts of the state have no running water at all. The state is also running out of food as the storms disrupt key supply chains. Leading Republicans, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, falsely blamed renewable energy sources for the state's blackouts, warning against a shift to more green energy, but the state's own energy department said the outages were prima…
www.democracynow.org/2021/2/18/texas_pow…

"No Hate! No Fear!" Democracy Now! Co-Host Nermeen Shaikh Celebrates 10 Years Covering War & Peace
Staff | democracynow.org | 2021-02-18
As Democracy Now! prepares to mark 25 years on air, we celebrate Nermeen Shaikh's 10th anniversary as a Democracy Now! co-host and feature a report she filed from protests at New York's JFK Airport against the Trump administration's Muslim ban, one of the many highlights from her time on the program.
www.democracynow.org/2021/2/18/nermeen_s…

"Not Doing This Is a Choice": Biden Drags His Feet on Canceling Student Debt Despite Campaign Pledge
Staff | democracynow.org | 2021-02-18
Students, campaigners and top Democrats have been pushing President Joe Biden to use executive authority to cancel at least $50,000 in student loan debt per person. Student loan debt in the U.S. stands at $1.7 trillion, with some 45 million people owing money. Filmmaker and organizer Astra Taylor, an author, documentary director and organizer with the Debt Collective, says Biden has clear legal authority to cancel student debt. "Not doing this is a choice," she says. We also speak with Braxton Brewington, a digital strategist with the Debt Collective, who says student debt cancellation is also politically smart.
www.democracynow.org/2021/2/18/biden_fed…

"Let Them Eat Ice Cream"
Scott Remer | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
Nancy Pelosi, Marie Antoinette, Donald Trump, and hypocrisy I "know" things I'd rather not consciously acknowledge. We all do. To be a human being is to implicate oneself in some degree of hypocrisy; existence is acquiescence to imperfection. If we want to live with a minimum of contentment, we have no alternative. But there is…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/let-them-eat…

Biden's Saudi Game of Thrones: Is he trying to Sideline crown prince Bin Salman?
Juan Cole | juancole.com | 2021-02-18
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — BBC Arabic reports that Saudi Twitter has gone wild with responses to the apparent sidelining by President Biden of Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, with many Saudis considering it a humiliation. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said this week that Biden wishes to "recalibrate" the U.S. relationship with Saudi …
juancole.com/2021/02/bidens-thrones-side…

"Leaving Aside" International Law: Why Democrats are as Dangerous as Republicans to a Just Peace in Palestine
Ramzy Baroud | dissidentvoice.org | 2021-02-18
Motivated by their justifiable aversion to former US President Donald Trump, many analysts have rashly painted a rosy picture of how Democrats could quickly erase the bleak trajectory of the previous Republican administration. This naivety is particularly pronounced in the current spin on the Palestinian-Israeli discourse, which is promoting, again, the illusion that Democrats will …
dissidentvoice.org/2021/02/leaving-aside…

'Leaving Aside' International Law: Democrats are as Dangerous as Republicans to Peace in Palestine
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2021-02-18
It's easy to discredit the foreign policy agenda of Trump, Pompeo, and other Republicans as their aggressive, dismissive language and action are unmistakably objectionable. The Democratic discourse, however, cannot be as easily censured,…
mintpressnews.com/democrats-dangerous-re…

Explosive study shows the wildlife trade plays a major role in the rapid loss of the world's species
Tracy Keeling | thecanary.co | 2021-02-18
The biodiversity crisis, aka the rapid disappearance of essential diverse life on earth, is — alongside the climate crisis — one of the most pressing issues on the planet right now. The rich tapestry of life on earth is responsible for the ecosystems that humans, and all living beings, depend on for survival and health. But the world's species are disappearing at…
thecanary.co/discovery/analysis-discover…

The Decline of the West: American Education Surrenders to 'Equity'
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
It will be difficult or even impossible to go back to a system where learning is actually a discipline that requires hard work and dedication. | Public education in the United States, if measured by results, has been producing graduates that …
globalresearch.ca/the-decline-of-the-wes…

Tim Kirby, Joaquin Flores — The Strategy Session, Episode 6
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2021-02-18
The prize for the truly awful story of last week goes to the appointment of a monster daughter of AIPAC to head Pentagon planning for the Middle East, joining a sterling cast of characters at State Department and in the intelligence community, writes Philip Giraldi.‚ÄØTim and Joaquin discuss his article.
strategic-culture.org/video/2021/02/18/t…

Trump's Frivolous First Amendment Defense Won't Shield Him in a Criminal Case
Marjorie Cohn | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
Trump created a powder keg and lit the match…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/trumps-frivolous-f…

Sexual Assault in Canberra
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
Who knew what? In many cases of sexual assault in politics, events take place behind bolted doors, the perpetrator and victim bound by ties of power, seediness and suppression. The victim is left with an odious and onerous task: to report the event. The risks can be considerable. Careers can be ruined. Retaliation from the…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/sexual-assau…

Stop blaming the Green New Deal for Texas blackouts
Staff | therealnews.com | 2021-02-18
Republican politicians like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have cynically used overblown and patently false claims that renewable energy failures are responsible for millions losing power and heat during deadly Winter Storm Uri. Critics around the country are calling "BS."
therealnews.com/stop-blaming-the-green-n…

While Texans Freeze, Governor Greg Abbott Lies About the Green New Deal
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
While Texans Freeze, Governor Greg Abbott Lies About the Green New Deal…
thenation.com/article/environment/greg-a…

PDF of February 18 issue
Workers World Party | workers.org | 2021-02-18
Download the PDF. Alabama — Roll the union on! Solidarity with Amazon organizing; Class struggle then and now. BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Tribute to George Jackson L.D. Barkley, martyred in Attica uprising A fighting union leader: Karen Lewis ALSO: Care workers dare to strike; $1K per hour union busters; Electric vehicles . . . | Continue reading PDF of February 18 issue at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/02/54552/?utm_source=rs…

Saturday 2/20: Richmond Car Caravan: Solidarity With Alabama Amazon Workers Unionizing
supportamazonworkers | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Gather at Walmart at Richmond Hilltop Mall Parking Lot, 1400 Hilltop Mall Rd, | Richmond, CA 94806 | MASKS and SAFE-DISTANCING…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884013…

Saturday 2/20: Solidarity with Bamazon Workers!
Andrea Weber | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
2200 Hilltop Mall Drive in Richmond…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/17/1884011…

Amazon changes timing of TRAFFIC LIGHTS in Alabama town to derail unionization drive
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Online retail giant Amazon was so desperate to scuttle a unionization drive among warehouse workers in Alabama that it actually had traffic light times changed. A pro-union publication says it confirmed the rumors with the county. | Amazon actually reached out to Jefferson County to change the timing of the traffic lights near its Bessemer warehouse, the pro-worker publication More Perfect Union reported on Tuesday, citing a public official from the county who said the company had complained about "traffic delays during shift changes" in order to secure the light change. | Organizers had claimed for weeks that…
rt.com/usa/515972-amazon-alabama-traffic…

Cuomo and Newsom Symbolize the Rot of Corporate Democrats
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
The dire need for progressive populism…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/17/1884011…

Real Unemployment Is Three Times What They're Telling Us
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
Southwest Harbor, Maine — As Congress gets set to debate the Biden Pandemic relief package, one of the favorite Republican lines is the contention that an economic recovery is already well underway. Pouring more money into an accelerating economy is likely to induce seventies style inflation. It is time, they argue, for a little cautionary austerity. However politically efficacious this line may be, rosy portraits of an expanding economy hide the chronic weakness of the US economy and especially the burdens imposed on poor and minority communities. | Fear of inflation on the part of Republicans is insincere…
popularresistance.org/real-unemployment-…

Stratfor's Decade-Old Geopolitical Map Provoking Russian-Turkish Distrust?
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
The recent viral sharing of the speculative map of Turkey's future regional influence that was first published by Stratfor founder George Friedman in his 2010 book about "The Next 100 Years: A Forecast For The 21st Century" is provoking distrust …
globalresearch.ca/stratfors-decade-old-g…

Palestinian cancer patient on deathbed after release from Israeli prison
Akram Al-Waara | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Palestinian cancer patient on deathbed after release from Israeli prison | Hussein Masalmeh lies in critical condition in hospital, as family accuses Israel of medical negligence | Akram Al-Waara | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 12: 01 | Hussein Masalmeh's family say he was gravely ill for two years before being released from Israeli prison (Twitter) | When Bilal Masalmeh, 34, dreamt of the day his older brother Hussein woul…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestine-isr…

The False and Exaggerated Claims Still Being Spread About the Capitol Riot
Editor | scheerpost.com | 2021-02-18
By Glenn Greenwald / Substack What took place at the Capitol on January 6 was undoubtedly a politically motivated riot. As such, it should not be controversial to regard it as a dangerous episode. Any time force or violence is introduced into what ought to be the peaceful resolution of political conflicts, it should be lamented and condemned. But none of that justifies lying about what happened… | Source…
scheerpost.com/2021/02/18/the-false-and-…

Alexei Navalny: Why is Biden supporting a Russian fascist?
Sara Flounders | workers.org | 2021-02-18
At the very time Democrats in Congress were attempting to impeach Trump for the Jan. 6 fascist rampage, President Joe Biden expressed support for a Russian political leader allied with a gang comparable to the Proud Boys. In his first contact with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as U.S. president, Biden . . . | Continue reading Alexei Navalny: Why is Biden supporting a Russian fascist? at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/02/54546/?utm_source=rs…

It's Not A Political Problem, It's A Propaganda Problem: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2021-02-18
While we all fixate on electoral political solutions, the powerful focus on narrative control, because that's where real power is at. The people who pose an actual threat to the machine are those who disrupt its narratives and narrative control agendas. Everyone else is harmless. | If the majority of a troubled population believes their political system is operating in a way that is demonstrably very different from the way it actually operates, then that population doesn't have a political problem, it has a propaganda problem. | Berners watched the mass media actively sabotage the Sanders campaign day after day i…
thealtworld.com/caitlin_johnston/its-not…

Chinese President Xi Shared His Vision Of Win-Win Ties With America
oneworld.press | 2021-02-18
There are two main arguments in favor of President Biden responding positively to his Chinese counterpart's suggestions other than the most obvious one that it's simply the right thing to do in the interests of global stability.
oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=1927

'Go to Where the Silence Is'
Norman Stockwell | progressive.org | 2021-02-18
An interview with Amy Goodman on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Democracy Now!
progressive.org/magazine/go-to-where-the…

Stratfor's Decade-Old Speculative Map Is Provoking Russian-Turkish Distrust
oneworld.press | 2021-02-18
The recent viral sharing of the speculative map of Turkey's future regional influence that was first published by Stratfor founder George Friedman in his 2010 book about "The Next 100 Years: A Forecast For The 21st Century" is provoking distrust between the Russian and Turkish societies since this image predicts that Ankara will eventually exert sway over Crimea and all of southern Russia by 2050.
oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=1926

Call to Resist Tyranny: There is Only One Thing to Do: Say NO! The Legacy of Wolfgang Borchert
Dr. Rudolf Hà§nsel | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
In a manifesto written in 1947, "Then there is only one thing!", the German regime critic and writer Wolfgang Borchert calls on fellow human beings to refuse to participate in future wars. Shortly afterwards, the 26-year-old died as a result …
globalresearch.ca/call-to-resist-tyranny…

'Only the strong will survive': Texas city mayor resigns for lashing out at residents asking for help during deadly storm
Eds. | mronline.org | 2021-02-18
The now former mayor of Colorado City, Texas, Tim Boyd, has resigned after two Facebook posts telling people needing help and without electricity that they are on their own.
mronline.org/2021/02/18/only-the-strong-…

Monday 2/22: Passing the Equal Rights Amendment & the Role of Faith Communities Town Hall
ERA Coaliton | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Online via Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/16/1884010…

Saturday 3/6: Onward To Equity: Building Community and Equity for All w/ Women's March
Women's March Foundation | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Virtual event…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884013…

Leonard Peltier Defense Committee urgently needs support
Judy Greenspan | workers.org | 2021-02-18
The International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee has launched an urgent appeal for funds to support legal efforts to free this Native political prisoner, who has been held in U.S. dungeons for nearly 45 years. Peltier is a leader of the American Indian Movement, who was framed and jailed for the . . . | Continue reading Leonard Peltier Defense Committee urgently needs support at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/02/54538/?utm_source=rs…

California Republicans Kevin McCarthy and Mike Garcia face opposition
Jim Soliz, Antonio García | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
SANTA CLARITA, Calif.–From the 'burbs of Los Angeles County to the sandy hills of Antelope Valley to Bakersfield, the fightback against the Congressional Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of the 23rd Congressional District and his colleague Mike Garcia, Representative from California's 25th C.D., continues to escalate. Fed by the refusal of McCarthy and Garcia to meet …
peoplesworld.org/article/california-repu…

Facebook blocks all news content in Australia
wsws.org | 2021-02-18
Facebook has responded to a conflict with the Australian authorities and media corporations over advertising revenue, with what could be described as a declaration of online martial law.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/18/face…

Nonviolent Noncooperation: Why Indian farmers' protests are being called a 'satyagraha' — which means 'embracing the truth'
The Conversation | juancole.com | 2021-02-18
By Sumit Ganguly | — For the past few months, farmers protesting in India's capital, New Delhi, have been demanding the repeal of three farm laws that were passed last year. These largely peaceful protests have been referred to as a "satyagraha" by many in the Indian media, politicians and activists. As a political scientist …
juancole.com/2021/02/nonviolent-noncoope…

Palestinian human rights group seeks investigation into violence from illegal Yitzhar settlement
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-02-18
The Palestinian human rights group Al Haq appealed to the United Nations Special Procedures to look into violence by settlers from the illegal Yitzhar settlement, including shooting at villagers with live ammunition and torching agricultural lands…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/02/18/palestini…

Psychedelic drug in clinical trial to help stroke victims recover by rewiring brain
Ashley Curtin | nationofchange.org | 2021-02-18
Algernon Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian-based company, began its study this week in which stroke participants will be given a microdose of DMT with the hope of minimizing damage and maximizing recovery.
nationofchange.org/2021/02/18/psychedeli…

The American century ends early
Tom Engelhardt | nationofchange.org | 2021-02-18
How the USS Enterprise was transformed into the USS Roach…
nationofchange.org/2021/02/18/the-americ…

Absurd Journalism: The Washington Post on California Wildfires
Bill Hatch | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
To anyone who knows something about a topic, any topic, the national press coverage of that topic often appears absurd. One cause is that the article might be animated by the ideologies of all the right people rather than anything as lowly as an ordinary question. The Feb. 9 Washington Post article,…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/absurd-journ…

George Shultz's Character Study of Robert Gates
Melvin Goodman | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
In January 1986, Shultz told Gates that he had no "confidence in the intelligence community" and that he "wouldn't trust anything you guys said about Iran no matter what." Shultz charged Gates with "trying to manipulate me" and accused him of trying to create an "alternate State Department with its own strong policy views." Shultz conceded that his department made mistakes, but that Gates' "assaults are almost joyful."
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/george-shult…

Cuba y Estados Unidos: El ataque que no ocurrió
Rosa Miriam Elizalde | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
Le llamaron "ataques sónicos", "incidentes de salud", "síndrome de La Habana". En nombre de unos supuestos ruidos inexplicables cuyas causas eran difusas, el gobierno de Estados Unidos decidió retirar en septiembre de 2017 a todo el personal no esencial y…
globalizacion.ca/cuba-y-estados-unidos-e…

Biden: øDiplomacia o más militarización?
Pablo Ruiz | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
Si es verdad que el Presidente Biden viene con un nuevo espíritu debería poner fin al "destino manifiesto" y dejar de intervenir en América Latina. El nuevo presidente de los Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, tendrá una difícil misión la que…
globalizacion.ca/biden-diplomacia-o-mas-…

Palestinian Woman Dies Of Heart Attack After Soldiers Stormed Her Home
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2021-02-18
A Palestinian woman suffered a fatal heart attack, on Wednesday at dawn, when Israeli soldiers stormed into her home in Abu Njeim village, east of Bethlehem, south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank. Medical sources said the woman, identified as Rahma Khalil Abu 'Ahour, 67, suffered a heart attack when the soldiers invaded her …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-woman-dies…

China avanza desde el mar de Sur hasta Medio Oriente y Europa
Raúl Zibechi | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
La disputa por el Mar del Sur de China se sigue intensificando, pero el Dragón va colocando sus fichas de forma gradual, implacable e incontenible, como lo muestran los recientes desarrollos de una estrategia largamente diseñada, que parece estar poniendo…
globalizacion.ca/china-avanza-desde-el-m…

Role of NGOs in promoting neo-Colonialism
Eds. | mronline.org | 2021-02-18
There are literally thousands of NGOs, the better known being Oxfam, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International.
mronline.org/2021/02/18/role-of-ngos-in-…

En la democracia del Neoliberalismo: Las buenas críticas
Jorge Alemán | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
Hay un círculo vicioso que se repite en distintos escenarios. Durante años un gobierno neoliberal realiza una apropiación y destrucción del aparato productivo, del tejido social, de los legados históricos, capturando a través de distintos dispositivos el sentido común y…
globalizacion.ca/en-la-democracia-del-ne…

Soldiers Abduct Two Palestinian In Jerusalem
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2021-02-18
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday night after midnight, two young Palestinian men in Shu'fat town, in the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem. Local sources said the two young men were walking near the main road of Shu'fat when the soldiers stopped them and took them to an interrogation facility in Neve Yaakov illegal colony. They added …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-abduct-two-pa…

Argentina — øNo se puede o no se quiere prevenir los femicidios?
Mariana Carbajal | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
øNo se puede o no se quiere prevenir los femicidios? La pregunta suena boba. øCómo no se va a querer? Entonces…. øNo se puede? Estamos cansadas de hacer diagnósticos, de señalar lo que falta, lo que hace mal la justicia…
globalizacion.ca/argentina-no-se-puede-o…

Thursday 2/25: We've Decided, Now What? Black Community, Equity Accountability & the New Administration
Planned Parenthood Action | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Online event…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/17/1884011…

'Release Mumia NOW!' was the cry in Philadelphia
Joe Piette | workers.org | 2021-02-18
Pam Africa (right), speaking at rally, Feb. 15. Philadelphia On less than 24 hours' notice, more than 40 people came out on Feb. 15 to show their opposition to a Feb. 3 legal brief by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a so-called "progressive." It denies Mumia Abu-Jamal the right to . . . | Continue reading 'Release Mumia NOW!' was the cry in Philadelphia at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/02/54532/?utm_source=rs…

Colombian students demand free higher-education for 2021
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-02-18
Students from different public universities of Colombia have been demonstrating to demand that the national and municipal governments guarantee free tuition for all students across the country this year…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/02/18/colombian…

1,000 Cal/OSHA Inspectors NOW! Workers Over Profits Rally At Oakland OSHA Office
UFCFLP | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Trade unionists and workers rallied at the Oakland State Building to demand that OSHA hire 1,000 OSHA safety inspectors to enforce health and safety regulations in California work places.There are less than 200 inspectors for 18 million workers.
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/16/1884010…

Friday 2/26: Anti-Racist Classrooom: Building an Inclusive & Anti-Racist Educational Student Experience
Commonwealth Club | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Online event / webinar…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/16/1884009…

Boycott Alibaba Group
Caroline D. | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Global Alert: Chinese Communist Party (CCP) now fully controls the Alibaba Group of companies, substantially profiting from the group's business activities. If you have any dealing with Alibaba Group or buy on-line from their companies, you're enabling an evil, genocidal regime to continue its mass murder, rape and torture of China's Uighur minority.
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884012…

Brasil — Bolsonaro es favorito, Trump también lo fue
Emir Sader | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
Hace un año Trump era uno de los favoritos para ser reelegido presidente de Estados Unidos. Reinaba en lo más alto de las encuestas, mientras sus oponentes luchaban por saber quién lo enfrentaría, divididos, con bajos porcentajes, para poder desafiarlo….
globalizacion.ca/brasil-bolsonaro-es-fav…

Saturday 3/6: "Flint: Who Can you Trust?" Film & Discussion: Impact of Flint Water Crisis on Poor & POC
One Earth Film Festival | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Virtual film screening (FREE)…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884012…

Taxes on the rich: One-sixth of what they used to be
Eds. | mronline.org | 2021-02-18
A new IPS briefing paper highlights the unique role of tax policy in wealth concentration.
mronline.org/2021/02/18/taxes-on-the-ric…

Proposed French anti-radicalism law runs into controversy
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-02-18
Critics have said that the proposed law will stigmatize Muslims and that the existing laws are enough to cover the issues sought to be addressed by the new legislation.
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/02/18/proposed-…

Settlement Reached in Groundbreaking Martin v. Boise case
National Homelessness Law Center | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Parties reach historic agreement that prevents people experiencing homelessness from being cited or arrested for sleeping outdoors when no shelter is available…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884012…

Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Pt.2) — The Black Church
Staff | therealnews.com | 2021-02-18
In the second part of our conversation, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. further explores his new documentary "The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song." The new series reveals the broad history and culture of the Black church and explores African American faith communities on the front lines of hope and change.
therealnews.com/henry-louis-gates-jr-pt-…

What is Digital Fascism?
Thomas Klikauer — Norman Simms | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
At least since the great Italian author Umberto Eco's description of the fourteen points that define classical fascism, many readers know what fascism is — at least in theory. New research describes Italo-German fascism (1920s–1940s) as classical fascism. It contrasts classical fascism with a new variant, digital fascism.
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/what-is-digi…

Wednesday 3/17: Oakland Privacy: Fighting Against the Surveillance State
Oakland Privacy | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Online. | Email contact@oaklandprivacy.org a few days before the meeting to obtain Zoom meeting access info.
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884012…

Chinese President Xi Shared His Vision Of Win-Win Ties With America
oneworld.press | 2021-02-18
There are two main arguments in favor of President Biden responding positively to his Chinese counterpart's suggestions other than the most obvious one that it's simply the right thing to do in the interests of global stability.
oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=1927

The Failure of the Media in Responding to the Lying Right
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
I posted this Twitter thread this morning. It should be self-explanatory, but it is more than a little infuriating to see the media (not just Thomas Edsall) act like they are innocent bystanders in the rise of an anti-democratic right-wing movement that constantly lies to advance its agenda. The media have agency, but have thus…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/the-failure-…

Unions demands investigation after death of three workers following explosion at ArcelorMittal plant in South Africa
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-02-18
For 12 hours after the incident, the management of ArcelorMittal, the largest steel producer on the African continent, did not bring in specialists, but used about 10 of its ordinary employees to conduct the search and rescue operation, NUMSA reported…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/02/18/unions-de…

Famed Black journalist Joe Walker's fateful meeting with Malcolm X
Tim Wheeler | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
Joe Walker was already a widely admired African-American journalist when he got a surprising invitation and an offer to become the New York editor of Muhammad Speaks, the Nation of Islam's newspaper. He was summoned to the Harlem Mosque of the Black Muslims for a private meeting. And who was the meeting with? Malcolm X. …
peoplesworld.org/article/famed-black-jou…

West Virginia workers keep pressure on Manchin for $15 wage
PAI | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
CHARLESTON, W. VA. (PAI)–Pam Garrison, of Fayette County, W. Va., has toiled at minimum wage jobs her whole life. She calls it "getting us for slave wages." The minimum wage is "the only thing that hasn't doubled and tripled" since she first started working years ago, says Garrison, co-chair of the New Poor People's Campaign …
peoplesworld.org/article/west-virginia-w…

Struggling for Gender Equality in East Africa: Researches and Experiences
Kester Kenn Klomegah | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
For over two decades, the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) has been fighting for gender equality, the empowerment of women and improvement of women's rights in Kenya and broadly in East Africa. Established in 1999, CREAW has used …
globalresearch.ca/struggling-for-gender-…

Limbaugh: the Crash of the Dirigible
Christopher Fons | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
Alex Cockburn once called Rush the "dirigible of drivel." Indeed. I worked as a truck driver for years for Roadway (RPS), UPS and FedEx (a job I really enjoyed btw-people of all stripes are genuinely very respectful to package delivery folk, and I loved the uniform, particularly the shorts), but I digress. My truck always…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/limbaugh-the…

Smart Ass Cripple: My Bad Case of Vaccination Envy
Mike Ervin | progressive.org | 2021-02-18
I'm not trying to crash the line. I'm just trying to claim my rightful place in it.
progressive.org/dispatches/bad-case-vacc…

George Schultz's Character Study of Robert Gates
Melvin Goodman | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
In January 1986, Shultz told Gates that he had no "confidence in the intelligence community" and that he "wouldn't trust anything you guys said about Iran no matter what." Shultz charged Gates with "trying to manipulate me" and accused him of trying to create an "alternate State Department with its own strong policy views." Shultz conceded that his department made mistakes, but that Gates' "assaults are almost joyful."
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/george-schul…

Saturday 2/20: Black History Month educators' roundtable: Karen Hunter and Greg Carr
David Giesen | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
ZOOM link supplied upon request | (the link camouflaged to frustrate "bombers")…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/16/1884010…

Fast food workers forced to walk out again for $15 and a union
PAI | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
ST. LOUIS (PAI)–For 40 years as a Black pastor in St. Louis, the Rev. Darryl Gray has seen the impact of low-wage jobs not just on his congregants, but on their kids. That's why he and a wide-ranging ministers' coalition support the Fight for $15 and a Union movement–and raising the federal minimum wage to …
peoplesworld.org/article/fast-food-worke…

Bitcoin over $50,000 as Wall Street surges
wsws.org | 2021-02-18
The bitcoin speculation mania is only the most egregious example of what is taking place throughout the financial system.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/18/wall…

Implementation of IMF and World Bank policies continues in Sudan
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-02-18
In the second part of the interview with Peoples Dispatch, Dr. Fathi Elfad of the Sudanese Communist Party talks about the legislative council that will soon be formed, the role of the military in foreign affairs and the need for solidarity with people's movements…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/02/18/implement…

State Of Mayhem: The Not So Perfect Days
Michael Lupa Jr. | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
This material was taken from the book " Memories Of Oblivion", written by Michael Lupa Jr.
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/17/1884011…

Proponen manifestaciones en Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Bakersfield contra Trumpistas en Congreso
Jim Soliz, Antonio García | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
Se escala la oposición contra el dirigente Republicano congresista Kevin McCarthy del Distrito Congressional 23 y su co-representante Mike Garcia en el Distrito 25. Esto viene a consecuencia en que estos representantes se oponen a denunciar a Donald Trump por el atentado golpe de estado contra el electo presidente Joe Biden y la violencia ocurrida …
peoplesworld.org/article/proponen-manife…

'The Mandalorian' season two: Not cancel but carnivore culture
Dennis Broe | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
One of the surprise hits of the contemporary streaming era is The Mandalorian, the first original series on Disney+. A surprise not because it was a hit–any Star Wars spinoff is guaranteed to have a wide audience–but because of the magnitude of its popularity and the way it has penetrated the culture. This space Western …
peoplesworld.org/article/the-mandalorian…

The Weeknd's Music is Safe Enough for the Super Bowl, but Contraband in Prison
Emerson Sykes | aclu.org | 2021-02-18
Incarcerated people do not lose their First Amendment rights while locked up. Yet correctional facilities across the country routinely restrict materials that prisoners can access using unconstitutional, arbitrary rules governing everything from the item's construction to its content. We've fought…
aclu.org/news/free-speech/the-weeknd-is-…

The American Century Ends Early
Editor | scheerpost.com | 2021-02-18
By Tom Engelhardt / Reposted with permission from TomDispatch.com Like Gregor Samsa, the never-to-be-forgotten character in Franz Kafka's story " The Metamorphosis," we awoke on January 7th to discover that we, too, were "a giant insect" with "a domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments" and numerous "pitifully thin" legs that "waved helplessly" before our eyes. If you prefer, though… | Source…
scheerpost.com/2021/02/18/the-american-c…

"Our Indifference To Ourselves": Beyond The "Virtue" Of Self-Sacrifice (Part 2)
Media Lens | dissidentvoice.org | 2021-02-18
As we saw in Part 1, in 1914 and again in 1939, millions of men and women welcomed war. Arnold Ridley and his pals did make this choice, but in reality the choice had been made for them by decades and centuries of the relentless 'patriotic' propaganda described by Tolstoy, which most people were powerless …
dissidentvoice.org/2021/02/our-indiffere…

L.D. Barkley — A leader in the Attica uprising
Monica Moorehead | workers.org | 2021-02-18
L.D. Barkley, second from the right, and other Attica rebellion leaders negotiating with prison officials, Sept. 1971. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Attica Prison Uprising. The following slightly edited excerpt is from the book "A Time To Die: The Attica Prison Revolt" by the late New York . . . | Continue reading L.D. Barkley — A leader in the Attica uprising at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/02/54535/?utm_source=rs…

Friday 2/19: Vision For Justice Virtual Summit: Building a New, Non-Carceral Paradigm for Public Safety
Leadership Conference Civil & Human Rights | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Online summit (FREE & open to the public)…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/17/1884011…

South Korean Icon for Democracy and Reunification Passes Away
K.J. Noh | dissidentvoice.org | 2021-02-18
Baek Ki Wan, the quiet, thoughtful, progressive conscience of South Korea, and its most impassioned, idealistic voice for reunification, passsed away on February 15th, from pneumonia at the age of 89. His last words were a message of support for a grieving mother fasting for the passing of Labor Rights Legislation and words of encouragement for …
dissidentvoice.org/2021/02/south-korean-…

Stratfor's Decade-Old Speculative Map Is Provoking Russian-Turkish Distrust
oneworld.press | 2021-02-18
The recent viral sharing of the speculative map of Turkey's future regional influence that was first published by Stratfor founder George Friedman in his 2010 book about "The Next 100 Years: A Forecast For The 21st Century" is provoking distrust between the Russian and Turkish societies since this image predicts that Ankara will eventually exert sway over Crimea and all of southern Russia by 2050.
oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=1926

Former prison officials plead guilty to bribery scheme
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2021-02-18
"Our Office will continue to seek equal justice under the law and hold accountable government officials who corrupt their oaths and betray the public's trust."
nationofchange.org/2021/02/18/former-pri…

Conquering Hunger in the U.S
Katie S. Martin | progressive.org | 2021-02-18
Millions of Americans are hungry because they lack the means to pay for food.
progressive.org/op-eds/conquering-hunger…

'An Obstructive Body' and 'menace to liberties': How the U.S. Senate is a Global Problem
John Feffer | juancole.com | 2021-02-18
( Foreign Policy in Focus) — The acquittal of Trump was bad, but the Senate's approach to foreign affairs over the years has been even worse. By John Feffer | February 17, 2021 Watching the Senate conduct the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump brought back a flood of memories from high school. I distinctly …
juancole.com/2021/02/obstructive-liberti…

Tuesday 2/23: Oppose the Camping Ban Amendments at the Santa Cruz City Council Meeting
Homes Not Handcuffs | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Online meeting. Instructions on how to participate: | ecm.cityofsantacruz.com/OnBaseAgendaOnli……
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/18/1884013…

'Release Mumia NOW!' was the cry in Philadelphia
Joe Piette | workers.org | 2021-02-18
Pam Africa (right), speaking at rally, Feb. 15. Philadelphia On less than 24 hours' notice, more than 40 people came out on Feb. 15 to show their opposition to a Feb. 3 legal brief by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a so-called "progressive." It denies Mumia Abu-Jamal the right to . . . | Continue reading 'Release Mumia NOW!' was the cry in Philadelphia at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/02/54532/?utm_source=rs…

El Buey que tira de China
Xulio Ríos | globalizacion.ca | 2021-02-18
China recibe estos días el año del Buey y, como siempre, son muchas las expectativas que despierta. Sin duda, será este un ejercicio marcado por las celebraciones del centenario del PCCh. Esto implica que la estabilidad será un asunto más…
globalizacion.ca/el-buey-que-tira-de-chi…

The Aerodynamics of Chartalism
J.D. ALT | realprogressives.org | 2021-02-18
Critics of MMT often say, "but it's only 'chartalism'"–as if chartalism, itself, were a discredited explanation of reality that inherently discredits Modern Money Theory. (This sleight of hand is reinforced, I think, by the fact that "chartalism" sounds like "charlatanism" which, in fact, means bearing a false pretense of knowledge.) | Dismissing MMT as mere "chartalism," however, is like dismissing the fact that airplanes fly as being merely "aerodynamics"–as if there were something fishy about aerodynamics which, in turn, made it fishy that airplanes fly. The simple fact of the matter is that air…
realprogressives.org/the-aerodynamics-of…

In Texas disaster, low-income people hit hardest
Gloria La Riva | liberationnews.org | 2021-02-18
Eyewitness: In the midst of the massive Texas storm, last night I was fortunate to stay in a shelter in Sealy, Texas, one hour west of Houston.
liberationnews.org/in-texas-disaster-low…

Friday 2/19: SC1.5NCE Not Silence Forum as U.S. Rejoins Paris Climate Agreement
March for Science | indybay.org | 2021-02-18
Online via livestream: www.facebook.com/marchforscience/…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/16/1884009…

'All The Warfare Of The Future': Drones, New Technology and the Integrated Review
Chris Cole | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-18
At the beginning of March, the government will publish its long-awaited Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, known (thankfully) as 'The Integrated Review'. It's purpose is to "define the Government's ambition for the UK's role in …
globalresearch.ca/all-the-warfare-of-the…

Surge of Anti-Asian hate crimes spurs communities to action
Marilyn Bechtel | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
OAKLAND, Calif.–As the start of the Lunar New Year approached last week, concern was growing over a surge in hate crimes being experienced by Asian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area, including several victims who were over 60 years of age. One attack last month in San Francisco was widely publicized when a local …
peoplesworld.org/article/surge-of-anti-a…

Touchdown! Life-searching Perseverance rover to land today on Mars
imperial.ac.uk | 2021-02-18
Was there ever life on Mars? Now that Perseverance is landing, Imperial scientists working with NASA's Mars 2020 mission might soon find out.
imperial.ac.uk/news/215333/touchdown-lif…

As Biden Returns "Civilization" to Washington, It's More Obvious Than Ever That Capitalism Cannot Be Reformed
Jeff Mackler | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-18
Capitalist "civilization" returned to the nation's capitol on Jan. 20, Joseph Biden's Inauguration Day. Replete with 25,000 troops forming an iron ring around the few thousand establishment dignitaries gathered to pay homage to the new president, with deep roots in America's racist, warmongering past and present, the event aimed at reassuring the world that Trump-era…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/18/as-biden-ret…

Iranian army experts overhaul Mirage military aircraft
Kamal Iranidoost | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-02-18
TEHRAN, Feb. 18 (MNA) — Experts in the Martyr Habibi Zaham Air Force Base in Mashhad have successfully overhauled a Mirage military aircraft.
en.mehrnews.com/news/170133/Iranian-army…

UN offers science-based blueprint to tackle climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
Without nature's help, "we will not thrive or even survive", the UN chief said on Thursday, launching a major report on the environment.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

Loss of autonomy in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir threatens minorities' rights — UN independent experts
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
India's decision to end autonomy in Jammu and Kashmir and restrict the participation of minorities in political and other activities sparked the concern of two UN-appointed independent human rights experts, on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

Stop criminalizing civil society, UN rights experts urge Venezuelan authorities
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
United Nations independent human rights experts called on Thursday for the authorities in Venezuela to stop "continuous and increasing" attacks and intimidation against civil society organizations and journalists in the country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

UN chief condemns attack on school in Nigeria
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
The United Nations Secretary-General has strongly condemned Wednesday's attack on a boarding school in north-central Nigeria in which one student was killed and several students, as well as relatives and staff, abducted.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

Five million Yemenis 'one step away from famine'– UN relief coordinator tells Security Council
news.un.org | 2021-02-18
Malnutrition rates in Yemen are at "record highs" as the country is "speeding towards the worst famine the world has seen in decades", the UN Emergency‚ÄØRelief Coordinator told the Security Council on Thursday, citing newly released data.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/02/1…

Profiles in cowardice: Mitch McConnell
Berry Craig | peoplesworld.org | 2021-02-18
Mitch McConnell and 42 fellow Republicans who acquitted Donald Trump Saturday earned their niche in history, right next to Georg Neithardt and his four fellow jurists. Georg who? Neithardt headed the five-judge panel that twisted the law into a Bavarian pretzel and all-but exonerated Adolf Hitler over the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler and his armed …
peoplesworld.org/article/profiles-in-cow…

The Empire's Navy Has a Task Force With a Cute Pledge
Not the Bee | anti-empire.com | 2021-02-18
"I pledge to advocate for and acknowledge all lived experiences and intersectional identities of every Sailor in the Navy.": | Don't believe me? Doesn't matter. It's there. | See TASK FORCE ONE NAVY FINAL REPORT, page 10. | That is part of the Task Force One Navy pledge. | Task Force One Navy is "a special task force […
anti-empire.com/the-empires-navy-has-a-t…

A transgender incarcerated activist speaks out
Judy Greenspan | workers.org | 2021-02-18
Lisa Strawn is a transgender woman who spent more than 35 years in California prisons due to that state's draconian "Three Strikes" law. At the age of 19, she was locked up for petty offenses like prostitution, and on her third "strike," Lisa was sentenced to 50-to-life for burglary. She . . . | Continue reading A transgender incarcerated activist speaks out at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/02/54541/?utm_source=rs…

Islamabad committed to prevent fuel smuggling at all costs
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-02-18
TEHRAN, Feb. 18 (MNA) — Noting that Islamabad is committed to preventing fuel smuggling at all costs, the Pakistani Minister of Interior said that almost 38% of the Pakistan-Iran border has been fenced through which smuggling can be controlled.
en.mehrnews.com/news/170134/Islamabad-co…

The U.S. Senate Is a Global Problem
John Feffer | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
The acquittal of Trump was bad, but the Senate's approach to foreign affairs over the years has been even worse…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-u-s-senate-is-…

Fossil Fuel Apologists Crafted Lies Now Heard on Fox, Blaming Wind Power for Texas Blackouts
Robert Mackey | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
Republicans failed to ensure that the Texas power grid could withstand a cold snap, so the party's broadcast arm recycled lies about wind energy to deflect blame on to Democrats…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/fossil-fuel-apolog…

Real Unemployment is 3 times what they're telling us
John Buell | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
Rosy portraits of an expanding economy hide the chronic weakness of the US economy and especially the burdens imposed on poor and minority communities…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/real-unemployment-…

Shouldn't Big Business Be Paying for Pentagon Wars?
Barbara G. Ellis | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
Congress and the president must stop subsidizing Big Business' exploitive efforts and profits with our tax dollars…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/shouldnt-big-busin…

Columbus OH activists fight closure of park, site of a homeless encampment
Leif Autzen | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
Activists and community members gathered at Heer Park on Feb. 12 to protest the proposed closure of the park, the site of a long-standing camp for the unhoused…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/columbus-oh-activi…

Biko: And the Eyes of the World Are Watching Now
Abby Zimet | zcomm.org | 2021-02-18
A gifted medical student and charismatic organizer, Bantu Steve Biko was arguably the most famous martyr of the struggle against South African apartheid…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/biko-and-the-eyes-…

Besieged population in Ethiopia's Tigray region faces starvation, rights violations
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-02-18
"Living in crowded camps, children and families urgently need food, shelter and clean water…Immunizations have ground to a halt, health and water facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and essential supplies looted," says UNICEF…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/02/18/besieged-…

Protests rock Spain for 3rd night in a row after rapper jailed for tweets insulting king & praising terrorist groups (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Rallies protesting the arrest of a rapper convicted of insulting the monarchy have continued across Spain for a third straight night. One woman reportedly lost an eye and more than 50 people were detained at demos a day earlier. | Valencia saw some of the worst violence on Thursday, where demonstrators could be seen clashing with riot police in footage posted to social media, while a helicopter appeared to be monitoring the protests from above. | üî¥Cà rregues policials a la concentració…
rt.com/news/515984-spain-pablo-hasel-rap…

US reintroduces bill to ban goods from Xinjiang over China's 'genocide' of Uighur Muslims in mass camps
rt.com | 2021-02-18
The US House of Representatives has reintroduced a bill to ban imports from China's northwestern Xinjiang region unless the products coming in can be verified as being produced without forced labor. | The revamped bill, which previously passed the House by 406-3 votes, is designed to clamp down on the Chinese government, which the US has accused of committing "genocide" against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. | Under the legislation, US President Biden would be able to impose sanctions against people trafficking Uighurs in Xinjiang. The region is a major exporter of cotton and tomatoes to the US. | Also on rt.com…
rt.com/usa/515977-us-bill-china-uighur-i…

NASA says Moon by 2024 'no longer realistic,' but keeping Artemis program despite lack of funding
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Landing on the Moon by 2024 is no longer a realistic goal, the US space agency quietly admitted. While the Biden administration said it would keep the Trump-era Artemis program, there was no hint of Congress actually funding it. | "The 2024 lunar landing goal may no longer be a realistic target due to the last two years of appropriations, which did not provide enough funding to make 2024 achievable," acting NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk told Ars Technica on Wednesday evening. | The agency was "reviewing the program for the most efficient path forward," he added. | Notable: The Artemis Program will become NA…
rt.com/usa/515978-nasa-moon-artemis-dela…

Senator Ted Cruz ripped for change of flight (& story) after he's caught heading to Cancun amid massive snowstorm in home state
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Texas Republican Ted Cruz is being ripped to shreds on social media for apparently covering up a trip to Cancun by recasting it as an overnight and changing his flight — all while his Texas constituents froze in the dark at home. | …
rt.com/usa/515986-cruz-cancun-airport-tu…

'My family freezing, my senator is in Cancun': Twitter explodes as Ted Cruz accused of traveling out of storm-hit Texas
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Anger has been spilling on Twitter over photos that purportedly show Texas Senator Ted Cruz boarding a plane to Cancun, Mexico. People criticized him for "fleeing" when his state has been badly hit with extreme cold. | Several photos that have been circulating on social media since Wednesday appear to show Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and his family arriving at the airport and then boarding a flight — allegedly heading to Cancun, Mexico. | It appears in the middle of the worst energy crisis in the history of Texas, @tedcruz is on his way to Cancu…
rt.com/usa/515908-ted-cruz-anger-travel-…

'Mission creep?' Police 'recommend' keeping razor-wired fencing around Capitol until September, cite 'threats against lawmakers'
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Washington, DC, police are calling for razor-wire-topped fencing around the US Capitol to be kept in place until at least September because they continue to hear of threats against lawmakers in the aftermath of the January 6 riot. | US Capitol Police have notified congressional leaders of their fencing recommendation, the Associated Press reported on Thursday, citing anonymous officials with the department. The threats include "online chatter" about extremist groups possibly coming to Washi…
rt.com/usa/515991-police-fence-capitol-s…

Texas halts natural gas exports as states scrambles to end power outages
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered energy companies to temporarily suspend out-of-state sales of natural gas, amid ongoing power outages triggered by a deadly winter storm. | Read more | | Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry triggers rage after suggesting Texans would endure even LONGER blackouts to avoid federal meddling | The governor announced during a media briefing on Wednesday that he had issued a decree forbidding gas producers from selling to clients outside the state through February 21. | Citing the current weather crisis that has crippled the sta…
rt.com/usa/515881-texas-natural-gas-ban-…

Stomachs churn after Portland police face-off with crowd picking through mountain of food… tossed during power outage (PHOTOS)
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Portland, Oregon has made headlines after police were called in to stop people from rummaging through a dumpster full of food that allegedly spoiled due to a power outage. Social media users found the incident hard to stomach. | A power outage caused by a winter storm that has wreaked havoc on multiple US states prompted a supermarket to discard perishable items deemed unsafe due to lack of proper refrigeration. After two dumpsters were filled with meat, dairy and other items, a small group of people began to form in the store's parking lot, apparently angry that so much food was being discarded. Photographs s…
rt.com/usa/515886-portland-dumpster-food…

Bill Gates says Trump should be allowed back on social media 'at some point'
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Microsoft founder and synthetic meat enthusiast Bill Gates has said former President Donald Trump should be let back on social media "at some point." Trump himself thinks that social media has "become very boring" without him. | "I think at some point he probably will be allowed back on and probably should be allowed back on," Gates told CNBC on Thursday, more than a month after Twitter and multiple other social media outlets booted Trump from their platforms, with Twitter's reasoning being that the president's calls to protest the 2020 election results presented a "risk of…violence." | Gates is considered b…
rt.com/usa/515964-bill-gates-trump-twitt…

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry triggers rage after suggesting Texans would endure even LONGER blackouts to avoid federal meddling
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Ex-Governor Rick Perry stoked outrage after saying Texans would willingly tolerate further blackouts just to keep the feds "out of their business," as critics blamed his preference for deregulation for the state's power woes. | Perry — who also served as Energy Secretary under former President Donald Trump — was featured in a blog post on the website of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) on Wednesday, where he was asked about Texas' struggling power grid after a massive winter storm left 4 mil…
rt.com/usa/515880-rick-perry-texas-black…

Jailed journalists who livestreamed mass protests against embattled Belarusian leader Lukashenko given 2 years behind bars
rt.com | 2021-02-18
Two journalists detained in Minsk on charges that they took part in opposition rallies were given prison sentences on Thursday, becoming the first reporters convicted of organizing protests despite pleas from rights groups. | Katerina Bakhvalova, a presenter for Warsaw-based Belsat TV, and Daria Chultsova, a camerawoman for the network, were sentenced to two years behind bars after a three-day trial. They had been found guilty of "organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them." | Belsat, which is bankrolled by the government of neighboring Poland, cl…
rt.com/russia/515963-belarus-journalist-…

Uber And Lyft Are Preparing To Block Labor Rights For Gig Economy Workers
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
After California passed a law extending labor protections to gig economy workers, Uber, Lyft, and other gig economy employers overturned it on election day 2020 with a $200 million ballot referendum campaign. Over the past year, the same companies have been setting up infrastructure to ensure that app-based drivers and other gig economy workers do not win labor rights in New York. | Tactics used by Uber and Lyft in their campaign to deny workers protections included threatening to shut down their apps entirely in California if forced to comply with the law giving drivers employment status and flooding drivers' ap…
popularresistance.org/uber-and-lyft-are-…

Texas's Independent Electric Grid Leaves Millions Without Power
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-02-18
On Tuesday, millions of Texans woke up to find themselves without power as unusually cold conditions for the state knocked out the state's power grid. | The blackouts began on Monday when the state grappled with a winter storm and record low temperatures. Over 4.3 million people in Texas remain without power as the state's power grid struggles to keep up with high demand. | The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state's grid, had originally announced 45-minute rolling blackouts starting around 1: 25 a.m. in order to conserve energy. But the blackouts instead extended throughout the d…
popularresistance.org/texass-independent…

Poetry and Truth
Hooked Hands | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
Poetry and Truth…
thenation.com/article/activism/poetry-an…

What Was Rush Limbaugh So Afraid Of?
Joan Walsh | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
What Was Rush Limbaugh So Afraid Of?
thenation.com/article/society/rush-limba…

"Pages 9-14," an excerpt from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure
Nicole Sealey | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
thenation.com/article/culture/ferguson-r…

The Fight Against France's Global Security Law Is Far From Over
Meerabelle Jesuthasan | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
The Fight Against France's Global Security Law Is Far From Over…
thenation.com/article/world/france-globa…

What Popular Culture Misunderstands About Addiction
Zachary Siegel | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
What Popular Culture Misunderstands About Addiction…
thenation.com/article/culture/rehab-tele…

In Okinawa, the US Military Seeks a Base Built on the Bones of the War Dead
Maia Hibbett | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
In Okinawa, the US Military Seeks a Base Built on the Bones of the War Dead…
thenation.com/article/world/japan-okinaw…

sent on the run
Nicole Sealey | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
| An excerpt from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure.
thenation.com/article/culture/sent-on-th…

The Trumpers Among Us
Katha Pollitt | thenation.com | 2021-02-18
The Trumpers Among Us…
thenation.com/article/politics/trump-vot…

Biden Plans to Use "Inclusive" Language in Future Discussions on Immigration
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-18
The Biden administration announced this week that federal agencies will use "more inclusive" language when it comes to discussing issues relating to immigration. | A memo from Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Tracy Renaud told officials that changes in terminology should be used "in the agency's outreach efforts, internal documents and in over…
truthout.org/articles/biden-plans-to-use…

Black Revolutionary Love Reimagines Democracy
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-18
Given the long history of U.S. volatility and racist violence, those attentive to white supremacist and fascistic ideologies were dismayed but not surprised at the January 6 breach of the Capitol. A militarized mob endeavored to block the certification of the Biden/Harris election and harm, if not kill, elected officials seeking to uphold constitutional norms. The following month, the Senate acquitted Donald Trump for inciting sedition that inflicted trauma, injuries and the loss of life. | I never consi…
truthout.org/articles/i-trust-the-black-…

More Policing Is Not the Solution to Anti-Asian Violence
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-18
Asian Americans are crying out against an escalation of anti-Asian attacks in San Francisco, San Jose, New York, and all across the United States. In light of the scant media coverage, Asian American celebrities like Daniel Dae Kim, Daniel Wu, and cast members from the blockbuster film Crazy Rich Asians have taken to social media to raise awareness of Asian elders who have been brutalized and…
truthout.org/articles/more-policing-is-n…

Leader of Neo-Nazi Group Previously Worked for Department of Homeland Security
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-18
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Wednesday that the neo-Nazi leader of The Base, a white nationalist and accelerationist paramilitary group recently designated a terror group by the Canadian government, worked within their ranks for several years, coordinating efforts to combat terrorism. | According to a VICE News report released on Wednesday, Ri…
truthout.org/articles/leader-of-neo-nazi…

Biden Has the Power to Cancel Student Loan Debt Now. What's Stopping Him?
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-18
Image Credit: Facebook: Debt Collective | Students, campaigners and top Democrats have been pushing President Joe Biden to use executive authority to cancel at least $50,000 in student loan debt per person. Student loan debt in the U.S. stands at $1.7 trillion, with some 45 million people owing money. Filmmaker and organizer Astra Taylor, an author, documentary director and organizer with the Debt Collective, says Biden has clear legal authority to cancel student debt. "Not doing this is a choice," sh…
truthout.org/video/biden-has-the-power-t…

Ted Cruz Jets Off for Mexican Vacation While Texas Endures Unprecedented Crisis
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-18
This week, while millions of his constituents in Texas suffered under conditions that some have likened to Hurricane Katrina, Sen. Ted Cruz decided to fly to Cancun with his family for a vacation. | After pictures appeared on social media Wednesday night showing Cruz at the airport and on the flight to Mexico, the senator confirmed th…
truthout.org/articles/ted-cruz-jets-off-…

Rush Limbaugh captivated dads like mine and created America's modern fascist aesthetic
Amanda Marcotte | salon.com | 2021-02-18
Limbaugh co-opted rock-and-roll to sell authoritarianism…
salon.com/2021/02/18/rush-limbaugh-capti…

Biden downplays Uighur persecution as part of China's 'different norms'
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Biden downplays Uighur persecution as part of China's 'different norms' | US president said he will continue to speak out against China's treatment of Uighurs, which the previous Trump administration declared a genocide | MEE staff | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 15: 20 | Rights groups say more than one million Uighurs and other Muslim Turkic-speaking people in China have been rounded up and held in detention camps (AFP) | US Preside…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/biden-uighur-…

Biden downplays Uighur persecution as part of China's 'different norms'
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Biden downplays Uighur persecution as part of China's 'different norms' | US president said he would not speak out on China's treatment of Uighurs, which the previous Trump administration declared a genocide | MEE staff | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 15: 20 | Rights groups say more than one million Uighurs and other Muslim Turkic-speaking people in China have been rounded up and held in detention camps (AFP) | US President Joe Biden…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/biden-uighur-…

Egyptian student at Austrian university detained without charge in Cairo
Areeb Ullah | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Egyptian student at Austrian university detained without charge in Cairo | Ahmed Samer said police had beaten him and asked questions about his research on reproductive rights and Islam | Areeb Ullah | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 13: 30 | Samer's family said the 29-year-old student was charged with spreading fake news and affiliation to a terrorist group – claims his family deny and describe as baseless (Supplied) | An Egyptian…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-austria…

Israel-Syria prisoner swap: Two Syrian shepherds to be repatriated
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Israel-Syria prisoner swap: Two Syrian shepherds to be repatriated | Israeli attempts to secure release of a female citizen have been complicated by the Syrian Druze to be swapped wanting to remain in the Golan | MEE staff | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 13: 01 | Signs pointing out distances to different cities is seen on Mount Bental, an observation point in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that overlooks the Syrian side of the Qu…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-israel-…

REVEALED: Turkey plans spaceport in Somalia for $1bn moon mission
Ragip Soylu | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
REVEALED: Turkey plans spaceport in Somalia for $1bn moon mission | MEE source provides details of plan to put Turks on the moon, as opposition says there's not enough money | Ragip Soylu | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 14: 00 | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed an ambitious timetable with the aim of making contact with the moon on unmanned missions (Turkish Space Agency TUA) | Turkey's recently announced space programme, w…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-space-…

The untold tragedy of Iraq's Shia Turkmen women abducted by Islamic State
Suadad al-Salhy | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
The untold tragedy of Iraq's Shia Turkmen women abducted by Islamic State | Like the Yazidis, hundreds were captured and killed by the militant group in 2014. But families, community leaders and officials have turned a blind eye | Suadad al-Salhy | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 10: 01 | A Yazidi woman and her children who were captured by IS but escaped. Unlike with the Yazidis, no major efforts have been made to free Shi…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-islamic-…

Senators urge Biden to undo US recognition of Morocco's claim to Western Sahara
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Senators urge Biden to undo US recognition of Morocco's claim to Western Sahara | US lawmakers say new administration should reverse 'misguided decision' which came as part of Morocco's normalisation deal with Israel | MEE staff | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 16: 28 | Sahrawis hold a Polisario Front's flag at Sahrawi refugee camp of Dakhla, 27 February 2016 (AFP/File photo) | More than two dozen US senators from both major parties h…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/morocco-weste…

European powers, US warn Iran against further breaches of nuclear deal
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
European powers, US warn Iran against further breaches of nuclear deal | Iran's Zarif hit back at joint Western statement, saying violations were a result of US withdrawal from the agreement | MEE staff | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 21: 04 | Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant is the country's only nuclear power station and is currently running on imported fuel from Russia (AFP/File photo) | The United States and major European powe…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/european-powe…

Nato increases troop numbers in Iraq to combat threat from Islamic State
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-02-18
Nato increases troop numbers in Iraq to combat threat from Islamic State | Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the increase, from 500 to 4,000, is being organised alongside Iraqi government | MEE staff | Thu, 02/18/2021 – 17: 24 | Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a defence ministers meeting in Brussels on 13 February to address key issues (AFP/File photo) | Nato is preparing to significantly increase tr…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-islamic-…