'Russians helping Sanders!' MSM take abrupt break from anti-Trump frenzy for a 'never Bernie' moment on the eve of Nevada caucus
rt.com | 2020-02-21
As Bernie Sanders surges to the front of the pack for the Democratic nomination, the Washington Post has dropped an anonymous "bombshell" claiming that Moscow seeks to help him as well as its "puppet" US President Donald Trump. | On the word of "people familiar with the matter,"
rt.com/usa/481439-bernie-sanders-russia-…

'Pathway to Peace' Would Revolutionize US Foreign Policy
Ilhan Omar | zcomm.org | 2020-02-21
The seven bills would steer US foreign policy towards international norms and remove support for human rights violators. While the chances are slim that these bills will pass, they outline a progressive foreign policy.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/pathway-to-peace-w…

Ilhan Omar Has a Plan to Revolutionize U.S. Foreign Policy
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-21
While her package of seven bills is unlikely to pass, it outlines a bold new progressive vision, argues Win Without War's Kate Kizer.
truthdig.com/articles/ilhan-omar-has-a-p…

EU agrees to new military mission against Libya
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
The foreign ministers of all 27 EU countries agreed on a new military mission in Libya on Monday.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/liby…

Erdogan says Turkey will not withdraw from Syria's Idlib until attacks by Damascus stop
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed not to remove Turkish troops from Syria's Idlib region and said that his upcoming phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin will help Ankara determine its policies. | A phone call between the two leaders to discuss Idlib is expected to take place on Friday evening. "The result of this conversation will determine our attitude" in the area, Erdogan said. The Turkish leader stated that Ankara will not pull its forces out of Idlib while operations by the Syrian government continue there. | Unless the regime [in Damascus] stops its attacks in Idlib, it is not possibl…
rt.com/news/481391-erdogan-not-withdraw-…

Turkey's Erdogan says will not withdraw from Syria's Idlib
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed not to remove Turkish troops from Syria's Idlib region and said that his upcoming phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin will help Ankara determine its policies. | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed not to remove Turkish troops from Syria's Idlib region until Damascus ends "violence". Exact policies will depend on the upcoming talk with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, he said. | DETAILS TO FOLLOW…
rt.com/news/481391-erdogan-not-withdraw-…

Defend Journalist Julian Assange from Extradition to the United States
Dr. Leon Tressell | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
On Wednesday Wikileaks editor Julian Assange appeared at a Westminster court for his final case management hearing before his extradition hearing which begins on 24 February. | The U.S. government will present its case arguing for Assange's extradition to face 17 …
globalresearch.ca/defend-journalist-juli…

Venezuelan Embassy in Washington Reopens Under Watch of Anti-Maduro Thugs
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-21
The new embassy is a microcosm of Juan Guaidó's attempted premiership; backed by the U.S. but existing only in theory, with the Maduro government still holding office.
mintpressnews.com/copy-of-venezuelan-emb…

The Donald Trump I Know: Abbas' UN Speech and the Breakdown of Palestinian Politics
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-21
The real danger of Trump's 'Deal of the Century' is not the actual stipulations of the sinister plan, but the fact that Mahmoud Abbas will find a way to co-exist with them, writes Ramzy Baroud.
mintpressnews.com/trump-mahmoud-abbas-un…

'The Donald Trump I know': Abbas' UN Speech and the Breakdown of Palestinian Politics
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
A precious moment has been squandered, as Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, had the chance to right a historical wrong, by reinstating Palestinian national priorities at the United Nations Security Council on February 11, through a political discourse that is completely independent from Washington and its allies. For a long time, Abbas has been a…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/the-donald-t…

Russia has already quarantined 2,500 people to prevent spread of KILLER coronavirus infection – Moscow mayor
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Despite its 4,000km border with China, Russia currently has no live reported domestic cases of the pathogen which has sent its neighbor into lock-down. Authorities clearly want to try and keep it that way. | Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced on Friday that over 2,500 people have already been ordered into quarantine due to the risk of the Covid-19 coronavirus. He also explained on his blog that all arrivals from China will have to undergo a physical and take a test for the infection. They then must isolate themselves. He added that if tests at the airport detect a temperature or other symptoms, the person…
rt.com/russia/481404-russia-coronavirus-…

'Tough year for airlines': Global air traffic could fall for 1st time since 2003 due to coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-02-21
The International Air Transport Authority (IATA) has warned that declining travel demand amid the Covid-19 virus outbreak could cost global carriers tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue. | The IATA's forecast assumes that the outbreak will remain mostly in China, which means airlines in Asia will be hit the hardest and could lose nearly $28 billion in revenue this year. Carriers outside the region are likely to suffer a smaller sales hit of $1.5 billion. | What is the estimated impact of #COVID19? In a SARS-shaped scenario,…
rt.com/business/481340-global-air-traffi…

'Tremendous public health threat': CDC confirms 34 coronavirus cases in US, prepares for 'very possible, even likely' pandemic
rt.com | 2020-02-21
The CDC has warned that transmission of the deadly COVID-19 virus in the US is "very possible, even likely" and said its current goal is not to prevent but to slow down its spread and "buy more time" for US communities to prepare. | …
rt.com/usa/481436-coronavirus-us-cdc-war…

Russia Bans Most Chinese from Entry: 'Pure Racism' or 'Preventive Reaction'?
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
Russia unexpectedly banned all Chinese except those with diplomatic, business, humanitarian, and transit visas from entering the country, but this unprecedented move was made as a preventive reaction against the spread of the coronavirus and not for racist purposes, though | …
globalresearch.ca/russia-bans-most-chine…

Coronavirus Tests China, Temps America: Devastating Economic Consequences
Joseph Thomas | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
Biology has done what malicious US foreign policy aimed at China has failed to do for years; complicate China's relations along its peripheries (and the rest of the world for that matter), particularly in Southeast Asia. | In Thailand, contrary to …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-tests-chin…

'Draw good from evil': France should use Coronavirus outbreak to reduce reliance on Chinese-supplied goods, minister says
rt.com | 2020-02-21
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire has warned that the outbreak of the coronavirus should act as a catalyst for France to begin reducing its "dependence" on China for certain goods. | Meeting with business figures on Friday, Le Maire said the crisis would have a 0.1 percent impact on France's GDP growth in 2020, assuming the outbreak is reaching its peak. While the number seems small, it is significant considering the fact that yearly GDP growth is usually in the small single digits. | Le Maire announced a series of short-term measures to limit the impact of the slowdown caused by the epidemic. The ministr…
rt.com/news/481419-coronavirus-france-ec…

IMF's Georgieva: "Uncertainty Is Becoming the New Normal"
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, warned in the emirate city of Dubai that the growth of the world economy, estimated at 3.3 percent by 2020, could be reduced between 0, 1 percent and 0.2% percent for the coronavirus outbreak. | RELATED: | IMF: Argentinian Debt 'Unsustainable', Economic Crisis Deepens | Georgieva explained that the epidemic could have a negative effect on global growth depending on China's ability to avoid its sp…
telesurenglish.net/news/imf-georgieva-un…

Italy locks down TEN towns after 1st coronavirus death as cases jump to 17
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Public spaces across 10 Italian cities have been placed on lockdown, as the first Italian patient succumbed to the illness, amid a spate of new coronavirus cases

U.S. and Iran Increase Competition to Influence Afghanistan
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
United States officials have expressed concern over the so-called Iranian intervention in Afghanistan in recent days, claiming that Tehran is trying to challenge Washington's interests in Afghanistan through groups that it supports like the Taliban. General Kenneth Mckenzie, the …
globalresearch.ca/u-s-iran-increase-comp…

You Write Injustice on the Earth; We Will Write Revolution in the Skies
Prof. Vijay Prashad | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
'Scientists are wrong', the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano said with a warm smile on his face. 'Human beings are not made of atoms; they are made of stories'. It is why we want to sing and draw, tell each other …
globalresearch.ca/you-write-injustice-ea…

You write injustice on the Earth; we will write revolution in the skies
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-02-21
'Scientists are wrong', the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano said with a warm smile on his face. 'Human beings are not made of atoms; they are made of stories'. It is why we want to sing and draw, tell each other about our lives and our hopes, talk about the wonders in our lives and the […] | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/21/you-write-injust…

Standing Up for Left Literature: In India, It Can Cost You Your Life
Vijay Prashad | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
On February 16, 2015, Govind and Uma Pansare went for a morning walk near their home in Pune (Maharashtra, India). Two men on a motorcycle stopped near them and asked for directions, but the Pansares could not help them; one of the men laughed, removed a gun, and shot the two. Uma Pansare was hit…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/standing-up-…

Did Trump Offer Assange A 'Quid Pro Quo' regarding "Russiagate" and the DNC Troves?
Johanna Ross | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
A revelation in Westminster Magistrate's Court on Wednesday sent shockwaves through the mainstream media. It is being widely publicised that in 2017 US President Donald Trump offered Julian Assange a pardon if he was to declare that Russia had not …
globalresearch.ca/did-trump-offer-assang…

John Pilger: Julian Assange Must be Freed, Not Betrayed
John Pilger | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-21
On Saturday, there will be a march from Australia House in London to Parliament Square, the centre of British democracy. People will carry pictures of the Australian publisher and journalist Julian Assange who, on 24 February, faces a court that will decide whether or not he is to be extradited to the United States and a living death. | I know Australia House well. As an Australian myself, I used to go there in my early days in London to read the newspapers from home. Opened by King George V over a century ago, its vastness of marble and stone, chandeliers and solemn portraits, imported from Australia when Austra…
mintpressnews.com/john-pilger-julian-ass…

"Leave Our Bloke Alone": Australian Politicians, A Little Mission for Julian Assange
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
"I think that now it is time that the government I am a part of needs to be standing up and saying to both the UK and the US: 'enough is enough, leave our bloke alone and let him come …
globalresearch.ca/leave-our-bloke-alone-…

Julian Assange's Attorney Speaks Out on the Hopes and Hazards of His Upcoming Trial in London on Feb. 24
Chris Agee | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
Assange's legal advisor Renata Avila joins Gray Zone investigative reporter Max Blumenthal, Black Agenda Report founder Glen Ford, and Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins in Randy Credico's acclaimed radio series, "Assange: Countdown to Freedom"

Veteran "Four Corners" journalist Andrew Fowler denounces Australian government's refusal to defend Assange
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
"The persecution of Assange is an attack on anyone who speaks out against the power and authority of the United States. It is a warning to every journalist: 'Pull your head in. Shut up. Don't question.'"
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/afow…

UK Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell visits Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
McDonnell described the Assange case as "one of the most important and significant political trials of this generation," but made clear that his party will do nothing to mobilise the immense popular support that exists for the WikiLeaks publisher.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/mcdd…

Is Iran Ill-advised to Finance Its Regional Allies While Under Sanctions?
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
Many Iranians question the benefits of arming and financing Iran's many allies in the Middle East while Iran is suffering the harshest ever US "maximum pressure". Iran's allies are spread over Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. Is Iranian …
globalresearch.ca/iran-ill-advised-finan…

U.S., Taliban Agree to Terms for Peace Deal, Troop Withdrawal
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-21
ISLAMABAD

Week-long 'reduction in violence' in Afghanistan to begin on Saturday
rt.com | 2020-02-21
A week-long "reduction in violence" between the Taliban, the US, and Afghan security forces will commence at midnight (1930 GMT), officials said on Friday, ahead of the signing of a possible deal between Washington and the insurgents. "The reduction in violence will start from 22 February and will last for one week," according to Javed Faisal, Afghanistan's National Security Council spokesman. | Three senior Taliban leaders in Doha and Afghanistan confirmed to Reuters that they had agreed to reduce violence in Afghanistan for seven days from Friday night. | The agreement was struck during protracted negotiatio…
rt.com/newsline/481376-reduction-violenc…

UN List of Firms Aiding Israel's Settlements was Dead on Arrival
Jonathan Cook | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
Nazareth. After lengthy delays, the United Nations finally published a database last week of businesses that have been profiting from Israel's illegal settlement activity in the West Bank. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, announced that 112 major companies had been identified as operating in Israeli settlements in ways that violate human…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/un-list-of-f…

Turkey, US protect Al Qaeda in Idlib and worsen Syria's suffering
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-21
Why is Turkey, with US backing, protecting Al-Qaeda's largest affiliate in Idlib, Syria? Idlib is facing a humanitarian disaster as…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/21/turkey-us-pro…

Yemen's Houthis Launch Fresh Missile and Drone Attacks on Saudi State Oil Facilities
Ahmed Abdulkareem | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-21
A series of tit-for-tat attacks have culminated in a large-scale Houthi attack on Saudi state oil facilities on Friday. The United States has yet to blame Iran for the attack.
mintpressnews.com/houthis-allegedly-capt…

As Media Amplifies Unrest in Venezuela and Beyond, Millions Are Quietly Revolting in Colombia
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-21
Despite protests of historic proportions fueled by anger over corruption and a brutal right-wing crackdown, the unrest in Colombia has garnered remarkably little international media attention compared to Venezuela.
mintpressnews.com/media-silent-millions-…

One Winning Way to Build the Peace Movement and One Losing Way
Richard Moser | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
Q. What cloaks the empire and turns a mighty movement into a mirage? A. Narrow partisan politics. When anti-war activism plays second-fiddle to "follow the leader" the chosen champion and the opposing villian loom so large that they become the main focus of attention obscuring the empire and dumbing the movement down. But, build independent…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/one-winning-…

Malcolm X's Daughter Ilyasah Shabazz on Her Father's Legacy and New Docuseries
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-21
Fifty-five years ago today, Malcolm X was assassinated. The civil rights leader was shot to death on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. He was only 39 years old. Details of his assassination remain disputed to this day. Earlier this month, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said he was considering reopening the investigation, just days after a new documentary series about the assassination was released on Netflix called Who Killed Malcolm X? It makes the case that…
truthout.org/video/malcolm-xs-daughter-i…

On JFK, Tulsi Gabbard Keeps Very Respectable Company
Jefferson Morley | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
On Monday night in Fairfax, Virginia, Donald Jeffries, author and talk radio host, asked Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard about a book she was seen carrying, "JFK and the Unspeakable." Published in 2008, the book is a Catholic philosopher's meditation about the assassination of liberal president John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, one of…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/on-jfk-tulsi…

Trump Would "Chew Him Up and Spit Him Out," Bernie Sanders Warns of Bloomberg
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-21
Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview set to air Sunday that Michael Bloomberg's performance in the Democratic presidential debate Wednesday night showed that President Donald Trump would make easy work of the former New York City mayor in a general election debate. | Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, told Anderson Cooper that he wa…
truthout.org/articles/trump-would-chew-h…

Bernie Should Own the Socialist Label
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
Bernie Sanders is currently the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. He and everyone else knows exactly how the Republicans will attack him if and when he becomes the nominee: old-fashioned redbaiting. China became communist in name only during the 1980s, the Soviet Union shut its doors in 1991, the Cold War is dead, and…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/bernie-shoul…

Bernie Sanders's Secret to Attracting Latino Support: Talking to Them
Aída Chávez | zcomm.org | 2020-02-21
The campaign, which has knocked on more than 200,000 doors in Nevada in the past 17 days, is also getting organizing help from two major Latino groups…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/bernie-sanderss-se…

Canada: 1,000 Rail Employees Laid-off Due to Railway Blockade
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
Canada's passenger train service company, Via Rail, temporarily laid off 1,000 employees, while indigenous groups continue to block roads in several parts of the country. | RELATED: | Protests Continue Against Gas Pipeline Construction in Canada | "The layoffs are due to the cancellation of services that have taken place in much of our passenger transportation network," the government company Via Rail reported Thursday. | Via Rail has also been forced to cancel 530 passenger tr…
telesurenglish.net/news/canada-1000-via-…

18 Chilean Films to Compete for the 'Golden Bear' in Berlin
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
Chile became Thursday the first Latin American country to participate in the European Film Market (EFM), an event which is part of the celebration of the Berlin film festival, "the Berlinale." | RELATED: | Chile: 3,765 Injured,10,000 Detained Protesters Since October | The 70th edition of the prestigious international event, in which Chile will participate in the "Focus Country" section, is one of the best places to promote Latin American films. | One of them is Indigenous voi…
telesurenglish.net/news/chile-first-lati…

Freedom of movement is a fundamental freedom and there is an alternative to borders
Hamzah Akhtar and Kay Glover | thecanary.co | 2020-02-21
This is a guest post from Hamzah Akhtar and Kay Glover who are activists with Our Future Now and helped organise the Freedom of Movement 2.0 conference attended by The Canary. | Imagine if, through no fault of your own, you were no longer able to make a livelihood because of the destructive effects of climate change. Imagine if you weren't able to live a peaceful life because of conflict ravaging your country. Perhaps you were a farmer who could no longer have goats graze on the land because of the p…
thecanary.co/opinion/2020/02/21/freedom-…

'Essential and Urgent Climate Action'
Jessica Corbett | zcomm.org | 2020-02-21
Over 570 Groups Endorse Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez's Fracking Ban Act…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/essential-and-urge…

Greta Thunberg Is Urging Her Followers To Support Wet'suwet'en Pipeline Protests
Helena Hanson | zcomm.org | 2020-02-21
For the second time in just two weeks, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has spoken publicly about the Wet'suwet'en solidarity protests in Canada…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/greta-thunberg-is-…

Paul Paz y Miño, Saqib Bhatti & Beverly Bell on Environmental Justice & Cross-National Solidarity
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2020-02-21
There will only be an increasing number of frontline struggles between extractive, climate-disrupting industry and those willing to stand up to it. Corporate media's inadequate attention, and unwillingness to truly call out the moneyed interests causing present and future harms, make them more often part of the problem than the solution.
fair.org/home/paul-paz-y-mino-saqib-bhat…

Bloomberg is a Climate Change Con Man
Joshua Frank | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
It's an open secret in green circles that Michael Bloomberg is a climate change con man, and organizations like the Sierra Club that take hundreds of millions in donations from the former New York City mayor to fight coal, are complicit in his fraudulent scheme to coopt the climate change movement.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/bloomberg-is…

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion climate change fund
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
In response to growing opposition within Amazon, as well as society as a whole, to the growing climate crisis and the role of super-rich billionaires in it, Bezos, the world's richest person, has launched a new philanthropic fund.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/bezo…

How dare you! Climate-sensitive snail named after Greta Thunberg
rt.com | 2020-02-21
In addition to Time magazine's Person of the Year and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has received a new accolade from the scientific community, and it's something. | To mark all of her achievements, a team of researchers has decided to endow her with arguably the greatest honor of all: they… erm… named a snail after her. | The 'Craspedotropis gretathunbergae' is a new species of temperature-sensitive land snail discovered by Taxon expeditions in the forests of Borneo. | "The newly described snail belongs to the so-called caenogastropods, a group of land snai…
rt.com/news/481359-greta-thunberg-snail-…

Doomsday prophecies of ancient methane being released as temperatures rise are WRONG, say scientists
rt.com | 2020-02-21
The climate change movement has long warned that, as global temperatures rise, we run the risk of releasing vast reserves of trapped methane into the atmosphere and bringing about the end of days. New research says: probably not. | Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York studied methane emissions from a period in Earth's history which bears many similarities to our current climate, examining ice cores taken from the last period of deglaciation some 8,000 to 15,000 years ago. | By closely examining air samples extracted from these frozen ice cores, the researchers found that even if the methane i…
rt.com/news/481389-doomsday-prophecies-m…

The 2020 Africa Climate Week to Face Paris Agreement Challenges
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
People from all over the world are expected to participate in the 2020 Africa Climate Week (ACW), which is to be held in Kampala, Uganda, to discuss ways to implement the Paris Agreement. | RELATED: | 2010-2019: The Decade Confirming Global Climate Change | "We must show the world is capable of working together to tackle our most urgent challenges," the High-Level Champions for Climate Action participant Nigel Topping said. | The ACW seeks that representatives from the public and priv…
telesurenglish.net/news/africa-debates-m…

Colombia: Teachers, Students, Truck Drivers on Demonstrations
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
Colombia's largest cities Friday are the scene of protests against President Ivan Duque performed by students, teachers, and truck drivers. | RELATED: | Colombia: Colonel Involves General in Extrajudicial Killings | Initially, truck drivers' claims were motivated by restrictions on vehicular traffic in Bogota, a city that limited the circulation of tr…
telesurenglish.net/news/teachers-and-stu…

Another 'highly likely'-style accusation: Moscow brushes aside 'evidence-free' Georgia cyberattack
rt.com | 2020-02-21
The US and its allies have claimed Russia's military intelligence defaced Georgian websites with an image of the country's former president. Moscow says the accusation is not backed by any evidence and is clearly just a PR stunt. | In late October last year, Georgia suffered what was described as the largest cyberattack in its history. Over 15,000 web pages

EXCHANGE: Left Media and Venezuela
Lucas Koerner | mronline.org | 2020-02-21
The sociologist never levels the "authoritarian" charge against his own government, despite the United States' murderous lawlessness at home and abroad–mass deportations, illegal wars, serial police killings, etc.–all in the absence of any credible external threat. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/21/left-media-and-v…

Half of Indians hate Trump's trade war policies, but increasingly trust him on other 'world affairs'
rt.com | 2020-02-21
As US President Donald Trump nears the end of his first term in office, his popularity among Indians is soaring, but the same cannot be said about his protectionist trade policies, which enjoy little fanfare. | On the heels of Trump's first state visit to India early next week, the Pew polling firm has released new data on Indians' attitudes toward the US president, showing that while his confidence rating in the realm of world affairs has jumped over four-fold since he took office in 2016

Bolsonaro Administration Claims Murder Reduction Rate in Brazil
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
The G1 website, in association with the Public Security Forum and the Center for the Study of Violence at the University of Sà£o Paulo (NEV-USP), published statistical information about a lower homicide rate in Brazil. Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's president, and Minister Sergio Moro are now presenting this statistic variation as an accomplishment of their administration. | RELATED: | Bolsonaro: 'More and More the Indian Is a Human Being Like Us' | These results correspond with…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolsonaro-admini…

Video: The 5G Trojan Horse
Derrick Broze | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
Transcript and Sources | My name is Derrick Broze. For the past 8 years I have worked as an independent freelance investigative journalist in Houston, Texas. Since 2012 I have covered a wide range of topics, from indigenous resistance at Standing …
globalresearch.ca/5g-trojan-horse-docume…

Indigenous Resistance Shakes the Canadian State
John Clarke | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
In early February, the RCMP, Canada's colonial police force, raided the land defender camps of the Wet'suwet'en people in British Columbia, in order to clear the way for pipeline construction. Clearly, none of the political decision makers responsible for this …
globalresearch.ca/indigenous-resistance-…

Business interests pressure Trudeau to crush Indigenous anti-pipeline protests
Morning Star | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-21
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resisted calls for a violent crackdown on Indigenous protesters resisting the construction of a gas pipeline through their lands. Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers have already forcibly cleared roadblocks set up by Wet'suwet'en First Nation hereditary chiefs in a bid to prevent work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. …
peoplesworld.org/article/business-intere…

Iraq regime needs to be changed again, argues ex-aide for Cheney and Bolton… referring to something he helped to install
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Baghdad's ruling class is beyond saving, so it's time to scrap it in its entirety, believes a neocon pundit who served in the Bush administration. What was the saying about doing the same thing and hoping for different results? | Things are really bad in Iraq these days. There are mass protests, where young people demand democracy, an end to corruption and that Iranians go back to their country. But Iranians have been "imperially usurping the authority of Iraq's elected leaders," and now "the rot of Iranian penetration" has rendered the entire Iraqi ruling class beyond saving. They need to go, and the US has t…
rt.com/news/481405-new-regime-change-ira…

Pompeo meets with Oman's new ruler amid US-Iran tensions
rt.com | 2020-02-21
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the new ruler of Oman on Friday. The Gulf Arab country has close ties with both Washington and Tehran, and has previously provided a back channel for talks between the adversaries. | Pompeo's stop in Oman to meet Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said is the highest-level US visit to the country since he was selected as successor to longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died on January 10 after 50 years in power, AP reports. | Oman supported the Obama administration's nuclear agreement with Iran and world powers, from which the US withdrew under President Donald Trump.
rt.com/newsline/481424-pompeo-oman-sulta…

Saudis 'intercept missiles fired from Yemen' as Pompeo tours kingdom with 'Iranian threat' show & promotes US air defenses (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Several ballistic missiles fired from the direction of Yemen were allegedly intercepted by Saudi Arabia's air defenses, as the US secretary of state travels the country talking up the "Iranian threat" and the might of US weapons. | The missiles are said to have been launched from the direction of Yemen's capital, Sanaa and reportedly targeted an oil terminal near the city of Yanbu early on Friday morning local time, though few details about the attack have been confirmed. | "The Royal Saudi Air Defense intercepted ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militia towards Saudi cities," th…
rt.com/news/481329-saudi-yemen-missiles-…

Apocalypse Now! Insects, Pesticide and a Public Health Crisis
Colin Todhunter | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
In 2017, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics, Baskut Tuncak, produced a report that called for a comprehensive new global treaty to regulate and phase out the use of dangerous pesticides in farming and move towards sustainable agricultural practices. In addition to the devastating impacts on human health,…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/apocalypse-n…

'Fare Hikes Are Not on the Agenda', Argentina's Fernandez Says
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez Thursday said that raising public services' fares is not currently a policy option to overcome the country's economic crisis. | RELATED: | IMF: Argentinian Debt 'Unsustainable', Economic Crisis Deepens | "Increasing fares is not on the current agenda," Fernandez said regarding possible options to pay the country's debt. | "I'm going to take care of the Argentines' pockets until the last minute I am in government," he added. | Previously,…
telesurenglish.net/news/argentina-will-n…

Revealed: The British Government's Covert Media Propaganda Campaign in Syria
Ian Cobain | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
The British government covertly established a network of citizen journalists across Syria during the early years of the country's civil war in an attempt to shape perceptions of the conflict, frequently recruiting people who were unaware that they were being …
globalresearch.ca/british-government-cov…

Left Media and Venezuela: An exchange
Lucas Koerner | mronline.org | 2020-02-21
ucas Koerner's recent piece for Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, "How Western Left Media Helped Legitimate U.S. Regime Change in Venezuela" (1/22/20), is a leading exemplar of a genre of leftist thought which might be termed "shotgun leftism," due to its self-professed "uncompromising" commitment to revolutionary movements and states, and harsh "shoot-'em-up" stance towards anyone […] | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/21/left-media-and-v…

Venezuela declares an energy emergency
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Nicolas Maduro has declared an energy emergency in Venezuela in order to protect the nations oil and ensure energy security. | "I declare an emergency situation in the oil industry by constitutional and presidential decree in order to take urgent and necessary measures to ensure the country's energy security and protect the industry from imperialist aggression," Maduro said. | "Clause 2 creates a plenipotentiary presidential commission for the protection, restructuring and reorganization of the national oil industry." | Tomando como base la actual coyuntura geopolítica de permanente agresión contra Venezuela,…
rt.com/business/481373-venezuela-declare…

Venezuelan Parliament Reinstates Committee to Choose New CNE
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
The deputies of the Bloque de la Patria and of the Venezuelan opposition in the National Assembly announced that the period of nominations for the Preliminary Commission that will choose the members of the new National Electoral Council (CNE) will soon be over. | RELATED: | Maduro Announces Measures to Defend Venezuela's Oil Industry | The preliminary committee was installed last December, but the elections of the new directive of the National Assembly on January 5th and the refu…
telesurenglish.net/news/venezuelan-parli…

Candidates Receive Endorsements From Democrats Who Benefited From Their PACs
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-21
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg's deep pockets and history of political spending seem to have benefited the Democratic presidential candidate as the race tightens

'Some people have too much money': Bloomberg trolled for Trump eats 'burnt steak' and 'cheats at golf' billboards
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Michael Bloomberg's latest bid to get support is a series of Nevada billboards trolling Trump for everything from how he likes his steak cooked to how he plays golf, but folks aren't buying into the childish antics. | You can't say Bloomberg isn't trying. In his attempt to become the 2020 presidential nominee for the Democrat Party, the billionaire has spent hundreds of millions of dollars already and the 5'8″ former New York City mayor is even enduring perhaps President Donald Trump's most vicious nickname for a rival yet

Russia and Turkey, "Allies" Fighting One Another: On Opposite Sides of the War on Syria
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
US forever war in Syria shows no signs of ending because restoration of peace and stability to the country would be a major strategic blow to Washington's aim for controlling the Middle East

Fake email 'from outside the country' made Ukrainians throw stones at Wuhan evacuees, BuzzFeed report implies
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Violent protests in Ukraine over the evacuation of its citizens from infection-stricken China was triggered by a foreign psyop, a report at BuzzFeed wants reader to believe. Well, what isn't Russia's fault? | On Thursday, local residents in a small Ukrainian town tried to stop buses carrying people evacuated from Wuhan, China. Panicked beyond all reason, they erected roadblocks, burned tires, and ultimately pelted the vehicles carrying evacuees with stones

Why Renew the "Ultra Secret" Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court?
Renee Parsons | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
As the emerging Quantum World continues to shake reality as we once knew it, it is no coincidence that the ultra-secret FISA Court has been unwittingly thrust into the public spotlight of the FBI Russiagate scandal

Britain First leader Paul Golding charged under the Terrorism Act
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-21
The leader of far-right political group Britain First has been charged with an offence under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his phone. | Paul Golding was stopped at Heathrow Airport in October on his way back from a trip to the Russian Parliament in Moscow by officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. | He refused to give the pin codes for a number of his electronic devices. | Golding was later charged with refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the act. | In a statement, Golding said he was not a terrorist and described the charges as "an abuse of legislation". | Sc…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/02/21/britain-…

Intelligence Officials: Russia Is Boosting Trump Candidacy
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-21
WASHINGTON

The Soviet Century
Kerron àì Luain | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
Moshe Lewin (1921-2010) was a scholar of Russian and Soviet history. Of Jewish stock, he was born in what is now modern Lithuania. In his youth he worked on a collectivized farm and in a metallurgy factory in the Soviet state, before enlisting in the Red Army during the Second World War. Afterwards, Lewin spent…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/the-soviet-c…

Shadow of war: What are the odds Turkey will start a full-scale offensive against Syria in Idlib?
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Tensions are boiling over between Ankara and Damascus as Turkey vowed to take matters into its own hands and openly intervene in Syria's Idlib province, where government forces are routing the Turkish-backed militants. | The troubled north-western province is the last major bastion of the militants in war-torn Syria. It saw another round of escalating violence on Thursday. Local armed groups seeking to push back the Syrian Army from the territories along the strategic highway it recently seized were counting on support from Turkish artillery, which only stood down after Russian forces in the area intervened.
rt.com/news/481323-turkey-miliary-offens…

Sanctions? Russia attracts $21 BILLION in foreign investments
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Foreign investors poured billions of dollars into the Russian economy last year, according to research from global accounting firm KPMG. Investors appreciated the country's economic stability, it said. | Russia has managed to adapt to Western sanctions (introduced six years ago) and their consequences, KPMG analysts said as cited by business news outlet RBC. | The research showed that the largest increase in investments came from the Asia-Pacific region, with companies and funds pumping in $8.2 billion compared with $2.4 billion in 2018. US investors have also been very active, investing $3.4 billion last year…
rt.com/business/481396-foreign-investmen…

Fighting mounts as Washington backs Turkish attack on Syria, Russia
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
US-backed Turkish military operations targeting Syrian and Russian units in Syria could escalate into an all-out clash between Russia and the entire NATO alliance.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/turk…

'Hoax!' Trump hits back at latest claims that Russia will 'aid' his 2020 campaign
rt.com | 2020-02-21
US President Donald Trump has slammed the recently reported (but unsubstantiated) claims that Russia will interfere to help him win the 2020 presidential election, saying the rumors are just "another misinformation campaign." | The New York Times and other media reported on Thursday that Moscow is "aiding" Trump in the upcoming election, citing only anonymous intelligence officials. | Cable networks like MSNBC and CNN instantly amplified the unverified claims, setting in motion another round of 'Russiagate' conspiracy theorizing, almost eleven months after the two-year-long Mueller investigation found no evide…
rt.com/usa/481415-trump-tweet-russia-202…

Zombie collusion? Clinton pounces on latest 'Russian meddling' report to rally the troops, because it worked so well in 2016
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Hillary Clinton has seized upon the latest claim that Russia is 'interfering' in the 2020 election to renew her assault on US President Donald Trump, while a lack of evidence casts even the vague report into doubt. | Clinton crowed an 'I told you so' in response to an NBC reporter's tweet suggesting Trump had desperately wanted to keep the latest installment in the never-ending 'Russian meddling' soap opera under wraps. Accusing the president of "taking Russian help for himself," she exhorted her followers to keep "Putin's Puppet" from securing a second term. | Putin's Puppet is at it again, taking Russian hel…
rt.com/usa/481429-clinton-russian-collus…

Russia's most famous rocker enters politics: 'Leningrad' star Shnurov may RUN for SEAT in parliament
rt.com | 2020-02-21
Some of the West's biggest rock stars, such as Bono and Chris Martin, have tried their hand at political activism. However, they've drawn the line at crossing the divide and standing for election themselves. | Russians, of course, do things differently and Moscow media is speculating that the country's own 'Rock God' Sergey Shnurov could soon be swapping concert stages for a seat in the national parliament (the Duma). On Thursday, he announced he was to become a member of the center-right Party of Growth, at a local Saint Petersburg party meeting. | It had long been rumored that Shnurov would enter the politic…
rt.com/russia/481401-russian-star-shnuro…

Video: Turkey's War on Syria. Bluff or Reality?
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
Turkey will take the Idlib matter into its own hands and the military operation in northwestern Syria is simply a "matter of time", President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on February 19. Erdogan said that Turkey is not satisfied with talks …
globalresearch.ca/video-turkish-war-syri…

Five Palestinian Detainees' Homes to be Demolished
Staff | imemc.org | 2020-02-21
The Israeli Supreme Court today gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the military to demolish the family homes of five Palestinian detainees allegedly involved in the killing of a settler in late August 2019. All five are from the Ramallah area, and are serving long terms in Israeli prison camps. …
imemc.org/article/five-palestinian-detai…

UN chief appeals for end to Syria's 'man-made humanitarian nightmare'
news.un.org | 2020-02-21
In a tersely delivered statement on Friday, the UN Secretary-General appealed for an end to the "man-made humanitarian nightmare" currently unfolding in Syria, where ongoing military operations in the north-west have displaced hundreds of thousands amid bitter winter temperatures.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1…

Uruguay: Lacalle's Investiture Ceremony Alined With US Biases
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
Uruguay's President-elect Luis Lacalle decided not to invite the diplomatic representatives of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to his investiture ceremony on March 1rst. | RELATED: | Lacalle Looks to Turn Uruguay Into Tax Haven Again | "We have taken the decision not to invite the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua to my inaugural ceremony. It's my decision," Lacalle said. | He alleged that those countries violate the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), which…
telesurenglish.net/news/lacalle-excludes…

Femicide of Peruvian Activist Solsiret Rodriguez Still Unsolved
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
Three years and a half after the feminist activist Solsiret Rodriguez' femicide, the Prosecutor's Office of Peru asked for preventive detention against the confessed authors Andrea Aguirre and Kevin Villanueva, her friend and ex-brother-in-law, respectively. | RELATED: | Suspects in Fatima Femicide Case Arrested in Mexico | Callao provincial prosecutor Jimmy Mansilla announced Thursday that he will request nine months of pretrial detention against Aguirre and Villanueva as alleged co-authors of the qualified…
telesurenglish.net/news/authors-of-solsi…

2 Palestinians Injured by Israeli Settlers North of Jericho
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-21
At least two Palestinians were injured on Friday when a group of extremist Israeli settlers invaded the Bedouin village of Ein el-Auja, north of Jericho, in the central occupied West Bank, local sources said. Mahmoud Ghawanmeh, a local rights activist, told the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) that dozens …
imemc.org/article/2-palestinians-injured…

Israel Delivers Demolition Orders for Four Palestinian Structures
Staff | imemc.org | 2020-02-21
The Israeli army today issued demolition orders against four Palestinian residential structures in Masafer Yatta in the south of the occupied West Bank, according to Fouad al-Amoor, a local activist. Al-Amoor told the Palestinian news agency WAFA that Israeli forces raided Masafer Yatta and delivered the demolition notices to the …
imemc.org/article/israel-delivers-demoli…

Thousands of Israeli Settlers Storm two Jordan Valley Villages
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-21
Thousands of Israeli settlers on Friday stormed the Palestinian villages of al-Burj and Umm al-Qaba in the northern Jordan Valley, northern occupied West Bank. Aref Daraghmeh, a local activist, confirmed to the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) that Israeli forces escorted a convoy of buses packed with some 4,000 …
imemc.org/article/thousands-of-israeli-s…

'Who Killed Malcolm X?' seeks justice while showing leader's continued relevance
Chauncey K. Robinson | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-21
"There's no statute of limitations on murder… There is still a chance to get justice for Malcolm."

Extensive Chemical Safety Fraud Uncovered at German Testing Laboratory
Jonathan Latham | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
The case of an animal rights activist who infiltrated an independent German chemical testing laboratory has triggered the discovery of an apparently extensive chemical testing fraud. LPT Hamburg, with around 175 employees, is one of the largest contract laboratories in Germany. It is a family owned private company. It prepares regulatory studies on behalf of…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/extensive-ch…

More Real-Time Reflections from Your Friendly South Loop Marxist
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
Sunday 2/16 Monday, 2/17 Nina Simone 1968: "Ain't got no class, ain't got no culture, ain't got no faith, ain't got no water, ain't got no money, ain't got no country…ain't got no God." Stirring the Caldron So the demented fascist oligarch Donald Trump took "the Beast" on a Victory Lap around the Daytona 500…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/more-real-ti…

The Government of Israel Has A Very Serious Antisemitism Problem
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-21
The government of Israel is engaged in what is perhaps the worst example of antisemitism in the world today, writes Miko Peled, and its aimed at its very own Orthodox Jewish community.
mintpressnews.com/government-israel-anti…

Situation in central Mali 'deteriorating' as violence, impunity rise, UN rights expert warns
news.un.org | 2020-02-21
The growing violence has contributed to a deteriorating security situation in central Mali, with impunity being one of the aggravating factors, an independent UN human rights expert warned on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1…

Wendy's Billionaire Owner Has Held Trump's Priciest Fundraiser to Date
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-21
Donald Trump just benefited from the most expensive fundraiser of his entire presidency hosted by none other than Nelson Peltz, the hedge fund billionaire who owns fast food mega-chain Wendy's. The chain, however, continues to spurn the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' demands to join the Fair Food Program, an effort that has received a Presidential Medal of Honor for creating safer working conditions for farmworkers. | The fundraiser was held February 15 at Peltz's lavish $136.4 million Palm Beach es…
truthout.org/articles/wendys-billionaire…

Chicago's Lightfoot Administration to Defend Jon Burge's Torture Henchmen
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-21
Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration is poised to embark on defending two of the most notorious of Jon Burge's midnight crew

Federal Appeals Court Rules Florida Voting Restrictions Unconstitutional
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-21
In a great win for democracy on Wednesday, a federal appeals court delivered a major blow to the efforts of politicians in Florida to thwart the historic Amendment 4. | Florida used to (and the operative phrase is "used to") permanently disenfranchise all persons with felony convictions, a policy rooted in racism. It didn't matter what you did, how old you were when you did i…
truthout.org/articles/federal-appeals-co…

EU Reaffirms its Support for Palestinian State
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-21
Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union/Vice-President of the European Commission, on Thursday, met with the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Riyad Al-Malki. Borrell stressed the EU's continued commitment to a negotiated two-state solution, and welcomed the Palestinian commitment …
imemc.org/article/eu-reaffirms-its-suppo…