Daily Archives: February 22, 2021

2021-02-22: News Headlines

Ralph Nader (2021-02-22). Why Didn't Speaker Pelosi Want Witnesses? counterpunch.org Democratic leaders told the House managers to huddle privately with Trump's defense lawyers to strike a deal. They did. They would place a mere statement from Rep. Beutler into the trial record and call no witnesses. The Republicans couldn't have been more delighted, knowing that the Democratic leadership wanted the trial over that day before Congress went on a week-long vacation.

Alan Macleod (2021-02-22). Saturday Night Live Controversy Hides Greater Issues Around Israeli Apartheid. mintpressnews.com "The real joke here is how this extremely obvious reality is taboo and calling any attention to it is subject to a massive pressure campaign when the real pressure campaign should be against Apartheid, not those calling attention to it."

_____ (2021-02-22). On Contact: The Power Of Classics. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges discusses with Emily Allen-Hornblower and Marquis McCray the power of the classics, such as Sophocles' play Philoctetes, to elucidate mass incarceration. | Emily Allen-Hornblower is a professor of Classics at Rutgers University and is the recipient of a Whiting Foundation grant to foster dialogues about the classics with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women. | Marquis McCray is a social justice advocate. He spent 28 years in prison, during which time he studied the classics through the prison college program offered by Rutgers University.

The Conversation (2021-02-22). WHO Busts Wuhan Myths: Pandemic started with wild Animal, not Lab, and Wet Market wasn't Ground Zero. juancole.com By Dominic Dwyer | — As I write, I am in hotel quarantine in Sydney, after returning from Wuhan, China. There, I was the Australian representative on the international World Health Organization's (WHO) investigation into the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Much has been said of the politics surrounding the mission to investigate the viral …

Margaret Flowers (2021-02-22). Global Solidarity Is Needed During The Pandemic To End Medical Apartheid. dissidentvoice.org Some of the truths the COVID-19 pandemic is exposing about the United States are its racial disparities in health and access to health care. Black and Indigenous people are more likely to be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 than white people. They are two to three times more likely to be hospitalized and …

Jomo Kwame Sundaram (2021-02-22). IP, vaccine imperialism cause death and suffering, delay recovery. mronline.org Vaccine developers' refusal to share publicly funded vaccine research findings is stalling broader, affordable vaccinations which would more rapidly contain COVID-19 contagion. The pandemic had infected at least 109 million people worldwide, causing over 2.4 million deaths as of mid-February.

Staff (2021-02-22). The pandemics of racism and COVID-19 are a deadly mix. therealnews.com A century of racist public policy laid the foundation for deep racial inequities in employment and vaccination rates in the U.S. pandemic response.

Staff (2021-02-22). Fossil Fuel Shock Doctrine: Naomi Klein on Deadly Deregulation & Why Texas Needs the Green New Deal. democracynow.org Millions of Texans are still suffering after severe winter weather devastated the state's energy and water systems. About 8 million Texans remain under orders to boil water, and 30,000 homes still have no power. Around 70 deaths have now been linked to the winter storms, including at least 12 people who died inside their homes after losing heat. Republican lawmakers in Texas are facing increasing criticism for their handling of the crisis, their decades-long push to deregulate the state's energy system, and their unfounded attacks on renewable energy and the Green New Deal. Naomi Klein, senior correspondent at Th…

MEE staff (2021-02-22). Covid-19: Former Israeli minister urges denial of vaccine to Palestinians in Gaza. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Former Israeli minister urges denial of vaccine to Palestinians in Gaza | Ayelet Shaked argued humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged territory should be blocked over bodies of two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 14: 57 | A Palestinian health worker holds swab samples collected to test for Covid-19 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 16 February 2021 (AFP) | Former Isr…

Shatha Hammad (2021-02-22). 'They destroyed our dreams': Israel's bulldozers target Palestinian women farmers. middleeasteye.net 'They destroyed our dreams': Israel's bulldozers target Palestinian women farmers | The Palestinian women workforce faces a 'direct threat', as Israeli forces raze their agricultural lands | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 11: 05 | On 6 December 2020, Israeli bulldozers carried out one of the largest tree uprooting operations to date in the West Bank, destroying 3,400 olive trees in one day (Social media/Daoud A…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-22). Red Books Day celebrated internationally to mark 173 years since the publication of 'The Communist Manifesto'. peoplesdispatch.org On February 21, 1948 the Manifesto of the Communist Party written by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels was first published in the UK. The book is recognized as one of the most influential in the history of humankind and it has been translated in almost all languages in the world.

_____ (2021-02-22). Prisons Prime Testing Ground for Dehumanizing Hi-Tech 'Advances'. strategic-culture.org 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. | By Raul DIEGO | Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is coming under fire again from Democratic lawmakers, as well as from the American Postal Workers Union, who are calling for President Joe Biden to pave the way for DeJoy's removal after the Trump-appointee

Howard Lisnoff (2021-02-22). One Flew Over the US. counterpunch.org On the best route (also the route that the Metro North Railroad follows) to New York City from western Massachusetts, stands the remnants of a long-abandoned state psychiatric facility (Harlem Valley State Hospital) in upstate New York. The many buildings that housed mentally ill people, like others in many states, have the appearance of brick military-style

Staff (2021-02-22). This Is What Deregulation Looks Like: Some Texans Face $10K+ in Electric Bills, Others Still in Dark. democracynow.org When millions of Texans lost power during extreme winter weather, some who were fortunate enough to keep the lights on now face astronomically high energy bills, with people being charged thousands of dollars for just a few days of energy use. The skyrocketing bills are a result of the state's years-long push to deregulate its energy market, says Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program. "We are seeing in these deregulated environments unscrupulous companies preying on their assumption that households will not understand or read the fine print," says Slocum. We also speak with Texas resident Akil…

Staff (2021-02-22). No Heat or Water, Overflowing Toilets, Disgusting Food: Texas Prisons Went "from Bad to Dire" in Storm. democracynow.org As winter storms overwhelmed Texas, many incarcerated people in the state went days without heat and water, making already grim conditions behind bars even more intolerable for thousands of people. Officials say 33 prisons across the state lost power and 20 had water shortages after the state's electrical grid failed. Staff shortages compounded the problems, and some incarcerated people report not being provided with blankets to keep warm in their freezing cells and being served inedible food. "Texas prison conditions have gone from bad to dire," says Marshall Project reporter Keri Blakinger. "Prisons didn't real…

RT (2021-02-22). 'Inviting erosion of voter confidence': Justice Thomas calls out SCOTUS for 'baffling' refusal to hear Pennsylvania election case. rt.com The US Supreme Court has refused to hear two lawsuits over Pennsylvania rules in the 2020 election, saying they were now moot. Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas argued that, if left unaddressed, this risks damaging democracy. | Among the BREAKING: <...

RT (2021-02-22). Trump cries it's 'fascism, not justice' as SCOTUS allows release of tax returns to NY prosecutor, adds he 'won' 2020 election. rt.com Former US President Donald Trump has lashed out at the Supreme Court after his lawyers failed to block his tax returns and financial records from being released to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. | The court's ruling was in response to Trump's team filing an emergency order in October 2020, seeking to shield his financial records from prosecutors. | The

Prensa Latina (2021-02-22). Cuba en vicepresidencia del Comité de ONU sobre Descolonización. peoplesworld.org Naciones Unidas, 18 feb (Prensa Latina) Cuba fue electa hoy para la vicepresidencia del Comité Especial de Descolonización de la ONU, cargo que asume con el compromiso de seguir luchando para erradicar el colonialismo en cualquiera de sus manifestaciones. Así expresó el representante permanente del país caribeño ante Naciones Unidas, Pedro Luis Pedroso, al asumir …

Jordan Woll (2021-02-22). Will Biden scrap Afghanistan withdrawal? liberationnews.org To the extent that the administration is still considering following through on the withdrawal, it is an expression of the military failure of the United States over the long course of the war.

George Ochenski (2021-02-22). Who Messed with Texas? counterpunch.org Texans like to brag endlessly about how great their state is, its "independence," and warn, "don't mess with Texas." But as millions of Texans now huddle freezing in the dark of this self-proclaimed "energy capital of the world," it might be worth thinking about how this tragedy happened, who and what caused it, and why Republican politicians are trying to blame renewable energy for a problem caused by poorly built and maintained fossil fuel generation facilities and the predatory capitalism of its deregulated energy system.

Miko Peled (2021-02-22). 2011 Book Gives Voice to Palestinian Women Who Survived 1948 Nakba. mintpressnews.com "If you'd only seen the bodies in the streets, if you only had seen the bodies. Little children without their shoes walking about the mayhem and crying."

Yves Engler (2021-02-22). Haitian Official stashes Wealth in Montréal. dissidentvoice.org Recent media reports of a Haitian official stashing wealth in Montréal property ignore a key element of the story: Canada's contribution to enabling Haitian corruption. As a neo-Duvalierist regime becomes ever more dictatorial it's also worth revisiting Canada's history in facilitating fraud and money laundering in the hemisphere's most impoverished nation. Recently La Presse reported …

Hugo Murphy (2021-02-22). The Weekly Round-up: Free Speech: Chilling Effects or Phantom Threats? ukhumanrightsblog.com A number of legal developments put free speech under the spotlight this week. First, media commentators disputed the significance of the Duchess of Sussex's successful privacy claim against Associated Newspaper Limited, covered in last week's round-up. A leader in The Times issued the grave warning that 'Mr Justice Warby's judgment creates a precedent that will have a chilling effect on …

Brian W. Major (2021-02-22). 'Judas and the Black Messiah,' the story of revolutionary Black Panther Fred Hampton. peoplesworld.org In the summer of 2020, the United States, as in much of the world, experienced an uptick in activism around the issue of racial oppression. The recent increase in police killings of Black people, exemplified by George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, was answered by the militancy of those who have simply had too much. Black …

Orinoco Tribune (2021-02-22). New European Union sanctions on democratic elections: 30 Venezuelan politicians to be sanctioned. mronline.org The European Union (EU) announced this Friday, February 19, that the body will sanction about thirty Venezuelan leaders for participating in the legislative elections last December, reported Europa Press, alluding to a "high ranked official" of the community bloc.

Brett Wilkins (2021-02-22). Texas refineries used storm to hide release of tons of pollutants. peoplesworld.org Editor's note: This article has been reprinted from EcoWatch. Texas oil refineries released hundreds of thousands of pounds of pollutants including benzene, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfur dioxide into the air as they scrambled to shut down during last week's deadly winter storm, Reuters reported Sunday. Winter storm Uri, which killed dozens of people …

Harold Geddings III (2021-02-22). District Court declares South Carolina Republicans' anti-abortion bill unconstitutional. peoplesworld.org South Carolina's draconian Senate Bill 1, the "Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act," hit its first legal snag on Friday when U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis issued a two-week temporary restraining order while the case works its way through the courts. Issued just a day after Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill …

José A. Amesty R. (2021-02-22). Crisis sin Precedentes en Ecuador: Desafío para Andrés Arauz. globalizacion.ca Independientemente de cualquiera sea el ganador a la presidencia en el Ecuador, Arauz o Lasso, se tendrá que enfrentar a una brutal crisis, herencia de Lenin Moreno, por ejemplo, la crisis de salud, ocasionada por la pandemia del Coronavirus, atendida…

Erik Molvar (2021-02-22). "Apocalypse Cow:" Point Reyes National Seashore Launches a Propaganda War Targeting Independent Journalism. counterpunch.org Grab your popcorn: The battle over livestock destruction of natural ecosystems at Point Reyes National Seashore is heating up. For years, conservationists have pointed out the ecologically catastrophic toll that beef and dairy ranching has been having on native coastal prairies, the wildlife that depend on these places, and public health and safety. As the

PAI (2021-02-22). Impeachment manager Raskin's last word on Trump: He's 'a traitor'. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—Unveiling a key word he never uttered during Donald Trump's impeachment trial in mid-February, chief House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., has labeled former White House Republican denizen Trump a "traitor." Raskin, a longtime constitutional law professor, delivered that verdict at the opening of a short Zoom video speech to the Government Employees …

Sonali Kolhatkar (2021-02-22). GOP Offers Preview of Brutal Climate Policies in Texas. counterpunch.org As Texas battles a severe snowstorm and mass power outages this winter, Tim Boyd, the now-former Republican mayor of Colorado City, revealed his party's plan for the deadly extreme temperatures linked to climate change. In a lengthy Facebook post that was deleted soon after it went viral, then-Mayor Boyd told his residents that they were entirely on their own as the brutal winter weather caused mayhem and deaths across the Lone Star state.

Ben Cowles (2021-02-22). NGO refugee rescue ship left waiting on European help that never came. peoplesworld.org An NGO refugee rescue ship in the central Mediterranean waited hours today for help from the Maltese and Italian coastguards that never came after the vessel saved the lives of 148 people, 28 more than it is legally allowed to carry. Basque charity Humanitarian Maritime Rescue (SMH) announced in the morning that the Aita Mari …

John Wojcik (2021-02-22). It will take more than dumping Trump to stop the neo-fascists. peoplesworld.org At the end of World War II, we saw a worldwide defeat of fascism. Millions in countries around the planet rejected what their fascist overlords had to offer—racism, genocide, economic austerity, and war. U.S. and Soviet soldiers marched for the same cause as they defeated fascism in one country after another. The liberating troops marching …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-22). Protests continue in Haiti against the dictatorship and imperialism. peoplesdispatch.org Another round of massive protests took place on February 21 calling for an end to the dictatorship of Jovenel MoàØse whose term was supposed to end on February 7…

Eric A. Gordon (2021-02-22). Half a million COVID dead: Trump death cult meets shock doctrine. peoplesworld.org Remember just a few short months ago when President Donald Trump floated the number of 200,000 coronavirus deaths as an acceptable number before COVID-19 just vanished like a miracle? The inevitable outcome of Trump's death cult has arrived—as of this week, a staggering half a million Americans in their graves from a disease that could …

M. G. Piety (2021-02-22). Saving the Classics from Blindness. counterpunch.org Dan-el Padilla Peralta, a classics professor at Princeton, was the subject of a recent article in the New York Times Magazine entitled "He Wants to Save the Classics From Whiteness. Can the Field Survive?" Padilla, according to the article, believes classics, as an academic discipline, "has been instrumental to the invention of 'whiteness' and its continued domination." I won't argue with that. I don't know enough about classics as an academic discipline. I do know something about academic disciplines more generally, though, and I have to say that, in my experience, most are characterized by at least unconscious,…

Staff (2021-02-22). Nathan Robinson speaks about losing his Guardian column after criticizing Israel. therealnews.com Current Affairs Editor-in-Chief Nathan Robinson tweeted a joke satirizing U.S. support of Israel, and The Guardian newspaper cancelled his regular op-ed column. Now he speaks with TRNN about facing accusations of anti-Semitism for criticizing Israeli power on Capitol Hill.

Global Research News (2021-02-22). Selected Articles: The Corona Crisis: Over and Over, We Have Been Hoaxed. globalresearch.ca By We bring to the attention of our readers this Global Research Video…

RT (2021-02-22). 'Everything has improved': Chelsea skipper Azpilicueta backs Tuchel takeover after Blues languished under Lampard's leadership. rt.com Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has thrown his weight behind Roman Abramovich's decision to replace club legend Frank Lampard with German boss Thomas Tuchel, admitting that the team had underperformed under their former coach. | The Chelsea hierarchy bit the bullet last month, drawing the curtains on their 18-month Lampard experiment at the West London club after a prolonged spell of poor performances. | Abramovich moved quickly to install the highly-rated former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain manager in the Stamford Bridge dugout — and Tuchel has rewarded the Russian owner by staying unbeate…

RT (2021-02-22). US woman died after receiving coronavirus-infected lungs during organ transplant, study reveals. rt.com A Michigan woman died of Covid-19 last year after getting a double-lung transplant from a donor who turned out to be infected with the virus, according to a medical study describing the first such case in the US. | The unnamed organ recipient had chronic obstructive lung disease, while her donor was another woman, who succumbed to a severe brain injury after a car crash, a The surgery took place at the University Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan in mid-2020…

RT (2021-02-22). Fighting 'disinfo' or chilling attack on free speech? Democrats ask cable operators why they don't CENSOR Fox News, OAN & Newsmax. rt.com In a move condemned by Republicans as a "troubling" attack on free press, Democrats have asked cable and digital operators to justify carrying Fox News, OAN and Newsmax ahead of a hearing on media "disinformation and extremism." | "Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax on your platform both now and beyond the renewal date?" a letter sent Monday by California Democrats Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney asked major cable and digital TV providers in the US. | If so, why? | The letter was addressed to cable and satellite providers Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum, Dish, Verizon, Cox and Altice, as w…

RT (2021-02-22). 'Thank you,' says MyPillow's Mike Lindell as he's finally sued by Dominion after months of begging. rt.com Dominion Voting Systems has filed a lawsuit against MyPillow CEO and vocal Donald Trump supporter Mike Lindell over his election fraud claims, saying "the lie sells pillows." | Lindell is only the latest person to be legally targeted by Dominion over election fraud conspiracy theories. The company filed suit last month against Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, accusing him of pushing election conspiracies to "financially enrich himself." | Dominion is now suing Lindell for defamation, seeking $1.3 billion in damages. | "MyPillow's defamatory marketing campaign — with promo codes like 'FightforTrump', '45', 'P…

RT (2021-02-22). German Special Forces soldiers training in Arizona mistaken for TERRORISTS after 'bizarre' visit to local hospital. rt.com Two members of Germany's Special Forces Command (KSK) were reported to the FBI as likely terrorists after they showed up acting "strange" at a hospital near where they had been conducting weeks of military exercises. | The pair of plainclothed Bundeswehr soldiers turned up at an Arizona medical clinic looking to find out whether Germans would be able to receive treatment there in case of injury or infection with Covid-19. But the mystery men's visit set off alarms among the hospital staff, German outlet Der Spiegel reported on Monday. | Hospital workers immediately alerted the FBI, suspecting the visitors coul…

RT (2021-02-22). 'I'm not going down WITHOUT A FIGHT': Actress Gina Carano vows to overcome cancel mob & 'Disney bullies'. rt.com Actress Gina Carano said she was motivated to fight back against cancel culture and Hollywood bullying because she wanted to make it safe for others to freely speak their minds in a world of increasing left-wing intolerance. | The former MMA fighter, who was fired from the Disney+ TV series 'The Mandalorian' earlier this month because of her social media posts, said she couldn't back down and issue a disingenuous apology after watching other actors steamrolled for politically incorrect views. She anticipated her firing, after months of attacks from the cancel mob, and decided to "go down swinging." | "My body'

Aaliyah Harris (2021-02-22). LGBT+ History Month: 36 brilliant resources for Queer Black, Asian, Ethnic Minority and POC. thecanary.co @SinkT…

Jennifer Wilson (2021-02-22). Elena Ferrante's Class Dramas. thenation.com Her latest novel, The Lying Life of Adults, mines the contradictions of class identity.

RT (2021-02-22). 'Why would anyone get the jab after this?': AP criticized for saying Covid vaccination WON'T bring life back to normal. rt.com Mainstream US media is under fire for publishing an article telling Americans that life won't go back to normal even after they've been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 — and critics argue the message discourages vaccination. | In an AP

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-22). Antonio Guterres criticizes unequal global access to COVID-19 vaccines, calls it 'wildly unfair'. mronline.org 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.

The Canary (2021-02-22). After one month underground anti-HS2 activist decides 'I'm coming out'. thecanary.co An environmental activist who spent almost a month underground in protest at the HS2 railway line has come out from a tunnel near London's Euston Station. Geography lecturer Larch Maxey, 48, had his belongings confiscated by bailiffs on Monday and said in a video he "feels fine", but that medics have persuaded him to go to hospital to "be on the safe side". | "I'm coming out": | The subterranean system was created in secret by protesters who object to the redevelopment of Euston Square Gardens as part of the high-speed railway line. | In a video posted on Monday, Dr Maxey said: I've basically met my match,…

Ragip Soylu (2021-02-22). Greece to install long-range cameras and radars along border with Turkey: Report. middleeasteye.net Greece to install long-range cameras and radars along border with Turkey: Report | Athens continues to tighten border security in a bid to discourage undocumented migration | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 10: 48 | Migrants near the fence of the Turkey-Greece border buffer zone in Edirne, Turkey, 7 March 2020 (AFP) | Greece will position radars and cameras with a range of up to 15km along its land border with Turkey…

Daniel Hemel — Bob Lord (2021-02-22). Jeffrey Epstein's Billionaire Tax Avoidance Assistance Business. counterpunch.org The sex-trafficking scandal surrounding the late Jeffrey Epstein already has tarnished the reputations of prominent politicians, businessmen, and the British royal family. Now it's casting a dark shadow on an estate tax-avoidance strategy popular among Wall Street CEOs and tech entrepreneurs. The strategy exploits a loophole that Congress unintentionally left open when it passed provisions

_____ (2021-02-22). Biden's Great School Reset — Is It a Time for Change? strategic-culture.org The door is open to think about how we can change our 1800's education to meet up with or fight against the demands of this upcoming new industrial revolution, Tim Kirby writes. | It is hard to say exactly why, but political change of a grand sweeping nature simply does not occur without some sort of crisis to demand it. A catalyst is always needed. For years it has been obvious that many office jobs could simply be done from home without wasting employees' time and earnings on a commute and workspace. If it were not for the Coronavirus, driving over an hour to work on an inferior computer in a beige cubicle surr…

_____ (2021-02-22). Beyond Oil: How the UAE's HOPE Mars Mission Is Breaking the Arab World Out of the Crisis of Scarcity. strategic-culture.org The Emiratis understand that their economy, primarily based in oil revenue, though presently lucrative, is a short-term prosperity. A future that is Something truly remarkable happened on Feb. 9th, 2021, which I fear has not been fully comprehended by most of the Western hemisphere in terms of its massive implications as a game-changer in geopolit…

Alex Ewing (2021-02-22). Victims of human trafficking: can they be criminals as well? ukhumanrightsblog.com V.C.L. and A.N. v the United Kingdom (16 February 2021) Human trafficking is internationally recognised as threatening human rights and the fundamental values of democratic societies. States have taken action to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking and to provide support to victims of what is the third largest illicit money-making venture in the world. But …

MEE staff (2021-02-22). Jordan's Queen Noor asks for information on missing Dubai princess Shamsa. middleeasteye.net Jordan's Queen Noor asks for information on missing Dubai princess Shamsa | Princess Shamsa has not been seen for more than 20 years after she was forcefully picked up in UK city of Cambridge | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 17: 03 | Queen Noor serves on board of commissioners for International Commission on Missing Persons (AFP) | Queen Noor of Jordan has asked for information on missing Dubai Princess Shamsa, following r…

Dana Taib Menmy (2021-02-22). Iraq: Alarm raised over free speech in Kurdistan after jailing of journalists. middleeasteye.net Iraq: Alarm raised over free speech in Kurdistan after jailing of journalists | At his trial, Kurdish journalist Sherwan Sherwani repeatedly alleged that authorities had threatened to rape his wife if he did not sign a confession | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 16: 00 | Sherwan Sherwani was arrested in October last year following his coverage of anti-government protests in Dohuk and Erbil provinces (Soci…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-22). British businesswoman helped in failed plot to aid Libya's Haftar, says UN report. middleeasteye.net British businesswoman helped in failed plot to aid Libya's Haftar, says UN report | Three British citizens have been listed as part of security contractor Erik Prince's ill-fated attempt to back the Libyan military commander | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 10: 45 | Libyan general Khalifa Haftar at his desk in Benghazi, Libya on 8 September 2020. (AFP) | British citizens, including a Dubai-based busine…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-22). Yemen: Warring parties fail to agree prisoner swap deal, says UN. middleeasteye.net Yemen: Warring parties fail to agree prisoner swap deal, says UN | UN envoy Martin Griffiths said he was 'disappointed' there had been no success from the month-long talks | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 08: 31 | Members of the Yemeni pro-government forces who were reportedly detained by Houthi rebels gesture during a prisoners swap in Taiz on 19 December 2019 (AFP) | Warring parties in Yemen failed t…

Areeb Ullah (2021-02-22). Saudi Arabia arms deals: UK 'prolonging' Yemen war with weapon sales. middleeasteye.net Saudi Arabia arms deals: UK 'prolonging' Yemen war with weapon sales | UK issued open licences for bombs, missiles and rockets worth £1.36bn in 2020, as well as equipment to help air-to-air refuelling of Saudi jets | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 12: 34 | Workers in the Yemeni capital Sanaa search through debris at a warehouse after it was reportedly hit in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on 2 July 20…

Ali Harb (2021-02-22). Saudi F1 race: Activists urge Lewis Hamilton to speak out on human rights. middleeasteye.net Saudi F1 race: Activists urge Lewis Hamilton to speak out on human rights | Dozens of rights organisations write letter urging world champion to boycott Saudi Grand Prix or use his platform to promote human rights in the kingdom | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 17: 35 | Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has been politically outspoken in the past (AFP/File photo) | Dozens of human rights organisations have called on Formula One c…

Cloee Cooper (2021-02-22). The Racist History of U.S. Law Enforcement. progressive.org Why more cops and stricter surveillance will lead to an increase in racial injustice.

yenisafak (2021-02-22). At least 160 arrested over 6 nights of violent protests in Spain. yenisafak.com Over six nights of sometimes-violent protests triggered by a rapper's jailing, Spanish police have arrested at least 160 people.Most of those arrested were protesting in rapper Pablo Hasel's home region of Catalonia, where major cities like Barcelona have seen six consecutive nights of protests and rioting.Catalan police said Monday that 129 people in the region had been detained since last Tuesday.The protests aim to free Hasel, who was sentenced to nine months in prison for glorifying terrorism and insulting the Spanish monarchy and police in his song lyrics and tweets.Amnesty International has decried the sent…

Online News Editor (2021-02-22). Octogenarian Indian activist gets bail 30 months after his arrest. laprensalatina.com New Delhi, Feb 22 (efe-epa).- A court on Monday granted bail to an ailing octogenarian activist on medical grounds two and a half years after India's anti-terror probe agency arrested him on charges of inciting caste violence. "Varavara Rao gets bail," lawyer Indira Jaising tweeted, shortly after the decision by the Bombay High Court in …

Lewis M. Steel (2021-02-22). Reflections on Battling White Supremacy. commondreams.org I was a civil rights lawyer in the 1960s. As I watched GOP senators shrug off a racist coup attempt, I thought: We've seen this before. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Gideon Levy (2021-02-22). Jewish National Fund for Apartheid. zcomm.org If anyone still had any doubts about the nationalist and racist — yes, racist — character of Zionism, even in its modern dress, then along came the chairman of the JNF, Avraham Duvdevani, and removed the last of these doubts…

_____ (2021-02-21). Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat Participated in Covert UK Foreign Office-funded Programs to "Weaken Russia," leaked docs reveal. strategic-culture.org New leaked documents show Reuters' and the BBC's involvement in covert UK FCO programs to effect "attitudinal change" and "weaken the Russian state's influence," alongside intel contractors and Bellingcat. | By Max BLUMENTHAL | The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have sponsored Reuters and the BBC to conduct a series of covert programs aimed at promoting regime change inside Russia and undermining its government across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to a series of The leak…

Raul Diego (2021-02-21). Prisons prime testing ground for dehumanizing hi-tech "advances" mronline.org 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.

Jeffrey St. Clair (2021-02-21). Power Plays: The Bipartisan Origins of Energy Deregulation. counterpunch.org Shortly after Sen. John Kerry sewed up the delegates needed to seize the Democratic nomination for president in the spring of 2004, he huddled for two hours with James Hoffa, Jr., the boss of the Teamsters union. The topic was oil. The Teamsters wanted more of it at cheaper prices. They had suspicions about Kerry.

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Israel's beaches blackened by tar after offshore oil spill. middleeasteye.net Israel's beaches blackened by tar after offshore oil spill | Cleanup effort could take months or years, officials say, as slick hits Israel's 160km-long Mediterranean coast from Gaza to Lebanon | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 21: 20 | A sea turtle gets a clean up at a rescue centre in Mikhmoret, north of Tel Aviv, after being discovered in tar washed ashore on an Israeli beach earlier this week (AFP)…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Covid-19: Palestinian vaccine plan faces large funding gap, says World Bank. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Palestinian vaccine plan faces large funding gap, says World Bank | Israel could consider donating surplus doses to the Palestinians to help accelerate a vaccine roll-out in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, a new World Bank report says | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 23: 02 | Palestinian health workers unload the first shipment of Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine at the Kerem Shalom borde…

RT (2021-02-21). Amazon selling Chinese children's potty as 'traditional fruit basket' to Americans triggers flood of jibes & warnings from China. rt.com Millions of Chinese internet surfers were shocked to see an item used as a potty and spittoon in China being sold on Amazon as a "traditional fruit basket" to gullible foreigners — for a princely sum in dollars, too. | Advertised as a "1960s Chinese traditional fruit basket" that could be used as a fancy "table decoration" to store fresh produce, ice, or wine, the attractive pot with ducks painted on the side was being sold on Amazon for $61.96. | However, amused Chinese people who stumbled upon the product page soon pointed out that the pot was not made for the storage of fruit and was instead used in C…

M.K. Bhadrakumar (2021-02-21). India's forever wars and forever warriors. mronline.org Looking ahead, pre-conditions now exist for a positive turn to the India-China bilateral relationship.

Jennifer Matsui (2021-02-21). Truth Telling or True Confessions? counterpunch.org Relating your own personal trauma to strengthen or expand existing laws dealing with sexual violence achieves little towards systemic change. As only individual perpetrators are targeted in these subjective and moralizing first person narratives of good vs evil, more pertinent factors addressing the material conditions underlying these situations are overlooked, while the causes of collectively

William Camacaro (2021-02-21). Lawfare threatens to derail the presidential election in Ecuador. mronline.org On February 7, the progressive presidential candidate for the Union of Hope Alliance (UNES) party, Andrés Arauz, won first place in Ecuador's presidential election; this is uncontested.

John McDevitt (2021-02-21). Angola inmates on hunger strike against unlawful extension of solitary confinement. liberationnews.org "The reason [for the strike is]…EVERYONE over here is between one month to six months past their initial disciplinary detention," according to communications from the inmates carrying out the hunger strike.

The Conversation (2021-02-21). How the Texas electricity system produced low-cost power but left residents out in the cold. juancole.com By Theodore J. Kury | — Americans often take electricity for granted — until the lights go out. The recent cold wave and storm in Texas have placed considerable focus on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the nonprofit corporation that manages the flow of electricity to more than 26 million Texans. Together, …

Intan Suwandi (2021-02-21). Neoliberalism and Imperialism: Interview with Intan Suwandi. mronline.org Recent cases of U.S. imperialism in Latin America, such as what happened in Bolivia, can serve as a striking example. International trade and financial institutions such as the Unholy Trinity (largely controlled by the North) also still play a major role in perpetuating imperialist relations between the South and the North.

Gideon Polya (2021-02-21). Murdoch's Australia Censors Google, Facebook, Science and Freedom of Speech. dissidentvoice.org The mendacious Australian Mainstream media, Coalition Government and Labor Opposition demand via a news media Bargaining Code that Google and Facebook pay Murdoch and Nine media huge sums for quoting Links to their "information" for free. Google seems to have surrendered to this Australian blackmail and negotiated a private deal to avoid damaging its core …

Staff (2021-02-21). How Malcolm Little became Malcolm X. therealnews.com On the 56th anniversary of Malcolm X's assassination, we talk with Tamara Payne, co-author of "The Dead Are Arising," an award-winning biography—thirty years in the making—that offers a never-before-seen look into what molded Malcolm Little into Malcolm X.

Eds. (2021-02-21). Cold truth: The Texas freeze is a catastrophe of the Free Market. mronline.org Texas's electricity market "reforms" made the current crisis inevitable.

Eve Ottenberg (2021-02-21). Better News on the Climate. counterpunch.org The good news is the president takes the climate crisis seriously. The bad news is it's worse than ever. The climate catastrophe didn't stop because Trump ignored it. Forests didn't stop burning because he said it was a raking problem. The polar ice caps didn't stop melting because the U.S. acted as if that didn't

Janine Jackson (2021-02-21). 'The U.S. has been obstructionist in chief in Global climate talks'. mronline.org CounterSpin interview with Basav Sen on rejoining the Paris accords.

RT (2021-02-21). Iran reaches temporary agreement with UN inspectors as nuclear deal hangs in the balance. rt.com The UN's nuclear watchdog has struck a temporary deal with Iran to continue monitoring its nuclear facilities, as Tehran plans to limit access to inspectors in another step away from its 2015 nuclear deal with the West. | Iran announced last week that as of Tuesday it would forbid the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from performing short-notice inspections at locations linked to its nuclear program. After a speedy round of negotiations, the agency announced on Sunday that it had reached an agreement with Iran whereby "necessary verification and monitoring" will continue for another three months. | "W…

RT (2021-02-21). US & Japan ground all Boeing 777 jets with P&W4000 engines following fiery emergency landing in Denver. rt.com United Airlines has 'voluntarily' grounded its fleet of 24 Boeing 777 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines, after the Federal Aviation Administration announced an emergency airworthiness directive for the model. | The airline announced an immediate halt to flights by its planes with the type of engine involved in a major malfunction that led to an emergency landing of Flight 328 at Denver International Airport on Saturday. United said it was in touch with US regulators "to determine any additional steps that are needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards and can return to service.

RT (2021-02-21). Biden AG nominee Merrick Garland vows to use terror-fighting skills to prosecute Capitol rioters, ahead of confirmation hearing. rt.com Merrick Garland, Joe Biden's Attorney General nominee, wants to aggressively prosecute the pro-Trump crowd who stormed the Capitol, and the media is amplifying his description of the MAGA mob as "white supremacist" extremists. | Garland's hearing kicks off on Monday, and according to the opening statement he plans to deliver to the Senate, Garland will gladly help President Biden crack down on "domestic terrorism" and "white supremacy." | "From 1995 to 1997, I supervised the prosecution of the perpetrators of the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, who sought to spark a revolution that would topple…

RT (2021-02-21). 'Are you here to apologize?' Gina Carano convicted of crimes against wokeness on SNL — where she can't fight back. rt.com Fresh from watching Gina Carano beat the cancel mob by landing a movie deal after being fired from 'The Mandalorian' TV series, leftists took solace in condemning a make-believe version of the actress on 'Saturday Night Live'. | The straw-man version of Carano was featured in a skit in which guests of a fictional talk show were brought on to apologize for wrongdoing. In this case, the alleged sin was one of the politically incorrect social media posts that got Carano fired from her Disney+ series — a warning likening the current demonization of Americans with conservative political views to the way German…

RT (2021-02-21). 'We have lost the streets,' Belarusian opposition figure Tikhanovskaya says, predicting more protests in spring. rt.com Belarusian street protests have lost steam for the moment, the exiled opposition figurehead Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has admitted. She called on supporters to keep "pressuring" the government and plan new rallies in the spring. | "I must admit that we have lost the streets," Tikhanovskaya, who currently resides in Lithuania, told Swiss magazine Le Temps on Friday. | "We don't have the means to combat the regime's violence against the protesters. They have the weapons, they have the force, so yes, for the moment, it seems that we have lost," she admitted, adding that Belarusians are "tired" and afraid. | Tikhanov…

RT (2021-02-21). Deer developed HAIRY EYEBALLS due to rare, baffling condition. rt.com Residents in Farragut, Tennessee were utterly bemused when they witnessed a whitetail deer nonchalantly strutting through their town. Upon closer inspection, they discovered the animal had hair growing out of its eyeballs. | As confused townsfolk tried to capture the bold buck, they couldn't help but notice it had thick hair protruding from discs of flesh which had grown and covered over the buck's eyeballs. | As it turns out, the condition is known as corneal dermoids and has only been documented in one other whitetail deer, also in Tennessee. | www.facebook.com/deerassociation/posts/3…

RT (2021-02-21). Ukraine condemns 'persecution of journalists' in Belarus… after shutting down outlets at home linked to largest opposition party. rt.com Ukraine has condemned a series of searches in Belarus targeting journalists and rights activists, but the scolding comes amid Kiev's own full-blown crackdown on opposition press and politicians at home — fully supported by the US. | Strongly denouncing the recent events in Belarus "where authorities continue (to) pressure and persecute journalists," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko lashed out at Minsk in a statement on Sunday. | "The entire democratic world recognizes mass media as the fourth estate and does not interfere with their professional activities…

RT (2021-02-21). Biden AG nominee Merrick Garland vows to use terrorism-fighting skills to prosecute Capitol rioters ahead of confirmation hearing. rt.com Merrick Garland, Joe Biden's attorney general nominee, wants to aggressively prosecute the pro-Trump crowd who stormed the Capitol, and the media is amplifying his description of the MAGA mob as "white supremacist" extremists. | Garland's hearing kicks off on Monday, and according to the opening statement he plans to deliver to the Senate, Garland will gladly help President Biden crack down on "domestic terrorism" and "white supremacy." | "From 1995 to 1997, I supervised the prosecution of the perpetrators of the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, who sought to spark a revolution that would topple…

RT (2021-02-21). Harry Potter video game designer outed as 'far right YouTuber,' but cancel culture calls met with pushback. rt.com A lead designer for the Harry Potter video game 'Hogwarts Legacy' has found himself embroiled in controversy after old right-leaning videos were uncovered by social justice warriors. | The designer, Troy Leavitt, is currently working with development studio Avalanche Software on the highly anticipated video game, but many on social media appear to want him nowhere near the project now that his past has been put under the spotlight. | Leavitt's YouTube videos have included titles like "The Injustice of Social Justice," "In Praise of Cultural Appropriation," and "Are Thoughtcrimes Becoming Real?" First highlight…

RT (2021-02-21). Russia to team up with UAE to develop supersonic passenger jet — trade minister. rt.com Russia's United Aviation Corporation and Mubadala, the investment fund of the United Arab Emirates, will create a joint venture for developing and manufacturing a supersonic business-passenger jet. | The conceptual design of the new aircraft could be revealed as soon as at the end of the current year, according to Russia's Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, who stressed that the issue of equity participation hasn't so far been discussed. | The jet is expected to come in two versions, one with a passenger seat configuration of up to eight and the other of up to 30. | "So far, we are optimistic [about t…

RT (2021-02-21). 'It's not going to round five': UFC champ Petr Yan vows to finish Aljamain Sterling inside the distance as both amp up trash-talk. rt.com Less than two weeks out from their UFC bantamweight world title matchup at UFC 259, neither champion Petr Yan nor his challenger, Aljamain Sterling, are taking a backward step in the pre-fight insults. | Russia's Yan will aim to defend his 135lbs championship on the March 6 event which will house three world title fights — but neither man appears willing to wait two weeks to fire some shots at their rival. | Yan, as fight fans will attest, has been near-perfect since entering the UFC after serving an impressive apprenticeship in the Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) promotion, where he quickly rose throu…

RT (2021-02-21). Last laugh Lukaku? Rampant Romelu roars 'I told you' as Inter smash Milan in Serie A showdown on disastrous day for Zlatan (VIDEO). rt.com Romelu Lukaku has run riot in the latest episode of his fierce feud with rival striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, setting up the opener before scoring the third himself as Inter Milan cruised past title rivals AC Milan 3-0 in Serie A. | Almost all of the pre-match talk had concerned the prospect of another flashpoint between the two top strikers in the Derby della Madonnina, which was their second meeting in less than a month following a tempestuous clash that saw the pair lock heads and swap accusations of poisonous insults last month. | Sweden legend Ibrahimovic was sent off as the former league leaders missed out…

RT (2021-02-21). Keep that mask on: Fauci says face coverings could be needed even in 2022, as he defines new 'normality'. rt.com White House health adviser Anthony Fauci has triggered a fresh round of rage online by saying people in the US may be required to wear face masks to protect themselves and others from Covid-19 even in 2022. | Appearing on CNN, Fauci was asked on Sunday to define the "normality" he and President Joe Biden have promised towards the end of this year as more and more people are vaccinated. Pressed specifically as to whether masks would be an everyday part of life next year, Fauci declared himself open to the possibility. | "It is possible that that's the case," he said, "and it depends on what you mean by normalit…

RT (2021-02-21). 'It won't simply be sanctions': Biden adviser threatens to punish Russia with 'tools seen & unseen' for SolarWinds hack. rt.com The Biden administration will soon deliver a sweeping response to the SolarWinds breach, so the usual suspect, Russia, understands where Washington draws the line on cyberattacks, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. | During his The adviser replie…

RT (2021-02-21). 'Vicious, scary stuff': Oscar Valdez scores knockout of the Year contender with stunning one-shot KO of Miguel Berchelt (VIDEO). rt.com Unbeaten Oscar Valdez underscored his growing reputation on Saturday night when he starched Miguel Berchelt with a sensational left-hook which had some fans concerned as Berchalt remained prone on the canvas for several minutes. | Mexico's Valdez scored the stunning finish with just one second remaining on the clock of the tenth round of the contest for the WBC super-featherweight title in Las Vegas' MGM Grand Hotel in a fight which very much lived up to the pre-fight hype between the compatriots. | Berchalt had already hit the canvas on two occasions before Valdez landed the fight-ending left hook square to B…

RT (2021-02-21). 'Aggressive measures needed': India discovers 240 new, possibly more infectious Covid-19 strains. rt.com A whopping 240 mutated coronavirus strains have been discovered across India, health officials have said, warning that some of them may potentially be more infectious, and may even be capable of evading immune response altogether. | The new Covid-19 strains are likely behind the sudden spike of new cases in several Indian states, including Maharashtra — the second most populous state housing the city of Mumbai — a member of the regional Covid-19 task force, Shahshank Joshi, told NDTV. He added that a total of around 240 new virus variants have been discovered across the country. | Also on rt.com

RT (2021-02-21). 'Breaking ice to move gas': As Russian tanker-icebreaker duo complete milestone Arctic voyage, climate activists side with ice. rt.com Following a nuclear-powered icebreaker, a Russian tanker has sailed through the frigid Northern Sea Route for the first time ever in February. "Won't somebody think of the poor ice?", climate-conscious commenters shouted. | The Christophe de Margerie, a liquefied natural gas tanker operated by Russian shipping firm Sovcomflot, made history this week when it docked at the remote Arctic terminal of Sabetta, after sailing through the normally ice-locked Northern Sea Route (NSR) from Jiangsu in China. Traveling solo through the Bering Strait, it then followed a nuclear icebreaker, the 50 Let Pobedy, along Russia's…

RT (2021-02-21). 'It hurts a lot': More embarrassment for Barcelona & Lionel Messi as minnows stun them at Camp Nou after he breaks record & scores. rt.com Lionel Messi broke a Spanish Liga record and scored on Sunday — but that was about all Barcelona had to celebrate as they dropped points at home to Cadiz, who were a second-tier club last season, for the first time since 1978.

RT (2021-02-21). New York activists respond to brutal attack on Asian man by rallying against WHITE NATIONALISM, even though the culprit was BLACK. rt.com Anti-racism activists in New York have risen up to rally against white supremacy as they demand justice for a Filipino-American man who was viciously slashed with a box cutter on the subway. Never mind that the attacker was black. | Hundreds of protesters gathered at New York's Washington Square Park on Saturday afternoon and marched through parts of Manhattan, chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets." The marchers congregated in front of the iconic Macy's store on 34th Street. One carried a sign declaring, "White nationalism is the virus." | The massive crowd is just turned west on 29th Street from Madison Ave.

RT (2021-02-21). Biden's press secretary ripped for sidestepping questions on Cuomo nursing home scandal — says WH to 'continue' working with him. rt.com White House press secretary Jen Psaki has been accused by critics of blatantly dodging questions about NY Governor Andrew Cuomo's controversies, including a probe into whether nursing home deaths from Covid-19 were underreported. | On top of accusations that the New York governor underreported nursing home deaths for political purposes, he has also been accused by a state lawmaker of threatening to "destroy" him if he did not release a public statement supporting the governor. Recent months have also seen a sexual harassment allegation emerge. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing in all of these cases. | Before numerou…

RT (2021-02-21). Israel shuts down its entire Mediterranean coast as massive oil spill raises health concerns. rt.com Israelis should stay away from Mediterranean beaches, authorities warned on Sunday, after volunteers helping the cleanup of the tar that has smothered 160km of coastline were hospitalized, apparently after inhaling toxic fumes. | The population should "not to go [to the beaches] to swim, or do sports or leisure activity until further notice," a warning, jointly issued by the Health, Interior and Environmental Protection ministries on Sunday, read. "Exposure to tar could harm public health." | The announcement comes after several volunteers, out of thousands who'd helped clean up the aftermath of the oil spill…

RT (2021-02-21). 'He's a monster!': Fans hail heroics of West Ham's Soucek as he suffers GRUESOME gash — but plays on anyway (GRAPHIC PHOTOS). rt.com West Ham fans are hailing Tomas Soucek's heroics after he suffered a grisly head wound while defending his goal in Sunday's fixture with Tottenham — only to spring to his feet to defend a shot from Harry Kane just seconds later.

RT (2021-02-21). 'I'll die of dehydration before I drink Dasani': Americans mock Coca-Cola for sending unpopular bottled water to Texas amid crisis. rt.com The Coca-Cola company donated several trucks worth of Dasani-branded water to Texans in need last week. Americans were quick to mock the move, however, as the water is often named one of the worst-tasting brands in the country. | According to

RT (2021-02-21). Disney labels 'The Muppet Show' as 'offensive content' in baffling disclaimer. rt.com Five seasons of 'The Muppet Show' appeared on the Disney+ streaming service on Friday night but many viewers were shocked to discover that one of their childhood favorites is now considered "offensive content." | According to a warning from Disney, the show features "stereotypes" and "mistreatment of people or cultures." | "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now," the roughly 300 billion-dollar corporate giant declared. | "Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it an…

Staff (2021-02-21). Prominent Trump Ally Illegally Supplied Libyan Warlord With Armed Mercenaries. truthout.org Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of the mercenary firm Blackwater and a close ally of former President Donald Trump, sent weapons to a Libyan warlord in violation of a United Nations arms embargo, according to a confidential U.N. document The U.N. report, which investigators sent to the Security Council on Thursday, reportedly details how Prince sen…

Staff (2021-02-21). US Workers Cried Out for More Masks. The Government Allowed N95 Exports Anyway. truthout.org In the midst of a national shortage of N95 masks, the U.S. government quietly granted an exception to its export ban on protective gear, allowing as many as 5 million of the masks per month to be shipped overseas. | The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the waiver in the final moments of Donald Trump's presidency last month, allowing a Texas company to export its products after it failed to secure U.S. customers, according to the FEMA letter obtained by KHN. | National Nurses United…

RT (2021-02-21). FIGHT TRAINING clip of kids sees journo lament Russians are being trained as 'YOUNG HOCKEY BEASTS' as Americans play video games. rt.com A controversial video of Russian youth hockey players being instructed in how to brawl was seemingly held up by a US outlet as an example of children learning toughness and competitiveness while American kids play video games. | Daily Caller writer David Hookstead posted an article about the viral video on Saturday, showing children in protective hockey gear trading heavy-gloved punches to the helmet as a coach yells instructions. At one point, the coach holds a student by the shirt and throws a slow-motion punch to the facemask to demonstrate the proper technique to the team. | – –æ—&A…

Steve Topple (2021-02-21). Keir Starmer just rallied to protect snivelling Matt Hancock. thecanary.co Matt Hancock needn't have worried about the Labour leader savaging him on Sunday 21 February's political TV programmes. Because Keir Starmer completely let the embattled health secretary off the hook. | Hancock: flouting his 'legal obligations': | The Canary

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). White House says US in talks with Iran over detained Americans. middleeasteye.net White House says US in talks with Iran over detained Americans | Biden's security adviser calls Iran's detention of US citizens a 'complete outrage'. Meanwhile, IAEA says deal struck to continue 'necessary' atomic monitoring activities in Iran | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 20: 36 | Biden's security adviser Jake Sullivan: 'We will not accept a long-term proposition where they continue to hold America…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Turkey-backed Libyan interior minister survives assassination attempt in Tripoli. middleeasteye.net Turkey-backed Libyan interior minister survives assassination attempt in Tripoli | Fathi Bashagha, one of Libya's most influential politicians, escaped unhurt after his motorcade was attacked by gunmen | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 15: 07 | Fathi Bashagha is credited with playing a key role as the capital came under attack from eastern Libya-based commander Khalifa Haftar's forces in 2019 (AFP) | On…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Turkish authorities launch probe against pro-Kurdish MP over militant links. middleeasteye.net Turkish authorities launch probe against pro-Kurdish MP over militant links | Peoples' Democratic Party's Dirayet Dilan Tasdemir says she will prove accusations against her are a 'giant lie and slander' | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 12: 46 | The move comes after a minister said Tasdemir had visited an area in northern Iraq where 13 Turks were killed earlier this month (Facebook) | Turkish authoritie…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Iran: Plan to end UN nuclear inspections reversible if US lifts sanctions. middleeasteye.net Iran: Plan to end UN nuclear inspections reversible if US lifts sanctions | Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says ending inspections will not mean it has abandoned 2015 nuclear deal | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 09: 36 | Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inspects nuclear technology (AFP) | Iran's plans to end snap nuclear inspections by UN inspectors next week are reversible if the United States…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Sudan risks high prices and angry backlash with radical currency change. middleeasteye.net Sudan risks high prices and angry backlash with radical currency change | Government to abandon longstanding fixed exchange rate in favour of a managed float as part of IMF reform programme | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 12: 17 | The prospect of higher prices comes as citizens are already grappling with an inflation rate that topped 300 percent last month (AFP) | Sudan announced radical changes to it…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Covid-19: Israel begins reopening economy after vaccinating nearly half its population. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Israel begins reopening economy after vaccinating nearly half its population | Move comes as criticism of government continues over its failure to vaccinate Palestinians living under its control | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 10: 53 | Israel has administered at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine to more than 46 percent of its nine million population, the health ministry says (Reuters) | I…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-21). Iran says plans to end snap UN nuclear inspections reversible if US lifts sanctions. middleeasteye.net Iran says plans to end snap UN nuclear inspections reversible if US lifts sanctions | Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says ending inspections will not mean it has abandoned 2015 nuclear deal | Sun, 02/21/2021 – 09: 36 | Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inspects nuclear technology (AFP) | Iran's plans to end snap nuclear inspections by UN inspectors next week are reversible if the Uni…

teleSUR (2021-02-21). Peru: Seven Senior Officials Arrested Due To "Vacunagate" Case. telesurenglish.net Peru's anti-corruption prosecutor Yudith Villegas Espinoza on Sunday called for the arrest of seven former members of the Executive Multi-sectorial Commission, involved in the scandal over COVID-19 secret vaccination "Vacunagate." | RELATED: | Espinoza requested the arrest of the rector of Major National University of San Marcos' Rector Orestes Cachay Boza; Peruvian University Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) former Research Vice-Rector…

_____ (2021-02-21). How An NYPD Anti-Terror Squad Became A Tool For Repression. popularresistance.org On a Thursday night in November, two days after the presidential election, hundreds of New Yorkers gathered outside the Stonewall Inn for a march against police brutality. The event was one in a series of Black Trans Liberation marches, a recurring protest and pride parade held each week since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Unlike the previous iterations, which had proceeded without incident, this one was accompanied by scores of heavily armored officers with the NYPD's Strategic Response Group. | The conflict began almost immediately. As the march moved downtown, members of the SRG — eq…

Online News Editor (2021-02-21). Dozens arrested in Catalonia as protests against Hasel imprisonment continue. laprensalatina.com Barcelona, Spain, Feb 21 (efe-epa).- More than 30 people were arrested and charged with public disorder and looting after protests against the imprisonment of rapper Pablo Hasel on Saturday turned violent in the center of Barcelona. Other protests also broke out in smaller cities, mostly in the Catalonia region where Hasel is from. It was …

RT (2021-02-20). Texas police looking for more than 100 illegal immigrants who fled smuggling truck amid winter freeze. rt.com Texas authorities are seeking a group of more than 100 illegal immigrants wandering through the freezing, storm-hammered state. They fled a packed smuggling truck, in which they were being transported in suffocating conditions. | Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters on Thursday that his department received a call from a truckload of illegal immigrants in San Antonio that evening. Their smugglers had sealed up the refrigerated truck and blocked air holes, and the migrants feared that they would suffocate inside. | Deputies in the area noticed movement around a truck parked at a gas station, and sa…

Staff (2021-02-20). Cities Are Razing Homeless Encampments Despite Record Cold Weather and COVID. truthout.org The deadly spate of winter storms and frigid temperatures that swept across the country this week threw into relief the inhumane treatment of unhoused populations in the United States. In defiance of pandemic guidelines, city agencies and police across the country have refused to suspend the practice of demolishing encampments and driving out those who have sought to make shelter, potentially exposing vulnerable people to dangerous temperatures and worsening viral spread. | Municipalities inc…

Juan Cole (2021-02-20). Number of residential solar batteries increases by 50% in Germany. juancole.com By Sà∂ren Amelang | — The number of battery storage systems linked to a residential solar pv array rose by around 50 percent in Germany in 2020 for the third year in a row. The country's solar association BSW estimates there were 88,000 new residential installations, taking the total number of solar batteries in Germany …

Gareth Porter (2021-02-20). US State Department Accusation of China "Genocide" Is Garbage Reliant on Data Abuse and Fraudulent Claims. anti-empire.com Both President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have endorsed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's last-minute accusation of The US government's accusation of genocide against China stems from a single sour…

Margaret Flowers (2021-02-20). Urgent Solidarity with Haiti is Needed. dissidentvoice.org A long-brewing crisis in Haiti, created through intervention by the United States, United Nations and allied western imperialist countries, has now come to a head. The Biden administration is openly backing a violent, corrupt and fraudulent leader, Jovenel MoàØse, and maintaining the policies of previous presidents, including Donald Trump, in Haiti. Activists in Haiti have …

Ali Salam (2021-02-20). Israeli Troops Attack Non-Violent Palestinian Rallies in Kufur Qaddoum, Beit Dajan. imemc.org Israeli forces attacked the weekly non-violent protest marches and rallies in several parts of the West Bank Friday, injuring three Palestinians with rubber-coated steel bullets and causing dozens to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation. In Kufur Qaddoum, in the northern West Bank, two Palestinian protesters were taken to the hospital with severe injuries …

Fernando Buen Abad Domínguez (2021-02-20). Estados Unidos contra Cuba: El bloqueo es un crimen de lesa humanidad. globalizacion.ca Según la ONU, son crímenes contra la humanidad los que constituyen ataques generalizados o sistemáticos a la población civil. Son "crímenes de lesa humanidad" los exterminios, la esclavitud, la deportación o expulsión forzosa, la privación de la libertad física e…

Yanis Iqbal (2021-02-20). Madagascar: A Nation of Hunger. dissidentvoice.org Madagascar is in great pain. Theodore Mbainaissem, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) sub-office in Ambovombe, southern Madagascar, says: "Seeing the physical condition of people extremely affected by hunger who can no longer stand…children who are completely emaciated, the elderly who are skin and bone…these images are unbearable… People are eating white clay …

Devin Cole (2021-02-20). Pensacola State College faculty demand protection. workers.org Occupied Muscogee Creek land On Feb. 16, over 30 drivers circled the Pensacola State College-Warrington Campus buildings for half an hour, laying on their horns. Signs saying "High Risk" and "Betrayal" were taped to their vehicles. This action was led by the Pensacola State College Faculty Association, a chapter of . . . |

RT (2021-02-20). Outage outrage: Texans see power bills as high as $17,000 after brutal storm pummels grid & leaves millions without electricity. rt.com In the wake of a fierce winter storm that knocked out power for millions of Texans, some residents are reporting colossal spikes in their electricity bills, with some asked to pay more than $17,000 for just a few weeks of service.

RT (2021-02-20). 'DEATH TO THE PATRIARCHY': Madonna lashes out at shadowy cabal of men attempting to 'cut off her life force'. rt.com Pop icon Madonna has complained that a conniving cadre of scheming men has prevented her from reaching her full potential, but some believe that the obscenely wealthy and successful entertainer may be overreacting. | "The Patriarchy continues to try to crush my neck with their heavy boots, cut off my life force and take away my voice—Even those who call themselves artists…………..You know who you are!!! DEATH TO THE PATRIARCHY! Now and Forever," Madonna tweeted, including a photograph of herself wearing a glittering tiara. | The Patriarchy continues to try to crush my neck with their heavy boots, cu…

RT (2021-02-20). 'Honeymoon's over': Chelsea boss Tuchel labeled 'BRUTAL' after he hauls off substitute Hudson-Odoi as Blues toil. rt.com Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi endured one of football's worst ignominies as he was dragged off just 30 minutes after coming on as a substitute as Blues manager Thomas Tuchel showed his ruthless streak in a draw at Southampton. | Hudson-Odoi was introduced by Tuchel at half-time at St Mary's in a bid to bring Chelsea back into the game as they found themselves 1-0 down after Takumi Minamino's 33rd-minute finish. | But the 20-year-old evidently failed to make the impact expected as he was hooked after 76 minutes, being replaced by Moroccan Hakim Ziyech. | A double substitution. | üò&aacut…

RT (2021-02-20). Khabib insists Conor McGregor will NEVER return to his fighting best despite Irishman's renewed quest for UFC title. rt.com Conor McGregor will never recapture the past glories that saw him crowned a two-weight UFC champion, according to Russian foe Khabib Nurmagomedov. | McGregor became the first man to hold UFC titles concurrently when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 to add the lightweight belt to his featherweight crown. | That capped an exhilarating run for 'The Notorious' after exploding onto the octagon scene in 2013, as he won nine of his first 10 fights in the promotion — his only defeat coming to Nate Diaz, which he avenged five months later. | | McGregor captured a second UFC title by beating Alvarez.

RT (2021-02-20). 'He landed a KO from the chicken dance stance!': Fans enthralled by Russian MMA fighter's STUNNING comeback knockout (VIDEO). rt.com Russian light heavyweight Evgeniy Poskotin snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at Saturday's MMA Series 26 event in Voronezh, starching his opponent with a Hail Mary left hand seconds after it seemed he was about to be KO'd. | Poskotin improved his young record to 2-0 with his stunning overhand strike in the 205lbs contest with Kyrgyzstan's Nurel Amanov but things could have been very different after Amanov capitalized on Poskotin's apparently porous striking defence, catching the Russian slugger with a right hand which sent him sprawling across the ring. | My god. Light-Heavyweight madness at MMA Series.

RT (2021-02-20). NASA shares more incredible PHOTOS from Martian surface as Perseverance mission begins in earnest. rt.com After successfully lowering to the Martian surface via what NASA dubbed its "jetpack," the Perseverance rover has beamed back some truly incredible images from the Red Planet. | The six-wheeled robot beamed back several high-resolution images taken during the rover's landing. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter also captured the spacecraft sailing into the landing site within the Jezero Crater, with parachute in tow. | | © NASA/ JPL Caltech | The snapshots were sent via several spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet but they're just a teaser of what's to come. | Video of the touchdown is still being relayed…

RT (2021-02-20). What happens if you don't consent: WhatsApp won't allow users to READ or SEND messages if they reject new privacy rules. rt.com WhatsApp has confirmed that users won't be able to read or send messages unless they agree to its rules on sharing personal data with Facebook. The new T&Cs have sparked backlash and led to a surge in popularity of rival apps.

RT (2021-02-20). 3 killed, 2 injured after man opens fire at gun store in New Orleans, gets neutralized by other customers. rt.com Several people have been killed in New Orleans, after an armed man got into a heated argument with a gun store clerk and opened fire, before he was confronted and shot dead by other armed customers. | The incident took place at the Jefferson Gun Outlet — a firearms store and a shooting range — in Metairie, Louisiana, around 3pm, resulting in at least three deaths. |

RT (2021-02-20). Irresistible force vs immovable object: What you need to know as Medvedev eyes history against Djokovic in Australian Open final. rt.com The battle for the Australian Open title between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev is almost upon us, with the Russian hoping to make history by beating the Serbian legend in Melbourne on Sunday. | Before the showdown at the Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, here are some of the pertinent facts you need to know. | Medvedev, 25, is bidding to become the first player to defeat Djokovic in an Australian Open final, with the Serb enjoying a winning sequence that spans an incredible eight finals. | Djokovic's previous beaten opponents in finals in Melbourne include Rafael Nadal (twice), Andy Murray (four times),…

RT (2021-02-20). PLANE DEBRIS rains from the sky as United jet makes emergency landing in Denver with engine on FIRE (VIDEOS). rt.com A United Airlines Boeing 777 suffered major engine failure in midair and was forced to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport, while scattering debris across several neighborhoods. | The shocking incident happened shortly after United Flight 328 took off from Denver for Honolulu, forcing the crew to perform an emergency landing with one of the engines on fire and large chunks of it missing. | Flight 328

RT (2021-02-20). PLANE DEBRIS rain from the sky as United jet makes emergency landing in Denver with engine on FIRE (VIDEOS). rt.com A United Airlines Boeing 777 suffered a major engine failure in midair and was forced to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport, while scattering debris across several neighborhoods. | The shocking incident happened shortly after United Flight 328 took off from Denver for Honolulu, forcing the crew to perform an emergency landing with one of the engines on fire and large chunks of it missing. | Flight 328

RT (2021-02-20). France's health minister considering new restrictions & regional lockdowns as Covid-19 spread continues. rt.com France's accelerating spread of Covid-19 is likely to prompt it to impose new restrictions, including regional lockdowns, the country's health minister has said. The situation is especially bad in the southern resort city of Nice. | Health Minister Olivier Veran visited that city on Saturday, inspecting a local health center. Nice has experienced a major surge in coronavirus lately, becoming the worst-affected city in the country, with an infection rate of 751 cases per 100,000 people. | "There are a few cities and areas in France where the virus is circulating much more quickly than elsewhere and this may req…

RT (2021-02-20). Google fires ANOTHER AI ethics researcher amid row over 'censorship & racism,' as team member accuses company of 'smear campaign'. rt.com Google has terminated the head researcher on its AI ethics team over what the tech giant deemed a violation of its "code of conduct," as the company faces an internal revolt over a previous firing of a black data scientist. | Margaret Mitchell, who led Google's Ethical AI unit, announced her termination in a brief tweet on Friday, saying only "I'm fired" without offering further detail. | I'm fired.— MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) Google's own statement on the matter was also somewhat vague, confi…

RT (2021-02-20). Ireland says cluster of more contagious Brazilian Covid variant 'completely contained'. rt.com A cluster of three cases of Brazilian coronavirus variant in Ireland, which provoked alarming headlines in the Irish media, has been contained, a top medical official announced on Saturday. | The three infected individuals were recent arrivals from Brazil, the head of National Virus Reference Laboratory, Cillian de Gascun, told RTE radio. | The mutated virus was discovered in the three during a 14-day quarantine after their return to Ireland. | The cluster has now been "completely contained," de Gascun said. | The infections, which were announced by health officials on Friday, became the first cases of the Bra…

RT (2021-02-20). Not very PC? Chelsea Clinton-funded 'trans' app urges transitioning people to budget their money & be nice to cops. rt.com A mobile app marketed at trans people that received funding from former first daughter Chelsea Clinton has been slammed by the internet as overtly patronizing. Even worse, the app urges users to be polite to the police. | Created in 2019, Euphoria has been billed as an app designed to help individuals navigate gender transition, as well as provide people with support once they complete the procedure. | Read more | | The platform hos…

RT (2021-02-20). Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny handed $11,500 fine after being found guilty of defaming elderly WWII veteran in tweet. rt.com A Moscow court has ruled that activist Alexey Navalny must pay a 850,000 ruble ($11,500) fine after finding that he libelled a 94-year-old World War II veteran last summer by smearing him as a "corrupt lackey" and a "traitor." | The judge opted to give Navalny less than the maximum fine allowed by law, which is 950,000 rubles ($13,000). | Saturday's decision came just hours after a previous conviction for embezzlement was upheld, during a hearing which took place in the exact same courtroom, and resulted in the opposition figure facing a two and a half year jail term. | The judge agreed with the prosecutor tha…

RT (2021-02-20). 'I had intensive care for five days': Khabib shows SWOLLEN FACE as he details disaster-hit preparations for Gaethje fight (VIDEO). rt.com UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov says he came close to pulling out of what proved to be his final MMA bout last year after contracting mumps and dealing with a broken toe ahead of his title defense against Justin Gaethje. | No one outside of Nurmagomedov himself knew that when he made his walk to the cage in Abu Dhabi for the UFC 254 main event last October that it would be likely the final time that the undefeated Russian would compete in his glittering career. | An emotional Khabib confirmed soon after his second-round submission of the American star that he was stepping away from the sport as an undefeated…

RT (2021-02-20). Over 120 UK-based charities that paid for 'implicit bias' courses just 'tip of the iceberg' in lucrative woke industry — media. rt.com Some of the donations for charitable causes made by Britons have reportedly gone to fund scientifically questionable courses meant to teach employees to resist unconscious biases. The UK government ditched such training last year. | At least 122 UK-based charities, from large multinationals to small community groups, have spent money on "unconscious bias training" for employees, according to a report by the Telegraph

RT (2021-02-20). Biden declares 'major disaster' in Texas as state continues to battle power outages amid extreme cold. rt.com President Joe Biden has declared that "a major disaster" status is in effect in Texas, unlocking federal money for counties that have been suffering from an unusual and deadly cold wave. | His action allows for federal funding to dozens of Texan counties affected by the cold, the White House said. The money may be used for temporary housing, home repairs, low-cost loans and other assistance to residents and business owners. | Also on rt.com | | Bide…

RT (2021-02-20). Global Covid-19 cases plummet by 50% since January peak despite colder temperatures boosting transmission rates. rt.com According to a new tally, there has been a steep decline in new Covid-19 cases worldwide — a somewhat precipitous drop of 50 percent from the January peak, despite research indicating cooler temperatures improve transmissibility. | New global case numbers have reached their lowest levels in four months, dropping below 400,000 to roughly 362,000 new cases, according to the latest AFP tally, which noted that new infections worldwide are down 12 percent over the past week, from a high of 743,000 in January. | This constitutes the sharpest and most prolonged drop in new infections since the start of the pand…

RT (2021-02-20). 3 killed after man opens fire inside GUN STORE in New Orleans, gets neutralized by other customers. rt.com Several people have been killed in New Orleans, after an armed man got into a heated argument with a gun store clerk and opened fire, before he was confronted and shot dead by other armed customers. | The incident took place at the Jefferson Gun Outlet — a firearms store and shooting range — in Metairie, Louisiana, around 3pm, resulting in at least three deaths. |

RT (2021-02-20). Beleaguered Texans forced to flee burning hotel as sprinkler system fails due to frozen pipes (PHOTOS, VIDEOS). rt.com Guests at a four-story hotel in Texas were forced to flee into the freezing cold as a fire engulfed the entire building when the sprinkler system failed due to frozen pipes. | The fire broke out at the Hilton Garden Inn near Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas shortly before 9pm local time. The hotel had been serving as emergency accommodation for many stricken local residents, including several soldiers from the nearby Eyewitness footage from the scene purports to show the fire as it ripped through the hotel…

Aaliyah Harris (2021-02-20). Student loans continue to discriminate against Muslim students. thecanary.co To be Muslim in Britain means to be a part of a population of Interest is forbidden: | For young people venturing from college or sixth form into university, accepting a monstrous educational debt will always be a tricky decision. But for Muslims, deciding to take out a Student Finance Loan — or for that matter any loan which requires repayment with…

RT (2021-02-20). US deports 95-year-old Nazi guard to Germany… where he won't be prosecuted. rt.com The US has deported a 95-year-old Tennessee man who served as a concentration camp guard. But despite the efforts of Nazi hunters, he won't be prosecuted in Germany, which has been paying him a pension for "wartime service." | Friedrich Karl Berger was deported to his native Germany on Saturday, a year after an immigration judge in Tennessee ordered him removed due to his "willing service as an armed guard of prisoners at a concentration camp where persecution took place." Berger had lived in Tennessee since 1959, but served in 1945 as an armed guard of concentration camp prisoners in the Neuengamme Concentrat…

Staff (2021-02-20). After Rejoining Paris Climate Treaty, Will US Continue Obstructing Negotiations? truthout.org Janine Jackson: The fact that a national newspaper felt obliged to

Staff (2021-02-20). Ocasio-Cortez Backs Probe of Cuomo's Mishandling of Nursing Home COVID Deaths. truthout.org Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday joined a "I… stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes during Covid-19," the prominent Democratic lawmaker, who represents New Yo…

Staff (2021-02-20). American Pop Culture Feeds the War on Peace. truthout.org This excerpt was adapted from ENDING U.S. WARS by Honoring Americans Who Work for Peace. | The old cliché about a fish not knowing it's in water has survived for a reason. Our cultural currents can drive us toward normalizing or, worse, glorifying what we might otherwise find objectionable. This can take shape in blatant or subtle ways, but there can be no doubt that by underscoring certain narratives and opinion to the exclusion of others, culture is a powerful forger of both material conditions and psychology. As Americans…

Staff (2021-02-20). Unprepared for COVID, Texas Women's Prison Was Equally Unprepared for Uri. truthout.org When Winter Storm Uri hit Texas, Holli Wrice — a woman incarcerated at a federal medical prison in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — had just gotten out of medical isolation after testing positive for COVID two weeks earlier. The storm, which hit over Presidents' Day weekend, wreaked havoc across the state, The fede…

A Guest Author (2021-02-20). Letter from an incarcerated worker on the struggle in Alabama. workers.org The following letter from an incarcerated worker in the Pennsylvania prison system was sent by email on Feb. 17 to Joe Piette, a member of the Prisoners Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party. From SCI Pine Grove: Nina Simone famously said: "Alabama got me so upset; Tennessee made me lose . . . |

Mike Walter (2021-02-20). The Heat: G7 leaders' pledge on COVID-19 vaccines. america.cgtn.com Leaders from the Group of Seven Nations vow to work together to improve global access to COVID-19 vaccines.

RT (2021-02-20). G7 states account for nearly HALF of all administered Covid-19 vaccine doses globally as WHO roots for fair & equal distribution. rt.com More than 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered across 107 countries and territories, AFP has reported, citing official data. Nearly a half of these have gone to the wealthy G7 club of nations. | Around 45 percent of injections were given in states belonging to the Group of Seven (G7), AFP said on Saturday. | The G7, which includes the US, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, accounts for just 10 percent of the world's population. | On Friday, the group promised to increase to $7.5 billion its collective support for the World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine distribution pr…

Daniel Horowitz (2021-02-20). With No Compulsory Muzzling and Schools Open, Florida Ranks 11th Lowest in COVID Deaths per Capita Among Seniors. anti-empire.com There's a reason why the Biden regime is Dr. F…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-20). Israel purchased Russian Covid vaccine for Syria in exchange for captive: Reports. middleeasteye.net Israel purchased Russian Covid vaccine for Syria in exchange for captive: Reports | Order said to be part of a deal which freed an Israeli woman who crossed into Syria through Quneitra a few weeks ago | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 13: 45 | The Ynet news site reported on Saturday that Israel purchased more than $1m worth of doses of the Sputnik V vaccine (AFP) | Israel is said to have agreed to purch…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-20). Russian air strikes 'kill 21 Islamic State fighters' in Syrian desert. middleeasteye.net Russian air strikes 'kill 21 Islamic State fighters' in Syrian desert | Russian jets launched 130 air strikes over 24 hours according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 11: 01 | Russian air power has backed Syrian forces clashing with Islamic State fighters (AFP) | Russia launched at least 130 air strikes in Syria over the past 24 hours, killing at least 21 Isla…

MEE staff (2021-02-20). Mercenaries boss Erik Prince violated Libya weapons embargo: UN report. middleeasteye.net Mercenaries boss Erik Prince violated Libya weapons embargo: UN report | US media say the accusations against founder of security firm Blackwater could potentially lead to him facing sanctions | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 09: 39 | Erik Prince did not cooperate with the UN inquiry and his lawyer declined to comment to the New York Times (AFP) | Mercenaries boss Erik Prince pumped $80m in weapons and fighters into easter…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-20). Saudi Arabia to invest $20bn in domestic arms industry. middleeasteye.net Saudi Arabia to invest $20bn in domestic arms industry | Kingdom wants to shift towards manufacturing much of its own weapons over the next decade after US sales ban | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 15: 49 | Saudi Arabia wants to spend at least half of its military budget locally by 2030 (AFP) | Saudi Arabia has announced plans to pump $20bn into producing more of its own weapons and military systems o…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-20). Algeria releases dozens of jailed pro-democracy activists after presidential pardons. middleeasteye.net Algeria releases dozens of jailed pro-democracy activists after presidential pardons | Pardons issued by President Tebboune ahead of second anniversary of Hirak uprising, with prominent journalist Khaled Drareni among those freed | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 20: 26 | Algerian journalist Khaled Drareni is greeted by supporters upon his release from Kolea prison, west of the capital, Algiers, on 19 F…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-20). Iraq: Rockets target airbase north of Baghdad after clashes with IS. middleeasteye.net Iraq: Rockets target airbase north of Baghdad after clashes with IS | Attack on Al-Balad base injures a contractor and came hours after Iraqi security forces raided a nearby Islamic State hideout amid increasing tensions | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 19: 31 | A doctor treats a man wounded in a rocket attack on US forces at Erbil airport, northern Iraq, on 15 February (Reuters) | Four rockets hit the…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-20). Turkey's Erdogan seeks 'win-win' relationship with US. middleeasteye.net Turkey's Erdogan seeks 'win-win' relationship with US | Turkish president reaches out to Biden administration and says 'common interests of Turkey and the United States outweigh the differences' | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 21: 46 | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Earlier this week, Turkey accused the US of supporting PKK "terrorists" (AFP) | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on S…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-20). Iraq: Rockets target airbase near Baghdad after clashes with IS. middleeasteye.net Iraq: Rockets target airbase near Baghdad after clashes with IS | Attack on base housing US defence firm injures contractor and came hours after Iraqi forces raided a nearby Islamic State hideout amid increasing tensions | Sat, 02/20/2021 – 19: 31 | A doctor treats a man wounded in a rocket attack on US forces at Erbil airport, northern Iraq, on 15 February (Reuters) | Four rockets hit the…

_____ (2021-02-20). The Global South Faces A 'Vaccine Apartheid'. popularresistance.org The coronavirus crisis in South Africa is far from over despite falling case numbers in recent weeks. The virus has claimed more than of 50,000 lives, and many health experts predict a devastating third wave. Complicating matters is a new coronavirus mutation known as n501, which threatens to upend South Africa's vaccination plans. | Unprecedented scientific collaboration has expedited the development of the new vaccine candidates, but patents protecting the bottom lines of the pharmaceutical companies have hampered efforts to manufacture vaccines at scale. Meanwhile, the United States and Western Europe have hoa…

_____ (2021-02-20). What Isn't In Judas And The Black Messiah Is Just As Important As What Is. popularresistance.org A movie that centers a political giant such as Fred Hampton is inevitably going to generate a kind of public and political discussion that is wholly anathema to the Hollywood corporate environment. The masses of people, especially young Black Americans and activists of all races rallying under the banner Black Lives Matter, are hungry for political education. Unfortunately, Judas and the Black Messiah is largely devoid of the most critical political content that characterized Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party. | Of course, the definition of political content is itself subject to political struggle. A new w…

Pamela Das (2021-02-20). [Perspectives] Sharrelle Barber: at the intersection of place, race, and health. thelancet.com Sharrelle Barber's research focuses on the intersection of place, race, and health. As Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Urban Health Collaborative at Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health in Philadelphia, PA, USA, her work has been crucial in assessing the impact of structural racism on racial health inequities among Black people in the USA and Brazil. She sees segregation as a symbol of the economic, social, political, and racial divide in a city: "From Jackson, Mississippi, to Rio de Janeiro, segregation is one of the most visible manif…

yenisafak (2021-02-20). At least 13 YPG/PKK terror suspects remanded in custody in Turkey. yenisafak.com A total of 13 suspected members of the YPG/PKK terror group were remanded in custody in southeastern Turkey, police sources said on Saturday.They were among 17 individuals arrested on Feb. 12 in anti-terror operations in provinces of Sanliurfa, Siirt, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adana, Corum, Usak, and Istanbul, according to the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The remaining four suspects were released under judicial control, the sources added.In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turke…

_____ (2021-02-20). The Need for Accountability Over Impunity in Chile. strategic-culture.org With a new constitution, Chilean state actors should be held accountable to the people's demands for democratic changes in the country, otherwise Chile's long-standing democratic tradition risks being lost to the dynamics of state violence. | While Chileans are still awaiting the process of a new constitution to end Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship legacy in the country, police brutality is in the spotlight for two reasons — the increase in violence since the start of the protests in 2019, which turned into organised social demonstrations clamouring for change, and the calls to dissolve the Carabineros. | Ea…

Maureen Clare Murphy (2021-02-20). Fauci champions Israeli medical apartheid. zcomm.org Israel is refusing to distribute vaccines to millions of people living under its single system of unequal rule…

Staff (2021-02-19). Immigration Activists Welcome Reform Bill But Warn of Long Fight Ahead. truthout.org Migrant justice activists and organizations welcomed the introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 this week but are warning that the bill faces a long and uphill battle before becoming law. | At the center of the comprehensive bill, which was introduced by Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep. Linda Sánchez, is a path to citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The bill also includes key provisions that migrant justice activists have been demanding for dec…

Brian Cloughley (2021-02-19). Britain's Double Standards in International Affairs. counterpunch.org On February 12 it was announced by the UN that a British lawyer had been elected as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court. No matter what one might think of the ICC, it is taking steps to investigate war crimes in Afghanistan and Yemen, so it can't be all bad. But a major point

_____ (2021-02-19). Scheer Intelligence: The Clearest Example Of Israeli Apartheid Yet. popularresistance.org As Israel's COVID-19 vaccination program got underway in recent months, reports in Western media, including the New York Times, lauded the country's speedy inoculation efforts to vaccinate every Israeli over the age of 16. What many news reports failed to immediately note in detail, however, was that as the Middle Eastern nation was rapidly vaccinating its citizens against the deadly virus that turned the whole world upside down, it showed no signs of inoculating the approximately 5 million Palestinians whose land Israel occupies in the Gaza strip and the West Bank. After a global outcry ensued over the immoralit…

Alan Macleod (2021-02-19). Biden's First Month Marked by Broken Promises. mintpressnews.com Biden kicked off his campaign by telling wealthy donors that "nothing would fundamentally change" under his presidency. After one month in office, it appears as if that is one campaign promise he is likely to keep.

Editor (2021-02-19). Juan Cole on the Clearest Example of Israeli Apartheid Yet. scheerpost.com Israel Defense Forces / CC BY-NC 2.0] Click to subscribe on: Apple / Spotify / Google Play As Israel's COVID-19 vaccination program got underway in recent months, reports in Western media, including the New York Times, lauded the country's speedy inoculation efforts to vaccinate every Israeli over the age of 16. What many news reports failed to immediately note in detail, however, was that as the… |

Sam Gindin (2021-02-19). Living Socialism Today: Remembering Leo Panitch. socialistproject.ca Standing outside a conference with a group of devotees, a famous political scientist brags that there's only two people in the world he's afraid of: his mother and Leo Panitch. To anyone who knows Leo, this revelation elicits knowing smiles and an affirmative nodding of heads. But it also poses a question. Those with an …

PAI (2021-02-19). Pandemic's 1-2 punch: Unemployment up, life expectancy down. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—The ongoing coronavirus pandemic packed a one-two punch against the nation's workers, federal agencies reported, as almost 1.38 million more people sought federal or state jobless aid in the week ending Feb. 13. Meanwhile, U.S. life expectancy dropped by a year in the first half of 2020, another federal report showed. And that second …

Mariah Denman and Caleb Kennedy (2021-02-19). Portland, OR power outages affect 300K residents after ice storm. liberationnews.org In a pandemic winter, when the risk of spreading COVID-19 between households is high, neighbors have had to take the risk to help each other by sharing generators, firewood, food, cooking equipment, clean water and more.

David Rosen (2021-02-19). The Culture Wars Continue: Biden Takes on Abortion. counterpunch.org Joe Biden is moving aggressively to redress many of the conditions left by Donald Trump's administration, notably the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic recession and white nationalism. However, the most intractable challenge that he will face may be the resistance of the culture wars, particularly a woman's right to an abortion. The culture wars long anchored

RT (2021-02-19). Pandemic put US back on track to meet Paris climate goals, report finds, but at huge human cost. rt.com In what researchers have dubbed a "remarkable" reversal of fortunes, pandemic-induced lockdowns across the US have brought the country back on track to meet targets in the Paris climate accord, but at a grim human cost. | According to an independent report released Thursday, US renewable energy capacity broke new deployment records in 2020, thanks to numerous tax incentives and initiatives, while coal consumption dropped concurrently. | The proportion of electricity generated by renewables hit a record 20 percent of overall capacity, eclipsing coal, which dipped to 19 percent. Emissions from electricity use al…

RT (2021-02-19). UK govt acted 'unlawfully' by not disclosing lucrative Covid-19 contracts for PPE in time for public scrutiny, High Court rules. rt.com The UK government acted unlawfully by not being transparent about contracts it awarded for millions of pounds worth of PPE, face masks, and medical gowns to help fight Covid-19, a High Court judge ruled on Friday. | Health Secretary Matt Hancock was ruled to have breached his legal obligation to disclose details of contracts the government had awarded within 30 days of decisions being made. | The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which Hancock heads, argued that it could not publish its contract award notices on time, given the emergency nature of government actions during the pandemic. | The legal…

RT (2021-02-19). 'Idea of Sacrifice a complete nonstarter in US culture before Covid': Pandemic spurred major shift in American values, study finds. rt.com Researchers from UCLA and Harvard University analyzed internet activity, namely online searches and social media posts, and found a significant return to more traditional, rural American values emerged as the pandemic took hold. | The team In their analysis, they used Google searches as one metric to reflect societal mood and attitudes w…

RT (2021-02-19). 'What is this, 1998?' Twitter users astonished that Tony Blair is opining on Covid roadmap… and MEDIA COVERS IT as 'news'. rt.com Brits may have wondered if they woke up in the right century after seeing ex-prime minister Tony Blair giving his policy prescription for the Covid-19 pandemic — and being cited as an authority on the topic by major media outlets. | The former Labour Party leader on Friday published his own "roadmap" out of the UK's Covid-19 lockdown, complete with a "traffic light system" dictating data-based parameters for opening and closing decisions. Mainstream media outlets jumped on the report as big news, with some portraying it as influential in setting the current government's policy. | We believe a credible lo…

Bruce E. Levine (2021-02-19). Politics & Science: Rahm Emanuel, Mike Pence, Homosexuality, Pandemics, Masks, Vaccines. counterpunch.org Aside from their icy-mobster visages, Rahm Emanuel and Mike Pence have something else in common. Both, as members of presidential administrations, tried to rewrite Centers for Disease Control (CDC) pandemic guidance for political purposes. The reason why one was successful and the other was not has nothing to do with courageous CDC scientists threatening to resign in protest; instead, the different outcomes had to do with politics.

RT (2021-02-19). Almost all Spanish nursing home residents have received two Covid doses as Madrid says state on track with vaccine rollout. rt.com Health authorities in Spain have said they are close to vaccinating all elderly nursing-home residents with the requisite two doses of Covid-19 vaccines as Madrid says it's on course to inoculate 20 million by the end of June. | The Federacion Empresarial de Asistencia a la Dependencia (FED), Spain's care home association, said 97 percent of elderly residents have received both jabs — positive news in a health sector that has suffered a high number of deaths in the pandemic. | Officials believe 20,000 people died of Covid-19 or suspected Covid-19 in nursing homes during the first wave alone, from March to…

Staff (2021-02-19). Amid G7 Meeting, Pressure Mounts for Biden to Remove Global Barriers to Vaccines. truthout.org President Joe Biden is meeting with the G7 leaders of other wealthy nations Friday to discuss global plans to defeat COVID. Meanwhile, the United States is under growing international pressure to reverse course from the Trump administration and lead the world toward ending massive global disparities in vaccine and treatment access that threaten to stretch the deadly pandemic out for years. | Hanging in the balance are an untold number of human lives — and the profit margins of privat…

RT (2021-02-19). Pandemic will be with us until EVERYONE on earth given Covid-19 vaccine, says Merkel after G7 summit. rt.com The coronavirus pandemic can only be considered beaten once everyone in the world has been immunized against Covid-19, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said, after she'd met with the G7 leaders at a virtual summit on Friday. | Speaking to reporters, Merkel said she had stressed in her remarks to the group that the "pandemic is not over until all people in the world have been vaccinated," adding: "Everyone must participate." | "The [coronavirus] pandemic in particular has shown how much we are diverging from one another, worldwide." | On Friday the head of the EU's executive body, Ursula von der Leyen, said t…

Paul Street (2021-02-19). "Interesting" Times: Capitalism Kills Everything. counterpunch.org Yes, it's terrible that Joe Biden has refused to forgive more than a pittance of student debt. But do we not recall him telling a Los Angeles Times host that he had "no empathy, give me a break" for the plight of Millennials in the savagely unequal and environmentally unsustainable world he'd helped create over decades of Congressional service to corporate and financial America? No surprise.

IMEMC News (2021-02-19). Army Abducts Four Palestinians Playing In Snow In Hebron. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday evening, four young Palestinian men while playing in the snow in the Old City of Hebron, in southern West Bank. Eyewitnesses said the soldiers abducted the four young men while playing in snow, which covered most of occupied Palestine, and were building snowmen and throwing snowballs at each other. They …

Ramzy Baroud (2021-02-19). 'Leaving Aside' International Law: Why Democrats are as Dangerous as Republicans to a Just Peace in Palestine. counterpunch.org 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

Aseel Jundi (2021-02-19). For this Palestinian family, living next to Al-Aqsa Mosque comes with a heavy price. middleeasteye.net For this Palestinian family, living next to Al-Aqsa Mosque comes with a heavy price | For years, the Bashiti family has lived in a never-ending cycle of Israeli harassment for refusing to abandon their strategically located home | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 11: 22 | Mohammed Bashiti and his wife, Binar, look towards Al-Aqsa Mosque in the yard of their home in the Old City of Jerusalem (Assel Jundi) | Mohamm…

Vijay Prashad (2021-02-19). Sometimes Marx's Capital is a pillow, sometimes it obliges us to deepen our struggles. mronline.org In 1911, a young Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) arrived in France, which had colonised his homeland of Vietnam. Though he had been raised with a patriotic spirit committed to anti-colonialism, Ho Chi Minh's temperament did not allow him to retreat into a backward-looking romanticism.

Staff (2021-02-19). Democracy Now! Turns 25: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of Independent News on the Frontlines. democracynow.org Democracy Now! first aired on nine community radio stations on February 19, 1996, on the eve of the New Hampshire presidential primary. In the 25 years since that initial broadcast, the program has greatly expanded, airing today on more than 1,500 television and radio stations around the globe and reaching millions of people online. We celebrate 25 years of the War and Peace Report with an hour-long retrospective, including highlights from the show's early years, some of the most controversial interviews, and groundbreaking reports from East Timor, Standing Rock, Western Sahara and more.

C.J. Atkins (2021-02-19). Why the Alabama Amazon struggle matters to workers everywhere. peoplesworld.org Sometimes a fight at one particular workplace can be so important that workers and their allies everywhere need to take notice. The struggle going on right now at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, is one of those fights. From now until March 29, nearly 6,000 employees at the Amazon order fulfillment and processing center …

Eve Ottenberg (2021-02-19). The Atrocious Prosecution of Julian Assange. counterpunch.org What do Biden and Trump have in common? (Aside from jerking Iran around over the nuclear treaty, proclaiming support for a phony, unelected pretender to the Venezuelan presidency, Juan Guaido, and posturing aggressively toward China?) Both Biden and Trump support the utterly baseless Espionage Act case against journalist and publisher Julian Assange. Make no mistake,