Monthly Archives: February 2021

2021-02-24: News Headlines

Dan Cohen (2021-02-24). The Empire's Hidden Hand: How The US Established, Sustains and Benefits From Morocco's Occupation of Western Sahara. mintpressnews.com Over the decades, the Moroccan settler population expanded while the United States and European Union have illegally exploited the Western Sahara's resources, mining phosphates, fishing in its waters, and in recent years, drilling for oil and gas.

Dean Baker (2021-02-24). The Green New Deal Threatens Republicans' Bread and Butter (It's not Just Competition in the Battle of Ideas). counterpunch.org Naomi Klein has an interesting piece in the New York Times on the implications of the Texas disaster. I would disagree with some parts, which attack the Texas approach to energy as "free market." To my view, this is far too generous. Even Texas' deregulated energy market is still highly regulated. It is possible to

Eds. (2021-02-24). Ice and blood in Texas. mronline.org Avoidable deaths, not avoided.

Staff (2021-02-24). Pro-Fossil Fuel Senators Grill Deb Haaland as She Bids to Become First Indigenous Cabinet Secretary. democracynow.org Indigenous communities across the United States are closely following the Senate confirmation hearings of Congressmember Deb Haaland, President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Interior Department, who would become the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary if she is confirmed. Haaland is a tribal citizen of the Laguna Pueblo, and the prospect of an Indigenous person leading the federal department with broad oversight of Native American affairs has galvanized support for her in Indian Country. Several Republican senators have grilled Haaland over her past comments opposing fracking, the Keystone XL oil…

Pam Martens, Russ Martens (2021-02-24). GameStop Hearing Exposes a Sick Business Model Destined to Exacerbate Wealth Inequality in America. counterpunch.org The most striking revelations in yesterday's House Financial Services Committee hearing on the wild trading action in New York Stock Exchange-listed shares of GameStop came when Congresswoman Cindy Axne of Iowa questioned Vlad Tenev, the CEO of Robinhood, the trading app being increasingly used by young people to trade stocks and options on their mobile

Liaquat Ali Khan (2021-02-24). First English, Then American, and Now Muslim Francophobia. counterpunch.org Francophobia has been a persistent part of French history, transmitted and modulated through several centuries. 17thcentury England constructed the first significant layer of Francophobia. The Americans may have borrowed Francophobia from England and then developed its version in the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Muslim world has begun to manufacture its variety of

Eds. (2021-02-24). Medical racism has shaped U.S. policies for centuries. mronline.org The link between the 1793 yellow fever epidemic and the coronavirus.

Elizabeth Keyes (2021-02-24). Compartmentalizing Woody Allen … or Not. counterpunch.org I missed the first round of talk about the New York Times' publication of a moving and forthright letter by Woody Allen's adopted daughter, Dylan, regarding his alleged sexual molestation of her over two decades ago. Woody Allen is an American icon as well as a human being capable of all things human, perhaps including

Ben Slowey (2021-02-24). Milwaukee protesters demand real change from Biden administration. liberationnews.org Around 50 protesters congregated in the cold outside Milwaukee City Hall Feb. 16 to make their demands heard, as President Joe Biden arrived for a town hall conversation with CNN.

Chauncey K. Robinson (2021-02-24). Biden immigration bill has shortcomings, but shows promise on several fronts. peoplesworld.org The Biden administration has introduced a sweeping new immigration bill that stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump's four years of attacks on undocumented workers and their families. The new bill is being seen by many as a bold step in a better direction, but some immigrant rights activists are pointing out shortcomings in the …

Michael Otto (2021-02-24). Ecuador elections — The calm before the storm. workers.org Ibarra, Ecuador Feb. 19 — Almost 10 million voters, a record 81% of those eligible, went to the polls Feb. 7, despite the pandemic, to choose among 16 candidates in Ecuador's presidential elections. The two top vote-getters will compete in the April 11 runoff elections. No candidate received enough . . . |

The Socialist Program (2021-02-24). In the News: Capitalism Kills. liberationnews.org On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss the COVID death toll in the United States topping 500,000, the winter storm that has left millions without power in zero degree temperatures in Texas, a new independent report that further exposes the police in Aurora Colorado for the brutal murder of Elijah McClain, and more.

Royal Thomas II (2021-02-24). Rush Limbaugh and the rise of the far right. liberationnews.org Photo: Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump speaking at a 2019 event hosted by Turning Point USA. Credit — Gage Skidmore After more than three decades assaulting airwaves and television screens with his vicious right-wing rhetoric, Rush Limbaugh, the bigoted and imperialist radio personality, died last week from a year-long battle with lung cancer. With his …

Ed Rampell (2021-02-24). 'Executive Order': A futuristic 'final solution' to the Brazilian 'race problem' at PAFF. peoplesworld.org Director/co-writer Lázaro Ramos's award-winning Executive Order (Medida Provisória) exemplifies what I love most about the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF): It gives movie buffs the opportunity to see films, often from far-flung destinations around the globe, that we might otherwise never have the chance to watch. Often these are worthy, well-made productions that PAFF is …

Editor (2021-02-24). FREEDOM HAS NEVER BEEN SO CLOSE. workers.org Join us Saturday, March 6, from 2-4 p.m. EST, for a Global Virtual Street Meeting for Mumia Abu-Jamal: FREEDOM HAS NEVER BEEN SO CLOSE. Join organizers, artists, supporters and educators as they shine a light on the important history of this international movement to #FreeMumia along with a summary . . . |

Frank Lara (2021-02-24). San Francisco teachers struggle for a safe reopening. liberationnews.org The following was a presentation at the Feb. 20, 2021, Reds in Ed webinar. Afternoon fellow educators, my name is Frank Lara and I am a public-school teacher of 10 years in San Francisco's historic Mission District. I am also on the Executive Board of our union, the United Educators of San Francisco, a 6,500-member …

Berry Craig (2021-02-24). Republicans' working class hero re-branding isn't fooling anyone. peoplesworld.org So far, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Jim Jordan haven't taken up Chris Hayes's challenge. On his show a while back, the MSNBC host laughed out loud when Sen. Cruz—aka The Cancun Kid—Sen. Josh Hawley, and Rep. Jim Jordan claimed the GOP was the born-again blue-collar party. The host of "All in With Chris Hayes" dared the …

W. Alphaeus Hunton (2021-02-24). Harlem's 1946 fight against South African starvation foreshadowed anti-apartheid struggle. peoplesworld.org People's World is happy to reprint below an article from the Jan. 3, 1946 issue of the Daily Worker by W. Alphaeus Hunton, then the educational director of the Council on African Affairs (CAA). Hunton, considered "one of the most neglected African-American intellectuals" in U.S. history, partly due to his membership in the Communist Party …

Jackie Fox (2021-02-24). How Capitalism Fails US. realprogressives.org Hello internet, I'm Jackie Fox and I'd like for you to join me in a thought experiment. Imagine an ideal world. What do you see? How do you know it's ideal? If you're anything like me, you're imagining a world without homelessness or hunger, where life expectancy increases along with quality of life, everyone has access to healthcare, the world is healthy and our ecosystem isn't on the verge of collapse. Following the logic of Capitalism though, you'd really just want a strong stock market and around three percent market growth per year; everything else is just icing on the cake. | The problem is that while th…

The Conversation (2021-02-24). Saving the Planet: Why a net-zero future depends on the ocean's ability to absorb carbon. juancole.com By Anya M. Waite, Brad deYoung, Chris Milley, and Ian G. Stewart | — Most of us growing up along Canada's East Coast never worried about hurricane season. Except for those working at sea, we viewed hurricanes as extreme events in remote tropical regions, seen only through blurred footage of flailing palm trees on the …

Eds. (2021-02-24). Does the West repeating claims of China committing genocide in Xinjiang reify it? mronline.org The Jewish Virtual Library quotes Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels as having said: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

Marlanna Bullock (2021-02-24). Tri-Cities, WA's Katie Barton: 'She wanted to see equal rights for the community, not just herself'. liberationnews.org This article is part of Liberation's commemoration of Black History Month, 2021. T…

Rosalío Muñoz, Janice Rothstein (2021-02-24). Labor and allies pressure Congress to pass American Rescue Plan. peoplesworld.org LOS ANGELES—The urgency and historic significance of the American Rescue Plan are being amplified by the gamut of civic and community groups around the country, from labor to civil rights, health care, education, child, senior, unemployed, disability, homeless, and other advocacy groups. Momentum is building for mass public pressure to get the strongest measure passed …

Will Solomon (2021-02-24). Cuomo's Cover-up Will be Most Effectively Weaponized by the Right. counterpunch.org On February 11, news broke that the Cuomo administration intentionally hid data on COVID-related nursing home deaths from the federal government and New York state legislators, ostensibly for fear of a Department of Justice investigation and potential federal prosecution. The revelation was fairly shocking, but hardly out of character. Cuomo's mishandling of the pandemic—coupled with

MBNJSD (2021-02-24). What Planet Is NATO Living On? dissidentvoice.org NATO headquarters in Brussels (Photo: NATO) The February meeting of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Defense Ministers, the first since President Biden took power, revealed an antiquated, 75-year-old alliance that, despite its military failures in Afghanistan and Libya, is now turning its military madness toward two more formidable, nuclear-armed enemies: Russia and China. This theme …

John Wojcik (2021-02-24). In plain sight, GOP senators show sabotage is their game. peoplesworld.org Republican senators exposed their true colors at separate Senate hearings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, and those colors are not ones that would typically be shown by anyone interested in "bipartisanship." The nation was treated to the spectacle in hearings on the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol of Senate leaders of that right-wing insurrection …

Mirinda Crissman (2021-02-24). Texas freeze — Rich get richer, workers suffer. workers.org Houston An unprecedented winter storm hit Texas Feb. 15, bringing subfreezing temperatures. One week later, huge sections of the population are still without power, heat and/or water. Houston skyline glows, while millions suffer subfreezing temperatures without heat or water amidst preventable power outages, Feb. 15 Across major cities — such . . . |

David Rosen (2021-02-24). Confronting the Digital Divide: New York City vs. Verizon. counterpunch.org The United States is a divided nation, one expressed in all-too-many ways as evident by the 2020 presidential election and the failed January 6th insurrection. Unfortunately, one of its most telling expressions is the digital divide, in which more well-to-do urban and suburban locals get superior if over-priced telecom services while whole swaths of urban

Beau Peters (2021-02-24). The Ethics of Healthcare Marketing. dissidentvoice.org Spend an evening watching television on any network in pretty much any town in America and you'd probably think that Big Pharma had already created a pill for anything that might ail ya. And, of course, in some ways, that's not entirely wrong. Today we have a world of therapies to extend our lives and …

Rajan Menon (2021-02-24). Covid-19 Demonstrated How This Country Fails Its Most Vulnerable: A Field Guide to Our Threadbare Social Safety Net. juancole.com ( Tomdispatch.com) — Economic crises shine a spotlight on a society's inequities and hierarchies, as well as its commitment to support those who are most vulnerable in such grievous moments. The calamity created by Covid-19 is no exception. The economic fallout from that pandemic has tested the nation's social safety net as never before. Between …

United Health Professionals (2021-02-24). Mensaje de Alerta sobre la COVID-19. Profesionales de la Salud Unidos. globalizacion.ca Llamamos la atención de nuestros lectores, este importante comunicado internacional de profesionales de la salud, médicos y científicos, que ha sido enviado a los gobiernos de treinta países. | A continuación se muestra el texto completo que se envió a los…

Mike Walter (2021-02-24). The Heat: Afghanistan-What's next? america.cgtn.com The war in Afghanistan rages on as a major deadline looms for U.S. forces to leave the country.

Staff (2021-02-24). Biden Cancels "Remain in Mexico" Policy, But Asylum Seekers Still Left Waiting. truthout.org One of the most controversial Trump-era immigration policies — the so-called Remain in Mexico program, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols — left about 25,000 asylum seekers stranded on the other side of the border while their cases progressed through U.S. courts. President Joe Biden has suspended that program, but immigrant advocates say his administration needs to move more quickly to undo the damage. Although dozens of asylum seekers have been allowed to trickle in,…

Staff (2021-02-24). In What Universe Is a $15 Wage "Too High"? Joe Manchin's. truthout.org Economic justice organizers may soon triumph in their fight for a $15 minimum wage. Thanks to their years of effort, President Biden (and every Democratic contender during the primary debates) vowed to hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour. In keeping with that promise, Biden attached a wage bill to his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. | Although Republicans and their political allies are firmly opposed to the measure, the Senate could approve it. But Democratic holdouts like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin could do…

Staff (2021-02-24). Romney Says Trump Will Be GOP Nominee If He Runs in 2024. truthout.org Speaking about the future of the Republican Party on Tuesday, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said it's very likely that former President Donald Trump would win the nomination for president if he decided to run again in 2024. | "I don't know if he'll run in 2024 or not, but if he does, I'm pretty sure he will win the nomination," Romney said Romney also acknowledged that "a lot can happen between now…

Staff (2021-02-24). Calls Rise for Louis DeJoy's Removal and for Major Postal Reforms. truthout.org On Wednesday, February 24, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold a

Staff (2021-02-24). Biden Canceled Trump's "Remain in Mexico" Policy, But Asylum Seekers Still Waiting in Squalid Camps. democracynow.org One of the most controversial Trump-era immigration policies — the so-called Remain in Mexico program, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols — left about 25,000 asylum seekers stranded on the other side of the border while their cases progressed through U.S. courts. President Joe Biden has suspended that program, but immigrant advocates say his administration needs to move more quickly to undo the damage. Although dozens of asylum seekers have been allowed to trickle in, many thousands are still waiting in dangerous conditions for their chance to cross the border, including in the Matamor…

Staff (2021-02-24). Biden Canceled Trump's "Remain in Mexico" Policy, But Asylum Seekers Still Wait in Squalid Refugee Camps. democracynow.org One of the most controversial Trump-era immigration policies — the so-called Remain in Mexico program, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols — left about 25,000 asylum seekers stranded on the other side of the border while their cases progressed through U.S. courts. President Joe Biden has suspended that program, but immigrant advocates say his administration needs to move more quickly to undo the damage. Although dozens of asylum seekers have been allowed to trickle in, many thousands are still waiting in dangerous conditions for their chance to cross the border, including in the Matamor…

RT (2021-02-24). Home addresses, social security numbers & sensitive medical data on 500,000 French patients leaked online after hack — reports. rt.com Sensitive medical records on nearly 500,000 patients in France have been stolen in a major cyber attack on dozens of healthcare labs, landing online after an alleged dispute between the hackers, according to media reports. | A file containing names and contact details on 491,840 people has made the rounds online since at least earlier this month, according to French cybersecurity journalist Damien Bancal, who runs the Zataz blog. The data includes home addresses, phone numbers, emails, social security numbers and other sensitive medical information pertaining to medications, pregnancy and diseases such as HIV.

a guest author (2021-02-24). COVID inside: Release prisoners! Lisa Strawn interview, part 2. workers.org The global pandemic has disproportionately impacted incarcerated people in the U.S. In California, during the early days of the pandemic, the transfer of prisoners into San Quentin sparked a massive outbreak of COVID that spread to over two-thirds of the prison population there, causing the death of 27 prisoners, including . . . |

Media Lens (2021-02-24). 20 Years Of Media Lens: A Selection Of Remarkable Replies From Journalists. dissidentvoice.org The Insiders In a 2002 interview with the Observer, the BBC's John Cody Fidler-Simpson CBE of Kabul, to give him his full name and title, was asked to define the 'essential qualities' of a journalist. Simpson responded with typical left-field quirkiness: There's something slightly wrong with most of us, don't you feel? We're damaged goods, …

Staff (2021-02-24). Texas Power Grid Deregulation Cost Texans $28 Billion Over Two Decades. truthout.org Republican Texas lawmakers often tout their state leadership's contempt and recalcitrance toward the federal government as a point of pride. But a new analysis by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has found that the deregulation and monopolization of the Texas energy market cost Texas residents $28 billion more than they would have paid under a traditional utility. | When Texas changed from fully regulated power generation to the largely deregulated system that's in place today, it began requiring almos…

CP Editor (2021-02-24). Fossil Fuel Shock Doctrine. counterpunch.org

RT (2021-02-24). Grand jury refuses to indict officers in Daniel Prude case, whose death in police custody sparked protests & resignations. rt.com A grand jury in Rochester, New York has decided not to indict seven police officers, including the one who placed a hood on Daniel Prude's head and contributed to his death. The black man's demise spurred protests last year. | The police officers were suspended in the wake of Prude's death on March 23 last year, which came as a result of an altercation between Prude, a black man, and a group of responding officers as they attempted to take him into custody. | Announcing the jury's verdict, New York AG Letitia James said that she was "extremely disappointed" by the outcome, arguing that Prude's race played a ro…

RT (2021-02-24). Conservative host posts about his investigation into voter fraud claims, gets blocked, challenges Twitter to disprove his findings. rt.com BlazeTV host Steven Crowder had his Twitter account restricted after posting about a video investigative piece claiming numerous voter addresses in the 2020 presidential election were faked. | "DOZENS of voter names, addresses, and pictures proving they don't exist. Period. Today I'm tired of this s**t. Mass voter fraud is real and I can prove it," Crowder Twitter quickly restricted the tweet and did not allow anyone to like, retweet, or respond to it "due to a risk of violence." Twitter also temporarily locked Crowder'

RT (2021-02-24). Twitter called out for 'double standards' after it singles out report on UK influence op in Russia with 'hacked materials' label. rt.com Twitter has added a warning to a bombshell expose revealing a covert UK program to plant pro-government narratives in foreign media, telling users the piece may be based on "hacked material," despite letting similar stories slide. | A

RT (2021-02-24). Oklahoma man on parole accused of taking victim's HEART to feed family that he later slayed & maimed. rt.com Grisly details have emerged in a triple homicide case in Chickasha, Oklahoma. The suspect reportedly cut out and cooked the heart of a neighbor he had killed, before turning the knife against his own family. | The already shockingly brutal case against Lawrence Paul Anderson, 42, rose to a new level of senselessness after the chain of tragic events was further explained in court papers. As the suspect was confessing to his crimes to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), he said he had taken out the heart of his first victim and took it to his home. | I feel the need to warn people that this story…

RT (2021-02-24). US Federal Reserve investigating disruptions to Fedwire payment system and other services. rt.com The US Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it is investigating a disruption to services including Fedwire, which facilitates trillions of dollars in wire transfers between institutions every day. | According to updates from the Federal Reserve, the massive disruption to services was caused by an "operational error". | "We acknowledge that payment deadlines are impacted and will communicate remediation efforts to our customers when available. Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the issue," the institution said in an update on the situation. | As of 2.30pm Eastern Time Wednesday, almost all serv…

RT (2021-02-24). Chicago lawmaker calls to BAN Grand Theft Auto in new bill, blaming 'violent video games' for spike in carjackings. rt.com A Democratic lawmaker in Chicago is pushing to ban the sale of all violent video games, claiming the graphic 'Grand Theft Auto' series — which debuted more than 20 years ago — is to blame for a wave of carjackings around the city.

RT (2021-02-24). What about student loans, water or the homeless? Outrage follows report $1.7 trillion F-35 program is now considered a failure. rt.com A tacit admission by the US Air Force that the F-35 has failed its main mission has triggered an outpouring of outrage from Americans who think the stealth fighter's gargantuan budget could have been better spent on other things. | Frustration with Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation stealth jet flooded Twitter on Wednesday, after Forbes magazine published a story about how USAF commissioning a study into a new, cheaper and lighter fighter amounts to "a tacit admission that the F-35 has failed." | | The U.S. Air Force admitted that the F-35 s…

RT (2021-02-24). Divided Republicans in Congress awkwardly disagree on Trump's future at same press conference (VIDEO). rt.com Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) is facing a backlash after openly disagreeing with Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) on Donald Trump's future with the party during an awkward press conference exchange. | Asked on Wednesday whether Trump should be speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida this week, McCarthy replied simply, "Yes, he should." | Cheney, who was standing behind McCarthy, was then asked what she thought about the matter — though her answer should surprise no one, as she's been a vocal critic of the former president. | "I don't believe he should be playing a role i…

RT (2021-02-24). US seeking re-election to UN Human Rights Council after Trump withdrawal, Blinken calls for expulsion of other members. rt.com The US wants to retake its seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a video message to the body, during which he also called for the removal of other nations. | "I'm pleased to announce the United States will seek election to the Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term," Blinken declared on Wednesday. "We humbly ask for the support of all UN member states in our bid to return to a seat in this body." | Former President Donald Trump's administration

RT (2021-02-24). What about student loans, water or the homeless? Outrage follows report $1.7 trillion F-35 program is now considered a failure. rt.com A tacit admission by the US Air Force that the F-35 has failed its main mission has triggered an outpouring of outrage from Americans who think the stealth fighter's gargantuan budget could have been better spent on other things. | Frustration with Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation stealth jet flooded Twitter on Wednesday, after Forbes magazine published a story about how USAF commissioning a study into a new, cheaper and lighter fighter amounts to "a tacit admission that the F-35 has failed." | | t.co/fDhBTf4Cyd RT (2021-02-24). 'Let's play strip poker': Former staffer publishes explosive essay detailing claims of sexual harassment against Gov. Andrew Cuomo. rt.com New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is being accused of sexual harassment and fostering a "toxic" work environment by former staffer Lindsey Boylan, who detailed her time with the top Democrat in a new essay. | Boylan The former aide now says she has revealed her full story in the hopes that it will "clear the path for other women to come forward." She published the exp…

RT (2021-02-24). 'Cancel them before they cancel us': Gab CEO says banks have banned platform due to media smears. rt.com Three banks have refused to do business with Gab, a Twitter competitor outspoken about free speech, in recent weeks, the company's chief executive revealed. Andrew Torba blamed the development on mainstream media hit pieces. | The third bank to sever its relationship with the company in three weeks told Torba on Monday that they were doing so because of "all the bad things the press has written about Gab," he said in an interview published by the conservative outlet National File. | Speaking to

RT (2021-02-24). Neera Tanden's quest for OMB post hits another roadblock as crucial step postponed indefinitely — reports. rt.com The confirmation of Neera Tanden, Biden's polarizing pick for head of the Office of Management and Budget, has been further derailed after Republicans suggested they'd vote against it, insider sources told the media. | Both the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Budget Committee postponed meetings set for Wednesday in which they were scheduled to vote on Tanden's confirmation, according to sources cited in several US outlets. | White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to say whether the Biden administration was planning to withdraw Tanden, instead gushing over her "broad s…

RT (2021-02-24). 'The war continues': Small investors up in arms after GameStop stock trades halted amid price surge & reports of Reddit outages. rt.com GameStop shares have again soared, surging by more than 100 percent until a trading halt slowed the rally before markets closed, stoking suspicions among small investors, some pointing to mysterious Reddit issues during the spike. | $GME was up by Observers online noted that while halts are typically short-lived and last onl…

RT (2021-02-24). 1 in 6 Americans under 23 say they're LGBTQ, as more people in the US than ever identify as non-heterosexual. rt.com More Americans than ever identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) according to a survey of sexuality, with one in six people under 23 saying they are something other than heterosexual. | The Gallup Poll released Wednesday, found that 5.6 percent of Americans classify themselves as LGBTQ — up from 4.5 percent in 2017. That was the last time Gallup carried out polling on the issue. | Gallup surveyed 15,000 Americans above 18 years of age and found that of those who identified themselves as LGBTQ, 54.6 percent said they were bisexual, 24.5 percent said they were gay, and 1…

Betsey Piette (2021-02-24). COVID-19 vaccine patents: Private property vs. public health. workers.org Among the many controversies surrounding vital COVID-19 vaccines, the issue of patent bans gets far less attention than how vaccines are being distributed or who is able to receive them. Yet the patent laws protecting intellectual property (IP) in the U.S. and European Union give the world's wealthiest countries unfair . . . |

Staff (2021-02-24). FDA May Approve Johnson & Johnson Vaccine for US Use as Early as Saturday. truthout.org The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to be safe and effective in a briefing document on Wednesday morning, lending support to its emergency use authorization. | The vaccine's trial data results are "consistent with the recommendations set forth in FDA's guidance Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19,"

Peter Koenig (2021-02-24). Identificación del "paquete de vacunas" implantado: El Parlamento de Alemania ha ratificado la "Agenda ID2020" digital de GAVI. globalizacion.ca Noticias alarmantes. En Alemania, el Parlamento (Bundestag) ratificó el 29 de enero de 2021 la implementación de la Agenda ID2020. | Se trata de una recopilación de datos electrónicos generalizados y centralizados de cada ciudadano a la que tendrían acceso todas…

Ali Harb (2021-02-24). Top US lawmaker links Palestinians to antisemitism and hate crimes. middleeasteye.net Top US lawmaker links Palestinians to antisemitism and hate crimes | Gregory Meeks, chair of House Foreign Affairs Committee, ruled out conditioning aid to Israel even if annexation proceeds | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 19: 43 | Congressman Gregory Meeks vowed to be a 'strong voice against antisemitism' when dealing with Palestinians (AFP/File photo) | Congressman Gregory Meeks, a key Democrat, linked Palestinians to the…

MEE staff (2021-02-24). US to seek place on UN Human Rights Council, chief diplomat says. middleeasteye.net US to seek place on UN Human Rights Council, chief diplomat says | But Secretary of State Antony Blinken says body needs to eliminate agenda item on rights abuses in occupied Palestinian territories | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 19: 23 | Blinken said the US was seeking support for its election to the UNHRC for the 2022-2024 term (AFP) | US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the Biden administration…

MEE staff (2021-02-24). Ahmad Erekat: Killing of Palestinian by Israel was 'extrajudicial execution'. middleeasteye.net Ahmad Erekat: Killing of Palestinian by Israel was 'extrajudicial execution' | New investigation also denounces the lack of medical treatment given to the Palestinian man and the degrading treatment of his body | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 14: 35 | Ahmad Erekat was killed at an Israeli checkpoint on his sister's wedding day last year (Facebook) | The killing of Palestinian Ahmad Erekat at an Israeli checkpoint on his s…

MEE staff (2021-02-24). Pope's visit to Iraq will send message of coexistence, says Iraqi president. middleeasteye.net Pope's visit to Iraq will send message of coexistence, says Iraqi president | Barham Salih says meeting between Pope Francis and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani will be 'profound statement about moderation in religion' | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 21: 11 | Pope Francis is set to visit Iraq on 5 March, and travel to areas previously under the control of the Islamic State group (AFP/File photo) | Iraqi President Barham Salih ha…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-24). Biden to call Saudi king ahead of 'explosive' Khashoggi findings: Report. middleeasteye.net Biden to call Saudi king ahead of 'explosive' Khashoggi findings: Report | US intelligence report expected to support earlier CIA findings that Saudi crown prince behind murder of journalist | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 08: 36 | The call would be the first conversation between Biden, as US president, and King Salman, according to Axios (Reuters) | US President Joe Biden is set to call Saudi Arabia'

MEE staff (2021-02-24). UN rights experts urge Biden to address rights violations at Guantanamo Bay prison. middleeasteye.net UN rights experts urge Biden to address rights violations at Guantanamo Bay prison | A panel of rights experts welcome administration's goal of closing prison, but say it must ensure 'crimes committed there will not remain unpunished' | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 16: 41 | There are currently 40 detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison (AFP/File photo) | A panel of UN rights experts said the Biden administration's current rev…

Alex MacDonald (2021-02-24). Syria: Government official Eyad al-Gharib sentenced in Germany in landmark torture verdict. middleeasteye.net Syria: Government official Eyad al-Gharib sentenced in Germany in landmark torture verdict | Intelligence officer sentenced to four and a half years in prison over complicity in crimes against humanity | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 09: 28 | Eyad al-Gharib, accused of crimes against humanity in the first trial of its kind to emerge from the Syrian conflict, arrives to hear the court's verdict on 24 Februar…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-24). Carlos Ghosn: Turkey sentences pilots and airline executive over escape from Japan. middleeasteye.net Carlos Ghosn: Turkey sentences pilots and airline executive over escape from Japan | The three Turks were convicted of smuggling the ex-Nissan boss into Lebanon while he faced charges in Japan | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 14: 27 | The Ghosn saga has shaken the global car industry, at one point jeopardising the Renault-Nissan alliance which he masterminded (AFP) | An Istanbul court on Wednesday conv…

MEE staff (2021-02-24). Israeli watchdog calls out Netanyahu's bid to gain Palestinian support in elections. middleeasteye.net Israeli watchdog calls out Netanyahu's bid to gain Palestinian support in elections | The Prime Minister's Office has been in contact with Palestinian authorities to drum up backing among Palestinian citizens of Israel | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 15: 59 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on a visit to Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, 20 February 2021 (AFP) | An Israeli watchdog on Wednesday called for a cri…

MEE staff (2021-02-24). Khashoggi killers used planes seized by Saudi crown prince: Report. middleeasteye.net Khashoggi killers used planes seized by Saudi crown prince: Report | In recent court filings, documents reveal that two of the jets used by Saudi hit squad belonged to a company seized by MBS months earlier, CNN reports | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 22: 02 | Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 (AFP/File photo) | Two private jets used by the Saudi hit squad that killed journalist…

Yossi Melman (2021-02-24). Israel is worried about the Palestinian elections. It believes Abbas is too. middleeasteye.net Israel is worried about the Palestinian elections. It believes Abbas is too | The Israeli security services have no wish to rock the boat, but they have few measures to influence the upcoming polls | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 14: 17 | An electoral worker leaves the Palestinian Central Elections Commission's office in Gaza City (Reuters) | From the perspective of the Israeli security establishment, it would ha…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-24). German court sentences Iraqi preacher over Islamic State recruitment. middleeasteye.net German court sentences Iraqi preacher over Islamic State recruitment | Court finds Abu Walaa helped radicalise young people in Europe and send them to Iraq and Syria | Wed, 02/24/2021 – 12: 00 | Abu Walaa, 37, was found guilty of belonging to a foreign terrorist organisation, helping to plan subversive violent acts and financing terrorism (AFP) | An Iraqi preacher said to be the Islamic St…

RT (2021-02-24). How do you do, fellow kids? Biden White House leaves followers baffled after tweeting out-of-touch meme with Canadian PM. rt.com The Biden administration has taken a popular meme and mutilated it, leaving what appears to be praise for Canada's Justin Trudeau but which was hard to understand either way. | Biden's White House Twitter account posted two images in a row captioned "How it started. How it's going" on Wednesday. The first showed Biden and Trudeau walking side by side down a hallway lined with flags, apparently from Biden's term as Vice President under Barack Obama. The second featured a large screen on which Trudeau was projected, with Biden turned towards it, seemingly in mid-speech, clearly taken during the pandemic. | How i…

Staff (2021-02-24). Cori Bush Grills Postmaster DeJoy About USPS's Board of "Millionaire White Boys" truthout.org During Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday, Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) noted that, despite the fact that people of color make up a sizeable share of United States Postal Service (USPS) employees,…

RT (2021-02-24). Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell offers to renounce UK & French citizenship in exchange for bail. rt.com Jeffrey Epstein's alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to give up her British and French citizenship in order to be released on bail. She was arrested on charges of trafficking underage girls. | Maxwell "will renounce her French and British citizenship to eliminate any opportunity for her to seek refuge in those countries, if the Court so requires," her lawyers wrote in a The defendant's legal team argued that by doing so, Maxwe…

Jasmine Norden (2021-02-24). Victory for campaigners as richest Cambridge college promises to divest from fossil fuels. thecanary.co After four years of student campaigning, Cambridge's Trinity College has promised to divest fully from fossil fuels in the next 10 years. | The college has vowed to end all direct investment into fossil fuels by the end of 2021, and all indirect investment within 5-10 years. | Trinity is only the third Cambridge college to promise full divestment. The university as a whole has

_____ (2021-02-24). Will Biden Finally Get US Troops Out Of Afghanistan? popularresistance.org Real talk: Joe Biden hasn't had too many finest hours in his 47 years plus years on the national scene. To be fair, he's had his moments — like a powerful, earthy, and impassioned 1986 speech he delivered to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposing the Reagan administration's apologism for the "repulsive, repugnant" Afrikaner apartheid "regime" in South Africa. Sure, he later — during the 2020 campaign — repeatedly peddled a bizarre lie that he once got arrested attempting to visit Nelson Mandela in prison. Nor does Biden sport such clean record on race relations in his own country [mdas…

Online News Editor (2021-02-24). Philippines arrests 9 women suspected of planning suicide bombings. laprensalatina.com Bangkok, Feb 24 (efe-epa).- The Philippine military said Tuesday night it arrested nine women suspected of planning suicide bombings with links to the Abu Sayyaf terror group leadership. The women were arrested Friday during a series of raids at three homes in the south-western province of Sulu in the Philippines, General Corleto Velluan, head of …

Staff (2021-02-23). Amazon faces a day of reckoning for its treatment of workers. therealnews.com Amazon workers and their allies rallied last weekend to support the union drive at the Bessemer, Alabama, facility. Workers say the company has failed to protect worker safety or improve working conditions even while Amazon and Jeff Bezos profited from the pandemic.

RT (2021-02-23). Amazon mysteriously pulls book critical of transgender movements, gets accused of 'digital book burning'. rt.com Author Ryan T. Anderson has blasted Amazon for removing his latest book on the rise of the transgender movement without explanation, a move that has many criticizing the company for playing politics and accusing it of censorship. | "I hope you've already bought your copy, cause Amazon just removed my book 'When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment' from their cyber shelves…. my other four books are still available (for now)," Anderson 'When Harry Became Sally' had p…

Raul Diego (2021-02-23). Part II — Western Capital's Long Chinese Mission: From Opium to COVID Vaccine Credentials. mintpressnews.com We examine the virtually unbroken history between American power-brokers and the highest echelons of power in China — a history that harkens back to the earliest days of capitalism, slavery, and the opium trade.

Sameena Rahman (2021-02-23). FBI, NYPD exposed: Deathbed confession shines new light on assassination of Malcolm X. liberationnews.org Fifty-six years after the assasination of Malcolm X, new details from a former New York Police Department officer's deathbed confession has further implicated the NYPD and FBI in the killing. Raymond Wood, the former NYPD officer, requested the letter be publicized only after his death due to fears of retaliation. Wood's cousin, Reggie Wood, read …

Richard D. Wolff (2021-02-23). The Fake Debate Over a Minimum Wage. counterpunch.org Capitalism's "conservative" defenders yet again oppose raising the minimum wage. They fought raising it in the past much as they tried to prevent the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) that first mandated a U.S. minimum wage. The major argument opponents have used is this: setting or raising a minimum wage threatens small employers. They may collapse or else fire employees; either way, jobs are lost. What is conveniently assumed here is a necessary contradiction between minimum wages and small business jobs. That assumption enables opponents to claim that not setting a legal minimum wage, like not raising it, saves…

David L. Wilson (2021-02-23). Crediting Xenophobia—rather than organizing—with raising workers' wages. mronline.org The Economist (2/15/20) ran a brief article last year with a startling headline: "Immigration to America Is Down. Wages Are Up. Are the Two Related?" Maybe, the article's anonymous author answered, at least for the short term.

Patrick Cockburn (2021-02-23). Capitol Riots Were a Dark Day for American Journalism. counterpunch.org What is reported matters and particularly so when it risks exaggerating violence or deepening fear and a sense of threat. If the US government really was the target of an armed insurrection, then this will be used to justify repression, as it was after 9/11, and not just against right wing conspiracy theorists. By becoming partisan instruments for spreading fake news, the media undermines its own credibility.

The Conversation (2021-02-23). Biden and the Iran nuclear deal: what to expect from the negotiations. juancole.com By Ali Bilgic | — As Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, speculation was rife that one of the first things his administration would do would be to seek re-entry to the Iran nuclear deal that had been quit by his predecessor in the White House. The Joint …

John Clamp (2021-02-23). Rohingya: The Sufis of Arakan. counterpunch.org 'It was absolutely shocking, how children aged five or six were hunted down and had their throats slit. I was thinking 'this is ISIS-type stuff'. I told Aung San Suu Kyi 'you have moral standing in this country. You have to stop this. Why are you hiding it?' She said [the United Nations] needed to

John Bachtell (2021-02-23). Republicans oppose the American Rescue Plan at their peril. peoplesworld.org With Republicans scrambling to block emergency economic assistance to millions, the Democratic-led House of Representatives is moving quickly to approve the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) this week. The measure, which links the pandemic, economic crisis, and racial justice, then goes to the Senate. The Democratic majority is expected to pass it via the …

Steve Sweeney (2021-02-23). Erdogan slammed, will open a fascist 'Grey Wolves' school in occupied Artsakh. peoplesworld.org Anti-fascist forces in Turkey blasted authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's links to right-wing paramilitary death squads today after reports that he will open a new Grey Wolves school in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. He will lay the foundation for the building alongside Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in the city of Shushi, which was taken by Azeri forces …

Eds. (2021-02-23). Bhima Koregaon: Varavara Rao gets bail on medical grounds for six months. mronline.org Just as the Bombay HC pronounced the verdict, the additional solicitor general sought a stay on the order for three weeks. However, the court rejected it.

W.E.B. DuBois, Gus Hall (2021-02-23). From the People's World archives: W.E.B. DuBois joins the Communist Party. peoplesworld.org Editor's Note: Dr. William E. Burghardt DuBois was born Feb. 23, 1868. Near the end of his life, in 1961, he applied for membership in the Communist Party USA. His letter, and the response from Gus Hall, leader of the party at that time, were published for the first time in the pages of The …

Ronda Shelton (2021-02-23). Killer cop still not on trial almost 3 years after killing Daniel Hambrick in Tennessee. liberationnews.org As made clear by the video footage, when Delke was unable to catch his victim on foot, he stopped running, assumed a firing position, and shot Hambrick three times, including once in the back of the head.

Richard C. Gross (2021-02-23). Welcoming a Return to Sanity. counterpunch.org In the old days, specifically during the presidency of another actor, Ronald Reagan, Republican falsehoods seemed so quaint that Americans dismissed them as such, relegating them to sloganeering. "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem," the conservative president charged during his first inaugural address in 1981. Nonsense. Reagan's phrase was

Talli Nauman (2021-02-23). The Race to Save the Vaquita Porpoise From Extinction. counterpunch.org San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. The long-running global struggle to prevent extinction of the world's most endangered marine mammal claimed its first human life here on Jan. 2, in the conflict between illegal fishing and conservation of the vaquita porpoise. Fisherman Mario Garcia Toledo, 56, died after suffering massive injuries when his skiff collided with

Ed Rampell (2021-02-23). 'Truth to Power: Barbara Lee Speaks for Me' at Pan African Film Festival. peoplesworld.org Undaunted, the pandemic can't stop the Pan African Film Festival. In that immortal show biz tradition, the show must go on! Albeit virtually, as this year, in order to stay cinematically safe, America's largest and best annual Black-themed filmfest since 1992 is moving online and starting later than usual, kicking off on the last day …

Tom Conway (2021-02-23). Corporations, lawmakers collude in new multi-state 'right to work' offensive. peoplesworld.org Dave Dell Isola, the son and grandson of union members, grew up grateful for the family-sustaining wages and benefits that organized labor won for working people. But he never fully grasped the might of solidarity until he and his wife, Barbara, and their two sons lost everything in an apartment fire. Dell Isola's brothers and …

Ben Hillier (2021-02-23). What coronavirus taught us about the ruling class. mronline.org If half a million people in the United States were murdered by an evil cult, the leaders of which said that they would keep killing thousands a day to satisfy their rapacious urge for power and money, what do you think the response would be?>

Sami Al-Arian (2021-02-23). Mourning Dr. Agha Saeed, Celebrating his Life. counterpunch.org Dr. Agha Saeed , a towering American-Muslim figure has passed away today in a nursing home at the age of 72, due to complications from Covid-19. He had also been silently suffering from Parkinson's for over eight years. The history of American Muslims will be incomplete and extremely inadequate without recognizing Dr. Saeed's life achievements

John Wojcik (2021-02-23). Conservative Democrat Joe Manchin playing a dangerous game. peoplesworld.org The press is talking about how a conservative Democratic senator from West Virginia is now allegedly one of the most powerful movers and shakers in the nation's capital. Sen. Joe Manchin has been an enormous headache for President Joe Biden by threatening to sink the $15 minimum wage and by promising to vote down Biden's …

Eds. (2021-02-23). Demographic characteristics of people receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States. mronline.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with states to provide more information on the demographic characteristics of vaccinated people.

Jonah Raskin (2021-02-23). Notes on Black History Month, 2021: No More Black Messiahs, Please. counterpunch.org The sign in the window of my neighborhood food store reads, "Black Lives Matter." I have shopped there at least once a week over the past year. I have never seen a Black person in the store or a Black person working there. That is not strange or unusual. There aren't many Black people in all of northern California. Indeed, there are fewer Blacks in the Bay Area than there were in the 1940s and 1950s. They've been pushed out.

Karl Grossman (2021-02-23). Plutonium in Space: What Are the Odds of a Catastrophe? counterpunch.org With all the media hoopla last week about the Perseverance rover, going almost totally unreported was that its energy source is plutonium—considered the most lethal of all radioactive substances—and nowhere in media that NASA projected 1-in-960 odds of the plutonium being released in an accident on the mission. "A '1-in-960 chance' of a deadly plutonium release

Staff (2021-02-23). Dr. Cornel West vs. Harvard University. therealnews.com In a special edition of "The Tight Rope," Dr. Cornel West speaks freely about his "ridiculous situation at Harvard" with respect to his being denied tenure at the institution.

Liberation Staff (2021-02-23). Student activists in Weymouth, Mass. vs the cult of 'blue lives matter'. liberationnews.org The rhetoric surrounding "blue lives matter" isn't new. Similar dogwhistles have been used to defend hate symbols such as the confederate flag, the Gadsden flag, and even the swastika.

Sanket Jain (2021-02-23). India's Farm Crisis: "They Sell Our Wheat to Us at Thrice the Price" counterpunch.org Laxmibai Kale has been losing a portion of her harvest every year. That's not been due to excessive rainfall or drought or poor farming techniques. "Our crops are destroyed," said 60-year-old Laxmibai, "because thepanchayat allows animals to graze on the land. I've lost count of the losses we've suffered." The five-acre plot in Mohadi village

Mike Walter (2021-02-23). The Heat: China-U.S. relations. america.cgtn.com Putting relations back on the right track. China makes the case for cooperation, instead of confrontation, with the United States.

Staff (2021-02-23). Unrepentant About His Cancún Trip, Ted Cruz Blames Media for Publicizing It. truthout.org After attempting to do significant public relations damage control over his jaunt to Mexico while Texas was in a deep crisis caused by Winter Storm Uri, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is now trying to suggest he's being victimized by the media. | Speaking during an appearance on conservative radio host Dana Loesch's program Monday, Cruz, who had left the state with his family to travel to Cancún, Mexico, as millions of residents suffered extreme temperatures without heat, electricity and running water…

Staff (2021-02-23). Over 33 Percent of Low-Paid Workers Lost Jobs During Pandemic. truthout.org Economic crises shine a spotlight on a society's inequities and hierarchies, as well as its commitment to support those who are most vulnerable in such grievous moments. The calamity created by Covid-19 is no exception. The economic fallout from that pandemic has tested the nation's social safety net as never before. | Between February and May 2020, the number of unemployed workers soared more than threefold — from 6.2 million to 20.5 million. The jobless rate spiked in a similar fashion from 3.8% to…

Staff (2021-02-23). "What Are We Going to Do About It?" Mariame Kaba Talks Abolition in Action. truthout.org In the wake of the uprisings following the highly publicized murder of George Floyd, new attention has been paid to campaigns to defund and abolish police and policing, and imagine new ways of existing in a world where safety, justice and healing can — and should — exist independently of the carceral state. In this atmosphere of heightened excitement about abolition, Mariame Kaba has delivered the timely collection We Do This 'Til We Free Us. A perennial organizer and prison industrial…

Staff (2021-02-23). GOP Senator on Investigations Committee Blames "Fake Trump Supporters" for Jan 6. truthout.org During a hearing on Tuesday examining the attack on the Capitol building that took place early last month, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) read into the record a widely debunked conspiracy theory, falsely alleging that the attacks themselves were incited not by former President Donald Trump, but by members of the crowd who were there to …

Staff (2021-02-23). Trump Salary Donation Was 0.1 Percent of Reported $1.6 Billion He Made in Office. truthout.org According to a review of Donald Trump's financial disclosures by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Trump reported at least $1,613,583,013 in revenue from outside sources during his presidency. | Trump famously touted

Staff (2021-02-23). Trump Attacks Supreme Court for Allowing Probe Into His Tax Returns. truthout.org On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed a New York prosecutor to obtain Donald Trump's tax returns, marking a fatal blow for his legal effort to block an accelerating criminal investigation into his business dealings. In turn, the former president lashed out at and attacked the justices, including the three nominated to the bench by him, who rebuffed his attempt to block the probe without comment. | "This investigation is a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country,"

Staff (2021-02-23). Texas Companies Are Forcing Employees to Use Vacation Time for Winter Storm. truthout.org Dozens of employers in Texas are forcing their employees to dig into their vacation time to account for days they didn't work due to the winter storm, or else go without pay for those days, The Daily Beast reports. | Last week, millions of Texans were left without power, some for days, as a winter storm hit the state and

Staff (2021-02-23). Remembering Octavia Butler: Black Sci-Fi Writer Shares Cautionary Tales in Unearthed 2005 Interview. democracynow.org As Democracy Now! marks 25 years on the air, we are revisiting some of the best and most impactful moments from the program's history, including one of the last television interviews given by the visionary Black science-fiction writer Octavia Butler. She spoke to Democracy Now! in November 2005, just three months before she died on February 24, 2006, at age 58. Butler was the first Black woman to win Hugo and Nebula awards for science-fiction writing and the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur "genius" fellowship. Her best-known books include the classics "Kindred," as well as "Parable of the Sowe…

Staff (2021-02-23). adrienne maree brown: Octavia Butler's Visions of the Future Have Transformed Generation of Readers. democracynow.org The visionary Black science-fiction writer Octavia Butler died 15 years ago on February 24, 2006, but her influence and readership has only continued to grow since then. In September, Butler's novel "Parable of the Sower" became her first to reach the New York Times best-seller list. We speak with adrienne maree brown, a writer and Octavia Butler scholar, who says Butler had a remarkable talent for universalizing Black stories. "She wrote about Black women and about Black feminism, about Black futures, but she wrote in a way that appealed to all human beings," says brown.

Paul Haeder (2021-02-23). American Exceptionalism: Private Wealth and Public Squalor. dissidentvoice.org A December 2017 statement from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights notes that, while the US manages to spend "more [money] on national defence than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Kingdom, India, France, and Japan combined", US infant mortality rates were, as of 2013, "the highest in the developed world". …

RT (2021-02-23). 'Speak for yourself': Boris Johnson skewered after telling school kids journalists find themselves 'abusing people'. rt.com Boris Johnson is facing swift backlash after he claimed — to a group of school children — that journalists always find themselves "abusing people" and the job made him feel so guilty he left for a more honest career in politics.

RT (2021-02-23). Sturgeon announces Scotland's roadmap out of Covid-19 lockdown, with hospitality set to return in late April. rt.com Scotland's first minister has announced her government's plans to reopen the country from lockdown, with the previous tiered system of restrictions due to take effect again in April. | Speaking a day after UK PM Boris Johnson unveiled his lockdown exit plan for England, Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would embark on a period of "progressive easing," with the current stay-at-home order lifted on April 5. | From March 15, four people, or two households, will be able to meet outside, and all primary and secondary school students should be returned to classroom learning by that date. The plan also sees hospitality,…

RT (2021-02-23). IAEA report confirms Iran's 20 percent uranium enrichment, says no explanation given for undeclared nuclear particles. rt.com Iran has still not offered explanations for uranium material found at two of its nuclear plants last year, according to a new report by the UN's nuclear watchdog, potentially derailing renewed efforts to revive the nuclear deal. | The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also says that Iran has produced 17.6 kg of uranium enriched to the 20 percent level — as the country had already announced — matching its target of 10 kg a month, according to Reuters. | Iran's hardline-led parliament passed a bill in December forcing the country to "produce and store 120kg per year of uranium enr…

RT (2021-02-23). Number of neo-Nazis in German Army who reject post-WWII state almost DOUBLED in 2020 — parliamentary commissioner. rt.com The number of far-right extremists in the German Armed Forces has grown by almost a third, while the number of military personnel rejecting…

RT (2021-02-23). Tiger Woods suffers 'serious injuries' to BOTH legs in car crash, but 'jaws of life' weren't used — sheriff. rt.com Los Angeles, California authorities said there was no evidence golf legend Tiger Woods was impaired at the time of the car crash that left him seriously hurt. The "jaws of life' were not used to extract the golfer, they noted. | Woods was "calm and lucid" when Deputy Carlos Gonzalez found him in the overturned vehicle on Tuesday morning, the responding officer told reporters at a press conference later in the day. | He was not able to stand on his own power, and was extracted from the car by a LA County Fire crew, Gonzalez added. | Hope Tiger Woods is ok. üôèüè&or…

RT (2021-02-23). Amnesty International says it will not call Navalny 'prisoner of conscience' anymore over his HATE SPEECH. rt.com Amnesty International, a human rights NGO, has withdrawn its designation of the recently jailed Russian activist and blogger Alexey Navalny as a "prisoner of conscience" due to past xenophobic statements he never retracted. | The group said it "is no longer able to consider" Navalny a prisoner of conscience because he "advocated violence and discrimination" and has never retracted any of such statements he made in the past. It maintained, however, that it still believes that his latest imprisonment was linked to his anti-government activism and demanded his "immediate release," a letter published by Grayzone j…

RT (2021-02-23). 'I pray he somehow finds help': Troubled NFL ace who was shamed by Covid breaches & car crash is savaged after quitting on Twitter. rt.com Isaiah Wilson has been blasted as one of the worst first-round picks in NFL history after swiftly deleting a tweet claiming he was "done" with Tennessee Titans, coming after a series of run-ins with the law and two Covid breaches. | Despite being the 29th overall pick at the start of the 2020 season, troubled Wilson had a campaign to forget and was put on the Non-Football Injury list in December after finding himself on the Covid-19 list twice for breaching safety rules. | The 22-year-old offensive tackle was involved in a bizarre incident when Tennessee State University police found him at an off-campus party…

RT (2021-02-23). Suspect pleads guilty to assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, sentenced to 15 years. rt.com One of three men on trial in Malta for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia has been sentenced, after admitting to his part in the assassination of the journalist and activist in a car bombing near her home in October 2017.

RT (2021-02-23). 'I had no clue': Olivier Giroud admits disbelief after giving Chelsea Champions League win at Atletico Madrid via spectacular goal. rt.com Olivier Giroud scored a superb second-half winner to end Chelsea's wretched run in the Champions League knockout stages in style — then admitted that he had been as uncertain as anyone over whether the goal would be allowed. | Chelsea held their own in a typical European contest involving the current Liga leaders, with Diego Simeone's wily contenders intent on defending resolutely and pouncing on the break through the likes of deadly top scorer Luis Suarez in the round of 16 first leg. | New manager Thomas Tuchel would likely have been content to have continued his unbeaten start as Blues boss before Gir…

RT (2021-02-23). EU Commission wants 6 members to ease Covid-related border restrictions as Germany defends curbs. rt.com The EU Commission has told six nations that their Covid border restrictions have "gone too far" and must be relaxed after a German minister defended the country's measures aimed at fighting the spread of new strains of the virus. | The EC's justice commissioner, Didier Reynders, has said Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, and Sweden have 10 days to provide a justification for the restrictions along their borders or to relax the measures, in favor of taking a more "coordinated approach." | It is a necessity to go back to a coordinated approach to all the measures taken in relations with the free movem…

RT (2021-02-23). Tiger Woods suffers 'serious injuries' to legs in car crash as fire crews are forced to use pry bars to cut golf icon from vehicle. rt.com Tiger Woods is in hospital after emergency services were forced to cut him out of his car following an accident in Los Angeles, with local officials describing the golf legend as "calm and lucid" when they attended the scene. | The accident is said to have happened between Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes on Tuesday morning, with the LA County Sheriff's Department confirming Woods' involvement. | "The driver and sole occupant was identified as PGA golfer, Eldrick 'Tiger' Woods," the department announced. | This morning

RT (2021-02-23). Amnesty no longer considers Navalny 'prisoner of conscience' over his anti-migrant HATE SPEECH, but regards jailing as 'political'. rt.com Amnesty International, a human rights NGO, has withdrawn its designation of the recently jailed Russian activist and blogger Alexey Navalny as a "prisoner of conscience" due to xenophobic statements he has refused to retract. | The group said it "is no longer able to consider" Navalny a prisoner of conscience because he "advocated violence and discrimination," in the past. Notably, the opposition figure has been given opportunities to apologise for the far-right positions he advocated, in his 30s, but he has declined. | Amnesty maintained, however, that it still believes that his latest imprisonment was linked…

Staff (2021-02-23). How do you market sex work? therealnews.com We're back with Part II of our special mini-series on work and politics in the sex industry, guest-hosted by friend of the show Jessie Sage. Jessie is a writer, podcaster, phone sex operator, clip artist, and co-owner of Peepshow Media. In this rich and expansive two-part series, Jessie interviews sex worker, activist, writer, undocumented migrant, and DACA recipient from Honduras, Maya Morena. In Part II of their conversation, Maya and Jessie pick up where they left off last week and discuss the day-to-day labor that goes into being a sex worker, the images that sex workers have to maintain, and much more.

RT (2021-02-23). NJ governor finally signs law legalizing recreational marijuana after 3-year wait, but it could be MONTHS before it takes effect. rt.com New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has finally followed through on a long-standing promise to legalize pot — or at least decriminalize it. Or did he? State residents have been promised a lot more than what they're getting. | Murphy announced on Monday he had signed legislation that would launch a recreational marijuana marketplace and finally legalize the drug's use by adults (and decriminalize its use by minors), fulfilling a promise he made three years ago. | New Jersey's broken & indefensible marijuana laws are no more. | Today, I signed historic legislation to: | ‚úÖLegalize adult-use…

RT (2021-02-23). 'Blacklist' site asks people to report everyone who voted for Trump to 'unmask' them. rt.com Conservatives are up in arms over a website that is asking people to report any acquaintance who voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. | "This is insane. The Founders are rolling over in their graves," RealClearPolitics cofounder Tim Bevan tweeted on Tuesday, including a link to the site in a subsequent tweet. | This is insane. The Founders are rolling over in their graves. According…

RT (2021-02-23). 'Jeep Grand Christopher sounds good': Twitter split after Cherokee Nation chief asks carmaker to stop 'honoring' his tribe. rt.com Naming a vehicle after a Native American tribe is wrong even if the intentions were good, the Cherokee Nation principal chief has said, and Twitter has some ideas for what to call Jeep SUVs instead. | Jeep Cherokee SUVs have been produced since 1974, and in the early 1990s, Chrysler (now part of the Netherlands-based company Stellantis) added the luxury Jeep Grand Cherokee model line to its range. Chuck Hoskin, who heads the largest of the three federally-recognized Cherokee tribes in the US, believes his people's name should not be "plastered on the side of a car," regardless of the motives for putting it the…

RT (2021-02-23). America Re-canceled? Black activist Young Pharaoh booted from anti-censorship themed CPAC event for 'reprehensible views'. rt.com The Conservative Political Action Conference has barred activist Young Pharaoh from speaking at its 'America Uncanceled' event, citing his "reprehensible" remarks on Judaism. The rapper denounced the move as "censorship." | CPAC organizers took to Twitter on Monday to declare that the

RT (2021-02-23). Ex-VP Pence snubs annual conservative conference where his former boss Trump is due to speak, prompting speculations. rt.com While ex-president Donald Trump will be speaking at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), he will not be joined by Mike Pence, a fact that has both sides of the political aisle talking theories as to why. | Matt Schlapp, one of the main organizers for the event, has said Pence's refusal to speak at the conference is a "mistake." | "His conservative record is well respected, and conservatives want to hear his take on the current threats posed by socialism and this radicalized Democrat party," he said. | Trump's speech will, meanwhile, be his most public event since leaving office. While…

RT (2021-02-23). It's not 'kids in cages,' Biden White House insists, saying it uses 'facilities' with 'Covid-safe' standards to lock up children. rt.com White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has recast the reopening of one of ex-president Trump's infamous migrant detention centers as a temporary fix for the pandemic, arguing that not locking kids up would be "inhumane." | Psaki was skewered by reporters on Tuesday after the Biden administration reopened a migrant detention facility that had been closed in 2019 under former president Donald Trump. | The press secretary floundered as she attempted to defend Biden's stated policy "not to expel unaccompanied children who arrive at the border" by putting those children back in the "cages" — actually shipping c…

RT (2021-02-23). 'Stripped NAKED and left in cell with lights on': Trans woman charged in Capitol riot alleges mistreatment in jail. rt.com A transgender woman charged in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol says she was held naked in a constantly lit jail cell for four days, asking the court to be placed under house arrest instead. Jail officials denied mistreatment.

RT (2021-02-23). WATCH: Huge EXPLOSION in Texas after train collides with 18-wheeler truck. rt.com First responders in Cameron, Texas are battling a huge blaze caused by an explosion after a train and an 18-wheeler truck collided. Eyewitness footage captured the moment a huge fireball rose over the site. | Local reports indicate both the train conductor and truck driver escaped the crash, which occurred at a grade crossing. Footage from the scene shows train cars flipped and aflame. |

RT (2021-02-23). 'The containers offer privacy!' Biden under fire for opening child detainment center, but some liberals jump to defend him. rt.com The first child immigration detainment facility under President Joe Biden opened this week, prompting Democrats who had attacked former President Donald Trump for maintaining similar facilities to go on the defensive. | A former oil field worker camp in Carrizo Springs, Texas, it was briefly used as a detainment facility by the Trump administration in 2019 before being closed down, but is now back in operation to hold "up to 700 children," with the Biden administration saying it was needed since capacity has been cut at other facilities due to the Covid-19 pandemic. | Immigration activists were saddened to hea…

RT (2021-02-23). 'Haven't thought about that': Biden's AG nominee Garland dodges question whether illegal immigration should remain a crime. rt.com Former judge Merrick Garland, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the Justice Department, seemed to say "I don't know" a lot at his Senate confirmation hearing, including when asked about illegal immigration. | Also on rt.com | | Senators questioned Garland on Monday ahead of the floor vote on his nomination, which appears to be a foregone conclusion. Time and again, however, he would not commit to things such as safeg…

RT (2021-02-23). Bill Gates admits his 'large carbon footprint' makes him a 'strange person' to pressure others — as he plugs climate-change book. rt.com Microsoft founder Bill Gates has admitted his private jet and billionaire lifestyle make him a "strange person" to advocate against climate change, but insists he's doing his part bankrolling obscure tech years away from adoption. | While Gates acknowledged his critics had good reason to question why a man with "the biggest carbon footprint west of the Mississippi" was "preaching" to them about climate change, the software magnate-turned climate crusader insisted he was sincere about trying to shrink even his own massive consumption levels. | In a chummy discussion with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on Tuesday, Gate…

RT (2021-02-23). Beauty queen wife of drug lord El Chapo ARRESTED in Virginia on drug trafficking charges, accused of planning TWO prison escapes. rt.com Emma Coronel Aispuro, a former US beauty pageant queen and wife of arguably the world's most notorious drug kingpin — Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman — has been arrested in the US on an array of drug trafficking charges. | Aispuro, 31, who is a dual US-Mexican citizen, was nabbed at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly "on charges related to her alleged involvement in international drug trafficking," the US Justice Department The woman, who marrie…

RT (2021-02-23). #FireFauci trends as he tells vaccinated people to remain under lockdown, blames Trump's 'denial' for massive death count. rt.com Calls for White House adviser Anthony Fauci to be fired have intensified as he continues pushing lockdown restrictions and criticizing former President Donald Trump over Covid-19 deaths. | After cautioning vaccinated individuals from resuming normal activities like dining out or attending large group events, Fauci tried clarifying his stance in a Tuesday interview with CNN, saying more relaxed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be coming "soon." | The agency, Fauci said, needs to "sit down, talk about it, look at the data and then come out with a recommendation based on the…

RT (2021-02-23). Meghan McCain calls for firing of Fauci for 'inconsistent messaging' on Covid, gets roasted for calling vaccine rollout a disaster. rt.com Meghan McCain was taken to the woodshed online after demanding Anthony Fauci be fired for his "inconsistent messaging" on the Covid-19 pandemic, while complaining that she — a TV host — doesn't know when she'll be vaccinated. | The pundit took aim at Fauci during a Monday segment on 'The View' over a recent appearance on CNN, where the health expert suggested those who've received an immunization may still have to practice social distancing. | "I was very frustrated when I saw this clip," she said. "The fact that Dr. Fauci is going on CNN and he can't tell me that if I get the vaccine, if I'll be a…

C.J. Hopkins (2021-02-23). The Vaccine (Dis)Information War. dissidentvoice.org So, good news, folks! It appears that GloboCap's Genetic Modification Division has come up with a miracle vaccine for Covid! It's an absolutely safe, non-experimental, messenger-RNA vaccine that teaches your cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response, just like your body's immune-system response, only better, because it's made by corporations! OK, technically, …

RT (2021-02-23). Pfizer and Moderna pledge to Congress to ramp up Covid-19 vaccine production as US death toll tops 500,000. rt.com Pfizer and Moderna have prepared written testimonies to the US Congress, promising to boost vaccine production in the coming months, as the country's death toll from Covid-19 recently exceeded 500,000. | The companies' executives are scheduled to speak before the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on Tuesday. | According to Pfizer Chief Business Officer John Young's written testimony, the company will have 120 million doses of the vaccine available for shipment by the end of March and an additional 80 million doses by the end of May. Pfizer expects that all 300 million contracted dose…

Staff (2021-02-23). U.S. COVID Death Toll Hits 500,000 as Rich Nations Hoard Vaccines, Leaving Poorer Nations Without Any. democracynow.org The United States has passed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, by far the highest toll in the world. The morbid milestone comes as new COVID-19 cases continue to fall across the country amid an accelerating vaccine rollout, but the head of the World Health Organization is calling on rich countries not to undermine efforts to get vaccines to poorer nations by buying up billions of doses — in some cases ordering enough to vaccinate their populations more than once. "The inequities that we've seen here are just absolutely stunning," says Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at Columbia Uni…

Staff (2021-02-23). WHO Urges Rich Countries to Stop Undermining Efforts to Vaccinate Poorer Ones. truthout.org The United States has passed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, by far the highest toll in the world. The morbid milestone comes as new COVID-19 cases continue to fall across the country amid an accelerating vaccine rollout, but the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on rich countries not to undermine efforts to get vaccines to poorer nations by buying up billions of doses — in some cases ordering enough to vaccinate their populations more than once. "The inequities that we've s…

RT (2021-02-23). World Bank's emergency cash for Lebanon may stop amid reports MPs queue-jumping for Covid vaccine, regional chief warns. rt.com Millions of dollars in World Bank funding for Lebanon's Covid-19 vaccine rollout could be halted due to alleged queue-jumping for the jab by the country's MPs, the financial institution's regional director said on Tuesday. | According to local media, Lebanese MPs and parliamentary staff over age 75 were to be vaccinated on Tuesday without needing to register in advance, although journalists were not to be allowed to observe. | "This is not in line with the national plan agreed with [the] World Bank," the organization's Middle East chief, Saroj Kumar Jha, said on Twitter. | "Upon confirmation of violation, [the…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-23). Covid-19 in Lebanon: World Bank threatens to stop funding vaccinations after violations. middleeasteye.net Covid-19 in Lebanon: World Bank threatens to stop funding vaccinations after violations | Lebanon's vaccine committee said on Tuesday that a number of lawmakers had received the jab without its approval | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 02 | People receive Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines at the Lebanese American University Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, on 16 February 2021 (Reuters) | The head…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-23). UAE-owned arms company wants to help produce F-35 fighter jets. middleeasteye.net UAE-owned arms company wants to help produce F-35 fighter jets | Biden suspended the sale of weapons to the United Arab Emirates approved by Trump in his final days of office | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 10: 32 | EDGE CEO Faisal al-Bannai said his company was ready to produce missiles and parts for the F-35 fighter if sales of the warplane to the UAE were approved (AFP) | The United Arab Emirate's…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Qatar: More than 6,500 south Asian migrant workers have died since 2011, says report. middleeasteye.net Qatar: More than 6,500 south Asian migrant workers have died since 2011, says report | Data compiled from government sources reveals thousands dead since Qatar awarded Fifa World Cup in December 2010 | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 08: 14 | Migrant workers are seen walking next to a construction site in the Qatari capital Doha on 6 December 2016 (AFP) | At least 6,500 migrant workers from south Asian countries have died i…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Covid-19: Israel donates vaccines to countries that moved embassies to Jerusalem. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Israel donates vaccines to countries that moved embassies to Jerusalem | Czech Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, and Palestinian Authority will receive symbolic amount of vaccines, local media report | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 16: 57 | Israel is facing mounting criticism for not inoculating Palestinians in occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip (AFP) | The Czech Republic, Guatemala and Honduras, which have all move…

Lily Galili (2021-02-23). Jewish National Fund's new land grab drives wedge between Israel and liberal diaspora Jews. middleeasteye.net Jewish National Fund's new land grab drives wedge between Israel and liberal diaspora Jews | Neither the Biden administration nor the liberal diaspora are impressed by the KKL's latest move. But the writing has been on the wall for decades | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 15: 00 | A view of the Israeli settlement of Alon in the Judaean desert, east of Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (AFP) | Days before he…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Syria: Russia digs up graves in refugee camp in search of dead Israeli spy Eli Cohen. middleeasteye.net Syria: Russia digs up graves in refugee camp in search of dead Israeli spy Eli Cohen | The three-week excavation of Yarmouk cemetery is part of a search for the former Mossad agent, according to report | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 16: 01 | Damaged graves in the Yarmouk refugee camp cemetery following a bomb attack by Syrian government forces in Damascus, 11 April 2015 (Rami al-Sayed/AFP) | Russian forces in Syria have…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Al Jazeera launching digital platform to provide outlet for US conservatives. middleeasteye.net Al Jazeera launching digital platform to provide outlet for US conservatives | Journalists express anger over Rightly, saying it deviates from network's stated mission of giving a 'voice to the voiceless' | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 17: 43 | Al Jazeera briefly launched an American news channel and website in 2013 but it was forced to shut down due to poor ratings (AFP) | The Al Jazeera news network is launching a new…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Al Jazeera to launch new platform targeting US conservatives. middleeasteye.net Al Jazeera to launch new platform targeting US conservatives | Journalists expressed outrage over launch of Rightly, saying digital platform deviated from network's stated mission of giving a voice to the voiceless | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 17: 43 | Al Jazeera briefly launched an American news channel and website in 2013 but it was forced to shut down (AFP) | The Al Jazeera news network is launching a new digital pl…

Suadad al-Salhy (2021-02-23). Erbil attack a warning to Iraqi Kurds, not the US, say Shia commanders. middleeasteye.net Erbil attack a warning to Iraqi Kurds, not the US, say Shia commanders | With tensions over Sinjar sky high, Iran-backed groups say they are happy to see the Kurdish authorities under pressure but not sure who fired the rockets | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 09: 22 | A gun and bullets belonging to a Yazidi militia affiliated with the PKK in the border area near Sinjar in 2016 (Reuters) | The recent miss…

Lily Galili (2021-02-23). Jewish National Fund's new land grab drives wedge between Israel and US. middleeasteye.net Jewish National Fund's new land grab drives wedge between Israel and US | Neither the Biden administration nor the liberal diaspora are impressed by the KKL's latest move. But the writing has been on the wall for decades | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 15: 00 | A view of the Israeli settlement of Alon in the Judaean desert, east of Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (AFP) | Days before he made his long-awai…

Ragip Soylu (2021-02-23). Greece-Turkey tensions: Ankara claims Greek jets harassed research vessel. middleeasteye.net Greece-Turkey tensions: Ankara claims Greek jets harassed research vessel | The dispute comes despite recent talks to resolve long-standing maritime hostilities between the two countries | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 12: 45 | A Turkish military ship passes a coastguard patrol boat near the island of Lesbos on 6 March 2020 (AFP) | Turkey said on Tuesday that four Greek F-16s harassed a Turkish research vessel near…

Azad Essa (2021-02-23). Cornel West: Palestine is a 'taboo issue among certain circles in high places'. middleeasteye.net Cornel West: Palestine is a 'taboo issue among certain circles in high places' | Activist and scholar says he is being denied tenure at Harvard University because of his views on Israeli occupation | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 15: 00 | Cornel West speaks at the National Press Club on 21 February 2017 (AFP) | US activist and philosopher Cornel West said he is confident that it is his criticism of Israel cost him tenure…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). UAE-backed STC forces accused of torturing Yemeni journalist. middleeasteye.net UAE-backed STC forces accused of torturing Yemeni journalist | Adel al-Hasani produced a CNN report critical of the UAE's activities in Yemen, which a source says is the reason behind his detention | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 12: 04 | Hasani is an investigative journalist, producer and fixer for international journalists, based in the southern Yemeni city of Aden (Social media) | Yemen's UAE-backed Southern Transition…

Ali Harb (2021-02-23). Reviving Iran deal is 'most urgent' priority, says EU's Josep Borrell. middleeasteye.net Reviving Iran deal is 'most urgent' priority, says EU's Josep Borrell | Top European official rejects push to expand nuclear deal beyond its current scope to address other issues with Iran | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 18: 46 | Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) welcomes EU's Josep Borrell in Tehran on 3 February 2020 (AFP/File photo) | Top EU foreign policy official Josep Borrell has called reviving the Iran nuclear deal "th…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Human rights 'central' to US-Egypt ties, Blinken tells Egyptian counterpart. middleeasteye.net Human rights 'central' to US-Egypt ties, Blinken tells Egyptian counterpart | Antony Blinken raised human rights concerns in call with Sameh Shoukry, but rights advocates are demanding concrete action from Washington | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 21: 33 | Egyptian police cadets at training session at a police academy in Cairo, 30 December 2019 (AFP/File photo) | US Secretary of State Tony Blinken told his Egyptian count…

Mohammad Ayesh (2021-02-23). Arabic press review: Egyptian judge accused of running drug-trafficking network. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Egyptian judge accused of running drug-trafficking network | Meanwhile, Palestinians in contact with international community to pressure Israel to allow Jerusalemites to vote in elections, and Kuwait prohibits all trade in Bitcoin | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 58 | An Egyptian judge, the son of a senior judge at the Court of Cassation, is accused of forming a narcotics ring (AFP)…

Alex MacDonald (2021-02-23). Saudi Arabia to allow women to join military for first time. middleeasteye.net Saudi Arabia to allow women to join military for first time | The move is the latest in a series of policy changes designed to change the image of the ultra-conservative kingdom | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 11: 15 | Saudi women watch golfers compete in the Saudi Ladies International golf tournament (AFP) | Saudi Arabia has announced it will allow women to apply for the military for the first time in its…

Nadda Osman (2021-02-23). Outcry in Kuwait over suicide of stateless Bidoon child. middleeasteye.net Outcry in Kuwait over suicide of stateless Bidoon child | Thousands of people are highlighting the case online and demanding an end to the community's marginalisation | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 07 | An illustration of the child has been shared online with the caption 'you have returned to God, the most merciful, Ali' (Screengrab/Twitter) | Reports of a 12-year-old child's suicide from Kuwait's stateless pop…

Elizabeth Anderson (2021-02-23). What Comes After Meritocracy? thenation.com The long-standing focus by liberals on meritocratic advancement has isolated the working class.

RT (2021-02-23). 'Publish your emails instead': Hillary Clinton's plans to pen 'political thriller' met with groans on social media. rt.com An announcement that former presidential candidate and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is planning to write a "political thriller" with author Louise Penny has been met with groans and eyerolls on social media. | Axios reported on Tuesday that the book, to be titled 'State of Terror', will be published in October by Simon & Schuster and St. Martin's Press. | The story will follow a "novice Secretary of State" who "joins the administration of her rival" a president who was inaugurated "after four years of American leadership that shrank from the world stage" — perhaps a not-so-thinly-veiled reference…

Sarah Anderson, Scott Klinger and Brian Wakamo (2021-02-23). Black Families Have a Vital Stake in the Future of the Postal Service. counterpunch.org The United States Postal Service is under strong pressure to make deep spending cuts that would be devastating for customers and employees across the country. Black families have a particularly large stake in the debate over the future of this vital public service. USPS has long been a major source of good middle-class jobs for

RT (2021-02-23). Four board members of Texas grid operator RESIGN over blackouts during deadly winter storm. rt.com The Texas electric utility is shedding board members ahead of the state probe into the blackouts that left more than four million people without power during a severe winter storm, which claimed an estimated 80 lives and counting. | Chairwoman Sally Talberg, vice chair Peter Cramton, finance and audit chair Terry Bulger and human resources and governance chair Raymond Hepper have tendered their resignations to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), effective Wednesday. | They did so "to allow state leaders a free hand with future direction and to eliminate distractions," according to the letter mad…

PAI (2021-02-23). Unions, Poor People's Campaign press wage hike ahead of Congress vote. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—With notable union backing, led by Service Employees President Mary Kay Henry, the New Poor People's Campaign turned up pressure on Congress to approve raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, ahead of key votes on Capitol Hill. The pressure came in nine live demonstrations from coast to coast, despite rain in …

Global Research News (2021-02-23). Selected Articles: Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Heroin Trade. globalresearch.ca By The Vaccine Reaction is reporting that a…

Ian Cobain (2021-02-23). British royals met with autocratic Arab monarchs 'over 200 times' since 2011. middleeasteye.net British royals met with autocratic Arab monarchs 'over 200 times' since 2011 | UK royal family members have reportedly held the equivalent of one meeting a fortnight with 'tyrannical' Arab rulers over the past 10 years | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 09 | Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Buckingham Palace in central London on 7 March 2018 (AFP) | Members of Brit…

RT (2021-02-23). For want of a jacket, British MP gets dressed down and bumped from Parliament call (VIDEO). rt.com A British MP lost his speaking slot during a House of Commons video call on Tuesday over his failure to wear a jacket — a fashion faux pas for any MP wishing not to fall afoul of parliamentary dress code in the Chamber.

Ian Cobain (2021-02-23). British royal family members have met with Gulf rulers over 200 times since 2011. middleeasteye.net British royal family members have met with Gulf rulers over 200 times since 2011 | UK royals have held the equivalent of one meeting a fortnight with Middle Eastern monarchies over the past 10 years | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 09 | Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Buckingham Palace in central London on 7 March 2018 (AFP) | Members of Britain's royal family h…

RT (2021-02-23). 'He was sent by god': Novak Djokovic's dad accuses media of ignoring Serbian superstar and says he is 'loved by all normal people'. rt.com Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic's father says "97 percent" of Serbian people support the tennis world number one, adding that he deserves more praise and was "sent by god" at "the worst time" for the people of his homeland. | Srdjan Djokovic, 60, has predicted that dominant Djokovic will collect the three major titles required to beat arch-rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's total of 20 "in the next year and a half", adding that he would then be the best male player of all time. | He said that the 33-year-old was a "deity" in China, India, Russia, Brazil and Africa and claimed that Djokovic had been d…

Peter Koenig (2021-02-23). Die Twilight Zone: Covid, das Weltwirtschaftsforum (WEF) und Eugenik. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | àúbrsetzt aus dem Englischen von Global Research: | |

Jasmine Norden (2021-02-23). Councils have invested nearly £10bn through pension funds into climate-wrecking fossil fuels. thecanary.co Local governments have invested £9.7bn into fossil fuels through pension funds, according to new research. | A report by campaign groups Friends of the Earth and Platform found that despite 75% of councils in the UK declaring a 'climate emergency', many were still investing in fossil fuels during 2019/20. | West Yorkshire, Strathclyde, and Greater Manchester have made the largest local authority pension fund investments into fossil fuels. | 'Dirty pensions': | Fossil fuels account for 3% of the total value of the Local Government Pension Scheme. For the 6.8m people using the local government pension…

Tom Anderson (2021-02-23). Campaigners call for the strengthening of Welsh language rights as people globally stand up for oppressed mother languages. thecanary.co Sunday 21 February The International Mother Language Day Kurdistan: | Commentators on Twitter highlighted the continued o…

Eliza Egret (2021-02-23). Matt Hancock's audacity is off the scale as he refuses to apologise for breaking the law. thecanary.co It should no longer come as a surprise, watching Matt Hancock give himself a pat on the back for how he's handled the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. It should also come as no surprise that he accepts zero responsibility for almost But Hancock's audacity flew off the chart on 23 February when he insisted that his team should be thanked, and that there had been no national shortage of PPE. Does Hancock think that a successful roll-out of vaccines…

Jasmine Norden (2021-02-23). Outrage as Labour North West bans candidates from Liverpool mayoral elections. thecanary.co Labour North West has Shortlisted candidates acting mayor Wendy Simon, current lord mayor Anna Rothery, and former deputy mayor Ann O'Byrne were supposed to be competing for Joe Anderson's vacated position from last week. | Instead, an email sent to Labour party members announced the application process would be reopened. According to the Liverpool Echo, no previous candidates are…

The Canary (2021-02-23). Experts urge the UK to follow a zero-Covid strategy to prevent more mutations. thecanary.co Stamping out coronavirus (Covid-19) means that the virus which causes the disease will have less chance to mutate, MPs have heard. | Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that he could not understand why the government had decided not to follow the path of eliminating the virus — or a zero-Covid approach — and instead accepted that it will become endemic in society. | Prof McKee said having a situation where infection rates are "yo-yoing" up and down was just creating uncertainty for the public and for the economy. | It comes afte…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-23). Protest rallies held across Algeria on second anniversary of Hirak movement. peoplesdispatch.org According to Algerian prisoners' rights group, the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees, security forces arrested approximately 26 people in Algiers and 59 others across the country during the protests for unspecified reasons…

teleSUR (2021-02-23). El Chapo's Wife Arrested in US on Drug Trafficking Charges. telesurenglish.net The United States arrested Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, on Monday on charges of involvement in drug trafficking, the Justice Department said. | Coronel, 31 years old and with dual Mexican and U.S. citizenship, was detained at Dulles International Airport, in the state of Virginia, near Washington. | RELATED: | According to a Justice Department statement, the defendant i…

Jonathan Cook (2021-02-23). Picnic Video Exposes Both Faces of Israeli Apartheid. dissidentvoice.org A short video taken by a family as they picnicked in the West Bank this month may be the best field guide yet to Israel's complex apartheid system of state-sponsored Jewish supremacy. In the clip posted to Facebook, armed Jewish settlers arrive unexpectedly to break up the picnic of a Palestinian family — including grandparents …

Movement For Black Lives (2021-02-23). Tuesday 2/23: The State of Black America: Jobs, Health Care, Climate, Education, Safety & More w/ M4BL. indybay.org Online via livestream…

WSWS (2021-02-23). Eight Sri Lankan plantation workers arrested in company-police attack. wsws.org The Ceylon Workers Congress, Sri Lanka's main plantation union, is actively supporting company and state attacks on striking Alton tea estate workers.

Staff (2021-02-22). A Green New Deal Would Solve Texas Energy Deregulation, Says Naomi Klein. truthout.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 syst…

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…

_____ (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.

Editor (2021-02-22). Bessemer, Alabama: The whole world is watching. workers.org An injury to one is an injury to all. This famous labor slogan, popularized by the Industrial Workers of the World over a century ago, is more meaningful today than ever. But it has a double meaning for workers at Amazon, where the workplace injury rate is exceptionally high due . . . |

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.

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 …

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…

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Tania Siddiqi (2021-02-22). India: Rail roko protest and growing state-sanctioned terror. workers.org Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the farmer unions' umbrella body, launched a rail roko protest to halt train transit in many parts of India for four hours on Feb. 18. This action is the farmers' latest attempt to push India's national government to repeal three "farm bills" intended to appease corporate cravings. . . . |

2021-02-23: News Headlines

Jonah Raskin (2021-02-23). Notes on Black History Month, 2021: No More Black Messiahs, Please. counterpunch.org The sign in the window of my neighborhood food store reads, "Black Lives Matter." I have shopped there at least once a week over the past year. I have never seen a Black person in the store or a Black person working there. That is not strange or unusual. There aren't many Black people in all of northern California. Indeed, there are fewer Blacks in the Bay Area than there were in the 1940s and 1950s. They've been pushed out.

Raul Diego (2021-02-23). Part II — Western Capital's Long Chinese Mission: From Opium to COVID Vaccine Credentials. mintpressnews.com We examine the virtually unbroken history between American power-brokers and the highest echelons of power in China — a history that harkens back to the earliest days of capitalism, slavery, and the opium trade.

Staff (2021-02-23). Trump Attacks Supreme Court for Allowing Probe Into His Tax Returns. truthout.org On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed a New York prosecutor to obtain Donald Trump's tax returns, marking a fatal blow for his legal effort to block an accelerating criminal investigation into his business dealings. In turn, the former president lashed out at and attacked the justices, including the three nominated to the bench by him, who rebuffed his attempt to block the probe without comment. | "This investigation is a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country,"

Sami Al-Arian (2021-02-23). Mourning Dr. Agha Saeed, Celebrating his Life. counterpunch.org Dr. Agha Saeed , a towering American-Muslim figure has passed away today in a nursing home at the age of 72, due to complications from Covid-19. He had also been silently suffering from Parkinson's for over eight years. The history of American Muslims will be incomplete and extremely inadequate without recognizing Dr. Saeed's life achievements

Eds. (2021-02-23). Demographic characteristics of people receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States. mronline.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with states to provide more information on the demographic characteristics of vaccinated people.

RT (2021-02-23). 'The containers offer privacy!' Biden under fire for opening child detainment center, but some liberals jump to defend him. rt.com The first child immigration detainment facility under President Joe Biden opened this week, prompting Democrats who had attacked former President Donald Trump for maintaining similar facilities to go on the defensive. | A former oil field worker camp in Carrizo Springs, Texas, it was briefly used as a detainment facility by the Trump administration in 2019 before being closed down, but is now back in operation to hold "up to 700 children," with the Biden administration saying it was needed since capacity has been cut at other facilities due to the Covid-19 pandemic. | Immigration activists were saddened to hea…

The Canary (2021-02-23). Experts urge the UK to follow a zero-Covid strategy to prevent more mutations. thecanary.co Stamping out coronavirus (Covid-19) means that the virus which causes the disease will have less chance to mutate, MPs have heard. | Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that he could not understand why the government had decided not to follow the path of eliminating the virus — or a zero-Covid approach — and instead accepted that it will become endemic in society. | Prof McKee said having a situation where infection rates are "yo-yoing" up and down was just creating uncertainty for the public and for the economy. | It comes afte…

Staff (2021-02-23). Over 33 Percent of Low-Paid Workers Lost Jobs During Pandemic. truthout.org Economic crises shine a spotlight on a society's inequities and hierarchies, as well as its commitment to support those who are most vulnerable in such grievous moments. The calamity created by Covid-19 is no exception. The economic fallout from that pandemic has tested the nation's social safety net as never before. | Between February and May 2020, the number of unemployed workers soared more than threefold — from 6.2 million to 20.5 million. The jobless rate spiked in a similar fashion from 3.8% to…

RT (2021-02-23). #FireFauci trends as he tells vaccinated people to remain under lockdown, blames Trump's 'denial' for massive death count. rt.com Calls for White House adviser Anthony Fauci to be fired have intensified as he continues pushing lockdown restrictions and criticizing former President Donald Trump over Covid-19 deaths. | After cautioning vaccinated individuals from resuming normal activities like dining out or attending large group events, Fauci tried clarifying his stance in a Tuesday interview with CNN, saying more relaxed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be coming "soon." | The agency, Fauci said, needs to "sit down, talk about it, look at the data and then come out with a recommendation based on the…

Staff (2021-02-23). WHO Urges Rich Countries to Stop Undermining Efforts to Vaccinate Poorer Ones. truthout.org The United States has passed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, by far the highest toll in the world. The morbid milestone comes as new COVID-19 cases continue to fall across the country amid an accelerating vaccine rollout, but the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on rich countries not to undermine efforts to get vaccines to poorer nations by buying up billions of doses — in some cases ordering enough to vaccinate their populations more than once. "The inequities that we've s…

Staff (2021-02-23). U.S. COVID Death Toll Hits 500,000 as Rich Nations Hoard Vaccines, Leaving Poorer Nations Without Any. democracynow.org The United States has passed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, by far the highest toll in the world. The morbid milestone comes as new COVID-19 cases continue to fall across the country amid an accelerating vaccine rollout, but the head of the World Health Organization is calling on rich countries not to undermine efforts to get vaccines to poorer nations by buying up billions of doses — in some cases ordering enough to vaccinate their populations more than once. "The inequities that we've seen here are just absolutely stunning," says Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at Columbia Uni…

RT (2021-02-23). Pfizer and Moderna pledge to Congress to ramp up Covid-19 vaccine production as US death toll tops 500,000. rt.com Pfizer and Moderna have prepared written testimonies to the US Congress, promising to boost vaccine production in the coming months, as the country's death toll from Covid-19 recently exceeded 500,000. | The companies' executives are scheduled to speak before the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on Tuesday. | According to Pfizer Chief Business Officer John Young's written testimony, the company will have 120 million doses of the vaccine available for shipment by the end of March and an additional 80 million doses by the end of May. Pfizer expects that all 300 million contracted dose…

C.J. Hopkins (2021-02-23). The Vaccine (Dis)Information War. dissidentvoice.org So, good news, folks! It appears that GloboCap's Genetic Modification Division has come up with a miracle vaccine for Covid! It's an absolutely safe, non-experimental, messenger-RNA vaccine that teaches your cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response, just like your body's immune-system response, only better, because it's made by corporations! OK, technically, …

RT (2021-02-23). Meghan McCain calls for firing of Fauci for 'inconsistent messaging' on Covid, gets roasted for calling vaccine rollout a disaster. rt.com Meghan McCain was taken to the woodshed online after demanding Anthony Fauci be fired for his "inconsistent messaging" on the Covid-19 pandemic, while complaining that she — a TV host — doesn't know when she'll be vaccinated. | The pundit took aim at Fauci during a Monday segment on 'The View' over a recent appearance on CNN, where the health expert suggested those who've received an immunization may still have to practice social distancing. | "I was very frustrated when I saw this clip," she said. "The fact that Dr. Fauci is going on CNN and he can't tell me that if I get the vaccine, if I'll be a…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Covid-19: Israel donates vaccines to countries that moved embassies to Jerusalem. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Israel donates vaccines to countries that moved embassies to Jerusalem | Czech Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, and Palestinian Authority will receive symbolic amount of vaccines, local media report | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 16: 57 | Israel is facing mounting criticism for not inoculating Palestinians in occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip (AFP) | The Czech Republic, Guatemala and Honduras, which have all move…

Eliza Egret (2021-02-23). Matt Hancock's audacity is off the scale as he refuses to apologise for breaking the law. thecanary.co It should no longer come as a surprise, watching Matt Hancock give himself a pat on the back for how he's handled the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. It should also come as no surprise that he accepts zero responsibility for almost But Hancock's audacity flew off the chart on 23 February when he insisted that his team should be thanked, and that there had been no national shortage of PPE. Does Hancock think that a successful roll-out of vaccines…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-23). Covid-19 in Lebanon: World Bank threatens to stop funding vaccinations after violations. middleeasteye.net Covid-19 in Lebanon: World Bank threatens to stop funding vaccinations after violations | Lebanon's vaccine committee said on Tuesday that a number of lawmakers had received the jab without its approval | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 02 | People receive Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines at the Lebanese American University Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, on 16 February 2021 (Reuters) | The head…

Peter Koenig (2021-02-23). Die Twilight Zone: Covid, das Weltwirtschaftsforum (WEF) und Eugenik. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | àúbrsetzt aus dem Englischen von Global Research: | |

Patrick Cockburn (2021-02-23). Capitol Riots were a Dark Day for American Journalism. counterpunch.org What is reported matters and particularly so when it risks exaggerating violence or deepening fear and a sense of threat. If the US government really was the target of an armed insurrection, then this will be used to justify repression, as it was after 9/11, and not just against right wing conspiracy theorists. By becoming partisan instruments for spreading fake news, the media undermines its own credibility.

Richard D. Wolff (2021-02-23). The Fake Debate Over a Minimum Wage. counterpunch.org Capitalism's "conservative" defenders yet again oppose raising the minimum wage. They fought raising it in the past much as they tried to prevent the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) that first mandated a U.S. minimum wage. The major argument opponents have used is this: setting or raising a minimum wage threatens small employers. They may collapse or else fire employees; either way, jobs are lost. What is conveniently assumed here is a necessary contradiction between minimum wages and small business jobs. That assumption enables opponents to claim that not setting a legal minimum wage, like not raising it, saves…

RT (2021-02-23). 'Haven't thought about that': Biden's AG nominee Garland dodges question whether illegal immigration should remain a crime. rt.com Former judge Merrick Garland, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the Justice Department, seemed to say "I don't know" a lot at his Senate confirmation hearing, including when asked about illegal immigration. | Also on rt.com | | Senators questioned Garland on Monday ahead of the floor vote on his nomination, which appears to be a foregone conclusion. Time and again, however, he would not commit to things such as safeg…

Staff (2021-02-23). Amazon faces a day of reckoning for its treatment of workers. therealnews.com Amazon workers and their allies rallied last weekend to support the union drive at the Bessemer, Alabama, facility. Workers say the company has failed to protect worker safety or improve working conditions even while Amazon and Jeff Bezos profited from the pandemic.

RT (2021-02-23). Amazon mysteriously pulls book critical of transgender movements, gets accused of 'digital book burning'. rt.com Author Ryan T. Anderson has blasted Amazon for removing his latest book on the rise of the transgender movement without explanation, a move that has many criticizing the company for playing politics and accusing it of censorship. | "I hope you've already bought your copy, cause Amazon just removed my book 'When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment' from their cyber shelves…. my other four books are still available (for now)," Anderson 'When Harry Became Sally' had p…

Ed Rampell (2021-02-23). 'Truth to Power: Barbara Lee Speaks for Me' at Pan African Film Festival. peoplesworld.org Undaunted, the pandemic can't stop the Pan African Film Festival. In that immortal show biz tradition, the show must go on! Albeit virtually, as this year, in order to stay cinematically safe, America's largest and best annual Black-themed filmfest since 1992 is moving online and starting later than usual, kicking off on the last day …

John Bachtell (2021-02-23). Republicans oppose the American Rescue Plan at their peril. peoplesworld.org With Republicans scrambling to block emergency economic assistance to millions, the Democratic-led House of Representatives is moving quickly to approve the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) this week. The measure, which links the pandemic, economic crisis, and racial justice, then goes to the Senate. The Democratic majority is expected to pass it via the …

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Qatar: More than 6,500 south Asian migrant workers have died since 2011, says report. middleeasteye.net Qatar: More than 6,500 south Asian migrant workers have died since 2011, says report | Data compiled from government sources reveals thousands dead since Qatar awarded Fifa World Cup in December 2010 | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 08: 14 | Migrant workers are seen walking next to a construction site in the Qatari capital Doha on 6 December 2016 (AFP) | At least 6,500 migrant workers from south Asian countries have died i…

Sameena Rahman (2021-02-23). FBI, NYPD exposed: Deathbed confession shines new light on assassination of Malcolm X. liberationnews.org Fifty-six years after the assasination of Malcolm X, new details from a former New York Police Department officer's deathbed confession has further implicated the NYPD and FBI in the killing. Raymond Wood, the former NYPD officer, requested the letter be publicized only after his death due to fears of retaliation. Wood's cousin, Reggie Wood, read …

Tom Conway (2021-02-23). Corporations, lawmakers collude in new multi-state 'right to work' offensive. peoplesworld.org Dave Dell Isola, the son and grandson of union members, grew up grateful for the family-sustaining wages and benefits that organized labor won for working people. But he never fully grasped the might of solidarity until he and his wife, Barbara, and their two sons lost everything in an apartment fire. Dell Isola's brothers and …

Sanket Jain (2021-02-23). India's Farm Crisis: "They Sell Our Wheat to Us at Thrice the Price" counterpunch.org Laxmibai Kale has been losing a portion of her harvest every year. That's not been due to excessive rainfall or drought or poor farming techniques. "Our crops are destroyed," said 60-year-old Laxmibai, "because thepanchayat allows animals to graze on the land. I've lost count of the losses we've suffered." The five-acre plot in Mohadi village

Richard C. Gross (2021-02-23). Welcoming a Return to Sanity. counterpunch.org In the old days, specifically during the presidency of another actor, Ronald Reagan, Republican falsehoods seemed so quaint that Americans dismissed them as such, relegating them to sloganeering. "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem," the conservative president charged during his first inaugural address in 1981. Nonsense. Reagan's phrase was

Ronda Shelton (2021-02-23). Killer cop still not on trial almost 3 years after killing Daniel Hambrick in Tennessee. liberationnews.org As made clear by the video footage, when Delke was unable to catch his victim on foot, he stopped running, assumed a firing position, and shot Hambrick three times, including once in the back of the head.

The Conversation (2021-02-23). Biden and the Iran nuclear deal: what to expect from the negotiations. juancole.com By Ali Bilgic | — As Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, speculation was rife that one of the first things his administration would do would be to seek re-entry to the Iran nuclear deal that had been quit by his predecessor in the White House. The Joint …

John Clamp (2021-02-23). Rohingya: The Sufis of Arakan. counterpunch.org 'It was absolutely shocking, how children aged five or six were hunted down and had their throats slit. I was thinking 'this is ISIS-type stuff'. I told Aung San Suu Kyi 'you have moral standing in this country. You have to stop this. Why are you hiding it?' She said [the United Nations] needed to

W.E.B. DuBois, Gus Hall (2021-02-23). From the People's World archives: W.E.B. DuBois joins the Communist Party. peoplesworld.org Editor's Note: Dr. William E. Burghhardt DuBois was born Feb. 23, 1868. Near the end of his life, in 1961, he applied for membership in the Communist Party USA. His letter, and the response from Gus Hall, leader of the party at that time, were published for the first time in the pages of The …

Karl Grossman (2021-02-23). Plutonium in Space: What Are the Odds of a Catastrophe? counterpunch.org With all the media hoopla last week about the Perseverance rover, going almost totally unreported was that its energy source is plutonium—considered the most lethal of all radioactive substances—and nowhere in media that NASA projected 1-in-960 odds of the plutonium being released in an accident on the mission. "A '1-in-960 chance' of a deadly plutonium release

Liberation Staff (2021-02-23). Student activists in Weymouth, Mass. vs the cult of 'blue lives matter'. liberationnews.org The rhetoric surrounding "blue lives matter" isn't new. Similar dogwhistles have been used to defend hate symbols such as the confederate flag, the Gadsden flag, and even the swastika.

Eds. (2021-02-23). Bhima Koregaon: Varavara Rao gets bail on medical grounds for six months. mronline.org Just as the Bombay HC pronounced the verdict, the additional solicitor general sought a stay on the order for three weeks. However, the court rejected it.

Steve Sweeney (2021-02-23). Erdogan slammed, will open a fascist 'Grey Wolves' school in occupied Artsakh. peoplesworld.org Anti-fascist forces in Turkey blasted authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's links to right-wing paramilitary death squads today after reports that he will open a new Grey Wolves school in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. He will lay the foundation for the building alongside Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in the city of Shushi, which was taken by Azeri forces …

Talli Nauman (2021-02-23). The Race to Save the Vaquita Porpoise From Extinction. counterpunch.org San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. The long-running global struggle to prevent extinction of the world's most endangered marine mammal claimed its first human life here on Jan. 2, in the conflict between illegal fishing and conservation of the vaquita porpoise. Fisherman Mario Garcia Toledo, 56, died after suffering massive injuries when his skiff collided with

John Wojcik (2021-02-23). Conservative Democrat Joe Manchin playing a dangerous game. peoplesworld.org The press is talking about how a conservative Democratic senator from West Virginia is now allegedly one of the most powerful movers and shakers in the nation's capital. Sen. Joe Manchin has been an enormous headache for President Joe Biden by threatening to sink the $15 minimum wage and by promising to vote down Biden's …

David L. Wilson (2021-02-23). Crediting Xenophobia—rather than organizing—with raising workers' wages. mronline.org The Economist (2/15/20) ran a brief article last year with a startling headline: "Immigration to America Is Down. Wages Are Up. Are the Two Related?" Maybe, the article's anonymous author answered, at least for the short term.

Ben Hillier (2021-02-23). What coronavirus taught us about the ruling class. mronline.org If half a million people in the United States were murdered by an evil cult, the leaders of which said that they would keep killing thousands a day to satisfy their rapacious urge for power and money, what do you think the response would be?>

Staff (2021-02-23). adrienne maree brown: Octavia Butler's Visions of the Future Have Transformed Generation of Readers. democracynow.org The visionary Black science-fiction writer Octavia Butler died 15 years ago on February 24, 2006, but her influence and readership has only continued to grow since then. In September, Butler's novel "Parable of the Sower" became her first to reach the New York Times best-seller list. We speak with adrienne maree brown, a writer and Octavia Butler scholar, who says Butler had a remarkable talent for universalizing Black stories. "She wrote about Black women and about Black feminism, about Black futures, but she wrote in a way that appealed to all human beings," says brown.

Staff (2021-02-23). Remembering Octavia Butler: Black Sci-Fi Writer Shares Cautionary Tales in Unearthed 2005 Interview. democracynow.org As Democracy Now! marks 25 years on the air, we are revisiting some of the best and most impactful moments from the program's history, including one of the last television interviews given by the visionary Black science-fiction writer Octavia Butler. She spoke to Democracy Now! in November 2005, just three months before she died on February 24, 2006, at age 58. Butler was the first Black woman to win Hugo and Nebula awards for science-fiction writing and the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur "genius" fellowship. Her best-known books include the classics "Kindred," as well as "Parable of the Sowe…

PAI (2021-02-23). Unions, Poor People's Campaign press wage hike ahead of Congress vote. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—With notable union backing, led by Service Employees President Mary Kay Henry, the New Poor People's Campaign turned up pressure on Congress to approve raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, ahead of key votes on Capitol Hill. The pressure came in nine live demonstrations from coast to coast, despite rain in …

RT (2021-02-23). 'Jeep Grand Christopher sounds good': Twitter split after Cherokee Nation chief asks carmaker to stop 'honoring' his tribe. rt.com Naming a vehicle after a Native American tribe is wrong even if the intentions were good, the Cherokee Nation principal chief has said, and Twitter has some ideas for what to call Jeep SUVs instead. | Jeep Cherokee SUVs have been produced since 1974, and in the early 1990s, Chrysler (now part of the Netherlands-based company Stellantis) added the luxury Jeep Grand Cherokee model line to its range. Chuck Hoskin, who heads the largest of the three federally-recognized Cherokee tribes in the US, believes his people's name should not be "plastered on the side of a car," regardless of the motives for putting it the…

RT (2021-02-23). America Re-canceled? Black activist Young Pharaoh booted from anti-censorship themed CPAC event for 'reprehensible views'. rt.com The Conservative Political Action Conference has barred activist Young Pharaoh from speaking at its 'America Uncanceled' event, citing his "reprehensible" remarks on Judaism. The rapper denounced the move as "censorship." | CPAC organizers took to Twitter on Monday to declare that the

RT (2021-02-23). Bill Gates admits his 'large carbon footprint' makes him a 'strange person' to pressure others — as he plugs climate-change book. rt.com Microsoft founder Bill Gates has admitted his private jet and billionaire lifestyle make him a "strange person" to advocate against climate change, but insists he's doing his part bankrolling obscure tech years away from adoption. | While Gates acknowledged his critics had good reason to question why a man with "the biggest carbon footprint west of the Mississippi" was "preaching" to them about climate change, the software magnate-turned climate crusader insisted he was sincere about trying to shrink even his own massive consumption levels. | In a chummy discussion with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on Tuesday, Gate…

RT (2021-02-23). NJ governor finally signs law legalizing recreational marijuana after 3-year wait, but it could be MONTHS before it takes effect. rt.com New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has finally followed through on a long-standing promise to legalize pot — or at least decriminalize it. Or did he? State residents have been promised a lot more than what they're getting. | Murphy announced on Monday he had signed legislation that would launch a recreational marijuana marketplace and finally legalize the drug's use by adults (and decriminalize its use by minors), fulfilling a promise he made three years ago. | New Jersey's broken & indefensible marijuana laws are no more. | Today, I signed historic legislation to: | ‚úÖLegalize adult-use…

Staff (2021-02-23). How do you market sex work? therealnews.com We're back with Part II of our special mini-series on work and politics in the sex industry, guest-hosted by friend of the show Jessie Sage. Jessie is a writer, podcaster, phone sex operator, clip artist, and co-owner of Peepshow Media. In this rich and expansive two-part series, Jessie interviews sex worker, activist, writer, undocumented migrant, and DACA recipient from Honduras, Maya Morena. In Part II of their conversation, Maya and Jessie pick up where they left off last week and discuss the day-to-day labor that goes into being a sex worker, the images that sex workers have to maintain, and much more.

RT (2021-02-23). WATCH: Huge EXPLOSION in Texas after train collides with 18-wheeler truck. rt.com First responders in Cameron, Texas are battling a huge blaze caused by an explosion after a train and an 18-wheeler truck collided. Eyewitness footage captured the moment a huge fireball rose over the site. | Local reports indicate both the train conductor and truck driver escaped the crash, which occurred at a grade crossing. Footage from the scene shows train cars flipped and aflame. |

RT (2021-02-23). Ex-VP Pence snubs annual conservative conference where his former boss Trump is due to speak, prompting speculations. rt.com While ex-president Donald Trump will be speaking at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), he will not be joined by Mike Pence, a fact that has both sides of the political aisle talking theories as to why. | Matt Schlapp, one of the main organizers for the event, has said Pence's refusal to speak at the conference is a "mistake." | "His conservative record is well respected, and conservatives want to hear his take on the current threats posed by socialism and this radicalized Democrat party," he said. | Trump's speech will, meanwhile, be his most public event since leaving office. While…

RT (2021-02-23). 'Publish your emails instead': Hillary Clinton's plans to pen 'political thriller' met with groans on social media. rt.com An announcement that former presidential candidate and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is planning to write a "political thriller" with author Louise Penny has been met with groans and eyerolls on social media. | Axios reported on Tuesday that the book, to be titled 'State of Terror', will be published in October by Simon & Schuster and St. Martin's Press. | The story will follow a "novice Secretary of State" who "joins the administration of her rival" a president who was inaugurated "after four years of American leadership that shrank from the world stage" — perhaps a not-so-thinly-veiled reference…

RT (2021-02-23). Beauty queen wife of drug lord El Chapo ARRESTED in Virginia on drug trafficking charges, accused of planning TWO prison escapes. rt.com Emma Coronel Aispuro, a former US beauty pageant queen and wife of arguably the world's most notorious drug kingpin — Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman — has been arrested in the US on an array of drug trafficking charges. | Aispuro, 31, who is a dual US-Mexican citizen, was nabbed at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly "on charges related to her alleged involvement in international drug trafficking," the US Justice Department The woman, who marrie…

Mike Walter (2021-02-23). The Heat: China-U.S. relations. america.cgtn.com Putting relations back on the right track. China makes the case for cooperation, instead of confrontation, with the United States.

Ragip Soylu (2021-02-23). Greece-Turkey tensions: Ankara claims Greek jets harassed research vessel. middleeasteye.net Greece-Turkey tensions: Ankara claims Greek jets harassed research vessel | The dispute comes despite recent talks to resolve long-standing maritime hostilities between the two countries | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 12: 45 | A Turkish military ship passes a coastguard patrol boat near the island of Lesbos on 6 March 2020 (AFP) | Turkey said on Tuesday that four Greek F-16s harassed a Turkish research vessel near…

Mohammad Ayesh (2021-02-23). Arabic press review: Egyptian judge accused of running drug-trafficking network. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Egyptian judge accused of running drug-trafficking network | Meanwhile, Palestinians in contact with international community to pressure Israel to allow Jerusalemites to vote in elections, and Kuwait prohibits all trade in Bitcoin | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 58 | An Egyptian judge, the son of a senior judge at the Court of Cassation, is accused of forming a narcotics ring (AFP)…

Ali Harb (2021-02-23). Reviving Iran deal is 'most urgent' priority, says EU's Josep Borrell. middleeasteye.net Reviving Iran deal is 'most urgent' priority, says EU's Josep Borrell | Top European official rejects push to expand nuclear deal beyond its current scope to address other issues with Iran | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 18: 46 | Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) welcomes EU's Josep Borrell in Tehran on 3 February 2020 (AFP/File photo) | Top EU foreign policy official Josep Borrell has called reviving the Iran nuclear deal "th…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Human rights 'central' to US-Egypt ties, Blinken tells Egyptian counterpart. middleeasteye.net Human rights 'central' to US-Egypt ties, Blinken tells Egyptian counterpart | Antony Blinken raised human rights concerns in call with Sameh Shoukry, but rights advocates are demanding concrete action from Washington | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 21: 33 | Egyptian police cadets at training session at a police academy in Cairo, 30 December 2019 (AFP/File photo) | US Secretary of State Tony Blinken told his Egyptian count…

Ian Cobain (2021-02-23). British royal family members have met with Gulf rulers over 200 times since 2011. middleeasteye.net British royal family members have met with Gulf rulers over 200 times since 2011 | UK royals have held the equivalent of one meeting a fortnight with Middle Eastern monarchies over the past 10 years | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 09 | Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Buckingham Palace in central London on 7 March 2018 (AFP) | Members of Britain's royal family h…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). UAE-backed STC forces accused of torturing Yemeni journalist. middleeasteye.net UAE-backed STC forces accused of torturing Yemeni journalist | Adel al-Hasani produced a CNN report critical of the UAE's activities in Yemen, which a source says is the reason behind his detention | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 12: 04 | Hasani is an investigative journalist, producer and fixer for international journalists, based in the southern Yemeni city of Aden (Social media) | Yemen's UAE-backed Southern Transition…

Suadad al-Salhy (2021-02-23). Erbil attack a warning to Iraqi Kurds, not the US, say Shia commanders. middleeasteye.net Erbil attack a warning to Iraqi Kurds, not the US, say Shia commanders | With tensions over Sinjar sky high, Iran-backed groups say they are happy to see the Kurdish authorities under pressure but not sure who fired the rockets | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 09: 22 | A gun and bullets belonging to a Yazidi militia affiliated with the PKK in the border area near Sinjar in 2016 (Reuters) | The recent miss…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Al Jazeera to launch new platform targeting US conservatives. middleeasteye.net Al Jazeera to launch new platform targeting US conservatives | Journalists expressed outrage over launch of Rightly, saying digital platform deviated from network's stated mission of giving a voice to the voiceless | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 17: 43 | Al Jazeera briefly launched an American news channel and website in 2013 but it was forced to shut down (AFP) | The Al Jazeera news network is launching a new digital pl…

MEE staff (2021-02-23). Syria: Russia digs up graves in refugee camp in search of dead Israeli spy Eli Cohen. middleeasteye.net Syria: Russia digs up graves in refugee camp in search of dead Israeli spy Eli Cohen | The three-week excavation of Yarmouk cemetery is part of a search for the former Mossad agent, according to report | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 16: 01 | Damaged graves in the Yarmouk refugee camp cemetery following a bomb attack by Syrian government forces in Damascus, 11 April 2015 (Rami al-Sayed/AFP) | Russian forces in Syria have…

Alex MacDonald (2021-02-23). Saudi Arabia to allow women to join military for first time. middleeasteye.net Saudi Arabia to allow women to join military for first time | The move is the latest in a series of policy changes designed to change the image of the ultra-conservative kingdom | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 11: 15 | Saudi women watch golfers compete in the Saudi Ladies International golf tournament (AFP) | Saudi Arabia has announced it will allow women to apply for the military for the first time in its…

Ian Cobain (2021-02-23). British royals met with autocratic Arab monarchs 'over 200 times' since 2011. middleeasteye.net British royals met with autocratic Arab monarchs 'over 200 times' since 2011 | UK royal family members have reportedly held the equivalent of one meeting a fortnight with 'tyrannical' Arab rulers over the past 10 years | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 09 | Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Buckingham Palace in central London on 7 March 2018 (AFP) | Members of Brit…

Nadda Osman (2021-02-23). Outcry in Kuwait over suicide of stateless Bidoon child. middleeasteye.net Outcry in Kuwait over suicide of stateless Bidoon child | Thousands of people are highlighting the case online and demanding an end to the community's marginalisation | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 07 | An illustration of the child has been shared online with the caption 'you have returned to God, the most merciful, Ali' (Screengrab/Twitter) | Reports of a 12-year-old child's suicide from Kuwait's stateless pop…

RT (2021-02-23). 'Stripped NAKED and left in cell with lights on': Trans woman charged in Capitol riot alleges mistreatment in jail. rt.com A transgender woman charged in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol says she was held naked in a constantly lit jail cell for four days, asking the court to be placed under house arrest instead. Jail officials denied mistreatment.

MEE and agencies (2021-02-23). UAE-owned arms company wants to help produce F-35 fighter jets. middleeasteye.net UAE-owned arms company wants to help produce F-35 fighter jets | Biden suspended the sale of weapons to the United Arab Emirates approved by Trump in his final days of office | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 10: 32 | EDGE CEO Faisal al-Bannai said his company was ready to produce missiles and parts for the F-35 fighter if sales of the warplane to the UAE were approved (AFP) | The United Arab Emirate's…

Tom Anderson (2021-02-23). Campaigners call for the strengthening of Welsh language rights as people globally stand up for oppressed mother languages. thecanary.co Sunday 21 February The International Mother Language Day Kurdistan: | Commentators on Twitter highlighted the continued o…

Paul Haeder (2021-02-23). American Exceptionalism: Private Wealth and Public Squalor. dissidentvoice.org A December 2017 statement from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights notes that, while the US manages to spend "more [money] on national defence than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Kingdom, India, France, and Japan combined", US infant mortality rates were, as of 2013, "the highest in the developed world". …

Staff (2021-02-23). Trump Salary Donation Was 0.1 Percent of Reported $1.6 Billion He Made in Office. truthout.org According to a review of Donald Trump's financial disclosures by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Trump reported at least $1,613,583,013 in revenue from outside sources during his presidency. | Trump famously touted

Staff (2021-02-23). Progressives Vow to Fight Manchin and Sinema Holding Up Stimulus Over $15 Wage. truthout.org On Wednesday, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is set to meet with Democrats and Republicans as they argue their case on whether or not to keep the $15 federal minimum wage proposal in the stimulus. MacDonough's decision, which could come soon after the meeting, on what's known as the "

Staff (2021-02-23). Texas Companies Are Forcing Employees to Use Vacation Time for Winter Storm. truthout.org Dozens of employers in Texas are forcing their employees to dig into their vacation time to account for days they didn't work due to the winter storm, or else go without pay for those days, The Daily Beast reports. | Last week, millions of Texans were left without power, some for days, as a winter storm hit the state and

Staff (2021-02-23). Unrepentant About His Cancún Trip, Ted Cruz Blames Media for Publicizing It. truthout.org After attempting to do significant public relations damage control over his jaunt to Mexico while Texas was in a deep crisis caused by Winter Storm Uri, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is now trying to suggest he's being victimized by the media. | Speaking during an appearance on conservative radio host Dana Loesch's program Monday, Cruz, who had left the state with his family to travel to Cancún, Mexico, as millions of residents suffered extreme temperatures without heat, electricity and running water…

Staff (2021-02-23). "What Are We Going to Do About It?" Mariame Kaba Talks Abolition in Action. truthout.org In the wake of the uprisings following the highly publicized murder of George Floyd, new attention has been paid to campaigns to defund and abolish police and policing, and imagine new ways of existing in a world where safety, justice and healing can — and should — exist independently of the carceral state. In this atmosphere of heightened excitement about abolition, Mariame Kaba has delivered the timely collection We Do This 'Til We Free Us. A perennial organizer and prison industrial…

Staff (2021-02-23). GOP Senator on Investigations Committee Blames "Fake Trump Supporters" for Jan 6. truthout.org During a hearing on Tuesday examining the attack on the Capitol building that took place early last month, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) read into the record a widely debunked conspiracy theory, falsely alleging that the attacks themselves were incited not by former President Donald Trump, but by members of the crowd who were there to …

Global Research News (2021-02-23). Selected Articles: Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Heroin Trade. globalresearch.ca By The Vaccine Reaction is reporting that a…

Elizabeth Anderson (2021-02-23). What Comes After Meritocracy? thenation.com The long-standing focus by liberals on meritocratic advancement has isolated the working class.

Jasmine Norden (2021-02-23). Outrage as Labour North West bans candidates from Liverpool mayoral elections. thecanary.co Labour North West has Shortlisted candidates acting mayor Wendy Simon, current lord mayor Anna Rothery, and former deputy mayor Ann O'Byrne were supposed to be competing for Joe Anderson's vacated position from last week. | Instead, an email sent to Labour party members announced the application process would be reopened. According to the Liverpool Echo, no previous candidates are…

Sarah Anderson, Scott Klinger and Brian Wakamo (2021-02-23). Black Families Have a Vital Stake in the Future of the Postal Service. counterpunch.org The United States Postal Service is under strong pressure to make deep spending cuts that would be devastating for customers and employees across the country. Black families have a particularly large stake in the debate over the future of this vital public service. USPS has long been a major source of good middle-class jobs for

RT (2021-02-22). 'Taking the knee can't change systemic racism': Ex-footballer John Barnes supports players deciding not to kneel (VIDEO). rt.com John Barnes admits taking the knee can't "change systemic racism" and supports players finding alternatives, believing focus should be on combatting socio-political discrimination rather than isolated incidents of racial abuse. | Barnes' career with Liverpool, where he was twice a league winner, and England inspired generations of youngsters and future footballers, and at the time of his retirement from international football he had won more England caps than any other black player with 79 appearances for the Three Lions. | The 57-year-old has been vocal on the issue of systematic racism that he believes has p…

RT (2021-02-22). 'Taking the knee can't change systemic racism': Ex-footballer John Barnes supports players deciding not to kneel (VIDEO). rt.com John Barnes admits taking the knee can't "change systemic racism" and supports players finding alternatives, believing focus should be on combatting socio-political discrimination rather than isolated incidents of racial abuse. | Barnes' career with Liverpool, where he was twice a league winner, and England inspired generations of youngsters and future footballers, and at the time of his retirement from international football he had won more England caps than any other black player with 79 appearances for The Three Lions. | The 57-year-old has been vocal on the issue of systematic racism that he believes has p…

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

Staff (2021-02-22). Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Last-Ditch Effort to Block Taxes From Manhattan DA. truthout.org The United States Supreme Court denied a request by former President Donald Trump's legal team to prevent the former president from having to provide his tax records to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. |

_____ (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

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 …

Marie Kelly (2021-02-22). On the picket line. workers.org McDonald's workers win settlement In Los Angeles, between April and August 2020, workers at a McDonald's complained about inadequate protection from COVID, including lack of social distancing and forcible exposure to customers who refused to wear masks. Following strikes to protest these unsafe working conditions, McDonald's management retaliated by firing . . . |

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…

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 …

RT (2021-02-22). Mandatory glasses next? Spectacles-wearers TWO to THREE times less likely to get Covid-19, study suggests. rt.com Research from India has indicated that people wearing glasses are far less likely to become infected with Covid-19 than those without, which appears to support health advice to wear spectacles instead of contact lenses. | Covid-19 can spread in many different ways, and one of those is through germs being spread to the eyes due to touching or rubbing. According to the new study, published at medRxiv.com and not peer-reviewed, people who wear glasses touch their eyes far less and are therefore less likely to spread the virus in this way. | Researchers found that, on average, people touch their face 23 times an h…

RT (2021-02-22). There is 'no credible route to a zero-Covid Britain,' Boris Johnson says, as he unveils 'irreversible' lockdown-lifting plan. rt.com UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday conceded there is "no credible route" for Britain or the world to become completely free of Covid-19, as he announced a plan to gradually lift restrictions across England. | Noting that there will be more cases, hospitalizations, and deaths whenever the UK decides to lift its lockdown — whether that's immediately or in nine months — Johnson told Parliament there is "no credible route to a zero-Covid Britain or, indeed, a zero-Covid world." | We cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well-being, and t…

RT (2021-02-22). Covid-19 lockdown sees people across UK spend an extra 14 hours a week sitting down than before pandemic — survey. rt.com Nearly half of all Britons are sitting for 14 hours a week more than they did before the Covid-19 lockdown — and more than a third say they're bored of their limited exercise options, according to a new national survey. | The poll carried out for UKActive — a not-for-profit group that represents fitness and physical-activity bodies — found that 78 percent of the 2,170 adults surveyed said they spent more time sitting around during lockdown. Over a quarter said they found themselves off their feet for three hours more per day than before lockdown, while 15 percent said it was for four hours more…

RT (2021-02-22). Dutch restaurant group suing state over Covid closures, warns industry is on brink of bankruptcy with no end to lockdown in sight. rt.com The Netherlands' largest restaurant association has said it will sue the Dutch state in a bid to get the government to drop its ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, due to their devastating impact on the hospitality sector. | Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) said on Monday it was taking legal action based on the fact that the government has not provided epidemiological evidence for the restrictions that have forced the industry to close. | KHN has also criticized a lack of state financial support for restaurateurs and the government's failure to announce an exit plan for the current shutdown. The amount the associ…

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). 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). Pubs & shops in England to reopen in April, schools start back in two weeks, as PM Johnson unveils Covid lockdown exit. rt.com All pupils in England will return to the classroom on March 8 and some businesses will reopen next month, UK PM Boris Johnson said on Monday as he unveiled a four-stage plan to take the country out of its Covid-19 lockdown.

Staff (2021-02-22). Republicans' Politicization of Mask-Wearing May Have Killed Tens of Thousands. truthout.org As the U.S. reaches the grim milestone of 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins has said that the proliferation of the virus due to partisan resistance and politicization around wearing a face mask could be responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. | Collins said that misinformation around COVID was particularly harmful around mask-wearing. In the early months of the pandemic, evidence showed that wearing a mask helped to stop the spread o…

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.

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.

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.

RT (2021-02-22). 'We didn't quite understand': Medvedev shared Djokovic confusion over Australian Open booing, says he does not want Covid vaccine. rt.com Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev has described the reaction to the tournament closing ceremony, when an organizer refenced politics and a Covid-19 vaccine, as "strange" — and said that he would not choose to have a jab. | ATP Tour Finals winner Medvedev missed out on his first Grand Slam before taking part in a ceremony that courted confusion as speaker Jayne Hrdlicka was greeted with occasional boos. | Jeers from the lively crowd were first audible when Tennis Australia boss Hrdlicka spoke of her optimism about the emergence of vaccines, and the boos grew louder when she praised politicians in t…

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…

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…

Staff (2021-02-22). A Green New Deal Would Solve Texas Energy Deregulation, Says Naomi Klein. truthout.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 syst…

Tareq Hajjaj (2021-02-22). Palestine elections: Gaza voters sceptical about upcoming polls. middleeasteye.net Palestine elections: Gaza voters sceptical about upcoming polls | With the Israeli blockade still the prime preoccupation in Gaza, youth there hold little hope for Palestine's long-overdue vote | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 14: 27 | Palestinian members of Central Elections Commission register voters for the upcoming elections, on February 10, 2021 in Gaza City . (AFP) | The besieged Gaza Strip bears few signs o…

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

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.

Editor (2021-02-22). Bessemer, Alabama: The whole world is watching. workers.org An injury to one is an injury to all. This famous labor slogan, popularized by the Industrial Workers of the World over a century ago, is more meaningful today than ever. But it has a double meaning for workers at Amazon, where the workplace injury rate is exceptionally high due . . . |

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…

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.

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 …

Staff (2021-02-22). Damming Rivers Is Terrible for Human Rights, Ecosystems and Food Security. truthout.org There's some good news amid the grim global pandemic: At long last, the The

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…

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.

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 …

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.

Gloria Rubac (2021-02-22). Hungry, cold and victims of inhumanity behind Texas prison walls. workers.org Houston On an average day in Texas, prisons are hellholes run by racist officials and a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison board that won't request the legislature allocate money for proper maintenance. Every weather emergency in the state, from hurricanes to flooding to subfreezing weather, has proven time and . . . |

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 …

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…

Eds. (2021-02-22). Partners: China and Cuba. mronline.org In the 1960s, the main forms of the Chinese assistance offered to Cuba were preferential trade and interest-free loans. From 1961 to 1965, China gave Cuba an interest-free loan of 60 million U.S. dollars.

Tania Siddiqi (2021-02-22). India: Rail roko protest and growing state-sanctioned terror. workers.org Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the farmer unions' umbrella body, launched a rail roko protest to halt train transit in many parts of India for four hours on Feb. 18. This action is the farmers' latest attempt to push India's national government to repeal three "farm bills" intended to appease corporate cravings. . . . |

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 …

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.

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."

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 …

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

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 …

Joshua Hanks (2021-02-22). Portland, Ore. — Police stop hungry people from retrieving food from dumpster. workers.org Portland, Ore. As a massive winter storm swept across the U.S. last week, knocking out power from Oregon to Texas to the East Coast, millions of people found themselves in a desperate situation: no electricity, no water, no transportation and life-threatening cold — all in the midst of a global . . . |

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 …

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,…

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 …

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 …

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.

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). '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). Moscow 'disappointed' with Brussels 'pressing dysfunctional sanctions button' as EU prepares new blacklist over Navalny's jailing. rt.com Russia has expressed "disappointment" with the EU plan to slap new sanctions on Moscow over the imprisonment of activist blogger Alexey Navalny, with the foreign ministry calling the move political and unrelated to human rights. | The EU has "missed yet another opportunity to review its … approach to relations with Russia" that is currently based on "sanctions and pressure," Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in a statement following a summit of the bloc's foreign ministers. | "Brussels once again instinctively presses the dysfunctional sanctions button," the statement lamented. | Also on rt.com

RT (2021-02-22). Iran will enrich uranium up to 60% if it wants to, Khamenei warns amid discontent over IAEA deal. rt.com If Iran wanted nuclear weapons, it would have them, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared, suggesting Tehran may continue enriching uranium up to 60 percent. The statement followed outcry over President Hassan Rouhani's IAEA deal. | Tehran's position on the JCPOA nuclear deal will not change, Khamenei said on Monday, adding that Iran will not bow to international pressure — from either its European partners in the deal or the US, which is no longer party to the agreement. | While the Ayatollah stressed that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, he argued "no one" could stop the country from having them if i…

RT (2021-02-22). '7 minutes of terror': NASA reveals final nerve-shredding moments of rover's descent to Mars (VIDEO). rt.com Footage of the tense final moments of NASA landing its Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars has been released by the US space agency, with the clip capturing incredible details of the Red Planet's rugged terrain. | The rover touched safely down on February 18 after a 300-million-mile voyage from Earth to start its mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. The clip released on Monday covers the final few minutes of that incredible journey, as NASA engineers tracked the descent of Perseverance. | "Now we finally have a front-row view to what we call 'the seven minutes of terror' while l…

RT (2021-02-22). Protesters rally in Algerian capital, marking rebirth of popular Hirak uprising that ousted President Bouteflika in 2019. rt.com Despite a heavy police presence, thousands of people have joined protests across the Algerian capital in a resurgence of the Hirak demonstrations that forced the country's then-president to resign two years ago. | Protesters defied warnings from the authorities not to turn out on Monday and took to the streets of Algiers, demanding real political change and the end of military rule across the country. Police blockades were set up in some parts of the city as the streets filled with people in the early afternoon. | In events reminiscent of those in Kherrata last week, protesters waved Algerian flags and chanted…

RT (2021-02-22). Fresh protests erupt in Lebanon amid public fury over Beirut port blast, legal system and financial issues. rt.com Fiery clashes between protesters and police have erupted in Lebanon, as public anger grows over the port explosion in Beirut and other escalating issues, including overseas students being blocked from receiving money. | Footage posted online showed protesters fighting with Lebanese security services outside a military court in the capital on Monday after judges ruled that six demonstrators in Tripoli had committed "terrorism and theft." | Jal el dib

RT (2021-02-22). 'Bravo, guys!': Zenit St. Petersburg players hailed after 'saving unconscious man from burning building' at football training base. rt.com A trio of Zenit St.Petersburg players and staff have been hailed for saving an unconscious man's life after realizing that he was trapped inside of a burning building during the team's recent training camp in Turkey. | As reported by Zenit's own press service as well as the TASS news agency, three staff members at the Russian club ran into an inferno to rescue an unnamed man who had reportedly fallen into unconsciousness after becoming trapped amid the flames. | Two players and one coach — Islam Zhilov, Nikita Simdyankin and Luis Anula respectively — became aware of a commotion inside of a burning ut…

RT (2021-02-22). Iranian parliament calls for President Rouhani to be prosecuted over 'illegal' agreement with IAEA. rt.com A majority of Iranian lawmakers voted on Monday to pass a motion condemning the country's president, Hassan Rouhani, for agreeing a deal between his government and the UN nuclear watchdog, and called for his prosecution. | The damning resolution in Iran's parliament also stated that a report by the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on the deal made with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be sent to the nation's judiciary, who will review it to decide if it complies with an existing law. | Legislators opposed Rouhani's move as they believe it is a "clear violation" of a bill that…

RT (2021-02-22). 'McGregor can beat him': George Foreman says Conor McGregor's best days are behind him — but backs ex-UFC champ to beat Pacquiao. rt.com George Foreman wants Conor McGregor to make the full-time switch to boxing after suggesting that he has gone as far as he can in MMA, and says that he would back the notorious Irishman to defeat Manny Pacquiao in the ring.

RT (2021-02-22). Not-so-special one: Jose Mourinho surges to the front of the Premier League sack race amid Tottenham's terrible mid-season slump. rt.com Tottenham Hotspur's dismal recent form could spell the end of Jose Mourinho's tenure after a host of bookmakers installed the Portuguese boss as the favorite to be the next for the Premier League managerial scrapheap. | Spurs have come up short in five of their past six Premier League fixtures, as well as being turfed out of the FA Cup after they drew the short straw in a nine-goal thriller with Everton. | That recent run has been a far cry from the form that had Mourinho's side at the summit of the table a few months ago, prompting bookmakers to forecast that he could be the next head coach in line for the ch…

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…

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 …

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). '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'

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…

_____ (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…

_____ (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…

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

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…

MEE staff (2021-02-22). UK counter-terror chief urges rights groups to reconsider boycott of Prevent review. middleeasteye.net UK counter-terror chief urges rights groups to reconsider boycott of Prevent review | Neil Basu tells The Guardian that controversial Prevent programme 'is the most important pillar of our counter-terrorism strategy' | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 21: 46 | In 2019, Neil Basu said Prevent had been least successful part of UK's counterterrorism strategy (AFP/File photo) | The UK's top counter-terrorism police officer has s…

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 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…

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…

MEE correspondent (2021-02-22). Egypt's Sisi faces backlash against removal of the Quran from school textbooks. middleeasteye.net Egypt's Sisi faces backlash against removal of the Quran from school textbooks | Some defend the decision as a means of 'fighting extremism', while others oppose it as an act of 'secularisation' | Mon, 02/22/2021 – 16: 01 | Pupils line up in the courtyard of the Mahaba school in Ezbet al-Nakhl, a shanty town north of the Egyptian capital Cairo on 13 October, 2018 (AFP/file photo) | Egyp…

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…

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…

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,…

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

Staff (2021-02-22). Texas Blackout Reveals Deep Impact of Environmental Racism, Aid Organizers Say. truthout.org Austin, Texas—About 70 Austinites gathered at the Homeless Memorial and Tree of Remembrance along the south bank of Lady Bird Lake on Sunday for a vigil in honor of unhoused people who lost their lives during last week's winter storm and blackout in Texas. | It was a surreal scene, as shirtless parkgoers along the river's bank exercised, threw frisbees and soaked up the sun as temperatures reached back into the upper 60s for the first time since the state was plunged into extreme winte…

Staff (2021-02-22). Republicans Are Keeping Trump's Big Lie About a "Stolen" Election Alive. truthout.org Donald Trump may be spending his post-presidency golfing at Mar-a -Lago but he remains front and center in the hearts and minds of millions of Republican voters, as evidenced by the 46% who said in a new

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.

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.

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). 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). 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…

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). 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…

_____ (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…

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)…

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.

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). 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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, …

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

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.

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.

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 …

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…

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). 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). 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). '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). '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). 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…

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,

2021-02-21: News Headlines

Ralph Nader (2021-02-20). Why Didn't Speaker Pelosi Want Witnesses? commondreams.org As Republican strategist Kevin Philips noted years ago, the Republicans go for the jugular while the Democrats go for the capillaries. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

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…

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.

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 …

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…

_____ (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…

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…

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.

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.

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.

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, …

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.

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 …

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

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.

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

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 …

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…

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 …

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 . . . |

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 …

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…

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). 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). 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). 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). 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…

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 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). '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). 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). 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). '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 SolarWinds breach, so that the usual suspect, Russia, understands where Washington draws the line on cyberattacks, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. | During his The adv…

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…

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 the accusations 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 come forth. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing in all of these cases. | Before nume…

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). 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 as past right-leaning videos have been uncovered by social justice warriors. | The designer, Troy Leavitt, is currently working with development studio Avalanche Software on the high 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 highligh…

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

_____ (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…

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…

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 …

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 (2021-02-20). '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). 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). 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). '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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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…

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). 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). 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). 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 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…

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). 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…

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). 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…

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…

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). 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). 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…

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). 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). '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). 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). 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). 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). 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

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…

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…

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.

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). 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…

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…

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 . . . |

_____ (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…

_____ (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…

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…

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…

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

Ed Rampell (2021-02-19). 'This is the Way We Rise': Hawaiian poetry in motion. peoplesworld.org The Tidal Wave of Indigenous Cinema continues to swell with Hawaiian filmmaker Ciara Lacy's stirring This is the Way We Rise, a poetic short about Polynesian slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio that recently screened as part of the Sundance Film Festival. Jamaica is the daughter of Jon Osorio, Dean of Hawai ªinuiƒÅkea School of Hawaiian Knowledge …

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.

PAI (2021-02-19). New York sues Amazon for not protecting workers against COVID, firing whistleblowers. peoplesworld.org NEW YORK (PAI)—Donald Trump isn't Letitia "Tish" James's only big legal target. Neither is the notorious radical right-wing U.S. gun lobby. Now she's taking on Amazon. James, New York state's Attorney General, is probing Trump's financial crimes committed through his private foundation. Last year, she sued the National Rifle Association and its top officers for …

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 …

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

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.

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 …

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…

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). 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…

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…

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). 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). Left & right alike fume over Dems' bill to ban 'twice-impeached presidents' from burial at Arlington, any honoring of their names. rt.com House Democrats have apparently found time to plot more ways to punish Donald Trump — even as a pandemic and other troubles devastate their constituents — angering Americans of virtually all political persuasions. | The '

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…

The Global Research Team (2021-02-19). Selected Articles: The Covid Deception Serves An Undeclared Agenda. globalresearch.ca By There is no scientific basis for the measures in place to deal with the alleged Covid Pandemic. Among experts the support for these measures …

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…

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 …

Staff (2021-02-19). AOC Raised $1 Million for Struggling Texans as Cruz Handled Post-Cancún PR Mess. truthout.org While Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was dealing with an embarrassing public relations disaster of his own making — flying to Cancún, Mexico, with his family while his home state was reeling from blackouts and water shutdowns amid frigid temperatures — his political adversary Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) was spearheading an effort to raise funds for those in dire need. |

Ted Rall (2021-02-19). Biden Offers Moderate Solutions to Radical Problems. counterpunch.org "Radical solutions require radical solutions," I wrote in my 2010 book "The Anti-American Manifesto," a polemic that calls upon us to save ourselves from imminent social, economic and political collapse by overthrowing the system and rebuilding society from the ground up. We currently face several radical problems. But we're not likely to rise to the

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… |

_____ (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…

Monica Moorehead (2021-02-19). George Jackson on the role of prisons, 50 years after his death. workers.org This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of George Jackson, an African American prison leader sentenced to a life sentence as a teenager for "stealing" $40 from a gas station. His 11 years behind the walls were spent in California's Soledad and San Quentin prisons. Jackson became . . . |

IMEMC News (2021-02-19). Israeli Colonists Break Into Stone-Cutting Factory, Burn A Truck, Near Ramallah. imemc.org A group of fanatic illegal Israeli colonists invaded, on Thursday evening, a stone-cutting factory in Kafr Malik village, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and burnt a truck. Eyad Abu Sheikha, the owner of the factory, said his facility is near the Ein Samia area, east of the village. He added that …

Tom Engelhardt (2021-02-19). America's Sick Metamorphosis: Have we Awoken to find our Country a Trump Roach Hotel? juancole.com ( Tomdispatch.com) — Like Gregor Samsa, the never-to-be-forgotten character in Franz Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis," we awoke on January 7th to discover that we, too, were "a giant insect" with "a domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments" and numerous "pitifully thin" legs that "waved helplessly" before our eyes. If you prefer, though, you …

People's World (2021-02-19). Communist Alphaeus Hunton drew together anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-colonial struggles. peoplesworld.org People's World is happy to reprint below an article from the Feb. 15, 1945 issue of the Daily Worker by W. Alphaeus Hunton, then the educational director of the Council on African Affairs (CAA). Hunton, considered "one of the most neglected African American intellectuals" in U.S. history, partly due to his membership in the Communist …

Martin Billheimer (2021-02-19). Idiocy in Theory and Practice. counterpunch.org Idiocy is as complex as genius. In fact, we like to think them indistinguishable, joined by the ruthless common denominator of an innocence which makes both conditions holy. The lives of geniuses are bestsellers because everyone wants to see themselves in there, which nourishes our profound self-interest and even more profound masochism. Read about the

Chauncey K. Robinson (2021-02-19). Man-made disaster: Capitalism and Republicans failed the people of Texas. peoplesworld.org Winter storms, freezing temperatures, and a failed power grid have left millions of Texans fighting for their lives this week. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz being caught attempting a family vacation to the warmth of Cancun, Mexico, while his constituents faced a humanitarian disaster is the epitome of an unequal system at work. The tragedy in …

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.

Steve Sweeney (2021-02-19). Bogazici resistance is about more than liberal notions of academic freedom, it is a fight against the whole system of oppression. mronline.org TURKEY'S revolutionary forces said today that protests centered on Bogazici University must remain a fight against fascism and oppression—not for "liberal ideas of academic freedom."

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-19). Social movements and organizations condemn arrest of 21-year-old Indian climate activist. mronline.org 21-year-old Disha Ravi was arrested on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy for her involvement with a 'toolkit' which contained campaign material in support of the the ongoing farmers' agitation in the country. Two other activists also face arrest.

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2021-02-19). UN report slams U.S. economic sanctions against Venezuela. peoplesworld.org Editor's Note: A group of 27 U.S. senators and representatives on Feb. 11 urged President Joe Biden to "consider the humanitarian impacts of sanctions." They did not name specific countries, but at the top of the list of countries currently on the receiving end of U.S. sanctions is Venezuela. The country was the target of …

Anthony DiMaggio (2021-02-19). Limbaugh's Legacy: Normalizing Hate for Profit. counterpunch.org Rush Limbaugh's death represents a moment for reflection on the state of American politics. Limbaugh amassed a fortune of more than $600 million over 32 years in the talk radio business, in the process building up more than 15 million regular listeners. It was no exaggeration when CNN referred to him as a "pioneer of AM talk-radio." He made possible the rise of propagandistic partisan media, demonstrating that this format could be incredibly profitable for news channels looking for low-budget programming filled by pundits who tell audiences what they want to hear, while strengthening their prior beliefs and value…

Bezaleel Jupiter and Satya Vatti (2021-02-19). Snowstorm + capitalism = disaster for more than 100K in Mississippi. liberationnews.org The unpreparedness of the utility giants, and the pathetic response of the capitalist government at the local and federal level, is nothing short of criminal neglect by those motivated solely by profit making.

Staff (2021-02-19). Illegal checkpoint arrest tied to a controversial shooting. therealnews.com In the small town of Talking Rock, Georgia, a man was supposedly stopped for avoiding a roadblock, had his car searched without consent, and was arrested for having balding tires. But residents say the story of gross overpolicing in their area goes much deeper.

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,

Anthony Cartalucci (2021-02-19). Israeli Provocations in Syria. thealtworld.com Continued airstrikes carried out by Israeli warplanes in Syria presents — at face value — an obvious and persistent threat to Syria. In a wider context, the threat runs much deeper and extends to Syria's allies in Tehran. | Israel has been an eager participant in the US-led proxy war on Syria beginning in 2011. It has provided safe-haven and support for Western-backed militants along and within its borders. It has also at various junctures carried out airstrikes in Syria in a bid to impede Damascus' ability to reestablish peace and stability within Syria's borders. | And according to US policy papers…

IMEMC News (2021-02-19). Soldiers Abduct Three Palestinians In Jenin. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday evening and Friday at dawn, three Palestinians in Jenin, in northern West Bank. Montaser Sammour, the head of the Jenin office of the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said the soldiers invaded Jenin city, on Friday at dawn, searched a few homes, and abducted two Palestinians. Sammour said the abducted Palestinians …

Richard Moser (2021-02-19). Organizing White Workers When the Klan is in the Shop. counterpunch.org With the rise of the extreme right, the Klan and its modern descendants are definitely "in the shop." Here's a story from a long time ago but it could have happened only yesterday. This is not a heroic tale just a memory of day-to-day struggle and the lessons learned. As a young organizer in the mid-1970s, I went to work for District 65, an independent radical union. Martin Luther King called District 65 "The Conscience of the Labor Movement" after their early and staunch support for the civil rights movement. Our dress pin was a black hand and a white hand working both ends of an old fashioned two-man tree- saw…

Lisa Hajjar (2021-02-19). 'The Mauritanian' rekindles debate over Gitmo detainees' torture—with 40 still held there. mronline.org "The Mauritanian," directed by Kevin Macdonald, is the first feature film to dramatize how the war on terror became a war in court.

PAI (2021-02-19). Trailblazing former Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis dies at 68. peoplesworld.org CHICAGO (PAI)—If you're looking for who started "Red for Ed," figuratively if not literally, you'll find Karen Lewis. Because it could arguably be said that Lewis, the former President of the Chicago Teachers Union/AFT Local 1, who died in early February at 68 after a long battle with cancer, originated the combination of teacher activism …

The Conversation (2021-02-19). 40,000 BC: Earth's magnetic field flipped, causing massive sudden climate change and Extinction of Neanderthals. juancole.com By Chris Fogwill, Alan Hogg, Chris Turney, and Zoà´ Thomas | — The world experienced a few centuries of apocalyptic conditions 42,000 years ago, triggered by a reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles combined with changes in the Sun's behaviour. That's the key finding of our new multidisciplinary study, published in Science. This last major …

Steven Krichbaum (2021-02-19). The 30 x 30 Protection Plan and the George Washington National Forest Ark. counterpunch.org The Biden administration's recent announcement of the 30 by 30 conservation initiative was a welcome ray of light in the dark of winter. The goal is to have 30% of America's lands "protected" by 2030. But what exactly is meant by and would qualify as "protected"? In this age of ecological meltdown and mass extinction/extermination,

Ed Rampell (2021-02-19). '41st & Central: The Untold Story of the L.A. Black Panthers' to be screened Feb. 20. peoplesworld.org The 29th Pan African Film Festival has moved online, taking place Feb. 28—March 14. This year's PAFF is screening at least three Black Panther Party-related films: The documentary Truth to Power: Barbara Lee Speaks for Me and Judas and the Black Messiah, probably Hollywood's best political feature in years. The third is a reprise of …

OCHA (2021-02-19). OCHA: Protection of Civilians Report Feb. 2 — 15, 2021. imemc.org The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) | Protection of Civilians report. Summary from February 2 — 15, 2021 On 5 February, an Israeli settler shot and killed a 34-year-old Palestinian near a newly-constructed settlement outpost next to the village of Ras Karkar (Ramallah); Israeli military sources …

Staff (2021-02-19). And then there was X: Malcom's life and legacy. therealnews.com Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, marks the 56th anniversary of the assassination of freedom fighter Malcolm X. To honor Malcolm's life and legacy, we revisit this powerful 2015 documentary, "X: Malcolm's Final Years," produced by The Real News Network.

Ron Jacobs (2021-02-19). Go St. Pauli! Beat Fascism! counterpunch.org Most sports teams have a dedicated fan base. Most often, that fan base is mostly composed of people who live or lived in the region the team is located. Many of these fans grew up with their favorite team, watching players come and go, championships missed and won; they have opinions on the players, the

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 …

Liberation Staff (2021-02-19). Haywood County, North Carolina car protest: 'Fund services, not jails'. liberationnews.org In North Carolina's Haywood County a car protest was organized on Feb. 1 by the Party for Socialism and Liberation to oppose Haywood County's plan to expand the existing jail in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Staff (2021-02-19). The Guardian shuts down criticism of Israel. therealnews.com Nathan Robinson's column at The Guardian US was shut down after a tweet criticizing US-Israel relations. Then, Tamara Payne explains how Malcolm Little became Malcolm X.

Marie Kelly (2021-02-19). 'Black Freedom Fighters in Steel' — a book review. workers.org Ruth Needleman's "Black Freedom Fighters in Steel: The Struggle for Democratic Unionism," tells of five Black union activists who took on the steel industry of Indiana's Calumet Region along Lake Michigan at Youngstown Sheet and Tube, Inland Steel and U.S. Steel. (Cornell University Press, 2003) Needleman's rich narrative contains interviews . . . |

Dean Baker (2021-02-19). How Will Our Children Know They Face a Crushing Debt Burden? counterpunch.org That may seem like a silly question. Of course they will know because there are a number of well-funded policy shops that will be spewing out endless papers and columns telling them that they are facing a crushing debt burden. And, because these policy shops are well-funded and well-connected we can be sure that major

Staff (2021-02-19). And then there was X: Malcolm's life and legacy. therealnews.com Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, marks the 56th anniversary of the assassination of freedom fighter Malcolm X. To honor Malcolm's life and legacy, we revisit this powerful 2015 documentary, "X: Malcolm's Final Years," produced by The Real News Network.

Tim Wheeler (2021-02-19). Donation match: Will you meet my challenge for People's World? peoplesworld.org Dear readers, I recently posted on social media Marilyn Bechtel's story in People's World headlined, "U.S. and Russia Extend New START Nuclear Treaty for Five Years." Bechtel's article was the first I read about this hugely significant step by President Joe Biden reversing former President Trump's attempt to wreck the New START treaty. The people's …

Fred Gardner (2021-02-19). How the Drug War Succeeded: Dr. Carl Hart Comes Out… Swinging. counterpunch.org Dr. Carl Hart, a neuroscientist on the Columbia University faculty, is the most audaciously radical thinker in the drug-policy-reform field, and the bravest. His new book, 'Drug Use For Grown-Ups,' was praised in the New York Times Book Review January 17 by Casey Schwartz, who summarized one of his key points thus: "Hart argues the

RT (2021-02-19). New Russian team name and flag agreed for athletes at Tokyo and Beijing Olympic Games. rt.com Russian athletes appearing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing will do so using the branding 'ROC', the acronym which represents the Russian Olympic Committee. | The International Olympic Committee (IOC)

RT (2021-02-19). Paris beefs up police patrols and Lyon bans booze as French authorities fear warm weather will spark Covid rule-breaking. rt.com The French government has announced it will strengthen its police patrols ahead of predicted warm weather this weekend in a bid to make sure the rise in temperatures isn't matched by a surge in Covid-19 cases. | Officials in numerous parts of the country fear a combination of pleasant spring weather and the break-up of some schools for holidays could encourage people to gather in groups, thus risking the increased spread of the virus. | Police chiefs in the capital will launch a "large-scale" operation involving 4,000 officers from Saturday to enforce the country's strict 6pm to 6am curfews, imposed to stem th…

RT (2021-02-19). Dutch curfew extended by emergency bill as government shuns court ruling of Covid lockdown 'illegality'. rt.com Dutch senators have voted overwhelmingly to pass an emergency act to continue a nationwide curfew, disregarding a judge's ruling this week that the restriction violates the law as well as the rights of citizens. | The emergency bill passed in a 45-13 vote on Friday evening, While a lower court

RT (2021-02-19). Canada plans overhaul of language rights, making bilingualism mandatory for top judges and prioritizing French in Quebec. rt.com The Canadian government published plans on Friday to mandate more use of French, making companies in regulated industries communicate in the language in Quebec, and requiring its top judges to be bilingual. | While Canada is officially bilingual, with English and French on equal footing, the proposed changes are aimed at turning back the decline of French. Just over 20 percent of Canadians — about 7.2 million people in total — are French-speaking, with the majority of those based in Quebec and the smaller maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. | The daily use of French, however, has bee…

RT (2021-02-19). French refugee center manager stabbed to death by asylum seeker — police. rt.com The manager of a refugee center in the French city of Pau has died of his injuries, after allegedly being stabbed multiple times by a Sudanese asylum seeker, police said on Friday. | The suspect, a 38-year-old man from Sudan, was arrested following the attack. He was reportedly known to the authorities for acts of violence and has already been in prison, according to French media. | The knife attack took place at around 11am local time in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The suspect's motives for the attack remain unknown, although police sources told local media he had just been refused refugee…

RT (2021-02-19). Chuck some borscht on the barbie? Amid Australian news row, Facebook 'accidentally' clamps down on RUSSIAN CULTURE SITE. rt.com Facebook's new algorithms targeting Aussie news websites evidently need some fine-tuning: citing "Australian government legislation," the social media behemoth has banned sharing links to a Russian culture site, Russia Beyond. | As of Wednesday, Australian Facebook users found themselves unable to share links to local and international news sites, a change that Facebook implemented as retaliation against the Australian government for legislation that would require Facebook and other companies to pay news creators for their content. Globally, all users are forbidden from sharing links to Australian news sources…

RT (2021-02-19). This ain't no normal baby shower: Doting grandfather Floyd Mayweather gifts diamond-encrusted ROLEX to newborn grandson. rt.com If much of your public persona is built on a foundation of exactly how wealthy you are, you better not shirk your responsibilities when it comes to buying gifts – and Floyd Mayweather has spared no expense for his new grandson.

RT (2021-02-19). MMA fighter Leonardo Barbosa admits to 'throwing fight in Afghanistan after being pressured by gunman in locker room' (VIDEO). rt.com Brazilian featherweight Leonardo Barbosa says he 'took a dive' in a mixed martial arts bout earlier this month in Afghanistan after being pressured by an unknown gunman in the locker room prior to the fight. | Barbosa admitted to feigning injury as a result of a knee to the body in the fight against Ahmed Wali Hotak in Kabul on February 11, leading to the referee calling the bout in favor of the hometown fighter – but he claims that the fight's telling blow didn't come in the cage, but in minutes before he even made his walk into the arena. | The Brazilian fighter said on social media that he was threatened by…

RT (2021-02-19). Lithuanian President worried Russia could 'swallow' troubled Belarus as part of embattled leader Lukashenko's eventual departure. rt.com Moscow and Minsk may already be joined as members of the Union State, but Lithuania's president claims Russia could ultimately take advantage of unrest in the protest-hit Eastern European nation to 'swallow' Belarus entirely. | In an interview with DW News on Thursday, President Gitanas Nauseda told journalists that he believes current efforts underway in Minsk to rewrite the country's constitution are an attempt to buy time for a controlled transfer of power. "I very much doubt that this will lead to free elections in Belarus," he said, voicing his belief that "people in the 21st century deserve the right to…

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.

Aruna Das (2021-02-19). My Selective High School Looks Nothing Like America. thenation.com As the nation addresses systemic racism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, it's time to ask: Who is being represented in selective high schools?

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.

RT (2021-02-19). 'I didn't look!' UFC star Woodley jokes with Paige VanZant's husband after bare-knuckle star's latest steamy Instagram video. rt.com Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley joked with Austin Vanderford, husband of Paige VanZant, that he "didn't look" at the bare-knuckle queen's latest risque Instagram video in which she transitions from a robe to a VERY small bikini. | Normal service seems to have resumed for VanZant after suffering defeat to Britain Hart in her recent Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut. | The 26-year-old Sports Illustrated stunner clearly hasn't let the result get her down after posting one of her most suggestive clips to date to her more than 2.7 million Instagram followers – drawing an hilarious reaction from former welt…

Alex MacDonald (2021-02-19). Turkey: Prosecutor requests lifting of immunity from pro-Kurdish MPs. middleeasteye.net Turkey: Prosecutor requests lifting of immunity from pro-Kurdish MPs | Nine members of the HDP, including its co-leader, have been accused of inciting violence during a 2014 protest | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 13: 38 | HDP co-chairs Pervin Buldan (3rd R) and Mithat Sancar (2nd L) hold a press conference with MPs outside parliament in Ankara on 1 October 2020 (AFP) | Turkish prosecutors have requested th…

Azad Essa (2021-02-19). 'Africa is returning to Israel': Equatorial Guinea to move embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu says. middleeasteye.net 'Africa is returning to Israel': Equatorial Guinea to move embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu says | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that 'Israel is returning to Africa and Africa is returning to Israel in a big way' | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 18: 03 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the embassy move was the latest sign of improving ties with African nations (AFP/File photo) | Equato…

MEE staff (2021-02-19). Key US lawmakers call for sanctions on killers of Hezbollah critic. middleeasteye.net Key US lawmakers call for sanctions on killers of Hezbollah critic | Top members of House Foreign Affairs Committee urge invoking Global Magnitsky Act to address murder of Lebanese activist Lokman Slim | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 16: 56 | A memorial ceremony for Lokman Slim in garden of family residence in Beirut, 11 February (AFP) | Two key US legislators are calling on President Joe Biden to invoke the Global Magnit…

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…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-19). Algeria frees first democracy activists after presidential pardons. middleeasteye.net Algeria frees first democracy activists after presidential pardons | The pardon's come on eve of Hirak's second anniversary, with calls on social media for demonstrations on 22 February | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 13: 38 | Relatives of prisoners and journalists gathered on Friday outside Kolea prison, west of the capital Algiers (AFP) | Algeria released a dozen pro-democrac…

Mohammad Ayesh (2021-02-19). Arabic press review: Syrian refugees hit hardest by snowstorms. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Syrian refugees hit hardest by snowstorms | Elsewhere, Yemeni security forces arrest local TV reporters and Jordanian journalist imprisoned for years by the UAE dies | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 13: 46 | A woman clears the snow in front of a tent at a camp for displaced people in the northern Syrian town of Tal Abyad on 13 February 2020 (Bakr Alkasem/AFP) | Millions of Syrian ref…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-19). Israeli woman held in Syria lands in Tel Aviv following Russia-mediated deal. middleeasteye.net Israeli woman held in Syria lands in Tel Aviv following Russia-mediated deal | Woman who crossed into Syria through Quneitra a few weeks ago had been transferred to Russia over the past week | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 11: 10 | According to Syria's official Sana news agency, the woman had crossed over into Quneitra province by mistake (Reuters) | An Israeli woman who crossed into Syria a few weeks…

MEE staff (2021-02-19). Israeli press review: Report finds widespread racism among Israel's youth. middleeasteye.net Israeli press review: Report finds widespread racism among Israel's youth | Meanwhile, Netanyahu polling well but election stalemate still predicted, and Palestinian filmmaker excluded from Labor list | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 15: 00 | Isaeli supporters of the right-wing Organisation for Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land (LEHAVA) protest a marriage between an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian in 2014 (AFP) | <...

Nadda Osman (2021-02-19). Western Sahara activists facing crackdown following Morocco-Israel deal. middleeasteye.net Western Sahara activists facing crackdown following Morocco-Israel deal | From torture to surveillance and house arrests, activists say they have faced unprecedented repression in recent weeks | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 11: 00 | People call for the independence of the Western Sahara in a protest (AFP/Illustration: Mohamad Elasaar/MEE) | Activists in Western Sahara say they are facing a brutal crackdown in the wa…

MEE staff (2021-02-19). US says it is ready for direct talks with Iran over nuclear deal. middleeasteye.net US says it is ready for direct talks with Iran over nuclear deal | State Department says Washington is open to a possible meeting to 'discuss a diplomatic way forward' about Iran's nuclear programme | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 00: 43 | It is not clear whether Tehran will agree to the offer (AFP/File photo) | The United States has said it would accept a European invitation to engage in direct talks with Iran to revive…

Kareem Chehayeb (2021-02-19). Beirut explosion: Removal of judge sparks renewed fears that blast probe will go nowhere. middleeasteye.net Beirut explosion: Removal of judge sparks renewed fears that blast probe will go nowhere | Head of investigation dismissed over claims of bias because his home was hit in August blast | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 11: 11 | A relative of one of the victims of the 4 August explosion at Beirut port reacts during a protest outside the Justice Palace in Beirut on 18 February (Reuters) | Mahdi Zahrledine los…

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

RT (2021-02-19). Pfizer-BioNTech tried to gouge the EU with 65-DOLLAR vaccine doses, German media report. rt.com Drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech wanted to charge the EU Commission €54.08 per dose of their Coronavirus vaccine, according to German media reports. The jab would have cost more than 20 times that of a rival shot from AstraZeneca. | The prospective price tag was revealed on Thursday by German broadcasters NDR and WDR, and the

RT (2021-02-19). Johnson & Johnson submits its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine to WHO for emergency use. rt.com Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson has submitted data on its coronavirus vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) as it seeks the agency's greenlight for emergency use. Unlike other shots, this one comes in a single dose. | The emergency-use approval is a prerequisite for the vaccine joining the WHO-led COVAX watchdog program, J&J said in a statement on Friday, revealing it had submitted its paperwork to the UN health body. | Unlike vaccine competitors already in the Covid-fighting market, the J&J offering comes in a single-dose form, which would make its distribution considerably easier. Moreover, it can be…

Staff (2021-02-19). Battleground Baltimore: The battle continues for more COVID-19 vaccine doses. therealnews.com In this week's round-up of Baltimore news: Leaders examine the way doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are being distributed, Mayor Brandon Scott releases his administration's transition report, remembering musician Jimmy Jones, and more.

RT (2021-02-19). Despite not meeting key criteria for European Union accession, Ukraine's President Zelensky says country will join bloc by 2030. rt.com Ukraine joining the European Union is not a matter of if, but when, according to its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who predicted Kiev would be welcomed into the 27-member bloc before the end of the decade. | Speaking to a meeting of officials on Thursday, Zelensky said Ukraine has now become a "credible and responsible member of the international community," making a significant contribution to global and regional security and stability. | According to a summary of conferences on the official presidential website, Ukrainian politicians have discussed how "membership in the European Union is no longer a hypoth…

RT (2021-02-19). With 300k still without power, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launches probe into grid manager, says ERCOT lied about winter storm prep. rt.com Texas Governor Greg Abbott pulled no punches in condemning the firm in charge of the state's power grid, launching a probe after claiming the agency lied about its plans to cope with an ice storm that left millions without heat. | "What happened this week to our fellow Texans is unacceptable and cannot be replicated again," Abbott said at a Thursday press conference, days after a massive blizzard overwhelmed the Texas power grid and knocked out electricity across the state. The governor stepped up his criticism of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which oversees the flow of electricity for mos…

RT (2021-02-19). DISTURBING VIDEO shows cop punching alleged attacker in the head as assaults on transit police TRIPLE in NYC. rt.com The NYPD have been accused of using excessive force after a video showed a cop repeatedly punching a man in the subway. But police claim the officer was acting in self-defense after the suspect allegedly nearly ripped his ear off. | Graphic footage surfaced on Thursday showing three New York Police Department (NYPD) officers restraining a man on the floor of a subway station, while a fourth cop took swings at him, striking him numerous times in the head, face and upper body. The man is seen struggling to break free as the officers eventually turn him on his back and cuff him. | The person filming the video can…

RT (2021-02-19). At least Joe Rogan is 'freezing': progressive pundit finds UPSIDE in deadly Texas storm. rt.com Texans may be suffering without electricity in bitter temperatures, but Young Turks host Cenk Uygur can see the bright side, as podcaster Joe Rogan and others who relocated to the state are "freezing their asses off." | Two dozen Texans are dead, food supplies can't reach supermarkets, and nearly

RT (2021-02-19). Lucasfilm president excoriated for talking of EMPOWERING WOMEN after firing Gina Carano, forcing Oscars to wipe comments. rt.com Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, fresh from firing actress Gina Carano from 'The Mandalorian' for political incorrectness, made the ironic decision to speak about empowering women and hearing their voices. It didn't end well. | The Oscars posted the video on Tuesday, featuring Kennedy speaking about its scientific and technical awards. Kennedy, who fired Carano last week over "abhorrent and unacceptable" social media posts, said in the video that "women are helping to redefine science and technology in the movies, and that means a brave, bold future without limits for each and every storyteller." | 'St…

RT (2021-02-19). Texas apartment block collapses as firefighters can't retrieve water from frozen hydrants (PHOTOS, VIDEO). rt.com Some 130 residents were evacuated from a Texas apartment complex which later collapsed due to a massive blaze. Responding fire crews were met by frozen fire hydrants which greatly hampered their efforts. | Firefighters with the San Antonio Fire Department and various volunteer crews battled the blaze amid water shortages, pressure issues and freezing conditions. | The fire began at roughly 1pm local time on Thursday and eventually spread to cars in the complex's adjacent parking lot. The fire reportedly broke out on the second floor of the complex shortly after residents received an alert to turn off their wat…

RT (2021-02-19). 'De-occupy DC': Two GOP congressmen say 'QAnon threat' being hyped to justify permanent fence & troops in US capital. rt.com After US Capitol Police called for National Guard troops and razor wire to stay in place through March, citing online chatter by 'QAnon,' two Republican members of Congress accused them of drumming up excuses for the 'occupation.' | Several thousand troops and fencing topped with razor wire around the US Capitol — deployed after the January 6 riot — ought to stay in place at least through the end of March, lawmakers were told on Thursday. According to a report in Newsweek, Capitol Police were alarmed by online chatter by followers of the 'QAnon' conspiracy saying that former President Donald Trump wi…

RT (2021-02-19). Democracy must prevail over autocracy, Biden tells the world — even as he's accused of autocratic tendencies back home. rt.com Fresh from taking office with three-quarters of Republicans believing his election win was fraudulent, then signing executive orders at a record pace, Joe Biden evangelized about democracy at the Munich Security Conference. | "We must demonstrate that democracies can still deliver for our people," Biden said on Friday via video link at the the conference. | That is our galvanizing mission. Democracy doesn't happen by accident. We have to defend it, strengthen it, renew it. We have to prove that our model isn't a relic of our history. | Biden made his comments in the context of "democratic progress" being "unde…

RT (2021-02-19). Savage, tacky, or dangerous? Congresswoman's GUN SHELF causes stir during virtual hearing. rt.com Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert's fondness for firearms is once again making headlines, after she appeared at a virtual hearing in front of a bookshelf with two rifles and a shotgun, to cheers from the GOP and Democrats' alarm. | It was Rep. Katie Porter (D-California) who kicked off the whole thing on Thursday, reporting Boebert to the 'Room Rater' account on Twitter for having a "dangerous" background during the House Natural Resources Committee hearing via Zoom. | I always thought my dirty dishes piled up and accumulating bacteria were the most dangerous thing in a Zoom background… ü&ograv…

RT (2021-02-19). PR disaster worsens for Ted Cruz as reports say senator left dog in freezing home after fleeing to Cancun during Texas blackout. rt.com It's been a bad week for Senator Ted Cruz. Castigated for leaving Texas for sunny Cancun amid a meltdown of the state's power grid and a fierce winter storm, the Republican's mea culpas have only earned him further condemnation. | Cruz returned home to Texas on Thursday after he was spotted boarding a plane to Mexico earlier this week, sparking instant outrage as critics accused him of abandoning his constituents during a crisis. At the time, a major blizzard had knocked out power for as many as 4 million Texans, forcing thousands to seek refuge in shelters and "warming centers" across the state. | So far, the…

RT (2021-02-19). Empty shelves & long lines outside stores as Texas runs out of food amid deadly cold snap (VIDEO). rt.com Grocery stores in Texas have become a sorry sight with empty shelves and people queuing outside after a freak winter storm caused massive power outages and completely disrupted food supply chains in the unprepared Southern state. | RT's Ruptly video agency visited one of the stores in Dallas, filming shelves and fridges that were bursting with produce not long ago but now stand completely empty. | After several days of the deep freeze and heavy snowfall, even common products like milk, cold meats, vegetables and many others became inaccessible to Texans. | Outside the Dallas store, people with shopping carts s…

RT (2021-02-19). US 'ready' for nuclear talks with Iran… with precondition of addressing 'regional issues'. rt.com The Joe Biden administration said it's willing to sit down with Iran to discuss renewing the 2015 nuclear pact, though a senior US official noted the talks must cover other "regional issues" — a potential deal-breaker for Tehran. | "The United States would accept an invitation from the European Union High Representative to attend a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran's nuclear program," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a brief statement on Thursday, referring to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the US, Britain, France, Russia and Chin…

Paul Haeder (2021-02-19). The Eye of the Wolf: Measuring Myself through Death. dissidentvoice.org If I were asked what I want to accomplish as a writer, I would say it's to contribute to the literature of hope. — Barry Lopez, About This Life A passing. A death. Moving on. Back to earth. A new journey. He filled the air with lyrical words and ideas grafted to our role as …

Rob Slane (2021-02-19). The Largest Experiment on Humans Ever Seen. anti-empire.com Which is the more reasonable approach a society might take in the outbreak of epidemic: To quarantine the sick, and take reasonable precautions to stop those who are identified as vulnerable from contracting the illness. | To attempt to "control the virus" by preventing millions of healthy people from having contact with other healthy people. | To any society prior to 2020, it would have been obvious that the first approach is not only logical and proportionate, but the one least likely to have other unintended and highly destructive consequences. However, to my continued astonishment, many in our society not only…

Christer Ericsson (2021-02-19). Council of Europe: No Compulsory Vaccinations and No Discrimination Against the Unvaccinated. anti-empire.com Many citizens have been worried about whether the untested vaccines will be mandatory, since it has already been proposed in several countries. In Sweden, however, it has not been, because of a law which prohibits involuntary medical interventions. But despite this law, governments could exert such strong pressure on their populations, that it could become almost impossible…

Dave DeCamp (2021-02-19). The Empire Is Back: NATO Increasing Troops in Iraq From 500 to 4,000. anti-empire.com On Thursday, "The size of our mission will increase from 500 personnel to around 4,000 and training activities will now include more Iraqi security institutions and areas beyond Baghdad," Stoltenberg said after a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers. | NATO describes its presence in Iraq as a "security training mission." Stoltenberg said the alliance's presence "is conditions-base…

Steve Topple (2021-02-19). A report just slammed the Universal Credit £20 uplift as 'inadequate'. thecanary.co The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) Universal Credit is under the microscope again. This time, a survey of claimants found the benefit left them in chaos. It called the £20 uplift "inadequate". But the problem is that this isn't exactly news to the countless people who've been struggling on it for years. | The DWP: here we go again: | The Canary has been

Mike Walter (2021-02-19). The Heat: Extreme weather pummels United States. america.cgtn.com Hundreds of thousands of Americans still without power in the state of Texas, as yet another storm bears down on the United States. How much is global warming to blame?

RT (2021-02-19). Ex-MP Williamson slams University of Bristol for failure to defend anti-Zionist professor from 'lynch mob' demanding his firing. rt.com Former Derby North MP Chris Williamson has called out the University of Bristol for its "outrageous lack of solidarity" with sociology Professor David Miller, currently under attack by the Board of Deputies of British Jews. | The Board of Deputies of British Jews has been targeting Miller, a professor in the University of Bristol's sociology department, with a series of accusations, most recently blaming the academic on Friday for putting Jewish students at risk of "real physical harm" by sharing his view that the "Zionist movement" is the "enemy of world peace." The group's latest letter was addressed to Hugh…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-19). Princess Latifa: Dubai emir's family says royal being 'cared for at home'. middleeasteye.net Princess Latifa: Dubai emir's family says royal being 'cared for at home' | In clips shown by the BBC, Latifa said she was being kept 'hostage' in a villa in the UAE | Fri, 02/19/2021 – 11: 30 | Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (L) with Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, at the Latifa's home in Dubai in 2018 (AFP) | The family of Sheikha Latifa, daughter of Dubai…

Staff (2021-02-19). Essential Farmworkers Deserve Protections From Pesticide Exposure. truthout.org COVID-19 is having