Monthly Archives: February 2021

2021-02-20: News Headlines

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…

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.

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…

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…

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 …

Donald Canton (2021-02-20). Partners: China and Cuba. dissidentvoice.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. The two sides signed the China-Cuba Economic Cooperation Agreement, Trade and Payment Agreement, and Technology Cooperation Protocol. According to the agreement, …

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 . . . |

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 …

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 …

Godfree Roberts (2021-02-20). How Democratic is China? dissidentvoice.org Like America, China is a republic and, like America, says it is democratic, but how democratic is China? A glance at history is always a good starting point The People are supreme, the state is secondary and the Ruler is the least important: only those who please the people can rule. Mencius1 In Roman politics, …

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 . . . |

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). 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). '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). '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. | #riskwhatyouvalue 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). 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…

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). 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). 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…

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 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). 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 Fe…

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). 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 administrations 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 had accused the US of supporting PKK 'terrorists' (AFP) | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said…

National Women's History Musuem & partners (2021-02-20). Thursday 3/11: Women's History Month: Smithsonian Objects of Women Activists Pioneering Social Justice. indybay.org Online event via Zoom (FREE)…

Travis Waldron (2021-02-20). Arizona Republicans Lead Nationwide GOP Push to Curb Voting Rights. zcomm.org No state is considering more bills to restrict voting rights than Arizona, where activists say the GOP is waging a "full-scale assault on democratic norms."

_____ (2021-02-20). US Attacks BDS For Same Reason Nixon Started Drug War. popularresistance.org The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Arkansas' law against BDS — the use of boycott, divestment and sanctions as a means of protest against Israel —violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, because it plainly does. | "The Arkansas Times has successfully challenged a law that prohibits the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel," Mondoweiss reports. "The Little Rock-based weekly filed the lawsuit in 2018 and was represented by the ACLU. The paper takes no official position on BDS, but it launched the legal challenge after the University of Arkansas Pulas…

_____ (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…

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.

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

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 …

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.

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

a guest author (2021-02-19). COVID vaccines are big business and a political weapon. workers.org By Manuel Raposo Manuel Raposo is editor of jornalmudardevida.net in Portugal, where this article was published Feb. 14. Translation: John Catalinotto. It has often been said that so-called "natural" disasters, including unforeseeable catastrophes, lay bare the weaknesses of the societies they strike. The health, social and economic crisis the coronavirus . . . |

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.

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…

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 …

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). 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…

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…

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…

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). 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…

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 …

2021-02-19: News Headlines

Online News Editor (2021-02-19). Spanish activists rescue 148 migrants in Mediterranean. laprensalatina.com Rome, Feb 19 (efe-epa).- A baby was among the 148 migrants rescued Friday by the crew of a ship belonging to the Spanish NGO Salvamento Maritimo Humanitario (SMH) in two separate operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The Aita Mari is the only humanitarian vessel currently plying the waters of the central Mediterranean. Salvamento Maritimo Humanitario …

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,

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

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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

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.

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 …

G. Dunkel (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 . . . |

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.

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

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 . . . |

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

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

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.

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). 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.

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."

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 …

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…

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 …

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 …

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…

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,

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.

Matthew Stevenson (2021-02-19). Who Won the Impeachment? counterpunch.org If you're Donald Trump, watching the last act of your impeached presidency, you don't need a Weatherman to tell you which way the wind is blowing, which is in the direction of a District of Columbia courtroom, where you will either be convicted as an accessory to second-degree murder ("an extreme indifference to human life…") or a runaway jury will award plaintiffs (the Capitol police injured or killed in the riot) $1.8 billion in damages (which by the way Deutsche Bank will not cover with another overdraft).

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 . . . |

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 …

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

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 …

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). 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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

A Guest Author (2021-02-19). Voice from behind the walls: 'I'm not imprisoned, I'm enslaved'. workers.org One of the main reasons I send this letter is because I have been reading Workers World for approximately the last four years, and I'm not sure if journalists at WW are aware that certain words/phrases may be misleading and/or unknowingly aid in keeping "prisoners" uninformed. Prime example: The overseers . . . |

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

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…