2021-02-24: News Headlines

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.

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 . . . |

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 …

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…

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

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

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 . . . |

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

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

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.

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

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.

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 …

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). 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."

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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…

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 . . . |

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

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, …

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

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…

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). 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…

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…

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). '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). '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). 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). 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). 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). 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 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…

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…