(2024-02-16). Capitalism and drug trafficking in Ecuador: Two sides of the same coin. cadtm.org
(2024-02-16). Defusing The Derivatives Time Bomb: Some Proposed Solutions. popularresistance.org This is a sequel to a Jan. 15 article titled "Casino Capitalism and the Derivatives Market: Time for Another 'Lehman Moment'?", discussing the threat of a 2024 "black swan" event that could pop the derivatives bubble. That bubble is now over ten times the GDP of the world and is so interconnected and fragile that an unanticipated crisis could trigger the collapse not just of the bubble but of the economy. To avoid that result, in the event of the bankruptcy of a major financial institution, derivative claimants are put first in line to grab the assets — not just the deposits of customers but their stocks an…
(2024-02-15). Capitalism and drug trafficking in Ecuador: Two sides of the same coin. cadtm.org
(2024-02-15). What Was COVID Really About? Triggering A Multi-Trillion Dollar Global Debt Crisis. "Ramping up an Imperialist Strategy"? globalresearch.ca If it was indeed about public health, why close down the bulk of health services and the global economy knowing full well what the implications would be? And why mount a military-style propaganda campaign to censor world-renowned scientists and terrorise entire populations…
(2024-02-15). Did Wall Street Just End the Class War? scheerpost.com 
By Les Leopold / Substack All workers can become capitalists, all workers can become rich! That's the future of the economy according to the infamous Wall Street buyout firm, KKR, (formerly Kohlberg Kravis, Roberts & Co.) Today, KKR says that the iron laws of capitalism don't have to pit workers against bosses. They claim …
(2024-02-15). Avanzan Cuba y Bolivia en el fortalecimiento de sus nexos. radiohc.cu La visita a La Habana de la ministra de Relaciones Exteriores de Bolivia, Celinda Sosa Lunda, reafirmó el buen estado de las relaciones existentes entre las dos naciones, retomadas con fuerza tras el retorno al poder del MàÅS, Movimiento al Socialismo, y que se habían interrumpido tras el golpe de estado de 2019 contra el entonces presidente Evo Morales.
(2024-02-16). South Africa's failed infrastructure privatisation and deregulation. cadtm.org Introduction
| The South African state is commonly said to be 'failing' — not only because yet again at the end of 2023, a recession hit. An alleged fiscal crisis, in the form of a public debt to GDP ratio in excess of 70 percent (mostly due to Covid-19 revenue shrinkage), prevents the kind of institutional rescue and expansion of infrastructure and services typical of prior eras of developmental- or welfare-state construction.
| A typical articulation of the terrain of infrastructure financing (…) | – |
(2024-02-15). South Africa's failed infrastructure privatisation and deregulation. cadtm.org Introduction
| The South African state is commonly said to be 'failing' — not only because yet again at the end of 2023, a recession hit. An alleged fiscal crisis, in the form of a public debt to GDP ratio in excess of 70 percent (mostly due to Covid-19 revenue shrinkage), prevents the kind of institutional rescue and expansion of infrastructure and services typical of prior eras of developmental- or welfare-state construction.
| A typical articulation of the terrain of infrastructure financing (…) | – |
(2024-02-16). UK falls into recession in huge blow to PM Sunak. presstv.ir Britain's economy fell into a recession, a tough backdrop ahead of election for PM Rishi Sunak .
(2024-02-16). Unions launch crash drive against GOP commission to cut Social Security. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The nation's unions have launched a crash drive, trying to mobilize members quickly against a Republican plan for a secretive commission to cut Social Security and Medicare, before House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can rush it through. In a jammed D.C. press conference on February 15, AFGE President Everett Kelley, Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., and …
(2024-02-16). Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum, 24, killed in car crash. ecns.cn Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in a car crash along with his coach at around 11 p.m. Sunday local time in Kenya, according to the Associated Press.
(2024-02-16). Eyes on the South: Low intensity conflict & escalation-risk in Lebanon. By: Sammy Ismail. midwesternmarx.com 
Hezbollah fighter, on border guard duty, sitting astride a motorbike blocking the pathway of an Israeli Merkava tank that had broken through the electric fence into Lebanese territories, the photo was taken by Al-Manar correspondent Ali Sheaib, Jalet al-Mahafer, 2022 (Illustrated by: Mahdi Rtail, Al Mayadeen English) More than 100 days have passed since the Al-Aqsa Flood came crashing down on the colonial outpost of US imperialism in West Asia; the tide has been …
(2024-02-16). Eyes on the South: Low intensity conflict & escalation-risk in Lebanon By: Sammy Ismail. midwesternmarx.com 
To analyze and contextualize the burgeoning war in south Lebanon, this paper borrows the theoretical concepts of Galtung's conflict theory and reviews Amal Saad's recent article on The Guardian. More than 100 days have passed since the Al-Aqsa Flood came crashing down on the colonial outpost of US imperialism in West Asia; the tide has been only gaining momentum since. The war quickly spilled over beyond the territories of Occupied Palestine to include south …
(2024-02-15). Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum, 24, killed in car crash. ecns.cn Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in a car crash along with his coach at around 11 p.m. Sunday local time in Kenya, according to the Associated Press.
(2024-02-15). Myth-Busting: Dag Hammarskjà∂ld, Katanga, And The Coup. popularresistance.org On an almost monthly basis the press, and scholars, focus on the death of UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjà∂ld, in a plane crash near the Rhodesian town of Ndola, not far from the Congo-Katanga border, on the night of 17 — 18 September 1961. Accident or assassination attempt? And if it was an assassination, who was guilty? These are questions to which the UN itself is seeking answers. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the plane was shot down. If this is indeed the case, we must look for the perpetrators in what was then Katanga, a Congolese province which, shortly after Congo's independence,…
(2024-02-15). Iran Slams US Over Illegal Seizure of Venezuelan Plane. orinocotribune.com Iran has censured the United States for the illegal seizure of a Venezuelan cargo plane formerly owned by an Iranian firm, saying the move amounts to "hijacking." | In a statement on Monday, the US Justice Department said the government had seized a Boeing 747-300 cargo plane officials said was previously sold by the banned Iranian airline Mahan Air to Venezuelan state airline Emtrasur, likewise under US sanctions. | It claimed the American-built plane was seized since it breached American export control laws, adding that the Venezuelan-flagged plane had arrived in Florida and would be disposed of. | The freighte…
(2024-02-15). Israeli drone tested in Gaza 'appears at Saudi Defence Expo'. newarab.com 
A previously classified Israeli Developed by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the system comprises drones designed for intelligence gathering, espionage, and even assassination missions. Its centrepiece, the
(2024-02-16). Israeli drone tested in Gaza 'appears at Saudi Defence Expo'. newarab.com A previously classified Israeli Developed by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the system comprises drones designed for intelligence gathering, espionage, and even assassination missions. Its centrepiece, the
(2024-02-16). Indian farmer protest continues in face of Modi government's massive deployment of security forces. wsws.org At least a hundred farmers have been injured in clashes with security forces, who have used baton charges, rubber bullets, water-cannon, and copious amounts of tear gas, some of it dropped by drones, to beat back the protesters.
(2024-02-16). Palestine Action Target Two Companies At Once, Complicit In Israel's Genocide. popularresistance.org Palestine Action targeted two companies complicit in Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza on Wednesday 14 February — shutting down one completely and shaming the other by painting it blood-red. | First, and the group "drenched" the Manchester offices of Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon in red paint, to symbolise the bank's complicity in Palestinian bloodshed. Activists also sprayed a message calling for Elbit to be shut down: | BNY Mellon invest over £10m in Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems, which provides 85% of Israel's military drone fleet and land based equipment, as well as m…
(2024-02-15). Rich White Men With the Wrong Answers on Energy. counterpunch.org 
(2024-02-15). Catherine Austin Fitts — Trump Put $10 Billion Dollars Into a Programme to Depopulate The US. expose-news.com In an interview with Greg Hunter from USAWatchdog, Catherine Austin Fitts has said that "No matter who is president, they will allow bioweapons to kill Americans without hesitation." She also argues that …
(2024-02-16). Mayo Clinic Minute: Closing the gaps in cancer care. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org 2024 could mark a grim milestone in the battle against cancer. In January, the American Cancer Society announced that, for the first time ever, new cancer cases could exceed the 2 million mark. Early detection and the right treatment are among the best weapons to fight cancer. However, today many people don't have equitable access to cancer care because of systemic barriers and health disparities. Mayo Clinic is working to change that with strategic initiatives aimed at health…
(2024-02-16). House Intelligence Committee chair sparks uproar over Russian "space weapons" wsws.org It is not clear whether Republican Mike Turner intended to pressure House Republicans to approve $60 billion in new spending on the war against Russia in Ukraine, or simply to stoke public fears like last year's "China balloon" scare.