(2022-02-04). Can Israel stop the world from saying 'apartheid'? Concealing the suffering in Palestine. mronline.org 
Israel attempts to improve its public image to counter efforts by human rights organizations that reveal the nature of Israeli apartheid.
(2022-02-04). Amnesty: 'Israel' Imposing 'Apartheid' on Palestinians. orinocotribune.com Occupied Palestine (QNN)- 'Israel' is carrying out "the crime of apartheid against Palestinians" and must be held accountable for treating them as "an inferior racial group", Amnesty International said in a new report. | Released on Tuesday, the 278-page report by the leading rights group details how Israeli occupation authorities enforce a system of oppression and domination against the Palestinians. | The damning investigation sets out how massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Pales…
(2022-02-04). How Erdogan Scapegoated ISIS Caliph to Appease Biden? dissidentvoice.org Whilst Turkish President Erdogan was in Kiev on Thursday, ostensibly brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to defuse escalating tensions following the Russian troop build-up along Ukraine's borders and the deployment of 3,000 US forces in Poland and Romania, Biden announced that the Islamic State leader had been killed in a special-ops raid …
(2022-02-04). France plans to head Baltic-style NATO battle groups in Black Sea region. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com France wants to Lead a New Multinational NATO Contingent in the Balkans French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is in Bucharest, met virtually today with nine of his Eastern European counterparts to discuss the crisis over Ukraine…. In a speech to the Romanian parliament yesterday, Le Drian said Paris wanted to show its solidarity …
(2022-02-04). Biden administration must rejig its North Korea strategy. asiatimes.com The UN Security Council was to hold an emergency meeting this Friday to discuss North Korea's seven missile tests in the past four weeks. The meeting was requested by the United States, along with Britain and France, and agreed by Russia, which holds the presidency of UNSC for the month of February. However, given the …
(2022-02-04). Some Consequences of the Latest hate Speech Incident in India. journal-neo.org 
On January 10 the Supreme Court of India agreed to urgently consider a petition on "hate speech" against the country's Moslem communities, with reference to specific incidents, most notoriously an incident in December 2021 in Haridwar — a city venerated in the Himalayan foothills on the banks of the River Ganges. Both the city and …
(2022-02-04). As India passes 41 million official COVID-19 cases, Modi boasts of his "great success" wsws.org Modi's criminal profits-over-human-lives policy has already created an unbelievable humanitarian crisis in the world's second most populous country.
(2022-02-04). "City on the Second Floor": Clarion call from a poetic craftsman. roarmag.org Police investigate at a homeless people's encampment in Los Angeles, US. September 15, 2022. Credit: Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock | Matt Sedillo's poetry is electric, like a lightning bolt. He is a man on a mission, with a message to spread and fire on the tongue. With the tone and the tenor of a biblical prophet — though one with a profound sense of the farcical, too — he delivers a scathing critique, a desperate denunciation of the patriarchal, white supremacist and capitalist dystopia that we inhabit. His latest book, City on the Second Floor, is a cohesive and compelling compendium of some 32 poems a…
(2022-02-04). Update on Antifascists Facing Repression from Opposing the NSM in Newnan, Georgia. itsgoingdown.org Report and update from the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund on those facing charges stemming from protests in Newnan, GA against the NSM. Back in April 2018, full-on nazis from the National Socialist Movement held a rally in Newnan, GA. Anti-fascists showed up to defend the community from that threat and were attacked — by Georgia…
(2022-02-04). Hedges: Heeding James Joyce's 'Ulysses'. nationofchange.org A century after its publication, the timeless novel warns us about the poisons of nationalism and idolatry and the commonality of our sojourns between birth and death.
(2022-02-04). US outruns regional states in race for Kabul. asiatimes.com 
In a hugely consequential advisory, the US Treasury Department quietly signaled on Wednesday (February 2) that it was "tweaking" sanctions against Afghanistan's Haqqani Network. International banks can now transfer money to the Taliban, including its affiliated Haqqani Network, without fear of breaching sanctions. Washington simply issued clarifications dilating on the relaxation of sanctions announced in …
(2022-02-04). Poorer countries facing sovereign debt crisis. wsws.org One of the most vulnerable countries is Sri Lanka. Rating agency S&P Global warned last month the country faced a possible default this year as it downgraded its sovereign bonds.
(2022-02-03). How Israel is an apartheid regime, with Ali Abunimah. multipolarista.com Mainstream human rights organization Amnesty International admitted Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians, a crime against humanity. Journalist Ali Abunimah discusses the parallels to South Africa and roots in settler-colonialism.
(2022-02-03). Amnesty International Defends Report on Israeli Apartheid, Rejecting Criticism from U.S. & Israel. democracynow.org 
Amnesty International has become the third major human rights organization to accuse Israel of committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians in a new report released on Tuesday. Amnesty finds Israel's system of apartheid dates back to the country's founding in 1948 and has materialized in abuses including massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Palestinians — all of which constitute apartheid under international law. We speak with Amnesty International USA's executive dir…
(2022-02-03). Can Israel stop the world from saying 'Apartheid'? greenleft.org.au The Israeli state is pulling out all stops to delegitimise international organisations that dare use the term "apartheid" to describe its decades-long brutal occupation of Palestine, writes Vijay Prashad.
(2022-02-03). Israel's Claims to be a Democracy ring Hollow as Amnesty Finds it an Apartheid State. juancole.com By Nasim Ahmed | — ( Middle East Monitor ) — Amnesty International became the latest human rights group to label Israel an apartheid state. In a damning report titled "Israel's Apartheid against Palestinians" the rights group concludes that the occupation state has imposed a "cruel system of domination" and is committing "crimes against humanity." …
(2022-02-03). Russia & China set to make new declaration — Moscow. rt.com 
The announcement comes as Moscow and Beijing increase their cooperation in a number of spheres | Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are set to declare the two countries will work shoulder to shoulder on their most important missions, Moscow has announced, as relations with the US and its allies in Europe come under increased strain. | Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov revealed that the text of a major announcement would be on the agenda for the Russian leader's upcoming visit to China. | "A joint statement on international relat…
(2022-02-03). Russia reveals plans in case of cut-off from US dollar. rt.com 
The Kremlin has urged calm in the face of massive US sanctions | Moscow is prepared for the possibility that harsh US sanctions could restrict its banks' access to dollar transactions, the Kremlin has said, admitting that the potentially unprecedented measures have officials worried. | Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday that Moscow is well aware of the threat of massive sanctions coming from the American side amid an ongoing row over Ukraine. "Certainly, the Kremlin is concerned, because the sanctions behavior of the US is absolutely unpredictable," he said. | The spokesman wen…
(2022-02-03). Facilitating Civic and Political Energies for the Common Good. dissidentvoice.org Some readers responded to one of my earlier columns urging the national progressive civic groups, with millions of members back home, to overcome the dominance of giant corporatism with a Ten-Year Plan1 budgeted at $1 billion a year (See, "Think Big to Overcome Losing Big to Corporatism," January 7, 2022). Readers wanted to know more about …
(2022-02-03). Deepening crisis of American capitalism as national debt hits $30 trillion. wsws.org The endless rise of the national debt, now $7 trillion more than the size of the entire US economy, is the outcome of deeply rooted processes whereby profits are increasingly obtained through stock market and other financial operations.
(2022-02-03). Cuba's Resumen Latinoamericano Website Silenced Due to Blockade. orinocotribune.com By Graciela Ramírez — Jan 29, 2022 | This January 27, while we were preparing different notes on national and international affairs, our website cubaenresumen.org was silenced. We could not upload any information, we thought at first it was due to a technical problem with the website. | After an hour we began to receive messages via WhatsApp from friends and readers of Cuba en Resumen in Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, Venezuela, Spain, the United States and Italy who were asking what was happening, since they could not access not only what was published in the morning, nor anything on our website. | We immedia…
(2022-02-03). Spike Lee to produce Kaepernick series. rt.com 
The filmmaker was tapped by ESPN for its documentary about the 49ers quarterback-turned activist | ESPN Films announced on Tuesday that Spike Lee will take charge of its upcoming documentary series about Colin Kaepernick. Lee will have access to never-before-seen footage from Kaepernick's archive. | The director will record additional interviews with the NFL star to create "a full, first-person account of his journey" from childhood in an adoptive white family to athletic stardom to black rights advocacy. | The 34-year-old was born to a white mother from a black father and was put up for adoption, with the Kae…
(2022-02-03). Closing ranks against Russia: NATO's North Atlantic Council, EU's Political and Security Committee, Ukrainian envoys meet. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com NATO and EU Ambassadors meet to discuss crisis in Ukraine Russia's military build-up in and around Ukraine and the implications for European and international security were discussed at today's (03 February 2022) informal meeting between the North Atlantic Council and the European Union's Political and Security Committee (PSC). The meeting, part of the regular high-level …
(2022-02-03). Pentagon: National Guard troops training Ukrainian counterparts to stay. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com U.S. National Guard forces remain in Ukraine as of now — Pentagon The Pentagon will not recall U.S. National Guard fighters from Ukraine, who stay there as part of a mission to train Ukrainian servicemen as U.S. Defense Department Spokesperson John Kirby stated. "On the National Guard, again, no change to their presence, or posture …
(2022-02-03). Ilhan Omar Warns Democrats' Ukraine Proposal Only 'Escalates the Conflict'. scheerpost.com 
By Jessica Corbett / Common Dreams Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Wednesday delivered a detailed rebuke of congressional Democrats' proposed legislative response to the escalating crisis involving Ukraine and Russia, declaring that "when the United States says it champions human rights, democracy, and peace, we should mean it." "Instead of spending $500 million on weapons, we should …
(2022-02-03). Hunger, violence and earthquakes — Haiti's problems intensify. workers.org 
Former Haitian senator MoàØse Jean Charles, was deported to Haiti from Miami, Jan. 25 The last week of January, two moderately severe earthquakes shook southwest Haiti in the department of Nippes. An official said 191 homes were destroyed, and 591 were damaged. At least two people were killed. Dozens of . . . |
(2022-02-03). The Year of the Tiger Starts With a Sino-Russian Bang. strategic-culture.org The Year of the Black Water Tiger will start, for all practical purposes, with a Beijing bang this Friday, as Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, after a live meeting before the initial ceremony of the Winter Olympics, will issue a joint statement on international relations. | That will represent a crucial move in the Eurasia vs. NATOstan chessboard, as the Anglo-American axis is increasingly bogged down in Desperation Row: after all, "Russian aggression" stubbornly refuses to materialize. | After an interminable wait arguably due to the lack of functionaries properly equipped to write an intelligible lett…
(2022-02-03). How US Meddling Split Sudan. popularresistance.org Like most countries, the Republic of South Sudan is a complex nation of shifting alliances and external influences. | Recently, President Salva Kiir, who sports a Stetson hat gifted him by George W. Bush, signed a peace agreement with old enemies, the Sudan People's Liberation Army-In Opposition. Around the same time, the so-called Embassy Troika consisting of the US, Britain, and Norway facilitated International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs for South Sudan. | When China proposes investment schemes, US politicians call it "debt-trap diplomacy." As has been seen in South Sudan, when Western corporations seek to pl…
(2022-02-03). Anti-China Canadian MPs claim Sovereignty over Argentine Mine. dissidentvoice.org 
The anti-China panic sweeping Canadian politics has descended from tragedy into farce. A month ago I mocked Globe and Mail Report on Business columnist Eric Reguly for complaining about China-based Zijin Mining purchasing Neo Lithium. The nominally Canadian firm extracts lithium in Argentina. Reguly succeeded in stirring a national security scare about minerals extracted 10,000 …
(2022-02-03). Biden continues to pressure China. indybay.org Joe Biden approved a further anti-China bill and, by amazing coincidence, did it on the eve of binational summit. That's a great attack on China, it has to be said.
(2022-02-03). Burkina Faso Military Coup Reflects Wave Of Insecurity In West Africa. popularresistance.org This time lower-ranking army officers staged a mutiny in Burkina Faso over the weekend of January 22-23 leaving millions domestically and throughout the region wondering who was actually in control of the landlocked agricultural country formerly colonized by France. | During the afternoon on January 24, several soldiers appeared on national television saying they had taken control of the government removing President Roche Marc Christian Kabore who was elected during a transitional process in 2015. The deposed president was reportedly being held at a military camp where one of the mutinies occurred. | Other offic…
(2022-02-03). Peltier has COVID-19: President Joe Biden, Do The Right Thing, Free Leonard! covertactionmagazine.com On January 28th, Brian Schatz, (D-Hawai'i), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs urged President Biden to commute …
(2022-02-03). As oil giants announce massive profits, BP oil refinery worker in Indiana declares: "We're ready to strike" wsws.org Oil workers are angered over being kept in the dark by the United Steelworkers (USW) and are ready to fight the highly profitable oil giants.
(2022-02-03). First-hand report: The truth about Nicaragua's revolution. workers.org 
Delegates from Labor Against Racism and War and Workers World Party with members of the ATC (Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo), Managua. Based on a talk by the author at a Jan. 30 webinar, hosted by the Alliance for Global Justice, entitled "Nicaragua: What We Saw; What's Next." Red traveled . . . |
(2022-02-03). Amazon worker organizing accelerates with union voting. workers.org 
Worker organizing at Amazon received international coverage when the Associated Press used a photo of this Workers Assembly Against Racism rally for the Amazon Labor Union, on Oct. 25, 2021, to announce upcoming union elections in February 2022. Headlines screamed alarm Jan. 26 in capitalist business media like the Wall . . . |
(2022-02-03). Survey describes chances of ex-president becoming leader again. rt.com 
Brazil's former president is poised to beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, a poll shows | Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was polling at 41%, ahead of President Jair Bolsonaro with 30%, according to a survey conducted by PoderData between January 31 and February 1. Lula da Silva's lead over Bolsonaro has slightly narrowed compared to a 42-28 difference two weeks ago. | In a runoff vote, Lula da Silva would beat Bolsonaro with 54% against 37%, the same poll found. Both men have not yet formally declared their candidacies. A different poll last month showed that Lula da Silva could win in the first round. | Famous for his…
(2022-02-03). George Jackson's "Blood in my eye:" A critical appraisal. mronline.org 
Originally from Chicago, Ill, George L. Jackson grew up in California. In 1961, a young Jackson convicted of armed robbery for allegedly stealing $70 from a gas station. Outrageously, Jackson was sentenced to one year to life, despite assurances from his attorney of a favorable deal if he plead guilty.
(2022-02-03). Solidarity forged from slave chains. mronline.org 
When the American Civil War ended, Lincoln and his successor Andrew Johnson gave the defeated Confederacy generous peace terms. Vengeance upon the slaveocracy was to be no part of the reconciliation process. It was to be amnesty for Southern slave-owners but new chains for the former slaves.
(2022-02-03). Hackers steal over $320mn in major crypto heist. rt.com 
The fast-growing decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has been increasingly targeted by cyber criminals | One of the most popular bridges linking the Ethereum and Solana blockchains became a victim of a hack attack on Wednesday resulting in a crypto theft worth more than $320 million. | Developers representing Wormhole confirmed the exploit on its Twitter account, saying the network bridge is currently down while the team investigates a potential exploit. The official website says that the portal is temporarily unavailable. | Wormhole is a protocol that lets users move their tokens and NFTs between Solana and E…
(2022-02-03). Why wouldn't Biden grant clemency to Leonard Peltier? mronline.org 
Last Friday, it became known that the 77-year-old Native American political prisoner Leonard Peltier was sick with COVID-19. Peltier has been in prison for over 46 years, which makes him the oldest political prisoner in the United States.
(2022-02-03). School Privatization Week: Charles Koch Buys into National Parents Union. mronline.org 
There's millions of dollars sloshing around Massachusetts Parents United and National Parents Union these days. Some of it is from Charles Koch.
(2022-02-03). Don't Send Out The Crypto: How To Stay Safe From Crypto Airdrop Scam Giveaways. moguldom.com 
The crypto airdrop — a marketing strategy followed by blockchain based services that helps crypto startups to stand out from the crowd — has become a way for scammers to lure people into a clicking frenzy with the goal of separating them from their assets. The aim of crypto airdrops is to spread awareness about …
(2022-02-03). President Maduro Announces Expansion of Credit & Other Economic Decisions. orinocotribune.com 
This Wednesday, February 2, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced measures aimed at expanding access to financing through Venezuela's banks, including the implementation of mechanisms to democratize credit, allowing entrepreneurs and businessmen to expand productive capacity. | The announcements were made during a meeting held at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, in the framework of the National Council of Economy, with the participation of all the representatives of the country's public and private financial institutions, and the Central Bank of Venezuela, among other state agencies. | "We have been amalgama…
(2022-02-03). Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Demonstrate Against Argentina's Agreement with IMF. orinocotribune.com 
The President of the Association of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Hebe de Bonafini, through a letter published this Monday, January 31, expressed the organization's disagreement to the payment of Argentina's external debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). An exorbitant loan was issued by the Washington, DC-based IMF to the Argentine government during the mandate of former neoliberal President Mauricio Macri. The $56.7 billion loan was the largest ever issued to a single country. | The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo organization was formed to struggle against the Argentine dictatorship of 1976 to 1983. Par…
(2022-02-03). Argentina: Máximo Kirchner Resigns as President of Frente de Todos Parliamentary Block (+IMF). orinocotribune.com Máximo Kirchner resigned on Monday, January 31, from his responsibility as the head of the Frente De Todos (ruling party) in the Congress of the Argentine Republic. The deputy, who until Monday presided over the block of deputies of the ruling party, made his decision public through a statement in which he expressed his disagreement with President Alberto Fernández's economic policy, embodied in the recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). | With this position, the son of former President Néstor Kirchner and current Vice President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández, distanced himself from the pr…
(2022-02-03). Jorge Rodríguez: Deputies Failing to Fulfill their Oath Will be Jailed. orinocotribune.com This Tuesday, February 2, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly (AN) Jorge Rodríguez, warned that deputies who fail to comply with their oath will go to prison. This was said after referring to the case of PSUV parliamentarian, Taina González Rubio, who was arrested in Falcón for her alleged involvement in a drug trafficking network. | "Jail will be the destination for any deputy failing to fulfill their oath, thus becoming a despicable traitor. Everyone who deviates from the right path will be sent to jail," he asserted during his speech at the session this Tuesday, in which the parliamentary immunity o…
(2022-02-03). Governor Ron DeSantis refuses to denounce Florida Nazis, attacks Democrats instead. wsws.org The Florida governor's refusal to condemn members of the National Socialist Movement is another example of the transformation of the Republican Party into a fascist movement.
(2022-02-03). Reaching Covid-19 "Turning Point of Critical Mass": Is Nuremberg 2 Next? London Metropolitan Police Criminal Investigation. globalresearch.ca Not only is Britain's largest police force actively involved in the probe, the Hammersmith Police alongside the ICC are working together in what's being called the world's largest international crime investigation.
(2022-02-03). Ottawa police mull appealing for military support to end far-right occupation of Canada's capital. wsws.org The Conservatives, right-wing media outlets like the Toronto Sun and National Post, and sections of big business have incited a far-right extra-parliamentary movement to push politics sharply to the right, beginning with the elimination of all remaining anti-COVID-19 public health measures.