Daily Archives: February 26, 2022

2022-02-26: News Headlines

CODEPINK, more (2022-02-26). Saturday 2/26: No War in Ukraine! International Emergency Online Rally. indybay.org Online via Zoom…

JANET (2022-02-26). Berlin antiwar rally exposes Washington's lies. iacenter.org By John Catalinotto February 25, 2022 Despite gale warnings, the Berlin Peace Coordination drew a thousand people to a Feb. 18 antiwar rally on the Platz des 18. Mà§rz at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, under the slogans "Stop the media warmongering and NATO aggression policy" and "Disarmament and peace with Russia." Among the participants were members of the Left Party, the German Communist Party and the Friends of Nature. Left Party representative in Bundestag, Sevim Dagdelen, at Feb. 18 antiwar rally. Friko (Peace Coordination) Left Party member of the Bundestag, Sevim Dagdelen, to the cheers of the crowd…

WSWS (2022-02-26). US-NATO war threats against Russia heighten geopolitical crisis in South Asia. wsws.org The Biden administration is ratcheting up pressure on India—which Washington has successfully harnessed to its campaign targeting China—to line up full-square behind the war drive against Moscow.

WSWS (2022-02-26). Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand. wsws.org India: Tamil Nadu state transport workers demonstrate over working conditions; Punjab fire fighters workers protest sackings; Pakistan: Quetta municipal workers demand unpaid wages; West Australian Newspaper print workers still locked out; CHEP pallet workers continue strikes in New Zealand…

JANET (2022-02-26). France agrees to withdraw troops from Mali. iacenter.org By G. Dunkel February 25, 2022 President Emmanuel Macron of France announced that French troops will be pulling out of their bases in Gossi, Menaka and Gao, which are all in eastern Mali, near the three-border area with Niger and Burkina Faso. Local communities sent support and trucks to help move people and their belongings out of the beleaguered Tessit region. He made this announcement before a summit between the European Union and the African Union, Feb. 17 in Brussels. "We cannot remain militarily engaged alongside de facto authorities, whose strategy and hidden aims we do not share," Macron said, referring t…

Editor (2022-02-26). Hedges: Assange Affirms the Existence of Another Kind of Human Nature. scheerpost.com Original illustration by Mr. Fish | By Chris Hedges / A Statement made at the We know what Julian did. We know the great public service he provided. We know that he and WikiLeaks, aided by courageous figures such as Chelsea Manning, gave us the most important journalist coup of our generation, ripping back the veil erected by the ruling political, military, and financial elites to expose their mendacity, their corruption, and their crimes. We know that populations around the world, from Haiti to Tunisia, w…

Labor Video Project (2022-02-26). SEIU 1021VP Dawkins Opposes Building John Fisher's A's Stadium In Port of Oakland. indybay.org SEIU 1021 VP for Organizing Brandon Dawkins spoke out about the closure of public schools in Oakland and also opposed billionaire A's over John Fisher's stadium in the Port of Oakland.

The Lancet (2022-02-26). [Editorial] Our commitment to help accelerate progress against cancer. thelancet.com Cancer affects everyone, regardless of age, gender, or social status, and represents a tremendous burden for patients, families, and societies. In 2020, one in six deaths were caused by cancer, accounting for 10 million premature deaths worldwide. Cancer has been a leading cause of mortality since the 1970s, but only in 2016 did it become part of the UN global agenda, as part of Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4, aiming to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases. This step has helped raise the profile of cancer worldwide and led to an increased political commitment to accelerate cancer res…

Armin Groh (2022-02-26). Wars hardly achieve their intended goal anymore. indybay.org The third Gulf War ended Saddam Hussein's rule but resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, the emergence of IS, and a dramatic crash in living standards. Intervention in Libya succeeded in toppling Gaddafi, but turned Libya into a failed state.

Richard Horton (2022-02-26). [Comment] Offline: There is no right to lie. thelancet.com Perhaps the most curious aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the flourishing of anti-science movements, despite the demonstrable triumphs of science in producing life-saving antivirals and vaccines. Mistrust of science is spreading well beyond COVID-19. Political challenges to climate action, notably the goal of net zero emissions, are growing, especially as economic stress impoverishes millions. 5G remains a target for many science sceptics. And libertarian politicians condemn scientists as unelected threats to democratic freedoms.

sputniknews (2022-02-26). Russophobia in US Nears Cold War Levels, With 80% Seeing Moscow as Enemy – Poll. sputniknews.com In 2017, the White House and Pentagon outlined a new US global strategy, shifting away from the War on Terror and toward what they called "great power competition" with Russia and China. The documents accused Moscow and Beijing of trying to rewrite the US-centered post-Cold War international order.

WSWS (2022-02-26). Chinese translation of "2022: Year Three of the pandemic and the emerging global class struggle" wsws.org The perspective outlines a socialist and internationalist perspective for the global working class and is of immense relevance to workers and young people in China, as well as the millions around the world who also read Mandarin.

Hands off Yemen (2022-02-26). Saturday 3/5: National Day of Action: Protest U.S.-Enabled Blockade of Yemen. indybay.org LAKE MERRITT AMPHITHEATER, | Between 12th Street and 1st Ave., Lake Merritt Blvd, Oakland, CA 94612…

sputniknews (2022-02-26). Russian Envoy to UN Says Nationalists in Ukraine Using Civilians as Human Shields. sputniknews.com UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia said nationalists in Ukraine are using civilians as human shields.

WSWS (2022-02-26). Sri Lanka engulfed by power cuts and fuel shortages. wsws.org Confronting rising popular anger, President Gotabhaya Rajapakse called an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss the country's worsening debt crisis.

Vijay Prashad (2022-02-25). Those who violated the Geneva Conventions at Guantánamo are free, while the man who helped expose their crimes languishes in prison: The Eighth Newsletter (2022). mronline.org Twenty years ago, on 11 January 2002, the United States government brought its first 'detainees' abducted during the so-called War on Terror to its military prison in Guantánamo Bay.

Jessica Buxbaum (2022-02-25). To Maintain Jewish Demographic Control, Israel Cloaks Family Unification Law in Security Concerns. mintpressnews.com Amnesty International described "discriminatory laws and policies that disrupt family life" as "primarily guided by demographic — rather than security — considerations and aim[ing] to minimize Palestinian presence inside the Green Line to maintain a Jewish majority."

Staff (2022-02-25). Ukrainian Peace Activist: My Country Has Become a Battlefield for Major Powers. End the War Now. democracynow.org As officials in Moscow threaten to replace the democratically elected Ukrainian government and Russian forces appear set to overpower Ukrainian defenses, is this the end of an independent Ukraine? We speak with Ukrainian peace activist Nina Potarska, who fled the country after Russian troops entered Ukraine on Thursday, even as her 11-year-old daughter with COVID-19 had to stay behind. She is participating in CodePink's international emergency online rally on Saturday to advocate against war and against NATO membership for Ukraine. "I feel that my country now is like a battlefield for all other countr…

Daniel Williams (2022-02-25). How far will Putin's Ukraine invasion reach? asiatimes.com With Russia's forces attacking Ukraine by air and on land, Western attention is quickly turning to President Vladimir Putin's longer-range goals. Putin plans to push North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allied forces away from far eastern Europe and turn the military clock back to the 1990s, before NATO expanded into former Soviet Baltic republics and …

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2022-02-25). NATO and Africa: A Relationship of Colonial Violence and Structural White Supremacy. libya360.wordpress.com Djibo Sobukwe French Military Bases in Africa NATO is the means of continuing colonial aggressions against African countries. Considering the public media attention and concern about possible expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it is worth reminding people about NATO's bloody history in Africa. NATO was founded in 1949 after WWII at a…

Rick Rozoff (2022-02-25). Serbia's stance on war in Ukraine conditioned by NATO's war of 1999. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Tanjug News AgencyFebruary 25, 2022 Vucic: Serbia advocating peace, respect of international law Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said late on Friday Serbia was advocating peace and respect of international law and believed that violation of the territorial integrity of any country, including Ukraine, is wrong but that, in order to protect its own interests, it …

_____ (2022-02-25). How The US Instigated The Ukraine Crisis. popularresistance.org Russia has sent troops into Ukraine and attacked Ukrainian military forces . | In a one hour address, President Putin said the goal was the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine. | It is now clear the Russian statements and proposed peace treaty in December 2021 were deadly serious. At that time the Russians said the US and NATO were crossing red lines, they felt threatened and would not abide this endlessly. Now they have taken action. | In his address yesterday, Russian President Putin gave a frank explanation which comes after years of complaints. The Russians have complained bitterly about the US-promoted 2014 coup in…

JANET (2022-02-25). NO WAR! NO SANCTIONS! NO NATO! iacenter.org February 24, 2022 The International Action Center joins with the many antiwar and anti-imperialist organizations, here and around the world, in raising the unifying slogans: "NO WAR! NO SANCTIONS! NO NATO!" We call for international emergency mobilizations for actions March 1-7 around this program. U.S. Out of Russia demonstration, Portland, Oregon, Feb. 5. Photo: Lyn Neeley The corporate media have spoken with one voice in the period leading up to today's blaring headlines accusing Russia of "invading" Ukraine. For months, the bipartisan message from Capitol Hill and the White House has been to demonize Russian…

Phyllis Bennis (2022-02-25). It's Settled That Israel Is Committing the Crime of Apartheid—Now What Should We Do About It? juancole.com ( Commondreams.org ) — When Amnesty International released its report "Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity" earlier the month, it was clearly part of a rapidly expanding trend. Palestinian human rights defenders, members of Congress and faith leaders in the United States, academics, and activists of the Palestinian rights …

Phyllis Bennis (2022-02-25). Respond to Putin's Illegal Invasion of Ukraine with Diplomacy, Not War. fpif.org There's no "national interest" worth risking nuclear conflict. But urgent diplomacy and humanitarian aid — and Russia's own antiwar movement — could stop the suffering.

KS Kumar (2022-02-25). India Inc worried about Ukraine fallout. asiatimes.com Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday rattled Indian industry leaders, who are now worried about the immediate and long-term fallout. While those exporting their produce to Russia are concerned about the impact of war on their trade, others are worried about the soaring crude and commodity prices and their effect on the input costs. In …

sputniknews (2022-02-25). Doctors on Alert After 12 Cases of Rare Paralytic Disease 'Guillain-Barre Syndrome' Emerge in India. sputniknews.com Experts say that Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a rare disease that weakens one's immune system and attacks the nervous system which eventually leads to paralysis.

Swaran Singh (2022-02-25). Decoding Imran Khan's Moscow visit in midst of Ukraine crisis. asiatimes.com On his debut visit to Moscow this week, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was seen laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which commemorates Russian soldiers sacrificed during World War II, as President Vladimir Putin had just initiated his "special military operations" dispatching troops into Ukraine. So as world media went abuzz …

Dante Strobino (2022-02-25). North Carolina workers organize emergency rallies for safety. workers.org This lightly edited article was published as a Feb. 16 report at southernworker.org, Statements are testimony given to the writer by participants in the Southern Workers Assembly Day of Action.Durham, North Carolina Gloria Lee, a former Amazon worker, spent her Feb. 16 afternoon leading chants and talking to Amazon workers . . . |

JANET (2022-02-25). Sat, Feb 26 @ 12pm — Stop racist union-busting! Black Lives Matter! iacenter.org On the tenth anniversary of the killing of Trayvon Martin STOP RACIST UNION-BUSTING! Black Lives Matter! Saturday, February 26 @ 12pm Barclays Center, Brooklyn NYPD arrests Amazon Union Leader Chris Smalls for delivering food NYPD HANDS OFF AMAZON LABOR UNION! REHIRE THE STARBUCKS WORKERS MEMPHIS 7! Labor leaders, union supporters and anti-racist activists will gather noon Saturday in Brooklyn to denounce the racist union-busting campaigns being organized by the bosses at Amazon and Starbucks. African-American labor leader Chris Smalls, arrested Wednesday for the crime of delivering food to Amazon workers, will b…

M. K. Bhadrakumar (2022-02-25). Putin crosses the Rubicon. What next? mronline.org Russia's recognition of the 'people's republics' of Luhansk and Donetsk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass on Monday is a watershed event.

A Guest Author (2022-02-25). Who gains from a war in Europe? U.S. targets supply of Russian gas to Europe. workers.org By Manuel Raposo Raposo is editor of the Portuguese website jornalmudardevida.net, which published this article on Feb. 20. Translation by John Catalinotto. At this moment, the events in Ukraine are shrouded in the cloud of smoke that characterizes war propaganda. Official positions, rather than clarifying facts and reporting the progress . . . |

Editor (2022-02-25). What Putin says are the causes & aims of Russia's military action. mronline.org Russia says it has no intentions of controlling Ukraine and its military operation is only to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify" Ukraine in an action taken after 30 years of the U.S. pushing Russia too far, writes Joe Lauria.

Editor (2022-02-25). What are the Minsk agreements and what are their role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis? mronline.org Under pressure from ultra-nationalists and Russophobes, successive governments in Ukraine have failed to address the grievances of the Russian speaking majority in the Donbass region. Ukraine has also not implemented the provisions of the Minsk agreement signed in 2015 to end the conflict in the region.

Dianne Mathiowetz (2022-02-25). Federal jury finds: Ahmaud Arbery's killers 'guilty of hate crimes'. workers.org March to celebrate Ahmed Arbery in Savannah, Georgia. Atlanta February 23: Today is Ahmaud Arbery Day, as declared by the Georgia General Assembly earlier this month. In their resolution, the legislators noted that the enslavement-era "citizens arrest" law was repealed and hate crimes legislation was passed, in response to . . . |

sputniknews (2022-02-25). US Reportedly Seeks to Kick Russia Out of UNSC Over Moscow's Special Operation in Ukraine. sputniknews.com In the early hours of Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine, stressing that the goal is to protect the people of the Donbass region "who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years".

_____ (2022-02-25). Those Who Violated The Geneva Conventions At Guantánamo Are Free. popularresistance.org Twenty years ago, on 11 January 2002, the United States government brought its first 'detainees' abducted during the so-called War on Terror to its military prison in Guantánamo Bay. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, 'We do plan to, for the most part, treat them in a manner that is reasonably consistent with the Geneva Conventions'. For the most part. Evidence began to emerge almost immediately — including from the International Committee of the Red Cross — that the Geneva Conventions were being violated and that many of the prisoners were being tortured. By December 2002, the US media began…

_____ (2022-02-25). Latin America Is Moving Towards Plurinationalism. popularresistance.org The Latin American and the Caribbean region is advancing towards breaking free from colonial mentality and recognizing nationalities of the Indigenous people and their cultural heritage. In recent years, various progressive leaders across the region have presented in their election campaigns proposals for a plurinational state to work towards eliminating perceptions of ethnic and cultural inferiority and a form of internalized racial oppression. | In practice this means the shift from the colonial one nation, one culture and one language state model to the plurinational state model, which recognizes different nat…

_____ (2022-02-25). More Than 1,100 Groups Tell Biden: Stop Fossil Fuels Now. popularresistance.org Washington, DC – After his first year in office, President Biden and his administration have failed to take meaningful action to keep fossil fuels in the ground. We are sending a powerful, unified message to Biden and demand that he use his executive authority to stop approving fossil fuel projects and exports, end new federal fossil fuel leasing and development on public lands and waters, and declare a national climate emergency. We also delivered Biden a gigantic presidential pen and executive order at the White House. | The Build Back Fossil Free campaign has organized a huge letter to Biden reiterating our de…

Binoy Kampmark (2022-02-25). Antarctica: Where Realpolitik and Science Meet. dissidentvoice.org A frozen continent. Another potential frontier for conflict and competition. Antarctica is a part of the world were realpolitician meets scientist; the desire for finding exploitable resources meets environmental expectations and fears. Countries have vied for their little slice of ice, sometimes citing reasons of scientific collaboration, and often national self-interest. Much of this culminated …

Matt Sedlar (2022-02-25). Congressional Hearing Highlights Need for IMF Policy Change to Support an Equitable Global Recovery. cepr.net On February 17, 2022, the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy held a virtual hearing titled "The Role of the International Monetary Fund in a Changing Global Landscape." The hearing addressed critical issues facing developing countries in their efforts to recover from the fallout of the COVID-19 …

Patricia Ferrer (2022-02-25). Argentina's Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Leads Polls for 2023. orinocotribune.com The results of surveys taken by two polling firms in Argentina and made public on Wednesday, February 23, show Vice President Cristina Fernandez as the favorite among 12 politicians from various backgrounds. On the whole, the Together for Change coalition is leading the polls. | The national pollsters Trespuntozero and the Public Opinion Group (GOP), carried out this consultation to measure voting intentions for Argentina's presidential elections in 2023. The survey was carried out between February 1 and February 4, using a sample of 1,900 individuals and a margin of error of 2.2%. Six possible candidates from To…

WSWS (2022-02-25). Ten-month lockout at ExxonMobil refinery ends in union betrayal. wsws.org With the national contract up for 30,000 refinery workers, the Beaumont struggle was becoming a major thorn in the sides of the oil industry and USW union, which called a snap vote to ram through a previously rejected contract with minor adjustments.

Peoples Dispatch (2022-02-25). At least three Syrian soldiers killed near Damascus in unprovoked Israeli attack. peoplesdispatch.org Violating international laws and Syrian sovereignty, Israel has carried out several such airstrikes inside Syrian territory since 2011. Hundreds of innocent civilians as well as Syrian military forces personnel have been killed as a result…

WSWS (2022-02-25). Build the Oil Workers Rank-and-File Committee! For a national strike to protect oil workers' lives and livelihoods! wsws.org "We don't want any more contract extensions. We want to show what power we have as workers by stopping the operations of Marathon, Chevron, Shell, BP—and ExxonMobil—until we win our just demands."

WSWS (2022-02-25). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Greek healthcare workers in three national strikes in last two weeks over pay and job insecurity; Hungarian teachers protest following government's attack on right to strike after 20,000 joined two-hour warning strike; UK High Court attack on right to picket continues at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital strike by security staff; food workers' strike to defend jobs and pay continues at Clover, South Africa despite workers facing hardship and attacks from management thugs…

WSWS (2022-02-25). Workers at Iowa defense contractor enter second week on strike. wsws.org The workers, members of International Association of Machinists, voted by a near-unanimous 98 percent to reject a tentative agreement between the company and the union on February 17.

sputniknews (2022-02-25). Moscow Bans UK Aircraft From Using Russian Airspace in Retaliation for Aeroflot Sanctions. sputniknews.com Britain slapped sanctions on Russia on Thursday over Moscow's special operation to protect the people of Donbass and clear Ukraine of neo-Nazis. The restrictions target over 100 Russian individuals and Russian national air carrier, Aeroflot.

TASS (2022-02-25). International Criminal Court may investigate war crimes in Ukraine starting from 2014. tass.com The International Criminal Court noted that the authority will continue to closely monitor the situation in Ukraine "and all those guilty of violent crimes will be brought to justice"

David P Goldman (2022-02-25). China's SWIFT alternative may undercut US sanctions. asiatimes.com Washington's new sanctions against Russia were no match for President Biden's rhetoric, leaving out the most obvious measure that the United States might take to hurt Moscow, namely exclusion from the SWIFT international payments system. Banks conduct virtually all hard-currency transactions via SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. But a new Chinese …

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