Monthly Archives: February 2021

2021-02-12: News Headlines

Doug Johnson Hatlem (2021-02-12). The City of Toronto's Dangerous Game and the Covid-19 Outbreak at Seaton House Shelter. counterpunch.org In spite of a Covid-19 outbreak affecting dozens of residents and staff at what was once Canada's largest homeless shelter, Seaton House, the City of Toronto's Public Health unit and Shelter administration say they have no plans to change policies, procedures, or reporting practices. In April 2020, Brian Cleary (pictured above) developed symptoms consistent with

Medicare for All Resolutions (2021-02-12). Wednesday 2/17: Medicare for All Resolutions Webinar: Take Health Care Action in Your Community. indybay.org Online…

Jomo Kwame Sundaram (2021-02-12). Intellectual property cause of death, genocide. mronline.org Refusal to temporarily suspend several World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property (IP) provisions to enable much faster and broader progress in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic should be grounds for International Criminal Court prosecution for genocide.

Staff (2021-02-12). V-Day: Poet Aja Monet & V (Eve Ensler) on the Movement to End Violence Against Women & Girls. democracynow.org Amid a global rise in domestic violence during the pandemic, we speak with the founder of V-Day, a day of action to fight violence against women. V, the award-winning playwright of "The Vagina Monologues," formerly known as Eve Ensler, says organizers around the globe are finding ways to fight back. "I'm so moved to see our grassroots women movements around the world finding ways to rise in spite of people being locked in and shut in and in spite of COVID," she says. We also speak with blues poet and organizer Aja Monet, V-Day's artistic creative director, who says Black women are particularly at risk. "For every…

Shimbun Akahata (2021-02-12). As COVID drags on, Japanese Communists demand relief to save jobs. peoplesworld.org TOKYO—Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira is demanding that the government of Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide provide up-to-date information and stronger financial support in order to alleviate people's anxieties caused by the prolonged pandemic situation. Koike made remarks at a Feb. 2 press conference in the building of the Diet, Japan's parliament, when asked …

Site Administrator (2021-02-12). Cazateatro's Afro Latino Event to Be Virtual This Year. laprensalatina.com Vivian Fernández-de-Adamson — LPL MEMPHIS, TN (LPL) — Cazateatro's popular "Afro-Latino Week" presentation will be virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the concept remains the same, which is to celebrate "Black History Month." The virtual event will last 4 days, from February 24 to February 27, and will feature the participation of …

Site Administrator (2021-02-12). CDC Study Finds Two Masks Are Better Than One Vs. COVID-19. laprensalatina.com NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. government researchers found that two masks are better than one in slowing coronavirus spread, but health officials stopped short of recommending that everyone double up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday, February 10, reported the results of a lab experiment that spaced two artificial heads 6 feet …

The Conversation (2021-02-12). Public option in Biden plan could change the face of US health care. juancole.com By Michael Williams | — President Joe Biden issued 10 executive orders to fight COVID-19 on his first day in office on Jan. 20, 2021. Among those orders: Speed up vaccine production, expand testing, support the safe reopening of schools and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care and treatment. As a physician and health …

Staff (2021-02-12). Fauci Says There Could Be "Open Season" for COVID Vaccines by April. truthout.org On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, delivered hopeful news about vaccine availability and the country's lagging roll-out. "By the time we get to April, t…

Makia Freeman (2021-02-12). Do Mandatory Masks and Vaccines Break the 10 Points of the Nuremburg Code? dissidentvoice.org Mandatory masks continue to be the standard operating procedure for many counties, regions, districts, states and nations worldwide, as the COVID cult agenda progresses. In many places, while COVID vaccines are not yet mandatory, authorities are rushing to prepare to make them so, by setting up schemes like immunity passports, vaccine certificates and mandatory tracking …

Mark Gruenberg, Roberta Wood (2021-02-12). Some children to return to Chicago classrooms next week. peoplesworld.org CHICAGO — Some school children here will be returning to classrooms next week after nearly one year away from their teachers and classmates as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. By a 2-to-1 vote, Chicago Teachers Union members accepted the school board's re-opening proposal in results announced Feb. 10. The vote among CTU's 25,637 members …

Vijay Prashad (2021-02-12). The three apartheids of our times (money, medicine, food). mronline.org In the early months after the World Health Organisation announced the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian novelist Arundhati Roy wrote of her hope that the pandemic would be a 'portal, a gateway between one world and the next'.

Staff (2021-02-12). Biden Indicates Americans May Need to Wear Masks Throughout 2021. truthout.org In remarks he made on Thursday while visiting the National Institutes of Health, President Joe Biden indicated that Americans may need to wear masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus for the remainder of 2021. | In his statement, Biden mentioned how he continued to wear his mask

Zach Conti (2021-02-12). Global Economic Recovery, Debt, Climate, Vaccines Top G7 Finance Agenda. indybay.org Japan Says Accessing Global Reserve Funds Discussed…

Rob Urie (2021-02-12). Neoliberalism and Its Discontents. counterpunch.org While the recent election provides brief respite from the non-stop antagonism of the prior four years, few of the background problems that currently plague the West are likely to be addressed through existing political channels. In contrast to the American tendency, this isn't a matter of the character defects of elected officials.

MEE and agencies (2021-02-12). Yemen: UN expects over two million children to go hungry or starve in 2021. middleeasteye.net Yemen: UN expects over two million children to go hungry or starve in 2021 | Over a million pregnant or breastfeeding women also expected to suffer from extreme malnutrition this year | Fri, 02/12/2021 – 10: 30 | millions of Yemenis are on the brink of famine with the economy destroyed, schools and hospitals barely functioning, and tens of thousands killed (AFP) | About 400,000 children un…

RT (2021-02-12). People looking forward to stimulus checks 'already screwed,' financial guru Dave Ramsey tells Fox, kicking up storm online. rt.com Radio host and financial pundit Dave Ramsey set off a bout of controversy after arguing that those relying on stimulus checks amid the Covid-19 pandemic were "already screwed" and may suffer from mental issues. | "I don't believe in a stimulus check," Ramsey told Fox News' Bill Hemmer during a Thursday interview when asked how much the government should devote to relief payments, comparing the checks to "peeing on a forest fire." | Because if $600 or $1,400 changes your life, you were pretty much screwed already. You've got other issues going on. You have a career problem, you have a debt problem, you have a r…

RT (2021-02-12). NY AG brands Amazon 'corporate bully' after tech giant sues to block lawsuit on alleged Covid worker negligence. rt.com New York state's attorney general has dismissed Amazon's move to preemptively sue the office over its inquiries into the e-commerce retailer's alleged neglect of employee safety amid the pandemic as a "sad attempt" at distraction. | On Friday, Amazon sued NY Attorney General Letitia James, accusing her of legally threatening the company and overstepping her remit. The suit also said that an unannounced city inspection of Amazon's Staten Island facility on March 30 — the first day of worker protests over conditions at the site — found that complaints about safety were "completely baseless". | Respondi…

Staff (2021-02-12). Headlines for February 12, 2021. democracynow.org House Managers Rest Their Case in Donald Trump's Senate Impeachment Trial, Biden Blasts Trump's Failures to Prepare for Vaccinations as U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 475,000, As U.S. Secures 200 Million More Doses, Concern Grows Over Vaccine Inequity, NYTimes: Trump Was Far Sicker from COVID-19 Than Previously Reported, Five Killed in Attack on U.S. Convoy in Afghanistan's Capital, Lawmakers Plead With President Biden to End "Catastrophic Impact" of U.S. Sanctions, U.S. Has Sold Over a Million Barrels of Iranian Oil Seized As Part of Sanctions, China Bans BBC's World News Channel, Trump's "Remain in Mexico" Progr…

Online News Editor (2021-02-12). Chile stands tall as Latin America's vaccination rollout leader. laprensalatina.com Santiago, Feb 12 (efe-epa).- More than 1.5 million people have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose in Chile since a mass rollout began on Feb. 3. Those inoculation efforts make that country the undisputed leader in that category in Latin America and have earned it widespread praise globally. "Mass vaccination is the hope for …

Online News Editor (2021-02-12). Indigenous Covid field hospital set up in crisis-riddled Manaus. laprensalatina.com Manaus, Brazil, Feb 12 (efe-epa).- Amid an oxygen crisis and the collapse of healthcare systems in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, residents of an indigenous neighborhood of Manaus, the regional capital, have set up a field hospital exclusively for the treatment of indigenous people with Covid-19. Because they live in an urban area, the native …

Online News Editor (2021-02-12). Pakistan approves emergency use of Chinese Covid vaccine CanSino. laprensalatina.com Islamabad,Feb 12 (efe-epa).- Pakistan has authorized the emergency use of the anti-Covid vaccine developed by Chinese pharma company CanSino, an official told EFE on Friday, weeks after authorities began a vaccination campaign using the vaccine produced by another Chinese company Sinopharm. The Prime Minister's special assistant on national health, Faisal Sultan, confirmed to EFE that …

Online News Editor (2021-02-12). Asia celebrates Lunar New Year, among slightly somber celebrations over Covid-19. laprensalatina.com Millions of people celebrated the coming of the Lunar New Year on Friday in Asia, as festivities were underway to welcome the year of the Ox. Celebrations this year were slightly more subdued, but not as muted as 2020, in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has also halted the millions of habitual travel …

yenisafak (2021-02-12). European regulator begins review of CureVac jab. yenisafak.com The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday announced it has started a rolling review of German company CureVac's COVID-19 vaccine.The CHMP, the EMA's human medicines committee, decided to begin the review of the CVnCoV vaccine "based on preliminary results from laboratory studies (non-clinical data) and early clinical studies in adults," the agency said."These studies suggest that the vaccine triggers the production of antibodies and immune cells that target SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID‚Äë19," read a statement."The rolling review will continue until enough evidence is available for a…

yenisafak (2021-02-12). Over 3.5M people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Turkey. yenisafak.com The number of people in Turkey who were vaccinated against the coronavirus crossed the 3.5 million mark, the country's health minister said on Friday.Vaccination for people over 65 years started as of Friday, Fahrettin Koca added on Twitter.Turkey began its mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Jan. 14, starting with healthcare workers along with top officials to encourage public confidence in the vaccines.Since last December, Turkey has also been implementing curfew on weeknights and a full weekend curfew to curb the spread of the virus.As of Thursday, Turkey registered a total of 27,187 deaths from COVID-19, wh…

yenisafak (2021-02-12). EU recovery package signed amid pandemic crisis. yenisafak.com The European Union's €672.5 billion ($814 billion) recovery package was signed on Friday.The largest stimulus package in the bloc's history aims at relaunching the European economy after the COVID-19 crisis by channeling EU funds to preserve jobs, to maintain social security systems and to invest in health care.The act was signed by Portuguese premier Antonio Costa on behalf of the EU member countries, as the chair of rotating presidency of the Council of European Union, and European Parliament President David Sassoli.The recovery package is "vaccine to save lives, vitamin to boost the economy"

news.un (2021-02-12). 'Constellation' of post-COVID symptoms will impact global healthcare, says WHO. news.un.org Far more research is needed into the "constellation" of sometimes debilitating symptoms among people who've recovered from COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, adding that it "will impact" global health systems.

news.un (2021-02-12). COVID fuelling risk of recruitment and use of children in conflict, UN and EU warn on International Day. news.un.org More children could be pushed into the joining armed forces and armed groups due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, senior United Nations and European Union (EU) officials said on International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, observed on Thursday.

yenisafak (2021-02-12). Journalist wins award for exposing corruption in Zimbabwe. yenisafak.com Hopewell Chin'ono, a top Zimbabwean journalist, has been honored with a media award following his reporting last year which unearthed a corruption scandal concerning the government's procurement of COVID-19 material.Chin'ono's story led to the firing of the southern African country's then Health Minister Obadiah Moyo who was implicated in the scandal.Notifying Chin'ono about the good news in an email, the Greenfield People Journalism Prize for Africa, which awarded the prize, said the scribe was winning the award jointly with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin.The prize is dubbed the People Journalist for Informe…

yenisafak (2021-02-12). Turkey reports over 7,500 new coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Turkey on Thursday reported 7,590 additional coronavirus cases, including 660 symptomatic patients, according to the Health Ministry.The country's case tally is over 2.5 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 27,187, with 94 fatalities over the past day.As many as 7,811 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 2.45 million.More than 31.1 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Turkey to date, with 130,313 since Wednesday.The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition stands at 1,256.On…

yenisafak (2021-02-12). Turkey's Cappadocia region hotspot for Valentine's Day. yenisafak.com Couples are flocking to Turkey's picturesque Cappadocia region for Valentine's Day getaways, with occupancy rates at local accommodation topping 80% for this weekend, including the big day, Feb. 14.Cappadocia offers guests fabulous holiday opportunities with its unique natural, historical and cultural richness, tailor made for special couples' weekends.Abdullah Inal, a local tourism official, told Anadolu Agency that after quiet months due to the pandemic, the increased bookings for Valentine's Day have been welcome, and stressed the steps taken for guests' safety.Cappadocia uses Turkey's groundbreaking Safe Tour…

yenisafak (2021-02-12). Catalan election campaign draws to an end in Spain. yenisafak.com Another tense election campaign is wrapping up in the Spanish region of Catalonia on Friday, though political divisions and the separatist drive are expected to endure long after Sunday's vote.Spain's Socialist Party and its Catalan chapter, the PSC, have been hoping to lead a change in the region that has been ruled by governments vowing to separate from Spain since 2012.To draw on momentum, and perhaps a certain amount of voter fatigue around the issue of independence, the Socialists brought in one of their most high-profile leaders. Salvador Illa, who acted as Spanish health minister throughout the pandemic, s…

yenisafak (2021-02-12). Dutch experts warn of mental health issues amid virus. yenisafak.com Psychologist Jean-Pierre van de Ven said the young people and couples are most affected by the pandemic, adding: "Young people feel lonely and fear that the epidemic will never end."Van De Ven said the pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in the consumption of alcohol and drugs, while some people are suffering from anxiety, depression and loneliness. He warned that this trend may continue even after the pandemic.Psychologist Sarah Craig said the pandemic has also caused an increase in domestic violence, adding the second wave of the virus has further affected the mental health of couples.She urged peop…

Staff (2021-02-12). Ralph Nader: Biden Must Hold Boeing Accountable for Deaths Due to Faulty Planes. truthout.org Legendary consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the U.S. is experiencing a "corporate crime wave," and that the Trump administration's $2.5 billion settlement with Boeing over the manufacturer's faulty 737 MAX jets amounts to a "slap on the wrist." Boeing's faulty planes were involved in two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, including Nader's 24-year-old grandniece Samya Stumo. Nader says the Biden Justice Department should reopen the previous administration's settlement and…

Staff (2021-02-12). Where Are the Witnesses? Ralph Nader Says Democrats' Impeachment Case Is "Prescription for Defeat" democracynow.org As the historic Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump continues, we speak with longtime consumer advocate, corporate critic and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who says Democrats have set themselves up for defeat by rushing proceedings and failing to call witnesses — including Trump himself. "The narrow approach of the articles of impeachment keep the Democrats from having a full hand," says Nader. "They have like 10 arrows in their quiver and they're using one or two."

Staff (2021-02-12). Ralph Nader on Corporate Crime, Holding Boeing Accountable for 737 MAX Deaths & Biden's First Weeks. democracynow.org Legendary consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the U.S. is experiencing a "corporate crime wave," and that the Trump administration's $2.5 billion settlement with Boeing over the manufacturer's faulty 737 MAX jets amounts to a "slap on the wrist." Boeing's faulty planes were involved in two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, including Nader's 24-year-old grandniece Samya Stumo. Nader says the Biden Justice Department should reopen the previous administration's settlement and hold Boeing fully accountable. "This is just another example of giant companies getting away with their corporate criminal…

Children's Health Defense (2021-02-12). RFK, Jr. Responds to Instagram's Removal of His Account. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | RFK, Jr.'s Instagram account was deplatformed Wednesday. Dozens of media outlets …

DRCSSS (2021-02-12). Tuesday 2/16: Stop the Stigma: Mental Health and the Black Community. indybay.org Online event…

Change For The Better (2021-02-12). 15 Of Many Things We Can Learn From the European Union. indybay.org fewer wars, no executions, free health care, lower drug costs, better animal rights and environment legislation, less censorship etc…

UFCFLPU (2021-02-12). Monday 2/15: Oakland Rally To Demand 1,000 Ca-OSHA Inspectors, PPE & Health and Safety On The Job. indybay.org Oakland State Building | OSHA Office | 1515 Clay St. | San Francisco…

Marilyn Bechtel (2021-02-11). Oakland joins West Coast cities mandating hazard pay for grocery workers. peoplesworld.org OAKLAND, Calif. — Cities around the Bay Area have joined, or are on the road to joining, the growing list of West Coast cities requiring large grocery outlets to provide their workers hazard pay while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is calling on large grocers to pay their frontline workers …

David Rosen (2021-02-11). Covid-19: a Nation at War? counterpunch.org The full impact the Covid pandemic is revealed in a recent AMA study that notes "in counties where the population was substantially non-white with a median income defined as $60,240, the COVID-19 death rate was more than nine times higher when compared to counties that are substantially white with the same median income." It adds, "the COVID-19 infection and death rates were nearly three times higher in substantially non-white counties with higher median incomes when compared to substantially white, higher income counties …."

Ricardo Vaz (2021-02-11). Venezuela Oil Production Rebounds as Members of Congress Call for Sanctions Relief. venezuelanalysis.com Ilhan Omar, Jesus "Chuy" García and Elizabeth Warren urged to Biden administration to review its sanctions policy amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marc Norton (2021-02-11). SF Giants Owner Rakes in $815 Million During the pandemic. counterpunch.org The assets of Charles Johnson, the controversial chief owner of the San Francisco Giants, increased by $815 million during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, his net worth was a mere $4.2 billion dollars. By January 2021 he commanded a fortune of $5.015 billion, an increase just short of 20%. Workers at Oracle Park, where

F. William Engdahl (2021-02-11). Coronavirus Scandal Breaking in Merkel's Germany. False Positives and the Drosten PCR Test. globalresearch.ca First posted by Global Research on December 11, 2020 | The widely-praised German model of the Angela Merkel regime to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic is now engulfed in a series of potentially devastating scandals going to the very heart of …

Prabir Purkayastha (2021-02-11). IMF Rethinking Its Callousness to the Global South. zcomm.org The world seems to have turned topsy-turvy when the undisputed voices of global capital start talking about the virtues of "cooperation" among nations and "universal distribution of vaccines" to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic…

RT (2021-02-11). UK loses track of BILLIONS of pounds worth of crucial PPE, auditor says. rt.com The UK's national auditor says the government doesn't know where vital gloves, gowns and masks used to safeguard medics against Covid-19 are stored – and the missing personal protective equipment (PPE) is worth billions of pounds. | Gareth Davies, the Comptroller and Auditor General at the National Audit Office (NAO), told a parliamentary committee in London on Wednesday that outside consultants had to be engaged by the UK government to try and find the missing PPE. | In July, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) ordered up £15 billion in PPE to help hospital and care staff cope with the Covid…

RT (2021-02-11). Indian state asks govt to stop sending Covaxin vaccine doses as it won't use them until efficacy data published. rt.com Local authorities in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh have asked the government to stop sending doses of the country's homegrown Covid-19 vaccine until proper efficacy data for the jab has been provided. | The health minister of the central-eastern state, T.S. Singh Deo, has written to his national counterpart, Harsh Vardhan, asking for all deliveries of the Covaxin vaccine to be stopped to "avoid the wastage" of the drug. | "There's an inhibition/concern among the community in general regarding the use of Covaxin," Singh Deo said in the letter, which he posted to Twitter on Thursday. | "This concern arises fr…

teleSUR (2021-02-11). Paraguay: COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign To Start After Feb. 15. telesurenglish.net Paraguay's Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni on Wednesday informed that the national vaccination campaign will begin in February's second half. | RELATED: | "The vaccines will be distributed 48 or 72 hours after the first batch's safety verifications are completed," said Mazzoleni, who also stated that the exact date of the vaccine's arrival will be announced later. | Healthcare personnel working at the frontline and a…

teleSUR (2021-02-11). Brunei Receives COVID-19 Vaccine Donation From China. telesurenglish.net Brunei's Health Ministry announced that its country received a batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China and is reviewing a vaccination program. | RELATED: | The sultanate's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Haji Erywan attended the handover ceremony on Tuesday and held a discussion with Yu Hong, Chinese ambassador to Brunei. | Haji Erywan said that the Chinese vaccine w…

2021-02-11: News Headlines

David Rosen (2021-02-11). Covid-19: a Nation at War? counterpunch.org The full impact the Covid pandemic is revealed in a recent AMA study that notes "in counties where the population was substantially non-white with a median income defined as $60,240, the COVID-19 death rate was more than nine times higher when compared to counties that are substantially white with the same median income." It adds, "the COVID-19 infection and death rates were nearly three times higher in substantially non-white counties with higher median incomes when compared to substantially white, higher income counties …."

Prabir Purkayastha (2021-02-11). IMF Rethinking Its Callousness to the Global South. zcomm.org The world seems to have turned topsy-turvy when the undisputed voices of global capital start talking about the virtues of "cooperation" among nations and "universal distribution of vaccines" to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic…

F. William Engdahl (2021-02-11). Coronavirus Scandal Breaking in Merkel's Germany. False Positives and the Drosten PCR Test. globalresearch.ca First posted by Global Research on December 11, 2020 | The widely-praised German model of the Angela Merkel regime to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic is now engulfed in a series of potentially devastating scandals going to the very heart of …

Marc Norton (2021-02-11). SF Giants Owner Rakes in $815 Million During the pandemic. counterpunch.org The assets of Charles Johnson, the controversial chief owner of the San Francisco Giants, increased by $815 million during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, his net worth was a mere $4.2 billion dollars. By January 2021 he commanded a fortune of $5.015 billion, an increase just short of 20%. Workers at Oracle Park, where

Workers World Party (2021-02-11). PDF of February 11 issue. workers.org Download the 12-page PDF. Haiti: Struggle intensifies Black History Month: Salute to Rosa Parks, Harry Haywood, Ben Fletche ALSO: Nurses, autoworkers, teachers on the move! Reparations for racist pandemic!; Capitalist accumulation and agriculture; GameStop bubble; COVID: comparing economic systems. Editorial: Dangling the carrot. GLOBAL: Sanctions Kill. Yemen: Bait and switch. . . . |

Lawrence Davidson (2021-02-11). Biden Adopts a Trump Approach to Iran. counterpunch.org All right! Let's hear it for Joe Biden! Our new president is leading us in the direction of domestic sanity, and there are even hints of progressive potential in his evolving agenda. Under his leadership, we might soon master the Covid-19 plague and dig ourselves out of our near-depression economic straits. This is terrific! Some

Gregg Gonsalves (2021-02-11). Evolution Doesn't Give a Damn About Us, or the USA. thenation.com Evolution Doesn't Give a Damn About Us, or the USA…

Vijay Prashad (2021-02-11). The Three Apartheids of Our Times (Money, Medicine, Food). zcomm.org The elite is not capable of solving the ordinary problems created by the normal crisis of capitalism; they are certainly not capable of solving the extraordinary problems posed by the pandemic. That's where movements come in…

Francis King Carey School of Law (2021-02-11). Tuesday 2/23: Now or Never: Eradicating Systemic Racism in the Government's Pandemic Response. indybay.org Online event…

Alan MacLeod (2021-02-11). Head of Strategic Command: U.S. must prepare for "very real possibility" of nuclear war with China. mronline.org In an era when international cooperation in the face of pandemics and climate change is essential, the world appears to be racing towards a new Cold War, and unfortunately, few except the military top brass are talking about it.

Lee Camp (2021-02-11). Wall Street Admits Curing Diseases Is Bad for Business. zcomm.org This is a system built on the exploitation of others for gain. There was no time when that was not true. And that's why we need a revolution of the mind…

Fight Back (2021-02-11). Frontier workers picket at Super Bowl, demand decent contract. fightbacknews.org Tampa FL – IBEW Local 824 Frontier workers and supporters gathered near Raymond James Stadium before Super Bowl LV to hold an informational picket raising public awareness about Frontier's ongoing attempt to gut workers' retirement benefits and healthcare and its attempts to double the amount that active workers have to pay for health insurance. | The decision to demonstrate outside the Super Bowl was strategic, not just because it was a major national event that happened locally, but because Frontier has corporate partnerships with the Buccaneers and Raymond James Stadium. | In an open letter to member…

news.un (2021-02-11). 'If I can do it, so can you': women scientists on the power of education to reach gender equality. news.un.org Women are extremely under-represented in science, but a UN research centre in The Netherlands is trying to address the gender imbalance, by raising awareness of the leading role that women researchers play in tackling global problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

yenisafak (2021-02-11). Nigeria reports 1,131 new COVID-19 cases, 8 deaths. yenisafak.com Nigeria reported 1,131 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, up from 1,056 confirmed the previous day.The new numbers pushed the overall caseload to 142,578 and 1,702 deaths as eight more patients succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.A record 2,314 infections were registered on Jan. 22.All travelers entering the West African country are required to take a COVID-19 test five days before departure.According to the Health Ministry, an estimated 80% of coronavirus patients are asymptomatic but can spread the disease to other people. It has urged the public…

yenisafak (2021-02-11). Double masks provide double protection against COVID-19. yenisafak.com Wearing a double mask provides twice as much protection against COVID-19 as a single one, according to a new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).In the study released Wednesday, two artificial heads with a breathing function were outfitted with one masks or two, and particles the same size as COVID-19 particles were sprayed on them from a distance of about 2 meters (6.5 feet).The researchers found that 40% of the particles sprayed on the artificial head wearing one mask were blocked, while 80% were blocked on the artificial head wearing two.If everyone in the same environment wears a…

Susan Price (2021-02-11). Vaccine apartheid threatens everyone. greenleft.org.au Vaccinations must reach all the peoples of the world, or COVID-19 will continue to spread, and with continued spread there will be continual mutations and the threat of more dangerous variants, including those that resist current vaccines, writes Barry Sheppard.

Online News Editor (2021-02-11). Study blames Trump policies for high US Covid-19 mortality rate. laprensalatina.com New York, Feb 11 (efe-epa).- Former President Donald Trump's administrative healthcare failures caused 461,000 deaths prior to the pandemic in the United States and tens of thousands more over his Covid-19 and air pollution policies, a study published Thursday said. In the study, published in the scientific journal The Lancet 33 researchers said the US …

Online News Editor (2021-02-11). Malaysia posts biggest GDP contraction since 1998. laprensalatina.com Bangkok, Feb 11 (efe-epa).- Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 5.6 percent in 2020, its worst contraction since the 1998 crisis when it had fallen by 7.4 percent, due to the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the country's statistics bureau said Thursday. The construction sector plummeted by 19.4 percent while net exports …

yenisafak (2021-02-11). Qatar to resume trade with Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14. yenisafak.com Qatar's authorities Wednesday said the country will resume commercial traffic with Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14, adhering to the coronavirus protective measures.The Qatari News Agency quoted the customs authority as saying: "The General Authority of Customs has issued a number of regulatory and precautionary controls pertaining to the movement of imported and transiting goods from the Salwa border port in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Abu Samra border port in the State of Qatar."Truck drivers coming from the Salwa port must obtain a certificate attested by the Saudi Health Ministry, proving that they have been te…

yenisafak (2021-02-11). Merkel warns of aggressive coronavirus mutations. yenisafak.com New mutations of coronavirus first seen in the UK, South Africa and Brazil are more aggressive and more dangerous, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Thursday.Addressing lawmakers in parliament, Merkel said it was necessary to extend the country's coronavirus lockdown until March 7, as new variants of the virus could lead to a more dangerous third wave of the pandemic."Not all the research has yet been finalized, but we'd be well advised to listen to what so many experts both in Germany and abroad tell us," she told lawmakers, referring to the UK, South Africa and Brazil variants, which were also detected…

yenisafak (2021-02-11). BioNTech, Turkey in talks on opening research center in country. yenisafak.com German-based BioNTech is in talks with Turkey to set up a research center in the country, the Turkish industry and technology minister told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.Ugur Sahin, the Turkish-German co-founder of BioNTech, "wants to work on cancer research in Turkey, and continues to negotiate with the authorities to build a center," said Mustafa Varank."We discussed with Sahin what can be done in Turkey apart from vaccine development work. He's preparing his plans now and wants to set up a cancer research center here."Sahin and Hasan Mandal, head of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TU…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-10). Historic vote on Amazon union kicks off in Alabama. peoplesdispatch.org Over 5,800 ballots have been sent out to the employees of Amazon's Bessemer warehouse near Birmingham, Alabama. Workers will have seven weeks to mail-in their ballots, in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic…

Staff (2021-02-10). Historians Say "Decades of Medical Racism" Led to Unequal COVID Impact on Black & Latinx People. democracynow.org Historians Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha Blain dedicate their new book, "Four Hundred Souls," to the "Black lives lost to COVID-19." They put the content of their book in the context of the disparate impact of the pandemic on the African American community in the United States. "This has been in the making for decades. Even though this is a new virus, … it connects to a larger history of racial inequality, and we wanted to make sure that was clear," says Blain. Kendi is a cancer survivor and notes Black and Latinx are more at risk from preexisting conditions because of a history of racist policies, but "Americans d…

Betsey Piette (2021-02-10). Philadelphia teachers defy return to classroom order. workers.org Credit: Joe Piette Thousands of Philadelphia public school teachers defied an order from school Superintendent William Hite Jr. to return to their classrooms Feb. 8 for the first time since schools became fully virtual in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Across the city, educators demonstrated outside closed . . . |

WSWS (2021-02-10). Peru in COVID-19 lockdown as new Brazilian variant exposes murderous "herd immunity" policy. wsws.org The new lockdown in Peru follows a horrific resurgence of the pandemic in neighboring Brazil's Amazon capital Manaus, which experts blame squarely on the "herd immunity" policy.

WSWS (2021-02-10). Right-wing US Supreme Court majority again exempts large religious gatherings from COVID-19 safety measures. wsws.org For the second time since the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, the court has struck down state measures to control the spread of COVID-19 that limit indoor religious services, reversing rulings earlier in the pandemic.

Staff (2021-02-10). Headlines for February 10, 2021. democracynow.org Senate Votes to Proceed with Impeachment as Managers Present Harrowing Video of Jan. 6 Insurrection, Gov't to Send Vaccines to Community Health Centers as U.S. Continues Ramping Up Vaccinations, WHO Team Confirms COVID-19 of Animal Origin; Ghana Shuts Parliament After Outbreak Infects Lawmakers, Protesters in Burma Defy Bans, Escalating Crackdown by Police, Journalists Decry Raid on Progressive Indian News Site NewsClick, U.S. to Pursue Extradition of Julian Assange as Press Freedom Groups Warn of Dangerous Precedent, Fossil Fuel Pollution Causes One in Five Global Deaths, Calls Growing to Shut Down DAPL as Key H…

teleSUR (2021-02-10). Venezuela to Receive 100,000 Doses of Sputnik V Vaccine. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday announced that 100,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will arrive in his country next week. | RELATED: | Once the first lot arrives in Caracas, the national vaccination campaign will kick off, prioritizing health workers who are on the front line against COVID-19 and the people most vulnerable to the disease. | The next to be vaccinated will be the country's t…

RT (2021-02-10). South Africa to give up to 500,000 health workers Johnson & Johnson Covid jab amid AstraZeneca efficacy concerns. rt.com Between 350,000 and 500,000 health workers in South Africa are to be given the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, a top government medical adviser said, amid concerns over the AstraZeneca jab's efficacy against the local strain. | The government is hoping to take delivery of around 80,000 doses every seven to 14 days as part of its role in a global J&J "implementation study," the president of the South African Medical Research Council, Glenda Gray, told Reuters. | Gray is the co-lead investigator of the South Africa part of the study, which will further scrutinize the J&J jab in a similar way to Phase IIIB st…

Rosalind English (2021-02-10). Vaccination and public/private coercion. ukhumanrightsblog.com In an earlier post I discussed the problem of "vaccine hesitancy" and written evidence to Parliament to Parliament outlining ways in which a vaccination against Covid-19 without consent could be put on a par with capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and with Section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Since the announcement …

Natalie Shure (2021-02-10). Screen Shot 2021-02-10 at 1.13.47 PM.png. progressive.org Addressing the deep inequalities exposed by COVID-19 will probably prove more elusive than treating the disease.

WSWS (2021-02-10). Mass layoffs in Germany as companies restructure in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. wsws.org Not a day goes by without a corporation or business announcing job cuts and the closure of plants and branches .

WSWS (2021-02-10). World Health Organization confirms natural origins of coronavirus. wsws.org There is no evidence of to back up the lie peddled by ruling circles in the US and Europe, and reported largely uncritically in the media, that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was made and released by Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Mark Gruenberg (2021-02-10). House panel probes meatpackers' refusal to protect workers from virus. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON —The special House committee investigating the federal government's response, or lack of it, to the coronavirus plague has opened an investigation of big meatpackers' refusal to protect their workers against the contagion. In Feb. 1 letters to the nation's three big meatpacking firms and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Rep. James Clyburn, …

Jane-Anna Spiekermann (2021-02-10). Corona and psychology: Fear works against democratic coexistence. indybay.org The current "simultaneous consolidation and weakening of the state" (Nicos Poulantzas) are two sides of the same coin: the rise of the punitive state goes hand in hand with growing social insecurity and disenfranchisement, rather than an increase in rule-breaking and crime. The state authority & police strengthen themselves in pandemic…

WSWS (2021-02-10). Educators fight to save lives in Chicago, Sà£o Paulo and worldwide. wsws.org Educators are now at the forefront of the global working class movement to contain the pandemic and save lives.

Editor (2021-02-10). Dangling the carrot. workers.org Maybe some thought that President Joe Biden was serious about doubling the minimum wage to $15 an hour and doing it during the pandemic when workers were most in need. That was never his plan. One of 300 Fight for $15 demonstrations in the U.S. on May 1, 2019. . . . |

Kamal Iranidoost (2021-02-10). 22 Bahman rallies in provinces (2). en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 10 (MNA) — Along with their fellow Iranians, people in Tabriz, Birjand, and in Yazd held drive-in rallies amid the pandemic on Wednesday to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution victory on February 11, 1979.

WSWS (2021-02-10). Los Angeles Hospital slated for closure amid pandemic. wsws.org The impending closure of the Olympia Medical Center Hospital in Los Angeles County in the midst of a pandemic shows the irrationality of health care run for profit.

Sharon Zhang (2021-02-10). Fossil Fuel Pollution Caused Nearly 1 in 5 Premature Deaths in 2018. zcomm.org "There's a vaccine for the 8.7 million deaths caused each year by air pollution from fossil fuels. That vaccine is called solar panels and wind turbines"

Liberation Staff-Seattle (2021-02-10). Washington state restaurants need more relief, not premature reopening plans. liberationnews.org While restaurants are being allowed to open for indoor dining at 25% capacity, restaurant workers are not included as essential workers in the state's vaccine schedule.

teleSUR (2021-02-10). Cuba to Produce First 150,000 Doses of Soberana 02 Vaccine. telesurenglish.net Cuba's Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV) President Vicente Verez on Tuesday announced that his country started producing the first batch of 150,000 doses of the Soberana 02 vaccine. | RELATED: | "Because of the vaccine's encouraging results, we started producing it on a large scale to launch its third phase of clinical trials in March," Verez said. | Over 700 people have already been vaccinated with Sovereign 02 during the…

Raul Diego (2021-02-10). The Questionable Characters Behind the Kushner-Linked Insurance Giant Oscar Health. mintpressnews.com Oscar Health, a tech-based telehealth insurance mishmash co-founded by Joshua Kushner is about to go public with a massive IPO underwritten by the gods of Wall Street and backed by Silicon Valley titans.

Eds. (2021-02-10). Wall Street admits curing diseases is bad for business. mronline.org Goldman Sachs is openly saying in financial reports that curing people of terrible diseases is not good for business.

Sheila Velazquez (2021-02-10). The Desiccated Hearts and Souls of Working-class Americans. dissidentvoice.org Desiccate: deaden, devitalize, lobotomize, castrate — Merriam-Webster In the United States the average man and woman has been dismissed, devalued and manipulated by both parties and the financial system. They have been prevented access to healthcare, decent-paying jobs, affordable education and food security. And their hopes and dreams have been crushed by the absence of …

_____ (2021-02-10). COVID-19 And Democrats' Indifference Killed My Husband In Jail. popularresistance.org In February 2020, my husband, Nickolas Lee, was incarcerated in Cook County Jail in Chicago. The judge didn't offer him bail. So even though he was presumed innocent, he had to await his trial in jail. When the coronavirus seeped into the facility, he was sleeping in a dormitory with 50 other men, including those with active COVID-19 symptoms. Nick and the other men had no ability to social distance. Although the sheriff's office claimed to be "clearly leaders in the Country on dealing with the pandemic [sic]," Nick was denied even basic sanitary products, like sanitizer or a mask. He had to use his shirt to cove…

yenisafak (2021-02-10). UK Muslims ask UN to halt Sri Lanka's forced cremations. yenisafak.com The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) submitted a complaint to the UN on Tuesday over the forced cremations of Muslims in Sri Lanka who died of COVID-19.The MCB in partnership with UK-based law firm Bindmans submitted the complaint to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on behalf of their families. "No other state has carried out such unjust and discriminatory measures. We very much hope that the Sri Lankan government will change its policy in line with the World Health Organization's advice," Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the MCB, said in a statement, describing the government's policy as "unprecedented."Tay…

news.un (2021-02-10). 'Women and girls belong in science' declares UN chief. news.un.org Closed labs and increased care responsibilities are just a two of the challenges women in scientific fields are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief said in his message for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on Thursday.

yenisafak (2021-02-10). BioNTech begins COVID vaccine production at new plant. yenisafak.com BioNTech announced Wednesday that it has started vaccine production at its new manufacturing site in the German city of Marburg."We started the manufacturing process at the Marburg facility with the execution of the first step: the production of mRNA, which is the active pharmaceutical ingredient of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine," the German pharma company said in a statement.Once fully operational, the new production site will become one of the largest mRNA manufacturing plants in Europe with an annual production capacity of up to 750 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.BioNTech, which together with the Ame…

yenisafak (2021-02-10). 'Turkey supports unity, prosperity, security of Gulf'. yenisafak.com Turkey's foreign minister reiterated on Wednesday that Ankara supports the unity, prosperity and security of the Gulf region."[…]We are ready to work closely with Oman and all other Gulf countries on issues regarding our region," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood al-Busaidi, in Muscat.Saying that the two countries will further improve political, economic and commercial relations despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Cavusoglu hailed Oman's neutral and independent foreign policy. "Oman is a voice of reason and wisdom in the region.""Turkey is the…