(2022-02-02). Headlines for February 2, 2022. democracynow.org Putin Accuses U.S. of Using Ukraine as "Tool" to Contain Russia, Pacific Nations, Incl. Tonga, Report First COVID Cases; South Africa, EU Nations Ease Restrictions, Guinea-Bissau's President Says He Survived Coup Attempt, Security Forces Killed in Attack, Two Babies Die in Freezing Syrian Camps for Displaced People, Major Coalition of States, Cities and Advocacy Groups Backs Mexican Effort to Sue U.S. Gunmakers, Native American Tribes Reach Tentative Settlement with J&J, Drug Distributors over Opioid Epidemic, ABC Suspends Whoopi Goldberg from "The View" After Saying Holocaust Was "Not About Race", Ex-NFL Coach F…
(2022-02-02). "Meaningfully milder" Omicron variant continues to kill more than 2,300 Americans each day. wsws.org The devastating death toll comes as new guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services "retire" its requirement that hospitals report daily COVID-19 death tolls.
(2022-02-02). This Pandemic Showed the Benefits of Universal Health Care. otherwords.org There has been a Jekyll and Hyde quality to American health care over the past two years. | One the one hand, the federal government has been actively intervening to help people avoid COVID-19 or recover from it. On the other, it's standing by as Americans struggle with other ailments, exposing the vast fissures of The government's pandemic response has been imperfect but successful in many respects. Are there lessons for how we treat other diseases? | For example, the Biden administration is now taki…
(2022-02-02). In A Single Year, $1.78 Trillion Was Taken From The Working Class. popularresistance.org The fate of the Build Back Better Act is currently unknown. The bill would be the largest social spending achievement in decades and provide needed services and support to millions of families‚Äâ—‚Äâwith more than half of the proposed $1.75 trillion in spending going to child care, preschool, affordable housing, higher education and healthcare. | But this proposed spending, over 10 years, is barely noticeable compared with the wages workers have lost over the past 40 years. In terms of productivity, wages should be significantly higher than they are, and the average worker…
(2022-02-02). Annihilating the Virus Enemy in Japan. dissidentvoice.org 
According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 18,515 people had lost their lives to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by 24 January 2022. Of those deaths, four were minors, i.e., 19 years of age or younger. At this point, nobody can say exactly why the Archipelago of Japan has emerged …
(2022-02-02). COVID-19 human challenge study reveals detailed insights into infection. imperial.ac.uk Findings from the UK's world-leading human challenge study provide new insights into mild infections with SARS-CoV-2 in healthy young adults.
(2022-02-02). California single-payer health care plan dead on arrival, as Democrats abandon bill they campaigned on. wsws.org Assemblyman Ash Kalra declined to put the bill before a vote in the 11th hour, stating later that "It became clear we did not have the votes," in the Democratic Party-controlled legislature.
(2022-02-02). Denied City and County Parking Lots, Food Not Bombs is back at the Town Clock. indybay.org Denied City and County Parking Lots, Food Not Bombs, Keith McHenry reports, is now serving regularly at the Town Clock noon to 4 PM Daily. In spite of initial apprehensions, County Health has apparently backed off its "Get a Permit or Perish" strategy–okaying FNB's daily use of the Calvary Episcopal Church kitchen at a cost of a mere $4000/month.
(2022-02-02). America's Two Pandemics: And How They Mixed and Matched. juancole.com 
( Tomdispatch.com ) — Imagine that you were experiencing all of this (and by this, I mean our lives right now) as if it were a novel, à la Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year. The famed author of Robinson Crusoe — Defoe claimed it had been written by the fictional Crusoe himself …
(2022-02-02). Selected Articles: JCCF Lawsuit Against Canadian Government's Vaccine Mandate: Main Applicant Is A. Brian Peckford. globalresearch.ca Dear Readers, | As everyone faces difficult times, the company which deals with the fulfillment of book sales on behalf of Global Research is no longer able to provide its services. We are unfortunately suspending the sale of print books until …
(2022-02-02). Special Privileges: Charlotte Bellis, Fortress New Zealand and the Taliban. dissidentvoice.org Not wishing to be left out from the brutal closed border system that has characterised COVID-19 policy in Australia, New Zealand has also been every bit as extreme in limiting the return of its nationals. Pandemic policy, if not logic, has taken issue with the nature of citizenship, which, truth be told, is simply not …
(2022-02-02). Minneapolis/St. Paul teachers prepare to strike. liberationnews.org 
Teachers and support staff in Minneapolis and St. Paul could be headed for a strike if their respective school boards continue to stall on key issues such as pay and benefits, smaller class sizes and COVID-19 safety.
(2022-02-02). IMF says to Nepal Rastra Bank: "COVID-19 related support measures in the financial sector should however be gradually unwound, and the remaining ones should be targeted and time bound. mronline.org 
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed dissatisfaction over the role played by Nepal Rastra Bank to ensure stability of Nepal's banking sector.
(2022-02-02). Why Wouldn't Biden Grant Clemency to Leonard Peltier? dissidentvoice.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. This fact has brought attention to his case, but the truth is that his freedom has been …
(2022-02-02). Teachers union in Contra Costa, California prevents strike over COVID-19 safety measures. wsws.org Last Saturday, United Teachers of Richmond announced a tentative agreement to avert a strike of Bay Area teachers.
(2022-02-02). SEP (Australia) electoral members support Global Workers' Inquest. wsws.org "The lack of COVID testing is because of the criminality of the government. They are murderers."
(2022-02-02). COVID outbreaks hit more than 380 schools in Victoria, Australia in two days. wsws.org Victoria's education minister presented the widespread outbreaks, which have occurred in a day or two, not as a calamity, but as though all is going to plan.
(2022-02-02). Teachers Union Warns Pandemic Burnout Destroying Schools. scheerpost.com 
By Andrea Germanos / Common Dreams New polling out Tuesday reveals pervasive burnout among the nation's educators as pandemic-related staffing shortages and other difficulties drive a potential exodus from the teaching profession. Released by the National Education Association, the nation's largest union of any profession, the member survey shows, according to NEA president Becky Pringle, that "after persevering …
(2022-02-02). An open letter to all Brazilian workers: The pandemic must be ended and lives saved in 2022! wsws.org The year 2022 is already marked by a new COVID-19 surge. Workers in Brazil and around the world must decide to act collectively and finally put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2022-02-02). COVID-19 death of a student reported in Sri Lanka. wsws.org This tragic death demonstrates the criminality of the reopening of Sri Lankan schools amid the continuing spread of COVID-19.
(2022-02-02). Neil Young and other artists leave Spotify in opposition to COVID-19 misinformation spread by podcaster Joe Rogan. wsws.org Neil Young and several other popular music artists have removed their works from Spotify in response to the dissemination of false information about the COVID-19 pandemic by Joe Rogan, a podcaster who has a $100 million contract with the platform.
(2022-02-01). Headlines for February 1, 2022. democracynow.org U.S. and Russia Clash over Ukraine at U.N. Security Council, China Struggles to Stamp Out COVID Outbreaks Ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Pfizer Vaccine Could Be Made Available to U.S. Children Under 5 by March, Trump Sought to Seize Voting Machines in Swing States He Lost to Biden, Atlanta-Area Prosecutor Asks FBI for Protection After Trump Urges Followers to Protest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Accuses Democrats of "Smears" over Nazi Rallies, Amnesty Report Finds Israel Guilty of "The Crime of Apartheid Against Palestinians", Three Israeli O…
(2022-02-01). Preview: What to Look for in the January Jobs Report. cepr.net The January jobs report is likely to look weaker than recent reports, first and foremost because of the spread of the omicron variant.
(2022-02-01). Denmark scraps all pandemic restrictions as Omicron subvariant runs rampant. wsws.org Like neighbouring Sweden, Denmark is emerging as one of the most ruthless proponents of a criminal herd immunity strategy that, unless opposed, plans to make mass infection and death a permanent feature of daily life.
(2022-02-01). Indonesia cuts quarantine period for int'l travelers from 7 to 5 days. ecns.cn The Indonesian government on Monday announced that the quarantine period for fully vaccinated international travelers is cut from seven to five days, amid soaring daily cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
(2022-02-01). Omicron disaster intensifies political instability in Australia. wsws.org With little popular support for the Labor Party, except in the negative sense of wanting to oust the Coalition, there are mounting fears in the ruling class that any election will result in an unstable, minority government.
(2022-02-01). Open letter to New Zealand rail workers: Form rank-and-file committees to fight for safe working conditions. wsws.org Commuter rail operator Transdev, assisted by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union, is imposing conditions that will allow Omicron to spread and infect rail workers and passengers.
(2022-02-01). New Top Covid Variant BA.2 Is Spreading 1.5X Faster Than Omicron In America. moguldom.com New covid variant BA.2 is 1.5 times more contagious than omicron and is already circulating in almost half of U.S. states, according to health experts. BA.2, an omicron subvariant, is more transmissible than the original omicron strain, according to Danish scientists. Nearly half of U.S. states have confirmed the presence of BA.2. It represents 8 …
(2022-02-01). Over 3.5 mln child COVID-19 cases reported in U.S. in January. ecns.cn Over 3.5 million child COVID-19 cases were reported in the United States in January, as child cases have "spiked dramatically" during the Omicron variant surge, according to the latest report of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.
(2022-02-01). A Jail Tested Ivermectin 'Treatment' On Detainees Without Consent. popularresistance.org The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas on behalf of inmates who say the jail's medical staff, led by Dr. Robert Karas, prescribed and gave them ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without telling them what the drug actually was. (Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug that the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and others have repeatedly stated should not be used as a treatment for COVID-19.) As Edrick F…
(2022-02-01). Germany's 7-day COVID-19 incidence climbs to new record high. ecns.cn Germany's seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate continued to rise and hit a new record of 1,176.8 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Monday.
(2022-02-01). Why I'm Done With Teaching. popularresistance.org "Friday was my last day as a high school teacher. After 15 years of teaching, this was not an easy decision. I have loved and will miss the classroom — getting excited about literature, teaching writing, asking big questions about life, discussing the human experience and getting to know students as individuals with unique perspectives. My leaving is not about advancement or money. It's not even really about COVID. I'm tired of being tired. Stress and burnout in education are real. Teaching isn't healthy and life-giving right now. If it were, I would stay."
(2022-02-01). Morning Commute 2-1-2022 . anchor.fm In this episode I discuss how identity is tokenized and weaponization by the Capitalist and Imperialist system, as well as health Fascism manifests itself within the American society and capitalist society's historically. We also talk about the need for organizing and other things along the way. I hope you enjoy…
(2022-02-01). Private Equity in Healthcare: Profits before Patients and Workers. cepr.net 
This was originally published in the magazine — Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA), Perspectives on Work. | On March 25, 2021, U.S Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), Chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Oversight, held hearings into the growing power of Wall Street firms in the healthcare industry. The hearings focused on recent research documenting higher than average death rates in private equity (PE) owned nursing homes. A rigorous study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), found that mortality rates in PE-owned nursing homes were 10 percen…
(2022-02-01). Two years since the WHO declared a public health emergency, COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten humanity. wsws.org Since the emergency was declared there have been 377 million confirmed infections and nearly 5.7 million deaths. Despite repeated government claims that the pandemic is over, it continues to rage.
(2022-02-01). To protect women's health, pass the equal rights amendment. nationofchange.org Late January marked the 49th anniversary of Roe. V. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. It could very well be the last. In 1973, Roe codified the right to terminate a pregnancy up until viability — around 23-26 weeks. Anti-abortion forces have fought to negate the decision ever since, and now they …
(2022-02-01). Death by disinformation: Anti-vaxxers, GOP, fascists, white supremacists unite against public health. peoplesworld.org 
Right-wing sabotage of public health measures to end the pandemic entered a dangerous new phase at the Jan. 23 "Defeat the Mandates" rally in Washington, D.C. Extreme right-wing and fascist movements opposing the COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates merged with the already existing anti-vaccination movement, forming a potent anti-science force. The rally deliberately served to …
(2022-02-01). Serco ancillary staff at St Barts NHS Trust begin two-week pay strike. wsws.org Barts Health NHS Trust is the largest in England and serves a population of over 2.5 million people in the capital.
(2022-02-01). Medical Marvel or the Second Coming of Al Capone? Pfizer's Sins and Crimes. "We have a Vaccine which is Killing People" globalresearch.ca . "This …
(2022-02-01). Video: Has Justin Trudeau Been Duly Vaccinated? Registered Nurse Expresses Doubt on Authenticity of Trudeau's Vaccine Jab. globalresearch.ca First published …
(2022-02-01). Socialist: 'Government neglect to blame for COVID-19 crisis in aged care'. greenleft.org.au Socialist Alliance candidate Sue Bull says the federal government hand-out to aged care workers won't solve the mounting pandemic death toll among the aged. Sarah Hathway reports.
(2022-02-01). Rule by the Worst… Inevitable. strategic-culture.org If people continue to settle for the lesser of two evils, no change can be expected and the west will continue to be governed by the worst, least capable among us. | Political leaders from around the world are experiencing the lowest approval ratings in recorded history. Emmanuel Macron in France, Boris Johnson in the UK, Justin Trudeau in Canada, and it seems the entirety of the Australian political class are all widely despised by the electorates in their countries. It is also the case in most European countries as huge demonstrations protest the increasingly Draconian and transparent Covid restrictions. Few no…
(2022-02-01). Contagios por Covid-19 marcan récord en Paraguay. telesurtv.net A partir de enero el número de casos positivos ha crecido en varios países de la región debido a la variante Ómicron.
(2022-02-01). Canadian PM says he has tested positive for COVID-19. ecns.cn Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19.
(2022-02-01). Canada records highest daily COVID-19 death toll since start of pandemic. wsws.org A grim milestone was reached on January 27 as 309 COVID-19 deaths were recorded nationally, the highest-ever daily total since the start of the pandemic.
(2022-02-01). Cuba reporta 1 610 nuevos casos de COVID-19 y ocho fallecidos. cubadebate.cu Al cierre del día de ayer, 31 de enero, se encuentran ingresados un total de 23 283 pacientes, sospechosos 10 990, en vigilancia 138 y confirmados activos 12 155. Para la COVID-19 se realizaron un total de 14 378 muestras para la vigilancia en el día, resultando positivas 1 610 para 11,2% de positividad.
(2022-02-01). Texas A&M University students push for COVID safety measures. fightbacknews.org College Station, TX – Students at Texas A&M University gathered in a silent sit-in on January 28 for improved COVID-19 policies on campus. The coalition, consisting of individuals and organizations such as Grad Aggies for Worker Safety (GAWS), Feminism4Aggies and TAMU Students for a Democratic Society, organized the protest in solidarity with the students of the University of North Texas, who were also calling for improved COVID-19 policies at universities across Texas. | Participating students held signs with demands, statements about the TAMU student who died of COVID-19 complications, and a QR code linked to…
(2022-02-01). An Arkansas Jail Tested Ivermectin 'Treatment' On Detainees Without Their Consent. popularresistance.org The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas on behalf of inmates who say the jail's medical staff, led by Dr. Robert Karas, prescribed and gave them ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without telling them what the drug actually was. As Edrick Floreal-Wooten, recently told CBS News, "They said they were vitamins, steroids and antibiotics. We were running fevers, throwing up, diarrhea … and so we figured that they were here to help us. … We never knew that they were running experiments on us, giving us ivermectin. We never knew that.
(2022-02-01). México reporta crecimiento económico de 5.0 % en 2021. telesurtv.net De acuerdo con los expertos, la economía mexicana descendió en 2020 por el cierre de actividades debido a la Covid-19.
(2022-02-01). Detroit students, parents angered as schools open amid COVID surge. wsws.org A WSWS reporting team spoke with students and parents at Cass Technical High School in Detroit after the resumption of in-person classes on Monday, January 31.