(2022-02-18). Headlines for February 18, 2022. democracynow.org Biden Claims Russia Is Plotting a "False Flag" Operation as Pretext for Ukraine Invasion, COVID-19 Cases Hit Record Highs in Asian Countries as Omicron Variant Surges, Donald Trump, Trump Jr. and Ivanka Ordered to Testify in New York Civil Fraud Probe, Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill to Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks, More Than a Quarter of World's Women Worldwide Have Experienced Domestic Violence, Haitian Sweatshop Workers Strike to Demand $15 a Day, Death Toll in Brazil Landslides Rises to 117, with 100+ Still Missing, Canadian Police Investigating Sabotage of Coastal GasLink Pipeline Worksite,…
(2022-02-18). Was the hacking of Ottawa trucker convoy donors a US-Canadian intelligence operation? thegrayzone.com Aubrey Cottle, the hacker claiming credit for stealing convoy donor info, has boasted of work with the FBI and Canadian law enforcement. The data was published by DDoSecrets, an anti-Wikileaks non-profit which has targeted states in the crosshairs of US intelligence. On February 13th, the names and personal details of almost 100,000 individuals who donated sums to support the Canadian truckers' protest against vaccine mandates through the crowdfunding site GiveSendGo appeared online via Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), an online …
(2022-02-18). Germany's federal and state governments decide to scrap pandemic measures. wsws.org At the high point to date of the Omicron wave, the representatives of the German "traffic light" federal coalition government and the state minister presidents have agreed to eliminate all remaining restrictions apart from mask mandates in certain public places.
(2022-02-18). Health experts declare Sri Lanka is being hit by a tsunami of Omicron infections. wsws.org President Rajapakse has made clear that his government will take no action to stem the rising number of Omicron infections.
(2022-02-18). Australia's state and federal governments lifting handful of remaining COVID restrictions. wsws.org Governments are implementing profit-driven policies identical to those that resulted in the Omicron explosion over December—January.
(2022-02-18). CDC director spouts anti-mask rhetoric as thousands of Americans die daily. wsws.org Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the remarkable statement that people need a "break" from wearing masks even while she acknowledged more than 2,200 people are dying from COVID-19 every day.
(2022-02-18). A Republican Genocide of Quackery: COVID-19 has Killed as many Americans as all our Wars combined. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The CDC now estimates that there have been 1,045,389 excess deaths since January 1, 2020, because of COVID-19. PBS estimates that roughly 1,100,000 Americans have died in all US wars in history. That is, the death toll from COVID-19 is just about as great as the toll of all our …
(2022-02-18). Internal investigation launched after Florida infant injured while in police custody. wsws.org The brutal aggression meted out by Pensacola police against Joseph Marioneaux Jr. and his 1-year-old son is yet another episode in the unending epidemic of police violence in the United States.
(2022-02-18). SF City Workers Fed Up With Low Staffing, Wages, Union Busting Privatization & Corruption. indybay.org Hundreds of San Francisco City workers rally to protest the low staffing, lack of wage increases, two tier union busting and systemic corruption by City officials and retaliation against whistlelblowers. Workers were also protesting the firing of workers for not taking the vaccine…
(2022-02-18). New Zealand rail workers highlight unsafe conditions as COVID-19 surge continues. wsws.org While the media provides round-the-clock coverage of a small anti-vax protest outside New Zealand's parliament, there is growing anger and opposition to the Labour Party-led government's policy of allowing COVID-19 to spread.
(2022-02-17). Headlines for February 17, 2022. democracynow.org NATO Defense Ministers Gather in Brussels, Dispute Russia's Claims of Troop Drawback, COVID-19 Pandemic Claimed 75,000 Lives Last Week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control Prepares to Roll Back Guidelines for COVID Restrictions, Hospitals in War-Ravaged Syria Forced to Close Amid Cuts in International Aid, U.N. Says 8 Million Yemenis Could Lose All Humanitarian Aid Next Month Due to Funding Shortages, Colombia Forced Displacement Crisis Worsened in 2021, Mexican Journalists Interrupt Congress to Demand Justice for Assassinated Colleagues, Amnesty International Condemns "Sham Trial" for Jailed Russi…
(2022-02-17). Freedom Convoy protesters threatened with losing their pets. rt.com 
Protesters arrested as part of "enforcement actions" could have their pets taken into care, Canadian authorities have warned | Canadians taking part in demonstrations against Covid-19 mandates were threatened with inadvertently relinquishing their pets if arrested by the police, authorities warned on Thursday. | According to an announcement on the Ottawa-By-law Twitter account, anyone arrested at demonstrations as part of "enforcement actions" by the government could have their animals placed in "protective care" for a week if they are unable to look after them. | The suspect must pay for the animal's care. Af…
(2022-02-17). The war that must be waged is the war on COVID-19. wsws.org While no cost is too great for the American ruling elites to wage imperialist war, there has been a full-scale capitulation to COVID-19 during the Omicron surge.
(2022-02-17). If Inequalities Persist, Africa May Not Reach 70% Vaccination Until Late 2024. truthout.org 
Experts from the World Health Organization said Wednesday that global coronavirus deaths remain stunningly high two years into the pandemic as highly contagious variants — including Omicron and its Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist who serves as the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, said during an event that this week is the "sixth w…
(2022-02-17). CDC says coronavirus proved racism is a threat to health. peoplesworld.org 
ATLANTA—The yawning gaps in health care among different U.S. racial groups, exposed and accelerated by the coronavirus plague, have led the federal Centers for Disease Control to officially declare racism "a serious public health threat." But because of the nation's concentration on battling the virus, which has killed more than 928,000 people since it was …
(2022-02-17). Scientists Find Three New Coronaviruses That 'Could Represent Risk for Human Health'. sputniknews.com With the world already in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the origins of the disease, which according to Johns Hopkins University has already killed 5.8 million people, remains a mystery. Different explanations are offered, including one suggesting the virus appeared due to a lab leak.
(2022-02-17). Simple DNA Test May Make Breakthrough in Diagnosing Genetic and Neurological Diseases, Study Says. sputniknews.com Scientists say in some cases it is diagnosis and not the cure that plays a crucial role — patients can spend years suffering from certain symptoms and still be unaware of what ailment they have. The new method is expected to rectify this problem and help treat diseases in their early stages.
(2022-02-17). Biden's multi-Billion Afghan theft gets scant mention on TV News. mronline.org 
Two months ago (FAIR.org, 12/21/21), I noted the striking contrast between vocal media outrage—ostensibly grounded in concern for Afghan people—over President Joe Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and the relative silence over the growing humanitarian crisis in that country, which threatens millions with life-threatening levels of famine.
(2022-02-17). Sri Lanka unions betray health workers' indefinite strike. wsws.org Health Minister Rambukwella told the media that the government "strategically used the law courts" and convinced union leaders to stop the strike, without him agreeing to any major demand.
(2022-02-17). Many Immunocompromised People Feel Left Behind as US Lifts Pandemic Measures. truthout.org 
As U.S. health guidelines start to loosen as COVID-19 cases fall from record-high levels of infection, we look at how there there are still millions of immunocompromised people who face acute risk of illness and feel they have received little to no guidance on how to stay safe in a prolonged COVID-19 world. Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Ed Yong of The Atlantic spoke to immunocompromised people for his new report and says, "While a lot of the world opens up, their world shuts down, and…
(2022-02-17). Back to Normal? Many Immunocompromised People Feel Left Behind as U.S. Lifts Pandemic Measures. democracynow.org 
As U.S. health guidelines start to loosen as COVID-19 cases fall from record-high levels of infection, we look at how there there are still millions of immunocompromised people who face acute risk of illness and feel they have received little to no guidance on how to stay safe in a prolonged COVID-19 world. Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Ed Yong of The Atlantic spoke to immunocompromised people for his new report and says, "While a lot of the world opens up, their world shuts down, and they feel left behind and abandoned by the government, by their friends, by their workplaces." Yong notes immu…
(2022-02-17). The gains of Nicaraguan women during the second Sandinista Government. mronline.org 
Women in the Third World (and increasingly in the imperial First World) face problems of violence at home and in public, problems of food and water for the family, of proper shelter, and lack of health care for the family, and their own lack of access to education and thus work opportunities.
(2022-02-17). COVID cases surge in South Korea as virtually all public health measures ended. wsws.org The steps taken by the Moon Jae-in administration are meant to ensure big business will continue to make record profits.
(2022-02-17). Vietnam To Resume Int'l Tourism From March 15. telesurenglish.net Vietnam will reopen borders for international tourism starting from March 15. Foreign travelers aged 12 and over must prove that they have been fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, and show a negative test result as per requirements by local health authorities. | Photo taken on April 1, 2020 shows a tourist attraction in Hoi An ancient city in Vietnam's central Quang Nam province.
(2022-02-17). New Zealand right-wing, pseudo-lefts urge government to "engage" with far-right protesters. wsws.org The media, including liberal and pseudo-left commentators, and opposition politicians, are seeking to sanitise the protest at parliament, which is demanding the removal of all COVID-19 public health measures.
(2022-02-17). "When all you have is a hammer…": why Agamben's ideas were bound to lead to this. mronline.org 
He has founded an intellectual group opposed to the restrictions, public health measures, vaccination requirements and other actions taken by public officials to combat the spread of the virus and its lethality.
(2022-02-17). £2.1 million grant for research into brain activity 'avalanches'. imperial.ac.uk Researchers working to understand how the brain functions in various states of health have received a £2.1 million grant for their project.
(2022-02-17). As Trudeau Cracks Down, the Left Drives Protesters into the Arms of the Right — Again. libya360.wordpress.com Jonathan Cook Divide and rule, the cultivation of tribalism, is an insurance policy against successful dissent and the threat of revolution If you were Canada's prime minister, what would you be prepared to do to enforce Covid restrictions on large swaths of your population? No one need ask that question any longer. Now we know…
(2022-02-17). Protests here to stay, Canadian radio host axed for pro-trucker comments tells RT. rt.com 
Kid Carson lost his job after speaking out against mandates, but insists the public are on his side | Vancouver-based radio host Kid Carson was "politely shown the door" this week after railing against vaccine mandates and supporting the ongoing truckers' protest in Ottawa, Canada, he told RT on Thursday. Carson believes that despite the best efforts of the mainstream media, the public is sick of the "corruption and craziness" of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, and the truckers parked on Parliament Hill aren't going anywhere. | Carson was dropped last week by Vancouver's Z95.3 FM, after an…
(2022-02-17). Message from Mohawk Women from Grand River Concerning Vaccine Mandates and Freedom. libya360.wordpress.com The following is a message from Onkwehon: we Grand River Mohawk women from the Turtle, Wolf and Bear clans to the people standing up for freedom against vaccine mandates. "We send love and gratitude to all of the brave men and women who are holding the line, uniting together with kindness and compassion in their hearts…
(2022-02-17). Why Gaza must be vaccinated. electronicintifada.net I am devastated after my uncle died from COVID.
(2022-02-17). Chile reporta mayor cifra de hospitalizados por Covid en seis meses. telesurtv.net Chile registró 37 fallecimientos la última jornada por lo que el país acumula 40.735 decesos desde el inicio de la pandemia.
(2022-02-17). Suiza eliminará algunas restricciones contra la Covid-19. telesurtv.net Las autoridades suizas precisaron que el contexto pandémico en el país mejora paulatinamente, por lo cual es pertinente levantar algunas restricciones sanitarias.
(2022-02-17). The UK anti-vax movement is not an "ally" against Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. wsws.org The people confronting Starmer were in London that day on a protest "to end all the jab mandates and the jab programmes in the United Kingdom and the world… to end all the COVID regulations," in the words of their leader Piers Corbyn.
(2022-02-17). Medical officials estimate Long COVID affects 1 million in Spain. wsws.org This is the result of the official policy, shared by all Europe's major governments, embracing mass COVID-19 infections under cover of declaring the virus "endemic."
(2022-02-17). Exposed: Why the mad rush to jab kids? dissidentvoice.org 
Even if you still somehow believe the pandemic narrative, you surely recognize that the virus does not exactly threaten children. For example, in England, the child mortality rate from Covid-19 is 2 per million (0.0002%) across the whole population (assuming you also still somehow trust the insanely flawed PCR test). So… why the frenetic campaign …
(2022-02-17). Why the US trade war on China has been an economic disaster for Americans. rt.com 
Trump hailed his 2020 deal with Beijing as "transformative" for the US. He was right — it's made ordinary US citizens much poorer | At the end of January, the US-China 'phase one' trade deal made under Donald Trump expired. The agreement, struck in January 2020 at the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and before ties with Beijing fell off a cliff, stipulated that China would purchase (ludicrously) over $200 billion in agricultural products from the US per annum in order to end Trump's trade war. It was more like a one-sided extortion, placing huge demands on Beijing with very little compromise on t…
(2022-02-17). The criminal role of the Swedish government in the pandemic: Testimony from anti-COVID-19 activist Keith Begg—Part 2. wsws.org This interview is about the experience of the pandemic in Sweden, the birthplace of the homicidal "herd immunity" strategy which the Social Democratic government has ruthlessly pursued since March 2020.
(2022-02-17). As Trudeau Cracks Down, the Left Drives Protesters Into the Arms of the Right Once Again. mintpressnews.com OTTAWA — If you were Canada's prime minister, what would you be prepared to do to enforce Covid restrictions on large swaths of your population? No one need ask that question any longer. Now we know the answer. | For the first time in the country's history, Justin Trudeau has invested his office with sweeping and undemocratic powers under the 1988 Emergencies Act in a bid to stop the so-called "Truckers' Protests" against Canada's pandemic restrictions. But, as one might expect, Trudeau has
(2022-02-17). Imperial receives Queen's Anniversary Prize for 'world-class' COVID-19 response. imperial.ac.uk Imperial College London has been recognised for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic at a Queen's Anniversary Prize presentation this week.
(2022-02-17). Rep. Dominicana suspende medidas de restricción por la Covid-19. telesurtv.net "Desde ahora, a todos nos tocará cuidarnos, con responsabilidad, pero sin restricciones", destacó el presidente Abinader.
(2022-02-17). Last Native Speaker of Chile's Yaghan Indigenous Language Dies. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, 93-year-old Chilean Cristina Calderon, the last native speaker of the Yaghan Indigenous language, died to COVID-19 in a hospital in the Magallanes region. | RELATED: | "I have deep regret for not being with you when you passed away. Be sure that everything I do is in your name and in that of our people," tweeted Calderon's daughter Lidia Gonzalez, who is Vice President of the Constitutional Convention.
(2022-02-17). COVID-19 deaths continue to rise among children in the US. wsws.org A comparative analysis among flu-related and COVID-19-related deaths among children shows that COVID-19 deaths among children not only far outpaced flu-related deaths but continue to rise sharply.
(2022-02-17). Cuba reporta 733 nuevos casos de COVID-19 y cinco fallecidos. cubadebate.cu Cuba confirmó al cierre de este miércoles 733 casos positivos a la COVID-19, cinco fallecidos y 924 altas médicas, informó en su reporte habitual el Ministerio de Salud Pública (Minsap).
(2022-02-17). VIDEO — Australia: Striking New South Wales nurses speak out. wsws.org "Over the last two years with COVID, we just dealt with it, right? We just toughed it out. But it's been two years, and I think we've been through enough that it's about time we speak up."
(2022-02-17). Unvaccinated U.S. seniors dying from COVID-19 at incredibly high rates: The Atlantic. ecns.cn The vaccination rates of American adults aged 65 and older are still low, and the unvaccinated elderly have been dying from COVID-19 at incredibly high rates, The Atlantic magazine has reported.