(2022-02-15). Biden's $7 billion Afghan heist. dissidentvoice.org With his Executive Order redefining Afghanistan's Fiscal Reserve as a slush fund to be disbursed on his whim and with the stroke of his pen, President Biden has taken what may well be the final step in an experiment gone amok. The U.S. first attempted to make Afghanistan into a Western democracy, instead installed a …
(2022-02-15). US Robbery of Afghan Assets Tantamount to Silent Massacre. telesurenglish.net U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to divert billions of dollars in frozen Afghan assets to the families of 9/11 victims is rubbing salt into the wounds of millions of suffering Afghan people. | RELATED: | Couching the theft as "aid" in a self-righteous statement, the White House claimed the haul is "to be used to benefit the Afghan people," and that the U.S. is "committed to supporting the Afghan people" and conti…
(2022-02-15). Blackwater is in Donbas with the Azov Battalion. orinocotribune.com By Manlio Dinucci — Feb 1, 2022 | The CIA and MI6 are reorganizing NATO stay-behind networks in Eastern Europe. If after the Second World War they relied on former Nazis to fight the Soviets, they still support neo-Nazi groups against the Russians. There is no obvious reason for this. The Nazis were omnipresent in the 1940s, but they are very few today and only exist thanks to the help of the Anglo-Saxons. | The phone call between President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelensky "did not go well," wrote CNN in its headlines. "Biden warned his Ukrainian counterpart that a Russian attack may be imminent, sayin…
(2022-02-15). The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Calls for Escalating US Aggression against Russia. dissidentvoice.org The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists emerged after World War II as a voice for peace by some of the scientists who developed the then ultimate weapon of mass destruction. Now, its mission has drifted into being an echo chamber for the US imperial project urging President Biden to take even more destabilizing actions against …
(2022-02-15). With Its Doomsday Clock at 100 Seconds to Midnight, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Calls for Escalating US Aggression against Russia. mintpressnews.com The Bulletin emerged after World War II as a voice for peace, but has since drifted into being an echo chamber for the US imperial project.
(2022-02-15). A Chronicle of the Pre-election Race in ROK: Yoon Suk-yeol's Dirty Laundry. journal-neo.org 
After describing the Conservatives' internal party problems, it is time to talk about the scandals accompanying Yoon, because as the election nears, the author gets the impression that the 2022 election is unprecedented in terms of mudslinging by the candidates on each other. On the one hand, Yoon and his family have been spared a …
(2022-02-15). Walden Bello: Why democratic socialism is the answer. greenleft.org.au National elections are due in the Philippines on May 9. The Partido Lakas ng Masa (Party of the Labouring Masses, PLM) and Laban ng Masa (Fight of the Masses) are jointly fielding a slate of candidates. Vice presidential candidate and Laban ng Masa (Fight of the Masses) chairperson Walden Bello spoke at the PLM/LNM election platform launch on February 8.
(2022-02-15). Sharp swings in Australian by-elections underscore political instability. wsws.org The by-elections were the first electoral test of the government decisions made to scrap most pandemic safety restrictions.
(2022-02-15). Tomgram: William Astore, Is Democracy Going Down? warisacrime.org This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. Thought about a certain way, most of my adult life has been spent at war. No, I've never been to war myself, although I was swept away by the antiwar movement of the Vietnam era. My country, on …
(2022-02-14). On Contact: The Precarious State Of The US Economy. popularresistance.org A bipartisan group of senators are crafting legislation to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia if it engages in what they consider hostile action of any kind against the Ukraine. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, calls the legislation "the mother of all sanctions bill." The bill led in the House by Gregory Meeks of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, like Menendez a Democrat, demands that the administration "not cede to the demands of the Russian Federation regarding NATO membership or expansion." This cuts off the ability to discuss Moscow's core demands, includin…
(2022-02-14). US Stoking Russia-Ukraine Tensions Draws Global Concern. telesurenglish.net U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation Saturday over the situation in Ukraine. However, the direct engagement between the two sides appears to have yielded little substantial progress. In recent days, the United States has hyped up tensions between Russia and Ukraine and stoked fears of a Russian "invasion." | RELATED: | "As we've said before, we are in the window when an inv…
(2022-02-14). Headlines for February 14, 2022. democracynow.org High-Level Diplomatic Talks Continue as U.S. Warns Russia Could Invade Ukraine at Any Time, Canadian Police Clear Trucker Convoy from Ambassador Bridge as Protests Spread to More Countries, Pfizer's Vaccine for Under 5s on Hold; Study Finds Even Mild COVID Cases Up Risk of Heart Disease, Afghan Central Bank, Aid Groups Condemn U.S. Move to Seize and Redirect Billions in Afghan Assets, Honduran Court Releases Environmental Activists Who Protested Open-Pit Mining Project, Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon Reached Record Levels Last Month, U.S. Judge Restores Protections for Gray Wolves; Australia Declares Koa…
(2022-02-14). Dissonance Searching for Resonance: A Time to Remember the Hibakusha, or Are We Too Late? transcend.org 14 Feb 2022 – The world is now bracing itself for a possible Russian invasion of the Ukraine. The U.S. is pushing back, with President Biden talking about "a World War." Hopefully, it's not too late to remember the Hibakusha (Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings). How does one limit such an exchange once the first button is pressed?>
(2022-02-14). Biden pro-union panel's recommendations: Boost organizing, hit union-busters. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Not waiting for a gridlocked Congress to act on worker rights, the special Biden administration commission on increasing unionization issued 70 recommendations on how the administration could do so on its own. Measures range from making organizing easier within government agencies to—in the general workforce—forcing more disclosure by union-busters, among other plans. The report also …
(2022-02-14). Historians urge stronger anti-fascist fight, or Biden administration could be next Weimar Republic. peoplesworld.org 
Pundits and historians are comparing President Joe Biden and the Democrats to the Social Democrats, the staunchest supporters of the short-lived German Weimar Republic which Adolf Hitler and the Nazis toppled in 1933. The comparison between Weimar and today "is imperfect, but the cautionary tale is still clear," Salon's Matthew Rozsa wrote last year. He's …
(2022-02-14). Washington Rolls Out a 'New' Approach to Encircling China. journal-neo.org 
The Joe Biden administration's 'new' Indo-Pacific strategy document contains nothing 'new' insofar as the cardinal objective of this strategy is concerned i.e., 'encircling China.' Interestingly enough, the strategy has been revealed despite the Biden administration's various rhetorical claims that the administration is not seeking to build up a global coalition against China, or that they …
(2022-02-14). Voters Want Alternatives to Biden and Trump in 2024 Election, Poll Shows. truthout.org 
A recent poll shows that a significant percentage of both Democratic- and Republican- leaning voters would prefer that their party nominate an alternative to President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. |
(2022-02-14). Biden Urged to Cancel Student Debt During Super Bowl at "Student Debt Stadium" truthout.org 
Of the many commercials and advertisements displayed during Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, perhaps the most prominent was for the personal finance company with naming rights to SoFi Stadium, the game's multibillion-dollar venue in Inglewood, California. | SoFi offers a range of financial products and services, but what drew the most attention — and ire — during Sunday's game was the company's role in the lucrative student loan refinancing business, which is set to receive a major boost…
(2022-02-14). US Decision Over Splitting Assets Sparks Outcry Among Afghans. telesurenglish.net Washington's decision on splitting frozen Afghan assets in the United States has sparked an outcry among ordinary Afghans who believe the verdict would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis. | RELATED: | U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday to free US$7 billion out of more than US$9 billion Afghan assets, splitting the money between humanitarian aid for cash-strapped Afghanistan and a fund for 9/11 victims. Massiullah, a sho…
(2022-02-14). Colombia's election race rocked by corruption scandal. colombiareports.com The alleged criminal practices of a presidential candidate are rocking Colombia's election race. The Supreme Court ordered Congress and the prosecution to investigate 19 politicians, businessmen and prosecution officials. The…
(2022-02-14). Attacks on Democracy in the United States. transcend.org 11 Feb 2022 – The worst crime of the Republican Party is obstruction of action to prevent catastrophic climate change, which Donald Trump called "a hoax" pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement. Trump's party continues to echo his denialism and his obstruction of climate action.
(2022-02-14). Tomgram: Belle Chesler, Teaching in a World No Student Deserves. warisacrime.org This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. Honestly, it's been hell on earth for grown-ups. Thanks largely to Donald Trump and crew, we're in the country with by far the highest Covid-19 death rate of any wealthy nation on earth. The U.S. has already left …
(2022-02-14). Mitch McConnell Is Now at Odds With Trump. That Doesn't Mean Mitch Is Good. truthout.org 
The corporate news media has spent the last three decades ensorcelled by the indefatigable "Dems in Disarray" trope. Calling it out as a trope is actually so commonplace now — because the practice itself is so commonplace — that it has almost become a trope itself. I feel bad for the journalists stapled to that beat right now, because the real show is down the hall. Mitch McConnell, that banality of evil made flesh, has been revealed to be running a massive behind-the-scenes effort to…
(2022-02-14). Giuliani in Talks to Negotiate Deposition With January 6 Committee. truthout.org 
Members of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building have said that they expect Rudy Giuliani, who previously served as a personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump, to abide by a subpoena order issued to him last month. | That subpoena order demands that Giuliani
(2022-02-14). Seattle Educators Rally For A 'Thriving Wage'. popularresistance.org Teachers and librarians at Seattle Colleges in AFT local 1789 are fighting for a "Thriving Wage," open negotiations, and a democratic and transparent union. They are beginning contract negotiations with the college administration on Feb. 8. Seattle Colleges include North, South and Central College, which are all part of the former community college system. "Community" was dropped from their name when they started offering four-year degrees. | On Feb. 7, at Seattle Central College, they rallied to raise their demands. Dozens of members came out and many more joined on Zoom. The rally was organized by a grassroots…
(2022-02-14). Chris Hedges: Democrats, the More Effective Evil. mintpressnews.com PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY (
(2022-02-14). Carrera Cisneros-Cuéllar clave en primarias Demócratas de Texas. peoplesworld.org 
(2022-02-14). V-Day to Earth Day: How Women in 70+ Countries Are Rising to End Violence Against Women & Our Planet. democracynow.org 
Valentine's Day kicks off a campaign by feminist leaders in 70 countries across the world to celebrate One Billion Rising, an initiative by V-Day to end violence against women — cisgender, transgender and gender nonconforming — girls and the planet. "COVID has ushered in a very strange and perplexing time for women. We are on the frontlines everywhere," says V-Day founder V (formerly Eve Ensler). The campaign seeks to resist "the broken systems of capitalism and neoliberalism," as well as the fascist governments upholding these broken systems, says Monique Wilson, global…
(2022-02-14). Hedges: Democrats, the More Effective Evil. scheerpost.com 
"Let's Make a Deal," an original work by Mr. Fish. | By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost | When all else fails, when you are clueless about how to halt a 7.5% inflation rate, when your Build Back Better bill is gutted, when you renege on your promise to raise the minimum wage or forgive student debt, when you can't halt the Republican suppression of voting rights, when you have no idea how to handle the pandemic which has claimed 900,000 lives — 16% of the world's total deaths although we are less than 5% of the world's population — when the stock market fluctuates on wild rollercoaster rides…
(2022-02-14). Climate & Punishment: How Incarcerated People Face Increasing Threat of Fires, Floods & Extreme Heat. democracynow.org 
A damning new investigation by The Intercept details the climate risks facing incarcerated people in more than 6,500 detention facilities across the country, including wildfires, floods and extreme heat. We feature a 10-minute video report that includes the stories of people behind bars and their families who are fighting for justice, and speak with reporter Alleen Brown, who says the climate crisis, coupled with the deterioration of detention facilities, places the U.S. mass incarceration system at a "crossroads" between being reinvested in or defunded. The report also includes a new database, which…