(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). An Off-Ramp from War? Russia Says It Pulled Back Some Troops from Ukraine Border as Talks Continue. democracynow.org 
Russia has announced plans to pull back some troops from the Ukrainian border in a possible effort to deescalate the standoff over Ukraine but still intends to continue with military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea. This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated on Monday the country may drop its bid to join NATO and the U.S. continues to urge U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine, warning a Russian invasion could come as soon as Wednesday. We speak with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, who says the U.S. is continuing to escalate the crisis by directing U.S. funds to weapons and loans for U…
(2022-02-15). Will Trudeau's Act of Desperation Succeed? dissidentvoice.org 
I want to address the prime minister: No matter what you do, we will hold the line. There are no threats which will frighten us. We will hold the line. — Tamara Lich, convoy organizer, 14 February 2022 Canada's Charter of RightsJustin Trudeau had cornered himself by grotesquely smearing the trucker convoy and its supporters …
(2022-02-15). Valente Acosta-Bustillos' family in Albuquerque calls for cops that killed him to be jailed. liberationnews.org 
"It still hurts," says Rafael Melendez, who organized a rally to demand justice for and honor his father, Valente Acosta-Bustillos, who was killed by Albuquerque police nearly two years ago.
(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). Russian Parliament Passes Bill Recognizing Donbass Republics. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, Russia's Lower House (Duma) gave the green light to a bill recognizing the republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in east Ukraine's breakaway region of Donbass. | RELATED: | At a plenary session, the lawmakers supported the document requesting Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize "the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)" and "the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)" as independent and sovereign states. | According t…
(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). Israel is an Apartheid State, says Amnesty International. journal-neo.org 
The human rights organization, Amnesty International, published a report detailing the "true extent of Israel's apartheid regime" and strongly called for an arms embargo on Israel and for Israel "to recognize the right of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return to homes where they or their families once lived." In this landmark report, the …
(2022-02-15). US moves embassy from Ukraine's capital Kiev to the western city of Lviv. wsws.org The move was denounced by Ukraine's President Zelensky, who has rejected US claims of an immediately impending attack by Russia on Ukraine.
(2022-02-15). German arms sales to Egypt must meet human rights criteria, foreign minister says. peoplesdispatch.org The German decision is in line with the coalition government's position of reducing arms sales to non-European and NATO countries. Egypt is the leading recipient of German weapons…
(2022-02-15). Groups unite to oppose new U.S. war. workers.org 
The antiwar rally opposing the U.S./NATO war drive against Russia brought together a broad spectrum of participants, even before the official rally started at Love Park in Center City Philadelphia Feb. 12. Protesters gather at Love Park in Philadelphia, Feb. 12. Credit: Joe Piette As Indigenous performers Kalpulli Kamaxtle Xiuhcóatl . . . |
(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). US moves embassy from Ukraine's capital Kiev to the Western city Lviv. wsws.org The move was denounced by Ukraine's President Zelensky, who has rejected US claims of an immediately impending attack by Russia on Ukraine.
(2022-02-15). Headlines for February 15, 2022. democracynow.org Russia Withdraws Some Troops from Ukraine Border, Says It's Open to More Diplomacy, California Will Keep Mask Mandate for Schools as Universal Mask Mandate Ends, Canadian PM Invokes Emergency Powers as Police Say Anti-Vaccine Protesters Plotted Violence, Thousands of Nurses Go on Strike as Australia Suffers Its First COVID-19 Surge, Civil Society Groups Demand Moderna Drop Vaccine Patent Filings in South Africa, Sudanese Forces Kill Two More Protesters Demanding End to Military Rule, Israeli PM Meets Bahrain's Crown Prince in First-of-Its-Kind Visit, Mexican Media Workers Demand End to Impunity for Th…
(2022-02-15). Shuttle Diplomacy Continues to De-Escalate Ukraine Crisis. telesurenglish.net As tensions on the Ukrainian situation keep mounting, multiple countries have been engaged in shuttle diplomacy, trying to de-escalate the crisis. | RELATED: | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Kiev on Monday for a working visit. After their talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the two parties discussed the peace process in and around Ukraine and the legal guarantees that would help to protect Ukraine. I…
(2022-02-15). Argentinian Intelligence Leak: Macri Government and US Planned for Invasion of Venezuela (Military Drills). orinocotribune.com 
Editorial note: Bellow we translate the full report published by Argentinian journalist Horacio Verbitsky, from the news oultlet Between April and July 2019, the [Argentinian] Army carried out the Puma Military Drill, which contemplated the invasion of Venezuela. The exercise was carr…
(2022-02-15). Sri Lankan action committee to hold a public meeting in defence of Julian Assange. wsws.org The ACDAE meeting aims to mobilise workers and the oppressed in Sri Lanka and India to fight for the release of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder.
(2022-02-15). Video: Gaza man makes electric wheelchairs from scrap materials. electronicintifada.net Mumen Abu Raida's wheelchairs are affordable alternatives to commercial models.
(2022-02-15). NSO Group on shaky footing worldwide. electronicintifada.net Israeli spyware firm's activities boomerang on Israeli citizens.
(2022-02-15). The Gains of Nicaraguan Women During the Second Sandinista Government. dissidentvoice.org Women, particularly those in the Third World, often find themselves with limited ability to participate in community organizations and political life because of the bondage poverty and their traditional sex role imposes on them. On them falls sole responsibility to care for their children and other family members, especially when sick; they maintain the home, …
(2022-02-15). Compulsory Voting and Its Antipodean Ills. dissidentvoice.org Time and time again, we are told that making people vote improves representation and representativeness. Herding them on pain of penalty will somehow keep politics honest, and ensure that those in Parliament, or whatever chamber it may be, will be kept accountable. Imagine how awful it is to have a President voted in on a …
(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). Belgium Once Again Leads the World in Running Away. journal-neo.org 
Some countries are paradoxical. The Netherlands, for example, is a Calvinist country with a very puritanical ideological and moral basis. However it is also well known for its lax attitudes towards sex and drugs and rock and roll, due to that same Calvinism — respect for individual judgment is taken to such an extreme that …
(2022-02-15). Have We Just Witnessed the America-Israel Endspiel in the Nuclear Talks with Iran? journal-neo.org 
Following the opening, on February 8, of the eighth round of talks on restarting the Iran nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), and with a 20-page draft document on the revival of the "deal of the century" now on the table, there are grounds for hoping that the …
(2022-02-15). Puerto Rico: March Of Indignation Against 'Shakedown Plan' Of More Austerity. popularresistance.org Tens of thousands of teachers and other public workers have taken to the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico in a March of Indignation to protest a debt restructuring plan given the green light by Judge Taylor Swain of New York. Puerto Ricans call it the "Shakedown Plan" because it will enforce more austerity on a land where disinvestment in education and health care and privatization of the energy system have already caused great hardship. A National Strike has been called for February 18. Clearing the FOG speaks with Monisha Rios, a Puerto Rican social worker and psychologist, about who and what are behind the pro…
(2022-02-15). Marcelino Ruíz Gómez Denounces Prison Conditions in CERSS No. 10 in Chiapas. itsgoingdown.org Statement from Indigenous Tzotzil prisoner in struggle Marcelino Ruíz Gómez denouncing the deplorable prison conditions in CERSS No. 10 in Comitán, Chiapas To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation To the Human Rights Defenders To the National and International Sixth To the National Indigenous Congress To the Indigenous Governing Council To the Media To the…
(2022-02-15). Venezuela Condemns Argentina's Plan to Invade Venezuela in 2019 & Cabello Demands Investigation. orinocotribune.com Caracas, February 14, 2022 ( "In an Argentine news piece, information about the invasion plan that was being hatched from that country by Macri came to light," said President Maduro. "This information seems credible to me. Hopefully in Argentina someone dares to raise their voice so tha…
(2022-02-15). Time for UK Government to Come Clean on Ties to U.S. Torture Program. covertactionmagazine.com UK government shamefully cooperated with U.S. in torture of al-Qaeda suspects We Americans have had a painful and difficult national …
(2022-02-15). "It Can't Be Illegal to Help a People": The Persecution of Alex Saab. mintpressnews.com Saab is virtually unknown in the United States, where he is currently languishing in a Miami prison, but he has been vital to Venezuela's ability to survive the brutal economic war being waged by the U.S.
(2022-02-15). China holds first-ever carbon-neutral Olympics. workers.org 
This year's Beijing Winter Olympics is the first in history to be carbon-neutral. This includes renewable energy in all game venues, introducing new low-carbon technologies and using transportation fueled by hydrogen, natural gas and electricity. China completed the Zhangbei power grid station in time for the Olympics. That's the world's . . . |
(2022-02-15). Black History and the ongoing struggle for liberation. workers.org 
February, as we all know, is Black History month: a time to celebrate Black Americans and their accomplishments. Corporations and the bourgeois establishments will no doubt pay lip service to the African American experience by hawking items with Black historical figures on them, likely as another way to profit off . . . |
(2022-02-15). Protest mount against Norwegian government's plan to shut down Ullevà•l Hospital in Oslo. peoplesdispatch.org The Norwegian government has been pushing its plan to shut down the country's largest emergency hospital located in the city, overriding the Oslo City Council's opposition and disregarding appeals from the city's residents…
(2022-02-15). Tennessee GOP weakens Black and Brown vote in Davidson County. liberationnews.org 
The new district maps mean that several majority Black neighborhoods and areas heavily populated with Latino residents will now be split up and added into into rural, majority white areas.
(2022-02-15). Mail is Making it Through to Eric King; Trial Set for March 14th. itsgoingdown.org Report on anarchist political prisoner Eric King's mail ban being lifted as he prepares for his upcoming trial in mid-March. Eric's trial starts on March 14, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Please keep him in your thoughts and send letters to: Eric King #27090-045 FCI Englewood9595 W Quincy AvenueLittleton, CO 80123 Buy him a book t.co/KQXQZpteWj…
(2022-02-15). Maritime Union reaches new agreement with Patrick Stevedores. greenleft.org.au After two years of campaigning, and amid threats to cancel the enterprise agreement, the Maritime Union of Australia has reached an in principle agreement for a new work agreement with Patrick Stevedores. Jim McIlroy reports.
(2022-02-15). The US Requests Extradition Of Honduran Ex-President Hernandez. telesurenglish.net On Monday, the U.S. Foreign Affairs Ministry requested the Honduran Supreme Court the extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernandez (2014-2022), who accepted US$3-million bribes from drug traffickers to finance his political campaign. | RELATED: | The National Police and soldiers surrounded Hernandez's home, and the Supreme Court called an emergency session to be held on Tuesday to appoint a judge who analyzes the request. | H…
(2022-02-15). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Workers at an industrial park in the Haitian Capital of Port Au Prince are striking over pay while workers in the Dominican Republic have mobilized against rises in the cost of fuel and other basic necessities.
(2022-02-15). Governments across the globe are pressing to declare the pandemic over. wsws.org Since the WHO declared the Omicron strain a variant of concern at the end of November 2021, more than 140 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported with almost 600,000 deaths.
(2022-02-15). The political dead end of Britain's Stop the War Coalition: For a socialist anti-war movement, not opportunist manoeuvres. wsws.org What determines the STWC's stance is the political imperative of the petty-bourgeois stratum orbiting around the Labour and trade union bureaucracy to defend the interests of British imperialism.
(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). UK schools inspectorate blames COVID-19 "bubble mentality" for pupil absences. wsws.org That the body responsible for maintaining standards in educational facilities expresses no concern whatsoever with the health and wellbeing of those whose welfare it is supposedly supporting is criminal.
(2022-02-15). Sexual violence in the workplace: we need action not words. greenleft.org.au Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins were widely praised for using their
(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 …
(2022-02-15). US secretary of state visits Fiji, escalating confrontation with China. wsws.org Blinken's visit was a significant event, designed to advance the strategic interests of US imperialism across the Pacific amid escalating war tensions.
(2022-02-15). Globalink | Beijing 2022 One of the Most Beautiful Events in My Life: Ecuadorian Alpine Skier. telesurenglish.net The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is one of the most beautiful events in her life, Ecuadorian Alpine skier Sarah Escobar has said. | Sarah Escobar presents a Chinese knot, which is given to her as a birthday gift.
(2022-02-15). TJ Hickey is not forgotten. greenleft.org.au Gail Hickey led the march through Redfern to remember the death of her son, TJ Hickey, 18 years ago. Isaac Nellist reports.
(2022-02-15). As COVID-19 surges, Sri Lankan apparel workers support Global Workers Inquest. wsws.org The Rajapakse government's "profits before lives" policy has resulted in thousands of apparel workers being infected with the coronavirus.
(2022-02-15). Temporary layoffs extended at US Ford auto plants, expand to other automakers. wsws.org Ford and other automakers have cut production in the US due to shortages, while COVID continues to spread through the plants left open.
(2022-02-15). UK university staff strike in defence of pensions. wsws.org Under the employers' proposal, the average higher education staff member would lose 35 percent of their retirement income.