(2021-02-05). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. counterpunch.org Since 2015, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has ruled the Senate with an iron hand, describing himself as "the Guardian of Gridlock." He was Senator "NO," except for confirming over 200 mostly corporatist federal judges. Now comes a new challenge for Mitch McConnell as he leads 49 other Republican Senators, twenty of whom are up
(2021-02-05). Roaming Charges: Xenophobia With a Human Face. counterpunch.org 
+ As the Biden administration announced its intention to leave in place Trump's border rules "for now," it might be worth recalling when Biden's campaign manager derisively quipped that they didn't see Hispanics as part of their "path to victory." + 5500 children were separated at the border in the last four years, at least 628 of them
(2021-02-05). Erdogan says Turkey now has 8.4M university students. yenisafak.com The number of university students in Turkey increased from 1.6 million to 8.4 million over an 18-year period, the country's president said on Thursday.Turkey's higher education has reached a capacity that goes beyond our borders, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a project presentation meeting of the Council of Higher Education in the capital Ankara.He said the number of universities in Turkey has gone up from 76 to 207 and the number of staff members at these institutes increased from 70,000 to 180,000."Our female students have an important place in this rise. The ratio of female students has increased from…
(2021-02-04). Immigrant/refugee rights: It's now or never, Joe. workers.org 
Since the beginning of the most recent war on immigrants — which took shape starting in 2006 with the hypercriminalization of undocumented workers — the U.S. Congress has repeatedly talked of passing legislation labeled "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" to right some of those wrongs. We are long past "reforms," however. Conditions . . . |
(2021-02-04). "Viruses Know No Borders": In Push for Global Vaccine Equity, U.S. AIDS Program Offers Blueprint. democracynow.org 
As the U.S. COVID death toll tops 450,000, the Biden administration is attempting to ramp up its vaccination campaign to slow the spread of new coronavirus variants. Meanwhile, health experts warn any vaccination progress in the United States will be threatened without global vaccine equity. "We need to, as quickly as possible, expand access to the vaccines, both in this country, in the United States, as well as around the world," says Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, director of the ICAP at Columbia University and professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. She argues that the U.S.
(2021-02-04). Anita Torrez, Southwestern labor leader and Communist activist, dies at 94. peoplesworld.org 
The American working class suffered a great loss on Jan. 31 with the passing of Anita Torrez. Torrez, who celebrated her 94th birthday last fall, spent almost her entire adult life in the struggles for economic justice and against racist and sexist discrimination. Born and raised by farmworkers in the small farming village of Gila, in Southwestern New …
(2021-02-04). Manifestantes apoyan a los huelguistas en Batavia, N.Y. workers.org 
Manifestantes se reúnen frente a la valla de alambre de púas de la detención del ICE en Batavia, Nueva York, el 19 de enero. En noviembre de 2020, los inmigrantes encarcelados en la cárcel del condado de Bergen, en Nueva Jersey, iniciaron una huelga de hambre para protestar por las . . . |
(2021-02-04). Police Officers Rescue 49 Migrants Near the US-Mexico Border. telesurenglish.net Mexico's police agents Wednesday rescued 49 migrants who were begging for help from an abandoned lot in the Reynosa city in the Tamaulipas state, near the U.S. border. | RELATED: | "Local police came to the rescue after a neighbor alerted about people screaming from a field turned into a camp by human traffickers," the Prosecutor's Office stated. | Fourteen of the migrants were from El Salvador, five from Guatemala, 22 from…
(2021-02-04). Migrant Deportations Continue Despite Biden's Policies. popularresistance.org The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to deport migrants despite president Joe Biden's 100-day moratorium on deporting most people in the U.S. without authorization. This decision was barred by a federal judge in Texas last week. | During the first days of Biden's administration, ICE has deported hundreds of immigrants, including 269 people, to Guatemala and Honduras last Friday. The agency has been accused of violating human rights as a coalition of immigrant groups denounced that Cameroonian asylum seekers were tortured to be forced to approve their deportations.
(2021-02-04). Thursday 2/11: Islam, Immigration & Women's Rights: Ending Marginalization and Assault of Immigrant Women. indybay.org Online event…
(2021-02-04). 111 NGOs Call On Biden To Close Guantánamo. popularresistance.org On February 2, more than a hundred non-governmental organizations joined a letter led by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Victims of Torture, urging President Joe Biden to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba and end indefinite military detention. The letter is signed by organizations ranging from those working to end anti-Muslim discrimination and torture to immigrant rights organizations and organizations working broadly on civil rights, civil liberties, and racial justice at the national and local level. It emphasizes the devastating and ongoing consequences of the prison, including…
(2021-02-04). Uruguay Detects the Brazilian COVID-19 Strain in Its Territory. telesurenglish.net Uruguay's Pasteur Institute biologist Lucia Spangenberg on Thursday confirmed the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 strain "P.2". | RELATED: | The researchers analyzed samples from eleven COVID-19 positive patients, five of whom were identified with the P.2 variant. | The strain has more presence in Brazil's State Rio Grande do Sul that borders the Artigas, Rivera, and Rocha departments where the survey was conducted. | Uruguayan…
(2021-02-04). Moscow officials deny conditions at post-protest detention centers are overcrowded as journalist live-blogs time behind bars. rt.com 
A row has broken out over conditions in Russian jails as facilities struggle to accommodate the large number of arrests made at protests earlier this week in support of imprisoned opposition figure Alexey Navalny. | A series of photographs published on Thursday, purportedly taken by detainees at the Sakharovo immigration detention center in the Moscow Region, which has been co-opted to house arrested demonstrators, show them sleeping two to a bunkbed, or resting at picnic tables. One cell, equipped with four metal beds without mattresses, reportedly housed 28 people. The scenes sparked concern for the wellbein…
(2021-02-04). At least 24 irregular migrants held in Turkey. yenisafak.com At least 24 irregular migrants were held in different parts of Turkey on Thursday, sources said.Nine Iranian nationals were held in the Beyazkoy district of the northwestern Tekirdag province, close to the border with Greece.They were found on a bus stopped for a check by gendarmerie personnel, said the sources, asking not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The vehicle's driver, a Turkish national identified by the initials I.O., was arrested.In the central Nigde province, 15 Syrian nationals were held after police teams stopped and searched a bus on a highway connecting southeast Turkey to…
(2021-02-04). Hundreds already deported from the US under Biden despite executive orders. wsws.org Deportations of immigrants and refugees have continued under the new Democratic administration despite cosmetic changes to Trump era policies.
(2021-02-04). President Biden Softens Trump's Immigration Policy. telesurenglish.net U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday issued orders to reverse the anti-immigrant agenda of Donald Trump's administration (2017-2021). | RELATED: | The new rules aim to achieve a "fair, safe, and orderly immigration system that keeps families together," said a White House official, as reported by EFE. | One of the orders stops children's separation from their parents and creates a task force whose mission will be to…
(2021-02-04). Groups In The South Are Working To Fix A Broken Farm Labor System. popularresistance.org For years, legal organizations and farmworker advocacy groups have sounded the alarm about the H-2A visa program — the most common legal route to hiring foreign agricultural workers. Faced with massive worker shortages, farmers in the South have increasingly turned to foreign laborers, who come to work on temporary employer-sponsored visas. | The program, which ties employees and their visas to the employer, is rife with abuse. Wage theft is rampant, forced labor is common, and the contracts employers sign, which guarantee certain hours and living conditions, are rarely honored. On top of that the U.S. Depa…
(2021-02-04). Turkey 'neutralizes' 5 YPG/PKK terrorists in N.Syria. yenisafak.com Turkish security forces "neutralized" five YPG/PKK terrorists in a protected area across Turkey's southern border with Syria, the National Defense Ministry announced Thursday.The terrorists were trying to infiltrate the area of Turkey's cross-border anti-terror operations — Peace Spring and Euphrates Shield — to disrupt peace and security in the region, the ministry said on Twitter, adding that they had also opened harassing fire.Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-ter…
(2021-02-04). How "National Security" Disregards Humanity. commondreams.org As long as there are divisions in humanity, and thus in understanding, no one can possibly be secure. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/border_2_0.jpg …
(2021-02-03). The Mixed Record of Mexico's AMLO, Two Years In. theanalysis.news Laura Carlsen talks to guest host Greg Wilpert about Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador's first two years in office, including his mixed record on the pandemic, corruption, social justice, and immigration.
(2021-02-03). Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. middleeasteye.net 
Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon | Lebanese security sources say the anti-aircraft missiles failed to hit target, which returned to Israel | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 14: 35 | Naqura, south of the Lebanese city of Tyre, which is controlled by the United Nations peacekeeping force (Unifil), on the border with Israel (AFP) | Anti-aircraft missiles were fired at an Isra…
(2021-02-03). Fighting the "Immigrant Threat" indybay.org Milkman shows how the flux of low-wage immigrants into the U.S. workforce in recent decades is "not the cause either of the massive economic restructuring that began in the 1970s or the accompanying growth of economic inequality and labor degradation," but precisely a consequence of these developments.
(2021-02-03). Immigration Advocates Urge Biden Administration for More Concrete Change. truthout.org 
Hundreds have been deported in the last week, even as President Biden signed several executive orders Tuesday to undo the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration policies. The orders include a push to reunify families torn apart under Trump's "zero tolerance" policy and a review of the Trump policy known as "Remain in Mexico" that requires non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their immigration cases wind through court, leaving tens of thousands waiting in dangerous conditions al…
(2021-02-03). Supreme Court pauses Trump immigration cases, as Biden plans to overturn Trump policies & orders a review of 'kids in cages'. rt.com 
The US Supreme Court has canceled arguments on two Trump-era immigration and border security cases, as President Joe Biden eases Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policies. However, the controversial detention of minors continues. | The cases related to Trump's use of military funding to build his long-promised wall on the US-Mexico border, and his "remain in Mexico" asylum policy that required Central American migrants to wait in Mexico while their US asylum claims were processed. Both cases had been challenged by lower courts, and the Supreme Court was preparing to hear oral arguments in their favor until the…
(2021-02-03). Immigration Advocates Welcome New "Tone" But Urge Biden Admin for More Concrete Change. democracynow.org 
Hundreds have been deported in the last week, even as President Biden signed several executive orders Tuesday to undo the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration policies. The orders include a push to reunify families torn apart under Trump's "zero tolerance" policy and a review of the Trump policy known as "Remain in Mexico" that requires non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their immigration cases wind through court, leaving tens of thousands waiting in dangerous conditions along the border. Reporter Aura Bogado says that despite the Biden administration's new "tone," continued deportations…
(2021-02-03). Biden begins to dismantle Trump's anti-immigrant measures. laprensalatina.com Washington, Feb 2 (efe-epa).- US President Joe Biden acted Tuesday on his promise to dismantle the immigration policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump, by announcing a set of orders aimed to reunite separated families, restore the asylum system and address the causes of migration with regional partners. Biden signed the measures hours after the Senate …
(2021-02-03). Lawsuit Filed Over Migrant Deaths at U.S.-Mexico Border. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-02-03). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. commondreams.org Allowing the Trumpian half of his brain to overpower his judgment and vote to acquit Dangerous Donald would spell disaster for the Republican Party (assuming the Democratic Party doesn't go to sleep as it did after Obama's win in 2008). | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/mcconnell_biden_0.jpg …
(2021-02-03). Tackling Prison Profiteers Will Take More Than Banning Private Prisons. zcomm.org To fully address profit-driven punishment, the Biden administration will need to take aim at every tendril of the private prison industry — including immigration detention centers…
(2021-02-03). Biden's Private Prison Reform Must Include Immigration Detention Centers. commondreams.org To fully address profit-driven punishment, the Biden administration will need to take aim at every tendril of the private prison industry. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/privateprisons.jpg …
(2021-02-03). Immigration advocates welcome new 'tone' but urge Biden admin for more concrete change. nationofchange.org Despite the Biden administration's new "tone," continued deportations of vulnerable people demonstrate "a continuation of the same practices that happened under President Trump and previously under Obama."
(2021-02-03). Western Monarch Population Closer to Extinction; Still no Federal or State Protection in Sight. indybay.org Population that winters along the California coast hit a low of less than 2,000 butterflies—a 99.9% decline since the 1980s. We must take action now to save the western monarch migration.
(2021-02-02). Brexit grace periods must be extended to ensure supplies reach Northern Irish supermarkets, says UK's Gove. rt.com 
Grace periods for new Brexit rules should be extended to give businesses more time to adapt, UK Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday, following delays on goods entering Northern Ireland due to border checks. | "We do need to make sure grace periods are extended so that supermarkets can continue to provide consumers with goods they need," Gove told MPs, adding that he would not call the disruption to imports "teething problems," as Prime Minister Boris Johnson had. | Gove's comments come amid ongoing delays in many fresh goods from the UK mainland reaching supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland…
(2021-02-02). Alexei Navalny Faces "Kafkaesque" Charges in Russia for Breaking Parole While in Poison-Induced Coma. democracynow.org 
Russian authorities have arrested thousands of people during anti-government protests in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been held in jail since returning to Russia on January 17 after recovering in Germany from an attempt on his life in August using the nerve agent Novichok. Navalny has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the poisoning that nearly killed him. While Navalny has emerged as Russia's leading opposition figure and anti-corruption campaigner, his political roots have links to right-wing nationalist and anti-immigrant causes. Joshua Yaffa, Moscow corresp…
(2021-02-02). 'Hitting the Brakes Isn't Enough': Rights Groups Push for Biden to Tear Down Trump's Border Wall. sputniknews.com The Trump administration waved 28 different federal laws concerning environmental health, endangered species, water safety, and Native American sovereignty in order to build former US President Donald Trump's border wall pet project on the US-Mexico border.
(2021-02-02). Guatemalan Native Graduates Early From Tupelo High, Earns Permanent U.S. Residence. laprensalatina.com TUPELO (Daily Journal) — In the summer of 2016, 14-year-old Guatemalan native Dionicio Recinos crossed the United States border alone. In May, five years after he crossed the U.S. border, he'll cross the stage at Tupelo High School to receive his diploma. Recinos was raised in the town of Concepción Huista in the department of …
(2021-02-02). Latinx Farmworkers Are Purchasing Failing Farms From White Owners. zcomm.org Latinx farm owners stand at the intersection of racial justice and food justice and offer new hope in the future of sustainable farming in the U.S.
(2021-02-02). The Body, the State, the Border: On Cristina Rivera Garza. thenation.com The Body, the State, the Border: On Cristina Rivera Garza…
(2021-02-02). Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Persons Entering China From April 16 to October 12, 2020. jamanetwork.com This population epidemiology study characterizes trends in the prevalence of asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among international entrants testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 at Chinese border checkpoints between mid-April and mid-October 2020.