Monthly Archives: February 2021

2021-02-26: News Headlines

Brian Tashman (2021-02-26). The Time Is Now: Congress Must Pass Citizenship Legislation. aclu.org Congress and President Biden have a mandate from the American people to fix our broken immigration system: It's time to pass legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship and legal residency for the millions of people in this country who are our neighbors, co-workers, friends and loved ones — yet are denied the ability to live freely as citizens and legal residents. The American people soundly rejected the hateful and divisive anti-immigrant policies pursued by the Trump administration. Now it's imperative for Biden and Congress to seize on this momentum to finally get citizenship legislation done.

_____ (2021-02-26). What Future For Farmworker Families In The United States? popularresistance.org Oakland, CA — As the Biden administration begins dismantling Trump's anti-immigrant legacy and contemplates reforms to US immigration policy, it will have to take the crucial decision of whether to continue or terminate the H-2A "guest worker" program. | A new report by the Oakland Institute, Dignity or Exploitation — What Future for Farmworker Families in the United States?, documents the systematic abuse of workers in the H-2A program and its impact on the resident farmworker communities, confronted with a race to the bottom in wages and working conditions.

Online News Editor (2021-02-26). Biden asked not to repeat Trump's immigrant minors policy. laprensalatina.com Homestead, United States, Feb 25 (efe-epa).- With signs of frustration and disgust, activist groups asked President Joe Biden's government Thursday not to follow in the footsteps of Donald Trump, and reject reopening the Homestead detention center for undocumented minors in southeast Florida. In front of the city's municipality headquarters, activists acknowledged their disbelief in repeating …

Online News Editor (2021-02-27). Migrants stranded on Mexican border crossing into US from 3 cities. laprensalatina.com Ciudad Juarez/Matamoros/Tijuana, Mexico, Feb 26 (efe-epa).- Tijuana, Matamoros and starting Friday, Ciudad Juarez, are the three Mexican border cities where migrants are crossing into the United States to have immigration courts review their asylum requests. On Feb. 12, the US administration of Joe Biden announced the reopening — starting on the 19th — of the …

Joe Parkin Daniels (2021-02-27). [World Report] Colombia grants protected status to 1 ∑7 million migrants. thelancet.com The decision will enable 950‚Äà000 undocumented Venezuelans to access the health system in Colombia. Joe Parkin Daniels reports from Bogotá.

UUSF (2021-02-26). Sunday 3/7: Not A Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure. indybay.org Join Zoom Meeting | zoom.us/j/2200241232?pwd=aCt1dWI0OGxUdUxjeUJ5K0xSY09uUT09 | Meeting ID: 220 024 1232 | Passcode: 328697 | Dial by your location | +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)…

United We Dream and partners (2021-02-26). Wednesday 3/3: Protect Immigrants & Stop Deportations Now! Virtual Rally. indybay.org Online event…

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández (2021-02-26). It's Still Time to Abolish ICE. thenation.com It's Still Time to Abolish ICE…

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández (2021-02-26). Now That Biden Is President… It's Still Time to Abolish ICE. thenation.com Now That Biden Is President… It's Still Time to Abolish ICE…

Site Administrator (2021-02-26). Path to Citizenship in New Democratic Immigration Bill. laprensalatina.com WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats proposed a major immigration overhaul on Thursday, February 18, that would offer an eight-year pathway to citizenship to the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally. The legislation reflects the broad priorities for immigration changes that Biden laid out on his first day in …

Joe Piette (2021-02-27). Mental health effects of COVID lockdown in prison: Interview from inside SCI Albion. workers.org This telephone interview with Demitrius Grant, imprisoned at SCI Albion near Erie, Pa., was conducted by Joe Piette for Workers World newspaper on Feb. 16. Demetrius Grant: We're going to be covering the issue of COVID-19 today, as to how it impacts prisoners' mental health. About a week ago, a . . . |

John Catalinotto (2021-02-27). 'Rubin never lost a case' — Rubin Kanowitz, 1931-2021. workers.org Some younger Workers World Party members met Rubin Kanowitz for the first time when he was a communist elder, still confronting cops on recent demonstrations chanting, "Black Lives Matter." Older ones knew him from when he first joined the party in 1965. All grieved as they learned he died this . . . |

Patricia Gorky (2021-02-26). Exposed: McDonald's surveillance operation spies on employees organizing for a living wage. liberationnews.org New reports show that McDonald's has spied on workers "for years" in their effort to combat the Fight for $15 movement that has been struggling for a living wage for nearly a decade. According to documents leaked to Motherboard, McDonald's hired a team of global intelligence analysts to identify and surveil workers and labor leaders …

Marilyn Bechtel (2021-02-26). Calif. essential workers and supporters call for extended COVID-related sick leave. peoplesworld.org Essential workers, labor advocates, and legislators are joining together to urge the California legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom to act immediately to expand emergency paid sick days and paid family and medical leave protection for workers in the state's 2021-2022 early action budget. Both federal and California emergency paid sick leave mandates on employers expired …

Ted Kelly (2021-02-26). Biden sends B-1 bombers to Norway, threatens Russia. workers.org The U.S. Air Force announced during February that it is sending four B-1 bombers and at least 200 personnel to Orland Air Base on the central coast of Norway. Pentagon officials made no secret of the fact that the deployment is meant as a threat to Russia, which is well . . . |

Viviana Weinstein (2021-02-26). Denver protest: 'No war on Iran!'. workers.org Feb. 20, Denver.Denver Students for a Democratic Society, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Denver Peace Council held a demonstration Feb. 20 at the state capital, in cooperation with the national call to prevent Washington from instigating a war against Iran. Threats the U.S. warships would move into the Persian/Arabian . . . |

Staff (2021-02-26). Battleground Baltimore: Maryland shows solidarity with unionizing Amazon workers. therealnews.com Amazon workers rally in Baltimore County, the LEOBR could survive attempts to weaken it, City Councilperson Ryan Dorsey feuds with the FOP, and more.

Workers World Party (2021-02-26). Tell Biden: Stop bombing Syria! workers.org It has taken only 36 days in office for the Biden administration to show the world, through a bombing attack on Syria, that it is belligerent, aggressive and hell-bent on war. There was only a short respite from Trump's vile words and actions. Now we have to face Biden's vile . . . |

A Guest Author (2021-02-26). Black rage: a new 'reconstruction' in the U.S. workers.org The following letter from an incarcerated worker at SCI Pine Grove was received by Workers World Feb. 24. By Wesley Massey How do we make a paradigm shift to change how Blacks are viewed with pessimism, and on a good day cautious optimism? How do we change the culture in . . . |

MEE and agencies (2021-02-26). Covid-19: Israel freezes programme to send vaccines abroad amid legal scrutiny. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Israel freezes programme to send vaccines abroad amid legal scrutiny | Bid to garner international goodwill suspended after attorney general said to be seeking clarification about its legality | Fri, 02/26/2021 – 10: 32 | Palestinians have accused Israel of ignoring its duties as an occupying power by not including the Palestinians in its inoculation programme (AFP) | Israel has…

Staff (2021-02-26). Black Families Have a Major Stake in the Postal Service's Future. truthout.org The United States Postal Service is under strong pressure to make deep spending cuts that would be devastating for customers and employees across the country. Black families have a particularly large stake in the debate over the future of this vital public service. USPS has long been a major source of good middle-class jobs for Black workers. Post offices are also well-positioned to address the needs of the disproportionate share of African Americans who currently lack access to affordable financial servi…

Staff (2021-02-26). The $15 Minimum Wage Isn't Dead. Here's How Democrats Can Still Get It Done. truthout.org On Thursday, the Senate parliamentarian dealt a blow to Democratic and progressives hopes of passing a $15 federal minimum wage in the upcoming stimulus package, ruling that it did not fit under the budget reconciliation process. Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), however, a longtime champion of the $15 minimum wage, came prepared with a plan B. | Shortly after the ruling, Sanders announced a proposal to take away tax deductions from big corporations that don't pay their workers at le…

RT (2021-02-26). Amazon-owned Twitch removes anti-union ads pushed by parent company after media and users complain. rt.com Ads urging workers in Alabama not to unionize "shouldn't have been allowed," the streaming platform Twitch said, bucking its parent company Amazon after a pro-union outlet published a story complaining about the videos. | "Twitch does not allow political advertising, and these ads should never have been allowed to run on our service," the company said in a statement on Wednesday, thanking the "community" for bringing them to attention. | new: Twitch says they have removed these ads from the platform "Twitch does not allow political advertising, and these ads should never have been allowed to run on our service…

Areeb Ullah (2021-02-26). Shamima Begum not allowed to return to UK, Supreme Court rules. middleeasteye.net Shamima Begum not allowed to return to UK, Supreme Court rules | Londoner who travelled to Syria to join Islamic State as a teenager argued she should be able to appeal stripping of citizenship in UK | Fri, 02/26/2021 – 09: 45 | Shamima Begum, photographed in her tent at the al-Roj camp in northeastern Syria in February 2020 (Screenshot) | The UK's Supreme Court has ruled that Shamima Begum, a British wo…

Greg Kearney (2021-02-26). When it comes to COVID, why aren't Republicans 'pro-life' anymore? peoplesworld.org Read:

Henry Tufnell (2021-02-26). High Court: Covid self-employed support scheme does not unlawfully discriminate against women. ukhumanrightsblog.com R (The Motherhood Plan and Anor) v HM Treasury [2021] EWHC 309 (Admin) — read judgment In a judgment handed down on 17 February 2021, the High Court has ruled that the Self Employment Income Support Scheme ("the Scheme") introduced during the coronavirus pandemic does not indirectly discriminate against self-employed women who have taken a …

Lubna Masarwa (2021-02-26). Israel's closure of Covid clinic leaves 50,000 people at high risk. middleeasteye.net Israel's closure of Covid clinic leaves 50,000 people at high risk | Termination of vaccine programme for those living in Israel without legal status may be legally challenged by rights groups
| Fri, 02/26/2021 – 13: 50 | A paramedic with Israel's Magen David Adom medical services prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for a Palestinian man in a mobile clinic on 26 February 202…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-26). Iraq: Protesters killed in clashes with security forces in Nasiriyah. middleeasteye.net Iraq: Protesters killed in clashes with security forces in Nasiriyah | At least five demonstrators have been killed over the past week as activists defied a Covid-19 lockdown to take to the streets | Fri, 02/26/2021 – 16: 00 | Iraqi protesters are pictured next to burning tyres during clashes with police during anti-government demonstrations in the city of Nasiriyah in the Dhi Qar province…

Staff (2021-02-26). Sanders Blasts Parliamentarian's Ruling Dropping Wage Hike From COVID Bill. truthout.org Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and several other Democratic lawmakers are lambasting a decision by the Senate parliamentarian, a nonpartisan referee in that legislative body, who determined on Thursday that a provision to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the COVID economic relief package does not align with the rules for the reconciliation process. | But while Democrats appear upset over the decision, the party may be disunited on what path they should take next to raise the minimum wag…

Global Research News (2021-02-26). Selected Articles: Haiti Betrayed. globalresearch.ca By There's a big mystery that needs to be solved. It's how many people are getting sick and dying from the Covid vaccines. …

Lindsey Snell (2021-02-26). 'No one cares if we die': Ex-Syrian rebels recount Nagorno-Karabakh nightmare as 'disposable force for Turkey'. thegrayzone.com Repurposed into a mercenary force by Erdogan's Turkey, the remnants of Syria's armed opposition were sent off to fight for Azerbaijan with promises of sweet paychecks. They met abuse, humiliation, and death instead. In the first week of October 2020, Ahmad Hadad* and more than 20 other fighters from the Hamza Division faction of the so-called Syrian National Army stood in the middle of a mountain range in Azerbaijan near the Iranian border. They were lost. After the Armenian army …

Lindsey Snell (2021-02-26). 'No one cares if we die': Ex-Syrian rebels recount Nagorno-Karabakh nightmare as 'disposable force for Turkey'. thegrayzone.com Repurposed into a mercenary force by Erdogan's Turkey, the remnants of Syria's armed opposition were sent off to fight for Azerbaijan with promises of sweet paychecks. They met abuse, humiliation and death instead. In the first week of October 2020, Ahmad Hadad* and more than 20 other fighters from the Hamza Division faction of the so-called Syrian National Army stood in the middle of a mountain range in Azerbaijan near the Iranian border. They were lost. After the Armenian army …

Reem Zubaidi (2021-02-27). Exposing Israel's vaccine apartheid in West Bank & Gaza. liberationnews.org Five million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza are excluded from vaccine rollouts while Israeli citizens, even those living in illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories, are prioritized.

Eds. (2021-02-26). The Pandemic: Half a million lives lost in U.S., more than the two World Wars and Vietnam War combined. mronline.org Over half a million people have died of coronavirus in the U.S. Grasping the enormity—half a million people gone—is difficult to visualize.

Mike Walter (2021-02-26). The Heat: One scientist's fight against disease & Racism against Asian-Americans. america.cgtn.com As the pandemic continues to take its toll, we'll talk to one of America's leading science pioneers. Plus — what's behind the alarming rise in violence against Asian Americans?>

Staff (2021-02-26). Big Tech Shouldn't Be the Arbiter of Our Free Speech Rights. truthout.org Business corporations don't need free speech rights. Nor should they have the power to deny free speech to others. But leading up to and following the 2020 election, we saw both undemocratic realities on display. | The 2020 election was largely "democratic." Due to the pandemic, more voters had more ways to cast their ballots than ever, and the elections were overall free and fair. H…

Eds. (2021-02-26). Hundreds of law students announce boycott of Chevron law firm Seward & Kissel for "unethical" private prosecution of human rights attorney Steven Donziger. mronline.org Students from over 50 leading U.S. law schools—including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and New York University—have announced a recruiting boycott of a prominent Chevron law firm to protest its "unethical" private prosecution of U.S. human rights lawyer Steven Donziger after he helped win a $9.5 billion pollution judgment against Chevron.

John Bachtell (2021-02-26). Haaland on track to make history as first Native American cabinet secretary. peoplesworld.org "This is all of our country, this is our mother. You've heard the Earth referred to as Mother Earth. It's difficult to not feel obligated to protect this land, and I feel that every Indigenous person in this country understands that," said Rep. Deb Haaland, President Joe Biden's nominee to be Secretary of Interior. "It's …

Roger Harris (2021-02-26). Joe Biden's US Foreign Policy: Return to the Old Normal? counterpunch.org US President Biden bellicosely proclaimed, "American is back," in his major foreign policy priorities speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 19. Repeated twice for effect, Biden signaled the end of the Trump interregnum. No more assuring words could have been uttered for George W. Bush's former Defense Secretary Colin Powell and the 70 odd Republican national security officials, who wrote an open letter endorsing Biden out of fear that Trump would upset the bipartisan foreign policy consensus of regime change, forever wars, and the NATO alliance. Republican neo-cons now shelter in the Democrat's big…

Ramzy Baroud (2021-02-26). Imagining Palestine: On Barghouti, Darwish, Kanafani and the Language of Exile. counterpunch.org For Palestinians, exile is not simply the physical act of being removed from their homes and their inability to return. It is not a casual topic pertaining to politics and international law, either. Nor is it an ethereal notion, a sentiment, a poetic verse. It is all of this, combined. The death in Amman of

Diego Sanchez (2021-02-26). El Monte taco vendors and community: 'LA County Department of Public Health, stop harassing us!'. liberationnews.org Community members gathered on Feb. 13 in front of the El Monte Police Department in solidarity with local street vendors. This action comes a week after a violent attack by an LA County health inspector and EMPD on the Los Palomos taco stand. Community members and organizations such as ACAB El Monte, Revolutionary Socialists for …

The Socialist Program (2021-02-26). Their Protest Forced Investigation on Elijah McClain Police Killing; Now They Face Decades in Prison. liberationnews.org A damning new independent investigation into the police murder of Elijah McClain in Aurora, Colorado has been released, but the only people facing charges so far in this case are the activists who led the movement for justice for Elijah McClain.

_____ (2021-02-26). U.S.-Backed Ecuador Government Tries Stopping Socialist Electoral Victory. strategic-culture.org If Arauz wins the presidency, he may appoint an important economist and ideologist of the "Citizens Revolution" to a government post, Ron Ridenour writes. | U.S.-backed Lenin Moreno government is trying to stop the new socialistic UNES political party candidate, Andres Arauz, from winning the national elections underway. | Andres Arauz, won first place, 32.7%, on the first round of national elections, February 7. Arauz is the first presidential candidate of UNES, Union of Hope. | Former president Rafael Correa led the formation of this party, Union of Hope (UNES) after he had backed Moreno for president in 2017.

Michael Kowalchuk (2021-02-27). Sojourner Truth's Massachusetts days. liberationnews.org Sojourner Truth, born into slavery in New York as "Isabella Baumfree" in 1797, was one of the most important abolitionists and feminists of the nineteenth century.

Clean Energy Wire (2021-02-27). By the End of the Year, Germany will have a Million Electric Cars on the Road out of 4.7 mn Total. juancole.com By Sà∂ren Amelang | — Germany will probably reach its target of having one million fully electric or plug-in hybrid cars on the road this year, government advisors have said. The head of the country's National Platform Future of Mobility (NPM), Henning Kagermann, told business daily Handelsblatt he was pleased "that it appears we will …

The Conversation (2021-02-27). Gulf War: As Biden bombs Iraqis, 30 years on the consequences of Desert Storm are still with us. juancole.com By Lorena De Vita and Amir Taha | — It was a short message to end a short war. On February 26 1991, Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz put his signature to a letter addressed to the United Nations Security Council: I have the honour to notify you that the Iraqi Government reaffirms its agreement …

Shabbir Manjee (2021-02-27). Chicago City Council passes unanimous resolution to end the blockade on Cuba. liberationnews.org All 50 aldermen voted to oppose the blockade, adding that normalizing relations can benefit the economic conditions of both Cubans and Chicagoans.

RT (2021-02-27). NYT columnist faces conflict of interest accusations after singing praise for Facebook 'Groups' feature in tech giant's blog post. rt.com New York Times writer David Brooks has come under fire for a potential conflict of interest after penning a blog post for Facebook's corporate site while a project he helped to found accepted money from the social media giant. | A

RT (2021-02-27). NYT columnist faces conflict of interest accusations after singing praise of Facebook 'Groups' feature in tech giant's blog post. rt.com New York Times writer David Brooks has come under fire for a potential conflict of interest after penning a blog post for Facebook's corporate site while a project he helped to found accepted money from the social media giant. | A

United We Dream and partners (2021-02-26). Friday 3/26: Protect Immigrants & Stop Deportations Now! Digital Rally. indybay.org Online event…

2021-02-25: News Headlines

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-25). Outrage in US over Biden's bid to reopen immigrant child detention facilities. peoplesdispatch.org Two detention facilities for undocumented immigrant minors were reopened by the Biden administration. They had been shut down during the Trump administration in the face of protests…

Online News Editor (2021-02-25). Biden repeals Trump measure banning migrants over 'occupational hazards'. laprensalatina.com Washington, Feb 24 (efe-epa).- US President Joe Biden revoked a measure Wednesday by his predecessor Donald Trump, banning the entry of some immigrants deemed a "risk to the labor market," among them the beneficiaries of the visa lottery and relatives of permanent US residents or citizens. In a countermeasure released Wednesday by the White House, …

UUSF (2021-02-25). Sunday 3/7: Not A Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure. indybay.org Join Zoom Meeting | zoom.us/j/2200241232?pwd=aCt1dWI0OGxUdUxjeUJ5K0xSY09uUT09 | Meeting ID: 220 024 1232 | Passcode: 328697 | Dial by your location | +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)…

Lee Siu Hin, Immigrant Solidarity Network (2021-02-25). 2/23: Vaccine Imperialism: China vs. the Western WorldÔºöÔºö. indybay.org Vaccine Racism: How wealthy nations stockpile life-saving vaccines while poor countries and poor people within these countries are ignored. How western countries criticize China, despite China's success in containing the virus and providing vaccines to the world.

RT (2021-02-25). 700+ children remain in detention at US border, 200 for over 48 hours, amid spike in unaccompanied crossings — media. rt.com Hundreds of unaccompanied minors have been held at the US border waiting to be processed, Axios reported. Almost a third of them have been lingering in detention for more than two days, as the backlog piles up. | Around 700 minors who crossed into the US on their own were kept in Border Patrol Custody as of Sunday, Axios By that time, around 200 children had already been held up for over 48 hours, a…

news.un (2021-02-25). UN agencies begin registering asylum seekers at US-Mexico border. news.un.org UN agencies have begun preparing individuals and families at the Matamoros informal camp, near the United States-Mexico border, for entry into the US, following the termination of a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait for immigration hearings in Mexico.

Ted Kelly (2021-02-26). Biden sends B-1 bombers to Norway, threatens Russia. workers.org The U.S. Air Force announced during February that it is sending four B-1 bombers and at least 200 personnel to Orland Air Base on the central coast of Norway. Pentagon officials made no secret of the fact that the deployment is meant as a threat to Russia, which is well . . . |

Viviana Weinstein (2021-02-26). Denver protest: 'No war on Iran!'. workers.org Feb. 20, Denver.Denver Students for a Democratic Society, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Denver Peace Council held a demonstration Feb. 20 at the state capital, in cooperation with the national call to prevent Washington from instigating a war against Iran. Threats the U.S. warships would move into the Persian/Arabian . . . |

TN Long (2021-02-25). Virginia comes out to support Alabama Amazon workers. peoplesworld.org ARLINGTON, Va.—On Saturday, Feb. 20, the Southern Workers Assembly coordinated over 40 solidarity events around the country in support of the workers at the Bessemer, Ala., Amazon facility who are currently in the midst of a vote to unionize their workplace. The unionization campaign there, called the BAmazon Union, is organized by the Mid-South Council …

G. Dunkel (2021-02-25). COVID crisis drags down U.S. life expectancy. workers.org The number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States is now over 500,000. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. life expectancy dropped by a full year from the first six months of 2019 to the first six months of 2020. This is the biggest drop . . . |

Joe Piette (2021-02-25). 'No war drills on Korean Peninsula!'. workers.org Philadelphia Korea Peace Now Grassroots Network activists hold signs, Feb. 21. Annual U.S.-ROK (Republic of Korea) combined military exercises are costly and a major obstacle to achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula. And it's a provocative threat against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Korea solidarity groups in the U.S. . . . |

John Wojcik (2021-02-25). Lies and white supremacy fuel Republican voter suppression campaign. peoplesworld.org It is now clearer than ever that the Republican Party is carrying out a strategy of stoking the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and that it is hanging its ability to make a comeback on supporting the white supremacy that was behind the right-wing insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. …

Workers World Party (2021-02-25). PDF of February 25 issue. workers.org Download the PDF. Texas freeze: Rich get richer, workers suffer 50+ actions: Solidarity with #BAmazon workers BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Washerwomen Strike Steelworker resistance ALSO: Free Mumia! UAW in crisis Police repel hungry people U.S. life expectancy drops Vaccine patents = profits Editorial: Whole world is watching GLOBAL: Who is Navalny? . . . |

Betsey Piette (2021-02-25). On Feb. 20: U.S. cities in solidarity to #BAmazon workers. workers.org Outside union-busting law firm Morgan Lewis, Philadelphia, Feb. 20. (WW Photo: Joe Piette) As Amazon workers in Bessemer, Ala., vote to unionize, they are gaining support. On Feb. 20, demonstrations took place in solidarity with BAmazon workers in 50+ U.S. cities in 30 states, including several in the South. The . . . |

Betsey Piette (2021-02-25). On Feb. 20: U.S. cities in solidarity with #BAmazon workers. workers.org Outside union-busting law firm Morgan Lewis, Philadelphia, Feb. 20. (WW Photo: Joe Piette) As Amazon workers in Bessemer, Ala., vote to unionize, they are gaining support. On Feb. 20, demonstrations took place in solidarity with BAmazon workers in 50+ U.S. cities in 30 states, including several in the South. The . . . |

PAI (2021-02-25). Petitions to oust Trump USPS board and postmaster DeJoy top 1.1M signatures. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—Petitions to Democratic President Joe Biden and Congress' Democratic leaders to replace the Trump-named U.S. Postal Service board with a new one that would in turn fire Trumpite Postmaster General Louis DeJoy have passed 1.12 million signatures combined. And that figure may be low. The American Postal Workers Union reported their petition is just …

a guest author (2021-02-25). Montgomery Bus Boycott, Bessemer, prisiones: Lucha de clases, antes y ahora. workers.org Los boicoteadores de autobuses, sin importar su edad o habilidad, caminaron millas hasta su trabajo en Montgomery, febrero de 1956. Por Monica Moorehead Cincuenta años después del final de la Guerra Civil de los Estados Unidos, y durante el apogeo de los horribles linchamientos de personas negras en el sur . . . |

a guest author (2021-02-25). Bessemer Amazon workers: 'They are showing the way'. workers.org Joan Hwang The following remarks were given by Joan Hwang (she/they), an organizer with the Workers Assembly Against Racism, at a Feb. 20 rally in Manhattan, N.Y., in solidarity with Amazon workers organizing a union drive in Bessemer, Ala. Hwang is also an urban farmer. We are out here today . . . |

A Guest Author (2021-02-26). Denver protest: 'No war on Iran!'. workers.org By Vivian Weinstein Denver Students for a Democratic Society, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Denver Peace Council held a demonstration Feb. 20 at the state capital, in cooperation with the national call to prevent Washington from instigating a war against Iran. Threats the U.S. warships would move into the . . . |

A Guest Author (2021-02-26). Black rage: a new 'reconstruction' in the U.S. workers.org The following letter from an incarcerated worker at SCI Pine Grove was received by Workers World Feb. 24. By Wesley Massey How do we make a paradigm shift to change how Blacks are viewed with pessimism, and on a good day cautious optimism? How do we change the culture in . . . |

Staff (2021-02-25). "Not Ready to Give Up": Democrats Push Senate to Keep Popular $15 Minimum Wage in Stimulus Bill. democracynow.org As the House of Representatives prepares to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, a fight is brewing over the inclusion of an increase to the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. The measure is at risk in the Senate, where conservative Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema oppose its inclusion in the relief bill or suggest a lower amount. Congressmember Jan Schakowsky of Illinois says Congress must pass the minimum wage hike to help address inequality in the United States. "The current minimum wage, federally, is $7.25. Now, you can't live on that. You can't raise a family…

Staff (2021-02-25). "Decades in the Making": How Mainstream Conservatives & Right-Wing Money Fueled the Capitol Attack. democracynow.org As more details emerge about those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, it's becoming clearer that the insurrection was not the work of a "fringe" group, but rather the result of a decades-long conservative effort to undermine democracy, according to author Brendan O'Connor. "The events of January 6 were not just months, but years, decades, in the making," says O'Connor, who notes that major Republican donors and prominent conservative groups were connected to the Trump rally that immediately preceded the Capitol riot.

Staff (2021-02-25). 100+ Countries Push to Loosen WTO Rules on Vaccine Patents. Why Is the U.S. Still Blocking the Way? democracynow.org As the pandemic's death toll nears 2.5 million, stringent rules around intellectual property rights could be preventing much of the world from obtaining COVID-19 vaccines. Over 45 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the United Nations, while 130 other countries have not received any vaccines at all, leading to what some describe as "vaccine apartheid." At the World Trade Organization, South Africa and India are leading a push by over 100 nations to waive intellectual property rules that give pharmaceutical companies monopolistic control over vaccines they…

Norman Solomon (2021-02-25). Republican Hypocrisy is No Reason to Support Neera Tanden. counterpunch.org Most corporate media outlets have depicted President Biden's effort to win Senate confirmation of Neera Tanden as a battle to overcome Republican hypocrisy about her "mean tweets," name-calling and nasty partisanship. But there are very important reasons to prevent Tanden from becoming the Office of Management and Budget director. They have nothing to do with

RT (2021-02-25). Trump hands over 'MILLIONS of pages' of tax returns to Manhattan DA — reports. rt.com Former president Donald Trump has reportedly handed over his tax returns to prosecutors in New York. With Trump describing the investigation as a "fishing expedition," sifting through the "millions of pages" may take time. | The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Trump's lawyers may no longer shield the ex-president's tax returns from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who is investigating whether Trump and the Trump Organization committed any financial crimes, including his alleged inflating of property values to secure loans. | Trump's lawyers immediately handed over the returns, CNN reported on Thu…

Chris Hartmann (2021-02-25). To 'Build Back Better,' listen to those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. peoplesworld.org Though often ignored, communities know best what ails them. I am reminded of this often because I hear it in my classroom. I heard it before the COVID-19 pandemic, and I hear it louder now as the pandemic rages on. At the end of last term, amidst the surge in cases after Thanksgiving, I asked …

David Cavendish (2021-02-25). It's time to shorten the workday—and the workweek. peoplesworld.org It's been nearly a year since the COVID-19 pandemic forced people in our society to "shelter in place," social distance, and wear masks. Most social activities, such as sporting events, concerts, and parades were canceled. Schools and businesses closed, forcing nearly 50 million people onto the unemployment rolls. And while in recent months the numbers …

Chris Banks (2021-02-25). Half a million dead: What's the difference between Biden and Trump's COVID plans? liberationnews.org The COVID-19 death toll in the United States has now surpassed half a million people — approximately 20 percent of all COVID-19 deaths on the planet, according to official statistics. The U.S. continues to lead the world in coronavirus deaths, with January ranking as the United States' deadliest month yet. Reflecting this monumental death toll, …

Vincent Emanuele (2021-02-25). Dr. Osterholm's Warning: COVID Hurricane on the Horizon. counterpunch.org Twelve months ago, Dr. Michael Osterholm was interviewed on the Joe Rogan Program. At the time, he warned that anywhere from 400,000 to 1.5 million Americans would die of COVID and that the pandemic would last for many years and significantly impact our lives. So far, his predictions have been eerily accurate. Today, Dr. Osterholm is warning that a "Category 5 COVID-hurricane" is on the horizon, with the B117/UK Variant posing the greatest threat.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram (2021-02-25). Developing Countries struggling to cope with COVID-19. mronline.org SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting most developing countries disproportionately, especially the United Nations' least developed countries (LDCs) and the World Bank's low-income countries (LICs).

Chris Banks (2021-02-25). Half a million dead: What's the difference between Biden's and Trump's COVID plans? liberationnews.org The COVID-19 death toll in the United States has now surpassed half a million people — approximately 20% of all COVID-19 deaths on the planet, according to official statistics. The United States continues to lead the world in coronavirus deaths, with January ranking as the United States' deadliest month yet. Reflecting this monumental death toll, …

Global Research News (2021-02-25). Selected Articles: The Covid Outbreak: "Biggest Health Scam of the 21st Century." globalresearch.ca By We are health professionals of the international collective :…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-25). Israel approves bill allowing names of unvaccinated to be shared with authorities. middleeasteye.net Israel approves bill allowing names of unvaccinated to be shared with authorities | Legislation allows government to share identities of people not vaccinated against Covid-19 with other authorities, raising privacy concerns for those opting out of inoculation | Thu, 02/25/2021 – 16: 54 | A plenary session at the Israeli parliament in 2019 (AFP) | Israel's parliament approved a law on Wedn…

RT (2021-02-25). Flu gets the cold shoulder: Influenza now virtually non-existent in US as Covid-19 spread continues. rt.com The coronavirus-battered US has enjoyed an unusually calm flu season, showing the lowest figures in decades. The lack of influenza likely stems from enduring restrictions — or Covid-19 wrestling out weaker germs, experts believe. | The ongoing pandemic has had an unexpected effect on the US healthscape, with the conventional flu being almost completely wiped out. Figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show a sharp drop in influenza cases occurred last April — and the figures remain extremely low ever since. | The 2020-21 flu season has essentially not even happened at a…

Staff (2021-02-25). COVID Vaccine Websites Violate Disability Laws, Create Inequity for Blind People. truthout.org Many covid vaccination registration and information websites at the federal, state and local levels violate disability rights laws, hindering the ability of blind people to sign up for a potentially lifesaving vaccine, a KHN investigation has found. | Across the country, people who use special software to make the web accessible have been unable to sign up for the vaccines or obtain vital information about covid-19 because many government websites lack required accessibility features. At l…

Staff (2021-02-25). Over 100 Countries Push to Loosen Rules on Vaccine Patents as US Blocks the Way. truthout.org As the pandemic's death toll nears 2.5 million, stringent rules around intellectual property rights could be preventing much of the world from obtaining COVID-19 vaccines. Over 45 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the United Nations, while 130 other countries have not received any vaccines at all, leading to what some describe as "vaccine apartheid." At the World Trade Organization, South Africa and India are leading a push by over…

Sasha Harrison (2021-02-25). Harlem's 1930s housing struggle has lessons for today. liberationnews.org The housing struggle in Harlem during the Great Depression took New York City by storm, as some of the most oppressed sectors of society united and stood tall in the face of exploitation.

The Socialist Program (2021-02-25). Capitalism in Crisis: End Capitalist Control Over Heat & Light. liberationnews.org Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the terrible storm in Texas and elsewhere in the south that has caused death, destruction and a near total breakdown in infrastructure. What does this say about the capitalist system?>

Chuck Collins (2021-02-25). Nomadland: The Impact of Gender-Bias in Wages. counterpunch.org If you grew up agitated that "women earn 59 cents on the dollar," for the same work as men, there's a movie for you. At the beginning of the new film, Nomadland, one of the characters tells Fern, the lead character played beautifully by Frances McDormand: "My social security check is $550. How am I

Anustup Roy (2021-02-25). India's Farm Protests: "If We Don't Stand By Them, Who Will?" counterpunch.org "The company people are certainly irritated with the protest happening here. It has badly affected transportation and the business is running poorly," says 22-year-old Nizamuddin Ali, a security supervisor at a home appliances factory in the Kundli industrial area. He lives about six kilometres from the farmers' protest site at Singhu, on the Haryana-Delhi border.

Eds. (2021-02-25). Cuba has assisted almost one third of the world's population in health care. mronline.org In the six decades of Cuban medical collaboration abroad, its health personnel have assisted 1.988 billion people in the world, almost a third of mankind, said Dr. Jorge Delgado Bustillo, director of the Central Unit for Medical Cooperation (UCCM).

Eds. (2021-02-25). How did a fateful CIA coup—executed 55 years ago this February 24—doom much of sub-Saharan Africa? mronline.org Fifty-five years ago on this day, the fate of Africa was irrevocably altered when the CIA sponsored a 1966 coup d'état against Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, former Prime Minister of Ghana and Pan-Africanist visionary who was voted as "Africa's Man of the Millennium."

Ray McGinnis (2021-02-25). The Doll House the CIA Built. dissidentvoice.org American news these past few decades has been an almost constant non-stop spectacle of shock and awe. Breaking news is emotionally gripping, often disorienting, a 24/7 drama without rest. Key talking points are relentlessly asserted. And with each passing year news commentators grow ever more certain of their talking points, with no sense that dissenting points …

William Boardman (2021-02-25). How Rational Can the US Be in Dealing with Yemen and Iran? dissidentvoice.org We're also stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in Yemen — a war which has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. I've asked my Middle East team to ensure our support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels, and restore long-dormant peace talks…. And to underscore our commitment, …

George Wuerthner (2021-02-25). Degrading Forest Ecosystems in the Name of Collaboration. counterpunch.org A recent article in the Blue Mountain Eagle Finding Common Ground on Active Forest Management quotes several people about restoring forest health. None of these people have expertise in forest ecology, except James Johnson from the OSU forestry school. The irony is that all these people, including Johnson, ignore the science from other scientists in

Staff (2021-02-25). Mayim Bialik: 'S*** got deep with me and Cornel West'. therealnews.com Mayim Bialik delves into the long history of solidarity amongst the Jewish people and Black Americans, and details her dismay at the state of racism in America, her upbringing as a staunch advocate for social justice, and her perspective on the apparent contradictions between her faith and her political ideologies.

The Conversation (2021-02-25). Texas blackouts show why energy should be a universal right. juancole.com By Gordon Walker | — An unprecedented cold wave in the US state of Texas recently left several million households without power for days on end, as temperatures dropped well below freezing. Dozens of people died from hypothermia, car crashes, house fires or carbon monoxide poisoning from running cars or generators simply to keep warm. …

Jackie Fox (2021-02-25). Neoliberalism is Killing US. realprogressives.org Following the idea of the Big Other defense falling apart when a truth is seen to be publicly accepted, what would be another similar public acceptance of failure for capitalism? Especially now, I think the US healthcare industry is a great place to look. The more timely issue is one of 'who gets coverage at all?' Barack Obama is the first mainstream, high-profile politician to say the words 'single payer,' descriptors that don't describe the Republican-influenced Obamacare that came to pass. | Bernie Sanders again was a part of the elevation of this idea in the mainstream. As I suggested before, he's not a…

Arthur Zipser (2021-02-25). William Z. Foster—Pioneer fighter for Black equality in organized labor. peoplesworld.org Editor's Note: Feb. 25, 2021, marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of William Z. Foster. One of the most well-known figures of early 20th century labor history, Foster spearheaded the drive to organize the packinghouse industry during World War I and led the Great Steel Strike of 1919. He later joined the Communist Party …

Staff (2021-02-25). Headlines for February 25, 2021. democracynow.org Biden and VP Harris to Mark 50 Million Shots Since Start of Admin, FDA Moves Closer to Approval of Single-Dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine, Manchin Will Vote to Confirm Rep. Haaland for Interior Sec. as Neera Tanden's Bid for OMB in Peril, Biden Admin to Release Intel Report on Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 Murder, 6,500 Migrant Workers Have Died in Qatar Since It Was Named Host of 2022 World Cup, At Least 41 Migrants Drown in Mediterranean After Boat Capsizes, Amnesty Revokes Alexei Navalny's "Prisoner of Conscience" Status over Hateful Remarks, 79 Prisoners Killed in Ecuador in Gang-Related Violence, Angola, Lo…