(2021-02-23). EU imposes further sanctions on Venezuela as Maduro visits UN Human Rights Council. peoplesdispatch.org Venezuela has blasted the imposition of additional European Union (EU) sanctions against nineteen politicians, state officials and security chiefs. | According to an EU Similarly, the EU accused some of the targeted figures of "undermining the oppositions' electoral rights and the…
(2021-02-23). Empire Files: Biden Sells Missiles To Fascists + US Base Destroys Ancient Coral Reef. popularresistance.org Abby Martin covers Biden's first arms deals to major human rights abusers Chile & Egypt; another US military base in Okinawa, opposed by majority of residents, threatens unique biodiversity; militia puts US at crossroads of a new Iraq war; Ecuador's presidential election defies US imperialism. | "This is Abby Martin with your Empire update wrapping up the last week of US imperialism. The Biden administration has approved its first arms sale to a foreign government, the right wing regime of Chile. On February 6th, the State Department gave the green light to the sale of 16 advanced missiles to the Chilean military…
(2021-02-23). Human rights 'central' to US-Egypt ties, Blinken tells Egyptian counterpart. middleeasteye.net 
Human rights 'central' to US-Egypt ties, Blinken tells Egyptian counterpart | Antony Blinken raised human rights concerns in call with Sameh Shoukry, but rights advocates are demanding concrete action from Washington | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 21: 33 | Egyptian police cadets at training session at a police academy in Cairo, 30 December 2019 (AFP/File photo) | US Secretary of State Tony Blinken told his Egyptian count…
(2021-02-23). UN rights experts call for US to address ongoing violations at 'Kafkaesque' Guantánamo military prison. news.un.org In response to the Biden Administration's announced review into closing the infamous Guantánamo Bay detention centre in Cuba, independent UN human rights experts on Tuesday said it was vital to also address ongoing violations being committed against the 40 or so inmates still incarcerated there.
(2021-02-23). 'Disturbing spike' in Afghan civilian casualties after peace talks began: UN report. news.un.org Civilian casualties in Afghanistan witnessed a sharp rise since peace negotiations started in September last year, even though overall deaths and injuries dropped in 2020, compared to the previous year, according to a UN human rights report launched Tuesday.
(2021-02-23). UN reports surge in civilian casualties after Afghanistan peace talks. laprensalatina.com Kabul, Feb 23 (efe-epa).- The number of civilians killed and injured in Afghanistan surged after the start of peace talks even as the overall figure declined last year compared to 2019, according to a report by the United Nations released on Tuesday. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office …
(2021-02-23). Massacres doubled last year in Colombia, UN says. laprensalatina.com Bogota, Feb 23 (efe-epa).- Colombia suffered 76 massacres resulting in 292 deaths last year, more than doubling the number in 2020 and the highest one-year total since 2014, according to a report from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented here Tuesday. Though the Andean nation's homicide rate declined …
(2021-02-23). American Exceptionalism: Private Wealth and Public Squalor. dissidentvoice.org 
A December 2017 statement from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights notes that, while the US manages to spend "more [money] on national defence than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Kingdom, India, France, and Japan combined", US infant mortality rates were, as of 2013, "the highest in the developed world". …
(2021-02-23). UN Secretary General Guterres: The World Faces a Pandemic of Human Rights Abuses in the Wake of COVID-19. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | From the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic almost one year …
(2021-02-23). UAE-backed STC forces accused of torturing Yemeni journalist. middleeasteye.net 
UAE-backed STC forces accused of torturing Yemeni journalist | Adel al-Hasani produced a CNN report critical of the UAE's activities in Yemen, which a source says is the reason behind his detention | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 12: 04 | Hasani is an investigative journalist, producer and fixer for international journalists, based in the southern Yemeni city of Aden (Social media) | Yemen's UAE-backed Southern Transition…
(2021-02-23). Protest rallies held across Algeria on second anniversary of Hirak movement. peoplesdispatch.org According to Algerian prisoners' rights group, the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees, security forces arrested approximately 26 people in Algiers and 59 others across the country during the protests for unspecified reasons…
(2021-02-23). Beauty queen wife of drug lord El Chapo ARRESTED in Virginia on drug trafficking charges, accused of planning TWO prison escapes. rt.com 
Emma Coronel Aispuro, a former US beauty pageant queen and wife of arguably the world's most notorious drug kingpin — Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman — has been arrested in the US on an array of drug trafficking charges. | Aispuro, 31, who is a dual US-Mexican citizen, was nabbed at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly "on charges related to her alleged involvement in international drug trafficking," the US Justice Department The woman, who marrie…
(2021-02-23). Die Twilight Zone: Covid, das Weltwirtschaftsforum (WEF) und Eugenik. globalresearch.ca 
All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | àúbrsetzt aus dem Englischen von Global Research: | |
(2021-02-23). Remembering Octavia Butler: Black Sci-Fi Writer Shares Cautionary Tales in Unearthed 2005 Interview. democracynow.org 
As Democracy Now! marks 25 years on the air, we are revisiting some of the best and most impactful moments from the program's history, including one of the last television interviews given by the visionary Black science-fiction writer Octavia Butler. She spoke to Democracy Now! in November 2005, just three months before she died on February 24, 2006, at age 58. Butler was the first Black woman to win Hugo and Nebula awards for science-fiction writing and the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur "genius" fellowship. Her best-known books include the classics "Kindred," as well as "Parable of the Sowe…
(2021-02-23). adrienne maree brown: Octavia Butler's Visions of the Future Have Transformed Generation of Readers. democracynow.org 
The visionary Black science-fiction writer Octavia Butler died 15 years ago on February 24, 2006, but her influence and readership has only continued to grow since then. In September, Butler's novel "Parable of the Sower" became her first to reach the New York Times best-seller list. We speak with adrienne maree brown, a writer and Octavia Butler scholar, who says Butler had a remarkable talent for universalizing Black stories. "She wrote about Black women and about Black feminism, about Black futures, but she wrote in a way that appealed to all human beings," says brown.
(2021-02-23). Capitol Riots were a Dark Day for American Journalism. counterpunch.org 
What is reported matters and particularly so when it risks exaggerating violence or deepening fear and a sense of threat. If the US government really was the target of an armed insurrection, then this will be used to justify repression, as it was after 9/11, and not just against right wing conspiracy theorists. By becoming partisan instruments for spreading fake news, the media undermines its own credibility.
(2021-02-23). Student activists in Weymouth, Mass. vs the cult of 'blue lives matter'. liberationnews.org 
The rhetoric surrounding "blue lives matter" isn't new. Similar dogwhistles have been used to defend hate symbols such as the confederate flag, the Gadsden flag, and even the swastika.
(2021-02-23). Conservative Democrat Joe Manchin playing a dangerous game. peoplesworld.org 
The press is talking about how a conservative Democratic senator from West Virginia is now allegedly one of the most powerful movers and shakers in the nation's capital. Sen. Joe Manchin has been an enormous headache for President Joe Biden by threatening to sink the $15 minimum wage and by promising to vote down Biden's …
(2021-02-23). Corporations, lawmakers collude in new multi-state 'right to work' offensive. peoplesworld.org 
Dave Dell Isola, the son and grandson of union members, grew up grateful for the family-sustaining wages and benefits that organized labor won for working people. But he never fully grasped the might of solidarity until he and his wife, Barbara, and their two sons lost everything in an apartment fire. Dell Isola's brothers and …
(2021-02-23). The Race to Save the Vaquita Porpoise From Extinction. counterpunch.org 
San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. The long-running global struggle to prevent extinction of the world's most endangered marine mammal claimed its first human life here on Jan. 2, in the conflict between illegal fishing and conservation of the vaquita porpoise. Fisherman Mario Garcia Toledo, 56, died after suffering massive injuries when his skiff collided with
(2021-02-23). Bhima Koregaon: Varavara Rao gets bail on medical grounds for six months. mronline.org 
Just as the Bombay HC pronounced the verdict, the additional solicitor general sought a stay on the order for three weeks. However, the court rejected it.
(2021-02-23). Amazon faces a day of reckoning for its treatment of workers. therealnews.com 
Amazon workers and their allies rallied last weekend to support the union drive at the Bessemer, Alabama, facility. Workers say the company has failed to protect worker safety or improve working conditions even while Amazon and Jeff Bezos profited from the pandemic.
(2021-02-23). Welcoming a Return to Sanity. counterpunch.org 
In the old days, specifically during the presidency of another actor, Ronald Reagan, Republican falsehoods seemed so quaint that Americans dismissed them as such, relegating them to sloganeering. "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem," the conservative president charged during his first inaugural address in 1981. Nonsense. Reagan's phrase was
(2021-02-23). 'Truth to Power: Barbara Lee Speaks for Me' at Pan African Film Festival. peoplesworld.org 
Undaunted, the pandemic can't stop the Pan African Film Festival. In that immortal show biz tradition, the show must go on! Albeit virtually, as this year, in order to stay cinematically safe, America's largest and best annual Black-themed filmfest since 1992 is moving online and starting later than usual, kicking off on the last day …
(2021-02-23). The Fake Debate Over a Minimum Wage. counterpunch.org 
Capitalism's "conservative" defenders yet again oppose raising the minimum wage. They fought raising it in the past much as they tried to prevent the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) that first mandated a U.S. minimum wage. The major argument opponents have used is this: setting or raising a minimum wage threatens small employers. They may collapse or else fire employees; either way, jobs are lost. What is conveniently assumed here is a necessary contradiction between minimum wages and small business jobs. That assumption enables opponents to claim that not setting a legal minimum wage, like not raising it, saves…
(2021-02-23). Crediting Xenophobia—rather than organizing—with raising workers' wages. mronline.org 
The Economist (2/15/20) ran a brief article last year with a startling headline: "Immigration to America Is Down. Wages Are Up. Are the Two Related?" Maybe, the article's anonymous author answered, at least for the short term.
(2021-02-23). Biden and the Iran nuclear deal: what to expect from the negotiations. juancole.com 
By Ali Bilgic | — As Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, speculation was rife that one of the first things his administration would do would be to seek re-entry to the Iran nuclear deal that had been quit by his predecessor in the White House. The Joint …
(2021-02-23). What coronavirus taught us about the ruling class. mronline.org 
If half a million people in the United States were murdered by an evil cult, the leaders of which said that they would keep killing thousands a day to satisfy their rapacious urge for power and money, what do you think the response would be?>
(2021-02-23). Republicans oppose the American Rescue Plan at their peril. peoplesworld.org 
With Republicans scrambling to block emergency economic assistance to millions, the Democratic-led House of Representatives is moving quickly to approve the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) this week. The measure, which links the pandemic, economic crisis, and racial justice, then goes to the Senate. The Democratic majority is expected to pass it via the …
(2021-02-23). India's Farm Crisis: "They Sell Our Wheat to Us at Thrice the Price" counterpunch.org 
Laxmibai Kale has been losing a portion of her harvest every year. That's not been due to excessive rainfall or drought or poor farming techniques. "Our crops are destroyed," said 60-year-old Laxmibai, "because thepanchayat allows animals to graze on the land. I've lost count of the losses we've suffered." The five-acre plot in Mohadi village
(2021-02-23). Killer cop still not on trial almost 3 years after killing Daniel Hambrick in Tennessee. liberationnews.org 
As made clear by the video footage, when Delke was unable to catch his victim on foot, he stopped running, assumed a firing position, and shot Hambrick three times, including once in the back of the head.
(2021-02-23). Rohingya: The Sufis of Arakan. counterpunch.org 
'It was absolutely shocking, how children aged five or six were hunted down and had their throats slit. I was thinking 'this is ISIS-type stuff'. I told Aung San Suu Kyi 'you have moral standing in this country. You have to stop this. Why are you hiding it?' She said [the United Nations] needed to
(2021-02-23). Plutonium in Space: What Are the Odds of a Catastrophe? counterpunch.org 
With all the media hoopla last week about the Perseverance rover, going almost totally unreported was that its energy source is plutonium—considered the most lethal of all radioactive substances—and nowhere in media that NASA projected 1-in-960 odds of the plutonium being released in an accident on the mission. "A '1-in-960 chance' of a deadly plutonium release
(2021-02-23). Mourning Dr. Agha Saeed, Celebrating his Life. counterpunch.org 
Dr. Agha Saeed , a towering American-Muslim figure has passed away today in a nursing home at the age of 72, due to complications from Covid-19. He had also been silently suffering from Parkinson's for over eight years. The history of American Muslims will be incomplete and extremely inadequate without recognizing Dr. Saeed's life achievements
(2021-02-23). Notes on Black History Month, 2021: No More Black Messiahs, Please. counterpunch.org 
The sign in the window of my neighborhood food store reads, "Black Lives Matter." I have shopped there at least once a week over the past year. I have never seen a Black person in the store or a Black person working there. That is not strange or unusual. There aren't many Black people in all of northern California. Indeed, there are fewer Blacks in the Bay Area than there were in the 1940s and 1950s. They've been pushed out.
(2021-02-23). Demographic characteristics of people receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States. mronline.org 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with states to provide more information on the demographic characteristics of vaccinated people.
(2021-02-23). FBI, NYPD exposed: Deathbed confession shines new light on assassination of Malcolm X. liberationnews.org 
Fifty-six years after the assasination of Malcolm X, new details from a former New York Police Department officer's deathbed confession has further implicated the NYPD and FBI in the killing. Raymond Wood, the former NYPD officer, requested the letter be publicized only after his death due to fears of retaliation. Wood's cousin, Reggie Wood, read …
(2021-02-23). Erdogan slammed, will open a fascist 'Grey Wolves' school in occupied Artsakh. peoplesworld.org 
Anti-fascist forces in Turkey blasted authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's links to right-wing paramilitary death squads today after reports that he will open a new Grey Wolves school in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. He will lay the foundation for the building alongside Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in the city of Shushi, which was taken by Azeri forces …
(2021-02-23). From the People's World archives: W.E.B. DuBois joins the Communist Party. peoplesworld.org 
Editor's Note: Dr. William E. Burghhardt DuBois was born Feb. 23, 1868. Near the end of his life, in 1961, he applied for membership in the Communist Party USA. His letter, and the response from Gus Hall, leader of the party at that time, were published for the first time in the pages of The …
(2021-02-23). Arabic press review: Egyptian judge accused of running drug-trafficking network. middleeasteye.net 
Arabic press review: Egyptian judge accused of running drug-trafficking network | Meanwhile, Palestinians in contact with international community to pressure Israel to allow Jerusalemites to vote in elections, and Kuwait prohibits all trade in Bitcoin | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 58 | An Egyptian judge, the son of a senior judge at the Court of Cassation, is accused of forming a narcotics ring (AFP)…
(2021-02-23). Outcry in Kuwait over suicide of stateless Bidoon child. middleeasteye.net 
Outcry in Kuwait over suicide of stateless Bidoon child | Thousands of people are highlighting the case online and demanding an end to the community's marginalisation | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 14: 07 | An illustration of the child has been shared online with the caption 'you have returned to God, the most merciful, Ali' (Screengrab/Twitter) | Reports of a 12-year-old child's suicide from Kuwait's stateless pop…
(2021-02-23). Greece-Turkey tensions: Ankara claims Greek jets harassed research vessel. middleeasteye.net 
Greece-Turkey tensions: Ankara claims Greek jets harassed research vessel | The dispute comes despite recent talks to resolve long-standing maritime hostilities between the two countries | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 12: 45 | A Turkish military ship passes a coastguard patrol boat near the island of Lesbos on 6 March 2020 (AFP) | Turkey said on Tuesday that four Greek F-16s harassed a Turkish research vessel near…
(2021-02-23). Erbil attack a warning to Iraqi Kurds, not the US, say Shia commanders. middleeasteye.net 
Erbil attack a warning to Iraqi Kurds, not the US, say Shia commanders | With tensions over Sinjar sky high, Iran-backed groups say they are happy to see the Kurdish authorities under pressure but not sure who fired the rockets | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 09: 22 | A gun and bullets belonging to a Yazidi militia affiliated with the PKK in the border area near Sinjar in 2016 (Reuters) | The recent miss…
(2021-02-23). Saudi Arabia to allow women to join military for first time. middleeasteye.net 
Saudi Arabia to allow women to join military for first time | The move is the latest in a series of policy changes designed to change the image of the ultra-conservative kingdom | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 11: 15 | Saudi women watch golfers compete in the Saudi Ladies International golf tournament (AFP) | Saudi Arabia has announced it will allow women to apply for the military for the first time in its…
(2021-02-23). Reviving Iran deal is 'most urgent' priority, says EU's Josep Borrell. middleeasteye.net 
Reviving Iran deal is 'most urgent' priority, says EU's Josep Borrell | Top European official rejects push to expand nuclear deal beyond its current scope to address other issues with Iran | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 18: 46 | Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) welcomes EU's Josep Borrell in Tehran on 3 February 2020 (AFP/File photo) | Top EU foreign policy official Josep Borrell has called reviving the Iran nuclear deal "th…
(2021-02-23). Al Jazeera to launch new platform targeting US conservatives. middleeasteye.net 
Al Jazeera to launch new platform targeting US conservatives | Journalists expressed outrage over launch of Rightly, saying digital platform deviated from network's stated mission of giving a voice to the voiceless | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 17: 43 | Al Jazeera briefly launched an American news channel and website in 2013 but it was forced to shut down (AFP) | The Al Jazeera news network is launching a new digital pl…
(2021-02-23). Syria: Russia digs up graves in refugee camp in search of dead Israeli spy Eli Cohen. middleeasteye.net 
Syria: Russia digs up graves in refugee camp in search of dead Israeli spy Eli Cohen | The three-week excavation of Yarmouk cemetery is part of a search for the former Mossad agent, according to report | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 16: 01 | Damaged graves in the Yarmouk refugee camp cemetery following a bomb attack by Syrian government forces in Damascus, 11 April 2015 (Rami al-Sayed/AFP) | Russian forces in Syria have…
(2021-02-23). Qatar: More than 6,500 south Asian migrant workers have died since 2011, says report. middleeasteye.net 
Qatar: More than 6,500 south Asian migrant workers have died since 2011, says report | Data compiled from government sources reveals thousands dead since Qatar awarded Fifa World Cup in December 2010 | Tue, 02/23/2021 – 08: 14 | Migrant workers are seen walking next to a construction site in the Qatari capital Doha on 6 December 2016 (AFP) | At least 6,500 migrant workers from south Asian countries have died i…
(2021-02-23). America Re-canceled? Black activist Young Pharaoh booted from anti-censorship themed CPAC event for 'reprehensible views'. rt.com 
The Conservative Political Action Conference has barred activist Young Pharaoh from speaking at its 'America Uncanceled' event, citing his "reprehensible" remarks on Judaism. The rapper denounced the move as "censorship." | CPAC organizers took to Twitter on Monday to declare that the
(2021-02-23). U.S. COVID Death Toll Hits 500,000 as Rich Nations Hoard Vaccines, Leaving Poorer Nations Without Any. democracynow.org 
The United States has passed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, by far the highest toll in the world. The morbid milestone comes as new COVID-19 cases continue to fall across the country amid an accelerating vaccine rollout, but the head of the World Health Organization is calling on rich countries not to undermine efforts to get vaccines to poorer nations by buying up billions of doses — in some cases ordering enough to vaccinate their populations more than once. "The inequities that we've seen here are just absolutely stunning," says Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at Columbia Uni…