Daily Archives: February 8, 2021

2021-02-08: News Headlines

John Clarke and Vishwas Satgar (2021-02-08). Struggles in the Shadow of the Pandemic. indybay.org For Trump, wealth, privilege, and power was even license to invent reality as he saw fit. Thus any divergence from his worldview and interests were 'fake news'. Trump ensured the plutocratic wealthy were no longer in the political shadows but now in the mainstream.

César Chelala, Alberto Luis Zuppi (2021-02-08). The Price of Democracy. counterpunch.org The mob which invaded Capitol Hill on January 6th threatening the lives of Vice-President Pence and Senator Pelosi was clear proof that democracy is always fragile, easy to be shaken by an uncontrolled group moved by a delusional president. Until then, overturning governments in this continent had been a Latin American tradition. The sight of

_____ (2021-02-08). VIDEO: Russian Covid-19 Vaccine Vindicated Despite Western 'Pandemic' of Russophobia. strategic-culture.org One would think that the mainstream media would want to help to save lives by highlighting some of Russia's legitimate successes against the coronavirus. But pushing an endless stream of Russophobia is clearly far more important to them.

WSWS (2021-02-08). Philadelphia educators to defy district, maintain all-virtual schooling Monday. wsws.org Several thousand Philly teachers, ordered into classrooms this week, are refusing to enter unsafe buildings in the Democratically-controlled city.

_____ (2021-02-07). A Common Platform: Reimagining Data And Platforms. popularresistance.org On October 20, 2020, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust action against Google, the first step in what might be one of the biggest anti-monopoly cases of this century. With Google controlling more than an 87% share of the U.S. search market and its parent company, Alphabet, now one of the largest and most valuable companies in history, the move is likely long overdue. Yet Google/Alphabet is not alone. Just weeks later, the European Commission formally accused Amazon of breaking EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in online retail markets. | At this point, it is relatively uncontroversial to p…

_____ (2021-02-07). Ecuador: US-Backed Government Scrambles To Privatize The Central Bank. popularresistance.org With just days until Ecuador's February 7 presidential election and four months remaining on President Lenin Moreno's mandate, the Ecuadorian government and right-wing elites are still scrambling to privatize the country's central bank. | The process involves fast-tracking an emergency law dubbed the Humanitarian Support Organic Law, which will "lockdown" the central bank, siphon it from the public sector, and place Ecuador's financial sovereignty at the whims of private interests. | According to right-wing figures and the country's mainstream media apparatus that protects and serves its interest, the unconstitut…

Mark Schuller (2021-02-07). US Reporting Fails to Note Foreign Roots of Haiti's 'Constitutional Crisis'. commondreams.org Voices within Haiti amplified in foreign corporate media are political parties. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2021-02-07). Ideological Imperialism Is Leading to a Bad End. strategic-culture.org By Patrick BUCHANAN | When it was learned in 2016 that Russia may have hacked the emails of John Podesta and the DNC, and passed the fruits on to WikiLeaks to aid candidate Donald Trump, mighty was the outrage of the American establishment. | If Russia's security services filched those emails, and a troll farm in Saint Petersburg sent tweets and texts to stir up rancor in our politics, it was said, this was an attack on American democracy and its most sacred of rituals — the elections by which we chose our leaders. | Some called it an "act of war." Others compared it to Pearl Harbor. | Almost all agreed it…

Ashlie D. Stevens (2021-02-07). Sacha Baron Cohen trolls Rudy Giuliani yet again, culminating a year of cinematic resistance. salon.com The actor was nominated for his "Borat 2" & "Chicago 7" roles, both of which use absurdity to challenge corruption…

_____ (2021-02-07). Venezuelan Parliamentary Commission Charges Guaidó. popularresistance.org Today, February 5, the Comptroller Commission of Venezuela's National Assembly (AN) presented before the Public Ministry (MP) charges against the 2015 deputy Juan Guaidó for damage to the Republic and usurpation of functions. | In statements transmitted by Venezolana de Televisión, the president of the commission, deputy José Brito, stated that the charges presented by the Commission included criminal association, organized crime, usurpation of functions, assassination, attempted coup, homicide, and others. | "The sum of penalties would add up to more than 200 years in prison," said Brito. In this regard, he ment…

Online News Editor (2021-02-07). Myanmar lifts internet blockade as anti-coup demonstrations continue. laprensalatina.com Update 2: Updates with lifting of intenet blockade Yangon, Myanmar, Feb 7 (efe-epa).- Myanmar's teleoperator MPT, jointly owned and controlled by the government, at least temporarily reestablished internet connection in the country Sunday as demonstrations protesting this week's military coup continued in Yangon. An EFE correspondent was able to confirm that the network was operational …

Eds. (2021-02-06). Incarcerated and at COVID's mercy: New York must do more for elderly imprisoned people. mronline.org COVID-19 is now raging uncontrolled throughout the United States. New variants that are more easily transmitted have entered the country from the U.K., Brazil and South Africa. Vaccine is scarce.

Robert Wheeler (2021-02-06). Vaccine Passports and Health Passes: Is Showing Your "Papers" the "New Normal?" globalresearch.ca First published on December 17, 2021 | Life cannot return to normal until there is a vaccine for COVID 19. | At least, that is what governments, corporations, and their mainstream propaganda media outlets have been incessantly arguing. Interestingly, the development of …

The Energy & Environmental Legal Institute (2021-02-06). The Rockefeller Way: The Family's Covert 'Climate Change' Plan. globalresearch.ca First published in December 2016, this article is of relevance to an understanding of the ongoing debate on Climate Change as well the Green New Deal, largely controlled by the financial establishment. The Rockefellers also play a key role in …

Kenneth B Gordon, Peter Foley, James G Krueger, Andreas Pinter, Kristian Reich, Ronald Vender, Veerle Vanvoorden, Cynthia Madden, Katy White, Christopher Cioffi, Andrew Blauvelt (2021-02-06). [Articles] Bimekizumab efficacy and safety in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (BE READY): a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised withdrawal phase 3 trial. thelancet.com Bimekizumab showed high levels of response, which were durable over 56 weeks, with both maintenance dosing schedules (every 4 weeks and every 8 weeks). Moreover, bimekizumab was well tolerated, with no unexpected safety findings. Data presented here further support the therapeutic value of bimekizumab and inhibition of IL-17F in addition to IL-17A for patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Kristian Reich, Kim A Papp, Andrew Blauvelt, Richard G Langley, April Armstrong, Richard B Warren, Kenneth B Gordon, Joseph F Merola, Yukari Okubo, Cynthia Madden, Maggie Wang, Christopher Cioffi, Veerle Vanvoorden, Mark Lebwohl (2021-02-06). [Articles] Bimekizumab versus ustekinumab for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (BE VIVID): efficacy and safety from a 52-week, multicentre, double-blind, active comparator and placebo controlled phase 3 trial. thelancet.com Bimekizumab was more efficacious than ustekinumab and placebo in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The bimekizumab safety profile was consistent with that observed in previous studies.

Johan A Maertens, Galia Rahav, Dong-Gun Lee, Alfredo Ponce-de-León, Isabel Cristina Ramírez Sánchez, Nikolay Klimko, Anne Sonet, Shariq Haider, Juan Diego Vélez, Issam Raad, Liang-Piu Koh, Meinolf Karthaus, Jianying Zhou, Ronen Ben-Ami, Mary R Motyl, Seongah Han, Anjana Grandhi, Hetty Waskin, study investigators (2021-02-06). [Articles] Posaconazole versus voriconazole for primary treatment of invasive aspergillosis: a phase 3, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial. thelancet.com Posaconazole was non-inferior to voriconazole for all-cause mortality up until day 42 in participants with invasive aspergillosis. Posaconazole was well tolerated, and participants had fewer treatment-related adverse events than in the voriconazole group. This study supports the use of posaconazole as a first-line treatment for the condition.

yenisafak (2021-02-06). Myanmar shuts down internet amid anti-coup protests. yenisafak.com Myanmar's military junta shut down internet services across the country amid anti-coup protests, a mobile service provider confirmed on Saturday."The Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) has directed all mobile operators to temporarily shut down the data network in Myanmar. Voice and SMS services remain open." said Norwegian telecom giant Telenor that operates the second-largest mobile network in Myanmar.In its order, the ministry cited "legal basis in Myanmar's Telecommunication Law, and references circulation of fake news, the stability of the nation and interest of the public as a basis for…

Jason Stanley (2021-02-06). Movie at the Ellipse: A Study in Fascist Propaganda. zcomm.org Scholars on the Nazis and anti-Semitism have seen this before…

Phelan Acheson (2021-02-05). Why A Minimum Acceptable Compromise Matters. realprogressives.org "Designed to leave the world's economic destiny at the mercy of bankers and multinational corporations, Globalization is a logical extension of imperialism, a victory of empire over republic, international finance capital over democracy." Michael Parenti, Against Empire | I want to start by defining a term. I know it is fully possible others have thought of this concept, but as of yet, I haven't seen the concept enter progressive, leftist, or mainstream discourse. The term is 'minimum acceptable compromise.' The definition I am coining is inherently tied to politics and the idea of progress. | Minim…

Ralph Nader (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

Ted Rall (2021-02-05). It's Not Too Early to Criticize Joe Biden. counterpunch.org Censorship in mainstream corporate American media outlets is subtle. It's not so much that they spin the truth. It's that they omit pertinent facts and exclude relevant points of view. So it is with politics. Among the tools available to messaging and framing experts is "flooding the field" — dominating the news with a blizzard

Areeb Ullah (2021-02-05). Signal asks users to set up TLS proxy servers to help Iranians 'bypass' censorship. middleeasteye.net Signal asks users to set up TLS proxy servers to help Iranians 'bypass' censorship | Messaging service blocked in Iran after thousands migrated from WhatsApp over privacy concerns | Fri, 02/05/2021 – 13: 20 | Privacy experts have described the Signal messaging app to be more secure than its rivals (AFP) | Signal has asked users to set up TLS proxy servers to help Iranians bypass censorship of the app, af…

RT (2021-02-04). CNN chief Zucker announces plan to leave at year's end after 'change of heart' decision to see out contract. rt.com CNN President Jeff Zucker has confirmed he will stay on at the network's helm until the end of 2021, when his contract runs out, having u-turned on his decision late last year to leave the mainstream media outlet. | "I cannot imagine not being here right now," Jeff Zucker told colleagues on Thursday morning, according to those present on the call. "I'm going to stay and finish my current contract, which, as I said, will keep me here until the end of this year. At that point, I do expect to move on." | The truth is, back in November and December I had basically decided that it was time to move on now… But si…

Ullekh N.P. (2021-02-04). In India, Farmers Are Resisting Narendra Modi's Propaganda Machine. thenation.com In India, Farmers Are Resisting Narendra Modi's Propaganda Machine…