Monthly Archives: February 2021

2021-02-10: News Headlines

Alan Macleod (2021-02-10). Media Frames Teen Using College Savings To Save Mom From Eviction as Uplifting Puff Piece. mintpressnews.com Corporate media outlets appear to have so completely internalized the grim logic of neoliberal capitalism that they see single mothers being evicted, children in debt, or octogenarians working in the gig economy as unremarkable facts of life, not damning indictments of a broken system.

WSWS repost (2021-02-10). Facebook's "depoliticization" aimed at censorship of left-wing and socialist organizations. indybay.org The recent announcement by Facebook that it would "reduce the amount of political content" on its platform is part of the drive by the US ruling establishment to block the spread of progressive, left-wing and socialist ideas on social media.

Project Censored (2021-02-10). The "Deplatforming" of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas. projectcensored.org Last October, Project Censored cosponsored the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, an online academic conference examining content-censorship by tech giants, among many other media issues. The proceedings of the…

WSWS (2021-02-10). Facebook's "depoliticization" aimed at censorship of left-wing and socialist organizations. wsws.org The recent announcement by Facebook that it would "reduce the amount of political content" on its platform is part of the drive by the US ruling establishment to block the spread of progressive, left-wing and socialist ideas on social media.

Paul Jay (2021-02-10). Trump Should be Charged with Sedition and Treason; McConnell's Role Should be Investigated — Paul Jay. theanalysis.news Did Donald Trump attempt to organize a military coup against the incoming Biden administration? Did Mitch McConnell, as majority leader of the Senate and the person who is ultimately responsible for the Capitol Hill Police, deliberately allow the protestors into the Capitol Buildings? Why is mainstream media so quiet about what's so obvious?

Devin Cole (2021-02-10). LGBTQ2S+ youth targeted again in Florida: Defeat HB241/SB582! workers.org Occupied Muscogee Creek/Seminole/Timucua Land In January of 2020, Florida LGBTQ+ organizers mobilized thousands of people against 10 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills. Introduced into the Florida House of Representatives and with identical accompanying bills in the state Senate, they constituted a gross, blatant attack on LGBTQ2S+ people. They mainly targeted youth, from censoring . . . |

Melvin Goodman (2021-02-10). Biden: "Boxed-In" by the Military Establishment? counterpunch.org President Barack Obama got excellent advice from his vice president, Joe Biden, regarding dealing with the Pentagon and the military establishment. Above all, Biden warned, you shouldn't get "boxed-in" by the military. We're only several weeks into the Biden administration, and the military is already lobbying for increased funding for questionable reasons. The civilian defense establishment and its collegial think tanks as well as the mainstream media can be counted to support increased spending.

RT (2021-02-10). Even a child-murdering clown wears a mask! Hollywood supercut shows famous characters with masks on to endorse face coverings. rt.com The US Centers for Disease Control have reached out to movie-lovers with a montage of classic Hollywood scenes, masking up both heroes and villains. About as subtle as a sledgehammer, the message didn't land quite right. | The public service announcement, sponsored by Warner Media and the Ad Council, took iconic moments from popular films like 'The Matrix', 'Casablanca', and 'Lord of the Rings' and slapped masks on the characters. Notably, the list included both heroes and villains, including Pennywise the Dancing Clown, a child-murdering monster from the film adaptation of Stephen King's 'It'. | Heroes wear m…

Hope Yen, Calvin Woodward (2021-02-10). AP fact check: Trump's lawyers and the constitution. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump stretched beyond the facts Tuesday when they argued there's an open-and-shut case that the Constitution bars impeaching former presidents. That question is not settled, though the weight of legal views contradicts the Trump team's assertions. Bruce Castor and David Schoen addressed the Senate on the first day of Trump's …

Daniele Pozzati (2021-02-10). German Official Leaks Ministry of Interior Report Denouncing Corona as 'A Global False Alarm'. globalresearch.ca First published May 29, 2020 | See the latest report on the *** |
| Germany's federal government and mainstream media are engaged in damage control after a

Nowick Gray (2021-02-10). The Narrative Coup. Real News vs. Fake News. 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). | *** | Too much propaganda is merely propaganda. —Wm. T. Vollman, Europe Central…

Editor (2021-02-09). The Journalistic Censorship Industry Suffers Well-Deserved Blows. scheerpost.com By Glenn Greenwald / SubStack A new and rapidly growing journalistic "beat" has arisen over the last several years that can best be described as an unholy mix of junior high hall-monitor tattling and Stasi-like citizen surveillance. It is half adolescent and half malevolent. Its primary objectives are control, censorship, and the destruction of reputations for fun and power. |

Alan MacLeod (2021-02-09). Facebook hires ex-NATO press officer and social media censor Ben Nimmo as intel strategist. thegrayzone.com Nimmo has previously worked for NATO and the Integrity Initiative, a covert UK govt troll farm. His move to Facebook suggests more censorship on the way for anti-establishment voices. This report was originally published by Mint Press News. Ben Nimmo, a former NATO press officer and current senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, has announced Facebook has hired him to "lead global threat intelligence strategy against influence operations" and "emerging threats." Nimmo specifically named Russia, Iran and China as potential dangers to the …

Ralph Nader (2021-02-09). Democrats Disarm Themselves Before Trump's Senate Impeachment Trial. counterpunch.org Donald Trump, has with luck, eluded the consequences of being a failed gambling czar with no respect for the law. But his luck has reached a new level with Congressional Democrats refraining from holding him accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution as regularly as the rising and setting of the sun for

Alan Macleod (2021-02-09). From Concentration Camps to Overflow Facilities: With Biden in Charge, Media Forgets Kids in Cages. mintpressnews.com The lack of critical coverage of Biden's new announcement suggests that corporate media will no longer be as concerned about "kids in cages" now their preferred candidate is in the White House.

Raul Diego (2021-02-09). The Disarticulation of Pandemic War Propaganda. mintpressnews.com A now-deleted Missing from the…

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-02-09). Democrats WANT To Lose The Midterms: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Republicans: Good. | Democrats: We hear you and we honor your experience. | ‚ùñ | The USA is the single worst human rights offender on our planet. The fact that most of its transgressions take place outside its own borders makes it more egregious, not less. So-called human rights watchdog groups which fail to acknowledge this fact are propaganda constructs. | ‚ùñ | By 2024 the only mainstream US political debate allowed will be about whether America should nuke Russia or China. | ‚ùñ | "Kindly let me help you or you will drown, said the monkey putting th…

David Cruz and Juan Mazo (2021-02-09). South Florida: Capitalists worsen housing crisis during pandemic. liberationnews.org Florida tenants are amongst the highest at risk of eviction after years of Republican-controlled legislation stripping tenants of protections.

teleSUR (2021-02-09). Egypt Reopens Border Crossing To Gaza Strip. telesurenglish.net Egypt on Tuesday reopened the Rafah border crossing, which connects the country with the blockaded and bombed Gaza Strip, in order to allow passage in both directions, diplomatic sources announced. | RELATED: | That is the only crossing that is not controlled by Israel to the coastal enclave and its opening on Tuesday will allow the return of settlers to their land and the exit of those who require it, the Palesti…

RT (2021-02-09). 'QAnon Shaman' becomes MSM's latest dubious darling after doing CNN the favor of blaming his own crimes on Donald Trump. rt.com The horn-wearing US Capitol rioter known as the "QAnon Shaman" has gone from dangerous insurrectionist to redeemable newsmaker in the eyes of mainstream media. All it took was blaming ex-president Donald Trump for his crimes. | "I am deeply disappointed in former President Trump," Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who calls himself the QAnon Shaman, said Monday in a statement to CNN. "He was not honorable. He let a lot of peaceful people down." | Chansley issued his statement from jail through his lawyer, Albert Watkins, who expounded on Trump's evils in an interview Monday night with CNN host Chris Cuomo. Late…

RT (2021-02-09). 'They're silencing women who don't agree with radical feminism' — author who claims book was censored by Facebook tells RT. rt.com Big Tech is trying to silence women who speak out against radical feminism, author Carrie Gress told RT, after a Catholic store claimed that Facebook had taken down ads for her book on 'toxic femininity'. | A Catholic gift store, Guadalupe Gifts, said it was told by Facebook that it could not sell Gress's book on its platform because the item did not comply with the social network's "commerce policies." | "The book's been out for two years, so to get that kind of response at this point seems a bit ridiculous," Gress told RT. | In a late January email to the store, cited by the news website The College Fix, Fac…

MEE staff (2021-02-09). Golan Heights 'will continue' to be Israel's, says Netanyahu after Blinken remarks. middleeasteye.net Golan Heights 'will continue' to be Israel's, says Netanyahu after Blinken remarks | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds after US Secretary of State downplays country's claim to Syrian territory | Tue, 02/09/2021 – 16: 14 | The Israeli-controlled fence that separates occupied Golan Heights from rest of Syria, pictured on 12 May 2020 (AFP/File photo) | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu re…

oneworld.press (2021-02-09). The EU's Infowar Outlet Inadvertently Debunked Its Most Important Propaganda Point. oneworld.press "EU vs. Disinfo", which functions as the infowar outlet of the European External Action Service's (EEAS) East Stratcom Task Force, inadvertently debunked its most important propaganda point about Russia by drawing attention to the fact that publicly financed RT's Editor-In-Chief Margarita Simonyan has the professional freedom to voice views that differ from the Kremlin's official ones.

Yanis Iqbal (2021-02-09). Neoliberal Authoritarianism in Egypt. dissidentvoice.org The whiplash of authoritarianism is being ruthlessly used in Egypt. On January 6, 2021, Ahmed Khalifa, social news editor of Egypt 360 website, was arrested after publishing a series of reports on workers' legitimate protests. He was falsely charged with joining a terrorist group and spreading fake news, and remains in detention to date. Before his arrest, Khalifa …

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.

_____ (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.

2021-02-09: News Headlines

Alan Macleod (2021-02-09). Facebook Hires NATO Press Officer Ben Nimmo as Intelligence Chief. mintpressnews.com It is now difficult to distinguish where the deep state ends and the fourth estate begins and Ben Nimmo's move from NATO to NATO-aligned think tank to Facebook is just another example of this phenomenon.

Editor (2021-02-09). The Journalistic Censorship Industry Suffers Well-Deserved Blows. scheerpost.com By Glenn Greenwald / SubStack A new and rapidly growing journalistic "beat" has arisen over the last several years that can best be described as an unholy mix of junior high hall-monitor tattling and Stasi-like citizen surveillance. It is half adolescent and half malevolent. Its primary objectives are control, censorship, and the destruction of reputations for fun and power. |

Alan Macleod (2021-02-09). From Concentration Camps to Overflow Facilities: With Biden in Charge, Media Forgets Kids in Cages. mintpressnews.com The lack of critical coverage of Biden's new announcement suggests that corporate media will no longer be as concerned about "kids in cages" now their preferred candidate is in the White House.

Raul Diego (2021-02-09). The Disarticulation of Pandemic War Propaganda. mintpressnews.com A now-deleted Missing from the…

David Cruz and Juan Mazo (2021-02-09). South Florida: Capitalists worsen housing crisis during pandemic. liberationnews.org Florida tenants are amongst the highest at risk of eviction after years of Republican-controlled legislation stripping tenants of protections.

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-02-09). Democrats WANT To Lose The Midterms: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Republicans: Good. | Democrats: We hear you and we honor your experience. | ‚ùñ | The USA is the single worst human rights offender on our planet. The fact that most of its transgressions take place outside its own borders makes it more egregious, not less. So-called human rights watchdog groups which fail to acknowledge this fact are propaganda constructs. | ‚ùñ | By 2024 the only mainstream US political debate allowed will be about whether America should nuke Russia or China. | ‚ùñ | "Kindly let me help you or you will drown, said the monkey putting th…

Ralph Nader (2021-02-09). Democrats Disarm Themselves Before Trump's Senate Impeachment Trial. zcomm.org If the Democrats do not go full throttle in this trial — this last clear chance to exercise the Constitution against Tyrant Trump — they will be remembered as profiles of infamy…

RT (2021-02-09). 'They're silencing women who don't agree with radical feminism' — author who claims book was censored by Facebook tells RT. rt.com Big Tech is trying to silence women who speak out against radical feminism, author Carrie Gress told RT, after a Catholic store claimed that Facebook had taken down ads for her book on 'toxic femininity'. | A Catholic gift store, Guadalupe Gifts, said it was told by Facebook that it could not sell Gress's book on its platform because the item did not comply with the social network's "commerce policies." | "The book's been out for two years, so to get that kind of response at this point seems a bit ridiculous," Gress told RT. | In a late January email to the store, cited by the news website The College Fix, Fac…

MEE staff (2021-02-09). Golan Heights 'will continue' to be Israel's, says Netanyahu after Blinken remarks. middleeasteye.net Golan Heights 'will continue' to be Israel's, says Netanyahu after Blinken remarks | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds after US Secretary of State downplays country's claim to Syrian territory | Tue, 02/09/2021 – 16: 14 | The Israeli-controlled fence that separates occupied Golan Heights from rest of Syria, pictured on 12 May 2020 (AFP/File photo) | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu re…

oneworld.press (2021-02-09). The EU's Infowar Outlet Inadvertently Debunked Its Most Important Propaganda Point. oneworld.press "EU vs. Disinfo", which functions as the infowar outlet of the European External Action Service's (EEAS) East Stratcom Task Force, inadvertently debunked its most important propaganda point about Russia by drawing attention to the fact that publicly financed RT's Editor-In-Chief Margarita Simonyan has the professional freedom to voice views that differ from the Kremlin's official ones.

Yanis Iqbal (2021-02-09). Neoliberal Authoritarianism in Egypt. dissidentvoice.org The whiplash of authoritarianism is being ruthlessly used in Egypt. On January 6, 2021, Ahmed Khalifa, social news editor of Egypt 360 website, was arrested after publishing a series of reports on workers' legitimate protests. He was falsely charged with joining a terrorist group and spreading fake news, and remains in detention to date. Before his arrest, Khalifa …

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.

_____ (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 …

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.

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…