Monthly Archives: February 2021

2021-02-06: News Headlines

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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…

Global Research News (2021-02-04). Selected Articles: Towards 2030, NATO Is Shaping Our Future. globalresearch.ca By According to what we hear from officials and the mainstream media, the new variants are the most dangerous and unpredictable beings since …

Amelia Janaskie (2021-02-04). What They Said About Lockdowns Before 2020. anti-empire.com In 2020, beliefs about how to handle a new virus shifted massively. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, mainstream epidemiology and public health entities doubted — or even rejected — the efficacy of lockdowns and mass quarantines because they were considered ineffective. This all changed in March 2020, when sentiment flipped in support of lockdown measures. Still, there is a vast body of evidence explaining their original stance and why these mandates do not work. |

_____ (2021-02-04). American Healthcare System Failed Black Americans. popularresistance.org There are certain policy positions that are such a slam dunk that if someone does not support them, I can't take anything they say seriously, nor can I trust their judgement. Medicare for All is one of those polices. It is the most pro-black legislation in mainstream political discourse right now. Our black leaders, such as Jim Clyburn, teaming up with health insurance companies and Big Pharma, are why the state of healthcare in the African American community is so bleak, as I laid out in my previous article | Liberals, for good reason, hold social wedge issues as their primary litmus test. Can you imagine a stan…

teleSUR (2021-02-04). 'Right-Wing Media Attack Arauz to Halt His Victory' Expert Say. telesurenglish.net Argentine political scientist Atilio Boron on Wednesday denounced that the Latin American mainstream media is harassing Andres Arauz in an attempt to prevent his victory in the Ecuadorian presidential elections on February 7. | RELATED: | On Monday, for instance, the Buenos Aires outlet Clarin reported that the leftist candidate got the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina last month. | "The information is based on uni…

RT (2021-02-04). AOC compared to Jussie Smollett after her 'near-death' riot experience revealed as hiding from POLICE in office OUTSIDE Capitol. rt.com Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being compared to the actor who staged an attack on himself, after her account of fearing for her life during the January 6 riot was fact-checked, exposing that she wasn't in the Capitol building. | The hashtags #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett, along with #AOCLied, trended on Wednesday, following a fact-check of AOC's (D-New York) Instagram livestream two days prior by OAN journalist Jack Posobiec. During her emotional one-and-a-half-hour-long talk, Ocasio-Cortez admitted that she was not in the Capitol building during the riot to begin with, but continued to claim that she experienced a…

RT (2021-02-04). Progressive journalist Jordan Chariton regrets calling for social media bans after 'seeing Silicon Valley's censorship onslaught'. rt.com After some of his own videos were pulled by YouTube, progressive reporter Jordan Chariton has had a change of heart about Big Tech's crackdown on extremist content, arguing that it's a pretext to purge all alternative views. | In a series of tweets, the popular pundit and co-founder of Status Coup News revealed that footage of the January 6 Capitol riots had been yanked from his YouTube channel, apparently for violating the platform's policies against "spam and deceptive practices." The video's deletion followed a similar incident in which a livestream of a right-wing rally held several days before Joe Biden's…

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…

sputniknews (2021-02-04). 'We're Challenging Power': YouTube's Indie Media Crackdown Aims to 'Prop Up' Mainstream Channels. sputniknews.com In a widespread crackdown on Wednesday, YouTube demonetized several independent media and analysis channels, providing only the vaguest of explanations as to why. One of the affected analysts told Sputnik the move has come amid a decline in corporate news ratings and rising interest in independent reporting.

Susan Price (2021-02-04). Inventing reality: Venezuela's parliamentary election. greenleft.org.au The bare minimum the Western mainstream media could do is report accurately on Venezuela's recent parliamentary election, writes Rodrigo Acuna. Once again they have failed.

RT (2021-02-03). Warning labels: TikTok introduces Twitter-like censorship measures to curb 'misinformation'. rt.com Video sharing app TikTok will slap warning labels on videos it suspects contain "misinformation" and discourage users from sharing them. The move brings TikTok's policies closer in line with those of Twitter. | TikTok already removes videos that its fact-checkers deem to contain "false" information. However, the Chinese-owned company is expanding on this policy, and Starting…

Steve Poikonen (2021-02-03). YouTube's Orgy of Censorship & Narrative Management w/Convo Couch & Franc Analysis. slownewsdayshow.com Franc Analysis | Convo Couch |

Global Research News (2021-02-03). Selected Articles: Calling for an "American Ministry of Truth". The US Media's Dystopian "2021" globalresearch.ca By Along with Big Brother mass surveillance and newspeak, Orwell's Ministry of Truth was all about controlling the message, eliminating whatever conflicts …

Eds. (2021-02-03). The global struggle for bodily autonomy. mronline.org The example of Sparta is an interesting precedent for the way in which people's bodies have been controlled and utilized beyond their consent throughout history. The control of our bodies presupposes capitalism, but capitalism in turn has entrenched it.

MEE and agencies (2021-02-03). Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. middleeasteye.net Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon | Lebanese security sources say the anti-aircraft missiles failed to hit target, which returned to Israel | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 14: 35 | Naqura, south of the Lebanese city of Tyre, which is controlled by the United Nations peacekeeping force (Unifil), on the border with Israel (AFP) | Anti-aircraft missiles were fired at an Isra…

2021-02-05: News Headlines

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

_____ (2021-02-04). American Healthcare System Failed Black Americans. popularresistance.org There are certain policy positions that are such a slam dunk that if someone does not support them, I can't take anything they say seriously, nor can I trust their judgement. Medicare for All is one of those polices. It is the most pro-black legislation in mainstream political discourse right now. Our black leaders, such as Jim Clyburn, teaming up with health insurance companies and Big Pharma, are why the state of healthcare in the African American community is so bleak, as I laid out in my previous article | Liberals, for good reason, hold social wedge issues as their primary litmus test. Can you imagine a stan…

Amelia Janaskie (2021-02-04). What They Said About Lockdowns Before 2020. anti-empire.com In 2020, beliefs about how to handle a new virus shifted massively. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, mainstream epidemiology and public health entities doubted — or even rejected — the efficacy of lockdowns and mass quarantines because they were considered ineffective. This all changed in March 2020, when sentiment flipped in support of lockdown measures. Still, there is a vast body of evidence explaining their original stance and why these mandates do not work. |

teleSUR (2021-02-04). 'Right-Wing Media Attack Arauz to Halt His Victory' Expert Say. telesurenglish.net Argentine political scientist Atilio Boron on Wednesday denounced that the Latin American mainstream media is harassing Andres Arauz in an attempt to prevent his victory in the Ecuadorian presidential elections on February 7. | RELATED: | On Monday, for instance, the Buenos Aires outlet Clarin reported that the leftist candidate got the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina last month. | "The information is based on uni…

RT (2021-02-04). Progressive journalist Jordan Chariton regrets calling for social media bans after 'seeing Silicon Valley's censorship onslaught'. rt.com After some of his own videos were pulled by YouTube, progressive reporter Jordan Chariton has had a change of heart about Big Tech's crackdown on extremist content, arguing that it's a pretext to purge all alternative views. | In a series of tweets, the popular pundit and co-founder of Status Coup News revealed that footage of the January 6 Capitol riots had been yanked from his YouTube channel, apparently for violating the platform's policies against "spam and deceptive practices." The video's deletion followed a similar incident in which a livestream of a right-wing rally held several days before Joe Biden's…

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…

RT (2021-02-04). AOC compared to Jussie Smollett after her 'near-death' riot experience revealed as hiding from POLICE in office OUTSIDE Capitol. rt.com Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being compared to the actor who staged an attack on himself, after her account of fearing for her life during the January 6 riot was fact-checked, exposing that she wasn't in the Capitol building. | The hashtags #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett, along with #AOCLied, trended on Wednesday, following a fact-check of AOC's (D-New York) Instagram livestream two days prior by OAN journalist Jack Posobiec. During her emotional one-and-a-half-hour-long talk, Ocasio-Cortez admitted that she was not in the Capitol building during the riot to begin with, but continued to claim that she experienced a…

Susan Price (2021-02-04). Inventing reality: Venezuela's parliamentary election. greenleft.org.au The bare minimum the Western mainstream media could do is report accurately on Venezuela's recent parliamentary election, writes Rodrigo Acuna. Once again they have failed.

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…

sputniknews (2021-02-04). 'We're Challenging Power': YouTube's Indie Media Crackdown Aims to 'Prop Up' Mainstream Channels. sputniknews.com In a widespread crackdown on Wednesday, YouTube demonetized several independent media and analysis channels, providing only the vaguest of explanations as to why. One of the affected analysts told Sputnik the move has come amid a decline in corporate news ratings and rising interest in independent reporting.

Steve Poikonen (2021-02-03). YouTube's Orgy of Censorship & Narrative Management w/Convo Couch & Franc Analysis. slownewsdayshow.com Franc Analysis | Convo Couch |

RT (2021-02-03). Warning labels: TikTok introduces Twitter-like censorship measures to curb 'misinformation'. rt.com Video sharing app TikTok will slap warning labels on videos it suspects contain "misinformation" and discourage users from sharing them. The move brings TikTok's policies closer in line with those of Twitter. | TikTok already removes videos that its fact-checkers deem to contain "false" information. However, the Chinese-owned company is expanding on this policy, and Starting…

MEE and agencies (2021-02-03). Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. middleeasteye.net Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon | Lebanese security sources say the anti-aircraft missiles failed to hit target, which returned to Israel | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 14: 35 | Naqura, south of the Lebanese city of Tyre, which is controlled by the United Nations peacekeeping force (Unifil), on the border with Israel (AFP) | Anti-aircraft missiles were fired at an Isra…

Global Research News (2021-02-03). Selected Articles: Calling for an "American Ministry of Truth". The US Media's Dystopian "2021" globalresearch.ca By Along with Big Brother mass surveillance and newspeak, Orwell's Ministry of Truth was all about controlling the message, eliminating whatever conflicts …

Eds. (2021-02-03). The global struggle for bodily autonomy. mronline.org The example of Sparta is an interesting precedent for the way in which people's bodies have been controlled and utilized beyond their consent throughout history. The control of our bodies presupposes capitalism, but capitalism in turn has entrenched it.

Ralph Nader (2021-02-03). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. commondreams.org Allowing the Trumpian half of his brain to overpower his judgment and vote to acquit Dangerous Donald would spell disaster for the Republican Party (assuming the Democratic Party doesn't go to sleep as it did after Obama's win in 2008). | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

RT (2021-02-03). Poor taste? Burger King SAVAGELY trolls injury-hit Hazard by joking he missed training to take advantage of 2-for-1 offer. rt.com Eden Hazard's time at Real Madrid has been plagued by injury and barbs about his weight, and fast food giant Burger King put the boot in amid a new setback by claiming the star missed training to indulge in their special offer.

RT (2021-02-03). Washington joins crusade against free speech, backs Ukrainian crackdown on opposition media as EU & Zelensky's dad voice concerns. rt.com The US has waded into a row over media censorship in Ukraine, backing a ban on opposition TV channels as both the EU and President Volodymyr Zelensky's own father expressed grave concerns over the impact on free speech. | In a statement issued on Twitter Wednesday, the American embassy in Kiev wrote that it "supports efforts yesterday to counter Russia's malign influence." It described the shuttering of broadcasters as "in line with [Ukrainian law], in defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity." | The US supports üá∫üᶠefforts yesterday to counter Ru…

Andrew Korybko (2021-02-03). Examining The Ethics & Implications Of Twitter's Censorship Policy In India. thealtworld.com Twitter caused a stir by complying with the Indian government's request to temporarily "withhold" access to dozens of accounts for users within the country in response to claims that they were "inciting violence" during the ongoing farmers' protests, which prompts some very important ethical questions that have a few disturbing implications for the freedoms of speech and assembly in Western-style democracies across the world. | Everyone across the world is talking about social media censorship after former US President Trump was deplatformed last month by the world's largest companies in this sphere following the…

oneworld.press (2021-02-03). Examining The Ethics & Implications Of Twitter's Censorship Policy In India. oneworld.press Twitter caused a stir by complying with the Indian government's request to temporarily "withhold" access to dozens of accounts for users within the country in response to claims that they were "inciting violence" during the ongoing farmers' protests, which prompts some very important ethical questions that have a few disturbing implications for the freedoms of speech and assembly in Western-style democracies across the world.

Jack Rasmus (2021-02-02). Gamestop and the Game That Never Stops! counterpunch.org This past week a video game company in trouble, Gamestop, became the center of media attention. Day traders had driven up the company's stock price by thousands of percent in just one day. The mainstream media narrative was the 'small guy' investor challenged the big boys of finance who had bet Gamestop stock price would

Armin Rosen (2021-02-02). Regime Journalists Mobilize to Ban Competition. And Your Free Speech. anti-empire.com "Like many of the other proponents of controlled speech mentioned here, Bazelon's writing has a detectable winking quality to it: Don't worry, dear reader, YOU'RE not the one who's going to be censored. THEY are. In fact, the censorship, so-called, won't even be that bad. You'll hardly notice it." | "One thing that people might not immediately recognize when they hear scary-sounding words like "censorship" is that the act of controlling other people's speech can be gratifying, a psychic net-positive for those who dream of a purified information space."The new enemy is no longer "disinformation" but "misinformatio…

RT (2021-02-02). New York Times calls for MINISTRY OF TRUTH, urging Biden to appoint a 'REALITY CZAR' to head up fight against 'misinformation'. rt.com Striving to silence voices with which the mainstream media disagrees, the New York Times has urged President Joe Biden to appoint a "reality czar" to lead the fight against "disinformation and domestic extremism." | And yes, George Orwell fans, America's supposed newspaper of record used the phrase

_____ (2021-02-02). Gamestop—And the Game That Never Stops! popularresistance.org This past week a video game company in trouble, Gamestop, became the center of media attention. Day traders had driven up the company's stock price by thousands of percent in just one day. The mainstream media narrative was the 'small guy' investor challenged the big boys of finance who had bet Gamestop stock price would contract, not rise sharply. The little investor, so the story goes, initially won big but Gamestop's stock price escalation was stopped in its tracks by coordinated forces of Wall St., as trading was abruptly halted later in the day in the midst of the run-up. But that narrative, that media spin,…

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2021-02-02). In Victory for Public Health, Federal Judge Scraps Trump's Polluter-Friendly 'Censored Science' Rule. commondreams.org "Science matters again, and it will again guide how to best protect people from dangerous pollution and toxic chemicals." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Grant Molen (2021-02-02). White or Wealth Supremacy? realprogressives.org The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 authorized the dissemination of US state department propaganda to foreign nations deemed a threat to American democracy. This act has been a useful tool for intelligence operatives who have repeatedly sought to stamp out populist revolutions in countries with access to valuable natural resources. Through the spread of propaganda and the arming of US aligned insurgency groups, the US has been able to foment confusion and discord in foreign populations resulting in unwinnable political battles, power struggles and weak leadership representing the working people's interests. In the pow…