(2022-01-16). US official threatens Russia with 'sharp pain' inflicted 'very fast'. rt.com 
Top American diplomat promises swift response should Moscow 'invade' Ukraine in 'any form' | The US has some 18 "different scenarios" up its sleeve to react to any form of Russian attack on Ukraine, leading official Victoria Nuland has warned, promising to inflict "sharp pain" on Moscow should it make such a move. | Nuland, who currently serves as undersecretary of state for political affairs in President Joe Biden's government, made the thinly veiled threat in an interview with the Financial Times published on Saturday. | "I'm not going to preview 18 different scenarios … I would simply say that our…
(2022-01-16). Iranian delegation to visit Iraq for economic talks. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (MNA) — An Iranian economic delegation will leave for Iraq on Monday to discuss the expansion of cooperation in various fields.
(2022-01-16). Rentier capitalism and class warfare in Kazakhstan. zcomm.org Blame 'free' market reforms that benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the working class for the country's recent protests…
(2022-01-16). One third of small U.S. firms see sales drop amid surging Omicron cases. ecns.cn Thirty-three percent of small firms in the United States have reported revenue decreases in the week ended Jan. 9 due to the surge of Omicron cases, the highest since February last year, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing the U.S. Census Small Business Pulse Survey.
(2022-01-16). Ominous History in Real Time: Where We Are Now in the USA. zcomm.org Corporate power constrains just about everything, whether healthcare or education or housing or jobs or measures for responding to the climate emergency. What prevails is the political structure of the economy…
(2022-01-16). Turkey striving for rapid de-dollarization. rt.com 
The country's finance minister has pledged to accelerate ditching the greenback in the coming days | The process of de-dollarizing the Turkish economy will be accelerated in the coming weeks, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati. | The government will step up the conversion of the nation's foreign currency holdings into Turkish lira, he said, adding that more than 131 billion lira ($9.69 billion) had been deposited in accounts under the plan. | The government program, unveiled last month, is intended to protect lira deposits from further forex depreciation, as well as to make citizens fee…
(2022-01-16). China to promote orderly transfer of manufacturing industry. ecns.cn China has issued a guideline on promoting the orderly transfer of the manufacturing industry to facilitate coordinated development among different regions and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains.
(2022-01-16). Tuesday 1/25: Dollar for Dollar NOW: From Pay Equity to Paid Leave – The Push for Economic Justice. indybay.org Online webinar…
(2022-01-16). U.S. 'New Cold War' non-strategic, failing: The Diplomat magazine. ecns.cn The U.S. military and its civilian leaders are wrong to wage the "New Cold War" by overemphasizing militarized responses to economic and diplomatic challenges, The Diplomat magazine has reported.
(2022-01-16). Bank privatization isn't conducive for financial markets under capitalism. peoplesdispatch.org One of the most important arguments advanced by John Maynard Keynes, the renowned economist, was that the operation of financial markets under capitalism is deeply flawed. Such markets are intrinsically incapable of distinguishing between "enterprise" where an asset is held because of the stream of returns that its ownership yields over time, and "speculation" where an asset is held not for this yield but only because it can be sold at a higher price tomorrow to someone else who in turn would buy it because he believes that he can sell it at an even higher price the day after tomorrow. | The existence of speculat…
(2022-01-16). UK Labour Leader Starmer on 'Partygate': 'I Think PM Johnson Broke the Law'. sputniknews.com UK PM Boris Johnson is currently under fire over what has already been named "partygate": a series of alleged parties that took place on Downing Street at a time when the United Kingdom was under strict coronavirus restrictions.
(2022-01-16). Democrat group hides comments accusing Nike of slave labor after praising company. rt.com 
Occupy Democrats scrubbed its page of references to slave labor and child workers after celebrating Nike's decision to threaten unvaccinated employees with dismissal | Occupy Democrats, a popular left-wing political advocacy group which supports the US Democratic Party, was caught hiding comments expressing concern about slave labor after it praised sportswear company Nike. | The group praised Nike on social media after the multi-billion-dollar company threatened to fire employees who remained unvaccinated against Covid-19. | "Nike sends a defiant letter to its remaining unvaccinated employees that they will b…
(2022-01-16). William Scheuerman's "A New American Labor Movement" (SUNY Press). zcomm.org During 2021, there were signs of growing militancy in America's beleaguered union movement, as thousands of workers went out on strike at John Deere, Kellogg's, Nabisco, Frito-Lay, Volvo, Frontier Communications, New York University, and Columbia University, as did thousands more from the ranks of union carpenters, hospital workers, airport workers, and coal miners. Even so,
(2022-01-16). China debunks Xinjiang-related lies fabricated by anti-China forces. ecns.cn A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday refuted the so-called "genocide" and "forced labor" in Xinjiang that U.S. politicians, in collusion with some anti-China organizations and individuals, have been unscrupulously spreading and hyping up for their ulterior political purpose.
(2022-01-16). Warren Demands Private Equity-Backed Firms Answer for Role in Rising Rent Prices. zcomm.org Sen. Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers from housing corporations with backing from private equity, who she says are involved in inflating housing prices for both renters and buyers.
(2022-01-16). Why is Jerusalem Losing the Quality of Life Race to Other Israeli Cities? sputniknews.com The poll compared 16 large cities across Israel and the satisfaction of its residents when it came to quality of life, security, employment options, connectivity, and other factors. The disputed city only managed to get positive grades in 18 of the 51 elements the poll attempted to compare.
(2022-01-16). Rest Is Important, but Corporate Polluters Want Us to Stay Distracted. zcomm.org It's hard to take on systems, but until we do, they'll continue to grind up nature and spit out profit where rivers, forests and meadows once stood…
(2022-01-16). Microsoft Warns of Destructive Malware in Computer Systems of Ukrainian State Institutions. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The computer systems of several Ukrainian government agencies and non-profit organisations have been infected with malware disguised as ransomware, Microsoft said.
(2022-01-16). Xinjiang airports resume int'l cargo operations. ecns.cn Airports in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have resumed their international cargo operations as part of efforts to stabilize global industrial and supply chains.
(2022-01-15). Syria and Iran Agree to Establish Joint Bank, Free Trade Zones. telesurenglish.net Iran's Road and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi announced that Tehran and Damascus have agreed on establishing a joint bank with various branches in addition to joint free trade zones. | RELATED: | In a statement, Qasemi confirmed that he had met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and discussed the Syrian economy. | The Iranian minister also mentioned that he met with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, where the two agreed to establis…
(2022-01-15). US seeking ways to profit should Russia-Ukraine conflict break out — reports. rt.com 
Washington is predicting a probable military assault despite firm denials by Russia | The US State Department has reportedly held talks with international energy majors on the possibility of contingency supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe if conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts deliveries. | Over the past several months, the White House has repeatedly expressed the concern that Russia is preparing to launch a military assault on Ukraine. Russia has made it clear it has no such plans. | The US administration has threatened Moscow with another round of "crippling" sanctions in the event of…
(2022-01-15). Australian Trade Unions Demand Free COVID Testing For All. popularresistance.org In a scathing condemnation of the Scott Morrison government, Australian trade unions criticized its inability to make testing for COVID-19 freely available for all. The country's largest apex trade union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), released a statement on Thursday, January 13, criticizing the failure to make Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) free and accessible for all. | "The ACTU condemns in the strongest possible terms the Prime Minister's failure at National Cabinet to ensure Rapid Antigen Tests be made free and accessible for all to protect worker and community safety and get the economy mo…
(2022-01-15). The COVID-19 RT-PCR Test: How to Mislead All Humanity. Using a "Test" To Lock Down Society. globalresearch.ca The misuse of the RT-PCR technique is used as an intentional strategy by some governments, supported by scientific safety councils and by the dominant media, to justify the violation of a large number of constitutional rights, the destruction of the economy with the bankruptcy of entire active sectors of society,…
(2022-01-15). One third of small U.S. firms see sales drop amid surging Omicron cases. ecns.cn Thirty-three percent of small firms in the United States have reported revenue decreases in the week ended Jan. 9 due to the surge of Omicron cases, the highest since February last year, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing the U.S. Census Small Business Pulse Survey.
(2022-01-15). President Maduro Presents Annual Message to the Nat'l Assembly. telesurenglish.net During his annual report to the National Assembly, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros stressed the active role and growth of the Public Powers and the Venezuelan people during the year 2021, despite all the efforts from the opposition to do away with the Bolivarian Revolution. | President Nicolas Maduro: There was a 4.9% increase in household consumption. We reached 80% of digital economy. Venezuela has not renounced, nor will it ever renounce its Bolivar currency.
(2022-01-15). Imran Khan's Party Accused of Neglecting Pakistani Region Bordering Afghanistan. sputniknews.com For months, Pakistani PM Imran Khan's government has been battling criticism from all quarters. While thousands of students protested in October on the issue of rising educational costs, the opposition has been on the offensive over the state of the nation's economy. But Khan appears to have found a new enemy in the form of his own party now.
(2022-01-15). China to promote orderly transfer of manufacturing industry. ecns.cn China has issued a guideline on promoting the orderly transfer of the manufacturing industry to facilitate coordinated development among different regions and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains.
(2022-01-15). Mali Cancels Military Agreements with France. libya360.wordpress.com Voltairenet On 10 January 2022, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided to close land and air borders between member-countries and ali and to freeze assets of the Republic of Mali in ECOWAS Central Banks, as sanctions in response to the announcement by the transitional authorities to postpone the presidential election to the…
(2022-01-15). U.S. 'New Cold War' non-strategic, failing: The Diplomat magazine. ecns.cn The U.S. military and its civilian leaders are wrong to wage the "New Cold War" by overemphasizing militarized responses to economic and diplomatic challenges, The Diplomat magazine has reported.
(2022-01-15). Tuesday 1/25: Dollar for Dollar NOW: From Pay Equity to Paid Leave – The Push for Economic Justice. indybay.org Online webinar…
(2022-01-15). Nationwide protests break out in Lebanon amid mounting economic, social and political crisis. wsws.org Soaring inflation, including a massive rise in the cost of food, fuel and medicine, has completely devastated workers' living standards.
(2022-01-15). Germany has lost its economic freedom — Russia. rt.com 
Lack of certification demonstrates that Berlin can't perform ordinary commercial activities, says Moscow | The ongoing saga with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its long wait for approval and certification shows that Germany has no freedom to pursue its own economic interests, Russia's foreign minister has claimed. | Speaking to the Russian First Channel on Thursday, Sergey Lavrov suggested that right now Berlin doesn't have economic sovereignty and is at the mercy of third parties. | "About Nord Stream 2, it's no longer about freedom to choose alliances. It's just freedom to carry out ordinary commercial a…
(2022-01-15). Nationwide protests break out in Lebanon amid mounting economic, social and political crisis. wsws.org Soaring inflation, including a massive rise in the cost of food, fuel and medicine, has completely devastated workers' living standards.
(2022-01-15). To fight effects of rising prices, fight for cost of living protection. themilitant.com Rising prices — especially on food, gas, rent and other necessities — are wreaking havoc with the lives of millions of working people. Strikes and other struggles by workers and their unions today for wage raises include demands for cost-of-living adjustment clauses in contracts and benefits to counter the effects of rising prices on workers' real wages. | The boss class is pushing to defend its markets and profits from competitors by worsening the conditions and wages of the working class. | The fight for COLA was one of the key demands in strikes waged by 10,000 members of the United Auto Workers at…
(2022-01-15). Monthly Child Tax Credit Payments Have Ended as Congress Debates Its Future. truthout.org 
Originally published by For six months at the tail end of two tumultuous years, parents received direct payments — no strings attached — of as much as $300 per child in their bank accounts. By many accounts, that money delivered long-awaited relief for 61 million children, dropping rates of poverty and hunger. | This week will mark the first time since July that parents will go without a monthly paymen…
(2022-01-15). Russia makes vaccine passports policy change. rt.com 
Officials say the proposed legislation is not suited to the current coronavirus situation | Russian lawmakers have postponed consideration of a bill that would introduce a nationwide system of QR-code vaccine passes, saying that the law needs to be adapted to deal with the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. | Tatyana Golikova, the deputy prime minister for social policy, labor, health and pension provision, told journalists on Friday that government officials, together with leaders of ruling party United Russia, had decided the proposed legislation would need to be adjusted before it could be considered further.
(2022-01-15). Letras de Género desde el aislamiento, dos años después. cubadebate.cu øLogramos tomarle el pulso a un país donde los debates sobre igualdad e inclusión estuvieron más presentes que antes? No siempre. Pero lo intentamos. La violencia y las estrategias para su prevención, las labores de cuidado, el nuevo Código de las Familias y los debates en torno al acoso y al abuso formaron parte de nuestros temas.
(2022-01-15). Day 1 of Colorado King Soopers strike: Interview with a striker. fightbacknews.org Fight Back! interviews Carol McMillian, a bakery worker from Denver currently on strike against the unfair labor practices of King Soopers, a division of Kroger. | Fight Back!: Why are you out here today on the picket line? | Carol McMillian: The reason we are out on the picket line today is because of the company's unfair labor practices. That is our dispute with King Soopers. | Fight Back!: Can you go into a little more detail about what those unfair labor practices are? | McMillian: The unfair labor practices that the company is participating in right now is, first of all they have attempted to hire [people at…
(2022-01-15). Growing support for Southern California trash collection workers as local government seeks to break month-long strike. wsws.org As a public health emergency is declared in light of infestations and contamination, Republic Services is enlisting city employees and volunteers as scab labor.
(2022-01-15). Growing support for Southern California trash collection workers as local government seeks to break month-long strike. wsws.org As a public health emergency is declared in light of infestations and contamination, Republic Services is enlisting city employees and volunteers as scab labor.
(2022-01-15). Letras de Género desde el aislamiento, dos años después. cubadebate.cu øLogramos tomarle el pulso a un país donde los debates sobre igualdad e inclusión estuvieron más presentes que antes? No siempre. Pero lo intentamos. La violencia y las estrategias para su prevención, las labores de cuidado, el nuevo Código de las Familias y los debates en torno al acoso y al abuso formaron parte de nuestros temas.
(2022-01-15). Most detailed 3D map of universe released. rt.com 
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument accurately maps galaxy positions through time to help scientists better understand dark energy | The most detailed 3D map of the universe to date, showing the location of 7.5 million galaxies, has been published by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) cosmic survey project. | The map, released on Thursday by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is leading the project, is the result of the first seven months of DESI's operations. | Each dot in the image represents an individual galaxy, consisting of between 100 billion and one trillion stars. The map s…
(2022-01-15). China debunks Xinjiang-related lies fabricated by anti-China forces. ecns.cn A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday refuted the so-called "genocide" and "forced labor" in Xinjiang that U.S. politicians, in collusion with some anti-China organizations and individuals, have been unscrupulously spreading and hyping up for their ulterior political purpose.
(2022-01-15). Inflation hits a 40-year high as record corporate profits roll on. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Wednesday, January 12 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that prices of consumer goods rose 7% in 2021. This is the highest rate of inflation in 40 years. With workers' wages only up by 4.7% last year, the purchasing power of workers' earnings fell by more than 2%. | One important cause of higher prices was the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While spending on services, which involve more human contact and a greater possibility of infection lagged, spending on goods surged. This was the case for used cars, where prices went up 37.3% last year, as travel on mass transit decli…
(2022-01-15). Oil pushes past $86 as greenback wilts. rt.com 
WTI and Brent Futures surged by as much as 2% | Global prices for crude climbed to a nine-week high as the US dollar headed for its largest weekly fall in over a year, turning commodities into a more affordable purchase for holders of other currencies. | Brent crude futures increased by 1.93% to $86.1 per barrel — its highest level since October 25, 2021. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for February delivery rose by 2.2% to $83.95 per barrel, leading the US benchmark to post a 6.2% weekly gain — its fourth weekly rise in a row. | The US dollar index was 0.1% higher at 94.931, but finis…
(2022-01-15). A Short History of the US-Pakistan Relationship. dissidentvoice.org 
On January 10, 2022, National Security Advisor (NSA) Moeed Yusuf said, "It [Pakistan] is still not [free from US influence] and I doubt that there is any country which is free from it." He added that the country does not have any financial independence, being dependent on loans from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other foreign …
(2022-01-15). 'New Level of LOW': Britney Spears Obliterates Her Sister Jamie Lynn for Knife Incident Claims. sputniknews.com The pop star has already clashed with her sister, saying she was profiting off her name after Jamie Lynn came forward with her memoir describing the Spears family.
(2022-01-15). Australian governments claim Omicron peaking as hospitalisations and deaths mount. wsws.org Claims COVID-19 case numbers will soon decrease are part of the profit-driven campaign to force potentially infectious workers back on the job.
(2022-01-15). Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia. wsws.org Delhi University staff strike over unpaid wages; Sri Lankan health workers strike in North Central Province; Australia: Patrick Terminals to terminate enterprise agreement…
(2022-01-15). Thousands strike King Soopers groceries in Colorado. themilitant.com ARVADA, Colo. — Some 8,400 grocery store workers, members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, went out on strike Jan. 12 at 87 stores in the region. They are fighting for better wages and working conditions, and against the two-tier divisions in the workforce imposed by the bosses, and other takeback demands. | At the Arvada King Soopers store here, over 20 strikers walked the picket line at dawn. Karrie Jaramillo, pictured above second from the right, told the Militant "We all do the same work, we should all get the same thing!" She has worked for the grocery store for six years and still is una…