2022-02-03: News Headlines

Party for Socialism & Liberation (2022-02-03). Friday 2/4: Capitalism shows its true colors: Money for war, but not for people's needs. indybay.org Virtual event. Register at bit.ly/stop-nato-war

Global Research News (2022-02-03). Selected Articles: Canadian Officials Who Met with Ukrainian Unit Linked to Neo-Nazis Feared Exposure by News Media. globalresearch.ca Dear Readers, | As everyone faces difficult times, the company which deals with the fulfillment of book sales on behalf of Global Research is no longer able to provide its services. We are unfortunately suspending the sale of print books until …

WSWS (2022-02-03). Deepening crisis of American capitalism as national debt hits $30 trillion. wsws.org The endless rise of the national debt, now $7 trillion more than the size of the entire US economy, is the outcome of deeply rooted processes whereby profits are increasingly obtained through stock market and other financial operations.

_____ (2022-02-03). Situation in Turkey is Putting Erdogan's Abilities to the Test. journal-neo.org In the last few years, Turkey's economy has been caught in a drawn-out recession, largely due to the increasing costs related to the current model of economic growth. And as the economy is deteriorating, so is the political and economic situation in the country, forcing President Erdogan to make choices which are far from popular. …

Stop the Money Pipeline Coalition, more (2022-02-03). Tuesday 2/8: Climate Crisis: Help Stop Wall Street's Toxic Money Gamble w/ Our Economy & Planet. indybay.org Online event via Zoom…

Staff (2022-02-03). Argentina: Máximo Kirchner Resigns as President of Frente de Todos Parliamentary Block (+IMF). orinocotribune.com Máximo Kirchner resigned on Monday, January 31, from his responsibility as the head of the Frente De Todos (ruling party) in the Congress of the Argentine Republic. The deputy, who until Monday presided over the block of deputies of the ruling party, made his decision public through a statement in which he expressed his disagreement with President Alberto Fernández's economic policy, embodied in the recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). | With this position, the son of former President Néstor Kirchner and current Vice President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández, distanced himself from the pr…

Staff (2022-02-03). 60 años de bloqueo: El sistema de sanciones económicas más duradero de la historia. cubadebate.cu De acuerdo al último informe publicado por el Minrex en junio de 2021, a precios corrientes, los daños acumulados en casi seis décadas de aplicación de esta política ascienden a 147 mil 853,3 millones de dólares. Según datos de la Oxfam, el 78% de las niñas y mujeres en Cuba nacieron bajo estas sanciones. En general, más del 70% de la población cubana ha nacido bajo estos efectos. Entre ellos, el hermano de Frank.

Minnie Bruce Pratt (2022-02-03). Amazon worker organizing accelerates with union voting. workers.org Worker organizing at Amazon received international coverage when the Associated Press used a photo of this Workers Assembly Against Racism rally for the Amazon Labor Union, on Oct. 25, 2021, to announce upcoming union elections in February 2022. Headlines screamed alarm Jan. 26 in capitalist business media like the Wall . . . |

Labor Video Project (2022-02-03). The Antioch Police Attack On KPFA Journalist Frank Sterling. indybay.org KPFA journalist Frank Sterling was attacked and arrested by Antioch police on September 18, 2021. He continues to face charges and is fighting for the charges to be dropped.

Staff (2022-02-03). Díaz-Canel se reúne con expertos cubanos: Por una respuesta más integral y culta hacia los jóvenes. cubadebate.cu Díaz-Canel sostuvo un encuentro con expertos de la Academia de Ciencias de Cuba, donde se abordó el tema del desafío generacional para el desarrollo del proyecto de la Revolución. Elaborar una política de atención integral hacia las juventudes y crear un grupo de trabajo gubernamental para ello, fueron dos de las propuestas de los investigadores.

WSWS (2022-02-03). Australian government in meltdown months out from federal election. wsws.org Morrison's hated government could not have survived this long without the bipartisan assistance of Labor and its associated trade unions.

sputniknews (2022-02-03). UN Survey: Moscow World's Best City in Terms of Quality of Life, Infrastructure Development. sputniknews.com The City Prosperity Index (CPI) measures different kinds of achievements in a city and identifies its prosperity with success, wealth, thriving conditions, well-being as well as confidence in the future, and opportunities for all.

WSWS (2022-02-03). As oil giants announce massive profits, BP oil refinery worker in Indiana declares: "We're ready to strike" wsws.org Oil workers are angered over being kept in the dark by the United Steelworkers (USW) and are ready to fight the highly profitable oil giants.

WSWS (2022-02-03). US autoworkers support European Ford workers' fight against concessions: "We are all behind you in the United States" wsws.org Ford workers in Europe recently formed a rank-and-file committee to organize against attempts to roll back wages and working conditions.

Poor People's Campaign (2022-02-03). Thursday 2/3: 15th Amendment Day: Protect Voting Rights & Pass Living Wages Now! Virtual Rally w/ PPC. indybay.org Online via livestream…

WSWS (2022-02-03). Berlin Administrative Court declares criticism of capitalism unconstitutional. wsws.org The German court judgement and its written grounds represent a fundamental attack on democratic rights. The aim is to ban socialist ideas and any criticism of capitalism.

Juan Cole (2022-02-03). The Boosted are 97 times less likely to die of Covid, as Republican Party Death Cult Kills Tens of Thousands. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The United States has failed Covid. Compared to most other industrialized countries, its per capita rate of infection and death is much higher. Despite having plenty of vaccines, there has been a lag in getting them into people's arms, especially into the arms of the most at-risk group, of those …

WSWS (2022-02-03). Governor Ron DeSantis refuses to denounce Florida Nazis, attacks Democrats instead. wsws.org The Florida governor's refusal to condemn members of the National Socialist Movement is another example of the transformation of the Republican Party into a fascist movement.

Suds Snacks, Socialism forum Committee (2022-02-03). Saturday 2/5: Building an Independent campaign to Put the Public in Public Education. indybay.org

Rick Rozoff (2022-02-02). NATO absorbing Ukraine, all of Europe, into cyber warfare network. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com All of Europe excepting Belarus and Russia. See final sentence. (Odd that Ireland isn't included, as it's a member of the Partnership for Peace along with the four nations listed.) === Ukraine seeks closer ties with NATO on cyber defense Ukrainian government officials want closer collaboration with NATO's cyber center of excellence…. Ukraine has found …

_____ (2022-02-02). America Is Reaping What It Sowed In Ukraine. popularresistance.org So what are Americans to believe about the rising tensions over Ukraine? The United States and Russia both claim their escalations are defensive, responding to threats and escalations by the other side, but the resulting spiral of escalation can only make war more likely. Ukrainian President Zelensky is warning that "panic" by U.S. and Western leaders is already causing economic destabilization in Ukraine. | U.S. allies do not all support the current U.S. policy. Germany is wisely refusing to funnel more weapons into Ukraine, in keeping with its long-standing policy of not sending weapons into conflict zones. Ral…

_____ (2022-02-02). Central Asia becomes a Platform for Cooperation between Russia, India and China. journal-neo.org Central Asia (CA), due to its geostrategic location at the junction of Europe and Asia, its proximity to the leading international actors such as Russia and China, its wealth of natural resources and its yet-to-be fully exploited trade and economic opportunities, has recently attracted increasing interest from international actors. In order to create a stable …

WSWS (2022-02-02). International Viewpoint supports war propaganda against Russia. wsws.org Under the misleading title "Time for International Anti-War Solidarity," unnamed "Ukrainian socialists" called on the "international left" to "condemn the imperialist policies of the Russian government."

Dana Sanchez (2022-02-02). Billionaire Macro Trader George Soros: China Is Facing An Economic Crisis. moguldom.com China's real estate industry has been hit by a series of defaulting developers and prices are falling on homes and land. The country is facing an economic crisis and its president may not be able to restore confidence in the troubled industry, says billionaire George Soros, a critic of Xi Jinping in recent years. Soros joined …

_____ (2022-02-02). Investing In Infrastructure And Rebalancing Trade Can Create Good Jobs For All. popularresistance.org The mismanaged integration of the United States into the global economy has devastated U.S. manufacturing workers and their communities. Globalization of our economy, driven by unfair trade, failed trade and investment deals, and, most importantly, currency manipulation and systematic overvaluation of the U.S. dollar over the past two decades has resulted in growing trade deficits—the U.S. importing more than we export—that have eliminated more than five million U.S. manufacturing jobs and nearly 70,000 factories. These losses were accompanied by a shift toward lower-wage service-sector jobs with fewe…

Dean Baker (2022-02-02). Marketplace Radio Gives Us the Latest Bad News on the Economy: A Glut of Retail Goods. cepr.net In the old days, we might have thought that too many goods, with too few buyers, might have meant lower prices.

Maxximilian Seijo (2022-02-02). Historicizing Inflation and Price Controls with Andrew Elrod. mronline.org Andrew Elrod joins Money on the Left to discuss the political economy of inflation and price controls, past and present. Elrod holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara and is presently Research Specialist at United Teachers Los Angeles, a 36,000-member labor union. In our conversation, Elrod overturns one of the …

Staff (2022-02-02). Heating costs double in Europe's biggest economy. rt.com Germany's household energy costs saw the greatest rise in 2021 | The cost of heating and electricity in Germany increased by 107% and 41% respectively over the past year, Der Spiegel reported, citing a spokesperson of the Check24 portal, which compares prices for goods and services in the country. | According to data, the average household in Germany had to pay €1,193 for gas and fuel oil in January 2021, with the cost rising to almost €2,472 last month. The main reason for that was the sharp rise in energy prices, the newspaper said, adding that high wholesale gas prices have affected end-user price…

_____ (2022-02-02). Feb. 3 Webinar: Camila Saab, Wife Of Diplomat/US Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Alex Saab is a Venezuelan diplomat the US government has illegally seized and imprisoned for what the US considers "violation" of the illegal US economic warfare on Venezuela. He was in fact assisting Venezuela in legally working around the US blockade on his country by finding the means to import food, medicine, and materials for the Venezuelan oil industry. The US is seeking to coerce Alex Saab into disclosing the methods Venezuela uses to circumvent the US-Canadian-European sanctions with the goal of further tightening the economic blockade and suffering on the Venezuelan people. These sanctions are illegal ac…

Editor2 (2022-02-02). Sabbagh: Western Coercive Measures Escalate Suffering of Millions of Syrians. orinocotribune.com Syria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations stressed that the US and EU illegitimate unilateral coercive measures escalated the suffering of millions of Syrians. | Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh made his remarks in a session of the Security Council on Friday on the humanitarian situation in Syria. | "The economic terrorism and the collective punishment policies represented by the illegitimate unilateral coercive measures imposed by the US and the EU have escalated the suffering of millions of Syrians who bear big burden to obtain their basic needs, in flagrant violation of all international legal standards…

Staff (2022-02-02). Tomorrow February 3 Webinar: In Conversation with Camila Saab, Wife of Alex Saab & Special Guest, Oscar López Rivera. orinocotribune.com Alex Saab is a Venezuelan diplomat the US government has illegally seized and imprisoned for what the US considers "violation" of the illegal US economic warfare on Venezuela. He was in fact assisting Venezuela in legally working around the US blockade on his country by finding the means to import food, medicine, and materials for the Venezuelan oil industry. The US is seeking to coerce Alex Saab into disclosing the methods Venezuela uses to circumvent the US-Canadian-European sanctions with the goal of further tightening the economic blockade and suffering on the Venezuelan people. These sanctions are illegal ac…

C.J. Polychroniou (2022-02-02). Organizers in Appalachia Are Building a Green New Deal Blueprint for Themselves. truthout.org The Green New Deal proposal is one of the only effective, broadly recognized pathways to tackle the climate crisis and address its social and economic consequences. It is technologically possible and economically sustainable. Yet although the Green New Deal project is already under way in some shape or form in various states, it has yet to be scaled up to the national level. In fact, climate policy as a whole has been stalled in Congress, and the Biden administration has so far engaged mor…

Rachel Godin (2022-02-02). US Economic Policy is Bringing Famine to 23 Million Afghans. peaceaction.org People, Not Statistics Without urgent humanitarian support and international cooperation, one million children are predicted to starve this year in Afghanistan. Ever since America's withdrawal of troops from the country, humanitarian partners have been "racing against time to deliver aid and supplies" to half of the country's population that now requires humanitarian assistance to survive. …

_____ (2022-02-02). Workers At Two Philly Starbucks Stores Want To Unionize. popularresistance.org Starbucks workers at two Philadelphia stores took a key step in forming a union last Friday, accelerating a budding labor movement at the coffee giant that has seen employees at dozens of the chain's locations nationwide try to organize. | Baristas at the 1945 Callowhill St. and 600 South Ninth St. stores filed petitions to hold elections on union representation with the National Labor Relations Board, a first step in the process. The unionizing effort took root in December when two Starbucks stores in Buffalo, N.Y., voted to join Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. | So far…

Joseph Essertier (2022-02-02). Annihilating the Virus Enemy in Japan. dissidentvoice.org According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 18,515 people had lost their lives to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by 24 January 2022. Of those deaths, four were minors, i.e., 19 years of age or younger. At this point, nobody can say exactly why the Archipelago of Japan has emerged …

Rosalío Muñoz (2022-02-02). Bakery Workers Local 37 strike in L.A. enters third month with growing solidarity. peoplesworld.org LOS ANGELES—The three-month strike of predominantly female Latina workers at the Jon Donaire ice cream cake production plant in Santa Fe Springs, an industrial area of greater Los Angeles County, has generated an impressive amount of labor, community, and political solidarity. The strikers demand better pay, respect, and improvement of injurious job conditions that have …

WSWS (2022-02-02). As shift to electric vehicles accelerates, unions collaborate with automakers to slash jobs and labor costs. wsws.org General Motors has announced a major investment in electric vehicle production in Michigan, which will be predicated on low-wage, subcontract workers.

Fight Back (2022-02-02). USW rejects Marathon's proposal, offers 24-hour rolling extensions of current oil agreements. fightbacknews.org Pittsburgh, PA – The United Steelworkers union (USW) announced today that it rejected Marathon Petroleum's most recent proposal for a pattern settlement on wages, benefits and working conditions for approximately 30,000 USW members in the oil and petrochemical industry. The union then offered rolling 24-hour extensions of the current labor agreements. | The USW has been in talks with Marathon, which represents industry as its lead negotiator, since January 13. The current national agreement expired at midnight on February 1. | "Our members remain strong and united in their commitment to reaching a deal that meets…

teleSUR, hvh, JCM (2022-02-02). Desempleo impacta más en las mujeres en Latinoamérica, según la OIT. telesurtv.net América Latina ha tenido históricamente una situación laboral desfavorable, la cual es aún más difícil para las mujeres.

Jake Johnson (2022-02-02). US Has the Highest COVID Death Rate Among Wealthy Countries. truthout.org A new data analysis out Tuesday demonstrates that Covid-19 is now killing people at a significantly higher rate in the United States than in other rich countries, a grim reality that analysts have attributed to the nation's lagging vaccination campaign and — more broadly — its fragmented for-profit Citing figures from Johns Hopkins University, the World Bank, and the U.S. government,…

WSWS (2022-02-02). Wildcat strikes against high prices spread across Turkey amid pandemic. wsws.org As Erdogan's government has lifted all remaining measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and openly adopted a "herd immunity" policy, a wildcat strike wave against skyrocketing living costs is growing across the country.

Editor (2022-02-02). IMF says to Nepal Rastra Bank: "COVID-19 related support measures in the financial sector should however be gradually unwound, and the remaining ones should be targeted and time bound. mronline.org The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed dissatisfaction over the role played by Nepal Rastra Bank to ensure stability of Nepal's banking sector.

Isheka N. Harrison (2022-02-02). Rent Inflation Is Up 40% In Some Cities, Forcing Millions To Relocate. moguldom.com Rent inflation is skyrocketing across the U.S. and it's forcing millions of people to relocate. Some have had to leave behind their native cities to find affordable housing for their families. Jonathan "JonKel" Kelly is one of them. A Miami native and poet who also works with youth at a nonprofit, Kelly said he ultimately …

ecns.cn (2022-02-02). U.S. national debt surpasses 30 trln USD as Fed prepares to raise rates. ecns.cn The U.S. national debt has surpassed 30 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time, raising concerns about future fiscal sustainability, as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates to tame inflation.

WSWS (2022-02-02). USW blocks strike, extends contract for 30,000 US oil workers. wsws.org Marathon, which is leading the negotiations for the massively profitable oil giants, has made a "final" offer of between 2 and 3 percent annual raises, a deep cut in real wages given the yearly inflation rate of 7 percent.

_____ (2022-02-02). In A Single Year, $1.78 Trillion Was Taken From The Working Class. popularresistance.org The fate of the Build Back Better Act is currently unknown. The bill would be the largest social spending achievement in decades and provide needed services and support to millions of families‚Äâ—‚Äâwith more than half of the proposed $1.75 trillion in spending going to child care, preschool, affordable housing, higher education and healthcare. | But this proposed spending, over 10 years, is barely noticeable compared with the wages workers have lost over the past 40 years. In terms of productivity, wages should be significantly higher than they are, and the average worker…

Matt Sedlar (2022-02-02). The Historic Opportunities for Racial Equity in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. cepr.net The IIJA has provided a historic opportunity for advancing racial equity in infrastructure investments. Only if state and local activists force their elected officials to take advantage of it will its full potential be realized.

Ann Brown (2022-02-02). BLM Finances And Leadership Are A Mystery: 5 Quotes From Experts In Nonprofit Industrial Complex. moguldom.com Black Lives Matter may have garnered worldwide attention during protests against police brutality including the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but there remain questions about the organization's leadership and finances. For many, BLM is shrouded in mystery. The organization raked in $90 million in 2020 alone, yet many of the chapters …

Editor (2022-02-02). Non-capitalist mixed economies: what makes a socialist? mronline.org In this paper I attempt to provide a short overview of the subject. Words like democracy, freedom, anarchist, Marxist, communist are used in so many different meanings that they become meaningless. One such word is "socialist." — László Tàºt≈ë…

Fight Back (2022-02-02). Tallahassee: AFSCME at FAMU demands raises. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL – On February 1 from 8 to 11 a.m., around 20 people showed up to AFSCME 3343's informational picket line to demand Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) raise the wages of workers on campus. | Members of the AFSCME Local 3343, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Graduate Students United and City Commissioner Jack Porter all stood on the roundabout between FAMU and Wahnish Way, with signs insisting that FAMU's leadership come to the bargaining table ready to pay up. | "It's time that we start negotiating in black and white and take care of employees on campus," said Andre Cr…

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