(2022-02-25). Chris Hedges: Russia, Ukraine and the Chronicle of a War Foretold. mintpressnews.com 
After the fall of the Soviet Union, there was a near-universal understanding among political leaders that NATO expansion would be a foolish provocation against Russia. How naive we were to think the military-industrial complex would allow such sanity to prevail.
(2022-02-25). EU imposes sanctions on Russia as NATO escalates troop deployments. wsws.org The NATO powers are intensifying economic and military pressure on Russia, risking escalation of the conflict into a global war between the major nuclear powers.
(2022-02-25). War crisis triggers market swings. wsws.org Global economy and financial markets are being hit by "stagflationary" shock as the major powers consider whether to exclude Russia from the Swift international payments system.
(2022-02-25). EU Should Urge US to Change Its Course Aimed at Containing Russia, Chinese Media Says. sputniknews.com On Thursday, the US imposed a string of new "severe" sanctions on the Russian economy after Moscow began a special military operation to demilitarise Ukraine following the Donbass republics' request for Russia's assistance in repelling growing attacks by Ukrainian forces.
(2022-02-25). West's Resolve to Sanction Any State With Its Own Position Endangers World Order – Russian Envoy. sputniknews.com On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced a number of new sanctions that he said would "impose severe costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time".
(2022-02-25). Georgia won't join West in sanctioning Russia over Ukraine. rt.com 
Tbilisi said it would continue to de-escalate its tense relations with Russia despite the attack on Ukraine | Georgia will not participate in economic and financial sanctions on Russia following Moscow's full-scale assault against Ukraine, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili told the country's media on Friday, citing national interests. | "During these years, among other issues, we have managed to de-escalate our tense relations with Russia, which was in line with Georgia's national interests, and I will not make any decisions against them," the PM said. | In a statement on Friday, the National Bank of Georgia…
(2022-02-25). The Keep Africa Poor and Dependent Project. dissidentvoice.org Exploited and abused for generations by white colonial powers and manipulative economic structures, there is a growing feeling of solidarity within parts of the African continent, as exemplified by the #NoMore movement. Covid vaccine inequality and environmental injustice, together with recent events in Ethiopia, have galvanized people. Ideas of African unity and rage against former …
(2022-02-25). EU Sanctions Against Russia Should Be Cancelled, Head of German Party AfD Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Tino Chrupalla, the co-chairman of the German right-wing party AfD, has called for the lifting of all European economic sanctions against Russia, stressing that they have not had the desired effect in the past.
(2022-02-25). Sat, Feb 26 @ 12pm — Stop racist union-busting! Black Lives Matter! iacenter.org On the tenth anniversary of the killing of Trayvon Martin STOP RACIST UNION-BUSTING! Black Lives Matter! Saturday, February 26 @ 12pm Barclays Center, Brooklyn NYPD arrests Amazon Union Leader Chris Smalls for delivering food NYPD HANDS OFF AMAZON LABOR UNION! REHIRE THE STARBUCKS WORKERS MEMPHIS 7! Labor leaders, union supporters and anti-racist activists will gather noon Saturday in Brooklyn to denounce the racist union-busting campaigns being organized by the bosses at Amazon and Starbucks. African-American labor leader Chris Smalls, arrested Wednesday for the crime of delivering food to Amazon workers, will b…
(2022-02-25). Antarctica: Where Realpolitik and Science Meet. dissidentvoice.org A frozen continent. Another potential frontier for conflict and competition. Antarctica is a part of the world were realpolitician meets scientist; the desire for finding exploitable resources meets environmental expectations and fears. Countries have vied for their little slice of ice, sometimes citing reasons of scientific collaboration, and often national self-interest. Much of this culminated …
(2022-02-25). Cleveland Starbucks workers: 'We are stronger together'. workers.org 
Cleveland The Starbucks union organizing is moving faster than a runaway train. Workers at over 100 stores have now filed for a representation election with the National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks Workers United achieved this milestone when two Cleveland-area stores filed Feb. 18, following a January filing from the West . . . |
(2022-02-25). Exsenadora colombiana Piedad Córdoba pide acogerse a la JEP. telesurtv.net Piedad Córdoba señaló que en su labor como activista humanitaria tuvo la posibilidad de escuchar testimonios que podrían contribuir en el Caso 001.
(2022-02-25). Major League Baseball spring training delayed as lockout continues. wsws.org The owners, who have vastly increased their revenue share as a result of the last collective bargaining agreement (CBA), intend to maintain their beneficial wealth distribution by offering small, incremental changes in a new CBA.
(2022-02-25). Congressional Hearing Highlights Need for IMF Policy Change to Support an Equitable Global Recovery. cepr.net On February 17, 2022, the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy held a virtual hearing titled "The Role of the International Monetary Fund in a Changing Global Landscape." The hearing addressed critical issues facing developing countries in their efforts to recover from the fallout of the COVID-19 …
(2022-02-25). China's SWIFT alternative may undercut US sanctions. asiatimes.com 
Washington's new sanctions against Russia were no match for President Biden's rhetoric, leaving out the most obvious measure that the United States might take to hurt Moscow, namely exclusion from the SWIFT international payments system. Banks conduct virtually all hard-currency transactions via SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. But a new Chinese …
(2022-02-25). Ukraine bans transactions in Russian and Belarusian rubles. rt.com 
The country's central bank earlier prohibited financial operations on accounts of Russian residents | The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said on Friday it has prohibited the country's banks from making any foreign exchange transactions using Russian and Belarusian rubles. | According to the regulator, Ukrainian banks will also not be able to make any foreign exchange transactions, if the participant involved is an individual or legal entity located in either Russia or Belarus. | On Thursday, the Ukraine's central bank switched to an emergency mode of operation and announced a number of restrictive measures due…
(2022-02-25). Financial scandal at Black Lives Matter foundation: Who benefits from racialist politics? wsws.org While leaders of the official Black Lives Matter organization have profited from book deals and corporate sponsorships, tens of millions of dollars in revenues are unaccounted for.
(2022-02-25). North Carolina prison inmates initiate hunger strike against inhumane treatment and grossly inadequate pandemic response. wsws.org The strike came to light nearly two weeks ago after family members of one of the inmates contacted the non-profit law firm, North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services.
(2022-02-25). øA las puertas de un mundo posneoliberal? globalizacion.ca Aunque hay quienes afirman que la pandemia y la crisis climática son indicios del final del neoliberalismo, otros consideran que su caja de herramientas no está vacía. Para el posneoliberalismo hace falta una nueva política y un cambio de estructuras….
(2022-02-24). Declaración del Partido por el Socialismo y la Liberación: Detener la expansión de la OTAN para garantizar la paz en Ucrania. liberationnews.org 
La abolición de la OTAN resolvería las tensiones explosivas en Europa del Este y representaría un paso histórico hacia la paz mundial.
(2022-02-24). Hedges: Chronicle of a War Foretold. scheerpost.com 
Svyatoslav, 6, plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions in a move that could rewrite the world's geopolitical landscape. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) |
| By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost | I was in Eastern Europe in 1989, reporting on the revolutions that overthrew the ossified communist dictatorships that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was a time of hope. NATO,…
(2022-02-24). 'Not One Inch Eastward:' How the War in Ukraine Could Have Been Prevented Decades Ago. scheerpost.com 
[ By Thirty years ago the current conflict with Russia was foretold and feared. George Kennan, James Baker, Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator Sam Nunn, and Thomas Friedman, among others, all warned in the 1990s of a new Cold War if NATO was expanded without including Russia. | In order to unde…
(2022-02-24). Russian Stock Market Collapses 50%, Ruble In Free Fall: 5 Things To Know About Economic Consequences Of Ukraine War. moguldom.com The Russian stock market collapsed by more than 50 percent and the ruble went into freefall on Thursday, Feb. 24 after the Moscow Exchange resumed trading following a two-hour suspension. Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped trading to announce "a special military operation" against Ukraine. Russian forces started the attack before dawn from three sides, targeting …
(2022-02-24). What Can Biden Say About the Economic State of Our Union? inequality.org
(2022-02-24). México defiende su independencia económica. globalizacion.ca Con prudencia y a la par valentía, el presidente mexicano Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) ha ido explicando a sus coterráneos y al mundo cómo compañías españolas han obtenido enormes ganancias en detrimento del bienestar del pueblo, mediante contratos firmados…
(2022-02-24). Studs Terkel's 'Working' 50 Years On. mronline.org 
First published in January 1972, Working is a baggy collection of over seven-hundred and sixty pages, most devoted to the reflections of ordinary Americans about their economic lives. From the Terkel archive, it's clear that his interest in work was long standing and went well beyond the USA.
(2022-02-24). We Cannot Separate the Movements for Black Electoral Power and Economic Power. inequality.org
(2022-02-24). Reducing Oil Prices Without Ruining the Environment: Pay People Not to Drive. cepr.net There undoubtedly will be people who get away with substantial amounts of cheating, but that should not be an excuse for not adopting an environmentally friendly way of reducing the price of oil on world markets.
(2022-02-24). Ukraine crisis sends global markets plummeting. rt.com 
Stocks across Europe, Asia and the US see sharp selloff as military | conflict intensifies | Stock markets across the world sold off sharply on Thursday after the Russian Armed Forces confirmed the first airstrikes against military targets in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin ordered the operation in the Donbass region to protect the local population against Ukrainian shelling attacks, days after recognizing the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. | The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell by 2.31% in early trade, with the financial sector leading the losses, sending major bourses sliding into bear territory.
(2022-02-24). Phil Wayland on UK High Court upholding denial of Unemployment Credit uplift to two million claimants. wsws.org Four legacy benefit claimants challenged the government decision in the High Court on the grounds of unlawful discrimination.
(2022-02-24). Mitigating global food waste: Does China provide lessons? mronline.org 
Apart from the fact that China's food system offers lessons that could improve policy-making in both high and low-income countries, the world's most populous country is also one of the world's major producers of food despite having less cultivated land.
(2022-02-24). UNESCO report: 10 million arts jobs lost in 2020 due to COVID-19. wsws.org The study reports that in 2020, "the income drawn by creators fell by more than 10 percent, or more than 1 billion euros. What was already a precarious situation for many artists has become unsustainable, threatening creative diversity."
(2022-02-24). Starbucks Tries To Slow Union Elections But Misses Legal Deadline. popularresistance.org As more baristas around the country seek to unionize, Starbucks has used a massive legal team to slow the pace of union elections. But the coffee chain suffered a tough legal setback on Friday, all thanks to some late emails. | Workers at several stores in upstate New York recently petitioned for union elections, just like the two stores in the Buffalo area that successfully unionized last year. But Starbucks, through its lawyers from the firm Littler Mendelson, has asked the National Labor Relations Board not to move ahead with the votes, arguing that elections for individual stores aren't appropriate. The compa…
(2022-02-24). Union tries to outlaw 'captive audience' meetings at Alabama Amazon. peoplesworld.org 
BESSEMER, Ala.—The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is using the rerun of the unionization vote at Amazon's big Bessemer, Ala., warehouse to try to outlaw one of the big tools in bosses' anti-union anti-worker toolbox, captive audience meetings. The challenge is in the form of one of three labor law-breaking—formally called unfair labor practices—charges …
(2022-02-24). Bipartisan line-up in Australia behind US moves against Russia. wsws.org With Labor's backing, the government has offered full-throated political support to the US and has effectively intervened militarily by offering to assist the Ukrainian military, including in cyber warfare.
(2022-02-24). Manchin Reportedly Backing Corporate-Friendly Michelle Childs for Supreme Court. truthout.org 
As President Joe Biden considers several top Supreme Court picks, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) is reportedly telling colleagues in private that he prefers a GOP-backed candidate, who unions and pro-labor advocates have sounded the alarm about for her history of advocating for corporations against workers, According to Punchbowl, multiple anonymous sources have said that Manchin wants J. Michelle Childs in…
(2022-02-24). Engaging Federici on Marx, Capitalism, and Social Reproduction. mronline.org 
The discussion of Marx is embedded in Federici's signature critique of the social reproduction of labor power in capitalist societies.
(2022-02-24). Wage Cap Allows Millionaires to Stop Contributing to Social Security on February 24, 2022. cepr.net Social Security, the program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to almost one-in-five people in the US, stops getting support from America's wealthiest today. Thursday the 24th is the first day of 2022 that millionaires make no contribution to the program. Most people are not aware that Social Security contributions are capped at the …
(2022-02-24). Oil breaches $105 as Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies. rt.com 
Major crude benchmarks hit their highest price levels since 2014 | Oil prices surged on Thursday, with the major global crude benchmark, Brent, breaching $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014, amid concerns that the escalating crisis between Russia and Ukraine over the Donbass regions could disrupt global energy supplies. | On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation, aimed at "the defense" of the newly recognized republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The first Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian military positions have been confirmed by Moscow. | The Brent crude pri…
(2022-02-24). Life insurance companies report a sudden rise in non-COVID-related deaths. wsws.org New light is being shed on the colossal human impact of the pandemic, not from government health reports, but from the financial accounts of giant corporations.
(2022-02-24). Far-Right Livestreamer Who Attended Capitol Insurrection Got Federal Pandemic Relief Funds. splcenter.org The federal government program intended to support businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic awarded more than $20,000 in forgivable loans to a far-right livestreamer and treasurer for a white nationalist nonprofit, Hatewatch found.
(2022-02-24). Reaction To Haitian Strike Exposes Liberal Lie On 'Feminist Foreign Policy'. popularresistance.org A government truly committed to a "feminist foreign policy" would support Haitians striking to boost their 70-cents-per-hour wage. But thus far Canadian officials have responded to the workers' action by paying a celebratory visit to a sweatshop and ignoring protests repressed by Canadian-funded police. | At the start of last week thousands of Haitian apparel workers launched a strike for a higher minimum wage. Thousand have taken to the streets in Port-au-Prince calling for a tripling of their 500 gourdes daily salary (CDN $6.20). The largely female workforce stitches shirts and other apparel for brands like Gap…
(2022-02-24). Sovereignty and Self-Determination in the Age of Capitalism-Imperialism. anchor.fm In this episode I talk about how the Ukrainian intensification has continued, the recent passing of a new abortion bill in Columbia, as well as an abortion bill that is hopefully going to be passed here in the US, HR 3755 "Women's Health Protection Act", and its comparison also to other legislation being passed in Texas against our Trans comrades, children and loved ones. Plus much more!
(2022-02-24). Judge upholds strike injunction at BNSF: US capitalism disciplines the working class while preparing for war. wsws.org Faced with a resurgence of the class struggle, the capitalist ruling class is reviving all the anti-democratic methods that it used to crush workers' resistance in previous generations.
(2022-02-24). PSL Statement on Russia's Military Intervention in Ukraine. liberationnews.org 
The conflict currently exploding in Ukraine and rippling throughout the region and the entire world is hugely dangerous. The reckless and provocative actions of the U.S. government and its allies must cease immediately.
(2022-02-24). Strikers at the University of Manchester speak on working conditions. wsws.org World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to striking lecturers on picket lines on Tuesday, just before brutal pension cuts were forced through by employers at a meeting of the Universities Superannuation Scheme's Joint Negotiating Committee.
(2022-02-24). Important Clarification by the Union of Soviet Officials on the US/EU Imperialist Aggression against Ukraine. libya360.wordpress.com Editorial Comment: The Union of Soviet Officers clarifies some points of Putin's speech when he discredits the successes of the USSR, the policy of the Communist Party and the Soviet power, which saved Russia from collapse and colonization. In addition to attempts to blame the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the escalation of the…
(2022-02-24). Dutch communists commemorate 81st anniversary of 1941 February Strike. peoplesdispatch.org Under the call of the Communist Party of Netherlands (CPN), the Dutch working class organized a heroic strike on February 25 and 26, 1941 against the persecution of Jews in the country under Nazi Germany occupation…
(2022-02-24). Statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on Ukraine. libya360.wordpress.com Statement of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation The people of Ukraine should not be a victim of global capital and oligarchic clans. After the appeal of the leaders of the DNR and LNR, the Russian authorities launched a military-political operation aimed at…
(2022-02-24). In solidarity rally, Young Communists bring striking miners' fight to Blackrock HQ. peoplesworld.org 
CHICAGO—Members of the Young Communist League gathered in Chicago to demonstrate that solidarity crosses state lines. In front of the downtown Chicago headquarters of asset-management giant, BlackRock, demonstrators rallied in support of the mineworkers striking against Warrior Met Coal in Alabama. Miners in Alabama have been on strike for nearly a year, demanding their pay, …