(2023-02-16). That 3.0 Percent Jump in Retail Sales in January Is Not a Big Deal. cepr.net There were several news stories on the 3.0 percent jump in retail sales the Commerce Department reported for January that took this as evidence that the economy was still very strong. In fact, since the January rise followed two months where reported sales fell sharply, the picture is far more ambiguous. Reported sales fell by …
(2023-02-16). U.S. Sanctions on Syria Block aid! End Sanctions NOW! Learn how SanctionsKill. iacenter.org The demands are rising! End the sanctions on Syria. Thousands caught under the rubble. Tens of thousands are homeless. Yet U.S. sanctions are blocking every form of relief. We need an international campaign to END these deadly sanctions. Order 2nd Edition, just released SANCTIONS — A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy: iacenter.org/sanctions-book Download the REPORT: US Sanctions: Deadly, Destructive and in Violation of International Law Get the latest updates at: syriasupportmovement.org The anthology: SANCTIONS: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy challenges a deadly U.S. policy. In 3 mont…
(2023-02-16). China makes 'great leap forward' in human rights protection: senior diplomat. ecns.cn Over the past years, China has made "a great leap forward" in protecting all Chinese people's economic, social and cultural rights "in a coordinated manner".
(2023-02-16). That 3.0 Percent Jump in Retail Sales in January Is Not a Big Deal. cepr.net There were several news stories on the 3.0 percent jump in retail sales the Commerce Department reported for January that took this as evidence that the economy was still very strong. In fact, since the January rise followed two months where reported sales fell sharply, the picture is far more ambiguous. Reported sales fell by …
(2023-02-16). U.S. Sanctions on Syria Block aid! End Sanctions NOW! Learn how SanctionsKill. iacenter.org The demands are rising! End the sanctions on Syria. Thousands caught under the rubble. Tens of thousands are homeless. Yet U.S. sanctions are blocking every form of relief. We need an international campaign to END these deadly sanctions. Order 2nd Edition, just released SANCTIONS — A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy: iacenter.org/sanctions-book Download the REPORT: US Sanctions: Deadly, Destructive and in Violation of International Law Get the latest updates at: syriasupportmovement.org The anthology: SANCTIONS: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy challenges a deadly U.S. policy. In 3 mont…
(2023-02-16). China makes 'great leap forward' in human rights protection: senior diplomat. ecns.cn Over the past years, China has made "a great leap forward" in protecting all Chinese people's economic, social and cultural rights "in a coordinated manner".
(2023-02-16). China-U.S. cooperation in line with interests of two peoples: spokesperson. ecns.cn China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is in line with the interests of both the Chinese and U.S. people, and is also important for world economic growth, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
(2023-02-16). Plan forged for higher product, service quality. ecns.cn Accelerated efforts will be made to improve the overall quality of Chinese products and services, as well as the influence of Chinese brands, by 2025, so as to boost the country's industrial competitiveness for more economic growth.
(2023-02-17). The Earthquake, The Deregulation, Corruption & The Erdogan Government. indybay.org The catastrophic earthquake in Turkey has exposed the massive privatization, deregulation and corruption by the Erdogan government. The WorkWeek show looks at the growing social and economic crisis…
(2023-02-16). Sanctions only create suffering for poor people, so why keep imposing them? peoplesworld.org 
For decades, the United States government has used economic sanctions as a supposedly non-violent way of forcing supposed enemy states to capitulate to the will of the U.S. We are told that as opposed to open conflict, sanctions are less violent. At first glance, this might seem true… a more humane form of warfare, if …
(2023-02-16). We Need to Talk About the Original Sin of Economics. scheerpost.com 
(2023-02-16). U.S. Sanctions Against Zimbabwe Condemned as "Crime Against Humanity" covertactionmagazine.com The U.S. is blaming Zimbabwe's government (which it is conveniently trying to overthrow) for the tragic humanitarian crises afflicting its suffering people. But the International People's Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism has now placed responsibility directly on the harsh economic sanctions that the U.S. has been imposing on Zimbabwe for the last 22 years. Just two …
(2023-02-16). Venezuela Exported 50,000 Tons of Seafood in 2022. orinocotribune.com 
In 2022, as part of the economic diversification of the country, Venezuela registered a 13% increase in seafood exports if compared with 2021, an increase of over 5,000 tons of fish. | According to the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Juan Carlos Loyo, among the most exported marine species are: tajali, red snapper, curbina, and shrimp. | "In the case of shrimp, it is one of the main species at the export level, just like crab and tajali," said the minister. | In 2021, Venezuela exported a total of 44,059 tons of fish, reported a press release from the ministry. | Likewise, Loyo pointed out that in this 202…
(2023-02-16). U.S. explores Ukraine conflict's impact on energy market. america.cgtn.com 
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee held a hearing on the impact the conflict in Ukraine is having on energy markets. The top Democrat and Republican Senators on the committee are both from fossil fuel-producing states and used the hearing to promote US …
(2023-02-17). Temple University students rally in support of striking grad students as union promotes Democrats. wsws.org Hundreds turned out to oppose Temple University's aggressive attempts to intimidate students and force striking grad students to accept poverty wages.
(2023-02-16). Senate Dems Warn GOP Budget Cuts Would "Deny 1 Million Babies Access to Formula" truthout.org Top Senate Democrats released a report Wednesday highlighting the far-reaching implications of the House GOP majority's push to freeze federal spending at fiscal year 2022 levels, a cap that would inflict severe cuts on programs that help low-income families afford food, healthcare, housing, and other necessities. "We've heard a lot of talk from House Republicans about cutting spending… |
(2023-02-16). UK: Starmer says Corbyn cannot stand as a Labour MP. wsws.org Corbyn's permanent expulsion from the Parliamentary Labour Party is the outcome of his own political cowardice and hostility to the class struggle.
(2023-02-16). New Zealand government slashes funding for COVID response. wsws.org Since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's resignation in January, the Labour government has taken further steps to dismantle funding and support for people with COVID-19.
(2023-02-17). Put The Bird DOWN Elon At Twitter! Launch Musk On Autopilot To Mars NOW! indybay.org Artists, poets and labor activists rallied in front of Twitter to demand that Elon Musk be sent to Mars on autopilot. They also spoke out against the illegal layoffs at Twitter and the violations of health and safety along with racist working conditions at Tesla which is called the plantation by Tesla workers.
(2023-02-17). Cal-OSHA, Amazon & The Corporate Capture Of California Agencies with Whistleblower David. indybay.org David Gass, a health and safety advocate and whistleblower at Amazon in the Central Valley talks about the fight to protect health and safety of the workers at Amazon and how Cal-OSHA under Governor Brown and Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker conspired to cover-up serious health and safety problems at Bezo's Amazon warehouse. | Present governor Gavin Newsom also allowed the corrupt Christine Baker to join the California Fraud Assessment Commission representing employers. The Democratic Party controlled legislature refused to call for her removal and also refused to hold any hearings abou…
(2023-02-17). Angela Davis Speaks For The Freedom of Mumia & ILWU Local 10 Stop Work Action To Free Him. indybay.org Angela Davis spoke out for the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal and also for ILWU Local 10 which is having a stop work meeting on 2/16/23 with a rally from their union hall to Harry Bridges Plaza to support the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal…
(2023-02-17). Free Mumia & Stop Racist Police Murders! For General Strikes To Stop Racist Terror & Murders. indybay.org The UFCLP calls for mass worker/labor actions including general strikes to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and racist police terror and murder. We also protest the San Francisco Labor Council bureaucrats who opposed supporting the ILWU Local 10 initiated march and rally. These bureaucrats like the national AFL-CIO leadership continue to support the Democrats and Republicans who support more funding for the police along with their militarization. The AFL-CIO, SEIU, IBT, CWA and other unions continue to allow police in their ranks.
(2023-02-17). Hyundai in talks with US Labor Department over child labor in Alabama. wsws.org The talks come seven months after an explosive article in Reuters revealed that a Hyundai-owned metal stamping plant had hired children as young as 12.
(2023-02-16). Saudi Foreign Minister Will Visit Syria In Upcoming Few Days — Report. southfront.org 
Syria flag (flickr). | Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud will visit the Syrian capital, Damascus, in the upcoming few days, Sputnik reported on February 16, citing a Syrian source with knowledge on the matter. "Preparations are currently underway for the visit of Prince Faisal bin Farhan within days," the source, whose name was not revealed, told the Russian news agency, without elaborating. | This would be the first visit by a senior Saudi official to Damascus since the war…
(2023-02-16). Neruda was assassinated with a biological weapon, nephew denounces. mronline.org 
Rodolfo Reyes, a lawyer and nephew of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, charged on Tuesday that the reports from two laboratories in Canada and Denmark confirm the assassination of the Nobel Prizewinner for Literature with a biological weapon.
(2023-02-16). Elon We Won't Back Down Unveiling At Tesla-Send Musk On Autopilot To Mars. indybay.org
(2023-02-16). Sanders pushes AFA Chief Sara Nelson as new Labor Secretary. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—With Labor Secretary Marty Walsh headed out the door—and back to a top union job—Sen. Bernie Sanders is pushing two potential successors: Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, and Bill Clinton's Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, in that order. Sanders' recommendations may swing some weight with Joe Biden's White House. The Vermont independent …
(2023-02-16). Science Saturday: Cross-laboratory collaboration accelerates gold-standard SRA testing. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org At Mayo Clinic Laboratories, where teamwork powers innovation, a cross-laboratory collaboration has enabled implementation of a cutting-edge, gold standard test for a life-threatening condition known as HIT, or heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. The test, a serotonin release assay (SRA), uses the expertise and technologies of the Special Coagulation Laboratory (SCL) and Clinical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (CMSL) to guide physicians on making an accurate diagnosis of HIT, which is an important first step in choosing the best blood…
(2023-02-16). Statement on Importance of Federal Oversight of Inflation Reduction Act's Labor, Equity, and Environmental Goals. cepr.net The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) invests nearly $400 billion in clean energy and climate solutions over the next decade. The IRA includes $25 million for federal agencies to oversee implementation and track labor, equity, and environmental standards and performance. A Sierra Club letter, signed by over 175 organizations, urges federal agencies to use this funding …
(2023-02-16). Free Mumia & Stop Racist Police Murders! For General Strikes To Stop Racist Terror&Murders. indybay.org The UFCLP calls for mass worker/labor actions including general strikes to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and racist police terror and murder. We also protest the San Francisco Labor Council bureaucrats who opposed supporting the ILWU Local 10 initiated march and rally. These bureaucrats like the national AFL-CIO leadership continue to support the Democrats and Republicans who support more funding for the police along with their militarization. The AFL-CIO, SEIU, IBT, CWA and other unions continue to allow police in their ranks.
(2023-02-16). Trump against empire: is that why they hate him? thegrayzone.com Trump was ideologically incoherent and crassly transactional. But the threat he posed to American empire and thus the gargantuan security state helps establish a motive for why the FBI and CIA intervened in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. As president, Donald Trump lavished the rich with tax cuts and deregulation. Yet, contradictorily, he also threatened the structure of American global hegemony that does so much to keep the American one percent tremendously wealthy. In fact, Trump undertook the most …
(2023-02-16). Fact Check: Tesla Owners Are Dumping Vehicles On Used Car Market, Desperately Lowering Prices 25%. moguldom.com The price of used Teslas is falling by at least three times the rate of other used electric vehicles and outpacing the overall auto market, due in part to competition, significant price cuts for new Teslas, and the possibility that CEO Elon Musk's brand was overvalued. The average price of a used Tesla fell from $67,915 in …
(2023-02-16). Economists fear Venezuela slipping back into hyperinflation. america.cgtn.com 
Economists in Venezuela fear the country may be slipping back into a cycle of hyperinflation, just a year after it emerged from a four-year period of crippling high prices.
(2023-02-16). China willing to resume multi dialogues with France: senior diplomat. ecns.cn A senior Chinese diplomat said here on Thursday that China is willing to resume the institutional strategic, financial, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges dialogues with France at an early date.
(2023-02-16). Is it always financially worthwhile to obtain a college degree? americanthinker.com A new resource can clarify the answer.
(2023-02-16). Ratified UIC faculty contract fails to address faculty and students' needs. wsws.org Though touted as a win by the unions, the university committed itself to little more than pocket change for improving student mental health, while the purported wage gains for faculty will be quickly eroded by inflation.
(2023-02-16). Germany in the context of the US-China conflict. unitedworldint.com We are continuing with the second part of our interview with Ingar Solty, research fellow at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation affiliated to the Left party and a frequent expert to the German parliament's public hearings on peace and security policy.. The first part has dealt with the approval of 100 billion Euros of defense spending …
(2023-02-17). MEDIA ADVISORY: Mayo physician creates industry runway for students of color. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org MEDIA ADVISORY: Mayo physician creates industry runway for students of color February is Black History Month, and Dr. Alyx Porter, a neuro-oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, is committed to increasing diversity in medicine. There are less than five black women practicing neuro oncology in the U.S., and Dr. Porter is one of them. She formed the nonprofit ElevateMeD along with her husband to provide scholarships and support to medical students from backgrounds underrepresented in…
(2023-02-17). Cal Poly Humboldt enacts new profit-driven policies provoking student protests demanding the right to decent housing. wsws.org The administration at Cal Poly Humboldt made the abrupt decision to prioritize its on-campus housing for first-year freshmen and transferring students, forcing second-year students to be evicted and find alternative housing at the start of the next semester.
(2023-02-17). Railroad workers confirm "nasty" toxic train "broke down" two days prior to crash in East Palestine, Ohio. wsws.org New details confirm that the February 3 crash could have been prevented had workers' warnings been heeded regarding profit-driven policies, such as Precision Scheduled Railroading.
(2023-02-16). As Health Concerns Escalate After Ohio Train Disaster, Advocates Want to 'Take Back Our Rail System From Greedy Profiteers'. globalresearch.ca
(2023-02-17). What would Marx make of ChatGPT? greenleft.org.au Is ChatGPT a challenge to humanity? For Aleks Wansbrough, ultimately, it is the product of human beings, reflecting and refracting current social relations.
(2023-02-16). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Doctors' strike continues in Madrid, Spain, with mass demonstration; Three day nationwide strike by UK university academics over pay and conditions; French workers continue strikes against pension reform; National strike in Belgium in defence of wages; Municipal workers strike in cities across the Netherlands; Lebanese teachers' strike over pay and conditions enters seventh week; Strikes and protests by Iranian workers; Residents in Zenzele, South Africa march to demand public services…
(2023-02-16). Caterpillar workers speak out as UAW contract deadline approaches: "How do they expect anybody to live on these wages?" wsws.org Workers who spoke to the WSWS earlier this week at plants in the Peoria, Illinois, area—the center of Caterpillar production for much of the 20th century—overwhelmingly expressed the sentiment that they needed far better wages, benefits and working conditions.
(2023-02-16). How Canada's Liberal-trade union-NDP alliance suppressed the Ontario education workers' strike. wsws.org For decades, the purported "progressive" alliance between the union bureaucrats, social democrats and Liberals has served as a key mechanism for suppressing working class opposition to austerity, imperialist war, and attacks on wages and conditions.
(2023-02-16). Amartya Sen's work shows us the human cost of capitalist development. mronline.org 
Indian economist Amartya Sen has posed a devastating challenge to the dominant capitalist understanding of development. But Sen's own analytical framework doesn't go far enough in exposing the inherently exploitative logic of capitalism.
(2023-02-16). Elon Musk: Rider of the Apocalypse. unitedworldint.com By Ljubodrag Simonovic, Belgrade / Serbia * Historically, capitalism, through its propaganda machinery, has created "legendary" personalities who serve as a symbol of its "developmental power". Today, it is Elon Musk. The ruling media have created a myth out of him, to create an impression that developmental powers of capitalism are unlimited. The "genius visionary" …
(2023-02-16). New Bank of Japan governor has to tread a fine line. wsws.org The key task facing the new governor will be the reorientation of the central bank's policy away from yield curve control (YCC), instituted in 2016, under which the BOJ outlaid the equivalent of trillions of dollars to purchase government bonds and keep interest rates at near zero levels.
(2023-02-16). Iran: A Post-Islamist Society Revolts Against an Islamist State. socialistproject.ca Zan, Zendegi, Azadi (Women, Life, Freedom) is the motto of Iran's most recent democratic social movement, which sparked after the death in detention of Zhina Mahsa Amini by so-called Iran's morality police on 16 September 2022. This nationwide progressive movement, largely led by women and other Iran's subalterns, has shaken the ideological foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran — the discourse and the institution of the velayat-e faqih (guardianship of the jurist) — and the entirety of the current Islamist state in Iran. | The Zan, Zendegi, Azadi movement has revealed that the ruling Islamist…
(2023-02-16). UK University workers hold three day national strike. wsws.org World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to university staff at the halfway point of their scheduled 18 days of strike action this February-March.
(2023-02-17). The Specter of "Woke Communism:" How Corporate America became the Bogeyman of Today's Anti-Communist Crusaders. juancole.com 
By Steve Fraser | — ( Tomdispatch.com ) — Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and perhaps the next president of the United States, is waging war against something he and many others on the right identify as "woke communism." DeSantis even persuaded the Florida legislature to pass a Victims of Communism law, mandating that every …
(2023-02-16). Top leadership hails victory over COVID. ecns.cn China has secured a major, decisive victory in fighting COVID-19, creating a miracle in the history of human civilization of a country with a vast population successfully prevailing over a pandemic, according to a key meeting of the Communist Party of China on Thursday.
(2023-02-16). China achieves major, decisive victory in COVID response: CPC leadership. ecns.cn The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee said at a meeting on Thursday that China has achieved a major and decisive victory in its COVID-19 prevention and control since November 2022.
(2023-02-16). The Specter of "Woke Communism" tomdispatch.com Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and perhaps the next president of the United States, is waging war against something he and many others on the right identify as "woke communism." DeSantis even persuaded the Florida legislature to pass a Victims of Communism law, mandating that every November 7th (the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia), all public schools in the state must devote 45 minutes of instruction to the evils of the red menace. You might reasonably ask: What menace? After all, the Soviet Union fell apart more than 30 years ago and, long before that, communist parties around the world had…
(2023-02-16). CPC zeros in on misconduct, corruption involving rural revitalization. ecns.cn The Communist Party of China (CPC) has ordered its discipline inspection commissions at all levels to initiate strict actions in order to curb misconduct and corruption related to efforts to advance the rural revitalization drive.
(2023-02-16). Communist Party of Swaziland continues campaign to boycott 'farcical' elections despite arrests and torture. mronline.org 
In Swaziland, only individuals approved by the local chiefs of King Mswati III can contest elections, and the parliament cannot hold the monarchy accountable. Pro-democracy activists have been calling for a boycott of the elections which are scheduled for August.
(2023-02-16). Students demand affordable housing in the Netherlands. peoplesdispatch.org Students in the Netherlands are continuing their years-long struggle for affordable housing. On Tuesday, February 14, students organized a protest at Uilenstede in Amstelveen, a suburb of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. | The students, mobilized by the General Student Association Amsterdam (ASVA) and Free University Students Union (SRVU), have accused the government of blocking construction of more than 4,000 houses in Kronenburg near Uilenstede, a student district in the city. Activists from the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) were also present at the mobilization and extended their support to the students. | Ac…
(2023-02-16). On the media of 'Russiagate' and related fake stories. thecommunists.org The following article is reproduced in slightly edited form from the Moon of Alabama website, with thanks. ***** Last week Matt Taibbi, with access to Twitter's internal papers, debunked the fake Hamilton 68 propaganda dashboard that was used to create many stories about alleged Russian disinformation. I had done similar five years earlier without access …