(2022-02-19). Hedges: Democrats, the More Effective Evil. orinocotribune.com By Chris Hedges — Feb 14, 2022 | The US is a de facto one-party state where the ideology of national security is sacrosanct, unsustainable debt props up the empire and the primary business is war. | When all else fails, when you are clueless about how to halt a 7.5% inflation rate, when your Build Back Better bill is gutted, when you renege on your promise to raise the minimum wage or forgive student debt, when you can't halt the Republican suppression of voting rights, when you have no idea how to handle the pandemic which has claimed 900,000 lives — 16% of the world's total deaths although we are les…
(2022-02-19). Ethical Considerations and Experimental Vaccines. dissidentvoice.org 
(2022-02-19). More than 3.06b COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Chinese mainland. ecns.cn The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on the Chinese mainland has reached over 3.06 billion on Wednesday, data from the National Health Commission showed Tuesday.
(2022-02-19). Minneapolis, St. Paul teachers vote to authorize strike. wsws.org Teachers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, have voted to authorize a strike, part of growing opposition among teachers and workers in the US to inequality and deadly pandemic conditions.
(2022-02-19). Biden Extends State of Emergency in US Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US President Joe Biden has announced his decision to extend the state of emergency, which was declared in the country almost two years ago, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has been causing significant risk to the public health.
(2022-02-19). [Perspectives] A public health manifesto. thelancet.com The way that societies divide and manage our resources and treat our planet is not working. This failure is the starting point of a number of books that have been published during the COVID-19 pandemic, including GO BIG: 20 Bold Solutions to Fix Our World by Ed Miliband. This book, partly based on Miliband and Geoff Lloyd's podcast Reasons to Be Cheerful, identifies what is wrong with our political and multilateral systems and sets out solutions to fix our world. "In saying we need to 'go big' I am advocating not just the consideration of ideas that promise significant change but for politics to rediscover its se…
(2022-02-19). UK teacher Kathleen Munro speaks of "devastating" effects of Long COVID. wsws.org In her testimony to the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, Kathleen bears witness to the devastating effects of Long COVID on her own health and livelihood, and that of her 13-year-old niece, Ellie, who caught COVID-19 on her first day at school last September.
(2022-02-19). News on China | No. 87. dissidentvoice.org How a COVID outbreak in Hong Kong is being managed; a shift in Germany's position toward China, as it classifies China as a "systemic rival"; a look at relationships in China; Red Star over China author Edgar Snow passed away 50 years ago.
(2022-02-19). COVID-19 disaster intensifies across the Pacific. wsws.org COVID-19 numbers are escalating as Pacific island governments adopt the "living with the virus" policies put forward by capitalist elites globally.
(2022-02-19). California's "endemic plan" sets the stage for unending COVID-19 infections and deaths. wsws.org The propaganda campaign is driven not by science, but by the demands of the corporations and financial elite. The aim is to fabricate a narrative that COVID-19 is harmless, in order to maximize the production of profits under the guise of a "return to normalcy."
(2022-02-19). Australia Accuses Chinese Guided-Missile Destroyer of Aiming Laser at Its Surveillance Aircraft. sputniknews.com The incident comes amid strained ties between Australia and China over Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanding an international enquiry into the origins of COVID-19 and an ongoing trade war between the two nations. China, Australia's largest trading partner, is also unhappy about Canberra's membership of US-led alliances such as Quad and AUKUS.
(2022-02-19). [Comment] Offline: A lie at the heart of public health. thelancet.com The John Snow Society describes their illustrious namesake as "the pioneer of epidemiological method". His identification of the source of cholera in Soho, London, and the removal of the handle of a water pump in Broad Street in 1854 is celebrated annually with the Pumphandle Lecture. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine named a lecture theatre after Snow. Indeed, the epidemiology community has deified Snow as a founding father of public health. But, as Jim Downs argues in his searching reappraisal of the origins of epidemiology, Maladies of Empire, western epidemiologists have invented a comforting…
(2022-02-19). [Correspondence] Steroid use in non-pneumococcal and non-Haemophilus bacterial meningitis — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Dominic Heining and Aiden Plant for their comments on our Seminar,1 whereby they raised the question on whether adjunctive dexamethasone therapy should be continued for 4 days in patients with community-acquired bacterial meningitis caused by pathogens other than Streptococcus pneumoniae.
(2022-02-19). [Perspectives] Samuel K Roberts: illuminating history, racial bias, and public health. thelancet.com In 2009, Samuel Kelton Roberts, Jr's first book, Infectious Fear: Politics, Disease, and the Health Effects of Segregation, was published. "The book itself is about how racialism is baked into the kernel of modern public health practice here in the USA. Some of the most foundational moments in public health sit adjacent to or are ones that play a role in our history of race and racialisation. Even the way we collected data in the 19th and early 20th century was not just racially biased, but often racialised in their methods.
(2022-02-19). China highlights metaverse risks. rt.com 
The virtual space network is the primary target of scammers and fraudsters, regulator warns | The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission warned on Friday about the associated risks the emerging metaverse technology could bring as the virtual space fever sweeps the world. | The watchdog said in a statement published on its website that some companies were engaging in illegal fund-raising, fraud, and virtual real estate speculation. | "Beware of being duped, and if you find clues of suspected illegal crimes, please actively report this to the relevant local departments," it said. | The official warnin…
(2022-02-19). Deadly BA.2 subvariant of Omicron spreading in more than 74 countries. wsws.org As the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron accounts for a growing proportion of new cases globally, recent evidence points to its increased infectivity, higher virulence and greater immune-evading capacity.
(2022-02-18). Headlines for February 18, 2022. democracynow.org Biden Claims Russia Is Plotting a "False Flag" Operation as Pretext for Ukraine Invasion, COVID-19 Cases Hit Record Highs in Asian Countries as Omicron Variant Surges, Donald Trump, Trump Jr. and Ivanka Ordered to Testify in New York Civil Fraud Probe, Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill to Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks, More Than a Quarter of World's Women Worldwide Have Experienced Domestic Violence, Haitian Sweatshop Workers Strike to Demand $15 a Day, Death Toll in Brazil Landslides Rises to 117, with 100+ Still Missing, Canadian Police Investigating Sabotage of Coastal GasLink Pipeline Worksite,…
(2022-02-18). Was the hacking of Ottawa trucker convoy donors a US-Canadian intelligence operation? thegrayzone.com Aubrey Cottle, the hacker claiming credit for stealing convoy donor info, has boasted of work with the FBI and Canadian law enforcement. The data was published by DDoSecrets, an anti-Wikileaks non-profit which has targeted states in the crosshairs of US intelligence. On February 13th, the names and personal details of almost 100,000 individuals who donated sums to support the Canadian truckers' protest against vaccine mandates through the crowdfunding site GiveSendGo appeared online via Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), an online …
(2022-02-18). Behind the Headlines: Trudeau Cracks Down on Trucker Convoy. libya360.wordpress.com Join Behind The Headlines correspondent Dan Cohen and independent journalist Kelli Kieley for a discussion on the Freedom Trucker Convoy protesting vaccinate mandates in Ottawa as Canadian authorities move to break up the protest. We'll be joined by trucker O'Jay Laidley, who is currently in the protest. Join @BTHeadline correspondent @dancohen3000 and independent journalist Kelli…
(2022-02-18). EU Chief Calls Patents "Precious" as Hundreds of Millions Lack Vaccine Access. truthout.org 
The head of the European Commission on Friday defended coronavirus-related intellectual property protections as "precious" after South Africa's president reiterated his support for a temporary patent waiver, arguing the step is necessary to ramp up vaccine production on the African continent. | Speaking at the E.U.-African Union summit in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argued that instead of suspending vaccine-related intellectual property protections, world leade…
(2022-02-18). CDC director spouts anti-mask rhetoric as thousands of Americans die daily. wsws.org Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the remarkable statement that people need a "break" from wearing masks even while she acknowledged more than 2,200 people are dying from COVID-19 every day.
(2022-02-18). Distroism Now! #3: FTP Distro Reports from DC. itsgoingdown.org On this episode of Distroism Now!, hosts from the FTP Distro discuss their project, give us their thoughts on what distroism is, interview some mutual aid groups that they work with, read from some texts, and also discuss the past two years of pandemic and revolt. Another great meal share with our friends & neighbors…
(2022-02-18). CDC Starts To Turn Against Mask Mandates: 7 Things To Know. moguldom.com Since the dawn of the covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised mask-wearing as an important way to combat the deadly virus. Now that guidance may be shifting, according to recent remarks from the agency's director. Here are seven things to know about the CDC changing course on mask mandates. …
(2022-02-18). CAS finds WADA explanations about Valieva doping test delays unconvincing. tass.com The Panel also did not find compelling the fact that the Stockholm laboratory blamed the processing delay on staffing problems caused by the pandemic…
(2022-02-18). Golf cashes in on growing popularity as pandemic pastime. america.cgtn.com 
Golf was seen as one of the safer sports to play, especially during the pandemic. That led to a jump in golf club memberships, and a subsequent surge in equipment sales and hours spent on the course. See how the pandemic redefined the game.
(2022-02-18). Germany's federal and state governments decide to scrap pandemic measures. wsws.org At the high point to date of the Omicron wave, the representatives of the German "traffic light" federal coalition government and the state minister presidents have agreed to eliminate all remaining restrictions apart from mask mandates in certain public places.
(2022-02-18). How We Turned The Tables On Starbucks Union-Busters. popularresistance.org Let me set the stage for you: A single cheese pizza cut into sixteenths, a small group of chairs awkwardly arranged to a circle, and corporate level managers trying to chat baristas up like we were best friends. | Our store had closed at noon that Tuesday, so that the company could hold four consecutive "store meetings," each with a group of around six employees. A few weeks before, five workers had to go into isolation due to Covid and the store had barely modified operating hours—but for these meetings we could shut down for almost the entire day. | These were Starbucks' "listening sessions," or corporate…
(2022-02-18). Australia's state and federal governments lifting handful of remaining COVID restrictions. wsws.org Governments are implementing profit-driven policies identical to those that resulted in the Omicron explosion over December—January.
(2022-02-18). New Zealand rail workers highlight unsafe conditions as COVID-19 surge continues. wsws.org While the media provides round-the-clock coverage of a small anti-vax protest outside New Zealand's parliament, there is growing anger and opposition to the Labour Party-led government's policy of allowing COVID-19 to spread.
(2022-02-18). ICC throws out petition to investigate Evo Morales for crimes against humanity. peoplesdispatch.org Evo Morales described the ICC verdict as a "victory of truth over falsehood." Jeanine àÅñez's coup-installed government had blamed Morales and union and farmer leaders for COVID-19 deaths after the 2020 general strike…
(2022-02-18). A Republican Genocide of Quackery: COVID-19 has Killed as many Americans as all our Wars combined. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The CDC now estimates that there have been 1,045,389 excess deaths since January 1, 2020, because of COVID-19. PBS estimates that roughly 1,100,000 Americans have died in all US wars in history. That is, the death toll from COVID-19 is just about as great as the toll of all our …
(2022-02-18). Health experts declare Sri Lanka is being hit by a tsunami of Omicron infections. wsws.org President Rajapakse has made clear that his government will take no action to stem the rising number of Omicron infections.