(2022-02-18). Venezuela Expresses Total Support for Russia on Ukraine Tensions. orinocotribune.com "Russia has the full support of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in the fight it is putting up to dispel the threats from NATO and the Western world," said the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, this Wednesday, February 16, during his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Yuri Borisov. | During the meeting of the High-Level Intergovernmental Commission (CIAN), where strategic agreements were signed between both nations at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, the Venezuelan head of state stated his position, expressing his belief that Russia will continue to be a peaceful nation. | "
(2022-02-18). John Pilger: War in Europe and the rise of raw propaganda. greenleft.org.au It is more than a century since Edward Bernays, the father of spin, invented "public relations" as a cover for war propaganda, writes John Pilger. What is new is the virtual elimination of dissent in the mainstream.
(2022-02-18). Activists arrested at FL state capitol for opposing abortion ban law. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL- On February 17, around 12 a.m., members of Students for a Democratic
| Society and Tallahassee's chapter of Planned Parenthood were given trespassing warnings for speaking up against HB 5, an abortion ban bill that limits abortions to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. After HB5 was passed despite significant public opposition, organizers and students joined a chant denouncing the bill and were subsequently removed from the capitol. | Capitol Police threatened to arrest organizers if they did not sign a trespassing warning that indefinitely banned them from entering the Florida Capitol Building…
(2022-02-18). Jorge Rodríguez: Colombia Seeks to Destabilize Venezuela with Terrorist Gangs. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, February 17, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly (AN), Jorge Rodríguez, held a press conference at which he denounced the financing by the Colombian government and the Venezuelan extreme right of criminal gangs intending to destabilize the country. | He reiterated that Venezuela has denounced, on 24 occasions, attacks carried out from Colombia in Venezuela. He pointed out that evidence was delivered between 2018 and 2022 to international bodies such as the United Nations, demonstrating that Colombia's intelligence agencies, Armed Forces, and police forces were used to attack Venezuela.
(2022-02-18). Miami demands 'Free Alex Saab'. fightbacknews.org Miami, FL – 20 activists gathered at the Federal Courthouse here, to demand the release of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, who has been detained in Miami since October when the United States government kidnapped him from Cape Verde. Saab's supporters brought banners and signs with messages of solidarity, chanted "Free Alex Saab" and answered questions from reporters who converged on the courthouse. | Eminent Puerto Rican freedom fighter and longtime political prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera delivered a powerful speech to the crowd. He explained ,"The Venezuelan people as well as the Puerto Rican people are fighting f…
(2022-02-17). As US Renews Support for Saudi War in Yemen, Civilian Death Toll Nearly Doubles. mintpressnews.com 
"The civilian death toll in Yemen has almost doubled since the United Nations rights body dissolved its monitoring mechanism in the war-torn country." — Norwegian Refugee Council Report…
(2022-02-17). Moscow makes clear arguments to US response on security guarantees — Russian lawmaker. tass.com Leonid Slutsky reiterated his call to the US and NATO "to return to the implementation of measures in the field of peacekeeping, abandon the policy of containment and whipping up anti-Russian hysteria"
(2022-02-17). Russian UN Ambassador Responds To US 'War Propaganda'. popularresistance.org Aaron Mate And Max Blumenthal Speak With Deputy Permanent Representative Of Russia To The UN Dmitri Polyanskiy On Escalated Tensions On The Russian-Ukraine Border, US Accusations Of An Imminent Russian Invasion, And The Context Missing From A US Media That Refuses To Interview Russian Officials.
(2022-02-17). What Is Going to Happen in Ukraine? dissidentvoice.org 
People gather in Rome to call for peace, February 15, 2022 | Photo Credit: Reuters Every day brings new noise and fury in the crisis over Ukraine, mostly from Washington. But what is really likely to happen? There are three possible scenarios: The first is that Russia will suddenly launch an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. …
(2022-02-17). US warns of 'global fallout'. rt.com 
The world economy will pay a heavy price if the West imposes new sanctions on Moscow, the US Treasury warns | If Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine, the global economy will suffer an inevitable fallout as a result of newly unleashed Western sanctions on Moscow, the US Treasury secretary warned on Wednesday. | Speaking to French news agency AFP, Janet Yellen explained that the US and its European allies are preparing a "very substantial package of sanctions that will have severe consequences for the Russian economy." | However, despite Washington wanting the highest cost to fall on Moscow, she admitted that…
(2022-02-17). Report: Biden to Ask for Over $770 Billion Military Budget for 2023. news.antiwar.com According to a report from Reuters, Sources told Reuters that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the White House's Office of Management and Budget have agreed to a proposed military budget of higher than $770 billion. | Two of the sources said about $773 billion would go to the Pentagon. Additional funds needed for the Energy Department's nuclear weapons program and other areas…
(2022-02-17). UK makes new Russia allegation. rt.com 
The two regions of Donetsk and Lugansk have been ravaged by fierce fighting since 2014 | Reports of heavy shelling and explosions in war-torn regions of eastern Ukraine are merely Russian attempts to create a pretext for ordering an offensive against its neighbor, Britain's top diplomat has claimed, as Kiev and separatists blame each other for the attack. | On Thursday, leaders from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) reported that government troops had fired at several towns and villages using mortars, hand grenades, and rifles. | The Ukrainian Armed Forces subsequently disclosed that an area…
(2022-02-17). Ex-U.S. Ambassador to USSR: Ukraine Crisis Stems Directly from Post-Cold War Push to Expand NATO. democracynow.org 
U.S. officials are accusing Russia of sending more forces to the Ukrainian border just days after Moscow announced it was pulling some troops back. This comes as Ukrainian authorities and Russian-backed separatists are both accusing the other side of violating a ceasefire in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. For more on the history behind the present crisis in Ukraine, we speak with one of the last U.S. ambassadors to the Soviet Union prior to the collapse of the USSR, Ambassador Jack Matlock, who says the U.S.-led expansion of NATO following the end of the Cold War helped lay the groundwork for the current s…
(2022-02-17). Ukraine: The Tip Of The Spear For The Imperialist Project. popularresistance.org We have serious concerns that the accelerated drive to militarization and war by the United States and its allies dramatically unfolding with the crisis in Ukraine might very easily escalate to the point that it could threaten global humanity. | In their mad drive to advance their geostrategic interests to the detriment of everyone else—the Democratic Party version of "America First"—the Biden administration willfully violates all of the core principles of international relations and law. The respect for national sovereignty, the prohibition against threatening other members of the United Nations with…
(2022-02-17). US and Russian Officials at Odds Over Status of Russian Troops Near Ukraine. news.antiwar.com On Wednesday, US and NATO officials said they saw no sign of a Russian pullback from areas near Ukraine after the Russian Defense Ministry announced troops were starting to leave the region. | "There's what Russia says and then there's what Russia does. And we haven't seen any pullback of its forces," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said he…
(2022-02-17). US, NATO double down on war threats against Russia over Ukraine. wsws.org Even as Moscow released videos of its tanks leaving Crimea and Belarus after military exercises there, NATO said it would reinforce its troops and nuclear forces in Europe.
(2022-02-17). Russia likely to invade Ukraine after February 20 — media. rt.com 
Claims that February 16 was planned invasion date were unrealistic, analysts say | Failed predictions that Russia would invade Ukraine on February 16 were unrealistic, and the key date to focus on is actually February 20, American political analysts have claimed, blaming "hype" for having caused US officials to focus on the wrong date. | Earlier this month, numerous western media outlets claimed that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine in the early hours of Wednesday, citing claims by anonymous officials that US President Joe Biden had warned members of the NATO bloc that an invasion was imminent. This date…
(2022-02-17). Zelensky: Ukraine Should Have Held Referendum on NATO Before Adding Membership Goal to Constitution. sputniknews.com Ukrainian plans to join the alliance have been a major bone of contention in the region, with Russia offering security guarantee proposals, suggesting that NATO refrain from expanding eastwards. The bloc, however, declared that it won't abandon its "open-door" policies.
(2022-02-17). Wednesday 2/23: Roundtable Discussion: Ukraine Crisis. indybay.org On Zoom! Link: rb.gy/bxhzue…
(2022-02-17). The Western allied nations bully the world while warning of threats from China and Russia. peoplesdispatch.org The conflict is not merely about Ukraine, the real conflict is about whether the West will allow Russia to define policies that extend beyond their borders.
(2022-02-17). Moscow responds to US 'intelligence' on Russian invasion. rt.com 
The Foreign Ministry has previously claimed February 15 will be remembered as the day Western 'propaganda' failed | Attempts to work out when Russia might begin an invasion of Ukraine, despite the Kremlin's insistence that war isn't on the cards, only discredit Western intelligence agencies, Moscow has blasted as tensions continue to rise on the shared border between the two Eastern European nations. | In a series of comments issued on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova poured scorn on Washington's persistent announcements that an offensive is on the horizon. | According to her, Kiev, whic…
(2022-02-17). Ukraine keeps arguing Minsk agreements are against its interests — Russian diplomat. tass.com "if the task of building peace on the domestic soil is among Ukraine's national interests, there should be no place for such claims," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said…
(2022-02-17). Zelensky, NATO nations' military observers inspect Ukrainian war games. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Azeri Press AgencyFebruary 16, 2022 Zelenskiy oversees drills in western Ukraine as NATO country observers look on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and military observers from NATO member states including Britain and Poland looked on as the country's armed forces carried out drills in western Ukraine on Wednesday, APA reports citing Reuters. Tanks fired shells and …
(2022-02-17). 2,000 U.S. troops, 600 pieces of equipment head to Slovakia for drills 190 miles from Ukraine border. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com ReutersFebruary 16, 2022 U.S. troops heading from Germany to Slovakia for planned NATO drills The first part of a planned contingent of 2,000 U.S. troops and hundreds of vehicles entered the Czech Republic from Germany on Tuesday en route eastwards to Slovakia for NATO's Saber Strike military drills…. Slovakia borders Ukraine to the east but …
(2022-02-17). Venezuela and Russia Reinforce Military Ties. orinocotribune.com This Wednesday, February 16, Venezuela and Russia confirmed their commitment to a powerful military partnership to provide security and defend national borders. The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, met with the Russian Federation's Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Borisov, during an official visit to Caracas by the Russian diplomat, within the framework of the Venezuela—Russia High Level Intergovernmental Commission (CIAN) . | "We have ratified the path of a powerful military cooperation between Russia and Venezuela, for the defense of peace, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," said the Venezuelan he…
(2022-02-17). Headlines for February 17, 2022. democracynow.org NATO Defense Ministers Gather in Brussels, Dispute Russia's Claims of Troop Drawback, COVID-19 Pandemic Claimed 75,000 Lives Last Week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control Prepares to Roll Back Guidelines for COVID Restrictions, Hospitals in War-Ravaged Syria Forced to Close Amid Cuts in International Aid, U.N. Says 8 Million Yemenis Could Lose All Humanitarian Aid Next Month Due to Funding Shortages, Colombia Forced Displacement Crisis Worsened in 2021, Mexican Journalists Interrupt Congress to Demand Justice for Assassinated Colleagues, Amnesty International Condemns "Sham Trial" for Jailed Russi…
(2022-02-17). US, Russian Aircraft Flew 'Dangerously' Close Over the Mediterranean Sea. news.antiwar.com The Pentagon said Wednesday The Pentagon statement appeared to confirm media reports that said US and Russian aircraft flew "dangerously" close to each other in three separate incidents over the Mediterranean. Citing unnamed Pentagon officials,
(2022-02-17). Kalashnikov Helps Boost Russia's Prestige on the International Stage. journal-neo.org 
Internationally, Russia has traditionally been seen as one of the leading suppliers of technology, especially in such areas as the arms and military hardware markets. Many countries, all over the world, purchase Russian-made military equipment, including anti-aircraft missile systems, fighter jets battleships, etc. But, globally, the most widely sold and well-known Russian weapon is the …
(2022-02-17). Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists Calls For Escalating Aggression At Russia. popularresistance.org By the time that the scientists at the top-secret Manhattan Project had developed the atomic bomb and the US military had worked out the logistics for deploying it, World War II was for all intents and purposes over. By early May 1945, Germany had unconditionally surrendered; in large part due to the efforts of the Red Army defeating the Nazi Wehrmacht, but at the horrific cost of 27,000,000 Soviet lives. The Japanese too had been defeated militarily and had agreed to "unconditional surrender" with the one caveat that Emperor Hirohito be spared. | So, the world's emerging hegemon had a problem. It had the ultimat…
(2022-02-17). NATO Chief Stoltenberg Holds Presser on Day 2 of Ministerial Meeting. sputniknews.com The summit of NATO defence ministers in Belgium is being held after the US and the bloc delivered their answers to Russia's security guarantee proposals. The draft agreements offered by Moscow suggested a halt to NATO's eastward expansion as a way to de-escalate tensions.
(2022-02-17). Some 20 Russian Warships of Caspian Flotilla Leave for Naval Exercises. sputniknews.com ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (Sputnik) – Some 20 warships of the Caspian Flotilla have left their home basis in Russia's Dagestan for naval drills in the Caspian Sea, the Russian Southern Military District said on Thursday.
(2022-02-17). With Its Doomsday Clock at 100 Seconds to Midnight, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Calls for Escalating US Aggression Against Russia. orinocotribune.com By Roger D. Harris — Feb 14, 2022 | The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists emerged after World War II as a voice for peace by some of the scientists who developed the then ultimate weapon of mass destruction. Now, its mission has drifted into being an echo chamber for the US imperial project urging President Biden to take even more destabilizing actions against Russia. | Dropping the A-bombs | By the time that the scientists at the top-secret Manhattan Project had developed the atomic bomb and the US military had worked out the logistics for deploying it, World War II was for all intents and purposes over. By…
(2022-02-17). Venezuela to expand military cooperation with Russia: Maduro. en.mehrnews.com Venezuela will expand cooperation with Russia in the military sphere to defend peace and its sovereignty, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday.
(2022-02-17). US Escorts Russian Bombers From East Syria Coalition Airspace. news.antiwar.com While the US and Russia are both largely focused on fighting ISIS in Syria, they still get tangled up in a lot of side arguments. This week, The US says Russia's bombers didn't give them advanced notice, so US fighters were dispatch to escort them away. The bombers reportedly ended up in Latakia. | The area is seldom used, with Russia not crossing the area since last May. US tensi…
(2022-02-17). Internationalist 360 Salutes Those Who Report the Facts and Speak the Truth. libya360.wordpress.com From #Ottawa with love. [On the ground in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Feb 16, 2022, close to midnight.]#FreedomConvoyCanada#freedomconvoy22 #TruckersForFreedom#ClassWar pic.twitter.com/OPVha3wa7p — Cory Morningstar (@elleprovocateur) February 17, 2022 Staying w/ Canadian Frontline Nurses. We share our shower w/ truckers/workers who sleep in trucks/cars. Last night I met Mike from Manitoba. He has a family back home. 2…
(2022-02-17). Marco Rubio Threatens Honduras' President (+Venezuela). orinocotribune.com During a US Senate hearing regarding the nomination of Laura Farnsworth as new US ambassador to Honduras, US extreme-right Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he hoped the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, would not follow the example of her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, and align Honduras with Cuba and Venezuela. | "I hope that the new president Xiomara Castro follows that path, and not the example that her husband provided when he was president and sympathized with Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Raúl Castro in Cuba," said the anti-communist senator. Analysts surmise that Zelaya's drift to the left…
(2022-02-17). Libya Remains a Failed State 11 Years After NATO Intervention. telesurenglish.net February 17, 2011 marked the beginning of the "Libyan War," a conflict in which the United States and Western countries used the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a spearhead to dispute control of territories rich in oil reserves. | RELATED: | Similar to other occasions, the NATO intervention was justified by arguing the defense of freedom and democracy. In reality, however, the military o…
(2022-02-17). Western Democracies Have Mutated Into Propagandists for War and Conflict. independentmediainstitute.org Marshall McLuhan's prophecy that "the successor to politics will be propaganda" has happened. Raw propaganda is now the rule in Western democracies, especially the U.S. and Britain. On matters of war and peace, ministerial deceit is reported as news. Inconvenient facts are censored, demons are nurtured. The model is corporate spin, the currency of the …
(2022-02-17). OCLA Statement on the Government's Use of the Emergencies Act. dissidentvoice.org The Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) condemns the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act (formerly the War Measures Act) to dispel peaceful protests in Canada. Peaceful protest and civil disobedience are essential in a democratic society — without these mechanisms of peaceful expression, demonstration, and opposition there can be no democracy. There is no …
(2022-02-17). Rallies call for Kurdish leader Abdullah àñcalan to be released. greenleft.org.au Current and former MPs and other prominent people have called for Kurdish leader Abdullah àñcalan's release to advance a peaceful solution to conflicts in the Middle East. Peter Boyle reports.
(2022-02-17). High School Students Organized Thousands To Walk Out For Amir Locke. popularresistance.org More than 3,000 high school students from across the Twin Cities metro area in Minnesota walked out of class February 8 to march to the governor's mansion and demand justice following the death of Amir Locke. | Locke, a 22-year-old Black man, was shot and killed February 2 by a Minneapolis Police Department SWAT officer during a no-knock apartment raid. Locke was neither named in the no-knock warrant nor a resident of the apartment. | In an area beset by the police killings of Black residents‚Äâ—‚Äâincluding 46-year-old George Floyd in May 2020‚Äâ—&sb…
(2022-02-17). 'Wear Hijab at Home If You Feel Unsafe': BJP MP Warns Against Wearing Muslim Headscarves in Public. sputniknews.com India is witnessing protests in the state of Karnataka after Muslim girls were banned from entering classrooms in hijabs.
(2022-02-17). Leaked Audio Shows Amazon Official Threatening Workers Over Union Election – Reports. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – An Amazon union avoidance official threatened workers with minimum wage and warned that things might get worse if they unionize and enter negotiations with the company, Vice reported on Thursday, citing a leaked audio from an Amazon meeting that it obtained.
(2022-02-17). Bigger than bomb threats: The political violence of national oppression. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL – Throughout the months of January and February, there were over 20 bomb threats directed towards historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Black churches, most of which were in the South. These concentrated actions over the last few months are a microcosm of the extensive history of racism and national oppression that Black people have faced within the United States, particularly its southern region. | In general, all Black communities within the United States face systemic racism. The evidence is in the economically depressed ghettos of every city (big and small), riddled with de…
(2022-02-17). The path toward an Official California Juneteenth Paid Holiday. indybay.org The legacy of "Chattel Slavery of people of African Descent" in California may originate in legendary battles with Queen Califia. Spanish Military led by Hernan Cortez, with ships full of Conquistadors including reinforcements of over 300 free and enslaved men of African Descent in 1535 began a new paradigm along western coast of the Pacific Ocean.
(2022-02-17). PG&E Awarded Safety Certificate After Causing Years of Environmental Catastrophes. indybay.org After serving a five-year criminal probation sentence for negligent practices that led to a fatal pipeline explosion in San Bruno in 2010, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has been awarded a safety certificate from the government of California.
(2022-02-17). Simple DNA Test May Make Breakthrough in Diagnosing Genetic and Neurological Diseases, Study Says. sputniknews.com Scientists say in some cases it is diagnosis and not the cure that plays a crucial role — patients can spend years suffering from certain symptoms and still be unaware of what ailment they have. The new method is expected to rectify this problem and help treat diseases in their early stages.
(2022-02-17). 2022 California Juneteenth – American River Parkway – Introducing the California Gold Book. indybay.org In 1844, the Honorable William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr., "African Founding Father of California," seized the opportunity and stipulated in his unique Mexican Land Grant, Rancho Rio De Los Americanos, not to interfere with the Indigenous population who remain the sacred stewards of the land.
(2022-02-17). Ethiopia: Amnesty Accuses Tigrayan Forces of Rape & Murder in Latest Probe of War Crimes in Conflict. democracynow.org 
Amnesty International is accusing Tigrayan forces of deliberately killing dozens of unarmed civilians and gang-raping dozens of women and girls in the northern Amhara region of Ethiopia. This comes as the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan rebel forces remain at war, and just last year Amnesty similarly accused the Ethiopian government of subjecting Tigrayan women and girls to rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, sexual mutilation and other forms of torture. "These are deliberate attacks which constitute war crimes and possibly may also constitute crimes against humanity," says Amnesty's Donatella Ro…
(2022-02-17). AOC warns failure to cancel student debt has 'demoralized' critical voters. mronline.org 
"This really isn't a conversation about providing relief to a small, niche group of people," said the congresswoman. "It's very much a keystone action politically." —AOC…