RT (2020-02-17). Turkey trying to \'CONQUER\' Libya, not to bring peace, says top Tripoli govt diplomat visiting Moscow. rt.com While Ankara claims to be supporting Libya\'s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), its foreign minister on Monday outright rejected the Turkish presence in Libya, blasting it as an \"aggression.\" | Commenting on the role of external players, such as Russia and Turkey, in bringing to an end the protracted Libyan civil war, minister Abdul Hadi Al-Hweij was particularly candid. | \"When we talk about peace, we don\'t have [Turkey\'s President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan in mind,\" Al-Hweij said. \"Among all the involved political figures, he\'s the farthest from a peaceful settlement.\" | Al-Hweij was speaking at the…

RT (2020-02-17). India summons Turkish ambassador, claims Erdogan's remarks on Kashmir are attempt at meddling. rt.com New Delhi has issued a forceful response to the Turkish ambassador in the country, following incendiary remarks by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about India\'s policies in the disputed Kashmir region. | India reportedly presented a \"strong demarche\" to Turkish Ambassador Sakir Ozkan Torunlar on Monday, and warned that Erdogan\'s comments during his recent visit to Pakistan will have \"strong implications\" for bilateral ties. | Announcing the move, a spokesman for the India\'s Ministry of External Affairs said that Erdogan\'s allegation about \"unilateral steps\" being taken in Kashmir reflect \"neither an understandi…

Staff (2020-02-17). How Billionaire Michael Bloomberg\'s Deep Pockets Have Let Him Win Friends and Buy Influence. democracynow.org With the Nevada caucuses less than a week away, many Democratic candidates are courting voters in state and increasingly targeting their attacks on a new challenger — billionaire Michael Bloomberg — whom they are accusing of buying his way into the election. In the lead-up to Super Tuesday on March 3, when voters in 14 states go to the polls, Bloomberg has spent an unprecedented $417 million of his own $60 billion fortune on advertising. He\'s also paid meme influencers to share sponsored content on Instagram, and hired thousands of on-the-ground political operatives to work in more than 125 offices ar…

Eds. (2020-02-17). No excuses—we have to shut down the fossil fuel industry. mronline.org In the face of an ecological catastrophe as enormous and terrifying as this season\'s bushfires, you might think that policy might begin to shift, as those in power face up to the reality of human-induced climate change. But you\'d be wrong. |

Staff (2020-02-17). Jeff Bezos Pledges $10 Billion to Fight Climate Change. truthdig.com NEW YORK — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Monday that he plans to spend $10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change. | Bezos, the world\'s richest man, said in an \"I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change,\" Bezos said in…

RT (2020-02-17). Gangster-climate ally? Greta gets flamed for posing with crime-glamorizing rapper (PHOTO). rt.com Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has exposed herself to intense internet mockery after posing with a controversial Swedish rapper who purportedly spent several years in prison. | The musical artist, 1.Cuz, performed at Thunberg\'s recent \"Fridays for Future\" rally in central Stockholm. Known for always wearing a mask and keeping his real identity a secret, 1.Cuz raps about crime, drugs and his hatred of the cops. | In a recent interview with Swedish media, the rapper reportedly revealed that he had served two years in prison for a \"serious\" crime — but did not go into specifics. According to local m…

RT (2020-02-17). Russia will support Syria's fight against terrorism in Idlib despite Trump's calls to stop it — Kremlin. rt.com Moscow has vowed to continue its fight against terrorism in Syria\'s Idlib province alongside Damascus, even though this doesn\'t fit with Washington\'s vision for resolving the crisis. | Both the Russian Armed Forces and the country\'s advisers will \"support the Syrian Arab Republic armed forces in their fight against terrorism,\" Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing on February 17. | Referring to escalating terrorist attacks in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, he said that the Russian government \"still regrets that these terrorists have revitalized in Idlib.\" | The statement follows US…

RT (2020-02-17). Top judge says Russia shouldn't be considered successor of 'repressive, terrorist, illegal' Soviet Union, Kremlin disagrees. rt.com If you want to find a way to split Russian public opinion, there\'s no better instrument than a debate on the country\'s Soviet legacy. On Monday, sparks flew after a leading judge opened Moscow\'s most divisive Pandora\'s Box. | Konstantin Aranovsky believes the USSR was an \"illegally created state\" and says today\'s Russia shouldn\'t be considered its successor, rather its replacement. The Constitutional Court judge also lashed the \"repressive-terrorist acts\" of the Soviet era, and suggested Russia should have the status of a country \"innocent of totalitarian crimes,\" since \"it was recreated in spite of the regime…

Staff (2020-02-17). Assad Predicts Victory After Gains in Northern Syria. truthdig.com DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian President Bashar Assad congratulated his forces Monday for recent gains in northwestern Syria that led to his troops consolidating control over Aleppo province, pledging to press ahead with a military campaign to achieve complete victory \"sooner or later.\" | Assad, who rarely appears in public, said in a televised address that the onetime economic hub of Aleppo, the provincial capital, will \"return stronger than it was before.\" | \"This liberation does not mean the end of the war, and does not mean the end of the schemes nor the end of terrorism or the surrender of enemies,\" Assad sa…

RT (2020-02-17). China accuses Australia of political bias against Huawei. rt.com The Australian government\'s decision to ban tech giant Huawei from its 5G rollout is \"politically motivated,\" according to the Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye. | \"It has become a sore point or thorny issue in the bilateral relations as it damages mutual trust between the two sides,\" he told Sky News on Monday, calling it \"a discrimination against the Chinese company.\" | The ambassador\'s criticism comes amid Australia\'s dispute with the UK over London\'s decision to allow Huawei to set up its 5G network. | According to Cheng, the UK government made a \"sensible\" decision to not kowtow to \"external pressure\" from…

RT (2020-02-17). China says US is an \'EMPIRE OF HACKERS,\' mocks cyber-accusations in wake of Crypto AG scandal. rt.com Washington accusing other states of leading cyberwarfare against the US is like \"a thief crying \'stop, thief!\'\" Beijing said, reacting to revelations the CIA used Swiss cryptography firm Crypto AG to spy on hundreds of countries. | The US government has \"conducted large-scale, organized and indiscriminate cyber theft, tapping and surveillance on foreign governments, businesses and individuals, a fact already well-known to all,\" China\'s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing in Beijing. | These spying activities, which violate international law and undermine trust between…

John Horning (2020-02-17). NEPA is Our National Defense System‚Ä®. counterpunch.org Our nation is under attack. If the attack were coming from the sky, NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) would detect the threat. That is NORAD\'s mission, to anticipate threats to our homeland. The current attack on our land didn\'t originate in Russia or China; it began in Washington D.C., in January, when President Trump proposed dismantling NEPA — the law that protects our communities, land and water every bit as much as NORAD protects our skies.

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (2020-02-17). Mistrial Is Another Blow To US Coup In Venezuela. dissidentvoice.org Last week we, along with Adrienne Pine and David Paul, were unsuccessfully prosecuted by the Trump administration for our protection of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC from April 10 to May 16, 2019. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision and so we remain innocent of the charge of interfering with the …

RT (2020-02-17). \'A little bit of excitement at no extra cost\': Sanders quips after TOPLESS anti-dairy protesters steal show at Nevada rally. rt.com A group of anti-dairy activists, including topless women, upstaged Democratic race frontrunner Bernie Sanders at his own campaign rally ahead of the Nevada primaries. The senator kept his cool, laughing off the stunt, however. | Keen on capitalizing on his success in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders was holding a rally in Carson, Nevada on Sunday. He was barely a couple of minutes into his speech when a young woman, who could be seen lurking behind the podium during the live broadcast, rushed the stage and attempted to wrestle the microphone from the Vermont independent. | Sanders did not give in, taking a few…

RT (2020-02-17). Danish troops to return to Iraq air base for anti-ISIS campaign in March. rt.com Denmark said it will send military personnel back to the Iraqi Al-Asad base on March 1 to restart training of Iraqi security forces in the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). | The NATO member-state last month removed most of the 130 military personnel it had stationed at the Al-Asad base, due to security concerns in the wake of an Iranian missile attack on the facility on January 8. Denmark\'s forces at the base are part of the international coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria. | The Danish defense ministry said on Monday the security situation was now no different than before the attack,…

RT (2020-02-17). Wrong kind of \'energy\'? Bloomberg takes on the \'Bernie Bros\'… using Hillary Clinton-style tactics. rt.com Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg has deployed a new tactic against Bernie Sanders: accuse his supporters of harassment and mean tweets. Hillary Clinton used the same strategy in 2016, and suffered a devastating loss. | In little over two weeks, the race for the Democratic nomination has shifted to Bernie Sanders versus everyone else. Destroying former Vice President Joe Biden\'s lead in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, the progressive senator from Vermont is now the frontrunner in nearly every national poll, with centrists like Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and now former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, ni…

RT (2020-02-17). Repeat of Iowa caucus looms in Nevada as problems are illuminated (& ignored). rt.com The same issues that led to the Democratic debacle in Iowa earlier this month are poised to make next week\'s vote in Nevada equally hellish — yet party leaders seem unwilling to connect the dots or recognize the problem. | Early voters in Nevada have already faced long lines, technical difficulties, and monumental uncertainty about the voting process with voting underway since Saturday due to close Tuesday before the general caucus this coming Saturday. | We\'ve seen this movie before | The slow-motion car-crash caucus volunteers have sketched out in their heads bears a strong resemblance to the events of…

Staff (2020-02-17). \"They Have Not Relented\": U.S. Maintains Support for Yemen War as Saudi Airstrike Kills 31 Civilians. democracynow.org In Yemen, 31 people were killed in U.S.-backed Saudi airstrikes over the weekend, including women and children. The strikes in the northern al-Jawf province came just hours after the Houthis said they had shot down a Saudi fighter jet in the same area. The United Nations called the drone strike \"shocking.\" The deadly strike follows a recent uptick in violence in northern Yemen and comes as the war there hits a five-year mark. More than 100,000 have died, and far more have been displaced, since the conflict began in 2015. On Sunday, the United Nations said the Houthis and U.S.-backed Saudi and United Arab Emirates…

RT (2020-02-17). US openly paves way for INF-banned missiles to be placed in Europe & Asia — Lavrov. rt.com Just out of a milestone nuclear missile accord, the US is about to deploy short- and intermediate-range missiles in Europe and Asia, prompting Moscow to engage France and other partners to preserve security on the continent. | \"In order to agree on specific solutions, we need multilateral talks and multilateral consultations involving, of course, the United States, who destroyed the treaty,\" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday, referring to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. | This pact saw Washington and Moscow eliminate entire classes of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and m…

RT (2020-02-17). Trudeau scraps overseas trip after pipeline protesters BLOCK US-Canada bridge amid ongoing rail shutdowns (VIDEO). rt.com Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has cancelled his trip to Barbados after protests against a gas pipeline that crosses indigenous land escalated, leading to major rail disruptions and a brief stop of traffic at the US-Canada border. | The threat of transport paralyses, which has become increasingly real after protesters against British Columbia\'s Coastal GasLink pipeline briefly shut down a key border crossing between the US and Canada on Sunday afternoon, forced Trudeau to call off his visit to Barbados, where he was supposed to drum up support for Canada\'s UNSC bid on Monday. | The simmering conflict between th…

RT (2020-02-17). EU leaders agree to enforce Libya arms embargo with warships, despite fears of spike in migration. rt.com European Union foreign ministers have agreed to launch a naval operation to enforce an arms embargo on Libya, despite warnings from within the bloc that doing so would encourage new flows of migrants to Europe. | The EU ministers agreed to the naval operation at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. Aimed at simmering down the country\'s ongoing civil war, the operation will also have an air component and the possibility of ground forces, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio was quoted by AFP as saying. | The move was not universally welcome in Europe, and EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell had even predicted…

RT (2020-02-17). Israeli aircraft flies over Sudan for 1st time amid \'warming ties\' — Netanyahu. rt.com An Israeli aircraft has flown through Sudanese airspace for the first time, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He described the development as another example of warming ties between the formally hostile states. | Israel remains technically at war with Sudan, which supported hardline Islamists — including, for a period, Al Qaeda — during the rule of President Omar al-Bashir, AFP said. Bashir was ousted by the army last April following months of mass anti-government demonstrations. | \"The first Israeli airplane passed yesterday over the skies of Sudan. This is quite a change,\" Netanyahu t…

RT (2020-02-17). Macau allows casinos to resume work from February 20 after suspension over virus fear. rt.com Macau, the world\'s biggest gambling hub, will allow casinos to resume operations from February 20, after authorities imposed a two-week suspension to curb the coronavirus\' spread, authorities said on Monday, according to public broadcaster TDM. | The government has told casino operators they have 30 days to return to full business, health officials say. | The unprecedented halt of gaming operations started on February 5 and was due to end on February 19. Macau has not reported any new cases of the virus since February 4, officials said. There have been 10 confirmed cases of the virus in total there. | Governme…

Staff (2020-02-17). 300 Cruise Passengers Are Quarantined at U.S. Military Bases. truthdig.com TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — More than 300 American cruise ship passengers, including 14 who tested positive for coronavirus, were being quarantined at military bases in California and Texas on Monday after arriving from Japan on charter flights overnight. | One plane carrying cruise passengers touched down at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California just before midnight Sunday, while another arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas early Monday. The passengers will remain at the bases for two weeks. | Japan\'s Defense Minister Taro Kono tweeted earlier that Japanese troops helped transport 340 U.S…

RT (2020-02-17). Woman on board cruise ship in Japan is first Russian citizen diagnosed with new coronavirus. rt.com The Russian Embassy in Tokyo says a Russian national has been diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus on the \'Diamond Princess\' cruise ship docked and quarantined in Japan. She did not sent an evacuation request. | \"There were no evacuation requests, either from the infected Russian national, or from the rest of the Russian nationals aboard the ship. The infected woman is expected to be hospitalized in Japan,\" the embassy said. There has been no information yet on where the woman would be hospitalized. | This is the first confirmed coronavirus case involving a Russian citizen. Earlier on Monday, Japanese medic…

Staff (2020-02-17). Chinese Health Report Says 80% of Virus Cases Have Been Mild. truthdig.com The coronavirus report also says that new cases seem to be falling, although it\'s too soon to tell whether the outbreak has peaked.

RT (2020-02-17). Russia to export beef to Brazil for first time. rt.com Major Russian meat producer Miratorg has announced that the first delivery of 13 tons of beef will soon be supplied to Brazil. The company says the product will be distributed among the country\'s hotel chains and restaurants. | \"The company\'s strategy is aimed at increasing exports of high value-added products that are competitive in price and in demand on global markets,\" said Miratorg\'s President Victor Linnik, as quoted by the company\'s press service. He noted that Miratorg takes into account the peculiarities of food culture in importing countries when planning future supplies. | Miratorg supplies meat to…

Evelyn Leopold (2020-02-17). How the UN\'s Middle East Peace Plan Was Trounced by Its Own Members. counterpunch.org Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has delivered a dramatic condemnation of the U.S.-drafted Middle East peace plan. No country, except Israel, has approved of the proposals at any public forum. Still, several nations around the world want the Palestinians to use the plan as a means of reopening negotiations with Israel by presenting its own vision.

RT (2020-02-17). Movement of Cosmos satellite didn\'t violate intl law, posed no threat — Moscow. rt.com The movement of the Cosmos-2542 satellite, a matter over which the US has expressed concern, posed no threat and did not violate international law, Russia\'s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. It added that the continuing propaganda campaign against Russia is aimed \"at masking Washington\'s destructive actions, which are provoking an arms race in outer space and transforming space into a new field of military confrontation.\" | US Space Force Commander Gen. John Raymond said on February 11 that the United States had notified Russia through diplomatic channels that it was concerned by an incident in which Russian sa…

RT (2020-02-17). WikiLeaks demands answers as Twitter account LOCKED ahead of Assange extradition hearing. rt.com WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson is seeking answers after the publisher\'s official account was mysteriously locked, ahead of an extradition hearing for founder Julian Assange, who faces life in a US jail (or worse). | Hrafnsson claimed the @wikileaks Twitter account had been locked \"shortly before Assange extradition hearing\" and for no apparent reason, in a post from his personal account on Monday. Lamenting he had been unable to \"reach a human at Twitter\" for answers, Hrafnsson tagged both the platform\'s tech support and CEO Jack Dorsey. | WikiLeaks twitter account has been locked, shortly before…

RT (2020-02-17). \'Conscience-free journalism is great career choice\': Guardian mocked over failure to mention Assange in \'press freedom\' article. rt.com The Guardian newspaper has been mercilessly ridiculed on social media after it failed to highlight the plight of journalist Julian Assange in a piece on Amal Clooney\'s plans to \"combat media repression globally.\" | The outlet\'s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour published an Clooney, who represented the WikiLeaks co-fou…

RT (2020-02-17). Barcelona on the brink of civil war? Social media scandal will fuel speculation surrounding Messi\'s future at Catalan giants. rt.com Sensational claims that Barcelona hired a social media company to bolster the image of senior officials at the club while tarnishing that of players including Lionel Messi has added to the sense of a club approaching turmoil. | Barcelona were forced to deny in the strongest terms on Monday

Staff (2020-02-17). Centrist Democrats Have Already Lost the Most Important Battle. truthdig.com With dozens of Democratic candidates, scores of televised debates, and swarms of reporters and pundits descending on the tiniest blip in polls, this campaign already feels never-ending. But at long last, we\'re beginning what matters: Voting! | This year, in addition to decisions about candidates, voters will be making a decision about the future of our society. The question we face is whether we will continue the same-old politics of enriching and empowering the few at the expense of the rest of us, or will we pivot to implement transformative structural changes. | As you would expect, Trump and his sycophantic c…

Norman Solomon (2020-02-17). Class War Comes to the Democratic Party. truthdig.com More than ever, Bernie Sanders is public enemy number one for power elites that thrive on economic injustice. The Bernie 2020 campaign is a direct threat to the undemocratic leverage that extremely wealthy individuals and huge corporations constantly exert on the political process. No wonder we\'re now seeing so much anti-Bernie rage from leading corporate Democrats — eagerly amplified by corporate media. | In American politics, hell hath no fury like corporate power scorned. | Flagrant media biases against Sanders are routine in a wide range of mainstream outlets. (The media watch group FAIR has long docume…

RT (2020-02-17). \'Blame it on Hamas\': IDF posts bathroom selfie of young woman, Twitter laughs at claims it's part of cyber warfare. rt.com The IDF posted what appeared to be a bathroom selfie of a young woman on its social media accounts and, while it claimed…

RT (2020-02-17). Head of India\'s IT industry accuses US of labor rights discrimination. rt.com The president of India\'s National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), Debjani Ghosh, has accused Donald Trump\'s government of discriminating against Indian workers seeking H-1B visas to work in the US. | \"We\'re at a loss trying to figure out why we\'re seeing the kind of discrimination when this is actually benefiting the US,\" Ghosh said, as quoted by the Financial Times. He argued that Indian workers help to fill a vital skills gap. | Ghosh\'s accusations come ahead of the US president\'s visit to India this month. He has asked for a meeting with the Trump delegation. | Also on rt.com…

The Canary (2020-02-17). Coastal landfill sites set to spill over into sea, expert warns. thecanary.co More than 1,200 coastal landfill sites are in danger of spilling their contents into the sea — leading to a pollution time bomb around the UK coastline.Powerful storms and rising sea levels mean once-hidden waste could be exposed to pollute oceans and beaches, according to coastal policy expert Mark Stratton.\"One of the biggest risks of doing nothing at these sites is that the defences will fail and you\'ll potentially have former landfill either eroding out onto the foreshore or leaching into the water. Alongside that there\'s a potential impact on human health depending on what\'s in the sites,\" he said.Landf…

RT (2020-02-17). American taekwondo superstars Steven and Jean Lopez accused of sexual assault by 'dozens' of women. rt.com Olympic taekwondo brothers Steven and Jean Lopez are facing renewed allegations of sexual assault, including from a woman who came forward to claim that she was raped by Steven and two of his friends several years ago. | Audrey-Ann LeBlanc told

Ilana Novick (2020-02-17). Michael Bloomberg\'s Racism Goes Well Beyond Stop-and-Frisk. truthdig.com Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is using his billions to pay for his presidential campaign ads, blanketing television, radio and social media feeds across the country. As pundits, including

RT (2020-02-17). No, YOU are Trump\'s buddy! Bernie and Bloomberg go at each other. rt.com Billionaire Mike Bloomberg is going after socialist senator Bernie Sanders, accusing him of being in league with President Donald Trump after a video emerged of the former New York mayor talking disparagingly about farmers. | \"Bernie\'s New Bro… Donald Trump,\" the Bloomberg campaign blared on Monday, accusing the Sanders campaign of using \"the very same attacks and tactics\" in the Democrat primaries as the Republican president. | \"Mike is in this race to defeat Donald Trump, and he\'s the Democratic candidate who can get that done. This campaign will not sit idly by and allow these false attacks to stand witho…

Staff (2020-02-17). How Bloomberg-Funded Center for American Progress Censored a Report on NYPD Surveillance of Muslims. democracynow.org Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg\'s self-funded campaign has flooded the airwaves with political advertisements, with the billionaire former New York City mayor having already spent more than $400 million on TV, radio and other ads — far outpacing other campaigns. But it\'s not just Bloomberg\'s unprecedented campaign spending that has raised eyebrows. As The New York Times reports, Bloomberg has also kept potential critics quiet by making major donations to progressive causes and advocacy groups around the country over the years. This may have played a part in obscuring Bloomberg\'s checkere…

RT (2020-02-17). 'Chechenophobic:' Clueless Czech PM Babis upsets Grozny with snobbish reaction to name confusion. rt.com What do you call a prime minister who doesn\'t know the name of his country? Well, it appears the answer is Andrej Babis, the billionaire premier of Czechia. | He believed he was governing \'the Czech Republic,\' until he discovered differently during a Wall Street Journal interview. | In 2016, the previous Prague government agreed to make Czechia the official short name of the country, and since then, the United Nations and the European Union have officially used the new designation. Google Maps and other cartography services have also fallen into line. | Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Babis said: \"I didn\'

Stephen Cooper (2020-02-17). \"Just Mercy\" and Justice Don\'t Exist in Alabama. counterpunch.org The chance of there being \"just mercy\" for Nathaniel Woods—facing lethal injection on March 5 for the killing of three Birmingham police officers—is as good as the chance Alabama will ever reform its dismal, no-justice-to-be-found-anywhere legal system; it ain\'t gonna happen. A Hollywood movie and best-selling book about a legendary lawyer getting an innocent man

Alvaro Huerta (2020-02-17). Another Five Lessons for Democrats to Defeat Trump in 2020. counterpunch.org As part of my last two essays on how Democrats can beat President Donald J. Trump, click here and here, I\'ve added another five lessons. As an independent, as noted in my last essay, I\'ve consistently been critical (to the present) of Democrats and Republicans in the areas of race, class, place, immigration, etc., as

Staff (2020-02-17). Extradition of Assange Would Set a Dangerous Precedent. truthout.org The Trump administration is seeking extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States for trial on charges carrying 175 years in prison. On February 24, a court in the U.K. will hold a hearing to determine whether to grant Trump\'s request. The treaty between the U.S. and the U.K. prohibits extradition for a \"political offense.\" Assange was indicted for exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is a classic political offense. Moreover, Assange\'s extradition would violate the legal pr…

WSWS (2020-02-17). Australian media maintains an unconscionable blackout on the case of Julian Assange. wsws.org Meetings should be convened by the staff of every media organisation and resolutions adopted opposing Assange\'s extradition and insisting that his case is accurately and honestly reported.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-02-17). Trump\'s Trade War with China: Imagine What Would Happen if China Decided to Impose Economic Sanctions on the USA? globalresearch.ca In formulating these veiled threats, the Trump administration should think twice. These measures would inevitably backlash on the U.S. economy. China is not dependent on US imports. Quite the opposite. America is an import led economy with a weak manufacturing base, heavily dependent on imports from the PRC.

Norman Solomon (2020-02-17). The Escalating Class War Against Bernie Sanders. indybay.org Corporate Democrats and corporate media on the attack…

Miko Peled (2020-02-17). How Trump\'s \"Peace\" Plan Will Redraw Israel\'s Borders to Exclude to Non-Jews. globalresearch.ca Trump\'s new Middle East \"Peace\" Plan will redraw Israeli borders to exclude towns with large populations of Arab citizens, an attempt, writes Miko Peled, to force them down the totem pole to a place where their rights will be even …

WSWS (2020-02-17). Student climate change protests across the UK. wsws.org Manchester protester: \"When it comes to politics and elections, you vote for one side and you vote for the other side but there\'s the same puppet master pulling the strings.\"

RT (2020-02-16). From clothes to condoms: Coronavirus is threatening global consumption in ways you never knew were possible. rt.com China\'s status as the world\'s manufacturing powerhouse means the coronavirus epidemic\'s effects are being felt in some odd places. We\'ve come to terms with no new iPhones, but weirder shortages could upend people\'s daily lives. | Plummeting iPhone production and a lack of new cars rolling off the assembly line dominated early discussion of coronavirus-induced shortages. But the epidemic currently sweeping China and making determined inroads into over two dozen other countries has forced hundreds of factories to close, affecting dozens of industries. If nothing else, coronavirus has made the world realize that…

The Canary (2020-02-16). \'Millions\' with flu symptoms may need to \'self-isolate\' due to coronavirus. thecanary.co \"Millions\" of Britons with flu-like symptoms could be told by authorities to \"self-isolate\" by staying at home for a fortnight if the UK\'s number of coronavirus cases rises passed 100, it has been reported.The Sunday Telegraph said senior NHS managers have been told that the service will stop testing for the strain known as Covid-19 \"once around 100 cases have been confirmed\" across Britain.Eight of the nine people diagnosed with the virus in the UK have since left hospital after two negative tests for Covid-19, with the paper reporting hospitals have in the last week made \"isolation pods\" to keep those being tes…

The Canary (2020-02-16). Bakery workers target Pancake Tuesday in strike over pay. thecanary.co Workers have vowed to halt Pancake Tuesday in Northern Ireland during strike action at one of the UK\'s largest bakeries.Bakers at Allied Bakeries in east Belfast walked out early on Sunday morning for the first time in decades in a row over a 3% pay claim.The factory makes products such as Kingsmill bread.This is one of the busiest weeks of the year at the site, which is part of Associated British Foods.The multinational company owns a series of brands, including clothes retailer Primark, and posted profits of around £1.4 billion last year.A Kingsmill lorry stopped at the gates where dozens of workers carry…

RT (2020-02-16). Can Moscow finish Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite US sanctions? \'Never say never\' says Gazprom. rt.com Russia\'s $10 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which will pump gas more than 1,200 km to Germany – has been sanctioned by Washington, with US officials claiming Moscow can\'t finish the project. \"Never say never,\" Gazprom replied. | The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a joint project between Russian energy giant Gazprom and five European firms, was sanctioned by the US Congress in December. The State Department followed this with an ultimatum to the European firms working on the project: \"immediately cease construction-related activity.\" | The warning was enough to scare away Swiss pipelaying firm Allseas Group SA, and…

RT (2020-02-16). Iran will never talk to US under pressure or from \'position of weakness\' — President Rouhani. rt.com Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ruled out any likelihood of talks with the US unless Washington lifts its \'maximum pressure\' policy, adding that peace in the Middle East and the Gulf is unimaginable without Tehran\'s help. | Tehran \"will never negotiate under pressure,\" Rouhani reiterated in an address quoted by local media. Iran \"will never yield to America\'s pressure\" and will not negotiate \"from a position of weakness.\" | The Iranian people withstood the US sanctions — re-instated in 2018 by the Trump administration following the withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord — \"despite all the hardships…

The Canary (2020-02-16). UN body says it will take months to verify \'record\' Antarctica temperatures. thecanary.co Record high temperatures reportedly measured in Antarctica will take months to verify, the UN weather agency has said.A spokesman for the World Meteorological Organisation said the measurements made by researchers from Argentina and Brazil earlier this month have to undergo a formal process to ensure that they meet international standards.\"A formal decision on whether or not this is a record is likely to be several months away,\" said Jonathan Fowler, the WMO spokesman.Scientists at an Argentine research base measured a temperature of 18.3C (nearly 65F) on February 6 on a peninsula that juts out from Antarctica to…

John Timpane (2020-02-16). James Baldwin Won the Battle, but William F. Buckley Won the War. truthdig.com \"The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate Over Race in America\" | On Feb. 18, 1965, three days before the assassination of Malcolm X, a few weeks before the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, and six months before the Watts riots, James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. debated before the Cambridge Union Society at Cambridge University. | The proposition: that \"the American Dream is at the expense of the American Ne…

RT (2020-02-16). UN deputy envoy to Libya at Munich conference: Ceasefire hangs by thread & arms embargo is a \'joke\'. rt.com The fragile truce in Libya is at risk of falling apart, and efforts to stop the flood of weapons into the war-torn country have been completely ineffective, the deputy head of the UN mission to Libya warned on Sunday. | Stephanie Williams told attendees at the Munich Security Conference that the ceasefire between Khalifa Haftar\'s Libyan National Army (LNA) and the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is perilously close to collapsing. She added that an arms embargo put in place by the UN Security Council to prevent the flow of weapons into Libya \"has become a joke.\" | Noting that the economic situ…

RT (2020-02-16). Houthis say Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen killed at least 30 people, including women & children. rt.com Strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Saturday left at least 30 dead, according to the health ministry in the Houthi-controlled Al-Jawf province. Women and children were among the casualties, the ministry told a local TV channel according to Reuters. The alleged attack came shortly after the Houthis claimed to have downed a coalition warplane on Friday. Meanwhile, according to Saudi state news agency SPA, a spokesman for the coalition said that a Tornado jet had \"crashed.\" He added that a rescue operation had been launched but declined to go into detail about what may have caused the crash…

RT (2020-02-16). US-led coalition military base 'impacted' after multiple rockets fired at Baghdad's Green Zone. rt.com The US-led coalition has confirmed its base in Iraq was hit after the heavily fortified Green Zone came under rocket fire on Saturday night, with multiple blasts reported in the vicinity of the US Embassy. | The US-led coalition says its base in Baghdad was \"impacted\" by \"small rockets\" around 3: 24am local time. An investigation into the incident is underway, it added. | The attack did not result in any casualties, Col. Myles Caggins, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Resolve (CJTF-OIR),

Eds. (2020-02-16). The climate and the fat tail risk. mronline.org My gap year ends in August, but it doesn\'t take a college degree in economics to realise that our remaining 1,5 ∞ carbon budget and ongoing fossil fuel subsidies and investments don\'t add up. |

RT (2020-02-16). Queen Elizabeth won\'t get involved in Julian Assange case because it\'s a POLITICAL matter — Buckingham Palace. rt.com A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman has said the Queen will not intervene to release Julian Assange, vowing to remain \"non-political.\" The statement seemingly confirms that Assange\'s detention is a political, not criminal, matter. | With WikiLeaks founder Assange holed up in HM Prison Belmarsh awaiting extradition to the US, activist Chris Lonsdale penned a

RT (2020-02-16). Desperate much? Biden takes a dig at Sanders for not distancing himself ENOUGH from \'supporters\' attacking a Latino union. rt.com Hoping to bounce back from dismal early election results, former VP Joe Biden chastised Senator Bernie Sanders for not disowning supporters that harassed members of a Nevada Latino-majority union — except he did. | In an interview on NBC\'s Meet the Press to be aired in full on Monday, Biden unleashed a scathing attack on Sanders, who is currently riding high in the polls in Nevada, which holds the next Democratic Party contest. | Referring to instances in which supposed Sanders supporters hurled online abuse at members of the Nevada Culinary Workers Union (NCWU) after it distributed leaflets voicing conc…

RT (2020-02-16). Africa\'s largest oil nation could see production drop 35%. rt.com Africa\'s largest oil producer could see oil production fall by 35 percent as low oil prices and regulatory uncertainty threaten to prompt oil majors to postpone final investment decisions. | OPEC member Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and it pumped 1.776 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in January 2020, according to OPEC\'s secondary sources in its monthly report published this week. Adding condensate production, Nigeria\'s total oil output exceeds 2 million bpd. | However, three deepwater projects offshore Nigeria, operated by oil majors Exxon, Shell, and Total, could see their start-up dates…

RT (2020-02-16). \'Western doctors overprescribe drugs\' — Jordan Peterson's daughter Mikhaila tells RT why he went to Russia for treatment. rt.com Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson chose Russia for his detox because the country\'s medical industry is less dependent on big pharma than North America\'s, his daughter Mikhaila told RT\'s World Apart program. | Peterson, who rose to fame for his vocal and unapologetic opposition to extreme political correctness, has been struggling with an addiction to the drug clonazepam for over a year now. The benzodiazepine-class tranquilizer was prescribed to the University of Toronto professor and author of bestselling book \'12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos\' in 2017, to tackle anxiety caused by his lasting autoi…

RT (2020-02-16). Daredevil routine at 1,300ft almost goes DISASTROUSLY WRONG for Russian paraglider & aerial gymnast (VIDEO). rt.com Russian paraglider Alexander Orlov and world champion aerial gymnast Anzhela Kulagila performed a daredevil routine in Vietnam, making jaw-dropping acrobatics moves at 400m (1,300ft) — but which almost went badly wrong. | Driven by Orlov, who controlled the flow of the parachute, the duo presented a heart-stopping routine with Kulagila executing acrobatics tricks on slings with no safety wire. | The…

Staff (2020-02-16). California to Apologize for Internment of Japanese Americans. truthdig.com SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Les Ouchida was born an American just outside California\'s capital city, but his citizenship mattered little after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war. Based solely on their Japanese ancestry, the 5-year-old and his family were taken from their home in 1942 and imprisoned far away in Arkansas. | They were among 120,000 Japanese Americans held at 10 internment camps during World War II, their only fault being \"we had the wrong last names and wrong faces,\" said Ouchida, now 82 and living a short drive from where he grew up and was taken as a boy due to fear tha…

Anya Parampil (2020-02-16). øGolpista venezolano Ricardo Hausmann escenificó una falsa renuncia al BID para conservar su cómodo trabajo en Harvard? thegrayzone.com Atrapado en un conflicto de intereses con su empleador en Harvard, en septiembre pasado Ricardo Hausmann renunció públicamente a su…

orion the elder (2020-02-16). Gracias Chelsea Manning & Julian Assange for Exposing Bush\'s War Crimes. indybay.org Fruitvale and MacArthur oakland 94602…

Monterey Peace and Justice Center (2020-02-16). U.S. Sanctions: The Weaponization of the Global Financial System. indybay.org Monterey Peace and Justice Center | 1364 Fremont Boulevard | Seaside, CA 93955…

Eve Ensler & Taína Asili (2020-02-16). One Billion Rising: V-Day and Campaign to End Sexual Violence. zcomm.org This Valentine\'s Day, people around the world took to the streets to protest violence against women and girls…

Philip Giraldi (2020-02-16). American Citizens Killed and Tortured by Israel? globalresearch.ca One of the principal functions of a United States Embassy overseas is to provide citizen services, which includes coming to the assistance of Americans who are treated badly by the local government. It is a responsibility that most embassies take …

Stephen Lendman (2020-02-16). 2013 Law Suit: Israel Tried and Found Guilty of War Crimes and Genocide. globalresearch.ca In November 2013, the *** | There\'s no ambiguity about …

William Kaufman (2020-02-16). Tulsi Gabbard: A Political Postmortem. dissidentvoice.org The all-or-nothing New Hampshire gamble of Tulsi Gabbard has come up snake eyes. As I write, with 98 percent of the vote tallied, she is in seventh place, with a meager 3.3 percent of the vote, behind Tom Steyer. It is hard to imagine any path forward for her. And, frankly, one must acknowledge that …

teleSUR (2020-02-16). First Coronavirus Death Reported in Taiwan. telesurenglish.net The first person to die from the coronavirus in Taiwan has been reported by the local authorities, putting the death toll closer to 2,000 since the start of the new year. | RELATED: | According to the Taiwanese authorities, a taxi driver has died from the coronavirus, marking the first such death on the island and the fifth fatality outside mainland China from an epidemic that has curbed travel and disrupted global…

teleSUR (2020-02-16). Baghdad\'s Green Zone Comes Under Rocket Fire. telesurenglish.net As many as four rockets were fired overnight into the U.S.-occupied Green Zone of central Baghdad, three of them landed inside the heavily fortified zone, which houses the U.S. embassy, the Iraqi military said on Sunday. | RELATED: | According to the media office affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC), the attack took place late on Saturday night when unknown militants fired the rockets, but one of the…

teleSUR (2020-02-16). Saudi Airstrikes Kill 31 Civilians in Northern Yemen. telesurenglish.net TheSaudi-led Coalition carried out a deadly attack over northern Yemen on Saturday, killing over 30 civlians inside the Al-Jawf province. According to Yemen\'s Houthi movement, the airstrikes were carried out in retaliation for the downing of a Saudi warplane in the same province. | RELATED: | The United Nations office in Yemen said preliminary field reports indicated that \"as many as 31 civilians were killed and 12…

teleSUR (2020-02-16). Mass Delay in Dominican Elections Due to Polling Stations. telesurenglish.net The municipal elections in Santo Domingo, the first that are held separately from the general since 1968, began with delays and failures in the automated voting system, the spokespersons of several political parties announced. | RELATED: | Dozens of polling stations nationwide continue to present delays at the beginning of the voting process two after the formal start of the elections. | The members of the JCE are meetin…

Staff (2020-02-16). Medicare for All Would Save $450 Billion and Prevent 68,000 Deaths Every Year. truthout.org Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday applauded \"This study confirms that Medicare for All will save the American people $450 billion on health ca…

Kurt Nimmo (2020-02-16). War Criminal Hillary, Bloomberg\'s Choice for Running Mate. globalresearch.ca I figured as much. The moment Mike Bloomberg announced his intention to spend part of his billions—like Trump before him—to gain the presidency, I thought: this is the perfect opening for Hillary Clinton. | Clinton will be Bloomberg\'s running mate, …

Leonardo Flores (2020-02-16). The Embassy Defenders: Mistrial in US Federal Court Is a Win for Venezuela\'s Sovereignty. globalresearch.ca A jury of 12 Washington D.C. residents were deadlocked over the issue of the embassy defenders on February 14, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial in a blow to the federal government and to a judicial system that stacked …

Juan Cole (2020-02-16). Rockets slam into US Embassy Compound in Iraq, as Base with US Troops also Comes under Fire. zcomm.org Trump has threatened to destroy the Iraqi economy with severe sanctions if the Iraqi executive follows through on parliament\'s decree that US troops must leave…

Staff (2020-02-16). Democrats Need to Cut the Realism and Start Dreaming — and Fighting — Big. truthout.org Even as Bernie Sanders, the most radically progressive candidate for the Democratic primary, secured early wins in Iowa and New Hampshire and the face of the moderate Democratic establishment faded toward the back, an ugly spirit of defeatism has crept into the political zeitgeist around the progressive platform. | This past week Ezra Klein wrote of what he termed \"

Sarah Lazare (2020-02-16). War Is an Enormous Threat to the Climate Movement. zcomm.org U.S. wars have historically been used to beat back and repress exactly the kind of left movements that we need to tackle the climate crisis…

Denise Lamott (2020-02-16). Ceremonial Groundbreaking and Photo Opportunity for George Mark Children\'s House Restoration. indybay.org George Mark Children\'s House (GMCH), the first freestanding pediatric palliative care center in the United States, will host a Groundbreaking Ceremony and photo opportunity with generous-hearted contractors, local politicians and civic leaders to commemorate a new Restorative Garden on Thursday, February 20.

Jim Hightower (2020-02-16). The Irony of The Centrist-Progressive Debate. zcomm.org Moderates consistently warn that progressive ideas can\'t win \"the middle.\" But just look at the polls…

Spartacist League (2020-02-16). In the Revolutionary Vanguard of the Civil War: Harriet Tubman, Fighter for Black Freedom. indybay.org First Congregational Church | 2501 Harrison St., Oakland…

Spunky Peons (2020-02-16). Scooter Red Alert: The Oakland Lime Strike Is Crashing the Company. indybay.org On the evening of February 10th, the Lime scooter company cut pay for contractors by 30% without warning. Many if not most contractors immediately responded by refusing to charge the company\'s electric scooters. It\'s likely that there are more uncharged scooters in the streets now than charged scooters. It\'s getting so bad that countless scooters are beginning to crash, along with prospects for the company in Oakland.

Staff (2020-02-16). New Film Showcases How the Rainbow Coalition\'s Struggle for Justice Lives On. truthout.org One of

Staff (2020-02-16). Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Recognize Existence of Tribes. truthout.org A bill before the Alaska House Tribal Affairs Committee is simple: \"The state recognizes all tribes in the state that are federally recognized …\" | The legislation gets more complicated after that line. | There are disclaimers about what the legislation doesn\'t do. There would be no changes to state jurisdiction. Or the status of land. And it does not create any new state responsibilities. Nor does the proposal diminish the federal government\'s trust responsibility or other obligations, specifically ack…

Staff (2020-02-16). US-Linked South African \"Crisis Pregnancy Centers\" Spread Harmful Misinformation. truthout.org A senior South African health official has today vowed action as openDemocracy Supported by US Christian campaigners who claim close links to the Trump White House, around the world these centres appear to offer pregnant women unbiased \"advice…

Staff (2020-02-16). Insurers Are Bankrupting Patients by Charging Unexpectedly for Preapproved Care. truthout.org The more than $34,000 in medical bills that contributed to Darla and Andy Markley\'s bankruptcy and loss of their home in Beloit, Wisconsin, grew out of what felt like a broken promise. | Darla Markley, 53, said her insurer had sent her a letter preapproving her to have a battery of tests at the Mayo Clinic in neighboring Minnesota after she came down with transverse myelitis, a rare, paralyzing illness that had kept her hospitalized for over a month. But after the tests found she also had…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Iran\'s Rouhani says Tehran will never talk to US under pressure. yenisafak.com \"Iran will never negotiate under pressure … We will never yield to America\'s pressure and we will not negotiate from a position of weakness. America\'s \'maximum pressure\' towards Iran is doomed to failure,\" Rouhani said.\"Securing peace and stability in the sensitive region of Middle East and in the Persian Gulf is impossible without Iran\'s help.\"

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Family reunites with \'PKK-kidnapped\' daughter in Turkey. yenisafak.com With the efforts of Turkish security forces, another family has reunited with their daughter, who they claim was kidnapped by PKK terrorists, after five years of longing.According to security sources on Sunday, Pelda Ayhan surrendered to Turkish authorities in the Suruc district of Turkey\'s eastern Sanliurfa province.The mother, Gevriye Ayhan, had attended a sit-in protest against the PKK terror group in the southeastern Diyarbakir province.The protest started on Sept. 3 outside the offices of the Peoples\' Democratic Party

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Assad forces suffer heavy losses in Idlib attacks. yenisafak.com Hundreds of forces of the Syrian Bashar al-Assad regime have been neutralized amid operations over the last two weeks in Idlib, northwestern Syria.Clashes have mounted for over a month between the Syrian regime, allied with Iran-backed foreign terrorist groups, against opposition and anti-regime armed groups in the east and south Idlib as well as the Aleppo countryside.Opposition groups downed two helicopters, one in southern Idlib and another in western Aleppo, within the last week.Meanwhile, hundreds of regime forces were neutralized along with their equipment including 12 vehicles, 24 tanks, eight anti-aircraf…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Turkish Red Crescent provides tents for Idlib refugees. yenisafak.com The Turkish Red Crescent on Sunday distributed tents and heaters to Syrians fleeing clashes in and around Idlib, northwestern Syria.The aid agency also distributed beds, blankets and food to people in the Mashhad Ruhin area, close to the Turkish border.Hakan Sari, head of the Turkish Red Crescent\'s border assistance operations, said that most people had to flee to the north due to clashes and heavy bombings in Idlib.\"We supply tents, particularly to families without tents, so they can pitch them under the olive trees,\" Sari said.The aid agency also distributed hygiene materials, as well as cookies and chocolate f…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Roadside bomb kills 3 soldiers in Somalia. yenisafak.com At least three Somali soldiers were killed after a blast struck a military vehicle on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu on Sunday.Local police officer Feysal Mohamed told Anadolu Agency that the source of the explosion was a roadside bomb.\"The blast was a roadside explosion which targeted a national army vehicle carrying soldiers. At least three were killed in the attack and more than four others wounded,\" said Mohamed.Police and other security personnel reached the site of the incident and began investigations, he added.No group has yet claimed responsibility for either attack, but al-Qaeda-affiliated group…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Oman sees biggest Gulf clash risk in Strait of Hormuz. yenisafak.com The risk of a military confrontation is higher in the Strait of Hormuz than anywhere else in the Gulf region, Oman\'s foreign minister said, due in part to the growing number of military vessels from different countries that are guarding it.The waterway between Iran and Oman – 33 km (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point – is the conduit for some 30% of all crude and other oil liquids traded by sea.Friction between Iran and the West had led several nations to send task forces to guard shipping there, and Washington has blamed Tehran for attacks on international merchant vessels in or near the area, something Tehra…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Pakistan says Erdogan visit progresses free trade talks. yenisafak.com Pakistan said it made substantial progress with Turkey on a free trade agreement (FTA) last week during a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the capital Islamabad.According to Secretary of Commerce Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, a delegation from Pakistan\'s textiles sector will travel to Turkey in March ahead of the resumption of FTA negotiations. Sukhera said on Twitter that both countries were in agreement to \"surmount the issue of being competitors\" in textiles by finding ways to \"collaborate.\"He added that the delegation would seek \"ways of joining each other\'s value chains.\"Also, the two countries agre…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Turkey says Haftar\'s aggressions must be stopped. yenisafak.com Turkey\'s top diplomat said on Sunday that the country underlined the importance of a political solution to the conflict in Libya, as well as stopping Haftar\'s aggression at the first follow-up meeting to a recent cease-fire in the north African country.\"As Turkey, we stressed that the only solution is a political one, and to achieve this, Haftar\'s aggression and violations must be stopped,\" Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters after the ministerial meeting.The next meeting on Libya will take place in Rome, though the date is yet to be decided, he added.Foreign ministers and top diplomats from across t…