Monthly Archives: January 2022

2022-01-29: News Headlines

_____ (2022-01-29). France has Become a "Destabilizing Force" in Africa. journal-neo.org In a January briefing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, on the eve of his talks with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin, said Russia was allegedly becoming a "destabilizing force". In making this assessment of Russia's policies, Macron was certainly following instructions from Washington to actively deploy anti-Russian rhetoric and propaganda. …

Vittoradolfo Tambone, Paola Frati, Francesco De Micco, Giampaolo Ghilardi, Vittorio Fineschi (2022-01-29). [Correspondence] How to fix democracy to fix health care. thelancet.com Globally, we are seeing a side-effect of COVID-19: political violence.1 This effect usually shows itself in three steps: denial of scientific evidence, judgement of the intentions of political decision makers as a conspiracy, and civil disobedience and street violence.

Rick Rozoff (2022-01-29). Russia calls on U.S. to withdraw nuclear weapons from Europe, cease joint nuclear drills with non-nuclear allies. globalresearch.ca This is a serious issue, perhaps the most serious of issues in Europe, but coming as it does immediately on the heels of Russia's prior list of demands being resolutely rejected by the U.S. and NATO yesterday, the prospects of …

José Manuel Blanco Diaz (2022-01-29). Venezuelan Opposition Looking to Reshuffle Leadership. orinocotribune.com The far-right in Venezuela is pushing for a change in leadership, which until now has been organized around former deputy Juan Guaidó, the self-appointed "interim president," with the backing of the United States, some European nations and Colombia. | This statement was made this Thursday, January 27, by Miami-based journalist Gaby Perozo, for the television channel VPI TV, during an interview in which she commented on her recent discussion with the fugitive from Venezuelan justice, Antonio Ledezma. | "Yesterday we spoke with Antonio Ledezma and he revealed to us that, indeed, there have been some meetings within…

Ed Holt (2022-01-29). [World Report] Polish Government COVID-19 advisors resign. thelancet.com The majority of Poland's COVID-19 medical advisory body have quit, saying that their advice has been ignored. Ed Holt reports.

WSWS (2022-01-29). Omicron case rates explode in Russia. wsws.org Like the governments in Washington, Berlin, Paris and London, the Kremlin is doing nothing to contain the virus as child infection rates soar and hospitals fill.

WSWS (2022-01-29). Contradicting US, Ukrainian President Zelensky denies Russian attack imminent. wsws.org The NATO powers' calls to prepare for a war against Russia supposedly to defend Ukraine are reckless, unsubstantiated propaganda threatening to trigger a world war.

Kungu Al-Mahadi Adam (2022-01-29). Former minister for integrity Simon Lokodo is dead. plusnews.ug Former Minister of State for Ethics & Integrity in the Office of the President of Uganda, Father Simon Lokodo has passed away. The news of his passing has Saturday morning been confirmed by the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) where he has been a member. The body says the former Minister died from Switzerland where …

John Rachel (2022-01-29). True Colors: Red, White, Black & Blue. dissidentvoice.org With a bold and completely self-sabotaging diplomatic blunder, one which fails on every level including the least rigorous sanity test, this past Wednesday the U.S. was one of two nations to vote against a UN resolution designed to discourage the glorification and promotion of Nazi ideology. The other nation was Ukraine, which currently is overrun …

David Swanson (2022-01-29). VIDEO: David Swanson on Ukraine on RT. warisacrime.org Watch

David Cavendish (2022-01-28). The Big Lie behind U.S. and NATO policy in Europe. peoplesworld.org In a speech in 1881, Wendell Phillips, the famous abolitionist and Native American rights activist, said that history is but "a series of lies agreed upon." The expression originated in 18th century France, with both Voltaire and Napoleon Bonaparte, along with the American transcendentalist writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, expressing versions of it. In truth, however, history …

WSWS (2022-01-28). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org One-day national strike across public sector in France over pay and pensions as wave of strikes continues in healthcare; South African Clover dairy workers' strike against job and pay cuts continues into tenth week, joined by other affected sectors; Lebanese teachers begin indefinite walkout against deteriorating conditions and for higher pay…

WSWS (2022-01-28). Spain's PSOE-Podemos government backs NATO war threats against Russia. wsws.org Popular opposition is mounting against the decision of the PSOE-Podemos government to send warships to join NATO naval forces in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia.

Lawrence Wittner (2022-01-28). Let's Not Allow the Great Powers to Destroy the World. warisacrime.org The vast destruction wrought by the atomic bombing of Japan in August 1945 should have been enough to convince national governments that the game of war was over. Wars have had a long run among rival territories and, later, nations, with fierce conflicts between Athens and Sparta, Rome and Carthage, Spain and Britain, and the …

WSWS (2022-01-28). BA.2 subvariant of Omicron in more than 40 countries across the globe. wsws.org The Omicron subvariant BA.2 is now dominant in Denmark. This variant of the virus has also been detected in more than 40 countries across the world and is beginning to displace the original Omicron.

_____ (2022-01-28). US And Russia Climb Escalation Ladder. popularresistance.org The corporate media in the United States are breathlessly covering Russia's every move right now while U.S. politicians are aggressively pushing new sanctions and arms shipments to Ukraine. | But how is the conflict viewed from the other side? Dr. Oleg Barabanov, Academic Director of the European Studies Institute at MGIMO University, joins the show to bring light to the issues from the Russian perspective. | Ben Chacko, editor of the Morning Star in Britain, explains why people in the West should be paying close attention to the conflict.

Prabir Purkayastha (2022-01-28). The Geopolitics Behind Spiraling Gas and Electricity Prices in Europe. towardfreedom.org Markets do not solve the problem of energy pricing. What is required is planning and long-term investments in infrastructure, writes Prabir Purkayastha.

Staff (2022-01-28). Thursday February 3 Webinar: In Conversation with Camila Saab, Wife of Venezuelan Diplomat Alex Saab. orinocotribune.com Alex Saab is a Venezuelan diplomat the US government has illegally seized and imprisoned for what the US considers "violation" of the illegal US economic warfare on Venezuela. He was in fact assisting Venezuela in legally working around the US blockade on his country by finding the means to import food, medicine, and materials for the Venezuelan oil industry. The US is seeking to coerce Alex Saab into disclosing the methods Venezuela uses to circumvent the US-Canadian-European sanctions with the goal of further tightening the economic blockade and suffering on the Venezuelan people. These sanctions are illegal ac…

Staff (2022-01-28). Ex-Russian president reveals Moscow's thinking on China. rt.com The Sino-Russian relationship is acting as a balance of power against the EU & the US, the former president said | The close relationship between China and Russia has been noticed by politicians in the US and the European Union and is therefore helping to balance power in the sphere of international diplomacy, the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, has claimed. | Speaking to news agency TASS, in comments published on Thursday, the former head of state said that Moscow's close relations with Beijing are positive for the world as a whole. Medvedev currently serves as deputy chairman of the Security Counc…

WSWS (2022-01-28). All COVID restrictions ended in UK amid deepening government crisis. wsws.org The crisis wracking the Johnson government is only spurring on its reactionary agenda at home and abroad. MPs left the capital amid discussions on the UK possibly sending thousands of troops to Eastern Europe to confront Russia.

sputniknews (2022-01-28). US-UK Antagonism of Russia Threatens to Pull NATO Apart at the Seams. sputniknews.com The NATO alliance was formed by Western capitalist powers in 1949 as a deterrence to potential invasion by the Soviet Union. Dependent on the US for support, Western Europe had little other choice; however, in the 21st century, that they will have convergent interests can no longer be taken for granted.

Augusto Zamora R. (2022-01-28). Rusia, Ucrania, la OTAN y la multiporalidad. globalizacion.ca Viven en la Unión Europea/OTAN en una burbuja de tal calibre que es como estar en una estación de tren abandonada, donde se ven pasar los trenes sin que se detenga ninguno y sin que nadie de los viajantes entienda…

Pepe Escobar (2022-01-28). Russia and the West: Piercing the Fog of Hysteria. orinocotribune.com By Pepe Escobar — Jan 26, 2022 | The fatal mistake committed by Brussels in 2014 was to force Kiev to make an impossible choice between Europe and Russia. | A specter haunts the collective West: total zombification, courtesy of an across-the-board 24/7 psy ops imprinting the inevitability of "Russian aggression". | Let's pierce the fog of hysteria by asking Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov what's going on: | "I can absolutely say that to date, the Russian armed forces have not created a strike group that could make a forceful invasion of Ukraine." | Well, Reznikov is obviously not aware that the White Hou…

_____ (2022-01-28). Snubbing Russia's Red Lines, the U.S. Shows Strategic Hand. strategic-culture.org The U.S. policy of confrontation and tensions is all about finding a suitable cover for the American sabotaging of Europe's energy trade with Russia. | The intransigent response this week by the United States to Russia's security concerns shows that Washington wants conflict. At the same time, also this week, the U.S. inadvertently revealed its hand when it reinforced its objective that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would not go ahead "if Russia invades Ukraine". | This is no mere coincidence. The tensions and crisis that have been stoked in recent months over Ukraine — to the point where, incredibly, a wo…

Staff (2022-01-28). Russia is dividing Europe — but not in the way you'd think. rt.com Western disunity over NATO is both an opportunity and a danger for Moscow | A number of Washington's normally steadfast European allies have begun distancing themselves from the US's increasingly confrontational approach to the standoff over Ukraine. However, despite the White House's appeals for unity, the cracks in its foreign policy partnerships are beginning to show. | A West that agrees on less is one where Russia's efforts to get concessions on security arrangements are more likely to succeed, but also one where America must crack the whip against it to keep its bloc in line. | A growing split?:…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2022-01-28). Russia's 'Asymmetrical' War Over Ukraine. libya360.wordpress.com M. K. BHADRAKUMAR Can Europe survive without Russian gas? The formal US response to Russia's demands for security guarantee was delivered to the foreign ministry in Moscow on Wednesday. Moscow's worst fears came true: Washington simply ducked without addressing the main Russian concerns — NATO's expansion, rollback of NATO deployments to pre-1997 level, etc. —and…

Staff (2022-01-28). NATO response 'embarrassing' — Moscow. rt.com Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slams the bloc's reply as ideological | NATO's reply to Moscow's proposals for a European security treaty is entirely ideological and has too much of a focus on the bloc's so-called "special purpose" and "exceptionalism," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. | Speaking to news outlets as part of a broadcast interview on Friday, the chief Russian diplomat described the response produced by Brussels as "embarrassing" for the people who wrote the text. | Last month, Russia publicly released two treaties it had proposed to the US and NATO. The draft documents includ…

TASS (2022-01-28). Ukraine cannot survive without loans, resembles lung ventilation patient — diplomat. tass.com The Russian diplomat said the European Union had announced another package of financial aid to Ukraine totaling 1.2 billion euro on January 24…

_____ (2022-01-28). Climate Change In The American Empire. popularresistance.org Here's to 2022. | A new year to displace one of the twenty previous warmest years globally since records began: the last twenty apart from 1998 with its strong El Niño. | The summer of 2021 saw the Met Office in the UK issue what was its first-ever "extreme heat warning." Over in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, flash floods left more than 120 people dead. | "You don't expect people to die in a flood in Germany. Maybe in poorer countries, you could understand it, but not in Germany" was a comment that went viral. | Question: What's the difference between climate change and COVID?

_____ (2022-01-28). Make The Whole World Know That The South Also Exists. popularresistance.org On 19 January 2022, US President Joe Biden held a press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. The discussion ranged from Biden's failure to pass a $1.75 trillion investment bill (the result of the defection of two Democrats) to the increased tensions between the United States and Russia. According to a recent NBC poll, 54% of adults in the United States disapprove of his presidency and 71% feel that the country is headed in the wrong direction. | The political and cultural divisions that widened during the Trump years continue to inflict a heavy toll on US society, including over the g…

_____ (2022-01-28). Ukraine And US War Propaganda. popularresistance.org The corporate media always carry water for the state, and they are never more dangerous than when the nation is on a war footing. Right now the United States government is sending weapons to Ukraine. One wouldn't know that because of constant references to "lethal aid." The euphemisms and subterfuge are necessary for a very simple reason. Everyone except the Washington war party knows that provoking war with Russia is extremely dangerous. | Joe Biden is picking up where he left off, as Barack Obama's Ukraine viceroy. He and his incompetent foreign policy team have spun a tale about a pending Russian attack on Ukr…

Mark Gruenberg, John Wojcik (2022-01-28). Protesters at White House condemn U.S. push for war with Russia. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—U.S. imperialism and the greed of military contractors are behind the rising tensions between the Biden administration and Russia over Ukraine, leaders of some 100-plus protesters in front of the White House, in the frigid cold, said on Jan. 28. "The majority of the American people do not want war," declared Olivia DiNucci of CODEPINK, …

Nauman Sadiq (2022-01-28). The Biden Presidency and the Specter of a Third World War. dissidentvoice.org Unlike Trump who was an outsider in American politics and derisively sneered at as "toddler-in-chief" by the US national security establishment, Biden is a typical establishment Democrat unabashedly playing into the hands of the deep state throughout his maiden year as president and escalating the conflict with Russia in Ukraine and with China in the …

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2022-01-28). The Vast Anti-Russian Psyop Campaign That's Brought Us to the Brink of Nuclear War. libya360.wordpress.com Rainer Shea There's an absurdity to humanity's current predicament of standing on the brink of World War III. This is that the decisive factor behind why the U.S. and Russia are close to war has not been the geopolitical struggles, the economic competition, or the imperialist military encirclement around Russia, but the strange and insipid…

sputniknews (2022-01-28). Fueling Tensions? CNN Claims Biden Told Zelensky Russian Invasion 'Imminent', White House Denies It. sputniknews.com Washington and some NATO states have been pushing claims that Russian troops deployed to its southern regions for drills were a prelude to an "imminent" invasion of Ukraine, despite both Moscow and Kiev dismissing the notion. The Kremlin has asserted its right to send troops anywhere inside its own borders, accusing NATO of whipping up tensions.

Cynthia Papermaster (2022-01-28). Tuesday 2/1: Emergency Action: "Negotiate, Don't Escalate: No War With Russia!" indybay.org San Francisco Ferry Bldg., foot of Market Street…

Staff (2022-01-28). White House calls CNN report on Russian invasion 'completely false'. rt.com The White House denies a report that Biden told Zelensky to "prepare for impact" and that Kiev could be "sacked" | The White House has pushed back on a CNN report about Thursday's phone call between US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, calling it "completely false." | "President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. He has previously said this publicly and we have been warning about this for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false," Emily Horne, a spokeswoman for the National…

Staff (2022-01-28). Russia comments on risk of war with West. rt.com Lavrov's comments come amid a growing diplomatic stand-off with NATO | With tensions running high between Russia and the US, Moscow's top diplomat has insisted that his country does not want a full-blown conflict to break out, but also warned it will not stand aside and watch well-flagged security concerns be ignored. | Speaking to news outlets as part of a broadcast interview on Friday morning, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked whether fighting could break out after talks over guarantees that NATO will not expand ended in deadlock. | "If it is up to the Russian Federation, there will be no war," he de…

Benjamin Norton (2022-01-28). Russia strengthens 'military-technical cooperation' with Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba amid US threats. multipolarista.com Russia said it is expanding "military-technical cooperation" with Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, after Putin had phone calls with the presidents of the three socialist governments, which have been targeted by illegal US sanctions and coup attempts.

_____ (2022-01-28). Washington Thinks U.S. Borders End at Neptune. strategic-culture.org By Caitlin JOHNSTONE | * * * | Washington: Russia's gonna invade Ukraine. | Moscow: We're not gonna invade Ukraine. | Kyiv: Yeah Russia's not gonna invade Ukraine. | Washington: Russia's definitely about to invade Ukraine. | Entirety of western media: RUSSIA 100% CERTAIN TO INVADE UKRAINE ANY SECOND NOW | * * * | Both Moscow and Kyiv agree that there wil be no unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. Washington keeps insisting that if there's a war Russia will be the aggressor, but in reality all that has to happen for there not to be a Ukraine war is for US/NATO powers not to start one. | * * * | It's actually a…

Peoples Dispatch (2022-01-28). UN pushes for definite timeline for Libyan elections amid uncertainty about its mission. peoplesdispatch.org The state of elections in Libya is unclear after yet another deadline expired this week. Meanwhile, the future of the UN special mission in Libya (UNSMIL) also hangs in the balance due to differences between the US and Russia…

Staff (2022-01-28). Headlines for January 28, 2022. democracynow.org U.S. Calls for Security Council Meeting on Ukraine as Russia Warns of Nuclear Confrontation, Biden Pledges to Nominate Black Woman to Supreme Court in February, Burkina Faso Coup Leader Paul-Henri Damiba, Who Was Trained by U.S. Military, Gives First Speech, Xiomara Castro Sworn In as First Woman President in Honduras's 200-Year History, Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Survivors Sue over Cancer Diagnoses, 70 Confirmed Dead After Tropical Storm Brings Flooding to Southern Africa, Massive Iceberg Breaks Up in Southern Atlantic, with Unknown Environmental Toll, Federal Judge Cancels Biden Administration's Largest-Ever Of…

WSWS (2022-01-28). US-NATO escalate war threats against Russia: Are you ready for World War III? wsws.org The drive to war is fueled by an utterly toxic mixture of deranged geopolitical ambitions and insoluble internal crisis.

_____ (2022-01-28). Tangled Tale of NATO Expansion at the Heart of Ukraine Crisis. strategic-culture.org The U.S. response to winning the Cold War set the stage for the current crisis with Russia, reports Joe Lauria. | By Joe LAURIA | The end of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the Soviet Union two years later presented the United States with a choice: triumphalism or reconciliation. | There was hope of a "peace dividend" because the fortune spent on armaments for so long could now be spent on domestic needs. The Warsaw Pact dissolved and there was hope that its counterpart, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, would also pass into history. Rather its expansion has become a fl…

David Swanson (2022-01-28). Can We Learn Anything From Russian-Canadian Pacifists? warisacrime.org Image Source. Tolstoy said the Doukhobors belonged to the 25th century. He was talking about a group of people who have traditions of refusing to take part in war, refusing to eat or harm animals or put animals to work, engaging in communal sharing of resources and communal approaches to work, gender equality, and letting …

Binoy Kampmark (2022-01-28). Serbia cancels Rio Tinto's lithium mining project. greenleft.org.au Rio Tinto's plan to mine lithium in Serbia has been scuttled in the wake of Novak Djokovic's deportation and against a backdrop of huge anti-mining protests and the country's upcoming elections in April, reports Binoy Kampmark.

_____ (2022-01-28). Djoković Pays the Price for Not Being a Ball Player. strategic-culture.org It is only in that larger, trans-generational framework, crossing time, space, and successive historical eras, that Novak Djoković's conduct in the face of Australian chicanery can be properly understood. | No pun intended, really. On one level, Serbian tennis player Novak Djoković certainly was prevented unwillingly from playing ball in the Australian Open. But on another, deeper and archetypal level, it was he as a sovereign individual who refused to "play ball" with the movers and shakers of this world. The savage treatment he got was punishment for the choice he deliberately made.

TASS (2022-01-28). US may provide additional economic aid to Kiev, Biden tells Zelensky. tass.com President Biden noted the United States has provided Ukraine with over half a billion dollars in development and humanitarian assistance in the last year…

Staff (2022-01-28). GOP & pundits demand to #ReleaseTheTranscript after Biden-Zelensky call. rt.com CNN's report on phone conversation between the presidents of US and Ukraine triggers throwback to Trump impeachment | Political opponents of the sitting US president are demanding the White House release a full transcript of his call with Ukraine's President Volodymir Zelensky, which reportedly didn't go as smoothly as the two nations stated. It's time for Joe Biden to face what Donald Trump faces in September 2019, conservative pundits say. | The hashtag #ReleaseTheTranscript trended on Twitter in the US as opponents of President Biden reacted to a controversy surrounding his Thursday conversation with Zelens…

David Swanson (2022-01-28). VIDEO: Emergency Town Hall on the Ukraine Crisis. warisacrime.org

2022-01-30 00:37 | 20:37 EST | jz | 52 | 0 | 40 | 10 | 0 

2022-01-28: News Headlines

WSWS (2022-01-28). US-NATO escalate war threats against Russia: Are you ready for World War III? wsws.org The drive to war is fueled by an utterly toxic mixture of deranged geopolitical ambitions and insoluble internal crisis.

WSWS (2022-01-28). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org One-day national strike across public sector in France over pay and pensions as wave of strikes continues in healthcare; South African Clover dairy workers' strike against job and pay cuts continues into tenth week, joined by other affected sectors; Lebanese teachers begin indefinite walkout against deteriorating conditions and for higher pay…

WSWS (2022-01-28). Spain's PSOE-Podemos government backs NATO war threats against Russia. wsws.org Popular opposition is mounting against the decision of the PSOE-Podemos government to send warships to join NATO naval forces in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia.

WSWS (2022-01-28). BA.2 subvariant of Omicron in more than 40 countries across the globe. wsws.org The Omicron subvariant BA.2 is now dominant in Denmark. This variant of the virus has also been detected in more than 40 countries across the world and is beginning to displace the original Omicron.

sputniknews (2022-01-28). US-UK Antagonism of Russia Threatens to Pull NATO Apart at the Seams. sputniknews.com The NATO alliance was formed by Western capitalist powers in 1949 as a deterrence to potential invasion by the Soviet Union. Dependent on the US for support, Western Europe had little other choice; however, in the 21st century, that they will have convergent interests can no longer be taken for granted.

TASS (2022-01-28). Ukraine cannot survive without loans, resembles lung ventilation patient — diplomat. tass.com The Russian diplomat said the European Union had announced another package of financial aid to Ukraine totaling 1.2 billion euro on January 24…

Staff (2022-01-28). NATO response 'embarrassing' — Moscow. rt.com Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slams the bloc's reply as ideological | NATO's reply to Moscow's proposals for a European security treaty is entirely ideological and has too much of a focus on the bloc's so-called "special purpose" and "exceptionalism," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. | Speaking to news outlets as part of a broadcast interview on Friday, the chief Russian diplomat described the response produced by Brussels as "embarrassing" for the people who wrote the text. | Last month, Russia publicly released two treaties it had proposed to the US and NATO. The draft documents includ…

WSWS (2022-01-28). All COVID restrictions ended in UK amid deepening government crisis. wsws.org The crisis wracking the Johnson government is only spurring on its reactionary agenda at home and abroad. MPs left the capital amid discussions on the UK possibly sending thousands of troops to Eastern Europe to confront Russia.

Staff (2022-01-28). Ex-Russian president reveals Moscow's thinking on China. rt.com The Sino-Russian relationship is acting as a balance of power against the EU & the US, the former president said | The close relationship between China and Russia has been noticed by politicians in the US and the European Union and is therefore helping to balance power in the sphere of international diplomacy, the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, has claimed. | Speaking to news agency TASS, in comments published on Thursday, the former head of state said that Moscow's close relations with Beijing are positive for the world as a whole. Medvedev currently serves as deputy chairman of the Security Counc…

Staff (2022-01-28). Russia is dividing Europe — but not in the way you'd think. rt.com Western disunity over NATO is both an opportunity and a danger for Moscow | A number of Washington's normally steadfast European allies have begun distancing themselves from the US's increasingly confrontational approach to the standoff over Ukraine. However, despite the White House's appeals for unity, the cracks in its foreign policy partnerships are beginning to show. | A West that agrees on less is one where Russia's efforts to get concessions on security arrangements are more likely to succeed, but also one where America must crack the whip against it to keep its bloc in line. | A growing split?:…

Cynthia Papermaster (2022-01-28). Tuesday 2/1: Emergency Action: "Negotiate, Don't Escalate: No War With Russia!" indybay.org San Francisco Ferry Bldg., foot of Market Street…

Staff (2022-01-28). Russia comments on risk of war with West. rt.com Lavrov's comments come amid a growing diplomatic stand-off with NATO | With tensions running high between Russia and the US, Moscow's top diplomat has insisted that his country does not want a full-blown conflict to break out, but also warned it will not stand aside and watch well-flagged security concerns be ignored. | Speaking to news outlets as part of a broadcast interview on Friday morning, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked whether fighting could break out after talks over guarantees that NATO will not expand ended in deadlock. | "If it is up to the Russian Federation, there will be no war," he de…

Staff (2022-01-28). White House calls CNN report on Russian invasion 'completely false'. rt.com The White House denies a report that Biden told Zelensky to "prepare for impact" and that Kiev could be "sacked" | The White House has pushed back on a CNN report about Thursday's phone call between US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, calling it "completely false." | "President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. He has previously said this publicly and we have been warning about this for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false," Emily Horne, a spokeswoman for the National…

sputniknews (2022-01-28). Fueling Tensions? CNN Claims Biden Told Zelensky Russian Invasion 'Imminent', White House Denies It. sputniknews.com Washington and some NATO states have been pushing claims that Russian troops deployed to its southern regions for drills were a prelude to an "imminent" invasion of Ukraine, despite both Moscow and Kiev dismissing the notion. The Kremlin has asserted its right to send troops anywhere inside its own borders, accusing NATO of whipping up tensions.

Binoy Kampmark (2022-01-28). Serbia cancels Rio Tinto's lithium mining project. greenleft.org.au Rio Tinto's plan to mine lithium in Serbia has been scuttled in the wake of Novak Djokovic's deportation and against a backdrop of huge anti-mining protests and the country's upcoming elections in April, reports Binoy Kampmark.

David Swanson (2022-01-28). VIDEO: Emergency Town Hall on the Ukraine Crisis. warisacrime.org

Staff (2022-01-28). GOP & pundits demand to #ReleaseTheTranscript after Biden-Zelensky call. rt.com CNN's report on phone conversation between the presidents of US and Ukraine triggers throwback to Trump impeachment | Political opponents of the sitting US president are demanding the White House release a full transcript of his call with Ukraine's President Volodymir Zelensky, which reportedly didn't go as smoothly as the two nations stated. It's time for Joe Biden to face what Donald Trump faces in September 2019, conservative pundits say. | The hashtag #ReleaseTheTranscript trended on Twitter in the US as opponents of President Biden reacted to a controversy surrounding his Thursday conversation with Zelens…

TASS (2022-01-28). US may provide additional economic aid to Kiev, Biden tells Zelensky. tass.com President Biden noted the United States has provided Ukraine with over half a billion dollars in development and humanitarian assistance in the last year…

Staff (2022-01-27). Russia warns of NATO nuclear threat. rt.com The military bloc is training its members to unleash atomic hellfire, the Foreign Ministry claimed | NATO is developing the capacity for devastating nuclear strikes against Russia — which includes involving members of the alliance who don't have such weapons in training operations — Moscow's top arms control official has claimed. | In an interview with TASS on Thursday, Vladimir Yermakov, Director of the Department of Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the US was in the process of modernizing its atomic capabilities in Europe and had deployed missiles in the…

Party for Socialism, Liberation (2022-01-27). PSL Statement: No War on Russia! Abolish NATO! liberationnews.org The Party for Socialism and Liberation condemns the anti-Russia campaign and calls for an end to the imperialist NATO alliance.

Staff (2022-01-27). France told to rein in its 'colonial reflexes'. rt.com France was asked to show 'restraint and respect the basic principle' of non-interference | A spokesperson for Mali's transitional junta government has reiterated the demand for Danish troops to leave the country and taken a swipe at the country's former colonial overlords. | Speaking late Wednesday to news broadcaster ORTM1, Abdoulaye Maiga warned the Danes about France's "colonial reflexes." Denmark had previously sent 105 military personnel to the West African nation as part of a French-run counterterrorism unit. | "We invite them [the Danes] to be careful about some partners who sadly have problems getting…

Staff (2022-01-27). Russia & Ukraine find common ground. rt.com Representatives from the two nations met as part of the Normandy Format talks | Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have agreed that a permanent ceasefire in Ukraine's war-torn Donbass region must be observed "unconditionally," following talks held as part of the Normandy Format, which also includes France and Germany. | The group met in Paris on Wednesday to discuss de-escalation in the region amid an ongoing standoff between Russia and Western nations, who have accused Moscow of planning an imminent invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin denies. The meeting lasted for over eight hours. | After discussions conc…

Anonymous103 (2022-01-27). Military And Political Situation In Europe On January 27, 2022 (Map Update). southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On January 26, Moscow was handed the U.S. and NATO response to its proposals concerning collective security in Europe; | The United Russia party proposed to support the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics and supply them with certain types of weapons; | On January 26, negotiations of political advisers of the leaders of the Normandy format (Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine) took place in Paris; | Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a telephone conversation wi…

Rick Rozoff (2022-01-27). CNN: U.S. troops may be deployed to Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com US and allies discussing deploying more troops to Eastern Europe prior to any Russian invasion of Ukraine The US and a handful of allies are in discussions to deploy thousands more troops to Eastern European NATO countries before any potential Russian invasion of Ukraine as a show of support in the face of Moscow's ongoing …

Staff (2022-01-27). China warns US over standoff with Russia. rt.com Regional security cannot be ensured by expanding military blocs, according to Beijing's top diplomat | Russia's concerns about safety on the European continent cannot be pushed aside by the US and warrant genuine consideration, China has warned, amid a tense stand-off between Washington and Moscow. | In a telephone call on Thursday, Beijing's Foreign Minister Wang Yi offered US Secretary of State Antony Blinken advice on how to calm growing tensions in the region. | "Today, in the 21st century, all parties must completely abandon the Cold War mentality and form a balanced, effective and sustainable negotiated…

_____ (2022-01-27). Cracks Open Up in America's Fragile Leadership Over Ukraine Crisis. strategic-culture.org The world is realizing the price for American hegemony and vanity is criminally insane as the Ukraine debacle demonstrates amply. | This is precisely what Washington fears most: cracks appearing in its presumed leadership of European allies. The U.S.-led pressure campaign against Russia over Ukraine has been dangerously stoked up to the hilt to the point where a catastrophic war in Europe could be ignited. | And the Europeans are getting nervous about Uncle Sam's recklessness. Nerves are fraying and with that, the hallowed "unity" — meaning U.S. hegemony — is coming undone. | German Chancellor Olaf Sc…

sputniknews (2022-01-27). Better Late Than Never? Catalonia Pardons 1,000 People Tortured, Killed for Witchcraft. sputniknews.com An anti-witch and wizardry frenzy swept much of Europe during the early modern era, with the regions of Basque and Catalonia witnessing some of the largest and most gruesome judgements against witchcraft in the Iberian Peninsula despite general scepticism toward the phenomenon by the Spanish Inquisition.

_____ (2022-01-27). How Europeans Get Energy to Heat Their Homes. strategic-culture.org "Natural gas is the cleanest burning and fastest growing fossil fuel, now accounting for about a quarter of global electricity generation. But its longer-term use is uncertain in a transition to net zero energy systems" — iea.org. | (Click on the image to enlarge)…

Staff (2022-01-27). FIFA boss responds to backlash over African migrant remarks. rt.com Gianni Infantino says he was 'misrepresented' through his controversial remarks | FIFA president Gianni Infantino has attempted to clear up controversial comments he made that appeared to suggest a biennial World Cup could help reduce 'death in the sea' among African migrants. | Releasing a statement on Twitter, the Italian denied that his intention had been to directly link more frequent editions of the FIFA showpiece event with preventing loss of life among refugees. | "Given that certain remarks made by me before the Council of Europe appear to have been misinterpreted and taken out of context, I wish to cl…

Misión Verdad (2022-01-27). TANCOL in Arauca-Apure: NATO Projection into Latin America? orinocotribune.com By Misión Verdad — Jan 24, 2022 | The violence that has recently occurred on the border between Venezuela and Colombia, specifically in the municipality of Paez, Apure state, should be regarded as a symptom of lines of tension being drawn with concrete geopolitical interests in mind. | There provide strong reasons to analyze these events as a projection of the tension created by the Atlanticist axis against Russia in Ukraine, into which the European Union has been drawn, due to the latest actions of Uribismo in the Colombian government, with respect to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). | Recent…

Staff (2022-01-27). Germany threatens to sanction Russian gas pipeline. rt.com The controversial pipeline could be doomed if Russia invades Ukraine | The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, built to deliver gas to Germany from Siberia, could be hit with harsh sanctions from Berlin if Russia decides to attack Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said. | Speaking at a session of the Bundestag, the German parliament, on Wednesday, Baerbock confirmed that the underwater energy link was on the table as a possible target for restrictive measures. "We have a whole spectrum of responses, including Nord Stream 2," she stated. "Yes, we are always attempting dialogue, but in the light of today's situati…

Dave DeCamp (2022-01-27). Sticking to No Weapons Policy, Germany Offers Ukraine Helmets. news.antiwar.com Under increasing pressure to send weapons to Ukraine, Andriy Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, said he appreciated the "symbolic gesture" but that it isn't enough. "What we need the most are defensive weapons," he said. | The mayor Kyiv took a stronger tone and said the German offer was a "joke" that left him "speechless. "What kind of support will Ger…

WSWS (2022-01-27). Berlin justice system prosecutes anti-fascist artists. wsws.org The Berlin state public prosecutor's office is proceeding with house searches and substantial charges against the artists' collective Centre for Political Beauty (ZPS) for carrying out an art action against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Anonymous765 (2022-01-27). War Fever Is In The Air, As The West Confuses Russia With Nazi Germany. southfront.org As tensions grow between Russia and the West, more and more false comparisons are made with World War Two… | Johanna Ross, Russian Studies graduate and political analyst based in Edinburgh, Scotland. | The 'war hysteria' which has taken over our airwaves in the West of late in relation to tensions on Ukraine's border, is like a Hollywood style movie, being entirely scripted, produced, directed and acted in by the West. It bears no resemblance to the real actions and words of Russia and its representatives. The US is starring in its own drama, with the lines between fantasy and reality increasingly blurred. | Ne…

Maurizio Coppola (2022-01-27). Youth on Italy's streets are fighting for their lives. peoplesdispatch.org After a young student Lorenzo Parelli died in a working accident, students all over Italy have expressed their discontent and taken to the streets against precarity and lack of future.

Rick Rozoff (2022-01-27). Romania ready to host more U.S., NATO troops, serve as southern spearhead against Russia. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com As it did in 1941. Transnistria should be very apprehensive, boxed in as it is by Moldova/Romania and Ukraine. Decision to send US troops to Romania exists, it is not conditioned by possible intervention of Russia in Ukraine The Minister of National Defence, Vasile Dincu, declared on Wednesday evening that the decision regarding the deployment …

Kate Clark (2022-01-27). Tales of invasions past: The facts about Russia's 'annexation' of Crimea. peoplesworld.org Kate Clark is the former Moscow correspondent for Britain's Morning Star newspaper. She was stationed there from 1985-90, during the Soviet Union's final years. As part of her work, she spent time in Crimea, whose people voted in 2014 to return to Russian administration rather than Ukrainian. With the hype around a possible Russian "invasion" …

Staff (2022-01-27). Former Soviet Republics exchange fire on the border. rt.com Several people were reportedly injured as the militaries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan engaged in cross-border skirmishes | Violence broke out at the Tajik-Kyrgyz border late on Thursday, with the clashes occurred at a poorly-demarcated part of the frontier, where the territories of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan meet, at a point where each country has multiple enclaves in the territory of its neighboring states. | The trouble reportedly began when a Tajik vehicle was pelted with stones from the Kyrgyz side of the border. The incident triggered a response from the border guard of both nations, with serv…

Spengler (2022-01-27). Epidemic of insanity strikes America's leaders. asiatimes.com It must be a hitherto unreported side-effect of the Omicron strain, perhaps a malignant protein activated by the rays of the full moon. America's political class, Democrat and Republican alike, appear to have gone babbling, barking mad, starting with President Joe Biden, but afflicting his political opponents as well. | Biden's January 19 press conference drew pity from the global press, with verbal gaffes unlike anything that has escaped the mouth of an American president before. He predicted a Russian military move into Ukraine: "My guess is he will move in. He has to do something." Russia will be "held acco…

Staff (2022-01-27). Headlines for January 27, 2022. democracynow.org Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to Retire, Handing Biden Chance to Nominate Replacement, U.S. and NATO Offer No Concessions to Russia in Standoff over Ukraine, U.S. Approves $2.5 Billion Arms Sale to Egypt Despite Human Rights Abuses, House Democrats Demand End to U.S. Servicing of Saudi Warplanes Used in War Crimes, 180 Killed as U.S.-Backed Forces Retake Syrian Prison Where Children Are Imprisoned, U.N. Renews Calls to Free Up Aid for Millions of Afghans Facing Starvation, Extreme Poverty, Global COVID Cases Break New Record as COVAX Falls Short on Vaccine Delivery Goal, Spotify Sides with Joe Rogan in Vac…

WSWS (2022-01-27). UK: "Partygate" report delayed as Johnson seeks political survival through warmongering and untrammelled COVID herd immunity. wsws.org Johnson stood his ground on his ability to "deliver" the policies dearest to the heart of the Tory right-wing, historically Brexit and today the reopening of the economy and assuming a leading role in US-led military provocations against Russia.

WSWS (2022-01-27). US rejects Russian demands for security guarantees, escalates Ukraine crisis. wsws.org The NATO alliance is stoking a war crisis, demanding that the far-right regime in Ukraine be armed to fight an invasion of Ukraine it alleges Russia is preparing.

_____ (2022-01-27). Mr. President, Stay Out of Ukraine. strategic-culture.org By Ted Galen CARPENTER | The onset of a belated bout of common sense in Joe Biden's administration has reduced the danger that the United States would intervene with its own military forces if war broke out between Russia and Ukraine. At one time,

Anonymous103 (2022-01-27). Military Situation In Syria On January 27, 2022 (Map Update). southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On January 27, the Russian Ministry of Defence recorded no cases of hostilities and opening fire in Idlib region in the past 24 hours; | On January 26, clashes between the SDF and Turkish-backed militants were reported west of Tal Tamar; | On January 26, SAA artillery shelled positions of Turkish-backed forces in Ankawi area; | On January 26, the SDF imposed full control over the Sina'a prison. The total number of individuals detained for involvement in the ISIS att…

Binoy Kampmark (2022-01-27). Serbia Stomps on Rio Tinto's Lithium Mining Project. dissidentvoice.org On the face of it, there seems to be little in the way of connection between the treatment of Novak Djokovic by Australian authorities and the cooling of the Serbian government towards Rio Tinto. The Anglo-Australian mining giant was confident that it would, at least eventually, win out in gaining the permissions to commence work …

_____ (2022-01-27). Ukraine: Biden Administration's 'Wag The Dog' Diversionary War? popularresistance.org The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) along with the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Maryland Peace Action, Popular Resistance, and many other organizations will gather in Washington today at noon in front of the White House as part of an emergency mobilization of anti-war activists to express opposition to the unnecessary and extremely dangerous possibility of war in Ukraine. | With a 39% job approval rating, more deaths from covid than during the Trump administration, and a failure to deliver on most of promises made during the 2020 presidential campaign, the intentional escalation of tensions by the United States wit…

Rick Rozoff (2022-01-27). Over 30,000 Ukrainian troops trained so far, Canada to extend, increase troop deployment. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Canada extends military operation in Ukraine for three years Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday the extension of Operation UNIFIER for three years, and the deployment of 60 more troops to Ukraine in the coming days. Trudeau made the announcement following a cabinet meeting, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie …

Morteza Ahmadi Al Hashem (2022-01-27). 10 killed, wounded in shooting at a military plant in Ukraine. en.mehrnews.com At least five people have been killed and five others were injured in a shooting at a Ukrainian military plant on Thursday.

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