(2021-02-15). Oil prices hit 13-month high with demand optimism. yenisafak.com Oil prices on Monday jumped to their highest level in 13 months with increasing hopes of a speedier oil demand recovery, with rising tensions in the Middle East and optimism over the $1.9 trillion US stimulus check.International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $63.51 per barrel at 0702 GMT with a 1.72% increase after closing Friday at $62.43 a barrel. This is the highest price since Jan. 22 when it was trading at $64.58.Reaching its highest level since Jan. 8 when it traded at $65.65, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 2.15% to $60.75 per barrel at the same time relative to end-of-…
(2021-02-15). Vaccinations and Stimulus Packages Won't Mend the Economy. dissidentvoice.org The social and economic destruction engulfing the U.S. and dozens of other countries remains out of everyone's control and more chaos, instability, and insecurity now mark the global landscape. The ruling elite have repeatedly shown their inability to tackle any serious problems effectively. They are at a loss for how to deal with current problems …
(2021-02-15). Trump: Turning Losing Into Winning. counterpunch.org 
Donald Trump's political career provides top-notch evidence that the US political system is designed to keep wealthy white supremacists in power. Several million more voters voted for his opponent in the 2016 presidential election yet he became president. In 2021, fourteen more Senators voted to convict him of incitement to insurrection in his impeachment trial,
(2021-02-15). False Faith in Meritocracy: Reckoning with Our Bad Old Normal. dsausa.org As Team Biden makes it clear that it wants to shake things up, it might consider launching a National Commission on Meritocratic Failure. It might find that, good as it is, free higher public education isn't going to erase the yawning inequality gap. | Not likely, I know. The new administration is chock-full of achievatrons who fully subscribe to the meritocratic creed and whose own kids are bidding for admission to elite colleges. And I realize that this is the worst possible time to be talking about meritocracy's problems in a way that could be construed as an endorsement of populist resentment of elites. Th…
(2021-02-15). "Bloodsucker Capitalism": How Big Companies Extract Wealth from Everyone Else. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | "No one makes a billion dollars. You TAKE a billion dollars. …
(2021-02-14). US Meddling In Ecuador's Historic Election And Fake NGO 'Left'. popularresistance.org Max Blumenthal speaks with Ben Norton, who is reporting from Ecuador, on the historic February 7 election, and how the US government, regime-change networks, and wealthy oligarchs are trying to prevent the return of the socialist Citizens' Revolution movement of former President Rafael Correa. We discuss the fake NGO "left," represented by coup-supporting pseudo-environmentalist candidate Yaku Pérez, and how a victory of leftist Andrés Arauz could help bring back the progressive, anti-imperialist Pink Tide in Latin America.
(2021-02-14). Class War Intensifies During the Pandemic. counterpunch.org 
We will soon be a year into the Covid-19 pandemic. Are you rolling in new wealth? No? Too bad you are not a billionaire. With millions of deaths, unemployment soaring, millions threatened with losing their homes and economies struggling around the world, the world's billionaires are doing fine. More than fine. So fine that they
(2021-02-14). Left organizations in Delhi launch campaign to declare work as a fundamental right. peoplesdispatch.org 
Delegates from the CITU, DYFI and the SFI took the decision at the Delhi state-convention on unemployment to launch militant struggles for an urban employment guarantee act, guaranteeing 200 days of employment, at no less than Rs. 21K per month.
(2021-02-14). Layoffs continue at high rate. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – During the week ending February 6, almost 800,000 (793,000) people filed for new claims for regular state unemployment insurance. More than 330,000 others applied for the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA that covers the self-employed and gig workers. This comes to a total of more than 1.1 million people who have lost their jobs in the past week. | Beginning the week ending March 21, 2020, more than a million Americans each and every week have had to file for unemployment insurance benefits. As of the latest data for the week ending January 23, there were still more than 20 million pe…
(2021-02-14). Why does every new US president always try to outdo their predecessor in boosting the debt? RT's Boom Bust explores… rt.com 
The US' federal budget deficit is on track to reach an enormous $2.3 trillion in the fiscal year 2021 — the second-highest deficit since World War II — according to a forecast by the Congressional Budget Office. | The projected deficit, which is 25 percent larger than expected, doesn't account for the 1.9 trillion stimulus bill. Larry Summers, a lead player in Democrat financial policies since the 1990s, said the debt levels, coupled with stimulus spending, could cause an overheated economy with severe inflation. | RT's Boom Bust was joined by Rick Sanchez, host of the News with Rick Sanchez, to de…
(2021-02-14). Democrats' Shameful Cave. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-12923215461.jpg …
(2021-02-14). Forced Labor In The United States. popularresistance.org By any measure, the United States has the worst human rights record among the nations called democratic or developed or advanced or "free world" or any of the other labels that rich capitalist countries use to describe themselves. The U.S. has the worst health care system in that group, the worst benefits for workers, and the worst income inequality. It also has the dubious distinction of being the world's biggest jailer, with some 2.3 million people behind bars. This country which treats its people so terribly is also the one most likely to project its evil doing on to others. | There is a method to the madness.
(2021-02-14). Four Purposes of Federal Taxes. realprogressives.org Federal taxes have four very important functions. | The first one I am going to list is to change the distribution of income and wealth. | Taxes that take a higher share of the income of those with higher incomes are called progressive. | Most of us would return to a far more progressive tax system than exists now — something more like what existed in the 1960s. | So we would 'tax the rich'. | But we don't like it when people say we should tax the rich to 'pay for' federal spending. | We don't like it because it is factually incorrect, gives the wealthy too much power, is misleading and biases the policy…
(2021-02-13). Taxes on the Rich: One-Sixth of What They Used to Be. commondreams.org A new IPS briefing paper highlights the unique role of tax policy in wealth concentration. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/marchonbillionaires_0.jpg …
(2021-02-12). "Our society is sick:" The Lancet condemns American capitalism. wsws.org The Lancet, one of the world's premiere medical journals, argues that the dead from COVID-19 in the US should be added to the toll of "missing Americans" whose deaths were attributable to the rise of social inequality over the past four decades.
(2021-02-12). US sees higher than expected number of new weekly jobless claims. wsws.org February marks the 11th consecutive month since the start of the pandemic last March, where new weekly unemployment claims have stood above 700,000, a level without modern historical precedent.
(2021-02-12). Where Are the Witnesses? Ralph Nader Says Democrats' Impeachment Case Is "Prescription for Defeat" democracynow.org 
As the historic Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump continues, we speak with longtime consumer advocate, corporate critic and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who says Democrats have set themselves up for defeat by rushing proceedings and failing to call witnesses — including Trump himself. "The narrow approach of the articles of impeachment keep the Democrats from having a full hand," says Nader. "They have like 10 arrows in their quiver and they're using one or two."
(2021-02-12). Ralph Nader on Corporate Crime, Holding Boeing Accountable for 737 MAX Deaths & Biden's First Weeks. democracynow.org 
Legendary consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the U.S. is experiencing a "corporate crime wave," and that the Trump administration's $2.5 billion settlement with Boeing over the manufacturer's faulty 737 MAX jets amounts to a "slap on the wrist." Boeing's faulty planes were involved in two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, including Nader's 24-year-old grandniece Samya Stumo. Nader says the Biden Justice Department should reopen the previous administration's settlement and hold Boeing fully accountable. "This is just another example of giant companies getting away with their corporate criminal…
(2021-02-12). Ralph Nader: Biden Must Hold Boeing Accountable for Deaths Due to Faulty Planes. truthout.org 
Legendary consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the U.S. is experiencing a "corporate crime wave," and that the Trump administration's $2.5 billion settlement with Boeing over the manufacturer's faulty 737 MAX jets amounts to a "slap on the wrist." Boeing's faulty planes were involved in two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, including Nader's 24-year-old grandniece Samya Stumo. Nader says the Biden Justice Department should reopen the previous administration's settlement and…
(2021-02-12). We Must Expose the Insurrection Financiers. commondreams.org The January 6 assault on our democracy should lead to greater accountability for future political leaders—and their wealthy financial backers. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_insurrection-955px_0.jpg …
