News 2/19/26

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News 2/19/26 News Anon 3.0 20-02-26 01:52:26 No.2697628

Uruguay’s PIT-CNT urges sector impact studies for an “informed” Senate debate
Uruguay’s PIT-CNT labour federation warned lawmakers that the debate on the Mercosur–European Union trade deal is moving forward without adequate sector-by-sector assessments, which it said “limits the possibility of an informed debate” on potential effects on industry, jobs and the country’s productive structure. The union confederation testified on Wednesday before a special Senate committee reviewing the agreement, alongside the Chamber of Industry (CIU) and the Rice Growers Association (ACA), ahead of a vote expected on Wednesday 25.
https://en.mercopress.com/2026/02/19/mercosur-eu-deal-uruguay-s-pit-cnt-urges-sector-impact-studies-for-an-informed-senate-debate

Government removes controversial Article 44 to secure labour reform passage
Milei’s Labour Modernisation bill also proposes new restrictions on strikes. For services considered essential, guarantees that a minimum of 50-75 percent during a strike are required. … The labour reform seeks to define those working on apps of delivery or transport as autonomous workers with no relationship of direct dependence on their platform.
https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/government-removes-controversial-article-44-to-secure-labour-reform-passage.phtml
https://archive.ph/KKmBV

US sanctions, power cuts, climate crisis: why Cuba is betting on renewables
The government argues that renewable energy projects will ease Cuba’s power shortages and help the country adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis. Cuba is among the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather events, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). While hurricanes have long been a feature of Caribbean life, the IPCC’s studies suggest the storms are becoming more frequent and intense, along with severe flooding and unusual low temperatures. .. .. . . .
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/feb/18/us-sanctions-power-cuts-climate-crisis-why-cuba-is-betting-on-renewables

Peru installs Jose Balcazar as interim president after Jeri ousted in political upheaval
Lawmakers elected Balcazar over center-right legislator Maria del Carmen Alva by a 64-46 margin following an hours-long session. The vote came after none of the four initial candidates secured a simple majority in an initial round of voting, an upset for Alva, who had been considered the frontrunner.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-congress-elects-jose-balcazar-new-interim-president-2026-02-19/

'Board of Peace' members commit $7bn to Gaza relief, US pledges further $10bn
US Major General Jasper Jeffers, who has been appointed to oversee the ISF, revealed at the Board of Peace meeting that Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania will all contribute troops to the ISF, and that Egypt and Jordan will train those troops. "For the last few months, we've had a team on the ground of US military experts preparing the infrastructure for the ISF" and working out of the Civil-Military Coordination Centre in Israel, Jeffers said.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/board-peace-members-commit-7bn-gaza-relief-us-adding-further-10bn

Trump issues ultimatum to Iran to agree nuclear deal
Amid a massive US military buildup in the Middle East that has fueled fears of a wider war, Trump said negotiations with Iran were going well but insisted Tehran has to reach a "meaningful" agreement. "Otherwise bad things happen," Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, told the first meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington. Trump spoke of the US airstrikes carried out in June, saying Iran's nuclear potential had been "decimated," adding "we may have to take it a step further or we may not."
https://www.newarab.com/news/trump-issues-ultimatum-iran-agree-nuclear-deal

Israeli settler killed Palestinian-American teen in the West Bank, local health ministry says
Nasrallah Mohammed Jamal Abu Siam was shot on Wednesday in the village of Mukhmas near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. A relative of Abu Siam, who did not wish to give his name out of fear of reprisals from Israeli security forces, said that settlers had raided the village to steal sheep.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-settler-killed-palestinian-american-teen-west-bank-local-health-ministry-2026-02-19/

Polish ruling coalition party implodes
Some 15 MPs left the party Wednesday after last month’s contest to replace its former leader, TV celebrity-turned-politician Szymon Hołownia, turned ugly. The losing faction accused Hołownia’s successor and the party’s new leader, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, of stifling criticism.
https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-donald-tusk-ruling-coalition-party-implodes-rebels-split-katarzyna-pelczynska-nalecz/
https://archive.ph/g44Oa

Crown humiliated as Andrew arrested
Police are probing the apparent leaking of documents by the then-Prince Andrew when he was Britain’s official trade envoy. nThe recently released Epstein files show that the late paedophile financier, once an intimate friend of the prince, was apparently given secret government reports on economic opportunities by Mr Mountbatten-Windsor.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/crown-humiliated-andrew-arrested

Philippine vice-president Sara Duterte announces 2028 presidential bid
In her speech on Wednesday, Sara Duterte apologised for once running in tandem with Marcos, her ally-turned-nemesis, saying she was sorry she had once helped his election bid. “I am sorry if there is blatant abuse of our institutions for the personal interests of politicians. I am sorry that the prices of basic goods continue to rise while the income of every family remains insufficient. I am sorry that we do not even have genuine food security. I am sorry that some are falling ill and losing their lives because of the lack of a proper and effective healthcare system,” she said in a press briefing.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/18/philippine-vice-president-sara-duterte-announces-2028-presidential-bid

Niger secures $91 million IMF boost as AES states regain global financial recognition
The $91 million IMF funding arrives at a critical time as Niger and the Sahel nations work to stabilize their economies, reinforce public finances, and reassure investors following major geopolitical shifts. The approval reflects sustained confidence in Niger’s economic outlook even as the country distances itself from traditional Western military partnerships. .. . .. .
https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/niger-secures-dollar91-million-imf-boost-as-aes-states-regain-global-financial/wddrzl5
https://archive.ph/3Qn4b

At least 37 killed in Nigeria mine carbon monoxide poisoning
The deadly incident, which hospitalised another 25 people, took place on Wednesday at a dormant lead mine in the Kamani community, in the Wase area of Plateau State, according to news agency Reuters. Government officials said they believed accumulated minerals had released lethal fumes which caused the deaths.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/least-37-killed-nigeria-mine-carbon-monoxide-poisoning

News Anon 3.0 20-02-26 02:16:06 No.2697649

Peace Campaigners Demand Congress Stop Trump From Waging ‘Devastating’ War on Iran
Amid reports that the US is rapidly mobilizing military hardware to the Middle East, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced on Wednesday that they’d attempt to force a House vote on a resolution that would prohibit Trump from striking Iran without congressional authorization.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/peace-groups-iran-war

Trump order seeks to protect weedkiller at center of barrage of lawsuits
The president’s move, which also seeks to provide “immunity” for makers of the herbicides, was strongly criticized by health and environmental advocates including some figures in the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) coalition. The order also protects domestic production of phosphorus, which is used in making glyphosate and other agricultural chemicals, as well as a range of other products, including some in military defense.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/19/trump-order-protect-weedkiller

Trump Admin Planning to Roll Back Limits on Toxic Mercury Pollution From Coal-Fired Power Plants
The Trump administration is preparing to roll back limits on levels of toxic mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. The New York Times reports top EPA officials will announce the rollback during a visit to Louisville, Kentucky on Friday. The World Health Organization considers mercury one of its top ten chemicals of major public health concern, and even small amounts can cause serious health problems, especially in utero and in children.
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/19/headlines/trump_admin_planning_to_roll_back_limits_on_toxic_mercury_pollution_from_coal_fired_power_plants

A leaked Pentagon list flagging dozens of universities as risks blindsided schools and military students alike
One email said that prospective students who had applied to or had been accepted to schools like American University, Stanford University, or Georgetown University, among others, "should have a backup plan" in case the Pentagon gives those schools the same treatment as Harvard. Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith said in a statement to Business Insider on Tuesday that only US military ties to Harvard are being halted. Other university programs are under review, she said, but "no further decisions have been made at this time."
https://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-reviews-schools-students-universities-uncertainty-2026-2

White House grants ICE power to detain refugees for aggressive ‘rescreening’
Under the new policy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that federal immigration officers can and should arrest anyone who has not yet obtained the right to permanent residence, a so-called green card, and subject them to interviews to assess their refugee claims while they are in custody, as first reported by the Washington Post.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/trump-administration-memo-ice-dhs-refugees-screening

Washington D.C. declares public emergency after Potomac sewer collaps
The emergency order authorizes the District government to waive certain procurement rules, reassign staff and seek federal reimbursement for costs tied to the spill and related repair work. It will remain in effect for 15 days unless extended by the D.C. Council. During this period, District agencies will work with federal partners including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers while monitoring the environment.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/02/20/ptrl-f20.html

House Democrat withdraws endorsement in Chicago-area race over AIPAC funding
Schakowsky, who represents Illinois’ 9th District and endorsed Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller in the crowded Illinois 2nd District primary last month, said in a statement on Thursday she will not support a candidate funded by “outside interests.” “Illinois deserves leaders who put voters first, not AIPAC or out-of-state Trump donors,” Schakowsky said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/jan-schakowsky-withdraws-endorsement-donna-miller-aipac-funding-00789507
https://archive.ph/hzcJ6

OP/ED News Anon 3.0 20-02-26 03:14:13 No.2697682

Trump’s Intervention in Iran Will Be a Disaster Interview with Vivek Chibber
The Trump administration has ramped up its bellicose rhetoric against the Iranian regime after it clamped down on the latest wave of protests. And now, a growing number of reports hint that a major war with Iran is a very real possibility — and very soon. In this episode of the Jacobin Radio podcast Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek contrast the Iranian Revolution of 1979 with the current protests and discuss what makes a revolution possible. Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy and published by Jacobin. You can listen to the full episode here. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
https://jacobin.com/2026/02/protests-revolution-iran-war-intervention

Fearing Immigration: The Australian Coalition and the Return of Bad Habits
Killing political leaders – metaphorically and actually – often ushers in a silly season where the Mad Hatter presides over an imbecilic party. Amidst coups, defections, dethronements and confusions on the right of Australia politics, we see ugly topics return to the fore with ghastly predictability. The Liberals, the Nationals, and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party, are narrowing, rather than broadening the issues of debate. A suspicious, anti-establishment populism, if we are to believe the astrologers in the ranks of psephologists and pollsters, has become vibrantly feral, and top of the list of concerns is immigration. Incapable of even coming up with its own indigenous species of bigotry, the misnamed Liberals, now led by the underwhelming Angus Taylor, seem to be pinching a few ingredients from the MAGA larder of US President Donald Trump. Freshly deposed, the former leader Sussan Ley seems to have had a plan simmering away to ban arrivals from “declared terrorist” zones of the world and impose more onerous surveillance measures on those visiting Australia. (Everyone, the message goes, wants to make their way to Terra Australis.) The draft, plagiarised proposal, called “Operation Gatekeeper”, would deny the grant of visas to anyone coming from areas controlled by loosely termed “Islamist terrorist groups”, a formulation sufficiently vague to hawk at the dispatch box. The umbrella would be wide and ignore the capacity of governments to control their territories, covering 13 countries. These include Afghanistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Somalia, Yemen and the Philippines.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/02/19/fearing-immigration-the-australian-coalition-and-the-return-of-bad-habits/

Mao Tse-tung ON PRACTICE: On the Relation Between Knowledge and Practice, Between Knowing and Doing
Before Marx, materialism examined the problem of knowledge apart from the social nature of man and apart from his historical development, and was therefore incapable of understanding the dependence of knowledge on social practice, that is, the dependence of knowledge on production and the class struggle. Above all, Marxists regard man's activity in production as the most fundamental practical activity, the determinant of all his other activities. Man's knowledge depends mainly on his activity in material production, through which he comes gradually to understand the phenomena, the properties and the laws of nature, and the relations between himself and nature; and through his activity in production he also gradually comes to understand, in varying degrees, certain relations that exist between man and man. None of this knowledge can be acquired apart from activity in production. In a classless society every person, as a member of society, joins in common effort with the other members, enters into definite relations of production with them and engages in production to meet man's material needs. In all class societies, the members of the different social classes also enter, in different ways, into definite relations of production and engage in production to meet their material needs. This is the primary source from which human knowledge develops. Man's social practice is not confined to activity in production, but takes many other forms–class struggle, political life, scientific and artistic pursuits; in short, as a social being, man participates in all spheres of the practical life of society. Thus man, in varying degrees, comes to know the different relations between man and man, not only through his material life but also through his political and cultural life (both of which are intimately bound up with material life). Of these other types of social practice, class struggle in particular, in all its various forms, exerts a profound influence on the development of man's knowledge. In class society everyone lives as a member of a particular class, and every kind of thinking, without exception, is stamped with the brand of a class.
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_16.htm

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