2019-03-04: News Headlines

Chris Hedges (2019-03-04). Giving the Bomb to Saudi Arabia's Dr. Strangelove. truthdig.com The most dangerous foreign policy decision of the Trump administration—and I know this is saying a lot—is its decision to share sensitive nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia and authorize U.S. companies to build nuclear reactors in that country. I spent seven years in the Middle East. I covered the despotic, repressive kingdom as the Middle East bureau chief for The New York Times. And I, along with most Arabists in the United States, have little doubt that giving a nuclear capability to Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the ruthless and amoral Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would see it embark…

Chris Hedges (2019-03-04). Giving the Bomb to Saudi Arabia's Dr. Strangelove. commondreams.org On March 14, 2017, Trump, along with Kushner, met with Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office. (Photo: The White House/flickr) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/vanka.jpg

Democracy Now! (2019-03-04). Headlines for March 4, 2019. democracynow.org House Dems to Probe Trump's Allies, DOJ in Wake of Cohen Testimony, Sen. Rand Paul Likely to Oppose Nat'l Emergency in Decisive Vote, Deported Central American Parents Seek Reunification with Children, W. Virginia GOP Under Fire After Poster Linking Rep. Omar to 9/11 Causes Outrage, U.S. and South Korea Roll Back Joint Military Exercises, Shelling in Kashmir Kills 7 as Pakistan & India Appear to Ease Tensions, Israeli Forces Kill 2 Palestinians After Reported Car Ramming, Venezuelan Opposition Leader Guaidó Set to Return to Country, Algeria: Pres. Says He Will Not Serve Full Term, If Elected, as Protests Continue…

Democracy Now! (2019-03-04). U.N. Finds Israel Intentionally Shot Children, Journalists & the Disabled During Gaza Protests. democracynow.org A United Nations inquiry has found Israeli forces may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by targeting unarmed children, journalists and the disabled in Gaza. The report, released by the U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday, looked at Israel's bloody response to weekly Great March of Return demonstrations, launched by Palestinians in Gaza nearly a year ago, targeting Israel's heavily militarized separation barrier. The report found Israeli forces have killed 183 Palestinians—almost all of them with live ammunition. The dead included 35 children. Twenty-three thousand people were injured,…

teleSUR (2019-03-04). Egypt's Award Winning Photojournalist Released After 5 Years. telesurenglish.net Egyptian authorities released a photojournalist Monday who was imprisoned in 2013 for covering a protest that ended with security forces killing hundreds of protesters. | RELATED: | Uproar in Egypt After Arrest of Protestor at Tahrir Square | Mahmoud Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan, after being released, posted a picture on Twitter with the hashtag "hello…

SouthFront (2019-03-04). John Bolton Defends Monroe Doctrine as Juan Guaido Lobs New Threats at Venezuela Gov't. mintpressnews.com Self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaido is to return to the country on March, 4 to lead new protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government. In returning he is risking arrest, as he was prohibited from leaving the country by the Venezuelan Supreme Court.

John Pilger (2019-03-04). The Prisoner Says No to Big Brother. counterpunch.org Whenever I visit Julian Assange, we meet in a room he knows too well. There is a bare table and pictures of Ecuador on the walls. There is a bookcase where the books never change. The curtains are always drawn and there is no natural light. The air is still and fetid. This is Room 101. Before I enter Room 101, I must surrender my passport and phone. My pockets and possessions are examined. The food I bring is inspected. More

John Pilger (2019-03-04). John Pilger: From Room 101 the Prisoner Says No to Big Brother. mintpressnews.com Whenever I visit Julian Assange, we meet in a room he knows too well. There is a bare table and pictures of Ecuador on the walls. There is a bookcase where the books never change. The curtains are always drawn and there is no natural light. The air is still and fetid. | This is Room 101. | Before I enter Room 101, I must surrender my passport and phone. My pockets and possessions are examined. The food I bring is inspected. | The man who guards Room 101 sits in what looks like an old-fashioned telephone box. He watches a screen, watching Julian. There are others unseen, agents of the state, watching and listen…

Carl Boggs (2019-03-04). The War That Never Ends. counterpunch.org After Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un left their Summit meeting in Vietnam resigned to diplomatic impasse, it's worth asking whether a time of peace and conciliation on the Korean peninsula might still be in sight. Given nearly insuperable roadblocks, could even the most congenial negotiations lead to full denuclearization of the North Korean regime? Is the United States, with all its imperial resources and leverage, willing to concede vital North Korean interests — above all, relief from economic sanctions and peace treaty to end the Korean War 65 years after military stalemate ended with a "temporary truce"?

V. Arun Kumar (2019-03-04). [VIDEO] Peoples' Assembly calls for global action on March 16 against imperialist intervention in Venezuela. peoplesdispatch.org The four-day International Peoples' Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, which concluded on February 27, has called for mobilizations across the world for an International Day of Struggle for Peace in Venezuela and the cessation of the economic blockade. The assembly was attended by around 500 delegates from five continents, representing 181 people's movements and organizations.

Whitney Webb (2019-03-04). Robert Fisk Exposes Israel's Hidden Role in the Brewing India-Pakistan Conflict. mintpressnews.com Israel's export of Zionist nationalism and neocolonialism — and the accompanying oppression that in practice actually helps to create many of the very terrorist groups they fight against — is just as dangerous as its export of arms.

Rep. Ron Paul (2019-03-04). Did Bolton Blow North Korea? globalresearch.ca President Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un last week was criticized by both parties in Washington long before Air Force One even touched down in Hanoi. Washington's political class seemed terrified that the nearly 70 year state …

Stephen Lendman (2019-03-04). Positive Political Change in Chicago? globalresearch.ca Is the city of many nicknames ready for political change for the better, serving its residents more equitably? | Familiar nicknames include the Windy City, referring to political, not atmospheric, wind; Second City (to NY), Sinatra's My Kind of Town, That …

John Wojcik (2019-03-04). Trump-Kim de-nuclearization talks were doomed to fail from the start. peoplesworld.org The chance that North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons approximate the chance of survival a snowball has in hell. Whatever one thinks about the leadership of North Korea, with 100 percent certainty we can say the North Koreans act based on what they see the United States actually do as opposed to any …

Democracy Now! (2019-03-04). It Is Time to Indict Israel: Norman Finkelstein on Growing Push for ICC to File War Crimes Charges. democracynow.org Israeli forces have killed 183 Palestinians since weekly Great March of Return demonstrations began in Gaza nearly a year ago targeting Israel's heavily militarized separation barrier. That's according to a new United Nations inquiry that found Israeli forces may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by targeting unarmed children, journalists and the disabled in Gaza. The report was released by the U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday. We speak with Norman Finkelstein, scholar and author of "Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom," and Sara Hossain, a member of the U.N. independent commission that l…

Evaggelos Vallianatos (2019-03-04). On Home Ground in a Distant Land. counterpunch.org We are all Greeks These were the heartfelt words of the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1821: "Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts, have their roots in Greece" (The Complete Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley,501). Shelley was one of the friends of Greece (philhellenes) who fought alongside the Greeks during their War of Independence More

Jacob F. Lee (2019-03-04). Venezuela and the Long History of U.S. Imperialism. counterpunch.org In April 1846, U.S. Army Colonel Seth Thornton led 80 dragoons toward the Rio Grande. Just above the river, they encountered 1,600 Mexican cavalrymen heading north from Matamoros. The Mexican cavalry quickly overpowered the much smaller U.S. force. Eleven Americans were killed, and forty-nine others were captured. When President James K. Polk received news of More

Kristine Mattis (2019-03-04). There's Nothing Radical about the Green New Deal. counterpunch.org We are at the precipice of ecological collapse. There are no two ways about it. And despite what you hear, it is about far more than just catastrophic climate change. In a nutshell, our current biological predicament is the result of overuse of natural resources beyond their capacity to regenerate, the creation and mass production More

Eric Zuesse (2019-03-04). Gallup Poll: US Global Approval Rating Plunges but Americans Believe the Opposite. mintpressnews.com The plunge in the global rating of America's leadership could reasonably cause a person to expect a decline in the American public's view of America's national image in foreign countries, but it's not showing up, at all, but the exact contrary is being displayed in the recent data.

Yves Engler (2019-03-04). Understanding How Canadian Diplomats Shape the News. counterpunch.org Canadian diplomats abroad seek to shape coverage of their work. And the more nefarious their actions the harder they toil to "spin" what they're doing as something positive. During a recent interview Real News Network founder Paul Jay described how Canadian officials in Caracas attempted to shape his views of the country's politics. Jay noted: More

Peter Koenig (2019-03-04). The Trump — Kim Summit in Hanoi: Was Trump Forced to Walk? globalresearch.ca Yes, Mr. Trump had to walk. As he didn't get his way, he had the audacity to get up and walk out of a meeting with Kim Jong-un, the President of the DPRK, of North Korea. As arrogant as …

Carl Boggs (2019-03-04). The War That Never Ends. zcomm.org The current trajectory seems to be moving away from the likelihood of broader denuclearization. There is even rising clamor in both Washington and Seoul for redeployment of American nukes to South Korea…

STAFF (2019-03-04). Cohen Hearing May Have Hurt North Korea Talks, Trump Says. truthdig.com In a new Twitter salvo, the president accuses Democrats of trying to sabotage his negotiations with Kim Jong-un during their Hanoi summit.

teleSUR (2019-03-04). Report: Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Sues Canadian Government. telesurenglish.net Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese technology company Huawei, is suing the Canadian government, its border agency and the national police force over her high-profile detention. Meng claims they detained, searched and interrogated her before telling her she was under arrest. | RELATED: | Canada Moves Forward With Huawei Exec Extradition Case | Meng's lawyers said Sunday they had filed a notice of civil claim in the supreme court in British Columbia. | Meng, the daugh…

Prof. Vera Mackie (2019-03-04). Remembering the Grandmothers: The International Movement to Commemorate the Survivors of Militarized Sexual Abuse in the Asia-Pacific War. asia-pacificresearch.com

Ayyaz Mallick (2019-03-04). Pakistan-India Crisis: The Machinery of Images and the (Post-)Modern War. globalresearch.ca On 14 February, 20-year-old Adil Ahmed Dar rammed a vehicle fill of explosives into a bus full of reserve police force personnel in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The attack killed over 40 soldiers and was claimed by militant organization Jaish-e-Muhammad …

STAFF (2019-03-04). Teachers in Oakland Approve Contract Ending Strike. truthdig.com OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland teachers will be back in their classrooms Monday after union members voted to approve a contract deal with district officials. | The Oakland Education Association voted in favor of the deal on Sunday after postponing the vote for a day. The agreement must also be ratified by the Oakland Unified School District. | "We look forward to being in our classrooms again after having to strike to bring our Oakland students some of the resources and supports they should have had in the first place," union president Keith Brown said in a statement. | The agreement was reached after 3,000 teac…

Robert Borosage (2019-03-04). Democrats Need to Think Big for 2020. commondreams.org Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and former vice president Joe Biden. (Photo: Screenshot) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/the_2020_field_0.jpg

Eds. (2019-03-04). Elliott Abrams, Washington's 'new' Cold Warrior, plots regime change in Caracas. mronline.org The Trump administration set a 23 February deadline for Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to bow to U.S. demands and cede power to self-appointed "president" Juan Guaidó. | Source

ArlingtonWestFilm (2019-03-04). Video: Arlington West: Military Families Whose Children Were Killed in Iraq. globalresearch.ca 105 heartfelt interviews with U.S. Soldiers traveling to and from war zones, Military Families whose children were killed in Iraq, Veterans, and Youth. Intimately documented on film by Artists Sally Marr and Peter Dudar. | Arlington West is a 74-minute Art

Edward Curtin (2019-03-04). Those Who Symbolize Power: The Fascinating Spell Cast by Weasels. globalresearch.ca "Ah, mon cher, for anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful. Hence one must choose a master, God being out of style." — Albert Camus, The Fall | To be fascinated by …

Kirill Vyshinsky (2019-03-04). "They Just Want Me in Prison": Eva Bartlett Interviews Jailed Ukrainian Journalist Kirill Vyshinsky. globalresearch.ca The Ukraine courts are still dependent on political authorities, and the special service is used to carry out political schemes and to fight inconvenient points of view and dissent, rather than to protect national security. — Imprisoned Ukrainian-Russian journalist Kirill …

Rothamsted Research (2019-03-04). Earthworm Research Spurs Farmers to Act. globalresearch.ca A study of England's farmland has found key earthworm types are rare or absent in two out of five fields and has led to the majority of farmers affected vowing to change the way they farm. | The results indicate widespread, …

Mumia Abu-Jamal (2019-03-04). Mumia's Speech to Yale Rebel Law Students Conference. globalresearch.ca Mumia gave a speech to the Yale Rebel Law Students Conference through a recording from his prison cell. You may listen to it right below. Full transcript is also presented below. | . | . | . …

Tony Cartalucci (2019-03-04). OPCW Syria Report Cripples Western "Chemical Weapons" Narrative. globalresearch.ca The OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) has presented its final report regarding an alleged chemical weapons attack on Douma, Syria on April 7, 2018. Despite attempts by the Western media to hail it as "proof" that the …

Richard Gale (2019-03-04). How We, the People, Can Save the Planet. The Green New Deal. globalresearch.ca The recent release of the proposed Green New Deal is a template, an outline identifying some of the most crucial issues facing the nation regarding climate change and a wish list of measures to address those issues. It contains a …

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2019-03-04). British Labour's Fractious Jaunt: The Politics of the Independent Group. globalresearch.ca They could not hold on. A small — and in the scheme of things negligible group — split from the British Labour mothership last month in an effort to salvage some self-described form of credibility. In truth, they were the …

Ma'an news (2019-03-04). Corbyn Calls for UK to Freeze Arms Sales to Israel after UN Report. globalresearch.ca Jeremy Corbyn, head of the British Labor Party, over the weekend, called for the British government to freeze arms sales to Israel and to condemn it for the killing of Palestinians. | Corbyn's remarks came after a United Nations report, …

Ray McGovern (2019-03-04). Sorry, Russia-gaters; WikiLeaks Got the DNC Emails from Insider, Not Russia. globalresearch.ca VIPSers Binney & Johnson use the forensics that the FBI avoided doing. (See this) | Thinking back, President Barack Obama dropped a huge hint two days before he left office, using his last press conference to point out that the …

T. K. Hernández (2019-03-04). Che Guevara Exhibit at the UN Human Rights Council. globalresearch.ca The home of United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva is showcasing a poster-sized photograph of the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara in its exhibition hallways. | In 2013, UNESCO, a branch of the U.N., included the "The Life and Works of …

Kurt Nimmo (2019-03-04). Video: Pablo Allende and the Truth About Venezuela. globalresearch.ca In just under six minutes, the grandson of the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende (murdered in a US-sponsored coup), tells the real story on Venezuela. | You'll never see Pablo Allende on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc. The American people—mostly …

Robin Mathews (2019-03-04). SNC-Lavalin: The Tip of an Enormous "Deep State" Iceberg. Attack on the Rule of Law in Canada. globalresearch.ca SNC-Lavalin, the large Canadian engineering firm at the centre of the present Liberal government crisis engendered by the treatment of former Attorney General/Minister of Justice and Minister of Veterans Affairs, Jody Wilson-Raybould, is merely the tip of an enormous …

Conan Milner (2019-03-04). Wi-Fi in Schools: Experimenting with the Next Generation. globalresearch.ca The internet has unleashed human knowledge. Never before has it been so easy to learn so much. Of course, it has also drowned us in distraction and created a breeding ground for trolls and misinformation, but if the internet is …

Elliot Sperber (2019-03-04). America Doesn't Exist. counterpunch.org America doesn't exist If you think that you live there Guess what, you've been tricked You're not even thinking, You're only believing In borders, and orders That blossom from myth That is, from delusion, or nonsense Or illness, contagious, indeed And violent, yes But not at all real, or true For falsehoods can't ever be More

Colin Todhunter (2019-03-04). Crocodile Tears for Venezuela: From Late Victorian Holocausts to 21st Century Imperialism. counterpunch.org On 26 February, Stephen Hickey, UK political coordinator at the United Nations, delivered a statement at the Security Council briefing on Venezuela that put the blame for the situation in that country on its government. He said that years of misrule and corruption have wrecked the Venezuelan economy and that the actions of the "Maduro More

Max Wilbert (2019-03-04). Anti-Racist Strategy for a World in Crisis. counterpunch.org In his book Capitalism and Slavery, Trinidadian historian Dr. Eric Williams writes that "Slavery was not born of racism: rather, racism was the consequence of slavery." Williams, like many others, argues that racism was created by the powerful to justify subjugation that was already in progress. In other words, the desire to exploit came first, More

Binoy Kampmark (2019-03-04). Glorious Bitchery: Yorgos Lanthimos and "The Favourite" counterpunch.org Yorgos Lanthimos likes his subjects deranged and troubled. He likes seeing queens in the slap, servants in the lurch, and women in mud. But that is just one side. The Favourite is a film of exotic, exorbitant bitchery, filmed with aesthetic relish. It has been dubbed by Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian "punk Restoration romp". It is More

Peter Turner (2019-03-04). Oakland Teachers' Contract: Let's Do the Math and Learn the Lessons. counterpunch.org The original demand of the union, the Oakland Teachers' Association, was for a 12% raise over three years. Management, the Oakland Unified School District, countered with a raise of 8.5%. Rounding to two decimal places of a percent, management's offer amounted to 2.83% per year, while the union's demand was 4% per year. The settlement More

Kei Pritsker (2019-03-04). Watch | The US Humanitarian Aid Ploy to Venezuela Explained. mintpressnews.com As you watch this video, nearly 40 million Americans are experiencing poverty. Every single penny spent on meddling in Latin American affairs instead of American healthcare, education, jobs, and infrastructure is an attack on the poor and working class of this country.

teleSUR (2019-03-04). Post-IMF Deal, Ecuador Fires 10000 Public Officials in 3 Days. telesurenglish.net From Feb. 27 to Mar. 1, nearly 10 thousand government employees were fired according to local media reports. | RELATED: | Ecuador: IMF Loan Yet to Be Granted, Austerity Measures a Condition for Agreement | This came after the Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno signed a deal of US$4.2 billion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Feb. 20. | On Feb. 21, thr…