2019-03-15: News Headlines

Eric Draitser (2019-03-15). Did Dallas Police and Local Media Collude to Cover Up Terrorist Threats against Journalist Barrett Brown? counterpunch.org Barrett Brown is an award-winning journalist and author who spent time in federal prison for work he did exposing various elements of the military-industrial complex, including publicizing the hacked emails of private intelligence company Stratfor. Since being released from prison, Brown has worked to establish the Pursuance Project, an initiative aimed at developing a new More

Mark Gruenberg (2019-03-15). Peace activists cheer anti-war win on Senate Yemen resolution. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Peace activists nationwide, who strenuously lobbied lawmakers on the issue, cheered the U.S. Senate's 54-46 vote to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led Yemen War. Lawmakers invoked the War Powers Act in their blunt rebuke to President Donald Trump's pro-war actions. The Democratic-run House previously approved the anti-war move. But just to make sure Trump …

Maicol David Lynch, Roberta Wood (2019-03-15). Labor-backed candidate Tony Pecinovsky scores 48 percent in St. Louis race. peoplesworld.org ST. LOUIS—How can a local politician in a working-class ward stand against the interests of working-class people? This was the question before voters in this city's southside 14th ward during last week's municipal election when 41-year-old labor activist Tony Pecinovsky racked up 48 percent of the vote, nearly turning out longtime incumbent Carol Howard in …

Robin Mathews (2019-03-15). North America's Indigenous Peoples: "Ongoing Genocide…" and Its Shadow World… globalresearch.ca Electromagnetic Press has produced a new book by Bruce Clark, scholarly expert and 'hands-on' activist in the matter of North American indigenous peoples' history, philosophy, and — especially — the reality of their present legal being, their rights, and their …

teleSUR (2019-03-15). Thousands of Students Strike Worldwide in Climate Change Action. telesurenglish.net Tens of thousands of students around the world walked out of classes Friday in a global strike to protest against government inaction on climate change. | RELATED: | Greta Thunberg Nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize | Student protests in Wellington, Sydney and Melbourne drew tens of thousands of people. In Europe, students packed streets and squares in London, Copenhagen, Rome, Vienna, Zurich and Lisbon. Demonstrations were also planned in the United States. | "Climate change…

Mark Weisbrot (2019-03-15). The Reality Behind Trump's Coalition for Regime Change in Venezuela. zcomm.org In the early 1970s, a handful of Sandinistas were in the mountains of Nicaragua fighting to overthrow the 40-year U.S.-backed, brutal dictatorship of the Somoza family. When a powerful volcanic eruption struck Nicaragua in 1971, Sandinista Omar Cabezas later recounted, they told the peasants whom they encountered that God was punishing them for not getting Read more…

Mark Weisbrot (2019-03-15). Regime Change Via Sanctions? zcomm.org U.S. Uses International Finance System to Strangle Venezuelan Economy…

Stephen Lendman (2019-03-15). US-Taliban Talks: Real or Illusory Progress? Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Mineral Wealth. globalresearch.ca US Afghan aggression and occupation of parts of the country remain largely unchanged after over 17 years. | Afghanistan reflects what CIA officials once called Vietnam — "the grand illusion of the American cause," a conflict impossible to win. Yet it …

Stephen Lendman (2019-03-15). US College Admissions Scandal. "Affirmative Action for the Rich" globalresearch.ca In the 1961 Hollywood film Splendor in the Grass, the protagonist's oil-wealthy father got his academically unqualified son admitted to Yale. | Though unexplained in the film, he likely bought his admission, his influence not enough to prevent his son's expulsion …

Jeffrey St. Clair (2019-03-15). Roaming Charges: Straighten Up and Fly Right. counterpunch.org + Few things have made me more despairing about the future of the country than the fact that Liz Cheney is now ascendent as a political powerbroker in DC. The one thing Trump could have done to assure himself some lasting historical merit was to eradicate the Cheneys from public life. Wimp. + How many More

Lucas Koerner, Venezuelanalysis (2019-03-15). Democrats and Death Squads in Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com Top Democrats march lockstep behind Trump's coup in Venezuela, rehabilitating war criminal Elliott Abrams.

Democracy Now! (2019-03-15). Journalist's Struggle to Find Bone Marrow Match Exposes Racial Disparity in National Registry. democracynow.org A nationwide campaign has been launched to find a blood stem cell donor for a 29-year-old journalist who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Liyna Anwar is an Indian-American producer who used to work at StoryCorps. She desperately needs a stem cell transplant, but she does not match any of her family members or the 19 million people in a national registry. Her search for a match is made more difficult because South Asians are underrepresented in the national registry. A campaign urging people of South Asian descent to donate stem cells has been launched in Anwar's name. It's called #SwabF…

STAFF (2019-03-15). North Korea Warns That Bolton and Pompeo Are Derailing Nuclear Talks. truthdig.com At least one DPRK official has blamed the failed negotiations in Hanoi on the "gangster-like" behavior of Donald Trump's cabinet members.

Michael K. Smith (2019-03-15). Thirty Years Gone: Remembering "Cactus Ed" counterpunch.org "Freedom begins between the ears." -Edward Abbey "What do old men who don't believe in Heaven think about?" queried Edward Abbey rhetorically in his masterpiece Desert Solitaire. ". . . they think about their blood pressure, their bladders, their aortas, their lower intestines, ice on the doorstep, too much sun at noon." In other words, More

Jack Rasmus (2019-03-15). Trump's $34 Trillion Deficit and Debt Bomb. counterpunch.org This week Trump released his latest budget for 2019-20 fiscal year. It calls for $2.7 trillion in various social spending cuts over the decade, including $872 billion in reductions in Medicare, Social Security, Disability spending; another $327 billion in food stamps, housing support, and Medicaid; a further $200 billion in student loan cuts; and hundreds More

Ahmed Abdulkareem (2019-03-15). Clashes Erupt in Eastern Yemen as Local Tribes Block Saudi Influx of Military Equipment. mintpressnews.com The latest incident came amidst a precipitous rise in tensions in eastern Yemen, where local residents have been grappling with an increasingly brazen military buildup by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Evaggelos Vallianatos (2019-03-15). Riding the Wild Bull of Nuclear Power. counterpunch.org From atomic theory to nukes I am proud the Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus invented the Atomic Theory, which says that everything in the cosmos is atoms and void. But who could have foreseen that, 2,500 years later, American "physicists" would turn such a glorious insight on the structure of matter into apocalyptic weapons? The More

Sharmine Narwani (2019-03-15). The State Dept Allegedly Tried to Coax An Iranian Expat into Sabotaging Iran's Power Grid. mintpressnews.com An Iranian-American engineer was allegedly was approached by the State Department with an offer of cash for sabotage of Iran's power grid.

David Rosen (2019-03-15). America's Puppet: Meet Juan Guaidó. counterpunch.org Juan Guaidó is a useful pawn for U.S. interests in Venezuela, but is he expendable? On January 15th, the White House reported that VP Mike Pence spoke by phone "today" with Guaidó, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly. It claimed the call was made "to recognize his courageous leadership following his arrest and intimidation this weekend, and More

Jason Hirthler (2019-03-15). Annexing the Stars: Walcott, Rhodes, and Venezuela. counterpunch.org Poet Derek Walcott's "A Far Cry from Africa" provides a stirring glimpse into the perspectives and policies of British colonialists in the 20th century. Of course, the perspectives it reveals are temporally confined to British colonialism in Walcott's poem: he was a native of Saint Lucia, a British colony or "possession" in the Caribbean; and More

Kristen Gelineau (2019-03-15). Self-declared fascist carries out racist terror attack in NZ mosques. peoplesworld.org SYDNEY (AP)—The gunman behind at least one of the mosque shootings in New Zealand that left 49 people dead on Friday tried to make a few things clear in the manifesto he left behind: He is a 28-year-old Australian white nationalist who hates immigrants. Though he claimed not to covet fame, the gunman—whose name was …

Jeffrey Kaye (2019-03-15). On the Death of Guantanamo Detainee 10028. counterpunch.org Camp 6, Guantanamo, where Haji Naseem was held for part of his captivity. U.S. government photo in public domain. | Torture, secret confessions and recantations, an ominous email, a mysterious death, a detainee found hanging in a recreation yard outside his cell in the middle of the night‚Ää—‚Ääthis is the story of the sixth man said to have died from suicide at Guantanamo. | Up until now, his story has gone totally untold. Even the location of the camp inside Gitmo where he died was kept secret for years. What follows is an in-depth examination into what really happened.

Andrew Levine (2019-03-15). Is Ilhan Omar Wrong…About Anything? counterpunch.org It has been clear for some time that Ilhan Omar owes no one any apologies for her remarks on AIPAC and those who tow its line; quite to the contrary, apologies are owed her. Developments over the past several weeks underscore how important it is to drive that point home. Before the 2008 publication of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, the subject was, for all practical purposes, taboo. Everything had to be kept hush hush, just as it did with the NSA (no such agency), the massive signals intelligence operation at Fort Meade. Everybody who cared knew that it was there and…

Priti Gulati Cox (2019-03-15). "Maria! Maria! It Was Maria That Destroyed Us!" The Human Story. counterpunch.org This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water — Donald Trump, INDEPENDENT, September 29, 2017 Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017. One and a half years later, many of the island's more than 3 million U.S. citizens continue to be forgotten and ignored by the federal government. Earlier this year, More

Samantha M., Angelica Perkins (2019-03-15). Our Green New Deal. counterpunch.org On Friday, February 22, 2019, Sunrise Bay Area, Youth Vs. Apocalypse and Earth Guardians Bay Area Crew gathered together for a rally held outside of Senator Feinstein's office in San Francisco in an attempt to persuade her to vote yes on the Green New Deal. We attended the rally at Feinstein's to show support and More

Ron Jacobs (2019-03-15). All the Livelong Day. counterpunch.org 1894 was a wild year in the United States. Robber barons and the sycophantic politicians they controlled worked overtime to maintain and expand their empires of capital. Their practices and greed had helped create a recession that left millions of working people struggling to keep shelter and food for their families. The response of most of More

Mel Gurtov (2019-03-15). Trump's Nightmare Budget. counterpunch.org Two things can be said with certainty about Trump's 2020 budget request: It is DOA, dead on arrival, in the House; and it is a political document, catering to his loyal supporters, rather than a serious fiscal statement. What the budget request reveals is that Trump, left to his own devices, would further skewer the More

Stan Cox — Paul Cox (2019-03-15). In Salinas, Puerto Rico, Vulnerable Americans Are Still Trapped in the Ruins Left by Hurricane Maria. counterpunch.org Abandoned by their country, residents refuse to accept the idea that they will never recover. Nearly a year and a half after Hurricane Maria, about three-fourths of the houses in the Sierra Brava neighborhood of Salinas, Puerto Rico stand battered and empty. Some families left because their homes were rendered uninhabitable and they had no More

Ben Debney (2019-03-15). Christchurch, the White Victim Complex and Savage Capitalism. counterpunch.org Despite his own denials, anti-Muslim xenophobia underwrites the 74-page manifesto compiled by Australian mass murderer Brendan Tarrant. The title itself, The Great Replacement, references a far-right conspiracy theory holding that white genocide is being engineered by useful idiots amongst the liberal elite advocating mass migration, demographic growth and cultural diversity. To this conspiracy theory, the More

Philip Giraldi (2019-03-15). The Trump Phenomenon as Seen in Europe. globalresearch.ca President Donald Trump is frequently seen through the prism of an American media that despises him and wants to discredit him so that he can either be impeached soon or defeated in 2020. To a certain extent the foreign media …

Juan Cole (2019-03-15). Senate invokes War Powers to Halt US aid to Saudi War on Yemen. zcomm.org The US Senate voted 54 to 46 to invoke the 1973 War Powers Act and to end US support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen…

South Front (2019-03-15). The EU Is Steadily Moving Towards Creation of 1984-style "Ministry of Truth" globalresearch.ca The European Parliament passed a recommendation calling Russia "the main source of disinformation in Europe" and appealing for increased funding for the EU's East StratCom Task Force, which already got 1.1 million euros in 2018. | HINT: The East StratCom Task …

Consortiumnews (2019-03-15). School Shooters and Drones. consortiumnews.com Allegra Harpootlian links gun violence at home to U.S. wars abroad. By Allegra Harpootlian TomDispatch.com In the wake of the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 students and staff members,… Read more →

Consortiumnews (2019-03-15). Trump's Backward Move on Drone Civilian Casualties. consortiumnews.com This executive order disregards some valuable historical lessons, writes Daniel R. Brunstetter. An unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over southern Afghanistan. (AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth) By Daniel R. Brunstetter, University of California, Irvine The Conversation When it comes to drones and warfare, the… Read more →

STAFF (2019-03-15). Multiple Deaths in Shootings at 2 New Zealand Mosques. truthdig.com CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Multiple people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques full of people attending Friday prayers, as New Zealand police warned people to stay indoors as they tried to determine if more than one gunman was involved. | Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described it as "one of New Zealand's darkest days" and said the events in the city of Christchurch represented "an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence." | One person was taken into custody but it was unclear if there were other people involved, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said. He said anybody who was thinking of going…

South Front (2019-03-15). Video: Russian Warplanes "Rain Hell" on Terrorist Strongholds in Idlib. globalresearch.ca On March 13, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a series of airstrikes on infrastructure of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the city of Idlib and in its southeastern countryisde. According to reports, at least 16 strikes hit weapon depots, …

Howard Lisnoff (2019-03-15). Want Your Kids to Make it Big in the World of Elite Education in the U.S.? counterpunch.org Ever wonder how dangerous nincompoops like Donald Trump and George W. Bush were admitted to, and graduated from, so-called good schools? Forget the legacy shtick and pay close attention to the latest celebrity and wealthy individuals' scheme that involved about 50 people (of whom 33 were parents of students) who allegedly encouraged and facilitated the most More

Global Research News (2019-03-15). Selected Articles: Trump's $34 Trillion Deficit and Debt Bomb. globalresearch.ca Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …

commondreams (2019-03-15). Trump Administration Attempts to Thwart International Criminal Court Investigators. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Vanessa Mbonu@naacpnet (2019-03-15). Tom Joyner to Receive Vanguard Award at 50th NAACP Image Awards. naacp.org PRESENTERS TO INCLUDE AMANDLA STENBERG, KERRY WASHINGTON, KIKI LAYNE, LENA WAITHE, LETITIA WRIGHT, THANDIE NEWTON, TREVOR NOAH AND MORE! LIVE TV Special to Air on TV One Saturday, March 30, 2019 Hosted by Anthony Anderson LOS ANGELES (March 14, 2019) — The NAACP today announced that mass media icon Tom Joyner will be honored with the Vanguard Award at the …

teleSUR (2019-03-15). US Imposes Visa Ban on ICC Staff Probing Afghanistan War Crimes. telesurenglish.net The United States will impose visa restrictions on people responsible for any International Criminal Court (ICC) probe, a move aimed at preventing the court from pursuing the United States and its allies regarding their actions during and after the invasion in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday. | RELATED: | ICC Gets over 1 Million Testimonies from Afghans Suing US, CIA, Gov't over War Crimes | In September, the Trump administration said that if the court lau…

True Publica (2019-03-15). Colluding in War Crimes: Britain's Unreported Military Alliance with Israel. globalresearch.ca The rapidly declining living conditions in the Gaza Strip and occupied territories has endangered the most basic of internationally recognised of human rights, as children continue to be collateral damage in what can be boiled down to a political standoff. …

John W. Whitehead (2019-03-15). Pity the Nation: War Spending is Bankrupting America. counterpunch.org "Pity the nation whose people are sheep And whose shepherds mislead them Pity the nation whose leaders are liars Whose sages are silenced And whose bigots haunt the airwaves Pity the nation that raises not its voice Except to praise conquerors And acclaim the bully as hero And aims to rule the world By force More

South Front (2019-03-15). Video: Israeli Defense Firm Released Video Showing An "Animated Destruction" of Russia's S-400 6L6 Surveillance Radar. globalresearch.ca The Syrian conflict influences not only the balance of power in the Middle East, but also strategies and military programs of the powers involved. | There is no secret that over the past years the Russian Armed Forces have used Syria …

teleSUR (2019-03-15). Crew From Botched Launch Lands Safely at Space Center. telesurenglish.net A three-person space crew, with two astronauts from United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and one from Russia's Roscosmos, has finally arrived at the International Space Station Friday. | RELATED: | NASA: First All-Female Spacewalk Set For March 29 | NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch, and Rocosmos' Alexei Ovchinin launched six…

Zero Hedge (2019-03-15). Cancellation Chaos: $600 Billion in Boeing 737 Max Orders at Risk. globalresearch.ca New evidence shows that the Boeing Co. 737 MAX which crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday may have experienced similar technical difficulties as the 737 MAX that crashed off Indonesia last year. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) cited similarities with in-flight …

John Feffer (2019-03-15). The World's Most Dangerous Divide. zcomm.org Maybe India and Pakistan will show more sense than their respective backers. These are ancient civilizations that have weathered many previous storms. Now they just have to team up to avoid a nuclear winter…

Kurt Nimmo (2019-03-15). Fox News Doubles Down on the Big Lie and Venezuela. globalresearch.ca It doesn't matter what corporate alphabet propaganda network you watch, you're going to get the same line on Venezuela. | Here we have Trish Regan, a fixture at Fox News, telling numerous lies about Venezuela, lies put out by neocons …

Barry Cannon, NACLA (2019-03-15). Juan Guaidó's Policy Proposals: 'The Venezuela to Come' or the Venezuela That Has Already Been? venezuelanalysis.com Juan Guaidó has a plan to end the emergency in Venezuela—but his vision looks a lot like the elite-led, violently unequal Venezuela of the 1990's.

Barry Kissin (2019-03-15). Venezuela — More Might Makes Right. globalresearch.ca How much more brazen could it be — our attempted coup in Venezuela? Are our leaders expecting that mainstream media will succeed once again in selling us the maniacal march of the American Empire? | But we have been through enough, …