Beto O'Rourke Owes His Career to the GOP
Norman Solomon | truthdig.com | 2019-03-21
To understand Beto O'Rourke as a candidate, it's vital to go beneath the surface of his political backstory. News watchers are already well aware of the former Texas congressman's good looks, charisma, youthful energy and fundraising prowess. But most remain unaware of an inconvenient truth that could undermine the O'Rourke campaign among the people who matter most — the ones who'll be voting to choose the Democratic presidential nominee next year. | O'Rourke is hardly eager for those upcoming voters to realize that the growth of his political career is rooted in an alliance with powerful Republicans that b…
truthdig.com/articles/beto-orourke-owes-his-career-to-the-gop/

On Ilhan Omar, Assad Fetishism, and the Danger of Red-Brown "Anti-Imperialism"
Eric Draitser | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Perhaps no elected official has ever been subjected to the level of vitriol, threats, and attacks that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), the first Black Muslim woman ever elected to Congress and one of only two Muslim women there, has. And while we cannot be surprised that Omar was mercilessly attacked by the Israel Lobby and its various appendages and mouthpieces for speaking plainly about Israel's policies and its influence in US politics, the degree of viciousness was appalling.
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/on-ilhan-omar-assad-fetishism-and-the-danger-of-red-brown-anti-imperialism/

Selected Articles: US Broke its Teeth in Venezuela?
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
A future without independent media leaves us with an upside down reality where according to the corporate media "NATO deserves a Nobel Peace Prize", and where "nuclear weapons and wars make us safer". | . | . | | | If, like us, this is …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-us-broke-its-teeth-in-venezuela/5672255

And Now Algeria
Daniel Warner | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
It has now been nine years since protests broke out across the Middle East and North Africa. After citizens took to the streets, the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen all were deposed during the Arab Spring. What about Algeria — the tenth-largest country in the world, the largest in Africa and a country…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/and-now-algeria/

Chilean Rights Groups Call for Protests to Welcome Bolsonaro
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-03-21
Chilean social and political organizations called for demonstrations to reject the presence of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, who traveled Thursday to Santiago to participate in the Forum for the Latin American Progress and Development (Prosur), a meeting convened by the right-wing Latin American governments in an attempt t…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chilean-Rights-Groups-Call-for-Protests-to-Welcome-Bolsonaro-20190321-0014.html

Media Blackout as Israel's Largest Banks Pay Over $1 Billion in Fines for US Tax Evasion Schemes
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2019-03-21
Similar revelations about other banks and offshore tax-evasion schemes — such as those contained in the Panama Papers — led to global protests and even the resignations of some world leaders,…
mintpressnews.com/media-blackout-as-israel-largest-banks-fined-for-us-tax-evasion-schemes/256414/

Sudan Dissolves State Oil Company, Blasts Egypt's Intrusion
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-03-21
Sudan's Prime Minister Mohamed Tahir Ayala dissolved the state-owned Sudanese Petroleum Corporation and dismissed its secretary general, Azhari Ibrahim Bassbar, state news agency SUNA said Wednesday. | RELATED: | Sudan: Opposition Leader Jailed for a Week for Protests | Ayala ordered all the corporation's assets, documents and employees be transferred to the oil ministry, SUNA said, without giving a reason for the move. The Sudanese Petroleum Corporation was responsible for importing p…
telesurenglish.net/news/Sudan-Dissolves-State-Oil-Company-Blasts-Egypts-Intrusion-20190321-0010.html

After Pressure on Twitter, Christine Assange's Account is Restored; Venezuela's Teleseur Now Hit
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-03-21
UPDATED: The Twitter account of Julian Assange's mother was restored on Wednesday night after her supporters sent a flood of messages to Twitter. Teleseur English Hit By Same Restrictions Christine Assange, the mother of WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange,… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/03/21/after-pressure-on-twitter-christine-assanges-account-is-restored-venezuelas-teleseur-now-hit/

Greedy Boeing's Avoidable Design and Software Time Bombs
Ralph Nader | commondreams.org | 2019-03-21
A woman lays on the coffin of her loved one during a memorial service for the Ethiopian passengers and crew who perished in the Ethiopian Airways ET302 crash at Selassie Church on March 17, 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All 157 passengers and crew perished after the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 Flight came down six minutes after taking off from Bole Airport. (Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-1136539308.jpg…
commondreams.org/views/2019/03/21/greedy-boeings-avoidable-design-and-software-time-bombs?cd-origin=rss

Goodbye to the Internet: Interference by Governments Is Already Here
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
There is a saying attributed to the French banker Nathan Rothschild that "Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes its laws." Conservative opinion in the United States has long suspected that Rothschild was right …
globalresearch.ca/goodbye-internet-interference-governments/5672211

Will Grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX 8 Planes Affect US-China Trade Relations? Russia's Competing Aircraft Irkut MC-21
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
Following two 737 MAX 8 crashes, killing all passengers and crew members onboard, China was the first nation to ground the planes. | It's the largest buyer of Boeing's most popular passenger aircraft — with 97 of its 371 planes delivered …
globalresearch.ca/will-grounding-of-boeings-737-max-8-planes-affect-us-china-trade-relations-russias-competing-aircraft-irkut-mc-21/5672240

Uniting Fatah, Not Palestinians: The Dubious Role of Mohammed Shtayyeh
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Political commentators sympathetic to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Fatah Movement, in particular, fanned out as soon as the news was announced of Mohammad Shtayyeh's appointment as the new Palestinian Prime Minister. It is no surprise to witness this gush of support and enthusiasm, for Shtayyeh is a Fatah man, par excellence. Gone are…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/uniting-fatah-not-palestinians-the-dubious-role-of-mohammed-shtayyeh/

Venezuela and Socialism — Mailbag with Paul Jay
STAFF | therealnews.com | 2019-03-21
Trump says socialism has proven a failure — Paul Jay joins Taya Graham to discuss viewer comments and questions…
therealnews.com/stories/venezuela-and-socialism-mailbag-with-paul-jay

The War on Iraq : Five US Presidents, Five British Prime Ministers, More than Thirty Years of Duplicity, and Counting
Felicity Arbuthnot | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. He had walked into possibly the biggest trap in modern history…
globalresearch.ca/the-war-on-iraq-five-us-presidents-five-british-prime-ministers-thirty-years-of-duplicity-and-counting/20510

On the Anniversary of the Shock and Awe Bombing of Iraq
David DeGraw | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
16 years ago today, I was watching the Iraq Shock & Awe bombing campaign after having interviewed Weapons Inspectors who told us that there were NO WMDs in Iraq while showing us their inspection reports. I was doing research for …
globalresearch.ca/anniversary-shock-awe-bombing-iraq-imperial-blowback-america/5672169

Electric sabotage: how an electromagnetic weapon works
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-03-21
E Bombs, or electromagnetic explosive devices, are weapons of rudimentary design and high destructive potential. The first public and verifiable references of their existence and use in warlike conflicts date from 2001 when the United States included them in its extensive arsenal in the service of preventive war in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/03/21/electric-sabotage-how-an-electromagnetic-weapon-works/

Over 72 Killed as Overloaded Ferry Sinks in Iraq's Tigris River
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-03-21
At least 72 people died when an overloaded ferry sank in the Tigris river near Mosul in Iraq, medical sources told Reuters on Thursday. | Most of the casualties on the ferry were women and children who could not swim, said the head of Mosul's Civil Defence Authority Husam Khalil. | A separate source in the Civil Defence Authority said the boat had been loaded with twice its capacity, causing it to capsize. | Mobile phone footage showed the ferry sinking into the muddy water and people shouting for help. | The rescue team was retrieving survivors and had rescued 12 people so far, Khalil said. | Police and m…
telesurenglish.net/news/Over-72-Killed-as-Overloaded-Ferry-Sinks-in-Iraqs-Tigris-River-20190321-0019.html

Is Kamala Harris the Centrist We Need?
Nick Pemberton | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
In 2016 Bruce Dixon recounted that the Democrats have employed a sheepdog in all the recent past elections: "1984 and 88 the sheepdog candidate was Jesse Jackson. In 92 it was California governor Jerry Brown. In 2000 and 2004 the designated sheepdog was Al Sharpton, and in 2008 it was Dennis Kucinich. This year it's Vermont senator Bernie Sanders." The purpose of the sheepdog is to shepherd radical and progressive voters back into the Democratic Party.
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/is-kamala-harris-the-centrist-we-need/

Broadway's "Hamilton" and the Willing Suspension of Reality-Based Moral Consciousness
Elizabeth Keyes | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Ben Cronin: "Hamilton was against slavery the way a Prius-driving Californian with stocks in Exxon Mobil and Nestle is against global warming — notionally." Michelle Obama: "Best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life" Lyra D. Monteiro:…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/broadways-hamilton-and-the-willing-suspension-of-reality-based-moral-consciousness/

Trump's Sly Encouragement of Lawless Violence
Jesse Jackson | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Racism is not natural. Babies — black, brown, white — explore the world and each other with wonder, not hate. Racism has to be taught. It is learned behavior. To assume that a person is inherently superior or inferior to another based upon race is unnatural and ungodly. Racism is used for political manipulation and…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/trumps-sly-encouragement-of-lawless-violence/

The Wall Street Bailouts, Bernie and the Washington Post
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post Fact Checker gave Bernie Sanders two Pinocchios yesterday for saying that the Wall Street banks got a trillion dollar bailout. Kessler raises several points of contention. First, whether the Wall Street banks actually got that much money. Second, whether it can really be called a bailout since the government made…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/the-wall-street-bailouts-bernie-and-the-washington-post/

Optional Fatherhood Liberates Christians From Abortion Jihad
David Underhill | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Moneyed men can usually win the silence or compliance of troublesome women by paying them off. It's news when this traditional strategy fails, as with Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and CBS chief Leslie Moonves. And even these recentlyfallen exceptions succeeded for decades in wielding their wealth and clout to keep women they'd misused at bay.
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/optional-fatherhood-liberates-christians-from-abortion-jihad/

The Boeing Blackout
Russell Mokhiber | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
On October 29, 2018, Lion Air's Flight 610, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board. That crash has not been mentioned once on NBC's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd in the twenty episodes since. On March 10,…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/the-boeing-blackout/

All Southern States are Not the Same: Mississippi's Challenge
Nick Licata | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Virginia over the past several years has become more purple while Mississippi has remained deep red. Democrats won more legislative and congressional seats in Virginia. As I pointed out in my last piece, that trend was kicked off by a successful constitutional based lawsuit against the racially based gerrymandering that the Virginia legislature had created. Court cases…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/all-southern-states-are-not-the-same-mississippis-challenge/

Boeing Debacle Shows Need to Investigate Trump-era Corruption
Jeff Hauser — Eleanor Eagan | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
Once considered the "world's gold standard for aircraft safety," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was conspicuously slower than the rest of the world to take appropriate action after a tragic airline crash in Ethiopia credibly called into question the safety of the Boeing 737 Max 8. That there were problems with Boeing's software was not unknown…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/boeing-debacle-shows-need-to-investigate-trump-era-corruption/

Public Health Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean
Cesar Chelala | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
The dramatic health situation in Venezuela, where the national health system has all but collapsed, invites an assessment on how Latin America and the Caribbean are doing regarding the health status of the population. While in the last decades, Latin America and the Caribbean have experienced measurable gains in several health indicators such as life…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/public-health-challenges-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/

The Supreme Court and Dual Citizenship
Renee Parsons | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-21
As AIPAC preps for its annual policy conference entitled "Connected for Good" with an expected attendance of 20,000 committed Zionists, its most zealous Zionist Congressional supporters will also likely be in attendance; that is, those who have signed the loyalty oath as well as those who retain dual citizenship to Israel and are thereby entitled…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/21/the-supreme-court-and-dual-citizenship/

Making Nuclear Weapons Menacing Again
Michael T. Klare | thenation.com | 2019-03-21
Making Nuclear Weapons Menacing Again…
thenation.com/article/us-nuclear-arsenal-triad/

Millennials Are the Most Indebted Generation. They Can Thank Joe Biden
STAFF | truthout.org | 2019-03-21
Joe Biden is trying to appeal to younger voters as he is expected to launch his bid for the presidency. However, for years, Biden made it his mission to block student debt forgiveness, leaving many young people facing a lifetime of debt. | Biden's potential candidacy comes at a time when the U.S. debt crisis is reaching unprecedented levels across all consumer sectors. | Student debt broke $1.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 a…
truthout.org/articles/millennials-are-the-most-indebted-generation-they-can-thank-joe-biden/

Bolsonaro at Langley: New US Lapdog Pays Homage to the Empire
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-03-21
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA — Brazil's new fascist president, Jair Bolsonaro, touched down in Washington to pay homage at the CIA headquarters and to visit President Donald Trump, with whom he met on Tuesday. All reports are that the meeting between the two heads of state went very well — not surprisingly, given how similar their politics and personalities are. Bolsonaro shares Trump's penchant for racist, xenophobic remarks, calling immigrants from poor countries "the sc…
mintpressnews.com/jair-bolsonaro-at-langley-new-us-lapdog-pays-homage-to-the-empire/256402/

Is It Really All that Surprising that Trump Wants Brazil in NATO?
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
Feigning shock and publishing moralizing polemics isn't going to change the fact that it was entirely predictable that Trump's "Fortress America" grand strategy would ultimately see the US seek to expand its premier multilateral security structure across South America in …
globalresearch.ca/trump-wants-brazil-nato/5672230

Stealing Venezuela's Assets: US-based Citigroup to Sell Venezuela's Gold "Placed as Collateral"
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
Citigroup Inc is planning to sell several tons of gold placed as collateral by Venezuela's central bank on a $1.6 billion loan after the deadline for repurchasing them expired this month, Reuters reported, citing four sources with knowledge of …
globalresearch.ca/us-based-citigroup-sell-venezuela-gold/5672206

Palestinian-owned School Demolished by Israeli Forces
Telesur | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
The owner of the demolished school building, Muhammad Alqam, insists that he issued all necessary permits at the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality before beginning construction. | *** | A Palestinian-owned school building that was under construction, in the Shuafat refugee camp, in occupied …
globalresearch.ca/palestinian-owned-school-demolished-israeli-forces/5672199

Video: The Illegal NATO Bombing of Yugoslavia
Milo Dubak | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
28. Jun Vice President Milo Dubak delivered a blistering speech at the United Nations in Geneva today strongly condemning the illegal NATO bombing of Yugoslavia one week before the 20th anniversary of the tragedy. At the 40th Session of the …
globalresearch.ca/28-jun-vp-milo-dubak-un-illegal-nato-bombing-yugoslavia/5672184

Video: Nowruz: How Millions Celebrate the Persian New Year
Quartz | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
During Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebration, each vibrant item on the haftseen table has its own symbolic meaning. | Nowruz is one of the oldest holidays in the world that is celebrated every spring. | . | . | * | Note to readers: …
globalresearch.ca/nowruz-millions-celebrate-persian-new-year/5672182

New Zealand Mosque Massacre: White Supremacy and Western Wars
Prof. James Petras | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
The mass murder and wounding of 97 Muslim worshipers in Christchurch, New Zealand (NZ) which took place on Friday, March 15, 2019, has profound political, ideological and psychological roots. | First and most important, Western countries led by the Anglo-American world …
globalresearch.ca/new-zealand-mosque-massacre-white-supremacy-western-wars/5672174

Monetary Policy Takes Center Stage: MMT, QE or Public Banks?
Ellen Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
As alarm bells sound over the advancing destruction of the environment, a variety of Green New Deal proposals have appeared in the US and Europe, along with some interesting academic debates about how to fund them. Monetary policy, normally relegated …
globalresearch.ca/monetary-policy-takes-center-stage-mmt-qe-or-public-banks/5672244

For Whom the Bell Tolls? Capital and Labor and the Global Financial Crisis
Prof. James Petras | globalresearch.ca | 2019-03-21
With the onset of the so-called "global financial crisis" in 2008 the world capitalist system suffered a shock that shook its very foundations, threatening the functioning of key financial institutions and the economies at the centre of the system. However, | …
globalresearch.ca/capital-labor-global-financial-crisis/5672046

Monsanto Asks Trump EPA to OK Drift-prone Pesticide on 90 Million Acres of Corn