Monthly Archives: March 2021

2021-03-01: News Headlines

Margaret Flowers (2021-03-02). Small Acts Can Become A Power No Government Can Suppress. dissidentvoice.org The American Rescue Plan (ARP) was passed in the House this past week and now heads to the Senate, where it will no doubt be changed before it becomes law some time in mid-March. The current unemployment benefits expire on March 14. While we don't know what the final bill will look like, at least …

PAI (2021-03-01). Biden declares support for Alabama Amazon workers' union drive. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Democratic President Joe Biden has officially backed the union organizing drive at the big Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. In a two-minute-20-second video he posted on Twitter Feb. 28, and an accompanying shorter tweet, Biden declared the choice by the 5,800 workers there is "vitally important" to both them and the country. "Today and over …

Rayhan Uddin (2021-03-01). 'Disastrous decision': UK slashes aid to Yemen while approving arms sales to Saudi Arabia. middleeasteye.net 'Disastrous decision': UK slashes aid to Yemen while approving arms sales to Saudi Arabia | Politicians and non-governmental organisations condemn major humanitarian cut as military exports to Riyadh continue | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 17: 50 | A Yemeni civilian receives food aid in a displacement camp in northern district of Abs (AFP/File photo) | The UK will halve its foreign aid to Yemen in 2021, in a mov…

RT (2021-03-01). Syria & Russia accuse US of funneling supplies on pretext of 'humanitarian aid' to militants in war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation. rt.com Washington is pressuring the United Nations to deliver international assistance to an overpopulated desert refugee camp but secretly planning to use the cargo to resupply armed militias it supports, Moscow and Damascus claim. | In a joint statement issued on Monday, the coordination headquarters of Russia and Syria insisted that their military coalition is "making significant efforts to restore peaceful life in the country and provide comprehensive assistance to Syrian citizens in voluntary and safe return to their homeland." | However, they add, the US is actively working to fuel fighting in the bloody civil…

RT (2021-03-01). It's always Putin! Russian president engineered coup in Armenia because Pashinyan insulted Moscow's missiles, Western media claims. rt.com Not content with fixing US elections and making sure your favorite sports team loses, Vladimir Putin's shadowy hand is now behind a power struggle in Yerevan, after a row over rockets. At least, that's according to American media. | In an article by journalist Anna Nemtsova published on Friday, New York-based outlet The Daily Beast

Robert Penner (2021-03-02). Struggle for justice forces reopening of two cases of police violence in Milwaukee. liberationnews.org The cases of Christopher Davis, killed by Milwaukee Deputy Juan Ortiz, and Jay Anderson, killed by Wauwatosa officer Joseph Mensah, have been re-opened in the Milwaukee area.

E.L. Melrose (2021-03-02). Erie, PA: Residents skeptical towards corporation's "green" promises. liberationnews.org The plight of this area has left the door open to the opportunism of "green" industry and it is currently being courted by International Recycling Group (IRG).

Editor (2021-03-02). Digamosle a Biden: °Deja de bombardear Siria! workers.org La administración de Biden solo tardó 36 días en el cargo para mostrar al mundo, a través de un bombardeo en Siria, que es beligerante, agresivo y empeñado en la guerra. Solo hubo un breve respiro de las viles palabras y acciones de Trump. Ahora tenemos que enfrentar los viles . . . |

Editor (2021-03-02). Raise the minimum wage to $15 — at least! workers.org A $15-per-hour minimum wage cannot be included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill proposed by Congressional Democrats. So ruled the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth McDonough, on Feb. 25. This unelected official called it "irrelevant to budget legislation." This edict is a brutal blow to millions of struggling workers. Nevertheless, the . . . |

Tim Wheeler (2021-03-01). Black Lives Matter vigil mourns Derek Hayden, shot by Seattle police. peoplesworld.org Scores of protesters joined a Black Lives Matter street-corner vigil in Sequim, Wash., Sunday, Feb. 28, several holding signs protesting the Feb. 16 slaying by Seattle police of Derek J. Hayden, who grew up in Sequim and had many friends and admirers here. Marion "Honeybee" Burns, held a sign, "Derek Hayden: His Life Matters" as …

Stephen F. Eisenman (2021-03-01). A Modest Proposal for Establishing a Strategic Toddler Reserve. counterpunch.org For the purpose of maintaining adult friendships, protecting household pets, saving monkeys, and benefiting biomedical research — prompted by a recent, reckless article in the NYTimes (With Apologies to Jonathan Swift) How many times have we had the unfortunate experience of visiting the home of a dear friend or colleague, only to discover everything changed.

Terry Bisson (2021-03-01). The "Murder" of John Hunt Morgan: "You Have Just Killed the Best Man in the Confederacy!" counterpunch.org John Hunt Morgan, the "Kentucky Cavalier," readily embraced the role he was born into. Raised in wealthy Lexington, a scion of Bluegrass planter aristocrats, famously expelled from Transylvania College for dueling, he had eagerly enlisted in the 1848 invasion of Mexico, where he had performed with honor and the requisite gallantry. After that that brief, one-sided conflict he had returned to Lexington, traded in slaves, hemp and wool, and unerringly faithful to the ideal of the Southern gentleman, gambled, drank, raced horses, hunted squirrels, charmed the ladies and defended his honor from rivals both real and i…

William Craig Cohen (2021-03-01). The Weekly Round-Up: Unconventional Harm Reduction and Shamima Begum's Final Appeal. ukhumanrightsblog.com In the news: The UK has seen an increasingly falling rate in arrests and prosecutions for cannabis possession over recent years, as police forces no longer see the point in enforcement. The Liberal Democrats have campaigned for its legalisation since 2016, and the first medically-prescribed cannabis was permitted in the UK in 2018. However, crucial …

Rosalind English (2021-03-01). Law Pod UK: AI and the Law. ukhumanrightsblog.com In the latest episode of Law Pod UK Rosalind English talks to Matt Hervey, co-editor with Matthew Lavy of a new practitioner's text book on Artificial Intelligence. Matt is Head of Artificial Intelligence at Gowling WLG., and advises on all aspects of AI and Intellectual Property, particularly in relation to the life sciences, automotive, aviation, …

Dave Clennon (2021-03-01). Hollywood's New Blackface. counterpunch.org Many more black faces on your movie screen. Same old shuck and jive from finance capital. AND . . . why are so many foreign Blacks impersonating African-Americans? I saw "Selma" six years ago. I could feel earnest sincerity radiating from the screen. It was pretty clear the filmmakers were trying to do justice to

Eds. (2021-03-01). BJP begins to pay political price as farmers struggle completes three months. mronline.org IN the week before the historic nationwide farmers' struggle completed three months on February 26, the BJP has begun to pay a heavy political price for its pro-corporate adamancy.

Oorna Raut — Riya Behl (2021-03-01). Pushing the Tempo at Mumbai's Farmer Sit-In. counterpunch.org Navshya Kuvra had just finished playing his dhumsi (drum) for about 40 protestors dancing at south Mumbai's Azad Maidan. Just as he sat down to rest, around 11 at night, three man approached him. "Is it a wedding? What date?" asked Navshya. They conversed, phone numbers were exchanged, and the three moved away. Navshya turned

Eds. (2021-03-01). Ecosocialism versus degrowth: a false dilemma. mronline.org Ecosocialists and degrowthers need to map the many overlaps of their views to improve the effectiveness of their shared struggle for an ecologically-sound and socially-fair world free from patriarchal, racial and colonial legacy.

Ed Rampell (2021-03-01). 'Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story' at PAFF. peoplesworld.org Co-directors Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance's Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story is a nonfiction biopic about the African-American talent who rose to become the so-called "Architect of the Stars" when Jim Crow was still the scourge of the land. Born 1894 in L.A., Paul Revere Williams's real-life story of overcoming adversity …

Zach Carlson (2021-03-01). SEIU Graduate Workers Union in stalled talks at Illinois State University. peoplesworld.org NORMAL, Ill.—In October 2018, Illinois State University's more than 400 graduate workers voted to officially unionize and be represented as SEIU Local 73. The long months of meetings, difficult one-on-one conversations, procedural documents, and learning the process of organizing a workplace paid off for the graduate workers involved. All unionizing efforts are difficult, and the …

Chuck Collins — Omar Ocampo (2021-03-01). Financial Reserves and the Racial Wealth Gap. counterpunch.org Why is it that the wealthiest country on earth has the highest death toll of any nation in the world? And why are Black and Latino people among those experiencing the greatest mortality and hardship during the pandemic? There is excellent research on how the Black-white wealth gap left Black households more vulnerable (see resources

Maxximilian Seijo (2021-03-01). Heterodox Properties with Lua Kamal Yuille. mronline.org Money on the Left is joined by Dr. Lua Kamal Yuille to discuss heterodox economics, property law & the politics of vulnerability. Dr. Yuille is professor of law and affiliated professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Kansas. Her work, which spans property theory, heterodox economics, business law, critical pedagogy, and …

Michael Berkowitz (2021-03-01). 'Nomadland': Moving on with America's homeless van dwellers. peoplesworld.org Fern stands forlorn, surveying the desert before her. She is a small figure looking out over the beautiful, austere, infinite landscape. The desert is her own world writ large. She navigates that world in "Vanguard," her turtle shell van remodeled to carry her few possessions on her back. She drifts toward temporary jobs as low-skill …

The Conversation (2021-03-01). Where does the 10 Million Tons of Plastic we put into the Oceans Annually actually go? juancole.com By Bruce Sutherland, Michelle DiBenedetto and Ton van den Bremer | — Of the hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic waste we produce each year, it's estimated that around ten million tonnes enters the ocean. Roughly half of the plastics produced are less dense than water, and so they float. But scientists estimate that …

Staff (2021-03-01). Black mass incarceration in the so-called Free State. therealnews.com Maryland holds itself up as a progressive state when it comes to criminal justice, but a recent report highlights a stark reality: Maryland incarcerates Black people at more than twice the national rate.

Olivia Rosane (2021-03-01). Oregon wolf makes historic journey to California, raising conservation hopes. peoplesworld.org An Oregon-born wolf named OR-93 has sparked conservation hopes with a historic journey into California. A young male, OR-93 traveled hundreds of miles from an area southeast of Mount Hood, Oregon, to California's central Sierra Nevada mountain range, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Friday. The agency said he traveled farther south …

Staff (2021-03-01). 'We've made this kind of war invisible'. therealnews.com The reality of war has become so distant and abstract for U.S. civilians that most have no idea how many wars we're actually engaged in. And that, as writer and combat veteran Danny Sjursen argues, is by design.

Claudia Drdul (2021-03-01). Family of Navy veteran murdered by Antioch police in George Floyd-style killing seeks justice. liberationnews.org Two members of the Antioch, California, Police Department murdered Navy veteran Angelo Quinto (age 30) in his home on Dec. 23, 2020, while he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Quinto's mother and sister, who witnessed the execution of their loved one, initially called the police believing they would help Quinto through his crisis. However, …

Arturo Pineda (2021-03-01). New Haven youth target gun violence, inequality at Black history month march. peoplesworld.org NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A caravan of 20 cars and a group of 65 people took to the streets of New Haven on Feb. 20 to call for an end to gun violence and police brutality, taxing the rich, and to demand state and federal relief for communities of color impacted by COVID-19. The Annual Black History …

Nadya Williams (2021-03-01). Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a Veteran For Peace. peoplesworld.org Many have been the obituaries and tributes to radical poet and civil libertarian Lawrence Ferlinghetti, including this one from City Lights Booksellers and Publishers. Ferlinghetti died on February 22 at 101 in his home in North Beach, the literary heart of San Francisco. Many readers may be unfamiliar with another facet of the writer's life. …

Rosalind English (2021-03-01). Parent company owes duty of care in transnational cases — Hague Court of Appeal. ukhumanrightsblog.com The Hague Court of Appeal has recently handed down a ruling that is of profound importance to environmental lawyers. It is not only the first case at the appellate level in Europe that has resulted in a victory on the merits for the victims, but also the first case to hold that a parent company …

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-01). Coup Leaders, Aung San Suu Kyi Betrayed Democracy in Burma. counterpunch.org What is taking place in Burma right now is a military coup. There can be no other description for such an unwarranted action as the dismissal of the government by military decree and the imposition of Min Aung Hlaing, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, as an unelected ruler.

Tomdispatch (2021-03-01). The Unpatriots: What the Storming of the Capitol looks Like to a Military Spouse. juancole.com By Andrea Mazzarino | — ( Tomdispatch.com) — "Are you okay?" asked a friend and military spouse in the voicemail she left me on the afternoon the mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol so violently. At home with a new baby, her Navy reservist husband stationed in Germany, the thoughts running through her head …

Andrea Mazzarino (2021-03-01). Perspectives on the Storming of the Capitol from a Military Spouse. counterpunch.org "Are you okay?" asked a friend and military spouse in the voicemail she left me on the afternoon the mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol so violently. At home with a new baby, her Navy reservist husband stationed in Germany, the thoughts running through her head that day would prove remarkably similar to mine. As she said when we spoke, "It's as if the U.S. has become a war zone."

John Wojcik (2021-03-01). GOP: We'll destroy the country in order to return to power. peoplesworld.org With the economy on the brink of collapse for so many, Republicans are totally united against a rescue plan that is the last hope to save millions of Americans from total ruin. The stand they are taking can have far worse consequences than the last time, in 2009, that they opposed a national stimulus plan …

Gareth Porter (2021-03-01). U.S. State Department accusation of China 'genocide' relied on data abuse and baseless claims by far-right ideologue. mronline.org The Trump and Biden administrations have relied on the work of a right-wing religious extremist, Adrian Zenz, for their "genocide" accusation against China. A close review of Zenz's research reveals flagrant data abuse and outright falsehoods.

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-01). Military coup leaders, Aung San Suu Kyi both betrayed democracy in Burma. peoplesworld.org What is taking place in Burma right now is a military coup. There can be no other description for such an unwarranted action as the dismissal of the government by military decree and the imposition of Min Aung Hlaing, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, as an unelected ruler. However, despite the endless talk about democratization, …

Devin Cole (2021-03-02). Nadezhda Krupskaya: Bolshevik revolutionary and educator. workers.org Feb. 14 is the birth date of Nadezhda Krupskaya — Bolshevik revolutionary, educator and library advocate. Although born to a formerly aristocratic family, her family had descended into poverty, which led her to study Marxism. She joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903. Nadezhda Krupskaya In 1905, Krupskaya . . . |

Nadda Osman (2021-03-01). Israel annexation: European lawmakers denounce 'de facto' takeover of the West Bank. middleeasteye.net Israel annexation: European lawmakers denounce 'de facto' takeover of the West Bank | Over 400 parliamentarians have called on EU nations and the Biden administration to work together to halt annexation | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 13: 04 | Israeli workers dismantle tents during a demolition operation of a Palestinian Bedouin encampment in the area of Humsa, in the Occupied West Bank on 22 February (AFP) | Hundre…

Nadda Osman (2021-03-01). Beirut explosion: Diamond-encrusted ring 'inspired' by disaster draws ire. middleeasteye.net Beirut explosion: Diamond-encrusted ring 'inspired' by disaster draws ire | Jeweller's design, which costs more than $7,000, has been denounced as distasteful | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 15: 53 | The ring represents the resilience of Beirut, but has not been well received online (Screengrab/Social media/Forbes) | A champagne diamond-encrusted ring, which has been designed to represent the resilience of Beirut fo…

MEE staff (2021-03-01). Israel demolishes Palestinian family's home in Jerusalem for fourth time. middleeasteye.net Israel demolishes Palestinian family's home in Jerusalem for fourth time | Hatem Hussein Abu Rayaleh's house bulldozed on grounds of lacking building permits, as Israelis step up demolitions in occupied territories | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 16: 17 | Palestinian Hatem Hussein Abu Rayaleh points at his house which was demolished again by Israeli forces in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya, 1 March 2021 (AFP…

Joe Gill (2021-03-01). Oman crackdown over criticism of plans to develop Dhofar camel-grazing area. middleeasteye.net Oman crackdown over criticism of plans to develop Dhofar camel-grazing area | Poet Salem Ali al-Maashani the latest to be arrested as discontent over governor's decision to remove camel herders grows online | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 13: 07 | A camel walks on a road in Salalah, in Oman's Dhofar governorate, January 2018 (MEE/Joe Gill) | Authorities in Oman have intensified a crackdown on critics of plans to remove camel…

MEE staff (2021-03-01). Top US Senate Republicans warn Biden against reviving Iran deal. middleeasteye.net Top US Senate Republicans warn Biden against reviving Iran deal | Leading Republicans on national security-related committees urge White House to engage Congress, Israel and Gulf partners on Iran | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 17: 12 | The letter was signed by key Senate Republicans, including (L-R) Jim Risch, Marco Rubio and Jim Inhofe (AFP/File photos) | Top US Senate Republicans have warned President Joe Biden against…

Betsey Piette (2021-03-02). Protest demands freedom for Mumia, suffering COVID symptoms. workers.org Political prisoner and Black journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including difficulty breathing, Feb 26. Hearing this news, his family and supporters called a protest. Less than 24 hours later, about 70 people turned up outside the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to call for Abu-Jamal's immediate . . . |

RT (2021-03-02). US won't share Covid-19 vaccines with Mexico as Americans must be inoculated first — White House. rt.com The Biden administration has rejected the idea of sharing Covid-19 vaccines with the hard-hit neighbor Mexico, White House press-secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that it can only be discussed after all Americans get their shots. | "The administration's focus is on ensuring that every American is vaccinated. And once we accomplish that objective we're happy to discuss further steps," Psaki said when asked about possible vaccine sharing during a briefing on Monday. | The comments came hours before the virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. | Also…

RT (2021-03-02). Former CIA director John Brennan 'embarrassed to be a WHITE MALE'… and critics agree they're embarrassed he's a white male. rt.com John Brennan, the former CIA director and perjurer who's now an MSNBC contributor, apparently found a point on which he and his conservative critics can agree: Both sides are ashamed that he's a white male. | Responding to an MSNBC discussion Monday about Republican claims regarding the January 6 Capitol riot, Brennan said, "I'm increasingly embarrassed to be a white male these days, in light of what I see of my other white males saying." | John Brennan should be ashamed to be John Brennan

RT (2021-03-02). Attempt at civil discourse on 'Wokeism' ends in Clubhouse room 'coup,' Jewish prof shut down as 'SPICY WHITE' & demands for CASH. rt.com Evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein had to relive his Evergreen College moment whe he was attacked from all sides in a Clubhouse room hijacked by hostile "anti-racist" mob aghast at the idea of white people discussing "wokeism." | The room, dubbed "Is Clubhouse Obsessed with 'Wokeism'?" was created by independent journalist Michael Tracey, who said he thought the Clubhouse chats "almost inevitably evolve into a discussion of 'woke-ism'… but there's seldom anyone in the room who identifies enough with the ideology to give a defense of it." | His attempt to create a safe space for a civil discourse and let b…

RT (2021-03-02). Twitch reverts back to 'women' after tweet celebrating 'Womxn's History Month' savaged online. rt.com Streaming platform Twitch has returned to the conventional spelling for "women" after its social media post hailing "Womxn's History Month" — avoiding any "gender-binary language" — backfired and angered critics on all sides. | Though the company took to Twitter on Monday to inform users that "March is Womxn's History Month," using an alternative styling of "women" in a bid to include non-binary gender identities, it made an abrupt about-face just a few hours later, announcing that it would revert back to the standard spelling. | "While we originally wanted to use a word that acknowledges the short…

RT (2021-03-02). 'We have to DO STUFF NOW': Biden adviser says White House to start redressing systemic racism, not just wait for reparations study. rt.com President Joe Biden will push ahead on making amends for America's "systemic racism," creating more opportunities for black people right away rather than waiting for a reparations study, a White House adviser said. | "We don't want to wait on a study," Cedric Richmond, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, said in an 'Axios on HBO' | White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on February 17 that Biden s…

RT (2021-03-02). Johnson & Johnson's newly-approved Covid vaccine met with pushback as Catholic diocese condemns it for 'ties to abortion cells'. rt.com As Johnson & Johnson rolls out its freshly approved Covid-19 vaccine in the US, it faces a religious controversy as the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has labeled it "morally compromised" over links to abortion cells. | Catholics are advised not to receive the vaccine because Johnson & Johnson used cell lines derived from decades-old abortions in both testing and production of the new product, the Archdiocese Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have utiliz…