Daily Archives: March 18, 2021

2021-03-18: News Headlines

Ricardo Vaz (2021-03-18). Cape Verde Greenlights Venezuelan Gov't Envoy Extradition to US. venezuelanalysis.com Alex Saab's defense will appeal to the Cape Verdean Constitutional Court.

Carmen Navas Reyes (2021-03-18). Venezuelan women endure the "sanctions" with their bodies. peoplesdispatch.org Carmen Navas Reyes and Laura Franco respond to the article published in the New York Times which attempts to speak about the problems facing Venezuelan women without mentioning the economic and financial blockade imposed on the country…

Online News Editor (2021-03-18). Distance learning in impoverished Bolivia posing major challenges. laprensalatina.com By Yolanda Salazar and Gabriel Romano San Pablo de Tiquina/La Paz/El Alto, Bolivia, Mar 18 (efe-epa).- Low-income families across the impoverished South American nation of Bolivia have experienced major difficulties with the distance learning model implemented at the onset of the pandemic, while in rural areas the problem has been especially acute due to the …

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2021-03-18). Lula's Return and the Arrival of Sputnik V Change the Brazilian Political Scenario. globalresearch.ca Changes are taking place on the Brazilian political scene. Former President …

Pepe Escobar (2021-03-18). Brazil's Lula in a Wilderness of Mirrors. globalresearch.ca A surprising Supreme Court decision that, while not definitive, restores Lula's …

Finian Cunningham (2021-03-18). China and Russia Vaccines Defeat Cold War Virus. dissidentvoice.org A friend in need is a friend indeed, and several countries which may have previously sniffed at vaccines produced by China and Russia are finding truth in the old adage. China is ramping up supplies of its CoronaVac to Brazil and other Latin American countries where Covid-19 infections are threatening to overwhelm public health services. …

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia (2021-03-18). Why Brazil is Losing the Global Race for Vaccines. counterpunch.org On January 17 nurse Monica Calazans became the first person vaccinated against COVID-19 in Brazil. The procedure took place during a much-awaited ceremony in Sà£o Paulo. However, after months of denial and heel-dragging from the government of President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's late entry into the global race for vaccines could prove to be fatal for

Staff (2021-03-18). Headlines for March 18, 2021. democracynow.org Suspect in Atlanta Spa Killings Charged with Murder Amid Surge in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes, House Votes to Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act, Which Lapsed Under President Trump, WHO on AstraZeneca COVID-19 Shots: "Use of the Vaccine Far Outweighs the Risks", Brazil's COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Hit New Highs, Pushing Hospitals to Brink of Collapse, U.N. Reports Pandemic Has Caused 239,000 Child and Maternal Deaths in South Asia, Tanzanian President John Magufuli, Who Denied COVID-19, Dies After Rumored Coronavirus Infection, President Biden Says U.S. Might Not Honor Afghanistan Withdrawal Agreement, Russia Recal…

Global Research News (2021-03-18). Selected Articles: Brazil's Lula in a Wilderness of Mirrors, UK Breaks Law on Nukes, Myanmar: Hidden Opposition Violence. globalresearch.ca By A surprising Supreme Court decision that, while not definitive, restores Lula's political rights has hit Brazil like a semiotic bomb and plunged the nation into a …

Andre Pagliarini (2021-03-18). How Lula Can Win Back Brazil. zcomm.org The mishandling of the pandemic has only strengthened the former president's standing — and now he's free to run again…

Staff (2021-03-18). "Immoral & Illegal": U.S. & U.K. Move to Expand Nuclear Arsenals, Defying Global Disarmament Treaties. democracynow.org The United States and the United Kingdom are facing international criticism for moving to expand their nuclear arsenals, defying a growing global movement in support of nuclear disarmament. The U.S. is planning to spend $100 billion to develop a new nuclear missile which could travel 6,000 miles carrying a warhead 20 times stronger than the one dropped on Hiroshima, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just announced plans to lift the cap on its nuclear stockpile, ending three decades of gradual nuclear disarmament in the U.K. "We're seeing this united, uniform response of nuclear-armed states to what t…

Staff (2021-03-18). Stop Asian Hate: Connie Wun on Atlanta Spa Killings, Gender Violence & Spike in Anti-Asian Attacks. democracynow.org Deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors that left eight people dead have stoked outrage and renewed fears about rising anti-Asian racism in the United States, which has already seen a rise in violence directed at Asian Americans during the pandemic. Police say the shooting suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, denies a racial motive behind the killings, blaming "sex addiction" and a "really bad day" instead, but six of the eight victims are women of Asian descent. Connie Wun, co-founder of AAPI Women Lead and a researcher on violence against girls of color, says it's impossible to "disconnect rac…

Staff (2021-03-18). Burmese Protesters Continue to Demand Democracy as Authorities "Shoot to Kill" in Sweeping Crackdown. democracynow.org Martial law has been declared in more parts of Burma as the military junta intensifies its crackdown following the February 1 coup. At least 217 protesters have been killed and over 2,000 have been arrested or detained since the coup began, according to one Burmese group. Protests are continuing across the country amid a crackdown on communications, in which much of Burma is under an internet blackout and independent newspapers have stopped publishing. Despite international criticism, the Burmese military is tightening its grip on power. People are continuing to protest even as they face the risk of arrest, polic…

Workers World Party (2021-03-18). PDF of March 18 issue. workers.org Download the PDF. Bust the filibuster, pass the PRO-union Act! Medical justice: Release Mumia now! International Women's Day: Protest of massacre in Philippines; New York Boricua Resistance; 1970 march on women's prison. ALSO: Solidarity with #BAmazon; Sharpeville 1960: A turning point; Bus drivers blast school reopening; Stimulus for who? UNITE . . . |

Mark Gruenberg (2021-03-18). Alabama Amazon worker testifies before Congress: "We're not robots." peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—At Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., more than 5,800 workers, many if not most of them Black, toil for 10 hours each a day in the middle of a pandemic, shifting goods to loading docks via elevators they can't board themselves. Instead, workers, many middle-aged, must tramp, or limp, up and down four flights of …

Lawrence Wittner (2021-03-18). The U.S. Government Should Promote the General Welfare. counterpunch.org An event revealing a great deal about the kind of government Americans want occurred this March, when members of the U.S. Congress voted on the American Rescue Plan. This legislation, staunchly supported by the Democrats, provided federal funding for the provision of life-saving vaccines, the re-opening of public schools, expanded benefits to the unemployed, a

Dave Lindorff (2021-03-18). Let's Stop Pretending Russia and China are Military Threats. counterpunch.org Someone needs to say this, and it looks like it's gotta be me: China and Russia are not our enemies. Somehow, the opinion-makers in the media, the bloated military brass with all their ribbons and stars and with little to do but worry about how to keep their massively overbuilt operation afloat with ever more taxpayer money, and the members of Congress who like to gin up fears among the voters so they'll keep voting for them have gotten everyone thinking that Russia is still hell bent on world communist takeover and that China it trying to replace the US as global hegemon. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Mark Gruenberg (2021-03-18). Pandemic's impact propels new push for Medicare for All. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Propelled by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which exposed, as never before, the gaping holes in U.S. health care's non-system, proponents of Medicare For All launched a new push for comprehensive health care reconstruction. But the March 17 exuberant "Town Hall" for the bill, re-introduced by House Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., …

Susan Price (2021-03-18). Ecuador: Court rejects vote recount claim. greenleft.org.au The path has been cleared for leftist Alliance for Hope candidate Andres Arauz to challenge right-wing Creating Opportunities candidate Guillermo Lasso in the second round of Ecuador's presidential elections, writes Kerry Smith.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2021-03-18). China Advances in South America. globalresearch.ca Once again, international trade and medical diplomacy have been playing a …

Ronda Shelton (2021-03-18). PSL in Tennessee launches campaign to fight utility shutoffs. liberationnews.org The rise in unemployment and poverty coupled with dismal state benefits during a deadly pandemic have left many families unable to pay their bills.

mgrochowski (2021-03-18). Runoff Election in Ecuador: The Fight for Democracy. dsausa.org Ecuador faces a crucial runoff election on April 11 as the country struggles to free itself from capitalist imposed austerity, economic recession, and pandemic. Socialist candidate Andres Arauz leads a progressive alliance and has an excellent chance to be elected President against right-wing banker Guillermo Lasso. There are efforts by the establishment to eliminate Arauz…

Global Voices (2021-03-18). Syria needs Long-Term Housing for the Neediest, and the US needs to Stop Blocking it. juancole.com By Hany Al Banna | — ( Middle East Monitor ) — March 15, 2021, will mark a grim milestone—the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the popular uprising that led to the civil war still engulfing Syria. As we all grapple with the deadly crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world's …

RT (2021-03-18). Obama joins chorus in dubbing massage parlor shootings as 'anti-Asian hate crime' as Democrats keep narrative on 'white supremacy'. rt.com Former President Barack Obama and other political and celebrity voices seized on a murder spree at Atlanta-area massage parlors as a call to dismantle "white supremacy" — despite the lack of any apparent anti-Asian hate motive. | "Although the shooter's motive is not yet clear, the identity of the victims underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end," Obama said Wednesday on Twitter. While also using the horrific shootings to argue for gun laws, he added that America must "root out the pervasive patterns of hatred and violence in our society." | Even as we've battled the pandemic, we…

Danny Haiphong (2021-03-18). New Cold War is built on humanitarian interventionist lies and dismissal of actual War Crimes. mronline.org MR Online

Peoples Dispatch (2021-03-18). Rate of demolition of Palestinian homes has increased in 2021, says new report. peoplesdispatch.org The report, prepared by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories, says the monthly average of demolition of Palestinian houses by Israeli authorities has increased by 65% in 2021 as compared to the previous year…

MEE staff (2021-03-18). UN Security Council condemns Houthi efforts to take Yemen's Marib. middleeasteye.net UN Security Council condemns Houthi efforts to take Yemen's Marib | The council calls on all parties to halt hostilities so humanitarian aid, including Covid-19 vaccines, can be administered and a peaceful resolution agreed upon | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 17: 14 | Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government get into position during clashes with Houthi fighters in Yemen's northeastern province of Marib on 4 March…

Vijay Prashad (2021-03-18). There Are So Many Lessons to Learn from Kerala. dissidentvoice.org Anujath Sindhu Vinaylal (India), My mother and the mothers in the neighborhood, 2017. Indian farmers and agricultural workers have crossed the hundred-day mark of their protest against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They will not withdraw until the government repeals laws that deliver the advantages of agriculture to large corporate houses. This, the …

David Rosen (2021-03-18). Thumb in the Dike: Homelessness and Deepening Inequality. counterpunch.org In December 2020, USA Today ran a bold headline declaring, "the federal eviction moratorium expires in January. It could leave 40 million Americans homeless." The article cites Diane Yentel, CEO and president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, who warns, "We're facing potentially the worst housing and homelessness crisis in our country's history."

Dean Baker (2021-03-18). Profit Shares Fall to the Lowest Level Since 2009. counterpunch.org The Federal Reserve Board released an item of good news that might be missed. The Financial Accounts for the fourth quarter showed a decline in profit share of national income to 12.0 percent, the lowest annual share since 2009. It is far too early to know if this shift will be enduring, but it is

Party for Socialism, Liberation (2021-03-18). PSL Statement: Massacre in Atlanta — racist, sexist terrorism and the capitalist system. liberationnews.org Photo: Demonstration last weekend in Los Angeles against the rising tide of anti-Asian hate crimes On Tuesday, March 16 at around 5: 00 p.m., three spas staffed by Asian workers in the Atlanta area were the targets of a racist and sexist mass shooting. Eight people were killed, seven of whom were women, and six of …

Daniel Renken (2021-03-18). Unelected operatives play an outsized role in crafting foreign policy. peoplesworld.org It's probably safe to say that most Americans would hope the major foreign policy actions of the United States would be determined by their elected officials in Congress and the White House. In reality, much of the foreign policy of the U.S. is first crafted behind closed doors by individuals that the public never voted …

Party for Socialism, Liberation (2021-03-18). PSL Statement: Massacre in Atlanta — racist, sexist terrorism and the capitalist system. liberationnews.org Photo: Demonstration last weekend in Los Angeles against the rising tide of anti-Asian hate crimes On Tuesday, March 16 at around 5 p.m., three Atlanta-area spas staffed by Asian workers were the targets of a racist and sexist mass shooting. Eight people were killed, seven of whom were women, and six of the women were …

George Wuerthner (2021-03-18). The Active Forest Management Scam. counterpunch.org There are daily news stories about the recent large wildfires in 2020. In nearly all of these media accounts, almost always attributed to a lack of active forest management. In other words, proponents of logging/thinning forests assert fuel reductions would diminish fire severity. The prevailing assumption is that fuels are the major cause of large

Eds. (2021-03-18). Jason Hickel introduces Degrowth — book review. mronline.org MR Online

John Bachtell (2021-03-18). Anger mounts as police cover for Atlanta murderer of Asian women. peoplesworld.org Only two days before the Atlanta-area murders of eight people, including six Asian American women, Georgia State Sen. Michelle Au, herself Chinese American, was warning of rising anti-Asian violence in her state and nationwide. "Asian Americans are part of our country's plurality," said Au. "And all I'm asking, as the first East Asian state senator …

Michelle Kern (2021-03-18). Author Dan Hicks reveals the backstory of 'contested objects' in Western museums. peoplesworld.org The role of museums in Western culture has been a conversation in art and academia for decades. The institution as a whole has had a spotlight shined on its structural biases for years. In response, several museums have attempted to institute reforms to expand diversity. Curator Dan Hicks, of the Pitt-Rivers Museum of Oxford University, …

The Conversation (2021-03-18). Climate Change is making Sea levels rise fastest in big cities — here's why. juancole.com By Sally Brown and Robert James Nicholls | — It is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. What is less well know is the threat of sinking land. And in many of the most populated coastal areas, the land is sinking even faster than the sea is rising. Parts of …

Staff (2021-03-18). No justice, no peace: Rapsody on art, activism, and the power of music. therealnews.com The professors invite Rapsody to discuss the legacy of the Black music tradition and how it continually reiterates itself within "new genres," creating a cultural archive.

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-18). The Ongoing Calamity: US Collective Punishment of the Venezuelan People Must End. counterpunch.org Recent statements made by US officials suggest that Washington will continue to pursue a hardline policy on Venezuela. The new Biden Administration, however, needs to urgently rethink its approach. US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, remarked on February 3 that he "certainly" does not "expect this administration to be engaging directly with (President) Maduro." Namely,

Jayati Ghosh (2021-03-18). Interpreting contemporary imperialism: lessons from Samir Amin. mronline.org MR Online

Tings Chak (2021-03-18). Guangzhou 1927: The Paris Commune of the East. peoplesdispatch.org On the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Paris Commune, its legacy is remembered in the Guangzhou Uprising, when workers and peasants established a popular republic in the southern Chinese capital in 1927.

MEE staff (2021-03-18). Biden's Iran envoy says Trump's maximum pressure campaign was a failure. middleeasteye.net Biden's Iran envoy says Trump's maximum pressure campaign was a failure | Rob Malley stresses the need for talks with Iran to revive the nuclear deal, offering negotiations through a third party | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 20: 18 | 'Neither side is going to go first entirely,' Malley told the BBC (AFP/File photo) | The US envoy for Iran has reaffirmed the intention of President Joe Biden's administration to revive the…

MEE staff (2021-03-18). US warns China it will enforce sanctions on Iranian oil shipments: Report. middleeasteye.net US warns China it will enforce sanctions on Iranian oil shipments: Report | Shipments of oil from Tehran to Beijing have soared in recent months, reaching nearly 500,000 barrels a day in February | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 16: 34 | In 2019, the Trump administration stopped providing sanctions waivers to several countries that were importing oil from Iran (AFP) | The US has told China it will enforce Trump-era sanctio…

Mustafa Abu Sneineh (2021-03-18). UAE suspends Abu Dhabi Israel summit as frustration with Netanyahu grows. middleeasteye.net UAE suspends Abu Dhabi Israel summit as frustration with Netanyahu grows | Emirati officials are particularly angry at Israeli PM's pre-election trumpeting of $10bn UAE investment fund | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 12: 46 | An Emirati man, wearing a protective mask with the flags of the US, Israel and the UAE, upon the arrival of the first commercial flight from Israel, 31 August 2020 (AFP)…

Nadda Osman (2021-03-18). Egypt faces backlash over response to UN criticism of human rights record. middleeasteye.net Egypt faces backlash over response to UN criticism of human rights record | A statement signed by 31 countries has prompted furious denials from Cairo, which in turn have been met with scorn | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 15: 10 | Policewomen stand outside al-Qanatir women's prison during a government guided tour (AFP) | Egyptian opposition figures and rights advocates have lashed out at Egypt's response to a rare…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-18). Yemen's Houthis renew call for end to Saudi-led blockade before ceasefire. middleeasteye.net Yemen's Houthis renew call for end to Saudi-led blockade before ceasefire | The Iran-aligned fighters continue their push to take control of Marib, which is home to at least a million displaced people | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 10: 17 | Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government sit in the back of a pick-up truck during clashes with Houthi rebel fighters west of Taiz, on 16 March 2021 (AFP)…

MEE staff (2021-03-18). Syria: Hundreds gather in Daraa to celebrate anniversary of uprising. middleeasteye.net Syria: Hundreds gather in Daraa to celebrate anniversary of uprising | Daraa, currently under Assad control, was the centre of major demonstrations in the early days of the uprising in March 2011 | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 15: 36 | Still from video footage shared on social media (Twitter) | Hundreds reportedly gathered in the Syrian city of Daraa on Thursday to mark the tenth anniversary of the beginning of anti-gove…

MEE correspondent (2021-03-18). Iranian press review: Khamenei advisor urges move to enrich uranium up to 60 percent. middleeasteye.net Iranian press review: Khamenei advisor urges move to enrich uranium up to 60 percent | Meanwhile, Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq threaten more attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad, and in northern Iran, thousands of migratory birds die due to environmental crisis | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 12: 04 | A handout picture released by Iran's Atomic Energy Organization on 6 November 2019 shows the…

MEE staff (2021-03-18). Egypt: Protests break out after police officer allegedly beat man to death. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Protests break out after police officer allegedly beat man to death | A police officer reportedly crushed the skull of poultry shop owner Mohamed Youssef, sparking angry protests in his Nile Delta village | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 12: 59 | Mohamed Youssef, 34, was the owner of a poultry shop in the village of Monshaat el-Karaam in the Qalyubia governorate. He was reportedly beaten to death on 17 March by a po…