Daily Archives: March 21, 2021

2021-03-21: News Headlines

teleSUR (2021-03-21). Venezuela Suffers New Terrorist Attack Against Gas Pipeline. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami denounced on Saturday a new terrorist attack against a gas pipeline of the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). | RELATED: | The minister announced that terrorist action damaged a gas pipeline section located in Tejero, northern Monagas state. | The plant is used to compress gas and inject it at high pressure into oil wells in El Tejero, La Leona, and La Urica areas.

teleSUR (2021-03-21). GLOBALink | China's Red Line Should Never Be Crossed: Chinese Delegation. telesurenglish.net The governing status of the CPC and the security of China's socialist system should not be damaged, and that is a red line that should never be crossed, said the Chinese delegations during the China-U.S. high-level strategic dialogue in Anchorage, U.S.

_____ (2021-03-21). Money Is Made Up. popularresistance.org Have you ever noticed how online capitalism cultists who condescendingly tell socialists they "just don't understand economics" are always unable to lucidly defend their own understanding of economics? | If you've never pressed such a character to clearly and concisely explain what it is you "don't understand" using their own words, I highly recommend that you try it, because it's one of the funniest things in the world. If you keep interrogating them about each aspect of their belief system, demanding that they explain exactly what it is they know and how they know it, they will invariably end up getting frustra…

_____ (2021-03-21). Carbon Offsets Offer A Fantasy Of Capitalism Without Crises. popularresistance.org Governments, companies and sometimes entire sectors are increasingly proposing to use carbon offsets in response to the deepening climate crisis. In theory, offsetting allows organisations to compensate for their own emissions by paying towards low-carbon projects elsewhere, but the practice has been mired in scientific problems and scandals, and it has been widely critiqued in the social sciences. | With the UK government now seeking to turn London into a global hub for the carbon offset trade, it's worth asking why it is still so prominent. My research on what I have called the fantasy of carbon offsetting help…

_____ (2021-03-21). On Contact: America's Secret Government. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges discusses the rise of America's secret government with journalist and author David Talbot. David Talbot's book is 'The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government'.

Daniel Raventós, Julie Wark (2021-03-21). West Papua: Rape The Women To Rape The Land. counterpunch.org West Papua is often described as "remote", a handy word conveying two meanings: a pristine place for an exotic holiday and too far away for most people to give a damn. The Jakarta Post gives as its first reason for visiting this wonderland, "Dive with Friendly Whale Sharks". Number 8 on the list is gawking

Thomas Pulliam (2021-03-21). Tanks, Tanks, Tanks: Biden-Era Neoliberalism and the Suffocation of Syria. realprogressives.org "All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind." | Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations | It's not difficult these days to find symbolism for America's culture built on violence and colonialism. Party to party, politician to politician, oligarch to oligarch, everything appears to be an illusion which harms the world the more we believe in it. It was just last January that Joe Biden illegally ordered a missile strike targeted towards Syrian soil. It was aimed at an Iranian-backed militia, and wound up killing at least…

The Conversation (2021-03-21). Asians are good at math? Why dressing up racism as a compliment just doesn't add up. juancole.com By Niral Shah | — The narrative that "Asians are good at math" is pervasive in the United States. Young children are aware of it. College students' academic performance can be affected by it. On the surface, the "Asians are good at math" narrative sounds like a compliment. After all, what's wrong with saying that …

Ron Jacobs (2021-03-21). The Curse of White Supremacy Must Be Fought, Not Handed Over to a Committee. counterpunch.org In recent years, the United States has once again begun to face a reckoning over its history and practice of white supremacy. In 2020, this reckoning became a raging fire that burned across the nation after Minneapolis police killed a Black man by choking him to death. This latest firestorm led to numerous commissions being

Colin Todhunter (2021-03-21). Walmart, Amazon and the Colonial Deindustrialisation of India. globalresearch.ca In June 2018, the Joint Action Committee against Foreign Retail and …

Binoy Kampmark (2021-03-21). Green Passes and Dark Inequalities: the Push for COVID Immunity Passports. counterpunch.org Sensible, ideal, wonderful — if you happen to be in the European Union. This is the air of confidence surrounding the March 17 proposal for a digital COVID immunity passport, or what is officially being called the Digital Green Certificate. The Digital Green Certificate is actually a bundle of three: vaccination certificates stating the brand

Peoples Dispatch (2021-03-21). Paraguayans rise in rage against mishandling of COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org In this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes, we take a look at protests in Paraguay against the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a massive strike by bank employees in India and a protest by students in South Africa…

F. William Engdahl (2021-03-21). "The Great Reset" Is Here: Follow the Money. "Insane Lockdown" of the Global Economy, "The Green Agenda" globalresearch.ca The top-down reorganization of the world economy by a cabal of …

Celia Farber (2021-03-21). John Magufuli: Death of an African Freedom Fighter, Confronted Big Pharma and the Corrupt Covid Cabal. globalresearch.ca In the Western world, African leaders are invisible, until that is, …

David Swanson (2021-03-21). The Latest Lies About Russia. dissidentvoice.org Things that we now know are not actually true: Russia impacted the U.S. election results in 2016 or 2020. Russia hacked into U.S. election machines. The recent U.S. government report alleging election interference contained any evidence of anything. The report so much as alleged Russian involvement in the Biden-Ukraine-corruption story. Russia changed the GOP platform. …

teleSUR (2021-03-21). Ecuador: First Presidential Debate To Take Place Tonight. telesurenglish.net Union for Hope (UNES) leftist presidential candidate Andres Arauz and right-wing Creating Opportunities (CREO) candidate Guillermo Lasso today will hold their first presidential debate of the April 11 runoff. | RELATED: | Given the resignation of journalist Andrea Bernal to be the moderator in the second round presidential debate scheduled this Sunday by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador, journalist Claudia…

South Front (2021-03-21). Turkey Refuses to Give Up on Its Interests in Northeastern Syria. globalresearch.ca Turkey and its proxies are rushing to defend Ankara's interests in …

Juan Cole (2021-03-21). Tens of Thousands Protest "Crime Minister" Netanyahu in Israel as his Political Survival hangs in Balance. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — Thousands of Israelis demonstrated Saturday at various places against Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is being tried for corruption, as the country goes to the polls Tuesday. This was the 39th consecutive weekly demonstration against the beleagured prime minister, who polls suggest faces an extremely close election. If he …

Richard Falk (2021-03-21). Palestine Horizons: Winning the Long Game. zcomm.org The reaction by Israel to the ICC decision rises to apoplectic levels of intensity. The fuming response of Netanyahu was echoed across the whole spectrum of Israeli politicians…

Paul Haeder (2021-03-21). Milquetoast for all Three Meals: All's Dumb in the United States of A. dissidentvoice.org The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. — aphorism There is dumb-downing, cancel culture (I've been cancelled since beginning in 1972 in high school, way before the trendy terminology), forced consent, manufactured bifurcation, false balance, triangulation, perception as reality, equivocation, a host of propaganda …

Kim Iversen (2021-03-21). Pfizer Executive: Shift from Pandemic to Endemic. "Hiking Vaccine Price after Pandemic Wanes" globalresearch.ca Pfizer execs discuss hiking vaccine price after …

Luis Feliz León (2021-03-21). The Biggest Amazon Union Drive Yet. zcomm.org Please Help ZNet Source: Labor Notes Photo by lev radin/Shutterstock The chilly early-morning scene at a gas station March 9 recalls the morning rush hour anywhere, as workers shuffle into a convenience store for coffee and cigarettes. But look closer—a yellow hanger on a Jeep's rearview mirror is embossed

Noam Chomsky (2021-03-21). Biden's Early Agenda Gives Hope, But Activist Pressure Must Not Cease. zcomm.org The dire challenges we face have no borders. Global heating, pandemics, disarmament will be dealt with internationally, if at all…

Loretta Graceffo (2021-03-21). Garment workers win billions in stolen wages. zcomm.org The PayUp campaign's battle against wage theft has clawed back $22 billion from apparel companies during the pandemic, and they're just getting started…

teleSUR (2021-03-21). Cuba: COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Soberana 02 Is Almost Ready. telesurenglish.net The biopharmaceutical group BioCubaFarma announced that an intervention study would begin with the Cuban vaccine candidate against COVID-19 Soberana 02 this Saturday. | RELATED: | The State Center for the Control of Medicines and Medical Devices approved the trial to evaluate vaccination's direct and indirect effects on population groups at high risk of infection, disease, and spread of the pandemic. | Sovereign 02 will be appl…

Prabir Purkayastha (2021-03-21). Vaccine wars, ASEAN and the Quad. peoplesdispatch.org The COVID-19 pandemic demands that all nations cooperate to vaccinate the entire global population. The usual rules of which countries win and which ones lose do not operate in this civilizational crisis…

Celia Farber (2021-03-21). John Magufuli: Death of an African Freedom Fighter, Confronted Big Pharma and the Corrupt Covid Cabal. globalresearch.ca With humor, cheek, and audacity, Magufuli had crossed a line—exposing the fraud and illegitimacy of the PCR testing apparatus that the WHO relied on to justify the global lockdown, the terror, and the vaccine rollouts.

Timothy Alexander Guzman (2021-03-21). The WHO and Big Pharma Rejected by Tanzania: President John Magufuli Says COVID-19 Vaccines Are "Dangerous and Unnecessary" globalresearch.ca Update | President John Magufuli has passed away. The country has lost …

MEE, agencies (2021-03-21). Egyptian feminist writer Nawal el-Saadawi dies aged 89. middleeasteye.net Egyptian feminist writer Nawal el-Saadawi dies aged 89 | A critic of taboos around women in society, Sadaawi clashed with Egyptian authorities throughout her life | Sun, 03/21/2021 – 16: 23 | Nawal el-Saadawi at a meeting of Egyptian writers in 2001 (AFP) | The Egyptian radical feminist writer Nawal el-Saadawi has died on Sunday aged 89 after a career challenging social and religious taboo…

MEE staff (2021-03-21). Yemen: Houthis admit teargas fired by guards caused deadly fire at detention centre. middleeasteye.net Yemen: Houthis admit teargas fired by guards caused deadly fire at detention centre | Houthis say they have detained 11 men from the security forces and senior officials over fire that left 45 migrants dead | Sun, 03/21/2021 – 10: 29 | Members representing African communities in Yemen gather to speak in front of the offices of the International Organisation for Migration in Sanaa on 13 March 2021 (AFP) | Yemen…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-21). Saudi Aramco's 2020 profits plummet on lower crude prices. middleeasteye.net Saudi Aramco's 2020 profits plummet on lower crude prices | Saudi Arabia's cash cow posts a 44.4 percent slump in net profits after Covid-19 weighs heavily on global demand | Sun, 03/21/2021 – 16: 02 | Aramco was listed on the Saudi bourse in December 2019 following the world's biggest initial public offering (Reuters) | Energy giant Saudi Aramco on Sunday posted a 44.4 percent slump in 20…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-21). Jordan makes new US defence agreement public. middleeasteye.net Jordan makes new US defence agreement public | Move, which allows free entry of US forces, aircraft and vehicles onto the kingdom's territory, controversially bypassed parliament | Sun, 03/21/2021 – 18: 03 | A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace on 19 October 2020 shows US-built M60 tanks during a military drill in Jordan's eastern military zone (AFP) | Jordan on Sunday…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-21). Pro-Kurdish MP briefly detained after four nights holed up in Turkey's parliament. middleeasteye.net Pro-Kurdish MP briefly detained after four nights holed up in Turkey's parliament | Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu was controversially expelled from his seat earlier this week as crackdown on HDP continues | Sun, 03/21/2021 – 09: 32 | Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu shows defiance after his dismissal from parliament (AFP) | Turkey briefly detained a pro-Kurdish MP who had been holed up in parliament sinc…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-21). Pro-Kurdish MP detained after four nights holed up in Turkey's parliament. middleeasteye.net Pro-Kurdish MP detained after four nights holed up in Turkey's parliament | Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu was controversially expelled from his seat earlier this week as crackdown on HDP continues | Sun, 03/21/2021 – 09: 32 | Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu shows defiance after his dismissal from parliament (AFP) | Turkey has arrested a pro-Kurdish MP who had been holed up in parliament since being cont…

Socialized Medicine is What We Need (2021-03-21). HR 1976 Medicare for All Act of 2021. indybay.org On March 17, 2021, Rep. Jayapal Pamila of Wash. state and Rep. Deborah Dingell of Michigan introduced this year's version of the urgently needed Medicare for All Act of 2021 with a total of 112 sponsors, all Democrats, and it needs 218 to pass. See www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1976/cosponsors?q={%22search%22: [%22actionSessionCode: \%22117-1 | 1000\%22+AND+billIsReserved: \%22N\%22%22]}&r=9&s=4&searchResultViewType=compact…

Eugene E Ruyle (2021-03-21). Sunday 3/21: The Great Labor Rebellion of the 1930s. indybay.org Zoom meeting. Login info on our website: ICSSMARX.ORG

Leon Kunstenaar (2021-03-21). Oakland Caravan, Traffic Jam, and Rally to Support Amazon Union Drive. indybay.org Continuing Actions in Support of Alabama Amazon Workers' Union Drive…

Leon Kunstenaar (2021-03-21). Protest at Amazon's New SF Watehouse Site. indybay.org International Day of Protests in Support of Alabama Amazon Workers' Union Drive…

Leon Kunstenaar (2021-03-21). Protest at Amazon's New SF Warehouse Site. indybay.org International Day of Protests in Support of Alabama Amazon Workers' Union Drive…

Towards increasing Networking (2021-03-21). Starting Tonight (Sat): Online events w) Chomsky, McKibben, Frida Berrigan & many others. indybay.org Here are some 17 online events taking place over the coming month (and starting tonight, Saturday, March 20), featuring people such as Noam Chomsky, Bill McKibben, Frida Berrigan, Thomas Piketty, Paul Mason, Hazel Henderson, and many others.

Claudia Spengler, Johanna Neuhauser (2021-03-21). Unemployment myth and "Migrantization" of precarity. indybay.org Involuntary unemployment is afflicted with many prejudices, which impute a supposed lack of motivation and utility to those affected. Although these prejudices are easy to refute, politicians and representatives of the media cling to the neoliberal notion of individual guilt in unemployment. Unemployment has primarily structural causes and thus requires the assumption of political responsibility.

Arab Resource & Organizing Center (2021-03-21). CA Abandons Its Commitment to Ethnic Studies under Right Wing Pressure—The Fight Continues. indybay.org On March 18, 2021, the California State Board of Education (SBE) rubber-stamped a whitewashed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) in the face of massive public backlash. This version of the ESMC was panned by teachers, students, community organizations, and Ethnic Studies scholars—including Angela Davis, Cornel West, and Marc Lamont Hill. In disgust, all 20 of the Ethnic Studies educators who drafted the original version of the ESMC demanded that their names be removed.