2021-03-19: News Headlines

MEE staff (2021-03-19). US will not recognise Syria presidency vote without UN supervision. middleeasteye.net US will not recognise Syria presidency vote without UN supervision | Acting deputy ambassador to UN says ongoing peace process has been hindered by President Bashar al-Assad's 'refusal to engage in good faith' | Fri, 03/19/2021 – 14: 51 | The US and its allies have been hesitant to normalise relations with the Assad government (AFP) | The United States has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that it will n…

RT (2021-03-19). Taliban threatens with 'reaction' if US does not pull out troops by May deadline. rt.com The Taliban warned the Biden administration to honor a Trump-era agreement and pull US and NATO troops out of Afghanistan by May 1, warning a "retaliation" if the deal is violated. | "They should go," Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, told reporters in Moscow on Friday. Troop presence beyond May 1, Shaheen warned, will qualify as a "violation of the agreement" struck with the Trump administration and will warrant a "reaction." | "We hope that this will not happen, that they withdraw and we focus on the settlement, peaceful settlement of the Afghan issue, in order to bring about a perman…

Danny Haiphong (2021-03-19). New Cold War Is Built on Humanitarian Interventionist Lies and Dismissal of Actual War Crimes. globalresearch.ca To manufacture consent for its own constant aggressions the US claims …

_____ (2021-03-19). Why Do They Keep Doing It? strategic-culture.org In the West, and especially the USA, today, we observe an inability to imagine, understand, come to terms with or tolerate difference. | Einstein is said to have observed that insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting a different result. What a perfect description for U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan is not enough: keep doing it. Sanctions on Russia haven't made any difference, keep doing them. Beijing is not the least deterred by "freedom of navigation" cruises, keep doing them. Iran won't bend to Washington's will, keep doing the s…

Stephen Lendman (2021-03-19). "The Russians Are Coming, Not Again…": Biden Regime Imposes More Illegal Sanctions on Russia. globalresearch.ca "When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the …

_____ (2021-03-19). Nord Stream 2 Behind Biden's Gratuitous Slander of Putin. strategic-culture.org Russia would do well to stay calm and let the Americans make fools of themselves. | Relations between the United States and Russia have reached a dangerous watershed following an unprecedented personal insult by American President Joe Biden to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. | But note the sequence here. Biden's insults were then followed by U.S. threats of draconian sanctions to kill the Nord Stream 2 gas project between Russia and Europe. Just who is the killer here? | The world may be thankful that Russia is being so magnanimous in its response to Biden's puerile and slanderous sniping. The crisis in bilat…

Robert Hunziker (2021-03-19). Nuclear Fuel Buried 108 Feet From the Sea. counterpunch.org "The most toxic substance on Earth is separated from exposure to society by Ω" of steel encased in a canister." (Blanch) That eye-opener comes from renowned nuclear expert Paul Blanch in reference to spent fuel rods removed from San Onofre Nuclear Generation Plant buried near the sea on California's southern coastline 50 miles north of

a guest author (2021-03-19). Palestine liberation leader sentenced by Israeli military tribunal. workers.org By Mayana Ashley-Carner Khalida Jarrar is a Palestinian politician, elected representative to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and a member of the Marxist-Leninist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The Israeli government has been holding her in "administrative detention" since October 2019. Recently, she was sentenced to . . . |

Mirinda Crissman (2021-03-19). Outrage over child detention center reopened over toxic dump. workers.org Plans to reopen a migrant detention facility on top of toxic military waste in Homestead, Fla., have sparked anger. Located just south of Miami, the closed facility was the largest center for unaccompanied migrant children — with 3,200 beds — before it was shut down in 2019 due to national . . . |

RT (2021-03-19). Dropping off migrants with unchecked health & criminal history 'like opening Pandora's box' — Arizona border town mayor to RT. rt.com The mayor of a small border town in Arizona has told RT that federal agents did not provide crucial information about the migrants that are being released in the US after the White House relaxed border policies. | "The number of migrants that come across on foot has ramped up substantially in just the last few weeks," Chris Riggs, the mayor of Gila Bend, an Arizona border town of 2,000, told RT. | Mayor Riggs said he began worrying after the town was notified that border control officials will be releasing migrants in the local community after processing them quickly. At the same time, federal agencies did not…

RT (2021-03-19). Migrant children held in US custody soar to 14,000 as Biden press secretary accidentally acknowledges border 'crisis'. rt.com More than 14,000 migrant children are currently held in US custody, a senior administration official said, insisting there's no "crisis" at the border soon after Biden's press secretary invoked the very same term. | The official said the number of youths detained after attempting to cross the border had soared to 14,000 during a Thursday press briefing, noting that they are divided between facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Border Patrol. | While the official argued that "Children presenting themselves at the border is not a national crisis," White House Press Secret…

Don McIntosh (2021-03-19). TALKING SOCIALISM | Catching up with AOC. dsausa.org Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her way to speak at NYC's Women's March. [Photo by Corey Torpie] | Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, best known as AOC, is DSA's foremost socialist superstar. Her June 2018 primary win—a 29-year-old taqueria bartender defeating the third most powerful Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives—inspired up to 10,000 people to join DSA. : | The Netflix documentary

V. Copeland (2021-03-19). Sharpeville massacre: A turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle. workers.org The following article first appeared on the front page of the April 1, 1960, issue of Workers World. The original headline was "South African revolution has begun! General strike wins first victory! The mass murder of Africans was a boomerang; South African dictatorship faces abyss!" The article was written by . . . |

The Conversation (2021-03-19). Startling Discovery of New Dead Sea Scrolls sheds light on Jewish Revolts against Imperial Rome. juancole.com By Gareth Wearne | — On Tuesday news broke of the discovery of fresh fragments of a nearly 2,000-year-old scroll in Israel. The fragments were said to come from the evocatively named Cave of Horror, near the western shore of the Dead Sea. The finds were announced with attention-grabbing headlines that these were new fragments …

Don McIntosh (2021-03-19). A Green New Deal Means a Labor New Deal. dsausa.org What does an "all hands" moment for DSA look like? Perhaps the campaign to pass the PRO Act, the first major campaign of 2021.

Dianne Mathiowetz (2021-03-19). The mysterious death of Kendrick Johnson. workers.org Atlanta A videotape shows 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson walking down a hallway and entering the gym in the Lowndes County High School in Valdosta, Ga., eight years ago on Jan. 10, 2013. That night his mother, Jacquelyn Johnson, called the emergency number 911 to report that her son had not come . . . |

Emily Mossman Smiley (2021-03-19). Text scandal exposes bigoted character of Eureka, Calif., police. liberationnews.org Five Eureka police officers are on paid leave following the exposure of a bigoted group chat.

Eds. (2021-03-19). Ten years since beginning of failed regime-change operation against Syria. mronline.org The initial coalition against Syria has collapsed, with Turkey frustrated over the U.S.' sustained support for the Kurds and the Arabs pivoting back to Syria. | Newswire…

Devin Cole (2021-03-19). Linked struggles: Trans liberation, women's liberation — WW commentary. workers.org It's just two and a half months into 2021, and already over 25 blatantly anti-trans bills have been introduced in 28 state legislatures. In total, 91 bills are proposed in those states that, in some way, shape or form, attack trans people — some directly, some indirectly, but the destructive . . . |

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-19). From the Earth to the Moon: Biden's China Policy Doomed from the Start. dissidentvoice.org A much anticipated American foreign policy move under the Biden Administration on how to counter China's unhindered economic growth and political ambitions came in the form of a virtual summit on March 12, linking, aside from the United States, India, Australia and Japan. Although the so-called 'Quad' revealed nothing new in their joint statement, the …

Mark Gruenberg (2021-03-19). With renewed union backing, House passes Dream Act. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—With renewed labor backing, this time from the Union Veterans Council, the House voted 227-197 at 6 p.m. on March 18 to pass the Dream Act, formally legalizing and providing an eventual path to citizenship for the 700,000 "Dreamers," undocumented people brought to the U.S. as kids, who are Americans in all but their papers. …

John Wojcik (2021-03-19). Biden's 'killer' comment about Putin reflects obsolete foreign policy. peoplesworld.org I want to start this critique of Biden's developing foreign policy by stating clearly and unequivocally that his $1.9 trillion rescue plan deserves total support from everyone in our country. It is nothing less than a dramatic disavowal of the right-wing era launched by Ronald Reagan some 40 years ago. Although Biden deserves praise for …

Nyla Ali Khan (2021-03-19). Transnational and Transformative Movements: BLM, Kashmir, and Prison Reform in Oklahoma. counterpunch.org Considering electoral processes in my state of adoption, Oklahoma, are healthier than they are in my state of origin, Jammu and Kashmir, I remind millennials to identify important issues to them as voters, so they are inspired to make a significant difference by participating. I will not deny the feeling of hopelessness that sets in

ANSWER Coalition (2021-03-19). National Day of Action March 27: Call It What It Is, a Hate Crime! Stop Anti-Asian Violence, Stop China-Bashing! liberationnews.org The following national call to action was issued by the ANSWER Coalition Join the March 27 National Day of Action! Endorse the national day of action here Organize an event in your city — register your event here Initial list of cities, check back for updates! San Francisco, CA1 PMLocation TBD Atlanta, GATime & Location …

Hillary Lazar — Paul Messersmith-Glavin (2021-03-19). Love & Rage: The Eros Effect and Spontaneous Combustion. counterpunch.org "Today the fight for life, the fight for Eros, is the political fight." — Herbert Marcuse, Eros and Civilization, 1966 "Eros is historically shaped but eternally emergent. Love binds us together, gives us the courage to make history, to stare down our fears . . . and gives us the nerve to be resolute .

Staff (2021-03-19). We can't erase the radicalism of the Rainbow Coalition. therealnews.com "Judas and the Black Messiah" has received much-deserved praise, but there are still many facets to the story of the Rainbow Coalition and Fred Hampton's murder that need to be told.

Emily Mossman Smiley (2021-03-19). Text scandal exposes bigoted character of Eureka, California police. liberationnews.org Five Eureka police officers are on paid leave following the exposure of a bigoted group chat.

Eds. (2021-03-19). How Chesa Boudin is pursuing his promise to reduce incarceration. mronline.org After more than a year in office—and despite pushback—the San Francisco DA's policies have kept people out of jails and prisons. | Newswire…

Austin Fisher — David Correia (2021-03-19). How AFSCME and ACLU Gutted New Mexico's Proposed Ban on Chemical Weapons, Attack Dogs, Rubber Bullets. counterpunch.org If police reform could fix what's wrong with policing in the United States, it would have already happened in Albuquerque. No police department in the U.S. has undergone more reform, over more years, than the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). None of it has worked. New Mexico consistently ranks among the states with the highest rate

John Catalinotto (2021-03-19). The Paris Commune's 150th anniversary — A blueprint for revolution. workers.org An uprising in Paris on March 18, 1871, toward the end of the Franco-Prussian War, burst open the structure of 19th-century European capitalist society. The 72-day social explosion in what would become the capital of the French Empire became the iconic blueprint for workers' revolution. Lessons of the Paris Commune, . . . |

Eds. (2021-03-19). Ten years since beginning of failed regime-change operation against Syria. mronline.org MR Online

Tom Engelhardt (2021-03-19). The Sports Pages of Death: Life in a Wounded and Wounding Land. juancole.com ( Tomdispatch.com) — Here's one of the things I now do every morning. I go to the online Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center and check out the figures there — global coronavirus cases and deaths, U.S. coronavirus cases and deaths. And I do so the way that, not so long ago, I would have opened …

Vijay Prashad (2021-03-19). There are so many lessons to learn from Kerala. mronline.org 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. | Newswire…

Al Neal (2021-03-19). Case of Sarah Everard, kidnapped and murdered by cop, sparks reform in Britain. peoplesworld.org Walking home alone in the darkness of night is a regular experience for many—whether they live in the busiest cities or the quietest towns. It is such a norm that many people never stop to think about safety. But for women everywhere, this action is often fraught with fear and anxiety. Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old …

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-19). From the Earth to the Moon: Biden's China Policy Doomed from the Start. counterpunch.org A much anticipated American foreign policy move under the Biden Administration on how to counter China's unhindered economic growth and political ambitions came in the form of a virtual summit on March 12, linking, aside from the United States, India, Australia and Japan. Although the so-called 'Quad' revealed nothing new in their joint statement, the

Jonah Raskin (2021-03-19). Art & Politics in San Francisco, 2021: Portraits of a City in Upheaval, Again. counterpunch.org Bay Area artist and teacher, Miranda Bergman, knows by heart the most famous lines in The Tempest. She ought to. Her Old Left parents named her after Shakespeare's feisty heroine who exclaims, "How amazing! How many wonderful creatures there are here! Mankind is so beautiful! Oh, what a wonderful new world that has such people

Eve Ottenberg (2021-03-19). How America Got the Vapors…Over ANTIFA. counterpunch.org It started last summer during the George Floyd Rebellion: alarming tales about left-wing terrorists, about hordes of antifa ready to invade dozy suburbs and burn down the local post office, Walmart and Starbucks. These wild fabrications percolated through right-wing media, causing a panicked spike in gun purchases, followed by announcements from red-blooded Amuricans in the Midwest and matrons from Florida that they were locked and loaded, ready to defend their real estate and SUVs from the battalions of communist terrorist antifa about to overrun their front lawns and trample azaleas, hydrangeas and any other be…

Robin Broad, John Cavanagh (2021-03-19). Water is Life, Can We Protect It? counterpunch.org From West Texas to Jackson, Mississippi, tens of millions of people struggled through late winter storms that froze pipes, broke water mains, and cut off electricity. They froze without showers, toilets, or washing machines — let alone drinking water — for days or even weeks. The irony that Texas, the state built on fossil fuels,

David Yearsley (2021-03-19). Travelers, Sour and Sentimental. counterpunch.org "I hate traveling and explorers." —Claude Levi-Strauss, Tristes tropiques (1955) Texas loosens, Italy locks down. With the skies mostly still clear and quiet, one can hear the collective champing at the bit before the gates open and vacationers charge into their first getaway in more than year. As Airbnb bookings surge, it's worth asking what

Steve Topple (2021-03-19). Ian Hislop exposed the Tories BS live on Question Time. thecanary.co It's rarely hard work pulling apart Conservative Party policy. But it is sometimes tricky to do it in a concise manner. So, enter Ian Hislop to annihilate a key Tory policy, live on BBC Question Time. | Nurses vs Nukes: | The UK's nuclear weapons programme Trident has once again hit the headlines. This time it's because changes

Tom Engelhardt (2021-03-19). Life in a Wounded and Wounding Land. counterpunch.org Here's one of the things I now do every morning. I go to the online Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center and check out the figures there — global coronavirus cases and deaths, U.S. coronavirus cases and deaths. And I do so the way that, not so long ago, I would have opened the sports pages

Craig Collins (2021-03-19). Villagers & Pillagers: Who Will Survive the Collapse? counterpunch.org Unless you live in a state of denial you're probably like me, troubled about the future. There's not much left of mine, but my daughter's generation and their children will have to survive the aftermath of fossil-fueled civilization on the ravaged, toxic planet we've left them. How will that look? Will democratic eco-settlements rise from

Callie McGrath (2021-03-19). Poor People's Campaign demonstrates for priorities in 30 state capitols. liberationnews.org Among the policies are "comprehensive, free, and just" COVID-19 relief; universal healthcare; redirection of the military budget to social needs; and many others.

Bob Lord — Chuck Collins (2021-03-19). No, the Rich Aren't Paying Their Fare Share. counterpunch.org We hear it all the time: The wealthy must pay their fair share in tax. Many of the wealthy, and the members of Congress they sponsor, contend they already are. And they have all sorts of facts and figures to make that appear true. After all, for a billionaire, even a tiny tax payment in

Vijay Prashad (2021-03-19). There are so many lessons to learn from Kerala. mronline.org MR Online

Vincent Emanuele (2021-03-19). The Iraq War: 18 Years Later. counterpunch.org 'You sit in your room, and you talk to the wall You're feeling small but still have a ball And you can't explain what's anyway in vain And you paint your face and dress in black Wear your shades and still can't express The way you feel about a lousy fill And you dance until

Éric Toussaint (2021-03-19). The Paris Commune of 1871, banks and debt. mronline.org 150 years ago, on 18 March 1871, the Paris Commune was born. | Newswire…

Staff (2021-03-19). Battleground Baltimore: Brandon Scott sets a progressive path. therealnews.com In this week's round-up of Baltimore news: Mayor Brandon Scott delivers his State of the City address, students and leaders look to end digital redlining, activists push for further cannabis reform, and more.

Éric Toussaint (2021-03-19). The Paris Commune of 1871, banks and debt. mronline.org MR Online

Eds. (2021-03-19). How Chesa Boudin is pursuing his promise to reduce incarceration. mronline.org MR Online