Monthly Archives: March 2021

2021-03-18: News Headlines

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 …

Tom Hussain (2021-03-18). India's Cunning De-escalation after Setting Kashmir Alight. asia-pacificresearch.com

Lavanya Thavaraja (2021-03-18). Australia: Can We Challenge Racism Without Challenging Capitalism? asia-pacificresearch.com

Brian Berletic (2021-03-18). Myanmar: Hidden Opposition Violence. asia-pacificresearch.com

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 …

Anish R M (2021-03-18). Atlanta shooting: Shock and outrage as authorities deny hate crime. peoplesdispatch.org Multiple shooting incidents occurred at three massage parlors in the US city Atlanta and in Acworth, an adjoining suburb in the state of Georgia, on Tuesday, March 16. The attack, suspected to have been conducted entirely by a single person, left eight murdered and one wounded. Of the eight people killed, seven were women, of which six were of Asian descent. The South Korean foreign ministry confirmed that at least four of the victims were of Korean descent, while local authorities in Atlanta are yet to confirm the exact nationality and origin of the killed workers. | The suspect, a 21-year-old man named Robert A…

Sophia Purdy-Moore (2021-03-18). The spa shootings show growing anti-Asian racism must be stamped out. thecanary.co On 16 March, a gunman The spa shootings: | Police arrested 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long and charged him with several counts of murder. Police have identified four of those killed as Ashley Yaun, 33, Paul Andre Michels, 54, Xiaojie Tan, 49, and Daoyou Feng, 44. Although he admitted to the shootings — and most of the victims were Asian women — Long has denied that the attacks were racially motivated. | People have criticised sh…

_____ (2021-03-18). VIDEO: The U.S. Pivot to Asia: Cold War Lessons From Vietnam for Today. strategic-culture.org There were Cold War preparations underway as early as August 1945 and the two regions selected, Korea and Vietnam, were pre-planned years in advance before the actual wars were to take place. Watch the video and read more in the

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). 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…

RT (2021-03-18). NYT accused of 'fueling anti-Asian racism' over headline on Chinese vaccine 'made from hamster cells'. rt.com The New York Times was accused of "soft racism" after running a headline about how China's latest Covid-19 vaccine is "made from the ovary cells of hamsters" on the same day shootings in Georgia left six Asian women dead. | In the Tuesday

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…

RT (2021-03-18). Suspected assailant of elderly Chinese woman in San Francisco ends up handcuffed to stretcher after she BEATS HIM UP with stick. rt.com The latest apparent case of unprovoked violence against vulnerable Asian-American people didn't end well for the alleged attacker, who required a trip to hospital after his intended target proved to be too tough for him. | The incident took place on Market Street in San Francisco on Wednesday morning and was first reported by the local CBS affiliate KPIX, whose sports director Dennis O'Donnell happened to be jogging nearby and filmed the aftermath of the altercation. | pic.twitter.com/5o8r0eeHE2— Dennis O'Donnell (@DennisKPIX) Adrian Brown, Stuart W. Flint, Anastasia Z. Kalea, Mary O'Kane, Simon Williams, Rachel L. Batterham (2021-03-18). [Research Paper] Negative impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown upon health-related behaviours and psychological wellbeing in people living with severe and complex obesity in the UK. thelancet.com This study shows the detrimental impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on PLWO in relation to health-related behaviours, mental health and access to WMS. Our findings show that PLWO with poor mental health and those attending WMS were most adversely impacted and highlights the need for greater mental health support and continued provision of support from WMS for PLWO during future lockdowns.

Online News Editor (2021-03-18). Spain legalizes euthanasia, assisted suicide. laprensalatina.com Madrid, Mar 18 (efe-epa).- Spain's parliament on Thursday approved a law legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, becoming only the seventh country in the world to do so. The law stipulates that adult patients facing unbearable suffering due to a serious injury or an illness that is considered incurable by a doctor can request euthanasia. The …

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.

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 …

Susan Price (2021-03-18). United States: Biden continues conflict with China through the Quad. greenleft.org.au Rather than being "a force for global good", the goal of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is to deepen military and economic pressure on China, writes Vijay Prashad.

Susan Price (2021-03-18). Biden continues US conflict with China through the Quad. greenleft.org.au Rather than being "a force for global good", the goal of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as the Quad, is to deepen military and economic pressure against China, writes Vijay Prashad.

Peter Koenig (2021-03-18). China: Leading to World Recovery and Beyond. dissidentvoice.org China's currently ongoing (4-11 March 2021) annual parliamentary meeting, known as the "Two Sessions", the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People's Congress (NPC), may be the most important of such meetings in recent years. The event is also celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The conference …

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…

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. …

Online News Editor (2021-03-18). Russia urges Taliban, Afghanistan to avoid further peace process delays. laprensalatina.com Moscow, Mar 18 (efe-epa).- An Afghan peace conference began in Moscow Thursday that brought together the Kabul government and Taliban negotiators and foreign observers to help speed up the stagnated peace process. The host Russia urged the two sides to avoid further delays in jump-starting the peace talks that have been going on since September …

Stephen Lendman (2021-03-18). "Russia-AgainGate": Dead-End In US-Russia Relations? Putin "Must Pay A Price" for Election Meddling, Says Biden. globalresearch.ca In short order since replacing Trump two months ago by brazen …

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,

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 …

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

_____ (2021-03-18). Threatening Syria's First Lady Shows NATO's Depravity. strategic-culture.org Threatening Syria's First Lady — a national heroine — with prosecution for war crimes is NATO powers reaching into the gutter, Finian Cunningham writes. | This week marks the 10th anniversary since the United States and its NATO allies launched a devastating covert war of aggression for regime change in Syria. Ten years on, the Arab nation is struggling with war reconstruction, a struggle made all the more onerous because of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. | Syria and allied forces from Russia, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah won the war, defeating legions of…

yenisafak (2021-03-18). Indian court halts Rohingya deportation. yenisafak.com The Indian Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea challenging the detention of over 150 detained Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar, setting a hearing date for March 25.At least 155 Rohingya "illegal immigrants" were detained by local police in different areas of the disputed Jammu region earlier this month.According to the local newspaper The Hindu, Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde accepted to hear the plea for the halt of refugees' detention and proposed deportation."We approached the court regarding the detention of 155 Rohingyas and pleaded to stop Indian authorities from deporting them ba…

Juan Cole (2021-03-18). Yemenis face Famine of the Century and Mass Starvation unless President Biden pressures Saudis to Stop Port Blockade. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley said at a news conference this week covered by al-`Arabi al-Jadid (The New Arab) that five million out of 28 million Yemenis are in severe danger of starvation and 16 million are food-insecure. Food insecurity is a state of being …

Juan Cole (2021-03-18). Yemenis face Famine of the Century. zcomm.org Biden must pressure Saudis to Stop Port Blockade…

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 …

alexander (2021-03-18). Equal Pay Day Highlights Inequality. dsausa.org Each year, Equal Pay Day tracks how far into the next year the median woman has to work to earn what the median man earns in a calendar year. In 2020, Equal Pay Day occurred on March 31; this year it is March 24. Wow—have we closed almost a tenth of the gender pay gap in one year? | No. | The COVID-19 pandemic's initial impact was to destroy a large number of low-wage jobs held by women, artificially decreasing the wage gap between men and women. These service sector jobs—leisure, hospitality, dining—disappeared first as the pandemic caused people to limit face-to-face interaction with strang…

MEE staff (2021-03-18). Biden administration planning to 'reset' relations with Palestinians: Report. middleeasteye.net Biden administration planning to 'reset' relations with Palestinians: Report | State Department is reportedly mulling over plans to provide $15m in Covid-19 aid in addition to several other initiatives set to mend ties, according to draft memo | Thu, 03/18/2021 – 15: 07 | Palestinians react as Israeli authorities prepare to demolish a house located within a village south of Yatta in southern area of West Bank…

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…

Online News Editor (2021-03-18). Vaccines flown into Nepal from Bahrain turn out to be unapproved Chinese jabs. laprensalatina.com Kathmandu, Mar 18 (efe-epa).- Nepal on Thursday said the 2,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses brought to the country by a Bahraini prince were Chinese jabs not approved by the health authorities of the Himalayan nation. The vaccine doses brought in by Sheikh Mohamed Hamad Mohamed al-Khalifa for an unauthorized small-scale vaccination campaign were thought to be …

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

Peoples Dispatch (2021-03-18). Opposition grows against Canada's decision to buy drones from Israel. peoplesdispatch.org Citing manufacturer Elbit System's human rights record, pro-Palestine groups say that purchase of drones from Israeli companies strengthens the occupation of Palestine. Elbit has faced numerous protests by the Palestinian BDS movement…

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., …

South Front (2021-03-18). Video: Israel Is Back with Airstrikes as Turkey Scrambles to Salvage Some Oil in Syria. globalresearch.ca As has become customary in recent weeks, after the relative success …

Editor (2021-03-18). MSM Journalists Double Down on Russia Lies. scheerpost.com By Glenn Greenwald / Substack Journalists with the largest and most influential media outlets disseminated an outright and quite significant lie on Tuesday to hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, on Twitter. While some of them were shamed into acknowledging the falsity of their claim, many refused to, causing it to continue to spread up until this very moment. It is well worth… |

RT (2021-03-18). 'Blackwater had bad days in Iraq too': Outrage after media links sheriff probing Atlanta parlors massacre to mercenary outfit. rt.com Twitter erupted after reports that the sheriff who is investigating the Atlanta parlors massacre may have links to the notorious private military company, Blackwater. His office was previously accused of harboring racism. | The Cherokee County Sheriff's office headed by Sheriff Frank Reynolds attracted national attention this week over its role in investigating the killings of eight people, including six women, at massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia. The shooting rampage was quickly labeled by the left to be the latest example of racially motivated violence by a presumed white supremacist. | Also on rt.com

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

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."

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

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

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.

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.

2021-03-17: News Headlines

Tina Ngo, Wai Lee Chin Feman, Bethie Wang (2021-03-17). Why are hate crimes against Asian Americans on the rise? liberationnews.org Over the past year, we have seen an alarming surge in racist violence directed toward Asian Americans.

Dianne Mathiowetz (2021-03-17). Killings of Korean women reflects U.S. misogyny and racism. workers.org Demonstrators at "Love Our Communities: Build Collective Power" rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence in Los Angeles, March 13. Atlanta Beginning at 5 p.m., March 16, the first horrific news of the murders of four people and the wounding of a fifth at Young's Asian Massage in Acworth, a . . . |

Brian Berletic (2021-03-17). US Will Seek to Meddle in Thai Constitutional Referendum. asia-pacificresearch.com

UNICEF (2021-03-17). COVID-19 and Girls' Education in East Asia and Pacific. asia-pacificresearch.com

Stevan Harrell (2021-03-17). The Evolution of the East Asian Eco-Developmental State. asia-pacificresearch.com

Tom Clifford (2021-03-17). Britain's "Pivots to Asia" to Contain China. globalresearch.ca Trading places. What took so long? | From east of Suez to …

Johanna Kichton (2021-03-17). People's Action Statement on Anti-Asian and Gender-Based Violence. peoplesaction.org Contact: Johanna Kichton, press@peoplesaction.org, 240.206.1145 WASHINGTON, D.C.—People's Action Health Care for All Campaign Director Connie Huynh today released the following statement in response to recent anti-Asian, gendered violence committed in Georgia: "I am sick with rage and sadness. A 21-year-old white man murdered eight people yesterday, six of them Asian women. My heart breaks for all the …

Mehr News Agency (2021-03-17). US accuses China of raising tensions in East Asia. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Mar. 17 (MNA) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of acting aggressively and repressively in East Asia.

Staff (2021-03-17). Headlines for March 17, 2021. democracynow.org Gunman Kills 8 People, Almost All Women of Asian Descent, at Three Atlanta Spas, Report Finds a Third of COVID Deaths Tied to Lack of Insurance as Dems Reintroduce Medicare for All, WH to Increase Vaccines for COVID Hot Spots; Tribal Groups Open Up Inoculations for All Oklahomans, WHO Urges Against "Vaccine Passports" Due to Widespread Inequality in Access, New Report Details Horrific Blaze That Killed Dozens of Refugees at Yemeni Migrant Jail, Colombian Journalist Accuses Paramilitaries of Rape, Torture in Testimony to Inter-American Court, U.K. Lifts Cap on Nuclear Arsenal as U.S. Considers Plan for $100 Billio…

Online News Editor (2021-03-17). Massage parlor shootings suspect blames them for his sex addiction. laprensalatina.com By Lucia Leal Washington, Mar 17 (efe-epa).- The suspect in the deadly shootings this week at three Asian massage parlors in Atlanta denied having a racist motive for the attacks and blamed the massage parlors for his own "addiction to sex," local authorities said on Wednesday. The shootings, which left eight people dead, including six …

yenisafak (2021-03-17). 'Myanmar crisis again proves ASEAN bloc's impotence'. yenisafak.com Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are failing to effectively address the crisis unfolding in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, a group of politicians from six regional countries said on Wednesday."While the brave pro-democracy protesters of Myanmar are being killed by the military junta, all other ASEAN governments are demonstrating a lack of political will and unity to pressure the military junta to end the killings," said a joint statement by six prominent former and current lawmakers from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand.They are Cambodian o…

Staff (2021-03-17). Asian Americans Reel in Response to Gun Attack on Massage Parlors in Georgia. truthout.org A 21-year-old white man was taken into custody Tuesday night as the primary suspect in three metro Atlanta massage parlor shootings that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent. | While law enforcement officials have yet to determine suspected gunman Robert Aaron Long's motive, advocacy groups and lawmakers feared that the massacre was an anti-Asian hate crime given the establishments targeted and the victims, which also included a white man and woman. | Stop AAPI Hate, a…

RT (2021-03-17). 8 killed in string of shootings at THREE different spas across metro Atlanta, Georgia. rt.com A series of shootings at three different spas in the Atlanta, Georgia area has left at least eight people dead and several others injured. A 21-year-old suspect was taken into custody following an intense manhunt. | Police responded to reports of a shooting at Young's Asian Massage near Acworth, Georgia — a suburb of Atlanta — on Tuesday, finding five suffering from gunshot wounds when they arrived, Cherokee County Sheriff's spokesperson Howard Baker told local media. Two were pronounced dead at the scene, while two more victims succumbed to their injuries after being transported to a hospital for tr…

_____ (2021-03-17). The U.S. Pivot to Asia: Cold War Lessons From Vietnam for Today. strategic-culture.org There were Cold War preparations underway as early as August 1945 and the two regions selected, Korea and Vietnam, were pre-planned years in advance before the actual wars were to take place, Cynthia Chung writes. | In L…

news.un (2021-03-17). South Asia: Sharp rise in child and maternal deaths due to COVID-19. news.un.org Severe disruptions in health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in an additional 239,000 child and maternal deaths in South Asia last year, United Nations agencies said on Wednesday.

news.un (2021-03-17). South Asia: Sharp rise in child, maternal deaths due to COVID-19-induced disruptions. news.un.org Severe disruptions in health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in an additional 239,000 child and maternal deaths in South Asia last year, United Nations agencies said on Wednesday.

Mohamed Younis (2021-03-17). New High in Americans' Perceptions of China as "U.S.'s Greatest Enemy" globalresearch.ca China is upheld as an Enemy of America. | America's perceptions regarding …

Mohamed Younis (2021-03-17). New High in American's Perceptions of China as U.S.'s Greatest Enemy. globalresearch.ca China is upheld as an Enemy of America. | America's perceptions regarding …

Stephen Lendman (2021-03-17). Upcoming Sino/US Talks in Alaska. globalresearch.ca On Thursday, China's Central Committee official/Foreign Affairs Director Yang Jiechi and …

Democracy Now! (2021-03-17). Vijay Prashad Warns Biden Is "Doubling Down" on Trump's Anti-China Cold War. dissidentvoice.org Beijing has accused the U.S. of perpetuating a Cold War mentality as President Joe Biden and senior administration officials shore up alliances in the Pacific region to counter China's growing influence and increasingly describe the country as a geopolitical threat. Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, says the "bellicose" tone out of …

Mehr News Agency (2021-03-17). Beijing expresses protest over new US sanctions. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Mar. 17 (MNA) — Beijing opposes the new US sanctions related to Hong Kong, as it sees the move as interference in China's domestic affairs, the foreign ministry's spokesman Zhao Lijian, said on Wednesday, warning of retaliative steps.

_____ (2021-03-17). Vaccine Diplomacy Is Paying Off For China. popularresistance.org Vaccines have had a place in diplomacy since the Cold War era. The country that can manufacture and distribute lifesaving injections to others less fortunate sees a return on its investment in the form of soft power: prestige, goodwill, perhaps a degree of indebtedness, even awe. Today the country moving fastest toward consolidating these gains may be China, under President Xi Jinping, who proclaimed last May that Chinese-made vaccines against COVID-19 would become a "global public good." Since that time, top officials have promised many developing countries priority access to Chinese vaccines, and the Chinese Fo…

RT (2021-03-17). US intel report claims Russia 'probably' tried to sway 2020 election (as well as Iran, Venezuela & Cuba… but not China). rt.com The Joe Biden administration is reportedly preparing new sanctions against Russia after an intelligence assessment claimed to find attempts at interference by Moscow, Tehran and other usual suspects in the 2020 presidential race. | A

RT (2021-03-17). With Trump gone & despite 'BLAME RUSSIA' still MSM's favorite rallying cry, Americans perceive China as nation's top adversary. rt.com Russia is no longer the No. 1 geopolitical bogeyman in the eyes of Americans, falling from that spot for the first time in three years, as a new Gallup poll shows people are far more concerned about the threats posed by China.

RT (2021-03-17). With Trump gone & despite 'BLAME RUSSIA' remaining MSM's favorite rallying cry, Americans perceive China as nation's top adversary. rt.com Russia is no longer the No. 1 geopolitical bogeyman in the eyes of Americans, falling from that spot for the first time in three years, as a new Gallup poll shows people are far more concerned about the threat posed by China.

Zero Hedge (2021-03-17). US Admits Waging InfoWar Against Russia's Sputnik Vaccine to "Combat Malign Influence" globalresearch.ca The Kremlin on Tuesday called out

The Conversation (2021-03-17). Every day is war' — a decade of slow suffering and destruction in Syria. juancole.com By Ammar Azzouz | — Abduljalil sent me a photo of his ruined home in Homs, Syria. "It is the third floor", he told me over WhatsApp. The building still stands but it looks like an empty skeleton. Most of its facade has been destroyed, while piles of debris surround it. Residents have not been …

Eds. (2021-03-17). Trigger words and the duty of revolutionaries in the Internet era. mronline.org MR Online

Judy Greenspan (2021-03-17). California rally: 'Union busting is disgusting!'. workers.org San Francisco, March 12 San Francisco March 12 — Labor union and community members rallied today in front of the offices of Morgan Lewis, a law firm with offices in 31 cities around the world with a sordid history of union busting. Morgan Lewis was recently hired by Amazon to . . . |

Martha Grevatt (2021-03-17). Bust the filibuster! Pass the PRO Act! workers.org On March 9 the House of Representatives passed the Protect the Right to Organize Act, the most sweeping amendment to the 1935 National Labor Relations Act since the notorious, union-busting Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Unions are now demanding the Senate pass the PRO Act, which undoes parts of Taft-Hartley and . . . |

Binoy Kampmark (2021-03-17). The University Deception: Rankings and Academic Freedom. counterpunch.org Forget the global university rankings of any list. The global university promotion exercise is filled with snake oil and perfumed refuse, an effort to corrupt the unknowing and steal from the gullible. The aim here is to convince parents, potential students and academics that their institutions of white collar crime are appealing enough to warrant

M. G. Piety (2021-03-17). Diversity and False Dichotomies at Smith College. counterpunch.org Can exchanges between individuals always unproblematically be characterized as either racist or not racist? Bret Stephens appears to think so. Smith College hired an independent law firm to investigate what a student argued was a racist incident on campus back in 2018. The investigation ended with a finding of "no persuasive evidence of bias." This

Andrew Bankson (2021-03-17). Pittsburgh's city budget works for the police but not for the people. liberationnews.org The Pittsburgh city budget is a further entrenchment of the same capitalist status quo…

Climate Nexus (2021-03-17). Environmentalists seek climate action in U.S. infrastructure bill. peoplesworld.org Environmental groups are launching a $10 million push for Congress to make climate change central to infrastructure legislation. "The Great American Build" campaign, a joint effort of Climate Power, the League of Conservation Voters and Potential Energy Coalition, will pressure lawmakers to include funding for climate action as part of the emerging infrastructure package. "Americans elected pro-climate …

Chauncey K. Robinson (2021-03-17). One year later: Don't forget about Breonna Taylor. peoplesworld.org Her death sparked a movement for change. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demand accountability for months following the killing of Breonna Taylor and other African Americans at the hands of police. On the one-year anniversary of Taylor's death, there is still justice to be fought for. The fight goes beyond a trending …

Media Lens (2021-03-17). The Impossible Peter Oborne. dissidentvoice.org On the face of it, Peter Oborne is impossible. It's not possible to be educated at Sherborne independent school, at Cambridge University, to work as political editor of the Spectator, as chief political commentator of The Daily Telegraph, as a journalist at the Evening Standard, as a commentator at the Express, to make nearly 30 …

Mark Gruenberg (2021-03-17). Columbia University forces TAs, RAs to strike, again. peoplesworld.org NEW YORK—For the second time in four years, Columbia University's intransigent bosses' refusal to meaningfully bargain for a contract with their more than 2,000 teaching assistants and resident assistants forced those workers to strike. The walkout began on March 16, even though a three-and-a-half-hour bargaining session was scheduled for that afternoon. The two sides are …

Eds. (2021-03-17). Magellan, inquisition and globalisation. mronline.org MR Online

Editor (2021-03-17). Defend voting rights! workers.org The former Republican president may be absent from the corporate media these days, but his racist and pro-rich ideas live on in all reactionary political institutions and organizations. This ideology flourishes in the Republican Party's current assault on the universal right to vote. We are well aware of the limitations . . . |

Vijay Prashad (2021-03-17). Biden continues conflict with China through the Quad. zcomm.org The real purpose of the Quad is not to advance solutions to the great challenges of our time, but to slow China's technological progress…

Tomdispatch (2021-03-17). On January 6th, the U.S. Became a Foreign Country. juancole.com By Kevin Tillman | — ( Tomdispatch.com) — Just about everyone was shocked by what happened at the Capitol building on January 6th. But as a former soldier in America's forever wars, horrifying as the scenes were, I also found what happened strangely familiar, almost inevitable. I thought that, if only we had taken our …

Ellis Cose (2021-03-17). Racial Justice and Civil Liberties: An Inseparable History at the ACLU. aclu.org After World War I, it quickly became clear that the war to make the world "safe for democracy" had not made America safe for equality. Anti-Black race riots ripped through Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., and even Elaine, Arkansas. In October 1919, after Black sharecroppers in Elaine convened a union meeting, newspapers labeled the effort a "Negro uprising." The state mobilized troops and mobs to quell the rebellion. The result was "possibly the bloodiest racial conflict in the history of the United States," concluded the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. | The American Civil Liberties Union's origin…

Kathy Durkin (2021-03-17). Philippine activists demand: 'Stop the killings and arrests!'. workers.org "Kill them all!" ordered Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, addressing the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines on March 5. Two days later, state forces following the dictator's edict carried out a deadly attack on progressive activists in the Southern Tagalog region. Protest against the March 7 massacre . . . |

Parth M.N. (2021-03-17). India's Farm Crisis: "How Long Will the Lies Work?" counterpunch.org If it weren't for the violent blows of police lathi s, the farmers protesting in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district would not have left their protest site on January 27. "The protest had been going on for 40 days," says Brijpal Singh, 52, a sugarcane farmer from Baraut town, where the sit-in was held. "It was not

John Wojcik, C.J. Atkins (2021-03-17). Biden administration 'tackling' difficult border situation, progressives say step up the pace. peoplesworld.org In its attempts to deal with rising numbers of immigrants at the southwest border, the Biden administration is facing strong criticism from many different sources, some of it legitimate but much of it outrageously hypocritical. The administration's head of Homeland Security insisted yesterday that the situation is "under control." He made that assertion during a …

Eds. (2021-03-17). The watchdogs of imperialism and the Uyghur genocide slander. mronline.org MR Online

G. Dunkel (2021-03-17). Greek unions say 'No!' to police violence. workers.org The banner of the Federation of Construction Workers (member of the All Workers Militant Front — PAME) at an anti-police violence march in Greece, March 9. Behind the union banner of the Federation of Construction Workers of Greece bearing the slogan "Money for health and education! No to repression and . . . |

Walden Bello (2021-03-17). John Locke and the Roots of White Supremacy in the US. counterpunch.org Ideas count — sometimes, they are even stronger than material interests. This is the case with the legacy of 17th century philosopher John Locke in the United States, which is central to explaining why class solidarity is so weak while white racial solidarity is so strong. Recent events have confirmed the unfortunate fact that there

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-17). The Ongoing Calamity: US Collective Punishment of the Venezuelan People Must End. dissidentvoice.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, …

Alan Macleod (2021-03-17). Twitter Deletes QAnon to Protect US from Upheaval; Russia May Delete Twitter for the Same Reason. mintpressnews.com With American social media companies increasingly controlled by the national security state, Russia is considering bans on the likes of Twitter and YouTube.