(2021-03-19). US accuses Beijing of sabotaging 'rules-based' world order & decries 'protocol violation' after Chinese hit back at Alaska talks. rt.com 
A war of words erupted as talks between US and Chinese officials kicked off in Alaska, with Secretary of State Tony Blinken accusing Beijing of undermining the global order, prompting a harsh rebuttal from his counterpart. | Blinken opened Thursday's summit with a series of charges against Beijing, voicing "deep concerns" about alleged "economic coercion" against US allies, rights abuses within China and the threat the country poses to the "rules-based order that maintains global stability." | The secretary's aggressive tone was soon matched by China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, seeing the first face-to-fa…
(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…
(2021-03-19). WATCH: Rand Paul challenges Fauci's ever-more-elaborate 'mask theatre' on Senate floor. rt.com 
US coronavirus czar Anthony Fauci has again butted heads with Republican senator (and fellow doctor) Rand Paul over the government's mask mandates. Paul got under Fauci's skin by denouncing current mask rules as "theater." | The Kentucky senator demanded Fauci explain why Americans who'd already been sick with Covid-19 and recovered, or received the vaccine should be "wearing masks well into 2022" during a Senate hearing on Thursday. Insisting there "no scientific studies arguing or proving that infection with Covid does not create immunity," Paul demanded the doctor cite "specific studies" to bolster his clai…
(2021-03-19). Ernesto Falcon on Internet for All, Alexander Kaufman on Future-Proofed Housing Codes. fair.org 
This week on CounterSpin: Reporters covering the pandemic can't help but note the impact of the digital divide: How do you work from home, or do remote learning, or even register for a vaccine, without not just available, but affordable high-speed internet? Yet a major congressional effort to end that divide is, so far, generating little interest from big media. It's almost as if the corporate press accepted the existence of information haves and have-nots, because that's how goods get divided in this country—even if it doesn't make technological, economic or humanitarian sense. We'll hear about the Access…
(2021-03-19). The Geopolitics of Vaccine Nationalism: Perspectives from Australia. counterpunch.org 
"The eagle has landed", said Australia's federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on 15 February 2021 referring to the arrival of the first international shipment of Pfeizer's Covid-19 vaccines in Australia. On the day which was supposed to be a vaccine response 'D-day' for Australia and to add a boost to the government's approval ratings, the
(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.
(2021-03-19). Oakland joins West Coast cities mandating hazard pay for grocery workers. peoplesworld.org 
OAKLAND, Calif. — Cities around the Bay Area have joined, or on the road to joining, the growing list of West Coast cities requiring large grocery outlets to provide their workers hazard pay while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors now requires large grocers to pay their frontline workers $5 more …
(2021-03-19). Covid, Consent and the Court of Protection. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
Many of the newly vaccinated booked their appointments with gusto and left with a sense of elation. For others the process wasn't so simple. We see a snapshot of this in a handful of reported cases from the Court of Protection: Re E [2021] EWCOP 7; SD v RBKC [2021] EWCOP 14; and Re CR …
(2021-03-19). Ley de ayuda por COVID evita miles de despidos en Hawái. peoplesworld.org 
Hacia finales de 2020, oficiales estatales de Hawái enfrentaban un déficit presupuestario de mas de $2 mil millones en gran parte por la pandemia del coronavirus. El Gobernador David Ige dijo que se podría ver obligado a despedir o descansar a miles de empleados estatales, muchos de ellos miembros de AFSCME, a partir de julio. …
(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
(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 …
(2021-03-19). Jack in the Box manager stabbed by homeless Texan after telling him to put on a coronavirus face mask — police. rt.com 
The manager of a Jack in the Box fast food restaurant in Texas was reportedly stabbed after telling a homeless customer to wear a coronavirus face mask. | According to League City Police Chief Gary Ratliff told re…
(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. …
(2021-03-19). There are so many lessons to learn from Kerala. mronline.org 
MR Online
(2021-03-19). The Paris Commune of 1871, banks and debt. mronline.org 
MR Online
(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 …
(2021-03-19). How Chesa Boudin is pursuing his promise to reduce incarceration. mronline.org 
MR Online
(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
(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…
(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
(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 …
(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
(2021-03-19). Ten years since beginning of failed regime-change operation against Syria. mronline.org 
MR Online
(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
(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
(2021-03-19). A People's History of the Civil Rights Movement. counterpunch.org 
The story of the Civil Rights movement is often told in a manner that glorifies certain Movement organizers and so-called leaders while ignoring the multitudes in the churches, the cotton fields, the hamlets of the South and the streets of the nation. This portrayal exists in spite of the ongoing reminders from those who have
(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
(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
(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 .
(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
(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 …
(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,
(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.
(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 …
(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
(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 . . . |
(2021-03-19). Police union defends convicted cops keeping their jobs. therealnews.com 
Why is it so hard to reform the police, let alone hold police accountable for abusing their power? What are the legal and political protections that have put police above the very law they're supposed to enforce?
(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
(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, . . . |
(2021-03-19). Why is it still so hard to get vaccinated in Massachusetts? liberationnews.org 
Massachusetts has a reputation for progressive policies, especially in healthcare. So why is the Bay State's COVID-19 vaccine rollout one of the sloppiest?
(2021-03-19). USSR to Russia. dissidentvoice.org 
In the early 1960s, the intensifying Cold War confrontation between the U.S. and the USSR was not only a terrifying nuclear-arms race, but also a struggle for prestige and influence vis-a-vis non-aligned Third World nations. The "Soviet" Union — founded on the promise of a dictatorship of proletarian councils — had long since become a …
(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 …
(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.
(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
(2021-03-19). Turkey's government moves court to disband opposition HDP. peoplesdispatch.org 
Turkey's chief prosecutor has filed a lawsuit in the constitutional court to disband the pro-Kurdish left-wing Peoples Democratic Party on charges of having links with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)…
(2021-03-19). Yemen's Houthis claim attack on Saudi Aramco oil refinery that sparked fire. middleeasteye.net 
Yemen's Houthis claim attack on Saudi Aramco oil refinery that sparked fire | The Houthis have escalated cross-border attacks in recent weeks, as fighting intensifies in Yemen's north | Fri, 03/19/2021 – 14: 09 | A man looks at a damaged silo a day after an attack at the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah, on 24 November 2020 (AFP) | A drone attack on an oil…
(2021-03-19). Mitch McConnell's No. 1 priority is Mitch McConnell. peoplesworld.org 
"He's got more nerve than Dick Tracy," my grandmother would say of a particularly shameless soul. (Okay, young folks, Tracy was a famous funny pages cop.) Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell keeps reminding me of my grandmother's observation. But the minority leader's calculated Road to Damascus conversion on Judge Merrick Garland might be his most cynical ploy. …
(2021-03-19). Having a Bad Day. thenation.com 
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(2021-03-19). "The Sum of Us": Heather McGhee on How Racism Undercuts the American Dream for Everyone. democracynow.org 
Amid a national reckoning with structural racism and the dangers of white supremacy, author Heather McGhee's new book details how racism in the United States hurts not just people of color but also white people. In "The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together," McGhee details how zero-sum thinking has worsened inequality and robbed people of all stripes of the public goods and support they need to thrive. We speak with McGhee about the cost of racism, Republican voter suppression efforts and what people can accomplish when they come together in solidarity across racial lines. "Fundam…
(2021-03-19). "Jim Crow in New Clothes": In First Senate Speech, Raphael Warnock Slams GOP Assault on Voting Rights. democracynow.org 
Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, whose election in January helped bring the chamber under Democratic control, used his first speech on the floor of the Senate this week to assail Republican efforts to restrict voting rights. He called the raft of voter suppression bills being introduced in states across the country "Jim Crow in new clothes," denounced false claims of voter fraud spread by Donald Trump and others, and called on Congress to pass the For the People Act, also known as H.R. 1, a sweeping voting reform bill that would greatly expand access to the ballot. "Make no mistake: This is democracy in reverse,"