(2021-03-12). Yemen: Sanaa migrant centre fire survivors grieve as death toll mounts. middleeasteye.net 
Yemen: Sanaa migrant centre fire survivors grieve as death toll mounts | New footage shows scores of charred bodies inside overcrowded hangar detaining mostly Ethiopian migrants, as Houthis and IOM trade blame | Fri, 03/12/2021 – 11: 23 | Ethiopians and other nationals wait in Djibouti as they prepare to be smuggled to Saudi Arabia from Yemen in December 2010 (AFP) | It was just after m…
(2021-03-12). Headlines for March 12, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Signs Coronavirus Relief Bill, Pledges to Make Vaccines Available to All U.S. Adults by May 1, Denmark, Norway and Iceland Halt AstraZeneca Vaccinations over Blood Clot Fears, World Food Programme Warns 34 Million Face Famine in Yemen, Ethiopia and Beyond, Biden to Meet Leaders of Japan, India and Australia in Anti-China "Quad Summit", Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor Indicted for Murder of Michael Ramos, Judge Reinstates Third-Degree Murder Charge Against Ex-Cop Derek Chauvin, Who Killed George Floyd, Report Condemns LAPD's Mishandling of BLM Protests; Kentucky Tries to Make "Taunting" a Cop a Crim…
(2021-03-12). Saudi Arabia sacks Hajj minister. yenisafak.com Saudi Arabia's minister of Hajj and Umrah has been removed from…
(2021-03-12). Egypt imposes visa fee on nationals of Arab countries. yenisafak.com Egyptian authorities on Thursday announced an entry visa fee for nationals of Arab countries.The Egyptian government gazette published a decision by Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfiq on the visa fee for citizens of Arab countries visiting Egypt.The decision exempted nations that had previously signed exemption agreements with Egypt, but did not specify these countries.In June, Egypt said it imposed entry visa fee on Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, in addition to a previous decision imposing entry visa fee on Qatari citizens effective as of November 2017.*Ahmed…
(2021-03-12). Saudi Arabia's King Salman sacks pilgrimage minister. middleeasteye.net 
Saudi Arabia's King Salman sacks pilgrimage minister | The kingdom has suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic from a lack of income from pilgrims | Fri, 03/12/2021 – 14: 30 | Handout from the Saudi Press Agency on 15 December 2020 shows Saudi Arabia's King Salman signing the 2021 state budget following a virtual cabinet meeting in the capital Riyadh (AFP) | Sauid Arabia's minister overseein…
(2021-03-12). Clubhouse: Can the social platform flourish in the Gulf? middleeasteye.net 
Clubhouse: Can the social platform flourish in the Gulf? | The new app has garnered many users in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait – but will authorities let their citizens use it freely? | Fri, 03/12/2021 – 12: 01 | A woman checks the Clubhouse app on her phone in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on 6 March 2021 (AFP) | Clubhouse, the new voice-only social networking app touted as a platform…
(2021-03-12). Elections under Fire: Palestine's Impossible Democracy Dilemma. dissidentvoice.org 
Many Palestinian intellectuals and political analysts find themselves in the unenviable position of having to declare a stance on whether they support or reject upcoming Palestinian elections which are scheduled for May 22 and July 30. But there are no easy answers. The long-awaited decree by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last January to hold …
(2021-03-12). Do Organists Dream of Electric Sheep? counterpunch.org 
In his encyclopedic cinderblock of a book Musurgia Universalis of 1650, the German polymath Athanasius Kircher imagined God as an organist pulling out a new stop on each new day of Creation and playing the world's beings into life. Kircher didn't mention any Pandemic Pipes in his World Organ, but they have been sounding for
(2021-03-12). Fukushima at Ten: Aftershocks, Lies, and Failed Decontamination. counterpunch.org 
It's now 10 years since the catastrophic triple meltdowns of reactors at Fukushima in Japan. As Joseph Mangano of the Radiation and Public Health project put it three years ago, "Enormous amounts of radioactive chemicals, including cesium, strontium, plutonium, and iodine were emitted into the air, and releases of the same toxins into the Pacific have never stopped, as workers struggle to contain over 100 cancer-causing chemicals."
(2021-03-12). Haiti protests: 'MoàØse, U.S., UN out!'. workers.org 
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians took to the streets of Port-au-Prince Sunday, March 7, to demand the departure of President Jovenel MoàØse, whose term of office has expired. The protesters raised the corruption under MoàØse's PHTK (Haitian Party of Tèt Kale), which has stolen or squandered billions of dollars of . . . |
(2021-03-12). To mine or not to mine? Alberta coal confusion puts water in danger. peoplesworld.org 
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada—Conservative Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's government has been dancing all over the place lately when it comes to coal policy. First, they talk to Australian coal mining companies before letting Albertans know they are planning to rescind a 1976 coal policy that forbids mountaintop removal coal mining. When outrage mounted, they announced that …
(2021-03-12). More on H.R.1/S.1: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. counterpunch.org 
The "For the People Act" (H.R.1/S.1) passed the House on March 3 and is now under consideration by the Senate. The bill was also adopted by the House in 2019 but had no chance of passage in the Senate with the Republicans in control. But now that this voting and elections reform bill has become
(2021-03-12). No Matter How Bad, COVID Makes It Worse. counterpunch.org 
It's disquieting to see profit-incentivized entities turn into major vaccination hubs—many people now routinely go to drug stores to get their flu shots. Until such time as the American government catches up with the rest of the world–and creates the public health care system we so desperately need—it looks as if the large pharmacy chains will remain central to the patchwork, makeshift future of pandemic response
(2021-03-12). Cuba's reforms raise public sector salaries, broaden self-employment options. peoplesworld.org 
Starting in January 2021, Cuba began to implement broad economic reforms designed to increase production and exports in an effort to mitigate the effects of the U.S. blockade and the coronavirus pandemic. The following article, republished from the Turkish media site Sol ("The Left"), analyzes the first month of the reforms and their impact on …
(2021-03-12). Ecuadorian Indigenous Leader: "We must get out of the Correaism-Anticorreism polarization" mronline.org 
MR Online
(2021-03-12). Amy Poehler's new film 'Moxie': Growing up female in 2020. peoplesworld.org 
Amy Poehler's new Netflix film Moxie is not perfect. But it is very, very good. It's a smart, funny, entertaining look at how growing up female in 2020 is similar and different from growing up in the Sixties and Nineties, or any other time for that matter. Now we know what the prolific writer-director-actress Poehler …
(2021-03-12). Police Violence, Racial Justice and Class. counterpunch.org 
The racial justice protests of the summer of 2020 tied to four years of #Resistance, but more precisely to the unresolved Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests of 2014 — 2015 that preceded it. What both BLM movements accomplished was to elevate racial justice as a talking point without altering the distribution of power. Broader questions
(2021-03-12). The Necessity of Dismantling the U.S.—A conversation with Ajamu Baraka. counterpunch.org 
On February 26th, I interviewed Ajamu Baraka for my podcast. Baraka is a veteran grassroots organizer whose roots are in the Black Liberation Movement and anti-apartheid and Central American solidarity struggles. He is an internationally recognized leader of the emerging human rights movement in the U.S. and has been at the forefront of efforts to
(2021-03-12). Neoliberalism was born in Chile; Neoliberalism will die in Chile. mronline.org 
MR Online
(2021-03-12). We need to decolonize our understanding of antisemitism. mronline.org 
MR Online
(2021-03-12). Livestock and Deforestation in the American West. counterpunch.org 
The dawn breaks each morning on a hundred different mountain ranges in the Great Basin, with few human eyes to see it. Many of these mountain chains will be unfamiliar to most — the Toquimas, the Wah Wahs, the Goshutes, the Sheeprocks, the Fox Range — but the one thing they all have in common
(2021-03-12). The ICC and Israel's Charge of Anti-Semitism. counterpunch.org 
We are at a critical historical juncture in which it is becoming increasingly difficult to criticize Israel without being branded an anti-Semite. You are an anti-Semite if you support the International Criminal Court's recent ruling that it has jurisdiction to open a war crimes investigation against Israel. But you are also likely to be called an anti-Semite if you reject the logic informing the court's decision.
(2021-03-12). Data confirms what we already knew: Pandemic hit people of color harder. peoplesworld.org 
NEW YORK (AP)—A year ago, Elvia Banuelos' life was looking up. The 39-year-old mother of two young children said she felt confident about a new management-level job with the U.S. Census Bureau—she would earn money to supplement the child support she receives to keep her children healthy, happy, and in daycare. But when the coronavirus …
(2021-03-12). Israel has Detained 13,000 Palestinian Children since 2000 and just took 5 more. juancole.com 
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — Since the year 2000, the Israeli military in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank has "detained, interrogated, prosecuted, and imprisoned approximately 13,000 Palestinian children," according to Defense for Children International. Nowadays Israel typically prosecutes between 500 and 700 children annually in military courts. Even though they are civilians and children, they …
(2021-03-12). Free Khalida Jarrar! workers.org 
In advance of International Women's Day on March 8, Israel sentenced one of Palestine's most prominent women to two years in prison, in a military court wherein no evidence could be presented against her except her affiliation with an outlawed political organization. Khalida Jarrar, a senior leader in the Popular . . . |
(2021-03-12). Why Tunisians are still out on the streets — a decade after the Arab Spring. juancole.com 
By Saerom Han, Andrea Teti, and Pamela Abbott | — It has been 10 years since nation-wide protests in Tunisia led to the ousting of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his regime. Ben Ali led Tunisia for 23 years. Tunisia's "Dignity Revolution" marked the first time a long-standing Arab autocrat was removed …
(2021-03-12). San Francisco: $5/hour COVID hazard pay for grocery, pharmacy workers. peoplesworld.org 
San Francisco this week joined the growing number of Bay Area cities mandating hazard pay for grocery workers, when its Board of Supervisors on March 9 unanimously passed an emergency ordinance requiring large grocers and pharmacies to pay their workers an additional $5 per hour during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city had earlier urged, but …
(2021-03-12). Leaving Afghanistan by May 1? Alas, Not Likely. counterpunch.org 
Will the U.S. military ever leave Afghanistan? The answer appears to be no. When the U.S. military comes it stays. It's been in Germany since the 1940s, and now has expanded, with its attack dog, NATO, from there throughout Eastern Europe to menace Russia. The Afghan adventure has so far lasted 20 years and cost two trillion dollars. Afghanistan provides a convenient, imperial base from which to threaten China. The U.S. military, realistically, will never want to give that up.
(2021-03-12). The white establishment rebels against community policing. therealnews.com 
This week, in lieu of a new episode of PAR, we have a special interview with Stephen Janis and Taya Graham about their new full-length documentary, "The Friendliest Town," which tells the story of Kelvin Sewell, the first African-American police chief of Pocomoke City, MD.
(2021-03-12). Battleground Baltimore: House passes police reform legislation. therealnews.com 
In this week's round-up of Baltimore news: Maryland Republicans call police reform legislation "far left," a teen is accused of murder, the continued fight against a Johns Hopkins University private police force, and more.
(2021-03-12). Wolf Killing and the Legacy of Conquest. counterpunch.org 
It had seemed for the past half century that perhaps the worst of wolf killing was finally over. After centuries of methodic extermination had nearly completely wiped the animals out of the lower forty-eight, government agencies, scientists, and the general public began to see wolves not primarily as threats to private property, but rather, as
(2021-03-12). Milošević trial exposed U.S.-NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. workers.org 
Few people in the United States, even those in the movement that opposes U.S. imperialist aggression, remember that March 11 is the 15th anniversary of the death of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević. He had been unjustly incarcerated in Scheveningen prison in The Hague, Netherlands. For movement activists, a review of . . . |
(2021-03-12). Ari Berman on the Attack on Voting Rights. fair.org 
USA Today ( This week on CounterSpin: A March 3 New York Times
(2021-03-12). Letters From Minsk: Leaving Home. counterpunch.org 
This is the first in a series about train and bicycle rides from Switzerland to Belarus, in those carefree days before pandemic lockdowns. Tired Tires Before boarding the train to Minsk, I first had to fix a flat tire on my Brompton bicycle. Mercifully, it lost its air just before I left home, although it
(2021-03-12). Journalist acquitted: Covering protests against racism is not a crime. liberationnews.org 
After a three day trial an Iowa jury has found journalist Andrea Sahouri not guilty on misdemeanor charges stemming from her coverage of a June 2020 demonstration against racist police violence. Police pepper-sprayed the journalist in the face and arrested her as she covered a local protest against police brutality. Acquitted. (Photo credit: Ted Nieters/Polaris …
(2021-03-12). Biden Defers to the Blob. counterpunch.org 
You may have noticed: the Blob is back. Beneath a veneer of gender and racial diversity, the Biden national security team consists of seasoned operatives who earned their spurs in Washington long before Donald Trump showed up to spoil the party. So, if you're looking for fresh faces at the departments of state or defense,
(2021-03-12). Unless the Power of the People Asserts Itself. counterpunch.org 
The COVID-19 pandemic and recession and the political realignment in Washington after the defeat of the malignant fascist Trump and the two former Republican Senators in Georgia have opened the door for some welcome federal action. Among the improvements: the newly serious and aggressive federal response to the deadly virus and the passage of a
(2021-03-12). Salt of the Earth Labor College spotlights border militarization and death. peoplesworld.org 
TUCSON, Ariz.—For decades, the U.S.-Mexico border areas have experienced increased militarization, a surge in deportations, and an ever-more brutal border patrol. The Trump administration's policies of separating families, building walls, and racist demonizing of migrants made the situation even worse—and then came the pandemic. Some hope the Biden administration will ease things somewhat, but change is slow …
(2021-03-12). Has the DC Foreign Policy Blob swallowed Joe Biden? We don't need to be the World's Policeman. juancole.com 
( Tomdispatch.com ) — You may have noticed: the Blob is back. Beneath a veneer of gender and racial diversity, the Biden national security team consists of seasoned operatives who earned their spurs in Washington long before Donald Trump showed up to spoil the party. So, if you're looking for fresh faces at the departments …
(2021-03-12). "Hell on Earth": Yemeni Children Starve to Death as U.S.-Backed Saudi Blockade Devastates Nation. democracynow.org 
The World Food Programme is warning Yemen is headed toward the biggest famine in modern history, with the U.N. agency projecting around 400,000 Yemeni children under the age of 5 could die from acute malnutrition this year as the Saudi war and blockade continues. CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir says Yemen is accurately described as "hell on Earth." Her latest report from inside Yemen details the devastating impact of the conflict on civilians, including widespread fuel shortages affecting all aspects of life. "We were utterly unprepared for what we found when we got there," says Elbagir.
(2021-03-12). Why are Super-Rich Democrats Called "Moderates" When they Wage Class War vs. Low-Income Workers? liberationnews.org 
Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the Biden administration's stimulus package.
(2021-03-12). B'nai B'rith Smear Doesn't Change Facts about University Funding. dissidentvoice.org 
B'nai B'rith is at it again. The racist group is smearing a pro-Palestinian voice for pointing out a simple truth about Canadian life. Last week the anti-Palestinian organization released a statement headlined "Carleton University Should Condemn Antisemitism, Take Action on Professor's Remarks". The alleged offence was that sociology professor Nahla Abdo stated that pro-Israel individuals …
(2021-03-12). Biden asks Americans to 'trust Fauci' after he draws criticism for saying the latest CDC recommendations are not science-based. rt.com 
US President Joe Biden's call to trust Dr. Anthony Fauci on the issue of vaccine safety while describing him "one of the most trusted voices in the world" has earned scorn from conservatives, accusing him of inconsistency. | In his first address as president on Thursday evening, Biden demanded Americans follow advice from scientists, who he said "have made clear that things may get worse again" as new strains of the virus spread. | "But to get there we can't let our guard down. This fight is far from over," he added, calling on those hesitant to receive the Covid-19 vaccine to take cues from Dr. Fauci, praisin…
(2021-03-12). Russia Offers Europe Win-Win Vaccine Solution. strategic-culture.org 
The Sputnik V vaccine potentially fills the supply gaps that the EU is encumbered with. Immediately. | It is now one year since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic from the novel coronavirus and its accompanying Covid-19 disease. Worldwide, the death toll stands at 2.6 million and continues to rise. | The arrival of effective vaccines has offered new hope that the deadly virus can be eradicated. Sputnik V, the Russian manufactured vaccine, was the first to be registered anywhere in the world as of August last year and has since been proven by large-scale trials to be highly effective and safe…
(2021-03-12). Tucker strikes back: Fox host accuses Pentagon of 'declaring WAR' on his show after DOD attacks his comments on pregnant soldiers. rt.com 
Fox host Tucker Carlson returned fire after the Pentagon launched a "large and coordinated" PR blitz against his show over criticism that the military may be too "feminine," saying the DOD has no place attacking a US news outlet. | "Since when does the Pentagon declare war on a domestic news operation? I can't remember that ever happening," Carlson said on a segment of his show on Thursday night, adding "This is genuinely worrisome. The Department of Defense has never been more aggressively or openly political." | VIDEO üö® Tucker Carlson says the Pentagon "declared war" on his program by…
(2021-03-12). Republicans demand Bezos hand over documents after alleging 'discrimination' against conservatives. rt.com 
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have demanded that Amazon cough up files and communications related to its alleged "viewpoint discrimination" against the right-of-center, penning a formal request to CEO Jeff Bezos. | Sent by ranking Republicans on the judiciary panel's antitrust subcommittee, Representatives Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Ken Buck (Colorado), the letter on Thursday night called on the e-retail giant to address lawmakers' concerns about alleged censorship of conservative voices. | "Big Tech, including Amazon, is engaged in systematic viewpoint discrimination. In the unfortunate phenomenon o…
(2021-03-12). Return to normalcy? Vandalizing protesters target Portland courthouse days after its protective fence was removed (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Violent clashes were once again witnessed overnight in central Portland, where a federal courthouse — the focal point of last year's months-long violent protests — was stripped of its surrounding fence earlier this week. | Local media reported that around 50 to 60 black-clad demonstrators clashed with federal agents on Thursday night, breaking windows and setting on fire a section of plywood barring entry to parts of the Mark Hatfield Federal Courthouse in central Portland, Oregon. | Someone in the group set fire to the plywood on the building at the entrance to the courthouse. Federal officers are…
(2021-03-12). National Guard Association denounces extension of soldiers in DC: 'Inappropriate at best, illegal at worst'. rt.com 
National Guard Association Chairman and Arizona Adjunct General Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire is calling for troops' presence in Washington, DC to end following a two-month extension this week. | "This enduring requirement of having them around the city, I think it's completely inappropriate at best, illegal at worst," Maj. Gen. McGuire told the Washington Examiner on Friday. | National Guard troops were deployed to DC following the January 6 riot at the US Capitol that led to five deaths, including that of a police officer. The continued presence of the soldiers, as well as extensive security measures, have becom…
(2021-03-12). Professor fired for claiming black students underperform in class. rt.com 
After a Zoom conversation went viral in which two Georgetown University professors claimed black students underperformed in their classes, thousands demanded action, and one of the educators is now out of a job. | School Dean Bill Treanor called the comments by Professors Sandra Sellers and David Batson "reprehensible," with Sellers being fired and Batson placed on administrative leave. | The viral section of the conversation, which made its way onto social media this week, included Sellers claiming that "almost every semester," her "lower" grading students end up being black. | Batson seemed to be in agreemen…
(2021-03-12). US hoarding millions of doses of unapproved AstraZeneca vaccine as EU & others suffer shortages — reports. rt.com 
Washington has reportedly refused a request by AstraZeneca to loan some of the US' stockpile of its Covid-19 vaccine — which cannot be used there yet — and deliver it to the EU, where the supplier is failing to meet its targets.