Daily Archives: April 7, 2021

2021-04-07: News Headlines

The Socialist Program (2021-04-07). In the News — Biden's Top Priority: Spending for Military Supremacy over Infrastructure. liberationnews.org Brian Becker, Esther Iverem Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the new U.S. moves to escalate tension with China, the trial of Derek Chauvin, the latest on the Biden administration's infrastructure plan, and more.

Marjorie Cohn (2021-04-07). Calling Chauvin a "Bad Apple" Denies Systemic Nature of Racist Police Violence. orinocotribune.com By Marjorie Cohn — Apr 3, 2021 | As the murder trial of Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd proceeds, the prosecution will try to portray the defendant as a "bad apple." In his opening statement, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell alerted the jurors that they would hear police officials testify Chauvin used excessive force in violation of departmental policy to apply restraints only as necessary to bring a person under control. However, this argument obfuscates the racist violence inherent in the U.S. system of policing. | The first prosecution witness to testify about Minnesota Police Department (MPD) policies w…

Nick Cunningham (2021-04-07). Indigenous youth rally calls on Biden to cancel Line 3 and Dakota Access Pipelines. nationofchange.org The White House remains silent on both of the pipeline projects, which Indigenous communities say are blatant cases of racism and injustice.

Tomdispatch (2021-04-07). Has the Far Right infiltrated the US Armed Forces? juancole.com By Nan Levinson | — ( Tomdispatch.com ) — It was around noon and I was texting a friend about who-knows-what when I added, almost as an afterthought: "tho they seem to be invading the Capitol at the mo." I wasn't faintly as blasé as that may sound on January 6th, especially when it became …

James M. Dorsey (2021-04-07). Jordan Is Where Domestic And Regional Fissures Collide — Analysis. eurasiareview.com Former Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein has papered over a rare public dispute in the ruling Jordanian family in a move that is unlikely to resolve long-standing fissures in society and among the country's elite and that echo multiple Middle Eastern fault lines. | Differences over socio-economic policies, governance, and last year's normalization of relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and three other Arab states as well as leadership of the Muslim world were laid glaringly bare by a security crackdown that targeted not only Prince Hamzah, a popular, modest, and pious 41-year-old half-brother of K…

samidoun (2021-04-07). Take action: Support the #HungerStrike4Yemen — stop U.S. support for the Saudi blockade of Yemen #YemenCantWait. samidoun.net Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is honored to join and endorse the hunger strikers and the Yemeni Liberation Movement on the 10th day of their strike to demand the US end ALL support to the Saudi-led blockade on Yemen. The blockade, now in its fourth month, has prevented all fuel and food from entering the country, leading to mass starvation, electricity shortages, and death. All this while the Yemeni people have endured six years of onslaught from the Saudi-led coalition: The people of Yemen are being starved due to a war tactics blockade that has been imposed by Saudi-led, US-supported forces.

Kenneth Surin (2021-04-07). The UK's Official Report on Racism is a Travesty. counterpunch.org Protests over the killing of George Floyd occurred outside the US. In the UK these protests prompted the government to order an official report on racial inequality. The setting-up of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED, a sardonic appellation worthy of George Orwell's 1984) by Boris "BoJo" Johnson was a version of an age-old strategy, namely, appoint a commission of trusties who can then be guaranteed to deliver a whitewash (even though the 10-person commission had only 1 white member).

Sameena Rahman (2021-04-07). Georgia: Democracy for who? liberationnews.org A sweeping attack on voting rights, SB 202, signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp last week, is causing outrage across the country.

_____ (2021-04-07). Israel Attacks Iranian Command Ship In Red Sea. popularresistance.org An Iranian command ship stationed in the Red Sea was damaged in an Israeli mine attack on Tuesday, a US official has told the New York Times (NYT). | The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "The Israelis had notified the United States that its forces had struck the vessel at about 7.30am local time." | The official said the ship was damaged below the water line and that Israel had called the attack a retaliation for earlier Iranian strikes on Israeli vessels. | Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the vessel, the Saviz, had been targeted in the Red Sea, a day after media reports that th…

Carolyn Hendler (2021-04-07). Government in Israel Sharing Personal Information on Unvaccinated People. globalresearch.ca A new law in Israel will allow the government to share …

European Secretariat of the International Peoples' Assembly (2021-04-07). On Global Health Day: From medical apartheid to free vaccines for all. peoplesdispatch.org On this April 7, Gobal Health Day, the International Week of Anti-Imperialist Struggle organizes an international campaign asking to stop the medical apartheid, abolish the patents on the Covid-19-vaccines and, in this way, guarantee free vaccines for all…

Staff (2021-04-07). Do Prisons Keep Us Safe? Author Victoria Law Busts Myths About Mass Incarceration in New Book. democracynow.org As the first anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd approaches, we speak with author and journalist Victoria Law, who says despite the mass movement to fight systemic racism sparked by Floyd's death, persistent myths about policing, incarceration and the criminal justice system still hinder reform. "Why do we think prisons keep us safe? Obviously, Derek Chauvin wasn't afraid of being arrested or imprisoned when he killed George Floyd," says Law, who examines these issues in her new book, "'Prisons Make Us Safer': And 20 Other Myths About Mass Incarceration."

RT (2021-04-07). 4 Syrian soldiers injured in 'Israeli agression' over Damascus, Syrian state media report. rt.com Flashes and explosions tore up the night sky over the Syrian capital of Damascus. Air defenses intercepted the majority of incoming missiles, Syria's SANA news agency reported, calling the reported attack an "Israeli aggression." | Four Syrian servicemen were injured in the attack, that has also inflicted material losses, SANA reported. The missiles reportedly came in from the direction of Lebanon as well as the Golan Heights, a territory occupied by Israel since 1973. | There were

MEE staff (2021-04-07). Biden administration restores $235 million in aid to Palestinians. middleeasteye.net Biden administration restores $235 million in aid to Palestinians | US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says US assistance to Palestinians 'serves important US interests and values' | Wed, 04/07/2021 – 19: 49 | UNRWA provides essential basic services to Palestinian refugees, including health care and education (AFP/File photo) | The United States will restore $235 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians h…

MEE staff (2021-04-07). Israel to build settlement units in East Jerusalem for first time during Biden presidency. middleeasteye.net Israel to build settlement units in East Jerusalem for first time during Biden presidency | The proposed 540 housing units will be built in the Palestinian neighbourhoods of Beit Safafa and Sharafat, creating a link between two major illegal settlements | Wed, 04/07/2021 – 13: 40 | Buildings under construction in the illegal Israeli settlement of Har Homa in occupied East Jerusalem, 17 January 2017 (AFP) | Isr…

Dave DeCamp (2021-04-07). Israel Slams Biden's Resumption of UN Agency's Funding for Palestinians. news.antiwar.com The Biden administration UNRWA provides assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Israel claims the organization is "anti-Semitic and a threat…

Dave DeCamp (2021-04-07). Netanyahu: Iran Deal Threatens Israel 'With Annihilation'. news.antiwar.com Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stepped up his rhetoric against the Iran nuclear deal after talks to revive the agreement were held in Vienna on Tuesday. On Wednesday, "The nuclear deal with Iran is once again on the table. Such deals with extreme regimes are worthless," Netanyahu said at a speech during Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony. "A deal…

Editor (2021-04-07). Destrozar la ley contra el voto en Georgia. workers.org El gobierno estatal, dominado por el Partido Republicano, ha impulsado un proyecto de ley que convierte a Georgia en el primer estado en aprobar una amplia ley contra el voto. Esta ley hace retroceder la protección del voto de los afroamericanos a las normas racistas anteriores a la Ley de . . . |

Nan Levinson (2021-04-07). The Far Right in Uniform. zcomm.org How Extreme Is the U.S. Military?>

Lauren Araiza (2021-04-07). Fred Hampton Was Right: We Must Fight Racism With Cross-Racial Solidarity. zcomm.org "We say you don't fight racism with racism — we're gonna fight racism with solidarity."

Reiner Brown (2021-04-07). Lockdown for the Military. indybay.org Life can only be saved with a consistent policy of social justice, of cooperation instead of capitalist competition for profit and supremacy. Peace is the basis of sustainable politics. The world is too small, too vulnerable, nature too endangered for wars and military. Climate justice requires no to war and yes to disarmament.

IDN (2021-04-07). The West Should Declare It Has No Strategic Interest In Israel — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Jonathan Power* | On April 5, I watched on BBC News the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, walking into the courtroom where he is to be tried for corruption. He is impossible to read—his mask makes it even more difficult. In repose his intentions and personality are inscrutable. | On the most important political issue of all—whether to support a two-state solution—sometimes he has said he is for it, but now he says he doesn't. He prefers, it seems, to keep to the status quo, which means expanding Jewish settlements on Arab Palestinian land and refusing any political life to the oc…

Arab News (2021-04-07). Israel At Crossroads As Rivlin Reluctantly Calls On Netanyahu — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Yossi Mekelberg* | Over the last week, the Jewish population in Israel observed Passover, a week-long celebration of liberation from a tyrant leader and slavery, when most take time off to enjoy early spring and travel across the country visiting its beauty spots. Notably missing from those taking a break from work, however, were Israel's politicians, who were digesting the results of the previous week's election. The political beehive has been buzzing with activity in an effort to translate another indecisive outcome into something that is capable of ending two years of protracted political deadlock. | On…

Richard Silverstein (2021-04-07). Israeli President Mandates Netanyahu, Amidst Criminal Trial, To Form Government — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Israel has once again passed another milestone in corruption. For the first time, the president has tasked a party leader to form a government who is currently on trial facing criminal charges. Conviction would not only end his political career, but land him in prison. Yesterday, Pres. Rivlin faced the choice of awarding either Bibi Netanyahu or Yair Lapid with the task for forming a government. In prior consultation, the various parties offered 52 votes for Bibi to form the government and 45 for Lapid. A president usually offers the candidate with the most votes the mandate. But there is no rule saying he mus…

Morning Star (2021-04-07). Israel hints at responsibility for attack on Iranian ship as Vienna nuclear talks progress. peoplesworld.org

Mark Curtis (2021-04-07). Britain's Role in Rwanda's 1994 Genocide. globalresearch.ca First published in January 2017 | An edited extract from

A Guest Author (2021-04-07). Minneapolis protest demands justice for George Floyd. workers.org By Jess Sundin Hennepin County Government Center, Minneapolis, April 1 Minneapolis This is a shortened version of an article originally published in Fight Back! News about ongoing protests against the May 23, 2020, police murder of George Floyd, which sparked massive U.S. demonstrations against racism. The full article can be . . . |

Arab News (2021-04-07). Iranian Ship Linked To IRGC Attacked In Red Sea. eurasiareview.com An Iranian ship linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been attacked in the Red Sea. | The Saviz was hit by limpet mines, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday. | The attack took place off the coast of Eritrea and led to several injuries, according to Al Arabiya TV. | A US official told Reuters that the United States did not carry out the attack. | The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Israel has targeted at least 12 Iranian ships heading for Syria since late 2019. | The vessels have mostly been carrying oil in breach of US sanctions. However, the report said cargo and mi…

Rosalind English (2021-04-07). Law Pod UK new episode: Courts tussle with Uber, Ola and the Gig Economy. ukhumanrightsblog.com In Episode 139 of Law Pod UK Alasdair Henderson of 1 Crown Office Row joins Rosalind English to discuss the recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court that drivers whose work is arranged through Uber's smartphone app work for Uber under workers' contracts and so qualify for the protections afforded by employment law, such as …

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2021-04-07). Conflicts Compounded By COVID-19 Devastating Socio-Economic Development In Sub-Saharan Africa. eurasiareview.com The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the terrible legacy of deliberately divisive and destructive policies that have perpetuated inequality, discrimination, and oppression across Sub-Saharan Africa, Amnesty International said in its annual report published early April 2021. | Across the Sub-Saharan region, the devastating impact of armed conflict in countries such as Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cameroon, and Nigeria, was compounded by the pandemic as a number of states weaponized it to crack down on human rights. The crackdowns included killings of civilians and arrests of opposition politicians and supporters and huma…

WSWS (2021-04-06). Washington state Supreme Court allows right-wing recall campaign to proceed against Kshama Sawant. wsws.org Last Thursday, the Washington state supreme court allowed the right-wing recall petition against Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant to move forward.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2021-04-06). Rwanda: Installing a US Protectorate in Central Africa. globalresearch.ca From the outset of the Rwandan civil war in 1990, Washington's hidden agenda consisted in establishing an American sphere of influence in a region historically dominated by France and Belgium. America's design was to displace France by supporting the Rwandan Patriotic Front and by arming and equipping its military arm, the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA)…

Patrick Cockburn (2021-04-06). The UK's Race Report has Fueled the Controversy It was Supposed to Lay to Rest. counterpunch.org The government is back to its well-tried Inspector Clouseau mode with a public inquiry intended to discredit accusations of institutional racism that has done the exact opposite. This bit of self-inflicted foot-shooting came soon after half-baked efforts to suppress a protest on Clapham Common that guaranteed it worldwide publicity. The twin debacles have significant features

_____ (2021-04-06). The Necessity Of Dismantling The US. popularresistance.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 apply the international human rights framework to social justice advocacy in the U.S. for more than 25 years. He is a National Organizer for the Black Alliance for Peace, whose activities we discussed. | Baraka has taught political science at various universities and ha…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-04-06). Palestinian prisoner Rushdi Abu Mokh is released after 35 years in Israeli custody. peoplesdispatch.org Rushdi Abu Mokh was arrested in 1986 and charged along with three others with the murder of an Israeli soldier and membership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine…

Jim Miles (2021-04-06). "Engaging the World": Palestine and the Making of Hamas' Foreign Policy. globalresearch.ca Hamas has been a strongly maligned actor within the western mainstream …

Jesse Jackson (2021-04-06). Has America come any closer to Dr. King's dream? peoplesworld.org Last weekend marked the 53d anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Over half a century. Has America come any closer to his dream? He would be pleased at some of our progress. Segregation is no longer the law of the land. The Voting Rights Act helped open doors. Dr. King would be pleased that …

Fight Back (2021-04-06). Multiple Chicago protests against anti-Asian violence. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – The racist March 16 murders of Soon Chung Park, Juncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Paul Andre Michels, Hyun Jung Grant, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng and Delaina Ashley Yaun in Atlanta, Georgia have caused a wave of revulsion and anger among the people, especially in the Asian community. The mainstreaming of extreme right-wing politics in the past decade, as the crisis of monopoly capitalism has continued to unfold, coupled with the bipartisan attacks against socialist China and People's Korea set the stage for this deadly attack. | The Asian community mobilized quickly to defend itself from racist terrorism. In…

Fight Back (2021-04-06). Multiple Chicago protests against anti-Asian violence. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – The racist March 16 murders of Soon Chung Park, Juncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Paul Andre Michels, Hyun Jung Grant, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng and Delaina Ashley Yaun in Atlanta, Georgia have caused a wave of revulsion and anger among the people, especially in the Asian community. The mainstreaming of extreme right-wing politics in the past decade, as the crisis of monopoly capitalism has continued to unfold, coupled with the bipartisan attacks against socialist China and People's Korea set the stage for this deadly attack. | The Asian community mobilized quickly to defend itself from racist terrorism. In…

Eds. (2021-04-06). Silencing Black voters, again. mronline.org Since the Civil War, voter suppression in America has had a unique cast. | April 6, 2021 | Newswire…

Keith Harmon Snow (2021-04-06). "Hotel Rwanda" Hero Kidnapped: Another Victim of Rwanda's Grinding Machine. dissidentvoice.org It is the 6th of April again and the western establishment's corporate media intelligence propaganda system has again been cranking out black propaganda that continues to buttress the false narratives about genocide in Central Africa. Under this falsification of consciousness, the victims become the killers and the killers become the victims, and the true role …

Fawzia Afzal-Khan (2021-04-06). In Memoriam: Nawal el Saadawi, 1931-2021. counterpunch.org "It is very clear that neo-colonialism and religious fundamentalism are two faces of the same coin. You cannot exploit people without some sort of divine power or some sort of religion." Rereading this sentence from Nawal's foreword to my edited collection, Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim Women Speak Out, published by the wonderful Palestinian-American press Interlink

K. Lloyd Billingsley (2021-04-06). The Art Of The New Racism — OpEd. eurasiareview.com "Certain San Francisco artists may receive $1,000 a month under a new city program, the latest in a series of universal basic income initiatives cropping up in cities across California," writes They must be "San Francisco residents under certain income thresholds who faced economic loss during the pandemic." The recipients can be from "every artistic tradition," b…

Wim Laven (2021-04-06). Big Chickens in Georgia. counterpunch.org When I first moved to Georgia I received a quick education on a different way of life. As an icebreaker for my first day of teaching at Kennesaw State University I asked "why did I see so many Confederate flags when I went for a jog through my neighborhood?" and learned, "my uncle says there

Andy Kroll (2021-04-06). The Far Right in Uniform. tomdispatch.com It was around noon and I was texting a friend about who-knows-what when I added, almost as an afterthought: "tho they seem to be invading the Capitol at the mo." I wasn't faintly as blasé as that may sound on January 6th, especially when it became ever clearer who "they" were and what they were doing. Five people would die due to that assault on the Capitol building, including a police officer, and two more would commit suicide in the wake of the event. One hundred forty police would be wounded (lost eye, heart attack, cracked ribs, smashed spinal disks, concussions) and the collateral damage would be hard even t…

Eric Toussaint (2021-04-06). Rwanda: A Look Back at the 1994 Genocide. The Role of International Financial Institutions. globalresearch.ca Starting on 7 April 1994, in less than three months, nearly …

Eric Toussaint (2021-04-06). Rwanda: A Look Back at the 1994 Genocide. globalresearch.ca Starting on 7 April 1994, in less than three months, nearly …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-04-06). Felony charges against Denver anti-racist organizers withdrawn. peoplesdispatch.org The withdrawal of felony charges against Terrance Roberts, Joel Northam, and Lillian House comes nearly three weeks after a judge dismissed kidnapping charges against them. The trio were actively involved in organizing protests seeking justice for Elijah McClain…

CJPME (2021-04-06). Statistics Canada Should Not Promote Problematic Lobby Group Study of Antisemitism. globalresearch.ca Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is …

South Front (2021-04-06). Video: Saudi Arabia Hopes Its Patriots Will Start Working in Yemen's Marib. globalresearch.ca Saudi Arabia is showing genuine concern that Marib could be lost …

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