This is an archived newsroll page on A Socialist In Canada, consisting of headlines and weblinks, with occasional news summary and brief analysis, for the indicated month(s) and year. See the current, ‘World news’ website page here. To find past stories on this and other news pages on this website, use the ‘find’ (word search) function on your web browser. Headlines in red denote items published on the main news page of A Socialist In Canada, mostly authored by Roger Annis.
World news headlines on A Socialist In Canada, May 2021
Protests in cities across Brazil on May 29 denounce Bolsonaro, demand impeachement over COVID crisis, Al Jazeera, May 30, 2021 Far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is facing a Senate inquiry into his government’s handling of the pandemic.
Related: Tens of thousands of Brazilians march to demand Bolsonaro’s impeachment, The Guardian, May 29, 2021 Protests in over 200 cities and towns in Brazil sparked by president’s handling of the Covid pandemic
Sanctions, deadly instruments of economic warfare against Venezuela, a conversation with Alexander Main, (director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington), in Venezuela Analysis, part one on May 21, 2021, part two on May 28, 2021
Related news and analysis:
* The violence and economic destruction caused by U.S. economic sanctions against Venezuela, by Gregory Wilpert and Joe Sammut, Venezuela Analysis, May 19, 2021 This is a chapter from the book ‘Viviremos: Venezuela vs Hybrid War’ (International Publishers, 2021) edited by Claudia De la Cruz, Manolo De Los Santos Santos and Vijay Prashad.
* Venezuela gov’t announces openings of special economic zones for foreign investment, including in oil industry, Venezuela Analysis, May 29, 2021
* ‘We’re getting old’: Tales of resistance in Venezuela, by Jessica Dos Santos, part of a series in Venezuela Analysis, May 30, 2021
No honour among thieves: Danish secret service helped US spy on Germany’s Angela Merkel, Deutsche Welle, May 30, 2021 …The disclosure that the US had been spying on its allies first came to light in 2013 [thanks to Edward Snowden], but it is only now that journalists have gained access to reports detailing the support given to the NSA by the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE)… [In 2017, the German gov’t announced it would not pursue a criminal investigation against its ‘partner’ the United States following the 2013 revelations of U.S. spying.]
Chad, an ally and subordinate of France, accuses Central African Republic of killing six of its soldiers in cross-border attack. Report by Al Jazeera, May 31, 2021
Related:
* From the thick of war in Central African Republic as Russian instructors aim to help local troops bring lasting peace in Central African Republic, RT, May 31, 2021
* Russia’s strategy in the Central African Republic, published by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (UK), Feb 12, 2021
A caring world needs to share knowledge to end the Covid-19 pandemic, by Prabir Purkayastha, published as a guest essay on A Socialist In Canada, May 28, 2021. Originally published in Newsclick (India), May 15, 2021
How it all went wrong: The global response to Covid-19, by Binoy Kampmark, Dissident Voice, May 26, 2021 The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response was never likely to hand down a rosy report with gobbets of praise. Organised by the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last May, the panel’s gloomy assessment was grim: the COVID-19 pandemic could have been avoided…
Previously reported:
* Expert independent panel calls for urgent reform of pandemic prevention and response systems, media release by World Health Organization, May 12, 2021
* Full text of the report of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (86 pages), here on the website of the Panel
* Seven-page summary of the report here on the website of the Independent Panel for
Pandemic Preparedness and Response, here on the website of the Panel
Biden’s renewed focus on covid origins ramps up pressure on an already stretched WHO for more aggressive investigation, Washington Post, May 28, 2021 …The World Health Organization has few powers to investigate on its own. WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan said Friday that the organization was still consulting with an expert team that visited the virus’s initial epicenter of Wuhan, China, earlier this year about how to proceed with their investigation. All hypotheses remain open, he said. He added, however, the politicized blame games had gotten in the way. “This whole process is being poisoned by politics,” Ryan said…
Related: WHO publishes report of investigative team on origin of SARS-CoV-2 virus, reiterates that all hypotheses remain open, media release by World Health Organization, Mar 30, 2021
Covid-19 responsible for at least three million excess deaths in 2020, media release by World Health Organization, May 20, 2021
The unseen Covid-19 risk for unvaccinated people in the U.S., Washington Post, May 28, 2021 …The declining covid-19 case rates in the U.S. present an unrealistically optimistic perspective for half of the nation — the half that is still not vaccinated. As more people receive vaccines, Covid-19 cases are occurring mostly in the increasingly narrow slice of the unprotected population. So the Washington Post adjusted its case, death and hospitalization rates to account for that — and found that in some places, the virus continues to rage among those who haven’t received a shot…
Did China just end extreme poverty?, by Aaron Bastani, Novara Media, May 25, 2021 Not entirely, but it’s virtually the only country to have made any progress.
Breakthrough infections after Covid vaccination are rare, CDC says, NBC News, May 24, 2021 …Of the more than 130 million people in the United States who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, there have been reports of at least 10,262 breakthrough infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s approximately .0001 per cent… Of the breakthrough infections, about 160, or 1.5 percent, died…
Ex-Johnson aide lambasts UK government over COVID failures, Associated Press, May 26, 2021 The U.K. has recorded almost 128,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe, and experienced one of the world’s deepest recessions in 2020 as three successive lockdowns hobbled the economy.
Related: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces Covid-19 public inquiry, Reuters, May 14, 2021 …Speaking in Parliament, Johnson said the inquiry would begin in spring 2022…
New analysis finds global Covid death toll is double official estimates, STAT News, May 6, 2021
Related: Estimation of total mortality due to Covid-19, research study by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (U of Washington), publication date May 13, 2021
U.S.-funded Belarusian regime-change activist Roman Protasevich who was arrested on plane on May 23 served with neo-Nazis in Ukraine, by Ben Norton, The Grayzone, May 25, 2021
Despite massive losses, Palestinians have altered the course of history, by Ramzy Baroud, published on his website on May 26, 2021 (and appearing widely in alternative media) Ramzy Baroud is editor of The Palestine Chronicle.
Previously by Ramzy Baroud: Unity at last: The Palestinian people have risen, by Ramzy Baroud, Middle East Monitor, May 19, 2021 …We are witnessing a Palestinian uprising, an Intifada unprecedented in the history of the Palestinian struggle, both in its nature and outreach. For the first time in many years, we see the Palestinian people united, from Jerusalem Al-Quds, to Gaza, to the West Bank and, even more critically, to the Palestinian communities, towns and villages inside historic Palestine – today’s Israel. This unity matters the most and is far more consequential than any agreements between Palestinian factions…
Palestinian solidarity protests held around the world, Al Jazeera, May 22, 2021 Demonstrations have taken place in London, Melbourne and Paris while more are scheduled in other big cities, including New York. Pro-Palestine solidarity marches are being held around the world in a continuation of weeklong demonstrations, with protesters demanding their respective governments impose sanctions and a military embargo to cut the supply of weapons to Israel…
Related:
* Nearly 200,000 gather in London on May 21 for history-making demonstration of solidarity with Palestinians, Common Dreams, May 21, 2021
* Jewish groups that aid Israel’s war crimes can’t deny all responsibility for those crimes, by Jonathan Cook, published on his website blog, May 22, 2021 …Many of the community organisations in Britain claiming to represent Jews defend Israel uncritically as it commits war crimes. Or they seek legislative changes to assist Israel in committing those war crimes – whether it be Israel’s latest pummelling of civilians in Gaza or its executions of unarmed Palestinians protesting 15 years of Israel’s blockade of the coastal enclave. They accuse anyone who criticises them for doing so of being an antisemite. This is exactly what has been going on and it is only getting worse…
Hamas official on Israel’s US-backed rampage in Gaza and Palestinian resistance, interview with Dr. Basem Naim, broadcast on the YouTube channel of ‘Pushback’ (The Grayzone), with host Aaron Maté, May 18, 2021 (Dr. Basem Naim is head of the Council on International Relations in Gaza and former head of Gaza’s Health Ministry)
Argentina locks back down as coronavirus infections surge, Al Jazeera, May 21, 2021 On May 17, the Pan American Health Organization reported that three out of the five countries in the world with the highest numbers of new infections are in the Americas: Brazil, the United States and Argentina.
[Venezuela is also battling a surge in Covid-19 cases, with an average of 1,100 new cases per day for the past two months. That’s a fraction of the numbers in other, large countries in Latin America. Total cases per million population are the following in these selected countries: Argentina 77,000, Brazil 75,000, Chile 68,500, Colombia 62,500, Peru 57,500, Mexico 18,500, Cuba 11,500, Venezuela 8,000. Source Worldometer.].
Related pandemic news: Asian countries forced to lock down again amid new spikes in COVID-19 cases, deaths, The Associated Press, May 19, 2021
The Underground Railroad television series is the cinematic event of the year, review by Angelica Jade Bastién, New York Magazine, May 21, 2021
Palestinians in Gaza mourn lives and dreams lost in latest Israeli offensive, by Yumna Patel, Mondoweiss, May 21, 2021 …An estimated 91,000 Gazans have been displaced as a result of the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza, according to UN documentation. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza estimates that since the start of the escalation, at least 258 buildings were destroyed, comprising 1,042 housing and commercial units. In addition, 769 units have been severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable, while an estimated 14,536 additional units have suffered minor damage…
Related:
* Intifada diary: The May 18 general strike, by Yoav Haifawi, Mondoweiss, May 21, 2021
* Coexistence in Israel’s ‘mixed cities’ was always an illusion, by Jonathan Cook, first published in Mondoweiss, May 21, 2021
* As Palestinians unite, Israel is more divided than ever, commentary by Shir Hever, Middle East Eye, May 21, 2021
Palestine celebrates beginning of Gaza ceasefire after 11 days of Israeli air strikes, Middle East Eye, May 20, 2021
Related:
* Gaza ceasefire will not stop Sheikh Jarrah tensions and renewed solidarity, say Palestinians, Middle East Eye, May 21, 2021
* Ceasefire ends Israeli terror in Gaza — for now, by Maureen Clare Murphy, The electronic Intifada, May 21, 2021
* How Israel’s occupation has devastated Gaza’s health system, by Ayesha Jacub, TRT World (Turkey), May 19, 2021
* US. discourse is shifting on Israel-Palestine but policy yet to change, Middle East Eye, May 19, 2021
* Israel/Palestine new coverage presents false equivalency between occupied and occupier, by Gregory Shupak, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, May 18, 2021
Reported fatality rate among fully vaccinated people who developed Covid -19 is misleadingly high, experts say, fact check feature by USA Today, Apr 30, 2021
An unfolding coronavirus crisis in rural India, Deutsche Welle, May 21, 2021
Related:
* India sees 3,874 COVID deaths as data suggests runaway infections, Al Jazeera, May 19, 2021
* India’s coronavirus vaccination drive is faltering just when the country needs it most, Washington Post, May 17, 2021
Republican-run states slash jobless aid and the Biden administration has few options to counter it, Washington Post, May 20, 2021 …With a federal intervention now unlikely, jobless Americans in at least 22 states including Arizona, Ohio and Texas are set to see their payments fall by $300 each week — or be wiped out entirely — as GOP governors try to force people back to work in response to a potential national labor shortage…
Background:
* How the business lobby created the ‘labor shortage’ myth and how Republicans used it to slash unemployment benefits, by Jon Skolnik, Salon.com, May 18, 2021
* News coverage of job numbers in U.S. lack context, worker perspective, by Ari Paul, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, May 15, 2021
* Hiring troubles prompt some employers to eye automation and machines, Washington Post, May 19, 2021 The United States today is producing roughly the same amount of goods and services as before the coronavirus pandemic — but with 8.2 million fewer workers. Greater productivity is the rare silver lining to emerge from the crucible of covid-19… read the article here in pdf format: Automation rising in U.S. economy
The ‘Squad’ enables House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s massive Capitol police spending bill while cynically feigning opposition, by Glenn Greenwald, published on his Substack media outlet, May 20, 2021 Three Squad members of the U.S. House of Representatives–Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Rep. Rashida Tlaib–recently chanted ‘Defund the Police’. They had the power to kill a $1.9 billion increase in Capitol Police and security spending on May 20, but instead they ensured its passage.
Corporate media’s double standard: They attack whomever they want but you cannot criticize them, by Glenn Greenwald, published on his Substack media outlet, May 21, 2021
Here are my responses to The Washington Post’s article and Daily Beast’s questions about accusations from The Intercept that I have ‘endangered’ their writers.
Related: Reporters once challenged the spy state. Now, they are agents of it, by Matt Taibbi, published on his Substack media outlet, May 11, 2021 News companies are pioneering a new brand of vigilante reporting, partnering with the spy agencies they once oversaw
Accused Russiagate ‘spy’ Konstantin Kilimnik speaks; evidence backs his ‘no Trump-Russia collusion’ account, by Aaron Maté, published in Real Clear Investigations, May 19, 2021
Related: Reversing Trump, Biden permits a key Putin goal: The ‘Nordsteam 2’ gas pipeline connecting Russia’s gas to Germany’s markets, by Glenn Greenwald, published on his Substack media outlet, May 19, 2021 That Trump was controlled by Putin and served his agenda was the opposite of reality. First Obama, and now Biden, have accommodated Moscow far more.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear major abortion rights challenge over Mississippi ban, Associated Press, May 17, 2021 …Mississippi is asking to be allowed to enforce an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It is not asking the court to overrule the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision confirming a woman’s right to an abortion, or a decision 19 years later that reaffirmed it. But Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, says the case is a clear threat to abortion rights. “The court cannot uphold this law without overturning the principal protections of Roe v. Wade,” she said in a call with reporters…
Related:
* Texas governor signs into law one of nation’s strictest abortion measures, banning procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, Texas Tribune, May 19, 2021
* The free ride may soon be over for anti-abortion politicians, commentary in New York Times, May 20, 2021
* Roe v. Wade in 1973 gave American women a choice about having children – here’s how that changed their lives, by Constance Shehan (University of Florida), published in The Conversation, May 19, 2021
How the Jewish Communist left failed the Palestinian cause during the founding of the state of Israel, by Dorothy M. Zellner, published in Jewish Currents, May 12, 2021 …On May 14, 1947, the Russian delegate to the United Nations, Andrei Gromyko, suddenly announced to the UN General Assembly that, while the Soviet Union still supported a single state in principle, it would be “necessary to consider an alternative solution” if this plan was “unrealizable on account of the deterioration of relations between Jews and Arabs.” Since the UN’s special committee had already concluded that there was no way the two communities could coexist, the only “alternative solution” was partition—in other words, the creation of a Jewish state. Gromyko’s speech marked an “astounding” shift in policy, in the words of historian Gabriel Gorodetsky—one that may have “changed entirely the history of the Middle East”…
UN agencies make urgent appeal for vaccine doses to COVAX program, by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (U of Minnesota), May 17, 2021
Related:
* India’s Serum Institute of India vaccine manufacturer announces delay in deliveries, a huge blow to lower-income countries, by Geoffrey York, Africa bureau chief, Globe and Mail, May 18, 2021 read the article here in pdf format: Delay by India vaccine manufacturer
* Hot tip for the New York Times on vaccines: There are these two countries called Russia and China that manufacture vaccines, by Dean Baker, Center for Economic Policy Researh (Washington), May 15, 2021
India’s push for COVID vaccine patent waiver hits EU roadblock, Deutsche Welle, May 17, 2021
Restrictions reimposed as virus resurges in much of Asia, Associated Press, May 19, 2021
Related news of pandemic in Asia:
* Taiwan, hailed for its pandemic response, now faces a Covid-19 surge amid slow vaccine rollout, Forbes Magazine, May 17, 2021 [Taiwan reported 243 new cases on May 18, down from 335 one day before. The island has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the world, with fewer than 1% of its 23 million-strong population inoculated. The island government has refused the Chinese government offer to supply vaccines.].
* Record high of daily COVID-19 cases reported in Malaysia for second consecutive day, Channel News Asia, May 20, 2021
A maskless U.S. heads down a dark road as the Covid pandemic rages on, by Dave Lindorff, published on This Can’t Be Happening, May 14, 2021
Chilean voters elect progressive alliance to rewrite Pinochet-era constitution, Common Dreams, May 17, 2021
Related: In Chile, the traditional parties collapse, by Franck Gaudichaud, Le Monde diplomatique, May 18, 2021 …Chileans voted on May 15 and 16 in four simultaneous elections: mayoral elections, local council elections, gubernatorial elections, and a vote to select a constitutional assembly that will write the country’s new constitution… The real surprise is the proportion of votes that went to independent candidates, who have taken 48 of the 155 seats in the constitutional assembly… This weekend’s voter abstention rates were also historic, at 61.4%. The number is even higher in working class municipalities, where it exceeds 65%, even 70%…
Washington Post Moscow bureau chief distorts history of World War II, by Jeremy Kuzmarov, Covert Action Magazine, May 17, 2021 …Washington Post bureau chief Robyn Dixon is an Australian who won an Associated Press award for a series on terrorism that ignored its state-sponsored variety. She has served as a loyal foot soldier in the anti-Russia, anti-Putin campaign, which was initiated because Russia has become stronger and more independent under Putin than under Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s…
Imminent humanitarian disaster in Gaza as Israel’s military attacks continue, Relief Web, May 17, 2021
Related: Moral cowardice by Britain’s Labour Party leader as UK gov’t unconditional support to Israel goes unchallenged, by Jonathan Cook, published on his website blog, May 17, 2021
Taiwan, hailed for its pandemic response, faces a Covid-19 surge amid slow vaccine rollout, Forbes Magazine, May 17, 2021
Related: Taiwan’s low coronavirus vaccination rate under scrutiny as it battles spike in cases, South China Morning Post, May 17, 2021
[Taiwan has reported 762 new cases in the past three days, more than one third of its total Covid-19 cases. Only one per cent of the population has been vaccinated, compared to a 14 per cent rate in mainland China. The governing authority of the island is struggling to acquire vaccines but has refused China’s offer to supply vaccines. ]
Heavy airstrikes by Israeli warplanes continue against civilian population in Gaza City. Report by Associated Press, May 16, 2021
Related:
* AP executive editor Sally Buzbee calls for probe into Israeli airstrike on May 15 against media center in Gaza, Associated Press, May 17, 2021 …Separately, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel’s bombing of a building housing the media organizations as a possible war crime. The Paris-based agency, known by its French acronym RSF, said in a letter to the court’s chief prosecutor that the offices of 23 international and local media organizations have been destroyed over the past six days…
* Outrage as Biden pushes $735 million weapons sale to Israel amid Gaza slaughter, Common Dreams, May 17, 2021
* Analysis shows Biden budget would send $1.3 billion more to Israeli apartheid military than to global climate programs, Common Dreams, May 11, 2021
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi says U.S. is on the opposite side of international justice over Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Xinhua News Service, May 16, 2021
Related:
* China puts forward four-point proposal regarding Palestine-Israel conflict, Xinhua, May 17, 2021
* Important for U.S., West to help improve Palestinians’ lives, resolve conflict, editorial, Global Times May 16, 2021
[China (and the Russian Federation) unfortunately hold to the stale and failed ‘two-state’ solution to ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people by the apartheid state of Israel and its backers among the imperialist countries of the world. Progressive Palestinian opinion has long argued for a democratic and non-racial Israel/Palestine as the only lasting alternative to Israeli occupation and aggression directed against Palestine.]
Israeli escalates air strikes against Gaza, killing more children and destroying media center building, Associated Press, May 16, 2021
Related:
* With no end in sight, Israel intensifies bombing campaign, Middle East Eye, May 16, 2021 …The death toll among Palestinians from the crisis has risen to at least 145. The UN Security Council will meet on May 16 to discuss the conflict, but the United States holds veto power at the international body and has not called for an immediate ceasefire. On May 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war will go on “as long as necessary” and Washington appears to be on board…
* As the Arab world rallies around Palestinians and bloodshed mounts, Trump-era peace deals with Israel fade from view, Washington Post, May 14, 2021
* ‘We are witnessing the unification of Palestine’: Palestinian activist speaks on the Sheikh Jarrah uprising in East Jerusalem, interview with Fayrouz Sharqawi (Grassroots Al-Quds), In These Times, May 14, 2021
* Call Israel what it is: An apartheid state, commentary by Seraj Assi, In These Times, May 12, 2021 There are no “clashes” between Israelis and Palestinians. What we’re seeing in Jerusalem and elsewhere is an occupying force exercise its military might.
‘Palestinian lives matter,’ declares Senator Bernie Sanders in New York Times op-ed, Common Dreams, May 14, 2021
Related:
* Tensions among Democrats over Israel as the left defends Palestinians, New York Times, May 15, 2021
* Criticism by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the meaningless Israel statement of New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang shows her role in protecting the leaders of the Democratic Party, by Glenn Greenwald, published on his Substack media outlet, May 12, 2021
Making Covid-19 the last pandemic: Final report of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, commentary on the report, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Helen Clark, co-chairs, published in The Lancet, May 12, 2021 and read: Expert independent panel calls for urgent reform of pandemic prevention and response systems, media release by World Health Organization, May 12, 2021
Related:
* Full text of the report of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (86 pages), here on the website of the Panel
* Seven-page summary of the report here on the website of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, here on the website of the Panel
* Excerpt from a news report in The Guardian, May 12, 2021 …The report says the Chinese detected and identified the new virus promptly when it emerged at the end of 2019 and gave warnings that should have been heeded…
Corporate media and governments in the West all but ignore the report on pandemic preparedness commissioned by WHO, because it doesn’t regurgitate their anti-China propaganda.
[Readers looking for news in mainstream media of the report of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, issued on May 12, 2021, will be hard pressed to find much. Few media outlets are reporting on panel’s findings. Here are three perfunctory reports: by the BBC, Reuters and NPR. The reason for the near-silence is clear: the report makes no mention of the drumbeat of claims by governments and media in the West that government and public health officials in China ‘suppressed’ news of the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic virus and ‘silenced’ health experts in China seeking to warn the world. Instead, the panel report focuses squarely on the negligence by most of the world’s governments and health officials after the WHO issued a formal warning on January 30, 2020 of the danger of a pandemic.
[For its part, the Washington Post provides this dismissal at the outset of its May 12 report on the panel’s finding: “On May 12, the 13-member group, known as the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, delivered a lengthy, significant, but ultimately evasive answer.” The Post writes further, “Here is our guide to what the panel says about what happened — and what is left unsaid.” The ‘guide’ provides this distorted and lying interpretation of the panel report: “In footnotes to the timeline [emphasis added], the panel cites Washington Post reporting about how officials silenced whistleblowers and encouraged residents to keep attending public events despite risks. It also cites an Associated Press series that suggested China’s top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, were involved in the response.” The sly wording implies that the expert panel gives credence to the false accusations made by the Post and Associated Press; this is a lie. The ‘timeline’ mentioned by the Post writer is not listed on the website of the panel and a search for same on website reveals no result!]
Revealed: Big Pharma’s plot to derail U.S. Covid-19 vaccine waiver, Common Dreams, May 14, 2021
Related: We’re living with the consequences of rich nations’ vaccine hoarding, by Jacob Sugarman, published in In These Times, May 13, 2021 The Biden administration has finally backed a patent waiver for Covid vaccines, but it’s already too late for Argentina and countless countries across the Global South.
Inflation myths and the U.S. economic rebound, by Jack Rasmus, published on his website, May 14, 2021
Related: Some notes on the world economy now, by Michael Roberts, published on his website, May 14, 2021
India records 343,000 new Covid cases and for third straight day more than 4,000 deaths, India Today, May 14, 2021
Related:
* India’s coronavirus crisis spreads to its villages, where health care is hard to find, Washington Post, May 15, 2021 Rural areas, where over 65 percent of India’s 1.3 billion people live, had been spared in the first wave of the pandemic but are now facing devastating numbers of infections
* Over 4,000 Indians die of Covid as pandemic ravages rural areas, Al Jazeera, May 13, 2021
* India and its states seek to fill COVID-19 vaccine gaps, by Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (U of Minnesota), May 13, 2021
* As India’s Covid crisis rages, its neighbors brace for the worst, New York Times, May 12, 2021 Vaccine shortages, porous borders and fleeing migrant workers have nearby countries fearing that they will share India’s fate.
Israel’s illusion of normality collapses, by Haim Bresheeth-Zabner, Mondoweiss, May 12, 2021 …Having succeeded in controlling the Covid-19 virus, the government of Israel returned with energy to the main task, as seen by most political parties in Israel – control of Palestine. The front is ranging across all sectors of society… From a de facto racist state, Israel has become an Apartheid state de jure…
* Joint statement by Palestinians in North America on Nakba Day, published in Mondoweiss, May 12, 2021 The following is a statement from 50 organizations across North America calling on Palestinian communities in the diaspora and supporters to join a week of actions in commemoration of the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, and in protest of the ongoing Nakba in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, and throughout Palestine.
* The untold story of the Palestinian community of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, by Ramzy Baroud, Palestine Chronicle, May 13, 2021 …For weeks, thousands of Jewish extremists have targeted Palestinian communities in Jerusalem’s Old City. Their objective is the removal of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. They are not acting alone. Their riots and rampages are directed by a well-coordinated leadership composed of extremist Zionist and Jewish groups, such as the Otzma Yehudit party and the Lehava Movement. Their unfounded claims, violent actions and abhorrent chant “Death to the Arabs” are validated by Israeli politicians, such as Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Arieh King…
The YPG/PYD during the Syrian conflict, research report by Rena Netjes and Erwin van Veen, published by Clingendael (Netherlands Institute of International Relations), Apr 19, 2021 (82-page report and two-page summary at the weblink)
Uruguay, once a coronavirus model, struggles against a deadly wave, Washington Post, May 13, 2021 [According to Worldometer, total per capita Covid-19 cases in Uruguay are 67,000. This compares to 72,000 in Brazil, 71,000 in Argentina, 66,000 in Chile, 60,000 in Colombia and 56,000 in Peru. The number in Venezuela is 7,500, to which the heartless rulers in Western imperialist governments respond “Bring on a violent coup in Venezuela.”
Germany’s rising Green Party echoes many U.S. policies, rattling gas pipeline plans from Russia, Washington Post, May 13, 2021
Related: Social inequality in Germany is on the rise, Deutsche Welle, May 12, 2021
Previously reported: Green Party leader Annalena Baerbock in Germany urges hard line on Russia, China, Deutsche Welle, Apr 24, 2021
The United States has entered unprecedented global warming territory, warns a report by the Environmental Protection Agency suppressed for three years under the Donald Trump regime. Report in Washington Post, May 12, 2021 Read the report here in pdf format: EPA report issues dire warning
‘Joint statement of the Southeast Asian left’ issued on May 1, 2021 says ’emancipate the people from the savageness and misery of capitalism’; not a word is said about the sanctions and military threats by Western imperialism against China. Read the statement here. [The statement is signed by 21 organizations, including three Trotskyist groups in the West–the Nouveau parti anti-capitaliste and the Europe solidaire sans frontières website project in France, and the Socialist Alliance of Australia.]
Health authorities in Ontario and several other Canadian provinces halt use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, CBC News, May 12, 2021
Related: Ontario pausing use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine due to safety, supply concerns, Global News, May 12, 2021
New York Times’ racist campaign against Chinese people and government sees new story accusing Chinese officials of forced sterilizations against Uyghur women. [The New York Times has published a feature story on May 10, 2021 titled ‘China targets Muslim women in push to suppress births in Xinjiang’. The sum total of ‘evidence’ for the accusations of forced sterilizations contained in the article are the claims of two Uyghur women who left Xinjiang years ago to live in the West along with this zinger: “Birthrates in the region have already plunged in recent years as the use of invasive birth control procedures has risen, according to reports by a noted researcher, Adrian Zenz…”
Related: [On May 12, the New York Times published a feature article on China’s demographics and birth rate. It said, “Slowly, in fits and starts, China’s ruling Communist Party is loosening its long-held restrictions over childbirth and women’s bodies. Some local governments have tacitly allowed couples to have more than two children. Beijing has said civil servants will no longer be fired for such infringements. Party leaders have pledged to make population policies more inclusive, a signal that some have taken to mean the rules will be eased further. A growing number of voices in China, including lawmakers, scholars and officials, have urged the government to abolish birth restrictions.” The article contains a rote, single sentence saying that “in recent years”, family planning regulations in Xinjiang region of China have led “to a rise in sterilizations and contraceptive procedures — forcibly imposed in some cases — in the region’s Muslim-dominated areas.” It’s source for this one-sentence accusation… is the aforementioned New York Times article of May 10, 2021.].
Background:
* Companies in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region sue far-right, anti-China ideologue Adrian Wenz, Global Times, Mar 10, 2021 (Adrian Zenz is a German national, resident in the U.S. He is a member of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a far-right organization established by the US government in 1993.)
* U.S. State Department accusations of China ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang Autonomous Republic rely on data abuse and baseless claims by far-right ideologue Adrian Wenz, by Gareth Porter and Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone, Feb 18, 2021
Writer and former UK ambassador Craig Murray sentenced to eight months in prison for court reporting of charges against former Scotland first minister Alex Salmond, by Joe Lauria, Consortium News, May 11, 2021 Alex Salmond was acquitted in March 2020 of all charges of sexual assault in a trial that revealed how leaders of his former party, the Scottish National Party, conspired to have him found guilty.
Canada must denounce the glorification of Nazism in Ukraine, by Scott Taylor, publisher, Esprit de Corps military magazine, May 10, 2021
The May 4 Assembly of Madrid election debacle that saw big gains for the political right, by Dick Nichols, Europe correspondent, Green Left Weekly, May 6, 2021
Related: Right-wing pandemic denier wins Madrid regional election. Report by Associated Press, May 4, 2021
WHO panel approves emergency use of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, Associated Press, May 8, 2021 …The Sinopharm vaccine joins five others in receiving the coveted authorization from the World Health Organization–those made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India. The announcement raises the prospect that the Chinese vaccine could join the UN’s ‘Covax’ arsenal against Covid-19 at a time when supplies of other Western-made or -developed vaccines have been lacking…
And from the New York Times, May 8, 2021: …The WHO emergency use approval allows the Sinopharm vaccine to be included in Covax, a global initiative to provide free vaccines to poor countries, raising hopes that more people — especially those in developing nations — will get access to shots at a crucial moment. Rich countries are hoarding doses of vaccines. India, a major vaccine maker, has stopped exports to address its worsening coronavirus crisis. Safety concerns led health authorities in some countries to temporarily pause the use of vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. “The addition of this vaccine has the potential to rapidly accelerate Covid-19 vaccine access for countries seeking to protect health workers and populations at risk,” said Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO assistant director general for access to health products, in a statement…
New study estimates more than 900,000 people have died of Covid-19 in U.S., NPR, May 6, 2021 A new study estimates that the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. is more than 900,000, a number 57% higher than official figures. Worldwide, the study’s authors say, the Covid-19 death count is nearing 7 million, more than double the reported number of 3.24 million. The analysis comes from researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. They looked at excess mortality from March 2020 through May 3, 2021, compared it with what would be expected in a typical non-pandemic year, then adjusted those figures to account for a handful of other pandemic-related factors. The final count only estimates deaths “caused directly by the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” according to the study’s authors. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes the Covid-19 illness…
Related: Employment in health care in the U.S. is down half a million since onset of pandemic, Axios, May 10, 2021 …Health care employment in the U.S. remained sluggish last month, with a drop of about 19,500 nursing and residential care facility jobs, according to the latest labor report…
The Xinjiang genocide accusation as agenda, by Gordon Dumoulin, Jan Oberg and Thore Vestby, published by The Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research (Lund, Sweden), Apr 27, 2021
McDonald’s workers to strike in 15 U.S. cities for $15 per hour, by Lauren Kaori Gurley, VICE Magazine, May 7, 2021 and read: report in Business Insider, May 7, 2021
Pressure rises for a lockdown in India as Covid-19 surge breaks more records, Associated Press, May 6, 2021
Japan gov’t expands Covid-19 state of emergency, Kyodo News, May 7, 2021 …Japan’s third state of emergency since the start of the pandemic will cover an area accounting for one-third of its population and more than 40 percent of the world’s third-largest economy. BThe number of coronavirus deaths hit a record 148 on My 7 while the nationwide tally of new cases on that date topped 6,000, the most since mid-January…
Related: Online campaign gains traction in Japan against summer Olympics, due to commence July 23, Reuters, May 7, 2021
Colombians are in the streets against a violent capitalist order, by Estefanía Martinéz, Jacobin Magazine, May 4, 2021
Related:
* Tax reform bill temporarily defeated by national strike in Colombia, repression and militarization continue, People’s Dispatch, May 3, 2021
* Pandemic and poverty brew violent storm in Colombia, The Guardian, May 7, 2021 [The popular uprising currently taking place in Colombia is terribly ‘inconvenient’ for Western governments as well as media outlets such as The Guardian. They have, for years, sought the violent overthrow of the Venezuelan government. All of the false accusations which they have levied against the Venezuela government in recent years–‘human rights violations’, ‘political repression’, etc–are, in truth, accurate descriptions, and much worse, of the actions of the leading pro-imperialist governments in the region, notably those in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile.]
Labour’s humiliating defeat in Hartlepool by-election signals the party’s death. Keir Starmer, not Jeremy Corbyn, is the man with its blood on his hands, by Neil Clark, RT, May 7, 2021
Related: Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, the Labour Party is on the road to nowhere, by Daniel Finn, Jacobin Magazine, May 7, 2021
36 environmental and agricultural organizations urge Biden to reverse draconian sanctions against Cuba, Common Dreams, My 6, 2021
Global health leaders pleased with Biden administration’s statement it will support a temporary waiver on vaccine patents, Common Dreams, May 5, 2021 …Avril Benoît, executive director of the U.S. division of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) wrote on Twitter, “Countries that continue to oppose a World Trade Organization waiver—such as European Union countries, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Norway, Japan, and Brazil—must now take action, too. They must decide to put people’s health before pharmaceutical profits and waive intellectual property claims on all Covid-19 medical tools, including vaccines.”…
Related vaccine news:
* U.S. reversal on vaccine patents offers countries in crisis hope, but hurdles persist, NBC News, May 6, 2021 …Holdouts aginst patent waivers for coronavirus vaccines include the United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil and Canada. The German government says it opposes the plan…
* This small Canadian drugmaker wants to make J&J vaccines for poor nations, but it needs more than a patent waiver, Kaiser Health News, May 6, 2021 …In the best-case scenario, sharing patents is only a tiny step in the vastly complex work of making a covid vaccine, which relies on sophisticated new technologies. At its worst, they say, waiving patents would strain already taxed supply chains and encourage counterfeiting and shoddy production that could result in dangerous or ineffective vaccines, besmirching the reputation of vaccination for years. Instead of focusing on patents, some say, global leaders should subsidize additional production of existing vaccines at discount prices through groups like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which already funds billions annually in discounted vaccines for the developing world…
* Biden has the power to vaccinate the world. He should use it, commentary by Chelsea Clinton and Achal Prabhala, The Atlantic, May 5, 2021 (Chelsea Clinton is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, in New York City. Achal Prabhala is the coordinator of the AccessIBSA project, which campaigns for access to medicines, and a fellow of the Shuttleworth Foundation, in Bangalore.)
India hits another grim virus infection record as oxygen demand jumps, Associated Press, May 6, 2021
Related news of pandemic negligence:
* Nepal’s cases skyrocket, prompting concern the country’s crisis could mimic India’s, CNN, May 6, 2021
* Federal judge overturns national eviction ban recommended by Centers for Disease Control and implemented in September 2020, CNBC, May 5, 2021 and read: report in Washington Post, May 5, 2021
* ‘Herd immunity’ gives way to ‘manageable’ in U.S. as Biden administration sets new benchmark for vaccines, ABC News, May5, 2021
Deep-rooted issues at heart of India’s COVID-19 crisis, commentary by Vageesh Jain (University College London), The Conversation, Apr 30, 2021
New Zealand Parliament unanimously declares ‘severe human rights abuses’ occurring against Uyghur population in China, Stuff.co.nz, May 5, 2021 …The Labour Party government removed the word “genocide” from the initial motion put forward by the ACT Party. Similar motions in the parliaments of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands have condemned the abuses in Xianjiang region as “genocide”, but the statements were not directly supported by those countries’ governments. Last month, a comparable resolution in Australia’s federal parliament was blocked by the government and largest opposition party. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was not in this House for the debate on May 5…
French president Macron honours Napoleon Bonaparte on the 200th anniversary of his death, but his legacy of restoring slavery divides France, Washington Post, May 5, 2021 …France is the only country that ever abolished slavery [in 1791] and then reinstated it [in 1802]. Slavery in France and its overseas possessions was not banned permanently until 1848…
‘Human catastrophe’ as India’s Covid-19 surge spreads to Nepal, Reuters, May 5, 2021
Related news of pandemic negligence:
* BioNTech founders predict pandemic will spread for at least another year, The Hill, May 4, 2021
* Covid-19 vaccine patents dominate global trade talks, Reuters, May 5, 2021 …After a tenth round of talks on April 30, backers of the proposal to waive coronavirus vaccine patents said they would revise their text from October 2020 in time for the next council meeting of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) in the second half of May before a further discussion on June 8-9. The new text could be more limited than the current proposal…
How Russian peacekeepers have prevented conflict between Syrian armed forces and the Kurdish movement in northeast Syria. Report by Al-Monitor, May 4, 2021 Under a Russian-sponsored agreement, the Syrian government-affiliated National Defense Forces retreated from the Tayy neighborhood in Qamishli, which is now under the control of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration [Al-Monitor is a rare source of news of the role of Russian peacekeepers in facilitating political autonomy for the Kurdish population of northern Syria and lessening tensions between the Kurdish movement and the Syrian government. Left-wing supporters in Western countries (anarchist, Trotskyist) of the pro-U.S.Kurdish movement in Syria never, ever report on Russia’s peacekeeping role in Syria. That is due to the leftists’ confused and anti-Russia outlook which distorts Russia’s role in Syria. It presents Russia as an aggressor alongside what they call the ‘Syrian regime’ or ‘Syrian dictatorship’, while skipping over any analysis of the frankly pro-U.S. orientation of Kurdish forces. See this March 5, 2021 report in the Australian Green Left Weekly as one example, or this report dated April 26 in the same publication–it does not mention the word ‘Russia’.].
Related: Syrian Kurdish leader Ilham Ahmed says U.S. should stay in Syria, Al Monitor, May 6, 2021
Why Russiagate disinformation never ends: Interview with Glenn Greenwald, broadcast on the YoOuTube channel of ‘Pushback’ (The Grayzone), with host Aaron Maté. Part one, April 30, 2021 (35 minutes); part two, May 3, 2021 (19 minutes)
FBI pressured to answer for ‘COINTELPRO’ domestic-spying program tied to Black Panther Fred Hampton’s killing by Chicago police in 1969, Washington Post, May 4, 2021
Related:
* Malcolm X’s family releases letter implicating FBI and New York Police Dept. in his assassination in 1965, CBS News, Feb 22, 2021
* Malcolm X assassination may be reinvestigated as lawyers and Netflix documentary series ‘Who Killed Malcolm X?’ cast doubt on convictions, Washington Post, Feb 10, 2021
UN’s ‘Covax’ vaccine supply program reaches deal with Moderna to supply 500M doses beginning late 2021, Associated Press, May 21, 2021 U.S. biotech company Moderna will provide up to 500 million doses for the U.N.-backed program to ship coronavirus vaccines to needy people in low- and middle-income countries, but shipments won’t begin until the fourth quarter, the company and program leaders announced on May 3…
Related:
* Covax needs $35 bln-$45 bln next year to vaccinate adults, says head of World Health Organization, Reuters, May 3, 2021
* Pressure mounts on Biden regime and drug manufacturers to lift patent protections on Covid vaccines, New York Times, May 3, 2021 …Pharmaceutical and biotech companies, also feeling pressure, sought on Monday to head off such a move, which could cut into future profits and jeopardize their business model. Pfizer and Moderna, two major vaccine makers, each announced steps to increase the supply of vaccine around the world… The issue is coming to a head as the World Trade Organization’s General Council, one of its highest decision-making bodies, meets Wednesday and Thursday. India and South Africa are pressing for the body to waive an international intellectual property agreement that protects pharmaceutical trade secrets. The United States, Britain and the European Union so far have blocked the plan…
* Pfizer’s posts $4.9B profit in first quarter, 2021 as vaccine strategy pays off, ABC News, May 4, 2021 Revenue was $14.58 billion, up 45 per cent and well above forecasts of $13.49 billion.
What would a deep Green New Deal look like? by Don Fitz, published in Green Social Thought, Apr 28, 2021 Decreasing total energy use–including ‘renewable’ and ‘alternative’ energies–is a prerequisite for securing human existence.
U.S. gov’t report documents U.S. responsibility for Venezuela’s humanitarian dilemma, by Roger D. Harris, CounterPunch, May 4, 2021
Journalists at major U.S. outlets know they spread a false, retracted story about the FBI, Giuliani and Ukraine, but they refuse to remove it because their real job is spreading disinformation, by Glenn Greenwald, published on his Substack media outlet, May 3, 2021
Biden quadruples Trump refugee cap after delay backlash, Associated Press, May 4, 2021 President Joe Biden on Monday formally raised the nation’s cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year, weeks after facing bipartisan blowback for his delay in replacing the record-low ceiling set by former President Donald Trump…
Background: On immigration, Biden’s first 100 days and Trump’s last 100 days are hard to tell apart, by Branko Marcetic, Jacobin Magazine, Apr 30, 2021
Reaching ‘herd immunity’ against Covid-19 is unlikely in the U.S., experts now believe, New York Times, May 3, 2021 Widely circulating coronavirus variants and persistent hesitancy about vaccines will keep the goal out of reach. The virus is here to stay, but vaccinating the most vulnerable may be enough to restore normalcy.
Russia turns to China to manufacture Sputnik vaccine as demand soars, Associated Press, May 3, 2021 Russia is turning to multiple Chinese firms to manufacture the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in an effort to speed up production as demand soars for its shot.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says differences with China are ‘becoming harder to reconcile’, Stuff.co.nz, May 2, 2021 …New Zealand has come under some pressure in foreign quarters over its reluctance to use the Five Eyes intelligence grouping to directly criticise China as a bloc. China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner, accounting for 29 per cent of our exports last year. The relationship has become more fraught in the past few years as New Zealand has sought to balance its trade relationship with the need to take a harder line on China’s anti-democratic crackdowns [sic] in Hong Kong and human rights abuses [sic] in Xinjiang…
India hits new grim records with more than 400,000 new cases and 3,689 deaths from Covid-19 on May 1, Al Jazeera, May 2, 2021 [and read: report in Washington Post, May 2, 2021].
Related: India’s coronavirus surge creates vaccine supply turmoil far beyond its borders, Washington Post, April 30, 2021 …The suspension of exports in April has contributed to a 90 million-dose shortfall for Covax, an international vaccine distribution effort, one of the group’s key backers said Friday. That number will only grow in May if restrictions are not lifted…
India government ‘ignored’ Covid-19 warnings from scientific advisors, special report by Reuters, May 2, 2021 A forum of scientific advisers set up by the government warned Indian officials in early March of a new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus taking hold in the country, five scientists who are part of the forum told Reuters. Despite the warning, four of the scientists said the federal government did not seek to impose major restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. Millions of largely unmasked people attended religious festivals and political rallies that were held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition politicians. Tens of thousands of farmers, meanwhile, continued to camp on the edge of New Delhi protesting Modi’s agricultural policy changes… [and read: India government ‘ignored’ Covid-19 warnings from science advisors, Al Jazeera, May 2, 2021 ]
Prime Minister Modi’s ruling party loses crucial Indian state election in West Bengal, Reuters, May 2, 2021 [The populist All India Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee won a comfortable majority in West Bengal (pop. 90 million), winning 216 seats in the 294-seat assembly. Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won 75 seats, up on its performance in 2016 when it got just three, but well short of predictions. In intial results, no other political parties won seats in the state legislature.].
Related:
* The collapse of secularism in West Bengal, by Alex Traub, Dissent Magazine, summer 2019
* Voters in Kerala state pick repeat over reboot, Times of India, May 3, 2021 …The Left Democratic Front won 99 seats of the total 140 in the state legislature of Kerala [pop. 35 million], against 41 by the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The National Democratic Alliance, a political alliance of predominantly right-wing political parties, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bhartiya Janata Party, failed to win a seat… and read: report in The Morning Star, May 2, 2021
Global virus cases reach new peak, driven by India and South America, New York Times, May 1, 2021
Other global pandemic news:
* Brazil’s Covid-19 death toll crosses 400,000 as fatalities plateau at high numbers, Forbes Magazine, Apr 30, 2021
* Philippines headed towards India-like Covid crisis, Asia Times, Apr 29, 2021 The Philippine government is set to relax social-distancing measures despite health expert warnings of a ticking Covid time bomb.
SARS-CoV-2 elimination, not mitigation, creates best outcomes for health, the economy, and civil liberties, three-page submission by multiple authors, published in The Lancet, Apr 28, 2021 …Countries that consistently aim for elimination—ie, maximum action to control SARS-CoV-2 and stop community transmission as quickly as possible—have generally fared better than countries that opt for mitigation, ie actions that increase in a stepwise, targeted way to reduce cases so as not to overwhelm health-care systems…
Global wealth inequality, by Michael Roberts (Marxist economist in UK), published on his website, May 1, 2021
Xinjiang shakedown: US anti-China lobby cashed in on ‘forced labor’ campaign that cost Uyghur workers their jobs, by Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone, Apr 30, 2021 A campaign against supposed forced labor in Xinjiang has forced Uyghur workers out of their jobs while extracting a handsome payout from a US apparel company to Uyghur exile groups lobbying against China.
Related: Washington targets foreign businesspeople for violating illegal U.S. sanctions, by Stansfield Smith, The Grayzone, Apr 27, 2021
State lawmakers are targeting Roe v. Wade in ‘unprecedented’ attacks on abortion rights in U.S., Common Dreams, May 1, 2021
Previously reported:
* Oklahoma governor signs near-total abortion ban into law, CNN, April 26, 2021
* Abortion in the United States by state, Wikipedia
Militaristic and anti-democratic, Ukraine’s far-right bides its time, by Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, Apr 15, 2021 …Though few in number overall, far-right groups operate with a high degree of impunity in Ukrainian society, allowing them to harass and attack minorities and human rights advocates without repercussions… Some of them include armed veterans of the war in Donbas and are an extremely controversial topic. Despite considerable stabilization in Ukrainian society over the past five years, the danger they pose appears to be growing… [Compeletely overlooked in this otherwise important analysis of contemporary Ukraine is the role that the NATO powers have played since 2014 in training the far-right paramilitaries in Ukraine and in facilitating their integration into the armed forces, National Guard and police agencies of the country. The integration was insisted upon by NATO as a condition of its arming and training of the repressive apparatus of the ‘new’ Ukraine.].
New low from anti-Russia kooks who write for and publish The Guardian daily in UK. [The Guardian has published a commentary on April 30 by its ‘Europe correspondent’ Jon Henley arguing that the Russian government and health agencies have little public health interest in developing and manufacturing the ‘Sputnik V’ coronavirus vaccine. Rather, “Moscow is deploying Sputnik as another weapon of geopolitical influence…” The article is titled, ‘Is Russia’s Covid vaccine anything more than a political weapon?‘ This is not the first group of kooks to make the argument of Sputnik V as a tool of ‘vaccine diplomacy’, but this commentary stands out for arguing that Russian authorities have little other interest in the vaccine.].
Related:
* The Guardian’s anti-Russian vaccination propaganda plunges to new depths, by Paul Robinson (U of Ottawa), published on his website Irrussianality, Apr 30, 2021 …We’ve seen many (invalid) complaints about Russia spreading anti-vaccination propaganda. Well, here here we British anti-vax propaganda of the basest kind; it kind of makes you want to vomit…
* In Ukraine’s war-torn east, locals fear poverty more than Russia, Euronews, Apr 30, 2021 [This report by the anti-Russia news agency Euronews provides a glimpse into the harsh life of those living along the Ukraine side of Kyiv’s war against the people of Donbas (Donetsk and Lugansk). “Help and support in those areas near the frontline is coming from international organizations. The Ukrainian government has done very little.”]
