Chelsea Manning Is Free From Jail, Faces Exorbitant Fines
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-13
Manning speaking outside of the grand jury in Alexandria VA before being incarcerated Alexandria
Editorial: Fed takes action to save Wall Street, not the people
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-13
The U.S. Federal Reserve has pledged $1.5 trillion to calm Wall Street’s worries as the COVID-19 pandemic rattles stock markets and wealthy investors. | But what the people need is more testing done for free, and health care for all. What workers need are unemployment benefits and income support for the self-employed. Working people need protection from eviction and relief from debts. What nurses and other medical workers need is more masks and other protective equipment. | With more than 1500 confirmed infections in the United States, the novel coronavirus is not a foreign threat from Europe, as Trump seems to b…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/12/editoria…
Chelsea Manning released from jail after grand jury is dismissed by US federal court
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
Manning, who had been in prison for a year for refusing to testify before a secret grand jury empaneled as part of the conspiracy against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was released following her attempted suicide on Wednesday.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/mann…
Federal Judge Orders Chelsea Manning’s Release From Jail
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-13
Federal judge Anthony Trenga ordered a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, to release United States Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The order came after the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks was dismissed. | Manning was confined for 365 days or one year after being held in civil contempt because she refused to testify before a grand jury empaneled to investigate WikiLeaks. She attempted to commit suicide on March 11. | During her time in jail, Manning accumulated $256,000 in fines. She faced a fine of $500 per day…
truthout.org/articles/federal-judge-orde…
Judge Orders Release of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Following Suicide Attempt
Kevin Gosztola | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-13
Manning was confined for 365 days or one year after being held in civil contempt because she refused to testify before a grand jury empaneled to investigate WikiLeaks.
mintpressnews.com/judge-release-whistleb…
COVID-19 Side Effects: Reality and Clarity
Kathleen Wallace | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
The fragility of our American system is about to be laid bare. A foundation built on corporate welfare without any notion of a common welfare for the citizens can’t withstand an onslaught of reality. The corona virus has no interest in false economies or nonsensical patriotism. It can’t tell if it’s chomping into a billionaire…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/covid-19-sid…
Right-wing attack on performance of African-American spirituals at Western Michigan University
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
The concert, “Spirituals: From Ship to Shore,” was organized and led by Dr. John Wesley Wright, an award-winning tenor and professor at Salisbury University in Maryland, as part of a week of study into the history of the musical genre.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/spir…
Government Spends Equivalent of Entire US Student Debt to Rally Stock Market for 15 Minutes
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-13
The money spent was equal to the total amount of US student debt, more than twice as much as the Wall Street bailout of 2008 and nearly 30 times the net worth of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the richest man to ever run for president.
mintpressnews.com/amid-covid-19-crisis-g…
Amid the Worse Public Crisis in Decades, Trump Admin Finds the Time and Money to Bomb Iraq
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-13
While the government has found plenty of money to carry out wars around the globe (the Trump administration increased the military budget to $934 billion), when it comes to policies protecting public health, money is always apparently lacking.
mintpressnews.com/amid-coronavirus-crisi…
Spain: An emergency social and political plan against COVID 19
Anticapitalistas | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
The goal of these measures is to win the war against the coronavirus, empower the people and the working classes, strengthen their rights, weight the financial effort on those who have the most, lead and provide a political solution to popular anger and protest and cut off right-wing populist demagoguery.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/spain-an-emergency…
Venezuela: Two Covid-19 Cases Are Confirmed
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
In the early hours of Friday, two cases of coronavirus in Venezuela were confirmed, according to Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. | RELATED: | Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is Covid-19 Positive | The affected people are a 42-year-old woman who was traveling through the European Union and a 52-year-old man who was in Spain. | The two infected patients, who reside in the Miranda state, are duly isolated and in mandatory quarantine. | The epidemiological fence around their direct contac…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Two-Co…
The FDA Is Forcing the CDC to Waste Time Double Testing Some Coronavirus Cases
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-13
The FDA’s strict guidance on test confirmations is one of several obstacles that has slowed the federal government’s response to COVID-19. The FDA could change its rules to speed things up, but hasn’t.
truthdig.com/articles/the-fda-is-forcing…
‘Europe Is Now Epicenter of Coronavirus Pandemic’, WHO Warns
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
The World Health Organization (WHO) director Tedros Adhanom Friday declared Europe the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, as it is no longer increasing exponentially in China. | RELATED: | Brazil’s Bolsonaro is Covid-19 Positive in His First Test | The WHO official commented that more cases are reported on the European continent every day than were confirmed in China…
telesurenglish.net/news/Europe-Is-Now-Ep…
Canada: Trudeau Isolated After Wife Tested Covid-19 Positive
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in isolation and awaiting the results of the Covid-19 test, after his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau was diagnosed with the disease. | RELATED: | Prisoners Made to Produce Coronavirus Masks and Hand Gels | “The Prime Minister’s wife began showing flu-like symptoms and a mild fever upon her return from London, UK,” according to a Canadian government press release. | “Unfortunately, the results of Sophie’s Covid-19 test are positive. Ther…
telesurenglish.net/news/trudeau-in-isola…
Massachusetts health care professionals warn of Covid-19 testing shortage and lack of worker protections
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
Doctors and nurses are frustrated over the lack of testing kits for the coronavirus as well the lack of protective equipment for health care workers in hospitals.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/mass…
Who’s Ready to Die for Trump’s Ego?
Mitchell Zimmerman | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
My granddaughter’s school has planned a trip to Thailand. Two things worry me. First, that she or her classmates might be exposed to or catch the coronavirus. Second, that if they did, President Trump would try his best to keep them from returning to the United States. In my view, if any of them became…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/whos-ready-t…
Coronavirus Reveals the Cracks in Globalization
Marshall Auerback | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
The coronavirus will eventually pass, but the same cannot be said for the Panglossian phenomenon known as “globalization.” Stripped of the romantic notion of a global village, the ugly process we’ve experienced over the past 40 years has been a case of governmental institutions being eclipsed by multinational corporations, acting to maximize profit in support…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/coronavirus-…
As Trump stumbles on Coronavirus, He Bombs Shiites in Shiite-Ruled Iraq
Juan Cole | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
The Trump administration is now more or less forcibly occupying Iraq against the will of its elected representatives, and is waging a low intensity war on a section of the Iraqi military with which the US is supposed to be allied…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/as-trump-stumbles-…
Australian government hands billions to business as coronavirus worsens economic slump
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
Within hours, Morrison’s “stimulus” package was swamped by the deteriorating economic news from around the world and share prices plunged.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/econ…
Washing our Hands of Trump and Powerlessness
Zoltan Grossman | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
Community resilience that emerges in response to the coronavirus crisis may become models to overcome the innate crisis of social isolation under capitalism…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/washing-our-hands-…
US Intel Agencies Played Unsettling Role in Classified and “9/11-like” Coronavirus Response Plan
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-13
As coronavirus panic grips the world, concern over government overreach is growing given the involvement of US intelligence agencies in classified meetings for planning the U.S.’ coronavirus response.
mintpressnews.com/us-intelligence-unsett…
Washington governor bans gatherings of more than 250 as coronavirus spreads
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
The virus continues to infect residents and employees of a nursing home at the center of the outbreak in Washington state and in the US.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/wash…
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
The Efling union has sold out a three week strike by municipal workers in Iceland while hospital workers in Lebanon protest the government’s inept response to the coronavirus pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/work…
Prisoners Made to Produce Coronavirus Masks and Hand Gels
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Prisoners are being used to produce face masks and hand gels in the United States, and Hong Kong after the rapidly spreading coronavirus provoked shortages. | RELATED: | Sanders Addresses Health Crisis in US as Coronavirus Cases Soar | The women have complained about their health and low pay as they earn around HK$800 (US$102) a month for non-…
telesurenglish.net/news/Prisoners-Exploi…
Coronavirus overwhelms mitigation measures across Latin America
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
The late and deficient response by the Latin American ruling elite is being overwhelmed because it is guided by efforts to cover up, not address, the inequalities in access to testing and health care.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/lati…
Fiat Chrysler keeps Indiana plant running after worker tests positive for coronavirus
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
The decision by Fiat Chrysler, which has been backed by the United Auto Workers union, is imperiling the lives of workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/fcaa…
Trump Is Using the Coronavirus Crisis to Attack Social Security
Nancy J. Altman | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
The proposal to cut the payroll contribution rate would either undermine Social Security’s financing or employ general revenue, both of which would set the stage for future demands to cut Social Security. And it likely would not be temporary…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/trump-is-using-the…
Coronavirus Scaremongering, US-China Economic Rivalry. The Geopolitics of an Unfolding Global Crisis
Shane Quinn | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-13
An underlying theme behind the Western political and media focus on the coronavirus, is to damage and undermine China’s international standing, the country where this disease is commonly purported to have spread forth from. Prominent American politicians like Mike Pompeo…
globalresearch.ca/us-tightening-noose-ch…
New York City declares state of emergency amid coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
New York City and New York state have announced new measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, of which there are now 328 cases statewide.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/nyce…
People’s World can’t exist without you
John Bachtell | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-13
Dear People’s World readers, We live in uncertain and frightening times. In addition to the global peril posed by the climate crisis, humanity faces an immediate coronavirus pandemic and what looks like a global economic crisis. As a People’s World reader, you value the truth and a radical, working-class perspective to get you through the …
peoplesworld.org/article/peoples-world-c…
Mexico Considers Limiting Entries From US To Slow Coronavirus
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Mexico would consider mechanisms to control the flow of people entering Mexico from the United States in an effort to limit coronavirus, if necessary, deputy health secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Friday. | RELATED: | Indigenous Tribe on US-Mexico Border Aims to Block Trump’s wall | Mexico has so far confirmed 15 cases of coronavirus with no deat…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mexico-Considers…
US CDC Director Robert Redfield Admitted that Coronavirus Deaths Have Been Miscategorized as Flu
Larry Romanoff | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-13
The US has been lying all along. | Robert Redfield, CDC director, testifying to Congress, today admitted that virus deaths have been miscategorised as the flu. | He also stated that the standard practice has been to first test people for …
globalresearch.ca/us-cdc-director-admitt…
White House Removes Public Health Experts from Coronavirus Discussions
Michael Halpern | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-13
The White House held dozens of meetings about coronavirus response that excluded government experts because the discussions were unnecessarily classified over the objections of HHS Secretary Alex Azar, reports Reuters. Experts were not just barred from speaking openly about …
globalresearch.ca/white-house-removes-pu…
Capitalism is at war with society
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
The spread of the coronavirus has exposed the disastrous consequences of decades of the massive concentration of wealth and inequality spawned by capitalism.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/pers…
US Lags on Coronavirus Testing and Medical Experts Warn “No One Is Immune”
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-13
It has been seven weeks since the first case of the new coronavirus was reported in the United States. President Trump is claiming, “Anybody that needs a test gets a test,” but this is simply untrue. There have been just 11,000 tests so far throughout the United States since the coronavirus outbreak began, compared to nearly 20,000 tests for coronavirus every day in South Korea alone. We spend the hour looking at how the Trump administration has failed to account for what may be thousands of infecti…
truthout.org/video/us-lags-on-coronaviru…
The FDA Is Forcing the CDC to Waste Time Double Testing Some Coronavirus Cases
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-13
A federal directive that’s supposed to speed up the response to a pandemic is actually slowing down the government’s rollout of coronavirus tests. | The directive, issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, requires that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a sister agency, retest every positive coronavirus test run by a public health lab to confirm its accuracy. The result, experts say, is wasting limited resources at a time when thousands of Americans are waiting in line…
truthout.org/articles/the-fda-is-forcing…
Sanders perfectly exposes twisted establishment priorities surrounding coronavirus pandemic
Ed Sykes | thecanary.co | 2020-03-13
Bernie Sanders has exposed where elite priorities lie right now in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. And his assessment rips apart establishment arguments that bold plans for our future are somehow ‘unaffordable’. | Establishment priority: ‘protect the powerful, not the people’: | On 12 March, US stocks had their “worst day since the 1987 crash”. This was largely due to fears about the rapi…
thecanary.co/trending/2020/03/13/sanders…
Watch Labour legend Tony Benn nail the US medical system’s inadequacy to deal with the coronavirus
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2020-03-13
The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak is a global pandemic. While the US seems to be less affected than Europe, the Trump administration’s response has so far been almost comically inept. But having a semi-literate buffoon in the White House is not the only problem; the US has a structural problem that long predates Trump’s election to the presidency. And from b…
thecanary.co/trending/2020/03/13/watch-l…
Trump Declares State of Emergency Over Coronavirus
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
U.S. President Donald Trump declared Friday a national emergency over the fast-spreading coronavirus, opening the door to providing more federal aid to fight the disease under the Stafford Act at a news conference scheduled for 3 p.m. local time. | A PBS journalist confronted him with the fact that he fired the entire Pandemic Response Team in 2018 without replacing any staff because of budget cuts. | “You said you don’t take responsibility for the slow response to coronavirus, but your administration disbanded the White House office on pandemics?” she asked. | “That’s a nasty question…,” replied Trump. “Whe…
telesurenglish.net/news/Trump-Declares-S…
On the Coronavirus and the social crisis
Labour Transformed | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
An open letter to the Trade Union movement from Labour Transformed…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/on-the-coronavirus…
Coronavirus and the Digital Divide
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-03-13
Farhad Manjoo (New York Times, 3/11/20): “The true embarrassment is that it took a pandemic for leaders to realize that the health of the American work force is important to the strength of the nation.” | It is not lost on some that, all of a sudden, paid sick leave is obviously socially important; understaffed hospitals are an outrage; and, really, shouldn’t the government be paying for this…? I mean, it’s community health we’re talking about! And all it took was a little pandemic–an outbreak that, as it just happens, doe…
fair.org/home/coronavirus-and-the-digita…
Coronavirus epidemic responses reveal differences in capitalist and socialist values
Ian Goodrum | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-13
BEIJING–The world has a Public Enemy No. 1, and it’s the novel coronavirus. Capable of causing severe pneumonia among those it infects, the virus first wreaked havoc on the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province and has since spread at an alarming rate. At present, thousands have died and over 100,000 have been infected …
peoplesworld.org/article/coronavirus-epi…
Biden, Sanders appeal for joint action with Republicans over coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
In separate speeches, the two Democratic presidential candidates auditioned for the role of commander-in-chief for American capitalism in the midst of a deepening global crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/dems…
Patients denied care as Macron announces coronavirus lockdown in France
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
French health authorities have already announced that they will try to deny testing and care to many of those they suspect to be infected with the coronavirus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/macr…
Coronavirus threatens to overwhelm UK National Health Service
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
As of Thursday morning, just 29,764 people had been tested nationally in the UK for coronavirus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/ukco…
Brazil: The Left Presents Plan to Tackle Economic Crisis
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
A coalition of Brazilian left-wing parties Wednesday presented to Congress a plan to tackle the productive implications of the Covid-10 pandemic and resolve the economic problems created by President Jair Bolsonaro.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã since January 2019. | RELATED: | Leaked Chats Show Collab Between Brazilian Prosecutors, DOJ | According to the Workers’ Party (PT) lawmaker Jo…
telesurenglish.net/news/brazil-leftist-p…
Markets Screaming Global Recession
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-13
The longest bull market in US history began on March 9, 2009. | It ended on March 11, 2020 when the Dow average closed down 20% from its 29,551.42 February 12, 2020 all-time closing high. | The same goes for the S …
globalresearch.ca/markets-screaming-glob…
Latest U.S. Military Strikes Are as Reckless as they are Cruel
Lilly Dragnev | peaceaction.org | 2020-03-13
Washington, D.C.
Will the Afghanistan Peace Deal Work?
Sonali Kolhatkar | truthdig.com | 2020-03-13
There are two likely outcomes of the recently signed U.S. peace deal with Afghanistan’s Taliban. One is that a withdrawal of U.S. forces will bring a short-term reduction in violence. The second is that the U.S. will leave behind a political mess so severe that violence prevails for the foreseeable future. | Although several details of the peace deal signed on February 28 by U.S. and Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar, remain secret, a time table was released for U.S. troops to begin withdrawing ten days after the signing of the…
truthdig.com/articles/will-the-afghanist…
Chile: Piñera Celebrates ‘Democracy’ As Police Mistreat People
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera Thursday commemorated 30 years of “democracy” and two years in office, as the people took to the streets to demand his resignation. | RELATED: | Chile: Church Criticizes Piñera’s Indifference to Social Demand | Meanwhile, the people crowded into the Alameda, Santiago’s main avenue, and the Military Police brutally repressed the demonstrators. “Step out Piñera,” the crowd repeated. | In an empty speech, he acknowledged that “although these were…
telesurenglish.net/news/chile-pinera-cel…
Uruguay: Educators Protest Against President Lacalle’s Bill
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Uruguay’s Secondary School Teachers Federation (Fenapes) Thursday began a 24-hour strike in Montevideo to protest against President Luis Lacalle Pou’s bill, which seeks to centralize and privatize education in the country. | RELATED: | Uruguay: Lacalle Pou Announces Increase in Taxes | Education Minister Pablo da Silveira explained that the bill would reformulate the educative system’s structure and its different bodies. | In an interview with local news media, he tried to minimize the protests’ im…
telesurenglish.net/news/uruguay-educator…
Dominican Republic Prepares for Polls Amid Political Crisis
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Next Sunday, extraordinary municipal elections will be held in the Dominican Republic amid an unprecedented political crisis and almost no propaganda activity by the candidates. | RELATED: | The Dominican Republic Prepares to Hold New Municipal Elections | This Thursday closed the candidates’ electoral campaign in the country with an absolute silence of the candidates. | The proselytizing work of the political parties was silenced by the widespread protests that have shaken the Cari…
telesurenglish.net/news/dominican-republ…
Krugman Disses Sanders and Embraces Biden While Distorting the Obama Record
Rick Baum | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Paul Krugman, a past winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, wrote a recent New York Times column with the title “Bernie Sanders is Going for Broke.” He criticizes Sanders for his politics which are characterized as a “go-for-broke maximalism” “without compromise” described as:…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/krugman-diss…
A Machine to Beat President Trump
Joseph Natoli | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
As different as night from day yet there’s one way that Bernie Sanders and President Trump are alike, and Joe Biden is different from both. President Trump runs a one man show with a supporting cast. As we know from very recent history of this presidency, this liege cast either pays homage to President Trump…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/a-machine-to…
The Rise and Fall of the Work Society
Andrew M. Johnson | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-13
The victories of Bernie Sanders in the early primaries had people talking about socialist revolutions, while Biden’s wins on Super Tuesday (in largely conservatives states) have tempered that enthusiasm. This is an important reminder of something we all need to remember: The Capitalists already won. There may still be a few scattered enclaves of subsistence …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/the-rise-and-…
Colombia: Supreme Court Accuses Uribe of Vote Buying
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Colombian Supreme Justice Court started a preliminary investigation march 12 against the South American nation ex-president due vote-buying accusations. | RELATED: | Colombia: Another Ex-FARC Member Killed | Uribe will be investigated because of evidence linking him to the late José Guillermo Hernández, better known as àëeñe, who is suspect of buying votes on current leader Ivan Duque’s behalf. These audios mention illicit payments to obtain votes in the northern Colombian state of La Guajir…
telesurenglish.net/news/colombia-supreme…
Bolivia: Evo Morales Expresses Concern About Covid-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Bolivia’s former President Evo expressed concern about the mismanagement that the self-proclaimed President Jeanine Añez is carrying out of the Covid-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | MAS Presents New Legal Resort To Enable Evo Morales’ Candidacy | Through his twitter account, Morales addresses the Bolivian people asking them to remain calm, be supportive and not stigmatize any citizen. | He said that the Añez administration spent more than US$50 million ‚Äã‚&Au…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-evo-mora…
The Grayzone and CODEPINK ask why OAS doesn’t monitor badly flawed US Democratic primary
The Grayzone | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-13
Watch The Grayzone and CODEPINK ask the Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro why he won’t send election…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/13/watch-grayzon…
Dear Berners: Dementia Joe is How Much “Your” Party HATES You
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
“You Have Owners” “Mr. [Bernie] Sanders,” the New York Times reported last Tuesday, “has built a following of voters who want and expect more from their [Democratic] party, from their government, and from their country.” That’s true enough, with some key qualifications: it’s not “their party” any more than it’s “their government” or “their country.”
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/dear-berners…
No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
I respect UK journalist Andrew Buncombe. As I noted for FAIR last year, he was one of the few corporate journalists who reported on a study linking Trump’s financial sanctions on Venezuela to thousands of deaths by the end of 2018. Since 2018, Trump has repeatedly intensified the sanctions and threatened Venezuela military action, including Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/no-venezuela-does-not-h…
EEUU y la OEA hacen lobby para liberar a ‘presos políticos’ en Nicaragua que apuñalan a muerte a sus parejas embarazadas
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-13
Benjamín Norton reporta desde Nicaragua, donde la embajada de los Estados Unidos y la OEA han cabildeado con éxito por…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/13/eeuu-oea-libe…
Abuse, Oppression and Murder: The PA Does Israel’s Dirty Work in the West Bank
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Merely two weeks after Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, declared that the PA will suspend all ‘security coordination’ with Israel, Palestinian security forces in the West Bank killed unarmed teenager, Salah Zakareneh. Zakareneh is not the first and, sadly, will not be the last Palestinian to be killed by the PA security forces, which in…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/abuse-oppres…
Class Conflict is Stronger than Clan Conflict
Michèle Brand | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
The Democratic party elites have shown that they prefer Trump to Sanders. That is, they prefer the real risk of a second Trump mandate to the real risk of a Sanders presidency. How else can we explain the sudden coordinated rally around Biden, whose weakness and liabilities are obvious to all? No need to recount…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/class-confli…
Saudi’s Brave Women Pull Back the Curtain on Crown Prince MBS
Medea Benjamin, Ariel Gold | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
This week, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), Saudi Arabia’s 34-year-old de facto ruler, was on a tear. He arrested members of his own royal family and initiated an oil price war with Russia that has sent the price of oil–and the world’s stock markets–plummeting. Behind the headlines, however, another critical event will take place…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/saudis-brave…
Bolsonaro Claims His Second COVID-19 Test Was Negative
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
According to both local media and international news agencies, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19. | The 64-year far-right politician appeared on Thursday on a Facebook live wearing a mask on his face. | His initial test was carried out after the arrival of the Brazilian delegation from the United States. | Bolsonaro was in contact with his communication secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, who also tested positive for the disease.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã This top official was also in cont…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bolsonaro-Claims…
“Capitalism is a disease hotspot”
Rob Wallace | mronline.org | 2020-03-13
The real danger of each new outbreak is the failure or–better put–the expedient refusal to grasp that each new Covid-19 is no isolated incident. The increased occurrence of viruses is closely linked to the proliferation of capitalist food production and distribution. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/12/capitalism-is-a-…
What Is Covid-19 Trying to Teach Us?
H. Bruce Franklin | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Some people see the world as an infinite number of prize fights, each with one winner and one loser. For them life is an unending series of these zero-sum games. Unfortunately, one of these people is the President of the United States. One example of something that is not a zero-sum game is a global…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/what-is-covi…
Trump’s DOA TV Address and an Alternative Fiscal Stimulus Program
Jack Rasmus | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Tonight, March 11, Trump gave a TV address to the Nation that was to be his program for mobilizing the country to address the growing spread of the Covid-19 virus and its increasing negative impact on the US economy. The proposals landed with a thud. Even the financial markets gasped and went into a tailspin.
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/trumps-doa-t…
Stock market crushed after Trump’s speech
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-13
San José, CA – U.S. stocks fell almost 10% Thursday, March 12, the day after President Trump called for a travel ban on Europe. This was the largest drop since the stock market crash of October 1987 and put the broader S&P 500 as well as the tech heavy NASDAQ stock market indices in bear market territory as all three major indices are down more than 20%. | Trump did nothing to address the growing economic worries as more and more industries are being affected by COVID-19, now officially a pandemic. In fact, his travel ban only added to economic and social disruption as Americans tried to return and plane tickets…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/12/stock-ma…
Germany Launches Plan Against the Economic Impacts of Covid-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz Friday indicated that his government will implement an “unlimited” loan program to avoid liquidity problems in companies, a tax reduction to avoid bankruptcies, and a “safety net” to help maintain employment levels. | RELATED: | Canada: Trudeau Isolated After Wife Tested Covid-19 Positive | “We are going to put all the weapons on the table from the beginning,” Scholz said when presenting the plan against the economic consequences of Covid-19…
telesurenglish.net/news/Germany-Launches…
US authorities in disarray and paralysis in face of Covid-19 emergency
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
Health officials have been denied the ability to even accurately assess the extent of COVID-19 infections and, on the basis of such information, recommend the appropriate response.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/viru…
Brazil’s Bolsonaro is Covid-19 Positive in His First Test
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
According to both local media and international news agencies, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19. | The 64-year far-right politician appeared on Thursday on a Facebook live wearing a mask on his face. | His initial test was carried out after the arrival of the Brazilian delegation from the United States. | Bolsonaro was in contact with his communication secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, who also tested positive for the disease.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã This top official was also in cont…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazils-Bolsonar…
Marching with the Maoists
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
When I was a teenager living in the Bundesrepublik Deutschland my friends and I used to smoke little handmade cigarettes from India. They were called bidis and were made of leaves from the kendu tree that grows in India. The leaves were rolled tightly into a small cigarette that was then tied with a piece…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/marching-wit…
Biden’s Victory: A Blessing in Disguise?
Andrew Levine | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
It has been years since I last saw the great Alain Resnais film “La Guerre Est Finie” (The War Is Over, 1966), starring Yves Montand and Ingrid Thulin, in which, decades after the anti-fascists lost, a Communist veteran of the Spanish Civil War, still fighting the good fight, confronts the moral and political ambiguities of…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/bidens-victo…
Four Reasons Civilization Won’t Decline: It Will Collapse
Craig Collins | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
As modern civilization’s shelf life expires, more scholars have turned their attention to the decline and fall of civilizations past. Their studies have generated rival explanations of why societies collapse and civilizations die. Meanwhile, a lucrative market has emerged for post-apocalyptic novels, movies, TV shows, and video games for those who enjoy the vicarious thrill…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/four-reasons…
Climate Victims Violent? Klare’s Paean to the American Military
Judith Deutsch | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Michael Klare’s new book, All Hell Breaking Loose: The Pentagon’s Perspective on Climate Change, is an uncritical paean to the American military. He credits the Pentagon with taking climate science seriously. But he does not question, bring contradictory evidence, or analyze the military’s self-appointed role as global manager of climate-related human disorder. Klare’s work is…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/climate-vict…
Who Could Have Gotten Deserters from Trump’s Three Armies . . . and from Mine?
Bruce E. Levine | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Taking US national politics too seriously can make you hopelessly stupid, hopelessly cynical, or hopelessly suicidal. Let’s see. We had a former Black Panther, Congressman Bobby Rush, endorsing search-and-frisk Bloomberg; while Mike Will Get It Done was making AP headlines: “Bloomberg Once Blamed End of ‘Redlining’ for 2008 Collapse.” We have evangelicals adulterating my I-71…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/who-could-ha…
The Fed, the Virus, and Inequality
Nomi Prins | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Whether you’re invested in the stock market or not, you’ve likely noticed that it’s been on a roller coaster lately. The White House and most of the D.C. Beltway crowd tend to equate the performance of the stock market with that of the broader economy. To President Trump’s extreme chagrin, $3.18 trillion in stock market…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/the-fed-the-…
Bill de Blasio, Climate Troll
Charles Komanoff | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Bike ticket sting at 59th and 1st Avenue. Two cops ticketing, I think, when folks turn right on red coming south/off the Queensboro Bridge. Good lord, how do you schedule the spring ticket traps at the same time as you tell people to bike to work? Those tweets, from a bicycle commuter and local journalist,…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/bill-de-blas…
“Now, Voyager” in Reverse
Clark T. Scott | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
The untold want, by life and land ne’er granted, Now, Voyager, sail thou forth to seek and find.
Pharma Discovers “Geriatric ADHD”
Martha Rosenberg | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Pharma has already discovered the huge profits in labeling school children, toddlers and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Now, according to some reports, it has discovered “geriatric ADHD.”
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/pharma-disco…
Can Biden Beat Trump?
Matthew Stevenson | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
This is the seventh of a periodic series on the primaries and caucuses. The other pieces can be found here. For the Democrats to lose in 2020 to President Donald Trump, they would have to be brain dead, and much evidence suggests that they are. For this brief shining moment, Joe Biden is on his…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/can-biden-be…
Five Types of Zionissts
Myles Hoenig | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-13
Being a Zionist can either be a strong identity for some, or it can be just another aspect of one’s set of beliefs. Many people take it for granted, not fully understanding what it means to be one or how it came to them. Were they born into it or did it develop over time…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/13/five-types-o…
US launches airstrikes in retaliation for Iraq missile attack
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
The Pentagon warned that “all options are on the table” after the deaths of two US troops and one British medic in a missile strike Wednesday.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/iraq…
Genre-bending Brazilian film ‘Bacurau’ highlights struggle between North and South
Eric A. Gordon | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-13
peoplesworld.org/article/genre-bending-b…
Leaked Chats Show Collab Between Brazilian Prosecutors, DOJ
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
The Car Wash prosecutors in Brazil seem to have been collaborating with the U.S. Department of Justice, going against Brazilian law and international treaties, according to leaked documents analyzed by The Intercept and the Brazilian investigative outlet Agência Pública released on Thursday. | RELATED: | Brazil: Military Club Summons Members for Acts Against Congress | The conversations between Brazilian prosecutors – not direct discussions with U.S. officials = show that “the…
telesurenglish.net/news/Leaked-Chats-Sho…
Funding Boost in Food Aid for Seniors Still Falls Short of Growing Need
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-13
Advocates for senior citizens hailed the bipartisan passage of a federal bill that calls for boosting money for nutrition programs so that fewer older adults go hungry. But the proposed funding still wouldn’t keep up with America’s fast-growing senior population. | The legislation reauthorizes the Older Americans Act, which provides for home-delivered and group meals for anyone 60 and older while supporting an array of other services, such as transportation and in-home care. The bill cleared the H…
truthout.org/articles/funding-boost-in-f…
Guyana: High Court Urges Recount in Largest Electoral District
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-13
Nearly two weeks after presidential elections, Guyana’s High Court annulled the result of a key electoral region where voting was marred by accusations of fraud. | RELATED: | Caricom Open To Mediate Dialogue Over Guyana Election Results | The current President David Granger, who is the “A Partnership for National Unity” party leader, was declared as the winner in the electoral district known as Region Four. | However, “we overturned that result after finding that in the March 5…
telesurenglish.net/news/guyana-high-cour…
Israeli PM Netanyahu calls for unity govt with rival ‘for limited period’
rt.com | 2020-03-13
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the formation of an emergency government to confront a growing crisis over Covid-19, offering a potential way out of political deadlock. | Netanyahu made the offer in a nationally televised address on Thursday. “It will be an emergency government for a limited period,” he said, adding that politics should be put aside. | His chief rival, former military chief Benny Gantz, said he was willing to discuss the possibility of a national unity government and that his party will do “everything in our power to see it move forward,” AP reports. | The conciliatory…
rt.com/newsline/483025-israel-netanyahu-…
‘We’ll come through this’: Homebound residents across Italy sing together to stave off virus lockdown blues (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2020-03-13
The prospect of a coronavirus-induced lockdown is a truly daunting one but, through the magic of the internet, we have seen some truly inspirational moments, including beautiful, communal singalongs from across an Italy in crisis. | With more than 1,000 killed and 12,400 infected, Italy has been the country hardest hit by Covid-19 outside China. The country has been on lockdown since March 10, with police patrolling the streets to ensure the rate of infection slows as people self-isolate. | To stave off boredom and cabin fever, Italians across the country have taken to their balconies and begun singing to and…
rt.com/news/483028-italian-residents-sin…
‘Where was your patient zero?’ Chinese official speculates AMERICANS may have infected Wuhan at army games & calls to ‘come clean’
rt.com | 2020-03-13
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lijian Zhao has demanded US authorities reveal what they’re hiding about the origins of Covid-19, going as far as to suggest the coronavirus may have been brought to China by the US military. | Pointing to a video of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield apparently admitting the US had several deaths from Covid-19 before they were able to test for it, Zhao called on the American watchdog to come clean in a tweet posted on Thursday. | 2/2 CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are…
rt.com/news/482990-china-coronavirus-us-…
Romania’s interim PM Orban to enter quarantine after coronavirus contact
rt.com | 2020-03-13
Romania’s Interim Prime Minister Ludovic Orban will place himself in quarantine, after coming into contact with one of his party’s senators who was later confirmed Covid-19-positive. | Orban, the leader of the Liberal Party, was supposed to attend consultations with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis later on Friday in a new attempt to form a government and get parliament’s approval next week, Reuters reported. | Orban, his cabinet and Liberal Party leaders were entering self-quarantine and testing was underway, he said. | Earlier this month, Romania shut down all schools and suspended flights to and from Italy…
rt.com/newsline/483026-romania-pm-quaran…
Beijing won’t disown spokesman’s theory of US hand in coronavirus outbreak
rt.com | 2020-03-13
China has declined to distance itself from the accusations made by a foreign ministry spokesman alleging US involvement in the coronavirus epidemic, arguing that opinions vary on how the health crisis started. | Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang wouldn’t comment on Friday about remarks made by colleague Zhao Lijian. Instead, the ministry official stated that the international community had differing opinions about the origin of the Covid-19, Reuters reported. Geng also chose not to discuss whether Zhao’s theory
Australia’s home affairs minister tests positive for coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-03-13
Australia’s minister for home affairs, Peter Dutton, has announced that he has contracted coronavirus. The senior Australian official said that he has been hospitalized. | In a statement posted to his official Twitter page, Dutton explained that he was tested for COVID-19 after waking up with a “temperature and sore throat.” | Dutton was hospitalized after the test returned positive. The minister said that he “feels fine” and will provide updates as they become available. | Australia will ban all public gatherings of more than 500 people starting on Monday, as the government attempts to stop toe spread of the…
rt.com/news/483000-australias-home-affai…
Iranian security forces to clear streets & impose nationwide lockdown within 24 HOURS as Tehran struggles to contain Covid-19
rt.com | 2020-03-13
A senior Iranian general has announced that security forces are deploying across the country to close down shops and roads, in what essentially amounts to a nationwide lockdown as the Islamic Republic reels from coronavirus. | Security personnel will be charged with emptying all “shops, streets and roads” in Iran with the next 24 hours, Major General Mohammad Bagheri said in televised remarks reported by state media. | Iranians have been ordered to stay at home and comply with all directives issued by health authorities. | According to Tasnim News, Iran also plans to add some 1,000 stationary and mobile clinic…
rt.com/news/483048-iran-lockdown-securit…
France bans gatherings of over 100 people as government battles to stem coronavirus outbreak
rt.com | 2020-03-13
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced that all gatherings of more than 100 people are now prohibited in France in an attempt to delay a spike in the Covid-19 pandemic. | PM Phillipe said on Friday that the latest government measure was being implemented to try to slow down the spread of the deadly virus. He warned that more measures could follow. | It’s because we are at the beginning of the acceleration that we take measures to slow it down. Our aim is to postpone as long as possible the spike and we have hope. | The move comes a day after President Emmanuel Macron announced that all schools wo…
rt.com/news/483047-france-bans-gathering…
Trudeau’s wife tests POSITIVE for coronavirus, Canada’s PM has “no symptoms” but remains in self-isolation
rt.com | 2020-03-13
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s wife, Sophia Gregoire Trudeau, has tested positive for Covid-19 after she showed flu-like symptoms upon return from the UK. The PM, who has been in self-quarantine, is said to be “in good health.” | The PM’s other half began displaying symptoms consistent with those reported by patients who developed pneumonia due to the novel coronavirus on Wednesday night, which prompted her to seek the help of a doctor and she was tested for the virus. | The tests came back positive, the PM’s office reported on Thursday night. | Following medical recommendations, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau was test…
rt.com/news/482992-canada-trudeau-wife-c…
Sports stars vs coronavirus: What are famous athletes doing amid the pandemic? (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
rt.com | 2020-03-13
After swathes of international sports events were canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, sport stars have taken to social media to share videos to battle the doom and gloom caused by the pandemic. | Many athletes whose competitive schedule has been seriously affected by the spread of the deadly Covid-19 disease continue to train in the hopes that the pandemic will be over soon. | READ MORE: ‘Ready to lend a hand’: Russia willing to host more games at Euro 2020 as coronavirus pandemic threatens tournament…
rt.com/sport/483081-sport-stars-coronavi…
Denmark & Poland close borders to combat coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-03-13
Denmark and Poland said they will close their borders to all non-citizens in a bid to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. | The move comes as Denmark recorded its 800th case of the deadly illness on Friday, and Poland its 68th. Elsewhere in Europe, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Ukraine have closed their borders to foreigners, while a number of other countries – the latest among them Albania – have restricted travel to and from virus hotspots like Italy and Spain. Cyprus joined the list on Friday, denying entry to non-Europeans. | Germany and France, however, have stuck by their commitment to keep…
rt.com/newsline/483097-denmark-poland-bo…
No word on test: Trudeau tells Canadians he has ‘no symptoms & feeling good’ after wife tests positive for Covid-19
rt.com | 2020-03-13
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has not confirmed whether he had been tested for Covid-19, but said he has no symptoms of the virus and is “feeling good” as he spoke from self-quarantine after his wife tested positive for the virus. | Trudeau addressed the nation from self-isolation at Rideau Cottage on Friday, where he had quarantined himself with his sick wife. Sophia Gregoire Trudeau reportedly began displaying symptoms on Wednesday night after returning from a trip to the UK and promptly sought testing. | Pressed by a reporter as to why he had not been tested for coronavirus, Trudeau said he was told that as lo…
rt.com/news/483072-trudeau-coronavirus-a…