2021-04-04: News Headlines

_____ (2021-04-04). Ecuador's Socialists Set To Defeat Neo-liberalism. popularresistance.org A young left-wing economist, Andres Aruaz, is favourite to win Ecuador's presidential election later this month, in what would be the latest victory for progressives in Latin America after elections in Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia in recent years. | But with a left victory likely, there are growing concerns that elites in Ecuador and abroad are conspiring to sabotage the electoral process. This has become an all too common response of the Latin American right-wing to progressive victories. | In Bolivia, when socialist Evo Morales was elected in 2019, a military coup ousted him after exploiting trumped-up charges…

teleSUR (2021-04-04). Ecuador: Indigenous People Back Andres Arauz's Candidacy. telesurenglish.net Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) President Jaime Vargas announced his support for the Union For Hope (UNES) candidate Andres Arauz ahead of the presidential election runoff on April 11. | RELATED: | The announcement was made after the conclusion of Arauz's electoral campaign in Sucumbios province on Saturday. | "We are building national unity by putting Ecuador first. We are summoned by the plu…

Ivan Eland (2021-04-04). Clashing With Two Great Powers At Once Is Bad Policy — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Right out of the gate, the Biden administration seems to be at loggerheads with both China and Russia. Richard Nixon would be disappointed. | Despite his reputation as an anticommunist, Nixon managed to get China and the Soviet Union in a competition to better relations with the United States. His diplomatic opening to the weaker and more radical Maoist China spurred the communist USSR to desire détente with the United States and the first U.S.-Soviet strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT I Treaty) for limiting long-range nuclear missiles. | To his immense credit, Joe Biden, almost immediately upon taking off…

William Boardman (2021-04-04). Peace With Iran Is Tricky: Is Biden Making It Impossible? dissidentvoice.org American policy toward Iran has long been stupid and self-defeating. Anyone here not see that? Anyone here think that's a necessary state of affairs? OK, it's true that stupid, self-defeating policy toward Iran is an American tradition of more than 70 years standing. And yes, it has had some short-term benefits, enriching the Shah's thugocracy …

Angelina Crowley (2021-04-04). What happened to Trump's border wall? liberationnews.org The racist U.S. government has been weaponizing its southern border for hundreds of years.

orinocotribune (2021-04-04). An Arauz Presidency in Ecuador Would Revive UNASUR, Weaken Lima Group — Chavista Chronicles from Caracas Interview with Joe Emersberger. orinocotribune.com Caracas, April 03, 2021 (OrinocoTribune.com).- In this new episode of Chavista Chronicles from Caracas we had the pleasure to interview Joe Emersberger, an author and journalist with Ecuadorian roots based in Canada. His work has appeared in FAIR.org, Telesur English, ZNet, CounterPunch, Monthly Review and many other alternative outlets. He is one of the best and most prolific leftist writers on Ecuadorian politics in English language. | The second round of the Ecuadorian presidential elections is scheduled to be held next Sunday, April 11. Many around Latin America and the world have their eye on the political b…

_____ (2021-04-04). Infrastructure Plan Doesn't Come Close To Tackling The Housing Crisis. popularresistance.org The spending plans that the Biden administration released this week laid out substantial investments into our nation's housing system, including $213 billion for building and retrofitting affordable housing units, $40 billion for public housing capital repairs, and grant funding to address zoning laws rooted in racial and economic exclusion. These proposals are a welcome first step to ensuring safe, affordable, sustainable shelter — and Congress should move swiftly to enact them — but they do not come close to meeting the scale of the housing crisis that has been underway in the United States for deca…

_____ (2021-04-04). The Flow Of Military Equipment To Police Has Accelerated Under Biden. popularresistance.org The Pentagon's 1033 program is the primary mechanism by which police acquire military hardware. Most of the items transferred are innocuous, but that's only in terms of quantity; in terms of value, combat gear dominates the ledger. Not surprisingly the latter fact typically escapes police/DOD discourse. | Matériel is what's counted here. The values below reflect that of military hardware ("controlled" equipment) transferred through the 1033 program and not the office supplies or generators or t-shirts or whatever ("uncontrolled" equipment). Congress needs to pressure Biden to issue an executive order to 1) preven…

Cronkite News Arizona PBS (2021-04-04). Advocates call on Biden to 'tear down this wall,' repair border damage. juancole.com By Sarah Oven ( Cronkite News ) — WASHINGTON — Advocates called on President Joe Biden to "tear down this wall" Tuesday and fulfill his campaign promise of stopping the border wall construction that he put on hold in January. The meeting of border-state lawmakers, advocates and tribal members came 70 days after Biden, in …

Noam Chomsky (2021-04-04). The Biden Administration and the Middle East. zcomm.org Interview on the Biden administration's Middle East policies, explores elements of continuity and change in US policy towards the region after the Trump years…

Jen Deerinwater (2021-04-04). "Build Back Fossil Free!" zcomm.org Indigenous Youth Rally to Demand Biden Stop Pipelines…

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2021-04-04). Rashida Tlaib Hails Shift in House Dems' Views on Palestinian Human Rights. commondreams.org "Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to have 12 members of Congress refer to Israeli occupation as colonialism, so I have no doubt that the needle on Palestinian human rights is moving." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-12292802211_0.jpg

Staff (2021-04-04). Biden Could Chart a New Path for US on Palestinian Rights. Will He? truthout.org Every day my friend in Palestine sends me the local paper as a way to keep in touch. For the past five decades, the headlines have been consistent: "Land Annexed," "Trees Uprooted," "Houses Demolished," "Curfew Inflicted," "Youth Arrested," "Village Attacked," Young Man Shot"… often all on the same front page. For the last year, they have also included a tally of COVID-19 cases and fatalities. | Israel leads the world in vaccine distribution, but it has largely refused to vaccinate Palestinians. In th…

Rick Rozoff (2021-04-04). Georgia: A New Caucasus War Could Be Part of Biden's Unfinished Business. news.antiwar.com For well over a decade the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have been jointly preparing Georgia and Ukraine for NATO membership. Throughout that process one of the main architects and executors of the policy has been Joseph Biden, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee …

Human Rights Watch (2021-04-04). Biden lifts outrageous US Sanctions on Int'l Criminal Court; now it should Join Treaty of Rome on Human Rights. juancole.com Human Rights Watch — (Washington, DC) — US President Joe Biden's cancellation of punitive sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) removes a serious obstacle to the court's providing justice to the victims of the world's worst crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 2, 2021, Biden revoked a June 2020 order by then-President …

Juan Cole (2021-04-03). Over objections of Dem Hawks, Biden agrees to indirect Talks with Iran in Vienna to return to the 2015 Nuclear Deal. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — AFP reports that an arrangement was reached at Friday's teleconference in Vienna between the current signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to mediate indirect talks between Iran and the United States next week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the US had agreed to participate in the discussions …

otowenh (2021-04-03). Pope Needs to Send Easter Message to Biden on Assange. orinocotribune.com Francis the First thought of the WikiLeaks publisher languishing in his cell on Palm Sunday and should consider sending a second message, writes Elizabeth Vos. | Pope Francis delivered a message of support last Sunday to WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange after a hard night in Belmarsh prison, according to a After a hard night, Julian woke up this morning to a kind, personal message from Pope Francis

Duggan Flanakin (2021-04-03). EPA's Totalitarian Assault On America — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Using phony "transparency" and "dialogue" to target auto racing, then all fossil fuel use.: | Biden-Harris Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan is clearly on a mission. He has "

Aidan O'Brien* (2021-04-03). US Values Vs Chinese Values: Empire Vs Bandung As Seen From Cape Verde — OpEd. eurasiareview.com In February the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinkin, made it a priority to phone Rui Figueiredo, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Minister of Cape Verde. They spoke about commerce and "security" (1). | Why? Why is the tiny African nation of Cape Verde (population 550,000) a US priority? In short: because the US is behind China in the latest "scramble for Africa". | To rectify its position, vis-à -vis China, in Africa (and elsewhere): "U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to put values at the heart of his administration's China policy. Since entering office, he has called on the world's democracies to gird for a n…

Eds. (2021-04-03). Lenin Moreno and the CIA against Andres Arauz. mronline.org The second round of the Ecuadorian election between the candidate of the pro-Correa citizen revolution Arauz and the banker Lasso is approaching, and things are accelerating in the axis formed by Lenin Moreno and the United States, with its intelligence services at the forefront. | April 2, 2021 | Newswire…

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-04-03). Biden Passes Alzheimer's Test with Flying Colors, Silencing Doubters. orinocotribune.com By Caitlin Johnstone — Apr 1, 2021 | In a surprise move, President Biden During the test the president was asked to remember a series of words and then repeat them sequentially some minutes later, then to accurately hand-draw the face of a clock. Biden completed these tasks quickly and without difficulty, then held an immediate press conference. | "Sorry to drag you…

Fight Back (2021-04-03). Austin rallies in solidarity with Palestine on Land Day. fightbacknews.org Austin, TX – On March 30, around 30 students and activists from all over Austin converged on the State Capitol building in solidarity with Palestine on Land Day. The action was organized by Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC), a local group dedicated to organizing in solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle against the Israeli occupation. | PSC was joined by many local groups including Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Red Aid, and the United Neighborhood Defense Movement, among others. | As various speakers explained, Land Day is a commemoration of March 30, 1976 when – after the Israeli oc…

Rick Rozoff (2021-04-03). Georgia: a new Caucasus war could be part of Biden's unfinished business. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Georgia: a new Caucasus war could be part of Biden's unfinished businessRick Rozoff For well over a decade the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have been jointly preparing Georgia and Ukraine for NATO membership. Throughout that process one of the main architects and executors of the …

_____ (2021-04-03). Biden To Review Executive Authority To Cancel Student Debt. popularresistance.org Washington, DC – President Joe Biden has asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to prepare a memo about his legal authority to cancel student debt, chief of staff Ron Klain said Thursday, as pressure grows for the administration to address the student loan crisis crippling millions of Americans. | Klain said in an interview with Politico that Biden will decide how to proceed once he reviews the memo, which could be sent to his desk in the next few weeks. | "He'll look at that legal authority, he'll look at the policy issues around that, and then he'll make a decision," Klain said. "He hasn't made a decision on…

Rick Rozoff (2021-04-03). Biden, Pentagon, NATO signal readiness to go to war against Russia over Ukraine. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Biden, Pentagon, NATO signal readiness to go to war against Russia over UkraineRick Rozoff Recent press releases from the White House, the Defense Department and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization uniformly communicate the message that the U.S. and NATO are willing, and perhaps are preparing, to enter into armed conflict with Russia over their joint …

WSWS (2021-04-03). Brazilian political establishment, corporate media promote military as opposition to Bolsonaro. wsws.org Just days after an unprecedented shakeup in the high command, the consensus within the political establishment is that the military represents the bulwark of Brazilian democracy…

WSWS (2021-04-03). Turner's Modern World at the Tate Britain: J.M.W. Turner's artistic depiction of early capitalism. wsws.org The exhibition shows how Turner's work is imbued with ideas of progress, democracy and freedom.

teleSUR (2021-04-03). Iran Rules Out US Claim of "Step-by-Step" Lifting of Sanctions. telesurenglish.net "As has been clearly stated many times, no step-by-step plan is being considered," Khatibzadeh told Press TV. | RELATED: | "The definitive policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the lifting of all US sanctions, whether those which Trump reimposed after withdrawing from the JCPOA or those which he initiated, as well as sanctions imposed under any other heading," he said. | His remarks came in response to claims…

Jessica Corbett (2021-04-03). 'It's Not a Border Crisis. It's an Imperialism Crisis… a Climate Crisis… a Trade Crisis.'. zcomm.org Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to social media Tuesday night with a detailed reminder of the root causes of Central Americans and other migrants seeking asylum at the United States' southern border…

Fred Wertheimer (2021-04-03). The For the People Act Must Pass In Whole. commondreams.org "There is nothing to indicate that taking out key democracy reforms from the bill will improve the chances of passing S. 1." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/wh-backs-hr1-for-the-people-act.jpg

Bobby Hoffman (2021-04-03). Amidst a Wave of Voter Suppression Bills, Some States Expand Access to the Ballot. commondreams.org "Voter suppression is only half of the story. In contrast, many other states have learned lessons from the successes of the 2020 election and are seeking to expand access to the ballot." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/aclu_0.jpg

Dan Froomkin (2021-04-03). As voting issue gets white-hot, we can't afford to duck the moral implications. salon.com Faced with an existential threat to democracy, political reporters slide back into "both sides" bad habits…

Jon Skolnik (2021-04-03). Goldman Sachs has made big promises on climate policy — but where does the money go?>. salon.com Giant investment bank has loudly trumpeted its climate commitments. Its actual record tells a different story…

Rick Rozoff (2021-04-03). Biden, Pentagon, NATO Signal Readiness to Go to War Against Russia Over Ukraine. news.antiwar.com Recent press releases from the White House, the Defense Department and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization uniformly communicate the message that the U.S. and NATO are willing, and perhaps are preparing, to enter into armed conflict with Russia over their joint client regime in Ukraine. On April 1 U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a …

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