(2021-05-19). Headlines for May 19, 2021. democracynow.org Israeli Assault Has Killed at Least 222 Palestinians and Displaced Tens of Thousands, Biden Addresses Rashida Tlaib, Jokes About Running Over Reporters Who Ask Questions on Israel-Palestine, Protests Continue Across U.S. in Solidarity with Palestinians, 60% of U.S. Adults Have Received One COVID Vaccine Dose; Tri-State Area Reopens, IEA Says No New Fossil Fuel Projects Can Be Permitted in Order to Avert Worst-Case Climate Scenario, Protests in North Carolina After DA Says Officers Who Killed Andrew Brown Jr. Were "Justified", House Passes Legislation Addressing Hate Crimes Against AAPI Community, 57 Refugees Drow…
(2021-05-19). Monday 5/24: Free, Free, Palestine! Biden, Israel and the Fight for Palestinian Liberation. indybay.org Online event…
(2021-05-19). Rashida Tlaib Confronted Biden on His Weak Stance on Palestinian Apartheid. truthout.org 
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) confronted President Joe Biden on Tuesday about his tepid stance on Israel's violent abuses of Palestinians, urging him to stand up for the historically marginalized population amid a second week of escalated Israeli attacks on Gaza. | Confronting Biden
(2021-05-19). A Plea from Gaza: Israel Bombing Campaign Is Turning My Homeland into a "Wasteland" democracynow.org 
The Israeli bombing campaign of Gaza has killed at least 222 Palestinians, including 63 children, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects growing international calls for a ceasefire. The Norwegian Refugee Council has revealed 11 of the children killed in Gaza were taking part in a program to help them deal with trauma from growing up in the besieged enclave. At least six residents of Gaza died in Israeli strikes overnight, including the radio journalist Yousef Abu Hussein. In the West Bank, Israeli forces on Tuesday killed at least four Palestinians taking part in a historic general strike to protest…
(2021-05-19). Amira Hass: Israeli Bombs Are Wiping Out Entire Palestinian Families. It's No Accident. democracynow.org 
As Israel's deadly attack on Gaza continues, we speak with Amira Hass, Haaretz correspondent for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who says Israel's bombing campaign is purposely wiping out entire families. "Israel has all the information about every Palestinian family, whether it is in the West Bank or Jerusalem or Gaza, let alone Palestinians in Israel," Hass tells Democracy Now! "When the Israeli army decides to bomb such a house without bothering to tell the people to leave it, it means they take into their head a calculation that their military target is more important" than people's lives, she says.
(2021-05-19). "Show People the Video": DA Finds Andrew Brown's Death "Justified" But Won't Release All Footage. democracynow.org 
In North Carolina, the Pasquotank County District Attorney's Office has found the April 21 police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., a 42-year-old Black father, in Elizabeth City was justified. Meanwhile, Andrew Brown Jr.'s family and their attorneys have said body-camera and dashcam videos of his killing show it was an "execution" and that he was not a threat. Andrew Brown Jr.'s family has requested the full release of the body-camera video, and the FBI is conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the killing. "We are disappointed, but we are not surprised," Bakari Sellers, one of the attorneys representin…
(2021-05-19). Mayo Clinic again receives top honors for high-quality patient care. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. — Eleven? hospitals across?Mayo Clinic?received star ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for Overall Hospital Quality. Six of the 11 hospitals earned five stars — the best score possible. The national average is 3 of 5 stars. The star rating provides patients with information about multiple dimensions of quality …
(2021-05-19). AIPAC Sets Its Targets on Ilhan Omar. thenation.com AIPAC Sets Its Targets on Ilhan Omar…
(2021-05-19). The Great Palestinian General Strike from the Jordan River to the Sea even Reaches President Biden in Dearborn. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — President Biden came to the Ford Rouge River Plant to tout new electric vehicles, one of his signature climate-friendly programs, on Tuesday. He was met at the airport by Rep. Debbie Dingell and by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian in the US Congress, who welcomed him but also gave …
(2021-05-19). President Biden can't Build America Back better until he Takes on the Permanent War Establishment. juancole.com 
( Tomdispatch.com ) — Is President Biden afflicted with the political equivalent of a split personality? His first several months in office suggest just that possibility. On the home front, the president's inclination is clearly to Go Big. When it comes to America's role in the world, however, Biden largely hews to pre-Trumpian precedent. So …
(2021-05-19). The Great Palestinian General Strike. zcomm.org From the Jordan River to the Sea even Reaches President Biden in Dearborn…
(2021-05-19). Economics of the new cold war and U.S. 'super imperialism' with economist Michael Hudson. mronline.org 
The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton interview world-renowned economist Michael Hudson on his concept of American "super imperialism" and the economics of the new cold war on China and Russia. | May 19, 2021…
(2021-05-19). Was the Failed Union Drive in Bessemer a Net Positive for the Labor Movement? thenation.com Was the Failed Union Drive in Bessemer a Net Positive for the Labor Movement?
(2021-05-19). Biden, Harris both millionaires, in top one percent of incomes. wsws.org While out of office from 2017 to 2020, the Bidens took full advantage of tax breaks used by multi-millionaires to shelter their income from taxation, including establishing an "S Corporation."
(2021-05-19). US Cruelty on Full Display as Israel Terrorizes Palestinians. counterpunch.org Every few years, the caged and helpless Palestinians reach the limits of their endurance suffering Israeli atrocities. They fight back and sustain more deaths, devastation, and deprivation. The United States, which never tires of preaching "human rights" "democracy" and other such noble values act as if the Israelis have cut off the US president's tongue.
(2021-05-19). Chile — °Bye, bye, Pinochet! globalizacion.ca Fue un proceso largo desde el fin de la dictadura de Pinochet hasta estas elecciones. Fue una transición larga, que restauró la democracia política en Chile, pero mantuvo la Constitución impuesta en plena condición de estado de sitio por Pinochet-…
(2021-05-19). Tuesday 5/18: Sacramento MLK Memorial Library 50th Anniversary. indybay.org MLK Memorial Library Park | 24th Street Bypass / Florin Rd | Sacramento, California 95822…
(2021-05-19). Republican Cancel Culture: State Laws to Suppress Activism. thenation.com Republican Cancel Culture: State Laws to Suppress Activism…
(2021-05-18). Commentary: Not one dollar for Zionist genocide! workers.org 
For the first time since the creation of Israel in 1948, U.S. bipartisan support for the Zionist settler state has come under fire on the floor of Congress. "To read the statements from President [Joe] Biden, Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, General [Lloyd] Austin and leaders of both parties, you . . . |
(2021-05-18). Israel-Palestine conflict: why Gulf leaders are staying quiet — for now. juancole.com 
By Simon Mabon | — It's generally reckoned to be one of Donald Trump's few major foreign policy achievements. On August 13 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel signed a historic agreement normalising relations between the two states, and in the weeks that followed, other Arab states followed Abu Dhabi's lead in what …
(2021-05-18). How the United States Contributes to the Killing of Palestinians. progressive.org As Gaza suffers, Congress has been slow to counteract President Joe Biden's plan to continue funneling military aid to Israel.
(2021-05-18). Israeli Human Rights Group B'Tselem: Israel Is Committing War Crimes by Killing Civilians in Gaza. democracynow.org 
As the Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 200, the leading Israeli human rights group B'Tselem is accusing Israel of committing war crimes by killing blockaded civilians and destroying infrastructure on a massive scale. Executive director Hagai El-Ad says Israel has not done enough to distinguish between military and civilian targets or to act with proportionality. "We've seen war crimes in previous military assaults on Gaza," he says. "And, in fact, the impunity of the previous times in which war crimes were committed is what has paved the way for the continuation of more such crimes being committed." Earlier t…
(2021-05-18). Gaza Physician: Israel Is Targeting Doctors & Health Facilities to Overwhelm Our Crumbling System. democracynow.org 
The death toll in Gaza has reached 213, including at least 61 children, as Israel continues to attack the besieged area by air, land and sea using U.S.-made warplanes and bombs. The death toll in Israel stands at 11 from rockets fired from Gaza. Israel is facing increasing criticism for targeting doctors in its attack, and its airstrikes have reportedly damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics, according to the World Health Organization. The attacks on medical staff and facilities are a "nightmare," says Dr. Rasha, a Palestinian internal medicine physician working in Gaza who asked not to use her full name for s…
(2021-05-18). "Genocide": Palestinian Lawmaker Condemns Netanyahu for Bombing Gaza to Stay in Power, Avoid Charges. democracynow.org 
The ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza, which has now killed at least 213 people, "really is an act of genocide," says Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian parliament and head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society who has been leading efforts to manage the pandemic in the West Bank and Gaza. He says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces multiple corruption charges, is using the latest violence to save his political future. "This man and his government is using Palestinian blood, and maybe even Israeli blood, to stay in power, to evade the three cases of corruption that he has to face,…
(2021-05-18). Palestinians Stage Historic General Strike from "the River to the Sea" for the First Time Since 1936. democracynow.org 
As the Israeli bombing of Gaza enters its ninth day, Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel are staging a historic general strike. This comes as violence is also spreading across Israel, with Jewish mobs attacking Palestinians in mixed Jewish and Arab communities. Last week, extremist Israeli settlers were filmed attacking Palestinian-owned shops in a Tel Aviv suburb. Another harrowing video shows ultranationalist Israelis dragging a man they believed to be an Arab from his car and beating him mercilessly. Some settlers were filmed on live television chanting "Death to Arabs," and scre…
(2021-05-18). Attorney: US Makes Concessions to Ease Asylum Restrictions. latinorebels.com SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Biden administration has agreed to let about 250 people a day through border crossings with Mexico to seek refuge in the United States, part of negotiations to settle a lawsuit over pandemic-related powers that deny migrants a right to apply for asylum, an attorney said Monday.
(2021-05-18). Netanyahu Warns Biden Not to Get Involved. globalresearch.ca An interesting
(2021-05-18). With Less Than Half the Country Fully Vaccinated, I Fear We Reopen Too Soon. truthout.org 
I dove into my personal archives to see if I could find the first time I ever mentioned COVID-19 in print. Turns out it was a Facebook post from January 26, 2020, a week before the Iowa Caucus and a little more than a year before seething mobs of hard-right Republicans crashed the doors of the Capitol building looking to hang Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi. | "I have never been one to get spooked by these ZOMG PLAGUE YOU GUYS stories," I wrote, "even when I lived in a big city. This one, tho, has…
(2021-05-18). The Mask of "Liberal Democracy" Falls with a Bang. globalresearch.ca Nakba, May 15, …
(2021-05-18). A Maskless US Heads Down a Dark Road as the Covid Pandemic Rages On. counterpunch.org In the clash between sound science and political pressure from anti-science crackpots in the United States, the Biden administration and the Center for Disease Control have blinked, announcing prematurely that people who are vaccinated can basically give up masking except when traveling on public transit or visiting health facilities. The idiocy and mendacity of this
(2021-05-18). AOC and Cori Bush Have Helped Remove Taboo on Calling Israel an Apartheid State. truthout.org 
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez labeled Israel an apartheid country over the weekend,
(2021-05-18). Biden adviser makes personal appeal to young to get shots. peoplesworld.org 
 …
(2021-05-18). In cowardly move, GOP Leader McCarthy tries to sink Jan. 6 commission. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—As expected by anyone who has paid attention to the way Republicans have operated for many years now, GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Monday that he is against what has been touted as a bi-partisan proposal to form an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection. His move will reduce Republican support …
(2021-05-18). Chile: Election Results & Composition of the Constitutional Convention. orinocotribune.com 
This Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16, Chileans participated in a mega-election in which they voted for the 155 members of the Constituent Convention, 345 mayors, 2,252 councilors, and 16 regional governors. Regional governors (called intendants) had been appointed directly by the president since the 1974 creation of Chile's regions by the Pinochet dictatorship. | More than 22,000 candidates disputed 2,678 positions. | The result was so clear that President Piñera had to acknowledge at the end of the day that the people sent a clear message that his government does not know how to tune in to the demands of the…
(2021-05-18). Is There a Doctor in the House? tomdispatch.com Is President Biden afflicted with the political equivalent of a split personality? His first several months in office suggest just that possibility. On the home front, the president's inclination is clearly to Go Big. When it comes to America's role in the world, however, Biden largely hews to pre-Trumpian precedent. So far at least, the administration's overarching foreign-policy theme is Take It Slow. "Joe Biden Is Electrifying America Like F.D.R." So proclaimed the headline of a recent Nicholas Kristof column in the New York Times. Even allowing for a smidgen of hyperbole, the comparison is not without merit.
(2021-05-18). Las difíciles relaciones de México y Estados Unidos. globalizacion.ca Los gobiernos de México y Estados Unidos reformularán su estrategia bilateral de seguridad, acordaron funcionarios de alto nivel de las administraciones de Andrés Manuel López Obrador y Joe Biden, durante la primera reunión binacional presencial sobre el tema tras la…
(2021-05-18). Biden trata de ganar a China el juego del Gran Poder Global. globalizacion.ca China nos está pisando los talones, dijo Joseph Robinet Biden, presidente de EU, ante el US Congress, el pasado 29 de abril. Nos encontramos en un punto de inflexión y tenemos que hacer algo, aseveró. øQué estrategia sigue el actual…
(2021-05-18). Bukele's Inner Circle Hit in State Department Corruption List. latinorebels.com This list has no legal implications for those named, but the fact that the section on El Salvador was declassified sends a clear political message at a time of tense relations between the Bukele and Biden administrations.
(2021-05-18). If Biden Genuinely Aspires to Build Back Better, He Would Deviate From US Militarism. commondreams.org If Biden Genuinely Aspires to Build Back Better, He Would Deviate From US Militarism | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/biden_13_0_0.jpg …
(2021-05-18). Closing of Guant√°namo Must be a Priority for President Biden. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-05-18). As US Clears 3 Detainees for Release, Amnesty Demands Biden Close Gitmo. commondreams.org "Amnesty International USA is calling on President Biden immediately to appoint a high-level official in his administration to take charge of closing Guant√°namo and arranging the transfers of all detainees who are not charged with crimes." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/close-gitmo_0.jpg …
(2021-05-18). Urge Biden administration to cancel student loan debt. nationofchange.org Let us join the organizations, activists and lawmakers out there and pressure the Biden administration to help the young adults of this nation be released from the debt acquired while furthering their educations.
(2021-05-18). Alliance Of Democracies Summit. popularresistance.org Copenhagen, Denmark — The United States is the nation that most threatens democracy worldwide, far more than Russia or even China. That is the headline finding from a new worldwide poll of 53 countries commissioned by the Alliance of Democracies (AoD). The poll also found that the global public considers rising inequality and the increased power of the super rich to be the greatest threat to liberty and democracy. | This was likely not the response the Alliance of Democracies wished to hear as it opened its third annual Democracy Summit in Copenhagen this week — precisely because the organization repr…
(2021-05-18). US House Top Rep Opposes Commission to Look Into Capitol Riot. telesurenglish.net U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the top-ranking Republican in the chamber, said Tuesday he would not support the creation of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. | RELATED: | "Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker's shortsighted scope tha…
(2021-05-18). Change of Strategy Again: Capriles Recommends Opposition Participate in Regional Elections. orinocotribune.com In an interview published this Sunday, May 16, by the Spanish media outlet El País, Henrique Capriles Radonski challenged Juan Guaidó—without mentioning him directly—when Capriles revealed an imminent change of opposition strategy. According to the interview, Venezuela's far right now wishes to participate in the regional elections of November 2021. | The two-time loser in presidential elections remarked that voting is the ideal and most plausible alternative for an opposition that did not achieve anything in almost three years of a "maximalist" strategy. | Capriles concluded that the "all or nothing"
(2021-05-18). Philadelphia's DA Election Is a Test for Progressives. progressive.org The results of the city's district attorney election will highlight the left's growing influence—or how far they still have to go.
(2021-05-18). Pressure mounts for de-amalgamation of Inner West Council. greenleft.org.au The campaign for the de-amalgamation of three Inner West councils is gaining traction in the lead-up to council elections on September 4, writes Peter Boyle.
(2021-05-18). Chilean Constitution to Be Drafted by Young Politicians. telesurenglish.net Chile's Constituent Convention (CC) resulting from the May elections will be formed by 79 women and 76 men. Their average age is 45. | RELATED: | Independent representatives obtained 103 seats, thus securing a majority. At least two out of five Chileans opted for candidates who did not run in any of the three major alliances conformed by the traditional parties. | Local outlet La Tercera surveyed 132 elected membe…
(2021-05-18). Philadelphia's DA Election Is a Test for Progressives and Criminal Justice Reform. commondreams.org "This election has far-reaching implications beyond Philly's borders." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/krasner-1.jpg …
