(2021-05-22). What Is Joe Biden's Israel Policy, Exactly? juancole.com ( Foreign Policy in Focus) — So just what is the Biden administration's policy towards Israel? Why did Biden take so long to respond to the violence as it spiraled out of control in Jerusalem and Gaza? Why do Biden's repeated "Israel has the right of self-defense" litanies so closely match the positions of his …
(2021-05-22). Biden: End Your Co-Belligerent Backing of Israeli War Crimes. commondreams.org "To know about what is happening daily" on the ground in Gaza, "you do not need to rely on the evidence compiled by the U.S. mainstream media… just take it from the Israeli media and Israelis themselves." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gaza-rubble1300x681.jpg …
(2021-05-22). The Palestine Litmus Test. globalresearch.ca President Joe Biden…
(2021-05-22). 5/19/21 Call Congress to support AOC's Reso to Stop Weapons for Israel. indybay.org Now that we have protested, it is time to call Congress. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has introduced a resolution to stop the sale of weapons to Israel. See www.commondreams.org/news/2021/05/19/ocasio-cortez-unveils-resolution-block-bidens-735-million-weapons-sale-israel There is no cease fire. Israel continues to bomb Gaza. See www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ex6SdT3N6g…
(2021-05-22). Venezuelan Opposition Parties to Present Unified Ticket for Regional Elections. venezuelanalysis.com The country will choose mayors and governors in "mega-elections" on November 21.
(2021-05-22). Unauthorized COVID-19 tests given to Navajos, used in marketing campaign. indybay.org An unauthorized type of COVID-19 tests were given to Navajos and the information wad used in an online marketing campaign. The Navajo Council said the contract, which included services during First Lady Biden's visit, was never approved. Many Navajos are calling for a probe of how virus relief funds were distributed by the Navajo government.
(2021-05-22). Why One State in India Is Showing Promising Signs of Democracy. popularresistance.org The right wing in Kerala has typically claimed that the Left is not equipped to build the state's infrastructure. But this time, the right wing had no grounds to make its typical complaints. Since 2016, the state government has not only improved the basic transportation infrastructure but has also built up other kinds of infrastructure needed by the working class and the peasantry.
(2021-05-22). Republicans Reject Biden Proposal to Spend an Amount Equal to a Quarter of the Military Budget on Infrastructure. cepr.net Washington Post budget reporters have a game where they try to write things in a way that none of their readers have any clue what they are talking about. According to rumors, they give a prize each year to the reporter who does the best job in providing zero information to readers. Today's piece on …
(2021-05-22). Syria Elections: Always Disparaged by the Meddling Imperial West. globalresearch.ca The election for …
(2021-05-22). Will Biden Stay in Bibi's Pocket? popularresistance.org Netanyahu's own words, videotaped two decades ago, show his disdain for the malleability of former U.S. presidents. As it turns out, Netanyahu had good reason to hold them in contempt as he "maneuvered" around them to ensure unstinting American support for status-quo Israeli domination of the Palestinians.
(2021-05-22). A Green-Left Coalition Takes Zagreb. zcomm.org The left-wing platform Mo≈æemo! emerged as the clear winner of elections in the Croatian capital…
(2021-05-22). [Correspondence] Women's and children's health in conflict settings: build on existing efforts. thelancet.com We commend the authors of the Lancet Series on Women's and Children's Health in Conflict Settings, particularly their call for greater political commitment to, and prioritisation of, women's and children's health (WCH) in conflict settings. At the same time, we are concerned about some of the claims and conclusions, including (1) a call for the formation of a new international technical advisory group with a mandate to critique and field-test a WCH framework,1 (2) that a priority predefined package of WCH services is not commonly agreed on and implemented in conflict settings,2 and (3) that there is no central re…
(2021-05-21). "We Want Real Dignity and Freedom": Gazans Welcome Ceasefire But Demand End of Siege & Occupation. democracynow.org 
In Gaza, thousands of people have taken to the streets to celebrate after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, ending Israel's 11-day bombardment of the territory. At least 243 Palestinians, including 66 children, were killed in the airstrikes and bombings. Rockets fired from Gaza also killed 12 people in Israel. Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, welcomes the ceasefire but stresses Palestinians demand more than just the end of bombing. "We need [the] end of occupation, end of the blockade, self-determination, independence, dignity and freedom," Sourani says. We also spe…
(2021-05-21). Headlines for May 21, 2021. democracynow.org Israel and Hamas Agree to Gaza Ceasefire After 11 Days of Intense Fighting, U.N. Chief Decries "Hell on Earth" After Israeli Strikes Sever Power, Water and Sewer Lines in Gaza, WTO Chief Pushes European Officials to Drop Opposition to Patent Waiver for COVID Vaccines, New York Launches $5 Million Lottery Incentive to Get Vaccinated , South Korean President to Discuss Denuclearization and Vaccines at White House Meeting, ICE to End Contracts with Two County Jails Where Immigrants Faced Abuses, Salvadoran Officials Exhume Dozens of Women's Bodies on Property of Former Detective, Amnesty Calls for U.S. to Stop Selli…
(2021-05-21). Minneapolis to protest the killings of over 200 Palestinians. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, May 22, at 3 p.m. in Bryant Square Park, (3101 Bryant Avenue S) in Minneapolis, protesters will stand in solidarity with Palestine. | Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been under siege for close to 15 years, and again, they are facing a criminal attack from the Israeli government and military. At least 231 Palestinians, including 65 children, have been killed there in the past 11 days, when Israel began its missile bombardment of the Strip. Palestinian health officials say 1700 Palestinians have been wounded. Over 1300 housing units have been completely demolished or severely dam…
(2021-05-21). The Bigger Picture in Israel/Palestine. counterpunch.org Most of the news stories I see about Israel and Palestine focus on recent events. For example, in the latest violence, 213 Palestinians in Gaza are dead (including 61 children) plus another 16 in the West Bank — compared to about 10 Israelis (including two children). President Biden has "expressed support for a cease-fire" but
(2021-05-21). Bernie Sanders Introduces Resolution Blocking Weapon Sales To Israel, Is He A Nazi? southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On May 20th, US Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a resolution blocking a $735m US weapons sale to Israel."At a moment when U.S.-made bombs are devastating Gaza, and killing women and children, we cannot simply let another huge arms sale go through without even a Congressional debate," Sanders said. "I believe that the United States must help lead the way to a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians. We need to take a hard look at whether the sa…
(2021-05-21). What Is the Biden Administration's Policy Towards Israel? commondreams.org "Beyond helping to end the devastation underway in Gaza, Biden could, in a minute, transform U.S. policy towards Israel and the Palestinians to one that actually reflects the human rights he claims are central to his foreign policy." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/joe_biden_8_2.jpg …
(2021-05-21). A Letter to Biden on Gaza. counterpunch.org I am writing to you about Gaza, a place that I have studied and written about for the last 35 years, a place that I consider another home, filled with the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet—have you ever been there? But I am writing not only as a scholar of the region but as a Jew and one whose parents survived Auschwitz.
(2021-05-21). Jailed at 14, Shot Dead at 17: The Story of Obaida Jawabra's Childhood Under Israeli Occupation. democracynow.org 
Israeli forces shot and killed Obaida Jawabra, a 17-year-old boy, earlier this week in the al-Arroub refugee camp located near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. Obaida was shot in the chest, and witnesses say Israeli soldiers blocked an ambulance from reaching the teenager. He was taken to a local hospital by private car and later pronounced dead. Obaida, who was arrested by Israeli soldiers multiple times and featured in a 2019 short film, "Obaida," about Israeli soldiers detaining Palestinian children, is at least the fourth Palestinian teenager shot dead by soldiers in the occupied West Bank this year. Th…
(2021-05-21). The Good News with Green Energy is the end of Struggles for Oil; the Bad news? Struggle for Lithium. juancole.com 
(Tomdispatch.com ) — Thanks to its very name — renewable energy — we can picture a time in the not-too-distant future when our need for non-renewable fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal will vanish. Indeed, the Biden administration has announced a breakthrough target of 2035 for fully eliminating U.S. reliance on those non-renewable fuels …
(2021-05-21). CNE Confirms Opening Date of Electoral Registry Ahead of 21N Regional Elections in Venezuela. orinocotribune.com 
With the approval of one thousand registry locations for the special day, the National Electoral Council (CNE) confirmed the approval of the opening of the Electoral Registry, between June 1 and July 15 of this year. | In this way, the electoral power will consolidate the data, by updating and registering new voters, in preparation for the regional and local elections scheduled for November 21 in Venezuela. | This was reported by the president of the CNE, Pedro Calzadilla, at the end of the board of directors' meeting. They defined the new steps to follow as part of the electoral schedule drawn up by the CNE auth…
(2021-05-21). Worker Co-ops vs COVID-19. therealnews.com 
We know that workers have been on the front lines of the pandemic, too often with no real say in the conditions they've had to face and the risks they've had to take. How would a more democratic economy respond to the current crisis?
(2021-05-21). Above the Law? Review of Police Killing of Andrew Brown Jr. Demanded After DA Calls It Justified. democracynow.org 
We speak with Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and former head of the North Carolina NAACP, who is in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to call for an expedited independent investigation into the police killing of Andrew Brown Jr., the 42-year-old Black father who was killed there last month by a bullet in the back of his head after seven deputies blocked him in his driveway while serving an arrest warrant. On Tuesday, the Pasquotank County district attorney announced a state investigation had found the officers who shot Brown were justified and will not face criminal charges. Barber…
(2021-05-21). Rev. William Barber Calls for a "Third Reconstruction" to Lift 140 Million People Out of Poverty. democracynow.org 
Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and president of Repairers of the Breach, says the United States needs a "Third Reconstruction" aimed at lifting 140 million poor and low-income people out of poverty. Barber worked with Congressmembers Barbara Lee and Pramila Jayapal to unveil a congressional resolution for a Third Reconstruction this week, which includes measures to expand voting rights, implement immigration reform, raise the minimum wage, establish a federal jobs program and more. "There is not a scarcity of resources," says Barber. "What there is is a scarcity of social justice…
(2021-05-21). Biden Wants to Hire 87,000 Additional IRS Agents to Go After Wealthy Tax Dodgers. truthout.org 
The Biden administration is proposing hiring 87,000 new workers for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), effectively doubling the agency's size, as part of a plan to beef up enforcement efforts and find billions of dollars in tax revenues that go uncollected each year. | Enforcement efforts Th…
(2021-05-21). "The Putin Pipeline Must Be Stopped": Senators Introduce Bill To Restore Nord Stream 2 Sanctions. southfront.org 
Fourteen Republican senators have submitted to the US Congress a bill designed to restore sanctions against companies involved in the…
(2021-05-21). Dark Money Groups Are Pouring Untold Millions Into 2021 Redistricting Efforts. truthout.org 
How congressional districts are drawn can change political outcomes for a decade. But the redistricting process is opaque and open to the influence of a complicated network of " Redistricting is the process of redrawing the maps that decide the makeup of congressional and state districts. In
(2021-05-21). This Biden proposal could make the U.S. a "digital dictatorship" mronline.org 
A "new" proposal by the Biden administration to create a health-focused federal agency modeled after DARPA is not what it appears to be. Promoted as a way to "end cancer," this resuscitated "health DARPA" conceals a dangerous agenda. | May 21, 2021…
(2021-05-21). From What to Why on the Trump Proletarian Narrative. counterpunch.org The wrongheaded but ubiquitous notion that the Republican Amerikaner Trump base is the (um, white) "working-class" drawn to "populism" has been disproven in study after study showing that the Trumpenvolk are relatively affluent, not proletarian and poor, and driven by an ugly, mutually reinforcing mixture of racism, sexism, nativism, fundamentalism, and authoritarianism. Those who have
(2021-05-21). Chile shifts left to rewrite Pinochet-era constitution, as Goldman Sachs eyes its copper reserves. thegrayzone.com Ben Norton speaks with Chilean activist and politician Pablo Sepúlveda Allende about the historic May 15/16 elections in which left-wing and independent candidates won two-thirds of the seats for a convention to rewrite the constitution, which dates back to the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Sepúlveda Allende, a grandson of Chile's legendary socialist President Salvador Allende, also discusses Chile's enormous copper reserves, which are some of the largest in the world, and are now being targeted by US corporations, after …
(2021-05-21). Which Side Are You On? The Answer is Clear for Today's Useful Idiots for the Right. counterpunch.org In 2016 and 2020, Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, was a viable candidate for the presidency of the United States. In a country where the left was systematically persecuted and whose intelligence services systematically persecute it abroad, such a development is significant and without precedent. Recent polls show half of millennials are well disposed
(2021-05-21). Congress Howls as Biden Kills Trump's Sanctions on Russia Gas Pipeline. globalresearch.ca Biden Ends Trump's …
(2021-05-21). People's Action Rebukes President Biden's Walkback on Infrastructure. peoplesaction.org Contact: Johanna Kichton, press@peoplesaction.org, 240.206.1145 WASHINGTON, D.C.—People's Action today released the following statement by Climate Justice Campaign Director Kaniela Ing in response to President Biden's surrender to Senate Republicans on his infrastructure bill: "President Biden's bill was already three times too small before this attempt to placate Republicans and their billionaire backers. Republicans don't want …
(2021-05-21). Chile Shifts Left To Rewrite Pinochet-era Constitution. popularresistance.org And today we are going to talk about Chile's elections. This May there were municipal elections and constituent elections, to write a new constitution, because today Chile still has a Pinochet-era constitution, which was written in the time of the military dictatorship, of Augusto Pinochet.
(2021-05-21). Lula Confirms He Will Run in Brazil's Next Presidential Election. orinocotribune.com Lula finally confirmed that he would compete in an election against Jair Bolsonaro. However, the former president clarified that he would do so under certain conditions: "If I am in the best position to win the presidential elections, and I am in good health, yes, I do not doubt it," he told a French magazine that interviewed him. | According to recent polls, the leader of the Brazilian Workers' Party would defeat the current president in the first and second rounds. | According to Datafolha, in a first vote, Lula would get 44% of the vote, compared to only 23% for Bolsonaro. In the second round, the former presi…
(2021-05-21). Israel's Military, Made in the USA. thenation.com Israel's Military, Made in the USA…
(2021-05-21). Biden's Broadband Plan Is a Good Start—but America Needs Guaranteed Broadband for All. thenation.com Biden's Broadband Plan Is a Good Start—but America Needs Guaranteed Broadband for All…
(2021-05-21). Disempowering the US cartels. indybay.org Technology corporations mostly form oligopolies, if not monopolies. | U.S. President Joe Biden is signaling that his administration wants to crack down on monopolies… Klobuchar's bill aims to boost antitrust action in many ways: it seeks to increase funding for the FTC and the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
(2021-05-21). Sunday 5/23: Tom Gallagher, A Social Democrats Take on the Biden Administration. indybay.org Join us on Zoom — | us02web.zoom.us/j/87281301611?pwd=NWF6NGd3bUhpSE14NWJLcmpra1ZSUT09 | Meeting ID: 872 8130 1611 | Passcode: 391496 | Dial by your location | +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)…
(2021-05-21). A progressive revival: Cleveland, Preston and municipal social democracy. nationofchange.org One of the progressive left's goals has to be to empower citizens and this is most easily done at the local level.
(2021-05-21). The Fight for Independent, Non-Corporate Radio Flares Up Again. counterpunch.org Here we go again. Listener democracy at the Pacifica radio network is in deep jeopardy again because the same people who violently shut down WBAI in 2019 and forced an expensive referendum that was soundly defeated in 2020 have forced a second bylaws referendum. Having lost last year's referendum by a 2-to-1 margin — losing
(2021-05-21). Largest Federal Employee Union Applauds Biden Push to Remove Fossil Fuel Securities from Retirement Funds. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-05-21). CAIR Calls on President Biden to 'Unequivocally Condemn' Israeli Police Again for Storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, Jeopardizing Cease-Fire. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-05-21). Sunrise Movement Responds to Biden's Potential Infrastructure Counteroffer: You are Making a Huge Mistake. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-05-21). Greenpeace USA Response to the Biden Administration's Infrastructure Counteroffer. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-05-21). Biden and Moon Are on a Collision Course with North Korea and China. commondreams.org "Unless they reorient their policies now," writes Hyung Lee of the anti-war group Women Cross DMZ, "the United States and South Korea may squander a crucial opportunity to end Cold War divisions and prevent a nuclear escalation in Asia." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/kamala-harris-president-moon-korea-1300×681.jpg …
(2021-05-21). Lithium, Cobalt, and Rare Earths: the Post-Petroleum Resource Race. counterpunch.org Thanks to its very name — renewable energy — we can picture a time in the not-too-distant future when our need for non-renewable fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal will vanish. Indeed, the Biden administration has announced a breakthrough target of 2035 for fully eliminating U.S. reliance on those non-renewable fuels for the generation